Archive for the ‘Democracy’ Category

Trump Attacks London’s Mayor & Jeremy Corbyn Calls for Theresa May’s Ouster After Terror in London – Democracy Now!

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: British Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed a sweeping review of the nations counterterrorism strategy, declaring "enough is enough," following a terror attack in London Saturday that left seven dead and dozens injured. British police are holding 11 people. Attackers rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then stabbed people in nearby Borough Market. The three attackers were shot dead by the police. This is a witness to the attack.

WITNESS: It was fear on the streets of London, basically. Ive not experienced that before. Been there for 12-odd years, basically. Ive never seen that kind of fear, especially on a night out. And it was horrific to be involved in that kind of situation.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: This is the third terror attack in the U.K. in three months, following the car and knife attack on Westminster Bridge in March, in which five people were killed, and the Manchester bombing less than two weeks ago, in which 22 people were killed. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for all three of the attacks.

Britains national elections are scheduled this Thursday. The Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party temporarily suspended campaigning for the parliamentary elections out of respect for the victims, while the right-wing U.K. Independence Party said it would continue holding campaign events.

During an interview this morning, Prime Minister May chaired a meeting of the governments emergency committee Cobra with intelligence and security chiefs and said response to the attacks is ongoing.

PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY: JTACthats the independent Joint Terrorism Analysis Centrehave confirmed that the national threat level remains at severe. That means that a terrorist attack is highly likely. The police have reported that they have put additional security measures in place to protect the public and provide reassurance, and this includes additional security measures at a number of bridges in London. The police are working hard to establish the identity of all of those who were tragically killed or injured in the event on Saturday night, but it is now clear that, sadly, victims came from a number of nationalities. This was an attack on London and the United Kingdom, but it was also an attack on the free world.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Prime Minister Theresa May vowed Sunday to conduct a sweeping review of Britains counterterrorism strategy, saying "enough is enough." Londons Mayor Sadiq Khan also spoke out after the attack.

MAYOR SADIQ KHAN: There arent words to describe the grief and anger that our city will be feeling today. Im appalled and furious that these cowardly terrorists would deliberately target innocent Londoners and bystanders enjoying their Saturday night. There can be no justification for the acts of these terrorists. And Im quite clear: We will never let them win, nor will we allow them to cower our city or Londoners. ...

Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. No reason to be alarmed. One of the things the police and all of us need to do is make sure were as safe as we possibly can be. Im reassured that we are one of the safest global cities in the world, if not the safest global city in the world. But we always evolve and review ways to make sure that we remain as safe as we possibly can.

AMY GOODMAN: Sadiq Khan is Londons first Muslim mayor. Following his remarks, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to imply the mayor had played down the severity of the attack, tweeting, quote, "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'" Well, in fact, Khan had been speaking about the increased police presence in the city when he said there was no reason to be alarmed. A spokesman for Khan later dismissed Trumps comments, responding the mayor, quote, "has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trumps ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks urging Londoners not to be alarmed when they saw more policeincluding armed officerson the streets." In contrast to the president, other parts of the U.S. government tweeted more supportive comments. The acting U.S. ambassador to London, Lew Lukens, tweeted, "I commend the strong leadership of the @MayorofLondon as he leads the city forward after this heinous attack." All of this comes as British Prime Minister May has also called for increased web surveillance so the internet is no longer a, quote, "safe space for terrorists," unquote.

For more, we go to London, where were joined by Paul Mason, columnist for The Guardian. His most recent book, Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future.

Paul, welcome back to Democracy Now! Can you first respond to the attacks and then talk about Donald Trumps attack on Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of London, as he tries to calm and reassure Londoners?

PAUL MASON: Well, good morning, Amy.

Here in London, I think its worth saying we are implacable. We arewere standing firm. You know, ordinary British people fought those attackers back with chairs and bottles and whatever they could lay their hands on. Two unarmed British policemen fought them with their bare hands until, only eight minutes after the first emergency call, a squad of armed police went in and shot them dead, eight minutes after the incident started. So were pretty clear that we have an immediate response facility to this kind of terror attack, but the worrying thing is that they are increasingthree in the last 70 days, successful ones; five, its been revealed today, thwarted. So weve got an increased tempo of jihadi attacks on civilians here, ordinary people on the streets of Britain.

And just to situate things, Borough Market is a Saturday night venue for people to go and have fun. Its a bit like Venice Beach in L.A. Its like the district below Manhattan Bridge in New York in Brooklyn. Its that kind of place. Its full. Its teeming with people, doing what? Drinking alcohol, wearing as little as possible as spring turns into summer here, men and women having fun together, men and men, women and women. Its a very liberal place. Thats what those attackers were attacking. And the majority of British people, including the majority of Britains 3 million Muslim population, say no to this.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Paul Mason, youve pointed out that the number of attacks in the U.K., this was the third that occurred in as many months. What do you think accounts for the fact that ISIS is stepping up its campaign there?

PAUL MASON: Well, we dont know. We dont see all the intelligence. But my hunch is this. My hunch is that thethat many Islamist militants and radicals across the world have been inspired by the caliphate of ISISthat is, the semi-state they set up between Mosul and Raqqa in Syria. Now, the end of that state is soon to come. Thats becoming pretty clear. Now, I think, in other words, the United States, Europe, Britain, most Western democracies have to worry about what happens when the Islamic caliphate, that ISIS wanted to set up and did indeed set up, is finished off and wiped out. What happens? I thinkthats my hunch.

Now, the other problem we have here in Britain, and its a real issueI dont think its going to be solved by anyby blanket travel bans. The real issue is that we have 23,000 people on a list held by our security services who are at risk of becoming dangerous terrorists. Thats a very sobering number. Three thousand are on a watchlist that are being more or less continually under surveillance. And whats worrying is that the last three successful attacks involved people who were known to our intelligence services but considered not at risk of becoming violent. And we have to ask serious questions about how to deal with that, blame-free questions, because you have to learn from the experience.

But the political blame, especially this morning in Britain, is being laid at the door of the government, because the government cut 20,000 people from the police. Thats about a sixth of the number. They cut 1,300 armed officersagain, a largeits a big chunk of the armed contingent of the U.K. police. They cut them while doing what? Going to Libya, destabilizing Libya, pulling out of Libya, bombing Syria, taking part in numerous wars in the Middle East. The question is not the simply "Well, you know, if you attack a Middle Eastern country, expect terror." Thats facile and simplistic. The question is: If youre going to take part in globalin a global intervention into countries like Libya, where you create chaos, what happens then? Do youdo you need a better and more well-resourced police force to deal with the potential threat that then comes to you?

We dont know yet who did the onethe attack on London Bridge. It is known who they are, but the names are not released. So we dont know what their national background is. But the guy who did the bombing of the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester was a British Libyan, and it turns out his father was one of the fighters that the British had been allowing to travel freely between Britain and Libya because they were anti-Gaddafi.

So you have to join up the anti-terror aspect of policing and intelligence with the foreign policy. And this is what, many people are now concluding, our government just didnt do. They cut the police force. They dabbled in Middle Eastern politics. And itsunfortunately, were now paying the price of having a very much reduced capability in terms of what? Community policing. We want our cops to be out there walking around the streets where people live, picking up intelligence. Its come out this morning, for example, that one of the guys we think did Saturday nights knife attack had been kicked out of a mosque by that mosque, so the community had done its job. People had reported him to the anti-terror hotline. And then nothings happened.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, you know, this is all coming just before the national elections in Britain on Thursday. Prime Minister Mays opponent in the election, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, raised just this issue youre talking about, criticizing her role in the ensuring that police maintain public safety. He had previously questioned the wisdom of a shoot-to-kill policy but said on Sunday the police should use whatever force is necessary to save lives.

JEREMY CORBYN: We are ready to consider whatever proposals may be brought forward by the police and security services more effectively to deal with the terrorist threat. If Labour is elected, I will commission a report from the security services on Friday on the changing nature of the terrorist threat. Our priority must be public safety. And I will take whatever action is necessary and effective to protect the security of our people and our country. That includes full authority for the police to use whatever force is necessary to protect and save life, as they did last night, as they did in Westminster in March.

AMY GOODMAN: During his speech on Sunday, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn also made a scathing reference to President Trump.

JEREMY CORBYN: As London Mayor Sadiq Khan recognized, but which the current occupant of the White House has neither the grace nor the sense to grasp today, whether we are Muslim or Christian, black or white, male or female, gay or straight, we are united by our values, by a determination for a better world and that we can build a better society.

AMY GOODMAN: And so, that brings us back to, Paul Mason, Donald Trumps tweet against the first Muslim mayor of London and if you think even that weights in for the reason why he attacked Sadiq Khan.

PAUL MASON: Theres not a single person on the right or left of politics who sympathizes with what Trump is doing. The British prime minister, Theresa May, has eventually been forced, this morning, to distance herself and criticize Trump, but she did it very reluctantly. Others are just furious with it, because it seems like Trump has a thing about Sadiq Khan. It seems like the fact that one of the biggest, you know, liberal global cities on Earth has a Muslim mayor seems to annoy Trump every time he thinks about it. But this is beyond a joke, because, you know, we are allies in the war onin what is sensible about the war on terror, in finding out the terrorists, sharing intelligence and trying to target them and prevent their activities. Were supposed to be allies. And for Trump to carry on this knee-jerk political attack on a guy he clearly just doesnt like because the guy is a Muslim, lets be honest, is justits not helping. Its not helping.

Now, what else is not helping? Today, you reported earlier in your bulletin, weve got this huge diplomatic war breaking out in the Gulf, the very place both our countries have been obsessing about for 20 years. Weve got Saudi Arabia attacking Qatar, closing its airspace, disrupting the economy of the region. Why? Because Saudi accuses Qatar, this Gulf monarchy, of beingsupporting ISIS. The truth is, Saudi Arabia has been pumping out money and resources for extreme Islamism for decades. And so hasto be honest, Qatar has done its bit, as well, supporting the al-Qaeda groups in Syria, and so has Saudi Arabia. But why has this happened now? Because Trump visited Saudi Arabia. Trump gave Saudi Arabia some kind of green light to be much tougher rhetorically on Iran. And what is Saudi saying about Qatar this morning? Well, that Qatar is too soft on Iran. This, again, is Donald Trump meddling in issues and matters he just does not understand.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, I want to go back to Corbyns speech on Sunday, because he also referred to Saudi Arabia, calling for, quote, "some difficult conversations" on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states who he said were fueling extremist ideologies. He also accused the U.K. government, the May government, of, quote, "suppressing a report into the foreign funding of extremist groups."

JEREMY CORBYN: We do need to have some difficult conversations, starting with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states who have funded and fueled extremist ideology. Its no good, Theresa May suppressing a report into the foreign funding of extremist groups. We have to get serious about cutting off their funding to these terror networks, including ISIS here and in the Middle East.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So thats Jeremy Corbyn speaking, Labour leader, speaking Sunday night. Now, the elections are just in a matter of days, on Thursday. So, can you talk about what impact you think this attack will have, if any, on the election? And also, explain what this report is that Corbyn says the May government is suppressing.

PAUL MASON: Yeah. Well, were all trying not to politicize it. There are lessons to be learned from this attack that are just the technological and operational lessons of how you prevent and deter terrorism. But the fact is that Theresa May has visited Saudi Arabia, has sold arms to Saudi Arabia. And the report thats been suppressed is a report commissioned by her predecessor, David Cameron, the Conservative prime minister. We are told that it implicates Saudi Arabia in the funding of terrorism. And it is being buried and suppressed, which we think is a bad idea.

Now, your viewers must know that, by Friday, Corbyn could be prime minister. Its unlikely, because the Conservatives started this election with massive advantage. We have an even more biased press than you in the United States against the left and the Labour Party. But things are changing quite rapidly. And what I can tell your viewers is that if Corbyn is able to form a government on Friday, then the whole game is up for Western backing of these Wahhabi extreme dictators and head removers in Saudi Arabia, because Britainyeah, sure, we are a country thats equally implicated, in the long term, in backing that regime and other unjust regimes in the Middle East. And if Corbyn gets into 10 Downing Street, he will stop that as ayou know, day one, hour one, second one. And, of course, that will cause a big problem for Trump. But I think it is time we, in the West, had a long look at what is happening. Sure, Iran, Saudi Arabias traditional enemy, is equally a sponsor of terror. It is equally repressive. But we need to be trying to export, as it were, values and restraint and multilateralism into that Gulf region, not, as we in the United Kingdom are doing currently, arming the Saudis so they can bomb Yemen, bomb hospitals, bomb people into starvation.

So Corbyn represents a real change. And if any of your viewers feel like it, have British friends, please encourage them to have no hesitation in changing this government, because we want to do what you need to do. We need to get rid of the kind of dinosaurs of kind of the 20th century view of how one intervenes in the Middle East and, of course, the 20th century view of Islamophobia, which Im afraid TrumpsTrumps comment in that tweet about Sadiq Khan speak volumes subtextually about the Islamophobic nature of Trumps administration.

AMY GOODMAN: May said, in her speech about cracking down, that the internet has provided a safe haven for terrorists and that big companies that provide internet-based services have been complicit. What do you see coming out of this, Paul?

PAUL MASON: I think, before we say anything else, we have to say that the analysis is correct. You know, weve got big companies claiming that they dont have any interest in the content that they create. If a newspaper carried an advertisement for al-Qaeda or ISIS, that newspaper should be shut down. So, now, the internet, it is said, is ungovernable. That is also not true. It is governable in America, where most of those internet companies are based. I dont want to see the balkanization of the internet. I dont want to see increased surveillance. I dont want to see censorship. And, of course, in America, unlike here, you have your First Amendment rights. But what I think is likely, and Mays commentsI think May will be one of the last people to do this. People Ive been speaking to in the past couple of weeks are more and more confident that sooner or later in the United States those companies will be faced with a class-action lawsuit which accuses them of facilitating the distribution of terrorist propaganda. Now, they need to wake up and think about how to regulate what is done there more clearly.

And I would also say, in the United States, look, your First Amendment rights are very, very important, precious to you. So is your right to carry arms. Here in the United Kingdom, the only reason were not talking about maybe tens or hundreds dead is because those three guys could not put their finger on a 9mm pistol, let alone an assault rifle. They had to use knives, because they cant get guns. And just bear that lesson in mind, when we think about what bothyou know, the constitutional freedoms we all hold dear come at a price.

And how this relates to the internet, of course, is that ifI dont want to see a big crackdown on freedom of expression and freedom of speech, but we have to work out how we stop people being radicalized online. See, the community those guys came from, it is known, is a place in east London about two or three miles from here called Barking. And that community knew them. That community reported them to the police. But the other community they must have been part of was an online network where people are being recruited. Now, I think we do, as a civil society, need to ask ourselves what powers we give to the state in order to find those networks. I dont think breaking encryption or banning encryption works, but we need targeted surveillance. And I think, at that level, we do need web companies to start collaborating and cooperating with democratic states, because, otherwise, you justyou create a safe space online where these guys are getting radicalized and getting their orders.

AMY GOODMAN: Paul Mason, we want to thank you very much for being with us. Of course, well continue to cover this issue and many others.

PAUL MASON: Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: Paul Mason, columnist for The Guardian, filmmaker, based in London. His most recent book, Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future. When we come back, President Trump has raised the Muslim ban as a response to what happened in London, so well discuss it. Stay with us.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: "Liar Liar" by Captain SKA. The song is a protest against British Prime Minister Theresa May. It rose to number four on the U.K. Singles Chart last week, even as the BBC refused to broadcast the song and made it unavailable for streaming on the BBC website. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. Im Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.

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Trump Attacks London's Mayor & Jeremy Corbyn Calls for Theresa May's Ouster After Terror in London - Democracy Now!

Democracy | Definition of Democracy by Merriam-Webster

Communism is one of our top all-time lookups, and user comments suggest thats because it is often used in opaque ways. In some sources, communism is equated with socialism; in others, it is contrasted with democracy and capitalism. Part of this confusion stems from the fact that the word communism has been applied to varying political systems over time. When it was first used in English prose, communism referred to an economic and political theory that advocated the abolition of private property and the common sharing of all resources among a group of people, and it was often used interchangeably with the word socialism by 19th-century writers. The differences between communism and socialism are still debated, but generally English speakers used communism to refer to the political and economic ideologies that find their origin in Karl Marxs theory of revolutionary socialism, which advocates a proletariat overthrow of capitalist structures within a society, societal and communal ownership and governance of the means of production, and the eventual establishment of a classless society. The most well-known expression of Marxs theories is the 20th-century Bolshevism of the U.S.S.R., in which the state, through a single authoritarian party, controls a societys economy and social activities with the goal of realizing Marxs theories.

Communism is often contrasted with capitalism and democracy, though these can be false equivalencies depending on the usage. Capitalism refers to an economic theory in which a societys means of production are held by private individuals or organizations, not the government, and where prices, distribution of goods, and products are determined by a free market. It can be contrasted with the economic theories of communism, though the word communism is used of both political and economic theories. Democracy refers to a system of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised through a system of direct or indirect representation which is decided through periodic free elections. Democracy is contrasted with communism primarily because the 20th-century communism of the U.S.S.R. was characterized by an authoritarian government, whereas the democracy of the 20th-century U.S. was characterized by a representative government.

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Democracy Dies In DarknessDone In By Ignorance And Apathy – HuffPost

We depend on the free press to shed light on deeds done in darkness, but diligent reporting will not in itself preserve the health of our democracy. If a democratic system is to endure, its citizens must hold their elected representatives accountable every day, not just on Election Day.

Obviously, citizens are powerless to affect their government if they dont know how it works. Yet studies routinely tell us that large numbers of voters do not know which elected officials are responsible for the issues they care about, and relatively few Americans understand the most basic process of how a bill becomes a law.

A recent headline proclaimed In major victory for Republicans, House passes Obamacare repeal. True, Republicans did publicly celebrate victory that day in the Rose Garden. Obamacare is dead, its essentially dead, President Trump said.

Unfortunately, I suspect that far too many of my fellow citizens read the headlines, watched the G.O.P. euphoria on television or online, and concluded that Obamacare was now dead. Even those who had no idea what was in the hastily written bill could easily assume thatwhatever it wasTrumpcare was now the law of the land.

Now were relying on journalists to provide us with information about exactly what is in the healthcare bill. Sorting out the facts of the matter is crucial, since Republicans say one thing and Democrats say another, but the facts are not enough. If our democracy is to survive and thrive, every American must understand that Obamacare is certainly not dead, and Trumpcare is not yet the law of the land. Americans must know how a bill becomes a law and how we can affect the outcome during the process. The alternative is apathy, even despair.

In regard to the healthcare bill, if ordinary citizens are to engage in the democratic process, we need to know the basics: The bill now moves to the Senate, where it needs a simple majority to pass. If the Senate does not vote on the bill in its current form, it may die, or the Senate can write its own bill and vote on it. If the Senate bill passes, the House must vote to either pass that bill as is, or go to a bipartisan conference committee to work out the differences. If the conference committee can reach an agreement, the compromise bill must be passed in both the House and Senate and signed by President Trump in order to become law. We can contact our Senators via the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Why not add a short article sidebar with that very basic information whenever you report on a significant bill passed by the House? What about a whole range of bite-size civics lessons connected to articles? Human beings learn best in context, with repetition, and when we have a vested interest in the topic. USA Today and other media can strengthen our democracy by baking some civics education into daily reporting.

Politically ignorant citizens care a lot about what government does to hurt or help them, but apathy creeps in when we feel powerless. Why care about politics when its a depressing waste of time? We may be ignorant, but were not stupid.

The press can dramatically change our civic culture by showing us how to demand the best from our leaders. You empower us when you publish guest opinion pieces and letters to the editor. You give us hope when you cover constituents who express their concerns, because then powerful politicians cant afford to ignore their constituents. You strengthen us when you tell the success stories of ordinary people who work together to hold their elected representatives accountable. You motivate us when you report on a first-time candidate who runs for office and succeeds against all odds.

Civic-minded journalism has the potential to give us hope so we can cure our democracy, which is currently in critical condition.

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Thousands join Hong Kong vigil for Tiananmen Square anniversary – Reuters

By J.R. Wu and Katy Wong | TAIPEI/HONG KONG

TAIPEI/HONG KONG Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hong Kong on Sunday for a candlelight vigil to mark the 28th anniversary of China's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in and around Beijing's Tianamen Square, while Taiwan urged China to make a transition to full democracy.

Nearly three decades after Beijing sent tanks and troops to quell the 1989 student-led protests, Chinese authorities ban any public commemoration of the event on the mainland and have yet to release an official death toll.

Estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand killed.

Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is the only place on Chinese soil where a large-scale commemoration takes place, symbolizing the financial hub's relative freedoms compared with the mainland.

This year's events are especially politically charged, coming just a month before an expected visit of President Xi Jinping to mark 20 years since Hong Kong was handed back to China.

"When Xi Jinping comes, hell know the people of Hong Kong have not forgotten," Lee Cheuk-yan, an organizer of the annual candlelight vigil, said.

On a somber night, many held aloft flickering flames, sang songs and listened to speeches calling on Beijing to fully atone for the crackdown.

Organizers of the vigil, held in Hong Kong's Victoria Park, said the event drew some 110,000 people, enough to fill more than six football pitches. Hong Kong police estimated the crowd at 18,000.

"The students who died (in 1989) still haven't got what they deserve. They fought for their future, in the same way we're fighting for our future," Yanny Chan, a 17-year-old high school student at the vigil, said.

Video clips were shown of the relatives of four men who were arrested last year and charged earlier this year for subversion by Chinese authorities for manufacturing and selling bottles of Chinese liquor, or "baijiu", with specially designed labels commemorating June 4.

In Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen marked the anniversary with an offer to help China to make the transition to democracy.

Tsai said that the biggest gap between Taiwan and China was democracy and freedom, needling Beijing at a time when relations between China and the self-ruled island are at a low point.

"For democracy: some are early, others are late, but we all get there in the end," Tsai said, writing in Chinese on her Facebook page and tweeting some of her comments in English on Twitter.

"Borrowing on Taiwan's experience, I believe that China can shorten the pain of democratic reform."

Beijing distrusts Tsai and her ruling Democratic Progressive Party because it traditionally advocates independence for Taiwan. Beijing says the island is part of China and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China had long ago reached a conclusion about June 4.

"I hope you can pay more attention to the positive changes happening in all levels of Chinese society," she said without elaborating.

In Beijing, security was tight as usual at Tiananmen Square, with long lines at bag and identity checks. The square itself was peaceful, thronged with tourists taking photos.

One elderly resident of a nearby neighborhood, out for stroll at the edge of the square, said he remembered the events of 28 years ago clearly.

"The soldiers were just babies, 18, 19 years old. They didn't know what they were doing," he told Reuters, asking to be identified only by his family name, Sun.

While some search terms on China's popular Twitter-like microblog Weibo appeared to be blocked on Sunday, some users were able to post cryptic messages.

"Never forget," wrote one, above a picture of mahjong tiles with the numbers 6 and 4 on them, for the month and day of the anniversary.

(Reporting by J.R. Wu; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Philip Wen in BEIJING; Venus Wu and James Pomfret in HONG KONG; Editing by Tony Munroe, Kim Coghill and Jane Merriman)

SYDNEY Senior U.S officials said on Monday the United States, under President Donald Trump, was committed to the region, reassuring nervous global partners even as it received criticism for pulling out of major a climate pact.

SINGAPORE As many in Asia question the durability of the United States' long-standing security role in the region, one veteran military commander is reassuring old allies and newer friends that nothing has changed.

MARAWI CITY, Philippines Islamist militants holed up in a southern Philippines town stocked weapons and food in mosques, tunnels and basements to prepare for a long siege, officials said on Monday as the battle for control of Marawi City came to the end of its second week.

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Trump’s Incompetence Won’t Save Our Democracy – New York Times


New York Times
Trump's Incompetence Won't Save Our Democracy
New York Times
President Donald Trump at a rally in April. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times. Can an autocrat be ridiculous? Can a democracy be destroyed by someone who has only the barest idea of what the word democracy means? Can pure incompetence plunge ...

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Trump's Incompetence Won't Save Our Democracy - New York Times