The former president has asked the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling barring him from the Colorado ballot. Donald Trump has appealed to the US Supreme Court to enforce his participation in the primary election in the state of Colorado, the former president's campaign team announced on Wednesday. In December, a 4-3 ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court deemed that the 77-year-old would not be on the ballot paper in the state, making it the first time ever that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was used to bar a presidential contender. The court found that Trump's role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol disqualified him under the previously unused clause. Likely Republican nomination The frontrunner for the Republican 2024 nomination, Trump is pushing back against the Colorado court's decision that disqualified him under a constitutional provision preventing anyone who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" from holding public office.   So far, Trump's opponents have only been successful in Colorado and the north-eastern state of Maine. Maine's top election official, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, ruled on December 29 that the Trump's primary nomination petition was "invalid."

Maine's top election official concluded that Trump incited an insurrection in an attempt to hold onto power following defeat in the 2020 US election. Challenges to his eligibility have been filed in other states too. Former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday appealed a decision by Maine's top election official to exclude him from the state's Republican presidential primary ballot over his role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Shenna Bellows, Maine's Secretary of State and a Democrat, barred Trump from the state's primary ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits those who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office. In her decision, Bellows noted that the January 6 Capitol attack "occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing President." Bellows concluded that the former president incited an insurrection in an attempt to hold onto power following defeat in the 2020 election and was disqualified from holding office again under constitutional rules. Trump's lawyers call ruling biased Trump's appeal on Tuesday asks that Bellows be required to place him on the March 5 primary ballot. His attorneys argued that Bellows' ruling demonstrates bias and lacks legal authority. "The secretary should have recused herself due to her bias against President Trump, as demonstrated by a documented history of prior statements prejudging the issue presented," Trump's attorneys wrote. Trump's lawyers argue that the ruling can't stand because the amendment doesn't explicitly mention the president and only refers to any "officer of the United States." They argue that the legal term doesn't apply to the president. Incidentally, during his prosecution for fraud by the Manhattan District Attorney's office, Trump's attorneys asked for the case to be moved to a federal court because the president is "an officer of the United States." The decision in Maine is currently on hold pending the appeal's outcome. "I have confidence in my decision and confidence in the rule of law," Bellows said in a statement. Trump is currently the leading Republican presidential nominee. Other states to rule on Trump eligibility At the same time, Trump faces similar exclusion in Colorado, where the state Supreme Court barred him from the primary ballot for the same reason. That case is expected to be appealed at the US Supreme Court. Challenges to Trump's electoral eligibility, citing a section of the 14th Amendment, have been filed in some other states too. Recently, courts in Minnesota and Michigan decided to retain Trump on the ballot. A US Supreme Court ruling could offer a nationwide resolution to the questions about Trump's eligibility. Some conservative critics warn that Trump's removal would lead to Section 3 being abused by political groups against opponents.  

President Aleksandar Vucic called for the snap vote barely two years since the last parliament was elected. His ruling party is on course for an absolute majority, but the opposition has made claims of election fraud. Serbia's governing populists claimed a sweeping victory in Sunday's snap parliamentary elections. According to a near-complete preliminary tally published Monday by the state election commission, President Aleksandar Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 47% of the vote. The largest opposition group, Serbia Against Violence (SPN), picked up 23%. How significant is the victory by Vucic's party? Vucic's name was not on the ballot, as it was not a presidential election, but the vote was widely seen as a referendum on his leadership after a turbulent year for the country. Tensions with neighboring Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, have escalated. And two back-to-back mass shootings claimed the lives of 18 people in Serbia.  The shootings rattled Vucic's support, yet his right-wing populist SNS maintained a commanding position following the vote.   "We will have an absolute majority in [the 250-seat] parliament with 127 seats," President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters.  The Kremlin welcomed the result, saying Moscow hoped it would lead to the "further strengthening of friendship" between Russia and Serbia. Observers flag voting irregularities Some electoral observers and independent media reported irregularities on voting day. One report claimed that ethnic Serbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered to vote in a sports hall in Belgrade that was not an official polling station.   Observers from the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability expressed "the highest concern" over allegations that illegal voters were bussed into Belgrade from other countries. "The concentration of buses, minivans and cars was observed on several spots in Belgrade, transferring voters to polling stations across the city to vote," the civil society watchdog said.   It also reported cases of voters being given money to vote for the SNS. The opposition said it would lodge official complaints and called a street protest later on Monday. Authorities have rejected claims of any wrongdoing, and Acting Prime Minister Ana Brnabic dismissed the reports as "lies that are intended to spread panic." Ruling party challenged in local elections The parliamentary vote coincides with local elections taking place in most municipalities, the capital, Belgrade, and the northern province of Vojvodina. The Belgrade vote is shaping up to be a crucial battleground between the SNS and the centrist SPN coalition. The movement was formed in the wake of the mass shootings, which pushed hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters to the streets for months.   Vucic has dismissed the rallies as a foreign plot, often warning that Serbia would be left directionless without him. "It's not about me leaving power, but about them destroying everything," he told supporters at a recent rally.  "It would take us 20 years to fix everything ... That's why we'll beat them more convincingly than ever."

A statement on Kuwaiti state television announced the death of the oil-rich Arab country's Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah. The ruling emir of the Arab, oil-rich country of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Sabah, has died at the age of 86, Kuwaiti state television reported on Saturday. State television interrupted regular programming with Quranic verses before making the announcement. "With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn... the death of Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait," said a statement aired on Kuwaiti state television. Sheikh Nawaf has only ruled for three years. He was sworn in as the oil-rich country's emir in 2020 following the death of his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah. He is in line to be succeeded by Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber. Now 83, he is believed to be the world's oldest crown prince. What do we know about the deceased emir? Despite the short tenure of his rule over Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf has taken up various strategic posts at some of the country's most critical moments. In 1990, when neighboring Iraq invaded Kuwait under Saddam Hussein, Sheikh Nawaf was defense minister. Then he was interior minister when Kuwaiti security forces faced off against Islamist militants in January 2005. The late emir was rushed to hospital in late November for an unspecified illness. Previously, state-run news reported that he had traveled to the US for unspecified medical checks in March 2021. The health of Kuwait's rulers is a sensitive matter that is rarely openly discussed in the media. The ruling Sabah family suffers bitter divisions and internal power struggles behind palace doors.

The Portuguese hacker released more than 18 million documents that led to investigations into star players, including Cristiano Ronaldo. Pinto claims he should be shielded from prosecution as a whistleblower. A court in Portugal has postponed its ruling for hacker Rui Pinto, who is on trial for accessing and releasing private documents that formed the "Football Leaks." The ruling, originally scheduled for April 28, was pushed back to July 13 on Friday because of a change in facts in the case and to allow more witnesses to be called. Pinto's lawyer said after the hearing on Friday that it was foreseeable that his client would ultimately be convicted, national newspaper Publico reported.  What was Pinto charged with? Pinto is on trial for 89 hacking offenses. His victims included top Portuguese football club Sporting, investment fund Doyen Sports, the Portuguese Football Federation, a law firm and magistrates of the Portuguese Public Prosecutor's Office. He has also been charged with attempted extortion, a crime punishable by between two and 10 years in prison. The 34-year-old hacker was arrested in Budapest in 2019 and was extradited back to Portugal to face trial in 2020. He previously told the court he was "outraged" by what he saw in the documents and that this prompted him to release them online as the "Football Leaks." What was the 'Football Leaks' release? The "Football Leaks" is a trove of 18.6 million documents that shed light on questionable practices involving football stars, their clubs and their agents. Pinto released the files online in 2015 and they were subsequently picked up by several European news outlets including Germany's Der Spiegel. The revelations led to several clients of Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes being investigated for tax evasion, including Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended up paying several million euros to the Spanish tax authorities in 2019. They also revealed a complaint of rape filed against Ronaldo. The complaint was later dismissed by a court in the US state of Nevada in 2022. Other Mendes clients who were investigated for tax evasion include coach Jose Mourinho, striker Radamel Falcao and winger Angel Di Marian. The "Football Leaks" documents also indicated that Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain may not have complied with financial fair play rules, and revealed secret meetings between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and former Swiss federal prosecutor Michael Lauber, who lost his job after the talks became public. Pinto says he was also behind the "Luanda Leaks," a trove of 715,000 emails, contracts, audits and other documents that explain how Isabel dos Santos — daughter of late Angolan dictator Jose dos Santos — built a business empire and became the richest woman in Africa.

Japan's ruling party and partners won enough votes to form a supermajority in an upper house election held just days after the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, local media said Monday.   The ex-premier's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito strengthened their hold by winning more than 75 of the 125 upper house seats up for grabs, according to national news outlets.   The parties are part of what is now a two-thirds supermajority willing to amend the country's pacifist constitution, thereby strengthening its military role on the global stage -- a longtime Abe goal.   Even before the former prime minister's murder, the LDP and Komeito were expected to cement their majority, though the final number of seats will be scrutinised for signs of whether the attack bolstered support for them.   "I think it is significant we were able to complete the elections," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told NHK, adding he wants to tackle the pandemic, Ukraine-related issues and inflation.   Kishida had insisted the election proceed despite the assassination, saying "we must never allow violence to suppress speech."   Conceding defeat, Kenta Izumi, leader of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, which was projected to have lost several seats, said it was clear "voters did not want to switch from the LDP and entrust us with running the government," according to Kyodo News.   Despite the murder, turnout for the election remained low at only 52 percent, national outlets reported.   Abe was gunned down at close range on Friday in the western region of Nara, and died of blood loss at a local hospital. His body was brought to his family home in Tokyo on Saturday.   The assassination rattled the nation and sent shockwaves around the world, prompting an outpouring of sympathy even from nations with which the hawkish Abe had sometimes difficult relations, such as China and South Korea.   The man accused of his murder, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, is in custody and has told investigators he targeted Abe because he believed the politician was linked to an unnamed organisation.   Local media have described the organisation as religious and said Yamagami's family had suffered financial trouble as a result of his mother's donations to the group.   He also reportedly visited the western region of Okayama on Thursday with the intent of killing Abe at a different event, but backed out because participants had to submit their names and addresses.   Additionally, Yamagami admitted to police to test-firing guns at a facility connected to the religious group beforehand, according to media.   - 'No bigger regret' -   With little violent crime and tough gun laws, security at Japanese campaign events can be relaxed, though in the wake of Abe's murder, measures were beefed up for Kishida's remaining appearances.   Security at polling stations on Sunday remained normal, however, with 79-year-old Takao Sueki saying he was voting with an eye on international instability, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine.   "Watching the world now, I think every day about how Japan will manage with the situation," he told AFP.   "This is a democratic country and I despise the use of violence to eliminate someone," he added when asked about Abe's murder.   "I strongly believe that if people have disagreements, they should dispute them with dialogue."   Police have promised a "thorough investigation" into what the head of the Nara regional police called "problems with guarding and safety measures" for Abe.   "In all the years since I became a police officer in 1995... there is no greater remorse, no bigger regret than this," chief Tomoaki Onizuka tearfully told reporters on Saturday evening.   - Wake, funeral planned -   Abe's office told AFP that a wake would be held on Monday night, with a funeral for family and close friends only on Tuesday. Local media said both were expected to be held at Tokyo's Zojoji Temple.   US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Asia for meetings, arrived in Tokyo on Monday to see Kishida and offer condolences in person.   Abe was the scion of a political family and became the country's youngest post-war prime minister when he took power for the first time in 2006, aged 52.   His hawkish, nationalist views were divisive, particularly his desire to reform Japan's pacifist constitution to recognise the country's military, and he weathered a series of scandals, including allegations of cronyism.   But he was lauded by others for his economic strategy, dubbed "Abenomics," and his efforts to put Japan firmly on the world stage, including by cultivating close ties with Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.   Kishida, 64, was once described as among Abe's favoured successors, and holds a solid majority in parliament with Komeito.   But he faces significant policy headwinds, including rising prices and energy shortages, particularly after an early summer heatwave that led to a power crunch.   Kishida is expected to reshuffle his cabinet in the coming months. Source: AFP/BSS AH

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed NATO on Friday for ruling out a no-fly zone over his country saying the Western military alliance knew further Russian aggression was likely. Earlier Friday, NATO rejected Ukraine's request to impose a no-fly zone to halt Russia's bombing, but Western allies did warn President Vladimir Putin of fresh sanctions if he does not stop the war. "Knowing that new strikes and casualties are inevitable, NATO deliberately decided not to close the sky over Ukraine," Zelensky said in a video published by the presidency. "We believe that the NATO countries themselves have created a narrative that the closing of the skies over Ukraine would provoke direct Russian aggression against NATO." NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg had said the alliance would not intervene in the conflict over fears of a direct clash with Moscow that could spiral into a wider conflict. "The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send NATO fighter planes into Ukraine's airspace, and then impose that no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes," Stoltenberg said after the urgent meeting. "If we did that, we'll end up with something that could end in a full-fledged war in Europe, involving many more countries and causing much more human suffering." But Zelensky insisted that the NATO gathering was a "weak summit, a confused summit". "All the people who die starting today will also die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disconnection," he said. "Today the leadership of the alliance gave the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages, refusing to make a no-fly zone." Source: AFP/BSS AH

Russia's ruling party on Thursday unanimously backed President Vladimir Putin's surprise choice for prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, a man with almost no political profile. Mishustin's elevation is part of a sweeping shake-up of the political system announced by Putin on Wednesday, which led to the resignation of Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister along with his government. The changes are widely seen as giving Putin, 67, scope to extend his grip on power once he leaves the presidency in 2024. He has dominated Russian politics, as president or as prime minister, for two decades. Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, is expected to vote on Mishustin's candidacy later on Thursday after he has addressed the chamber. United Russia, the ruling party, has a majority in the Duma, meaning Mishustin's confirmation, barring an unexpected upset, is assured. Mishustin, 53, ran the country's tax service where he won praise for dramatically improving tax collection. Critics have long accused Putin, a former KGB officer, of plotting to stay on in some capacity after his term ends and continue to wield power over the world's largest nation, which is also one of its two leading nuclear powers. The constitutional reform proposals, which he set out on Wednesday and suggested should be put to a referendum, would give him the option of taking an enhanced role as prime minister after 2024 or a new role as head of the State Council, an official body he said he was keen to build up. Putin could even become speaker of a new, supercharged parliament. Putin to ‘Rule for Life’? Opposition politician Leonid Volkov said it looked as though Putin was digging in. "It's clear to everyone that everything is going exclusively towards setting Putin up to rule for life," he wrote on social media. The Kommersant business daily on Thursday called Putin's shake-up "the January revolution". The proposals looked, Kommersant wrote, like the start of many more changes to come. Under the current constitution, which sets a maximum of two successive terms, Putin is barred from immediately running again for the presidency in 2024, but his supporters find it hard to imagine Russian political life without him. Putin remains popular with many Russians who see him as a welcome source of stability, even as others complain that he has been in power for too long, that their pensions and standard of living are being steadily eroded, and that poverty is widespread and healthcare poor.  Source: Reuters AH

The UN’s top court will deliver its decision next week on whether emergency measures should be imposed on Myanmar over alleged genocide against its Rohingya Muslims, the Gambian government tweeted Wednesday. In a shock move, Myanmar’s civilian leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi travelled to The Hague last month to defend the bloody 2017 crackdown by her nation’s army against the Rohingya. Some 740,000 fled over the border into Bangladesh, carrying accounts of widespread rape, arson and mass killings, in violence UN investigators said amounted to genocide. The Gambian Ministry of Justice announced on Twitter early Wednesday the ICJ would deliver its decision on emergency measures on Thursday 23 January. The West African nation had brought a case against Buddhist-majority Myanmar to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with the backing of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, Canada and the Netherlands. At the December hearing, the Gambia alleged Myanmar had breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. It also said there was a “serious and imminent risk of genocide recurring” and called for emergency measures to prevent Myanmar from committing any further atrocities or erasing any evidence. It is not clear how specific the emergency measures would be, but enforcing them would likely prove difficult. If the court rules in the Gambia’s favor, this would be just the first step in a case likely to take years. An estimated 600,000 Rohingya still live in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state in what Amnesty International has branded “apartheid” conditions. Suu Kyi admitted the army may have used excessive force against the Rohingya, but said the case was based on “misleading and incomplete” claims, calling for it to be dropped. The 74-year-old, once regarded as a rights icon in the West, also said the case risked reigniting the crisis. ICJ judges have only once before ruled that genocide was committed, in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia. Suu Kyi’s defense of the generals was widely condemned in the West but proved popular at home with a public largely unsympathetic to the plight of the Rohingya. Myanmar insists its own investigations will ensure accountability for any human rights violations but critics deride the domestic panels as toothless and partial. Myanmar also faces other legal challenges over the Rohingya, including a probe by the International Criminal Court — a separate war crimes tribunal — and a lawsuit in Argentina which notably alleges Suu Kyi’s complicity. Source: AFP/BSS AH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reiterated her call to the Jatiya Oikyafront (JOF) MPs-elect to join parliament as she said the ruling party wants a strong opposition in real sense. “We want a strong opposition party in parliament, I hope those who got people’s votes will speak in Parliament and make comments on us whatever they want to,” she said.      The Prime Minister said this in the House while participating in the general discussion on the President’s speech and delivering her winding-up speech on Monday. Reports UNB. She said one elected MP of the JOF (Sultan Mohammad Mansur) has already joined Parliament showing respect to voters. “Protecting the dignity of voters, he took his seat in the House.”  The Leader of the House said there were attempts to foil the election. “But people never paid their (spoilers) attention to that. Instead, they’ve exercised their voting rights and elected us,” she said. Hasina also mentioned that it is the prime duty of the government to fulfill the pledges they have made to people before the election. The Prime Minister firmly said the government will not allow any sort of conflict, terrorism, militancy, drug abuse and corruption in the country. “We’re taking stern actions against these menaces.” “We’ve taken extensive programs to eradicate terrorism, drug abuse, smuggling, women and children trafficking. Our drive against corruption is also going on,” she told the House.   Hasina said people voted Awami League to power to demonstrate their support to it due to the ongoing dives against terrorism, militancy, corruption and drugs. “They’ve cast their votes against these social menaces and they’ve taken us into their confidence.”    The Prime Minister said the government is trying hard to eradicate corruption from the country although it is a tough job. She mentioned that corruption heavily engulfed society during military regimes. “We’ve been able to control corruption significantly and that’s why development during our tenures is visible.” The Prime Minister thanked all the political parties for participating in the 11th general election. Talking about the recently-signed memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia over military cooperation, Hasina said members of the Bangladesh Armed Forces will never ever engage in any war joining hands with another country. “We’ll go only for protecting peace under the United Nations…our armed forces will be deployed only for protecting the two holy places —Makkah and Madinah—if any crisis arises there,” she said. The Prime Minister also mentioned that there is no scope for any misunderstanding in this regard. Later, the House passed the vote of thanks on the President’s speech by voice vote. AH