03/02/2025

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Democrats elect Ken Martin to reverse fortunes WASHINGTON: Looking to rebuild after the party’s election loss to Donald Trump in November, the Democratic National Committee on Saturday elected Ken Martin, the leader of the state party in Minnesota, as its new chair. Martin will be tasked with reversing the fortunes of a demoralised Democratic Party that not only lost control of the White House last November but failed to win either chamber of Congress. Since then, the party has struggled to respond to Republican Trump’s barrage of executive orders, many of which reversed former Democratic president Joe Biden’s policies. Martin has called for restoring and augmenting the party’s national infrastructure to contest races across the country. He beat Wisconsin Democratic Chair Ben Wikler on the first ballot. “Today’s elections mark a new chapter in DNC leadership, and Donald Trump and his billionaire allies are put on notice: we will hold them accountable for ripping off working families, and we will beat them at the ballot box,” Martin said in a statement. – Reuters tomorrow,” Volodin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said in a post on Telegram. “India is a strategic partner. We have long standing relations of trust and mutually beneficial cooperation with it. It is necessary to develop contacts in all areas.” – Reuters GREECE SHUTS SCHOOLS ON ISLE AFTER TREMORS ATHENS: Greek authorities have advised people on the Aegean island of Santorini to shut schools today, avoid two small ports and refrain from gathering in indoor spaces after increased seismic activity in the area over recent days. A series of tremors up to a 4.3 magnitude were registered on Friday and Saturday in the area between the volcanic island of Santorini and Amorgos, the Civil Protection Ministry said on Saturday. One of the largest eruptions in history, around 1600 BC, formed Santorini. The last eruption in the area occurred in 1950. – Reuters PUTIN ALLY IN INDIA FOR IMPORTANT TALKS MOSCOW: Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said yesterday that he was leaving for India for a series of ‘important’ talks. “We will be in New Delhi by nightfall, important meetings and negotiations are planned

‘All quiet at Canada border, situation under control’

BR I E F S

o No illegal migration crisis, say Mounties

unveiled Hawk helicopters, repainted in police colours from their former US Army camouflage, that will help with “rapid intervention.” An RCMP spokesman insisted there was no migration “crisis” and that “the situation is entirely under control”. Canadian authorities say the number of crossings from their side of the line to the United States has dropped 90% since last summer. US Customs and Border Protection stats show that 19kg of fentanyl was seized last year entering the country from Canada, compared to 9,598kg from Mexico. Rouleau said that while the concern of local people has been palpable since Trump’s reelection, his job has remained the same. “It’s the status quo,” he said. Jody Stone, mayor of Stanstead, a small Canadian town in Rouleau’s patch, said “the border is quiet”. – AFP two Black

long. It is largely open without significant fencing and crisscrossed by thousands of miles of dense forests and farmland, and only a few rural roads. Rouleau patrols a 300km stretch of the border in the province of Quebec. Ten officers are on duty around the clock, either in vehicles to detect suspicious footprints in winter, or by monitoring feeds from surveillance cameras. They also field reports of suspicious activity from the local community. Since Trump started to rail against Ottawa’s handling of border security, Canada has been at pains to insist that its frontier is nothing like the US border with Mexico. Nonetheless Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quickly rolled out a US$894 million (RM4 billion) border security plan. To much fanfare, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

They are sometimes only lightly dressed and wearing “simple sneakers in 20cm of snow”, Rouleau said of the migrants, who sometimes hide under trees to avoid detection. Canadian officers with bullhorns and powerful searchlights give chase, seeking to stop them from crossing the border, according to Rouleau. Since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House, the border has been thrust into the spotlight. On Saturday he made good on his threats to impose tariffs on Canada over the flow of migrants, as well as the smuggling of lethal drugs. Canadian exports to the United States will now face a 25% tariff, although energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% levy. The meandering border between the neighbours is the longest in the world at 8,891km

STANSTEAD: Fresh footprints cut across the thick blanket of snow outside a small white house near the line dividing Canada and the United States. For Canadian border officer Keven Rouleau, it’s a clear sign of illegal migration. “They regularly run across the border,” he said. In 2024, these southbound migrants numbered 21,000 – a drop in the ocean compared to the 1.5 million intercepted on the US border with Mexico. Migrants who cross from Canada into the United States in the winter face dangerous conditions, with deep snow and high winds, and are often forced to abandon their vehicles to proceed on foot.

CROWD CONTROL ... Security personnel direct Hindu devotees heading to take a dip at the sacred confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj, India. – AFPPIC

Mexico accuses US of ‘slander’ over cartel alliance claim MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum angrily rejected an accusation by US President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday that her government has an alliance with drug cartels. measures in defence of Mexico’s interests”. She hit back at Washington’s accusation that her government has an “intolerable alliance” with drug trafficking groups. detaining over 10,0000 people tied to drug trafficking. “If there is such an alliance anywhere, it is in the US gun shops that sell high-powered weapons to these criminal groups,” she said. Although US politicians and analysts have previously alleged collaboration with cartels, it is the first time that a formal accusation has been made, retired Mexican diplomat Agustin Gutierrez Canet said.

in its independent history,” said Mexico’s ruling party congressional leader Ricardo Monreal. The United States bought more than 80% of Mexico’s exports last year, according to official figures. An across-the-board tariff of 25% could lead to a drop in Mexican exports of 12%, according to Gabriela Siller, head of economic analysis for financial group Banco BASE. “By the end of 2024, Mexico was on the verge of a recession. If this tariff lasts for several months, the economy will fall into a severe recession.” – AFP

“It’s really unprecedented that the US government has formally linked the Mexican government to drug trafficking in an official document. “Trump uses this rhetoric to pressure but it should never be taken lightly,” he said. The measures were “one of the heaviest attacks Mexico has received

“If the United States government and its agencies wanted to address the serious consumption of fentanyl in their country, they can combat the sale of narcotics on the streets of their main cities, which they don’t do, and the money laundering generated by this illegal activity that has done so much harm to their population.”

“We categorically reject the slander made by the White House against the Mexican government about alliances with criminal organisations,” she said. Sheinbaum touted her government’s record since she took office in October – seizing 20 million doses of fentanyl, in addition to

Tensions between the closely connected neighbours soared after the White House said Trump would slap 25% tariffs on Mexican as well as Canadian goods because of illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Sheinbaum said she had told her economy minister “to implement Plan B, which includes tariff and non-tariff