International
The phase of initial allegations in the criminal trial of Trump in New York begins on Monday
The trial in New York against former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), accused of falsifying documents to buy the silence of a porn actress and thus protect her career at the White House in 2016, enters this Monday the phase of filing initial allegations.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Trump, 77, who seeks to return to the White House in the November elections, participated in a plan with his then lawyer Michael Cohen and others to influence the 2016 elections by suppressing negative information for his image.
This plan included an alleged payment of $130,000 to silence the porn actress Stormy Daniels and not air a Trump relationship with her at the time his wife Melania was pregnant.
On Monday of last week, the process began and Trump thus became the first former president of the United States to be subject to a criminal trial.
The jury selection process concluded last Friday after the six alternate members were appointed, who were chosen from a total of twenty-two candidates and thus join the twelve holders, seven men and five women, already selected.
Among the elected members is a woman of Spanish origin who passed the suitability filters applied by Judge Juan Merchán, in charge of the case, the prosecutor’s office and the defense lawyers of the former governor.
However, multiple candidates were discarded after assuring that they suffered from anxiety or “douts” at the prospect of having to be part of the jury.
On Friday, a hearing was also held in which prosecutors confirmed that, if Trump gets on the rune in this criminal trial, they will also ask him about his other legal battles, including two high-profile civil sentences for which he has been convicted in New York.
They also asked Judge Merchán for permission to interrogate the former president about alleged sexual attacks committed against other women, a matter on which the magistrate could rule on Monday.
Trump appeared on April 4, 2023 before the judge of the New York court in Manhattan, heard the notification of the charges against him and pleaded not guilty.
He is accused of 34 serious crimes related to his attempt to silence Daniels, who in 2016 sought to sell his story about the sexual relations he allegedly had with the former president a decade earlier.
Each of the crimes could result in Trump a prison sentence of up to 4 years.
The defense is expected to harshly attack the credibility of the Prosecutor’s Office’s Witnesses, in particular Michael Cohen, Trump’s then right-hand man, who made the payment to Daniels and pleaded guilty in 2018 of violating campaign funding and other federal laws.
Judge Merchán expressed his concern about the safety of the jury this week and said that he would prohibit journalists from revealing any information about the current and past work histories of the jury members, as well as exposing physical characteristics that make them identifiable.
The Manhattan case is the first to go to trial of the four criminal cases that Trump faces, it is also the sharpest personally and may be the only one to be held before the presidential elections next November.
In addition to this process in New York, Trump will also have to answer in the courts of Georgia and Washington DC for his alleged attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential elections that he lost against the current Democratic president, Joe Biden.
And in Florida, for the accusation of illegally stealing and keeping in his Mar-a-Lago mansion classified documents that he took from the White House after leaving power.
International
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed concerns over China’s growing military activity near Taiwan during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was a constructive and positive meeting,” Hegseth wrote on X. “I emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and raised U.S. concerns about China’s actions around Taiwan,” the self-governed island that Beijing claims and does not rule out invading.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. According to Trump, Taiwan was not discussed during their talks.
“The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to firmly defend its interests, ensuring it maintains the capability to do so in the region,” Hegseth added in his message.
Friday’s encounter followed a September 9 video call between Hegseth and Dong. Their previously planned meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was canceled due to Dong’s absence from the event.
Trump’s sit-down with Xi — their first since 2019 — resulted in some trade agreements but avoided addressing the issue of Taiwan, a long-standing source of tension between the world’s two largest powers.
Trump has taken a more ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s future compared with former President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated that Washington would support Taipei if China launched an invasion. The Republican president has also criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the U.S. semiconductor industry.
International
U.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
The United States may soon carry out airstrikes on military facilities inside Venezuela as part of an escalating offensive against Nicolás Maduro’s regime, according to reports Friday from the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to the Trump administration.
Airstrikes could take place “within days or even hours,” the Herald reported. The Journal noted that while the option is under serious consideration, President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision on authorizing strikes on Venezuelan soil.
Potential targets allegedly include military-controlled ports and airports used in drug trafficking operations, such as naval installations and airstrips, officials told the Journal.
The Herald also quoted a source saying that “Maduro’s time is running out”, suggesting that more than one Venezuelan general may be ready to detain and hand him over. However, officials declined to confirm whether the Venezuelan leader would be among the military targets.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to block the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, following nearly two months of airstrikes against vessels in the Pacific and the Caribbean. Those operations have destroyed 15 boats and left 61 people dead and three survivors since September 1.
“We are finally waging a war against the cartels — a war like they’ve never seen before — and we are going to win that battle. We are already winning at sea,” Trump told U.S. troops during a speech in Japan.
The reports on possible airstrikes come on the same day the United Nations accused the U.S. of violating international law with its maritime operations, saying those killed at sea may have been victims of extrajudicial executions.
International
Pope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
Pope Leo XIV announced on Friday that he will revive and update the Global Compact on Education, an initiative launched by the late Pope Francis aimed at deeply transforming global culture through education.
The announcement was made during an audience in St. Peter’s Square, held on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Educational World, which this week gathers more than 20,000 participants from 124 countries in Rome.
During his address, the pontiff — who is of U.S. origin and Peruvian nationality — emphasized the importance of restoring the value of educators and reinforcing the principles that support the pact.
“We must be careful: damaging the social and cultural role of educators means mortgaging our own future,” he warned before thousands in attendance. “A crisis in the transmission of knowledge leads to a crisis of hope.”
The Global Compact on Education, launched by Pope Francis, seeks an integral and long-term cultural transformation. It is structured around five pillars: dignity and human rights; fraternity and cooperation; technology and integral ecology; education for peace and citizenship; and culture and religions. To date, the initiative has been joined by over 553 schools and nearly 410,000 students, according to Catholic Schools data.
Pope Leo XIV also expressed concern over the widespread inner fragility affecting both students and teachers — many of whom feel overwhelmed by bureaucratic burdens.
He additionally addressed the role of artificial intelligence in education, warning that it may worsen emotional isolation among learners: “It can further isolate students who are already isolated, giving them the illusion that they do not need others — or worse, the feeling that they are unworthy of them,” he said.
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
Pope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
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