Foreign News
Trump loses defamation liability appeal in E. Jean Carroll case verdict
United States President-elect Donald Trump has lost an appeal to a jury’s 2023 finding that he was liable for sexual abuse and defamation related to an alleged attack on writer E Jean Carroll in the 1990s.
On Monday, a federal appeals court upheld the 2023 verdict in the civil case, in which Trump was not found to have committed rape, but was ordered to pay Carroll $2.02m for sexual assault and $2.98m for defamation.
Carroll had accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan in either 1995 or 1996. She detailed the alleged attack in a 2019 article, prompting a denial from then-President Trump via the White House spokesperson.
Carroll initially filed a defamation lawsuit in 2019 and a second, separate lawsuit alleging defamation and rape in November 2022. The second suit came after Trump called the lawsuits as “complete con job” and claimed he had “no idea” who Carroll was. He further derided the legal action as a “hoax”.
Monday’s decision relates to the second lawsuit that Carroll filed. In January of this year, Trump was separately ordered to pay $83.3m for the 2019 defemation case. Trump is also appealing that verdict.
Because both cases are civil, and not criminal, the jury technically found Trump “liable”, but not guilty of the claims.
The cases have continued despite Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election. He is set to begin his second four-year White House term on January 20, after previously serving as president from 2017 to 2021.
Trump was convicted earlier this year in a separate criminal trial in New York for falsifying business records in an attempt to cover up hush money payments to an adult film star. Following his victory, sentencing in that case was put on hold.
Trump’s win helped him to avoid two other federal criminal cases against him, including one connected to hiding and hoarding classified White House documents and another for his alleged role in seeking to overturn the 2020 election results. Under longstanding US Department of Justice policy, a sitting president cannot be prosecuted.
A fourth criminal case in Georgia, related to alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election results in the state, has also been thrown into uncertainty following Trump’s election win.
However, Trump is not protected from all legal actions.
In 1997, in a case involving former President Bill Clinton, the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that sitting presidents have no immunity from civil litigation in federal court over actions predating and unrelated to their official duties as president.
[Aljazeera]
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake has hit Hollywood as some of the globe’s top stars began celebrating after the Oscars.
The earthquake’s epicentre was measured in North Hollywood, just miles from where the awards ceremony was hosted at the Dolby Theatre.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The quake struck shortly after 22:00 local time as celebrities were gathering at the popular Vanity Fair afterparty.
Those in the area reported a sudden jolt of energy, with some screaming and seeing high-rise buildings wobbling like jelly.
The US Geological Survey (USGS), which tracks such events, said the earthquake was felt miles across Los Angeles.
There was no tsunami alert issued as a result of the relatively minor earthquake.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said that the earthquake was felt across downtown Los Angeles but the agency was not entering into “Earthquake Mode” over the incident.
For stronger earthquakes, first responders and officials do assessments of the area to ensure there is no structural damage to buildings and infrastructure.
The quake is among about 40 that have hit Southern California since the start of March – though nearly all of these were magnitude 1 earthquakes that aren’t typically felt by residents, according to USGS data reviewed by the BBC.
Last month, there was a magnitude 3.7 earthquake that struck the nearby Malibu area. In December, a strong magnitude 7 earthquake jolted northern California and caused a short tsunami alert for those in northern California and southern Oregon.
BBC correspondents covering the Academy Awards in the heart of Hollywood reported fierce shaking and even some screams as the sudden jolt scared visitors. To some, it sounded like a bomb went off with the rumble.
One resident called it the biggest earthquake she’d felt and was surprised it was only a magnitude 3.9. “I felt that in my bones,” she remarked.
The BBC’s Emma Vardy said she was retouching her makeup for some final Oscars filming when the quake struck. Her diamond earrings wobbled in the mirror and she realized the high-rise she was in was shaking.
“I have felt a lot of quakes over the past two years in Los Angeles but currently, I am on the 15th floor of our media centre in Hollywood,” she remarked. “Feeling a building of that size move around like jelly is quite an experience.”
[BBC]
On Sunday [02] rescuers recovered the eighth and final body from the site of an avalanche in a remote area of northern India, the army has said, marking the end of a marathon operation in subzero temperatures.
More than 50 workers were submerged under snow and debris after the avalanche hit a construction camp on Friday near Mana village on the border with Tibet in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
Authorities had revised down the number of workers on site at the time of the avalanche from 55 to 54 after one worker, previously believed to be buried, was found to have safely made his way home before the avalanche hit.
By Saturday, rescuers had managed to pull out 50 people, but four later succumbed to their injuries, according to an Indian army statement.
By Sunday, rescue teams had recovered the remaining bodies, the army said, adding that they had used a drone-based detection system and a rescue dog to assist in its search operations.
Many of those trapped were migrant labourers working on a highway expansion project covering a 50km (31-mile) stretch from Mana, the last Indian village before the China border, to Mana Pass.
[Aljazeera]
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a four-point plan to work with Ukraine to end the war and defend the country from Russia.
The UK, France and other countries will step up their efforts in a “coalition of the willing” and seek to involve the US in their support for Ukraine, he said.
“We are at a crossroads in history today,” Starmer said after a summit of 18 leaders – mostly from Europe and including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said Ukraine felt “strong support” and the summit showed “European unity at an extremely high level not seen for a long time”.
It comes two days after a fiery exchange between the Ukrainian leader and US President Donald Trump in the White House.
“We are all working together in Europe in order to find a basis for cooperation with America for a true peace and guaranteed security,” Zelensky said after the summit.
Speaking at a news conference shortly after the meeting of leaders, Starmer said four points had been agreed:
- to keep military aid flowing into Ukraine, and to keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia
- that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and security and Ukraine must be present at any peace talks
- in the event of a peace deal, to boost Ukraine’s defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion
- to develop a “coalition of the willing” to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee peace afterwards
Sir Keir also announced an additional $2bn of UK export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles. This comes on top of a loan to provide more military aid to Ukraine backed by profits from frozen Russian assets.
“We have to learn from the mistakes of the past, we cannot accept a weak deal which Russia can breach with ease, instead any deal must be backed by strength,” he said.
The prime minister did not state which countries had agreed to join this coalition of the willing, but said that those who had committed would intensify planning with real urgency.
The UK, he said, would back its commitment with “boots on the ground, and planes in the air”.
“Europe must do the heavy lifting,” he said, before adding that the agreement would need US backing and had to include Russia, but that Moscow could not be allowed to dictate terms.
“Let me be clear, we agree with Trump on the urgent need for a durable peace. Now we need to deliver together,” Sir Keir said.
When asked if the US under Trump was an unreliable ally, he said: “Nobody wanted to see what happened last Friday, but I do not accept that the US is an unreliable ally.”
Countries at the summit included France, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, Norway, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Finland, Italy, Spain and Canada.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that there was now an urgent need to “re-arm Europe”.
These sentiments were echoed by Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, who said the meeting had seen European countries “stepping up” to make sure Ukraine has what it needs to “stay in the fight as long as it has to continue”.
After the summit, Zelensky went to Sandringham where he met King Charles III. He later spoke to reporters at a final press briefing where he said he was ready to sign a deal on minerals with the US.
Ukraine was expected to sign the deal – which would grant the US access to Ukraine’s rare mineral reserves – during Zelensky’s visit to Washington, but the Ukrainian delegation ultimately left early after a heated confrontation with Trump in the Oval Office.
Earlier on Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned a deal on minerals between the US and Ukraine could not be signed “without a peace deal” with Russia.
But when asked by the BBC about the future of the deal following the summit, Zelensky said it was ready to be signed.
“The agreement that’s on the table will be signed if the parties are ready,” he said.
[BBC]
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