TRUMP INDICTED, FIRST US PRESIDENT TO FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES

NEW YORK — A New York grand jury on Thursday indicted Donald Trump over hush money payments made to a porn star, making him the first ever serving or former US president to face criminal charges.

The historic indictment of the 76-year-old Republican -- who denies all wrongdoing in connection with the payments made ahead of the 2016 election that sent him to the White House -- is certain to upend the current presidential race in which Trump hopes to regain office.

And it will forever mark the legacy of the former leader, who survived two impeachments and had kept prosecutors at bay over everything from the US Capitol riot to missing classified files -- only to land in court over a sex scandal involving Stormy Daniels, a 44-year-old adult movie actress.

Prosecutors in Manhattan will likely ask Trump to surrender and face arraignment, with the felony charges against him to be revealed at that hearing, according to The New York Times, which cited four people with knowledge of the matter.

Trump slammed the indictment as "political persecution and election interference," and vowed it would backfire on his successor Joe Biden, while the former president's son Eric assailed the "opportunistic targeting of a political opponent."

An attorney for Daniels meanwhile welcomed the news as proof that "no one is above the law."

"The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy," Clark Brewster tweeted. "Now let truth and justice prevail."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, said the indictment had "irreparably damaged" the country.

RUSSIA ARRESTS US SCRIBE FOR ‘SPYING’

Russia’s top security agency has arrested an American reporter for the Wall Street Journal on espionage charges, the first time a US correspondent was put behind bars on spying accusations since the Cold War.

The Federal Security Service said on Thursday that Evan Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg while allegedly trying to obtain classified information.

The Wall Street Journal said in a statement that it is deeply concerned for Gershkovich’s safety. The arrest comes amid bitter tensions between the West and Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.

He was released without charges 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union’s United Nations mission who was arrested by the FBI. The FSB, which is the top successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, alleged that Gershkovich “was acting on the US orders to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex.”

US COURT UPHOLDS WORK AUTHORISATION FOR H-1B SPOUSES

Along-drawn court battle, which began in 2015, has ended in a significant victory for spouses of H-1B visa holders, with a US district court upholding the H-4 Employment Authorisation Documentation (EAD) rule.

It is estimated that nearly a lakh Indian spouses (largely women) hold an EAD, which enables them to work or be self-employed. Official statistics date back to December 2017, according towhich 84,360 Indian spouses held an EAD (this was 93% of the total EADs issued).

This rule was introduced by the Obama administration in 2015 to mitigate the problems faced by certain sections of immigrants (such as the Indian diaspora) who faced backlogs to obtain an employment based green card. Under the EAD rule, in those cases where the H-1B visa recipient is on track for agreen card, or has got an extension beyond the permitted six years, the spouse holding an H-4 visa can apply for employment authorisation.

The order issued by the district court of Columbia is also a win for the US tech sector as 40 associations and companies, including tech giants, had jointly filed an amicus brief in May 2021, to support the right of spouses of H-1B visa holders to work.

Reeling under the onslaught of layoffs, many H-1B visa holders had to give up their status, rendering the H-4 visa (which is a dependent visa) invalid.

A software professional from Hyderabad who was laid off by a tech giant told TOI that he hasn’t yet been able to find a job and the 60-day grace period clock is ticking. Even if he transits to a visitor visa to gain time to find employment, his wife’s H-4 visa and consequently the EAD will be rendered void.

The lawsuit challenging the EAD rule was filed in 2015 by an advocacy group of tech workers (Save Jobs USA), who lost their jobs to H-1B visa holders. Save Jobs USA had claimed that the department of homeland security wasn’t legally permitted to put the rule in place. Further, it contended that the right given to spouses to work, took away American jobs and also made the H-1B programme more attractive.

WORLD COURT RULES US WAS WRONG TO FREEZE IRANIAN ASSETS

The Hague : In a partial victory for Iran, judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday ruled Washington had illegally allowed courts to freeze assets of Iranian companies and ordered the US to pay compensation, the amount of which will be determined later. However, in ablow for Tehran, the World Court said it did not have jurisdiction over $1. 7billion in frozen assets from Iran’s central bank, by far the largest amount claimed back by Iran.

The ruling comes amid heightened tensions between US and Iran after strikes between Iran-backed forces and US personnel in Syria last week. Relations are also strained after attempts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major world powers stalled.

The case before the ICJ, also known as the World Court, was initially brought by Tehran against Washington in 2016 for allegedly breaching a 1955 friendship treaty by allowing US courts to freeze assets of Iranian companies. The money was to be given in compensation to victims of terrorist attacks. In hearings last year the US argued the whole case should be dismissed because Iran has “uncleanhands” and the asset seizures were the result of Tehran’s alleged sponsoring of terrorism. The court dismissed this defence and ruled the treaty was valid. Iran denies supporting international terrorism.

The 1950s friendship treaty was signed long before Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled the US-backed shah, and the severing of USIranian ties. Washington withdrew from the treaty in 2018. Nonetheless the ICJ ruled that as it was in place at the time of the freezing of the assets of Iranian commercial firms and entities, Washington violated the treaty. The judges explained the court had no jurisdiction over the $1. 75 billion in assets from Iran’s central bank held by the US because that bank was not a commercial enterprise, and thus not protected by the treaty.

CHINA, BRAZIL STRIKE DEAL TO DITCH DOLLAR FOR TRADE

Brasília : China and Brazil have reached a deal to trade in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar as an intermediary, the Brazilian government said Wednesday, Beijing’s latest salvo against the almighty greenback. The deal will enable China, the top rival to US economic hegemony, and Brazil, the biggest economy in Latin America, to conduct their massive trade and financial transactions directly, exchanging yuan for reais and vice versa instead of going through the dollar. “The expectation is that this will reduce costs. . . promote even greater bilateral trade and facilitate investment,” the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil)said. The deal, which follows a preliminary agreement in January, was announced after a high-level China-Brazil business forumin Beijing.

PRESIDENT TSAI SPEAKS OF TAIWAN’S SAFETY IN U.S. STOPOVER

Taiwan’s President addressed members of New York’s Taiwanese community in a U.S. stopover on her way to Central America as she seeks to rally allies of the self-ruled island amid tensions with China.

Pro-China demonstrators waving the Chinese flag rallied against President Tsai Ing-wen’s events in New York.

In a speech on Wednesday night to fellow Taiwanese in New York, Ms. Tsai thanked the United States for its security assistance and urged Taiwanese unity.

“The safer Taiwan is, the safer the world will be,” she said, and pledged Taiwan would work with its democratic partners to remain on the path of democracy.

TURKIYE APPROVES FINLAND NATO MEMBERSHIP BID

Finland will become the 31st member of Nato after Turkey's parliament voted to approve its application.

Turkey had delayed Finland's bid to join the West's defensive alliance for months - complaining the Nordic nation was supporting "terrorists".

Sweden, which applied to join Nato at the same time last year, is still being blocked by Ankara over similar complaints.

Any Nato expansion needs the support of all its members.

Finland will now be formally admitted into Nato at its next summit, taking place in July in Lithuania.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave his approval to Finland's bid earlier in March, praising the country's "authentic and concrete steps" on Turkish security.

But his ongoing hostility to Sweden was clear - as he again accused the country of embracing Kurdish militants and allowing them to demonstrate on the streets of Stockholm.

The two Nordic nations abandoned their traditional military neutrality in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Almost overnight, support for Nato membership leapt from an underwhelming one-third of Finns to almost 80%.

AUSTRIA'S FAR-RIGHT WALKS OUT OF ZELENSKY SPEECH

More than 20 far-right Austrian MPs walked out of parliament during a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The politicians from the Freedom Party (FPO) argued Mr Zelensky's speech violated Austria's neutrality.

They warned ahead of the speech they would hold some form of protest against the address.

Austria has previously said it cannot help Ukraine's defence militarily, but does support Kyiv politically.

In a video address, Mr Zelensky thanked Austria for its humanitarian assistance and help clearing land mines. He was speaking on the 400th day of Russian invasion.

He also invited MPs to travel to Ukraine for themselves and see the destruction caused.

The president of Austria's lower house of parliament, Wolfgang Sobotka, pledged more financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and said the country deserved Austria's solidarity.

But as Mr Zelensky spoke, a group of politicians walked out and left placards on their desk with the party logo that read "space for neutrality" and "space for peace".

There are 30 FPO politicians in Austria's lower chamber and they were the only party to oppose Mr Zelensky's address.

PAKISTAN TALIBAN MILITANTS KILL FOUR IN ROADSIDE BLAST

Peshawar : Militants in Pakistan targeted the country’s police force in two attacks in a volatile northwestern province on Thursday, killing four officers and wounding six, officials said. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. In one attack, police say a roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying officers, killing four of them. The officers were reinforcements responding to an attack earlier in the day on a police station in Lakki Marwat, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Six officers were wounded in the attack on the station. Local police officer Ashfaq Khan said a search was under way for the attackers. The Pakistani Taliban said in a statement that one of the slain officers, Iqbal Mohmand, was targeted as he was behind the arrest and killing of some of their fighters.

KING CHARLES III ADDRESSES GERMAN PARLIAMENT, TALKS ON BOLSTERING TIES

BERLIN: King Charles III became the first monarch to address Germany’s Parliament, the Bundestag, on Thursday as part of a high-profile visit by the U.K. head of state aimed at bolstering ties between the two European powers. In his speech, he stressed the close bonds between the U.K. and Germany going back centuries.

UAE PRESIDENT NAMES SON KHALED AS CROWN PRINCE OF ABU DHABI

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates’ President named his eldest son as crown prince of Abu Dhabi late on Wednesday, cementing his family’s hold on power. President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan tapped Sheikh Khaled (in photo), 41, as Crown Prince of the UAE’s richest emirate — a position traditionally held by the leader-in-waiting.

NINE KILLED IN US ARMY BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER CRASH IN KENTUCKY

Fort Campbell : Nine people were killed in a crash involving two US army Black Hawk helicopters in Kentucky, a military spokesperson said. Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell army base, said on Thursday that the deaths happened the previous night in Kentucky during a routine training mission.

A statement from Fort Campbell says the two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division, crashed around 10pm (local time) on Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky. The 101st Airborne confirmed the crash about 48km northwest of Fort Campbell. The crash is under investigation. “Right now our focus is on the soldiers and their families who were involved,” the statement added.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear had said earlier that fatalities were expected, adding that police and emergency officials were responding. “The crash occurred in a field,” Kentucky state police trooper Sarah Burgess said. “At this time, there are no reports of residence damage. ” Nick Tomaszewski, who lives near where the crash occurred, said he saw two helicopters flying over his home moments before the crash. The helicopters flew over and looped back around and moments later “we saw fireworks in the sky,” he said.

BOLSONARO RETURNS TO BRAZIL, ENDING SELF-IMPOSED EXILE

Three months after leaving for the United States in the final hours of his term, Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro returned home on Thursday to re-enter politics — complicating life for his successor and nemesis, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The far-right ex-Army captain, who skipped town two days before Mr. Lula’s inauguration on January 1, arrived back in Brasilia on a commercial flight from Orlando, Florida.

Scores of supporters waving the Brazilian flag — one of Bolsonaro’s symbols — were at the airport arrival area to welcome him, shouting and singing the national anthem, despite authorities’ moves to block a planned welcome rally.

However, Mr. Bolsonaro left discreetly through another exit. Flashing a thumbs-up to TV cameras, he entered a motorcade that headed for the headquarters of his Liberal Party (PL), flanked by police cars. The homecoming is a high-stakes bet for Mr. Bolsonaro, who faces legal trouble on various fronts in Brazil.

Mr. Bolsonaro, 68, is set to start a new job next week as honorary president of the Liberal Party.

POPE FRANCIS ‘IMPROVING’ AFTER NIGHT IN HOSPITAL

Pope Francis’s health is improving after spending a night in hospital with a respiratory infection, the Vatican announced on Thursday.

Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Wednesday for what the Vatican said were pre-planned checks.

It later revealed he had complained of breathing difficulties and was diagnosed with a respiratory infection, but not COVID, and required “a few days” of hospital treatment.

The Argentine pontiff has suffered a number of health issues throughout his life, including having part of one of his lungs removed at age 21.