London — Britain’s BBC is “determined to fight” any legal action filed by US President Donald Trump, saying on Monday there was no basis for a defamation case over its editing of one of his speeches.
Trump said on Friday he would likely sue the BBC this week for up to $5bn after the broadcaster spliced together separate excerpts of one of his speeches, creating the impression he was inciting the January 6 2021 riot.
BBC chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to Trump to apologise for the edit, the BBC said on Thursday, but the broadcaster said it strongly disagreed there was a basis for a defamation claim. Reuters
Dutch court sends transgender asylum case for review
Amsterdam — A Dutch court has upheld the substance of a decision denying asylum to US transgender woman Veronica Clifford-Carlos, the court said in a statement on Monday.
The court acknowledged that conditions for transgender people in the US had worsened, but that the information provided by Clifford-Carlos did not show they are systematically denied protection or access to essential services.
She would also need to demonstrate that she personally faces a real risk of persecution, the judge said.
The court has decided to send the case back to the immigration authorities for review because of a procedural error that undermines the basis of the original rejection. Reuters
Poland probes rail sabotage linked to foreign spies
Warsaw — This weekend there was one confirmed act of sabotage on Polish railways and one incident highly likely to be sabotage, Polish interior minister Marcin Kierwiński said on Monday after an explosion damaged a Polish railway track on a route to Ukraine.
Polish special services minister Tomasz Siemoniak added during the same press conference that chances are very high the people who conducted the sabotage were acting on orders of foreign intelligence services, without naming any specific country. Reuters
DRC extends mineral trade ban for six months amid conflict
Kinshasa — The Democratic Republic of the Congo has extended for six months a ban on the trading of minerals from dozens of artisanal mining sites in conflict-hit North and South Kivu provinces, the mines ministry said.
The extension adds compliance pressure on global supply chains for tin, tantalum and tungsten, key inputs for the electronics, automotive and aerospace industries.
The ban, introduced in February, is being kept in place because of evidence that illegal supply from mines is financing armed groups in the east, according to an order dated November 3 and signed by mines minister Louis Watum Kabamba. Reuters
Tanzanian president appoints Khamis Omar as finance minister
Nairobi — Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Monday that she had appointed Khamis Mussa Omar as the finance minister in her new cabinet after last month’s election. Reuters
Philippines protest over corruption draws more than 600,000
Manila — More than 200,000 protesters turned out on Monday for the second day of an anti-graft rally in the Philippines, demanding accountability over accusations of corruption in flood-mitigation projects.
The controversy, which has hammered investor confidence, is blamed by some analysts as a factor behind the third quarter’s four-year low in economic growth as public spending slowed.
Many demonstrators set up tents in which to stay until Tuesday, the end of the protest, which has drawn more than 600,000 people since it began on Sunday. It was organised by Iglesia Ni Cristo, a church of 2-million members known for bloc voting. Reuters
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