International
Trump Back On Trial For Defamation In Sexual Assault Case

Donald Trump is expected to be back in court Tuesday in New York for a civil case in which he has already been found liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll.
A jury in May of last year concluded that Trump sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a New York department store in 1996.
It awarded her around $2 million for the assault and $3 million for defamation over Trump’s remark in 2022, calling her claim “a complete con job.”
Tuesday’s trial will address how much Trump should be forced to pay for separate remarks he made about Carroll in 2019, as president. She is seeking $10 million in damages.
The second trial opens with jury selection just a day after Trump’s big win in the Iowa caucuses — the opening of the Republican presidential nomination process — and ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
Trump, the runaway favorite for the Republican nomination, said last week he planned to attend the proceedings in person and face Carroll, now 80. He did not do this in the first trial.
US media reported he will attend the opening session on Tuesday, before heading to a campaign rally in New Hampshire.
According to a document filed in the case, Trump, 77, requested a postponement to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law, Amalija Knavs, Thursday in Florida.
But Judge Lewis Kaplan refused, pointing out that Trump was still planning to meet with supporters in New Hampshire.
Last week the former president continued to insist of Carroll that “I never saw this woman in my life.”
“I have no idea who this woman is,” said Trump, who variously has called her a liar, “a wack job” and “not my type.”
Counting Tuesday’s trial, Trump is ensnared in at least six civil and criminal trials, including two stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
Trump claims he is being politically persecuted and has made speeches full of invective, targeting judges and prosecutors who he says are trying to deny him a second term in the White House.
With tensions high around Trump’s trials — court officials in his civil fraud case whom he has criticized by name have received death threats — the judge ordered that the jurors’ names be kept secret.
He also warned that the only issue at stake will be the harm caused to Carroll by Trump’s comments, which Kaplan already said he considered “defamatory,” “false” and “malicious.”
Trump cannot introduce any evidence to argue he did not sexually assault her and that he did not defame her, the judge has said.
AFP
Crime
Chinese national apprehended in Anambra for involvement in illegal mining.

A 45-year-old Chinese national, Mr. Mu Hua Qiang, has been arrested in Aguleri, Anambra State, for alleged involvement in illegal mining. He was apprehended by operatives of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) Brigade during a surveillance operation and handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka.
Police spokesperson Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the arrest, stating that the suspect’s statement was taken and he is in custody pending further investigation. Authorities say illegal mining remains a serious concern in Anambra due to its environmental and security risks.
International
Education: Denmark permitting use of AI for English exams from 2026
We are launching pilot schemes to try to find the right balance,” Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in a statement, emphasising the need to encourage digital learning while upholding teaching standards.

Image credit: Shutterstock
The Danish education ministry announced on Friday students in some high schools in Denmark will be allowed to use artificial intelligence to write English language exams from next year.
The move comes as education authorities around the world debate whether AI is a useful learning tool for those entering an increasingly digital economy, or a slippery slope to producing dumbed-down graduates.
The Danish government said the permitted use of AI in the English curriculum from 2026 would be experimental, and apply only to the oral component of the English exam for the high school diploma.
In that test, once a student is handed their topic, they would have one hour to prepare, during which they would be “permitted to use all available tools, including generative AI”, the ministry said.
The students would then have to give their oral presentation in person in front of an examiner.
“We are launching pilot schemes to try to find the right balance,” Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in a statement, emphasising the need to encourage digital learning while upholding teaching standards.
“With students growing up in both analogue and digital worlds, we need to ready them in the best way possible for the reality they will encounter after their schooling.
”When it comes to the written part of the English test, the ministry said students would have to do part of it handwritten to ensure no reliance on computers.
International
Trump pledges to maintain federal forces in Washington amid mounting criticism.

President Donald Trump on Thursday visited police and troops he has deployed in the US capital in what he calls a crackdown on crime, saying they were going to “stay here for a while.”
Trump ordered hundreds of members of the Guard, a reserve force, to deploy in Washington last week vowing to “take our capital back,” despite protests by some residents and statistics showing violent offenses falling.
“We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while. We want to make this absolutely perfect,” he said outside a US Park Police facility in Washington.
The 79-year-old Republican was surrounded by law enforcement from various local and federal agencies as well as National Guard troops.
Earlier Thursday he suggested he would go on patrol with police and the military, but instead he made a short speech and gave out pizzas and hamburgers.
“Everybody feels safe,” Trump said, adding that he plans to get the capital “fixed up physically.”
“One of the things we’re going to be redoing is your parks. I’m very good at grass, because I have a lot of golf courses all over the place. I know more about grass than any human being,” he added.
Trump wrote on social media early Friday that “there were no murders this week for the first time in memory” in Washington.
He said Mayor Muriel Bowser “must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City!”
Bowser has said that violent crime in the capital has been its lowest level in three decades.
Trump’s visit came a day after his vice president, JD Vance, was greeted by boos and shouts of “Free DC” — referring to Washington’s formal name, the District of Columbia — on his own meet-and-greet with troops.
Vance dismissed the hecklers as “a bunch of crazy protesters.”
The DC National Guard has mobilized 800 troops, while Republican states Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia are sending a total of around 1,200.
They have been spotted in tourist areas such as the National Mall and its monuments, the Nationals Park baseball stadium and others.
The overwhelmingly Democratic US capital faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged.
But data from Washington police showed significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, though that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.
Some residents have welcomed the crackdown, pointing to crime in their areas — but others have complained the show of force is unnecessary, or has not been seen in parts of Washington where violence is concentrated.
– Sandwich guy –
Several incidents involving the surge of law enforcement have gone viral as residents voice their discontent, including the arrest of one man who was caught on camera throwing a sandwich at an agent.
Banksy-style posters honoring the so-called “sandwich guy” have popped up around the city.
The National Guard troops have provided “critical support such as crowd management, presence patrols and perimeter control in support of law enforcement,” according to social media statements.
In addition to sending troops into the streets, Trump has also sought to take full control of the Washington police department, attempting at one point to sideline its leadership.
The deployment of troops in Washington comes after Trump dispatched the National Guard and Marines to quell unrest in Los Angeles, California, that was sparked by immigration enforcement raids
AFP
-
Entertainment3 days ago
‘Things Fall Apart’ actor Fabian Adibe dies at 82
-
International2 days ago
Trump pledges to maintain federal forces in Washington amid mounting criticism.
-
Crime2 days ago
Female Corps Member Recalls Harrowing Assault by Anambra Security Forces
-
News1 day ago
BREAKING: FG, state, local governments share N2.001trn July revenue
-
International1 day ago
Education: Denmark permitting use of AI for English exams from 2026
-
Politics2 days ago
What ERGAF -Africa’s Report Reveals About Nigeria’s Lawmakers
-
News3 days ago
Nigeria Consul-General in Cameroon, Ambassador Coker dies
-
Politics2 days ago
2027: Jonathan Remains Silent as Northern Opposition Ramps Up Pressure