New York, May 21 (IANS/DPA) The trial against former US President Donald Trump in New York in connection with hush money payments to an adult film star has seen a chaotic day in which the presiding judge cleared the jury and the press from the courtroom and admonished a witness.

Judge Juan Merchan became visibly angry during the questioning of defence witness Robert Costello because he appeared to question Merchan’s authority.

Costello, who Trump’s defence team brought to the stand to attack the credibility of key prosecution witness Michael Cohen, continued to answer several questions after Merchan had already accepted the prosecution’s objection on Monday.

The judge instructed Costello, a former federal prosecutor, that he was not allowed to continue answering after an objection was sustained. In the case of one objection, that was upheld, Costello then said “Jeesh” and rolled his eyes.

Merchan then ordered the jurors out of the courtroom and asked Trump’s witness, Costello, to maintain proper decorum in his courtroom.

When Costello continued to scowl at the judge, Merchan blurted out audibly angrily: “Are you staring me down?” He then had the courtroom cleared with the help of loud and cutting instructions from the court staff.

Court transcripts reveal that Merchan forbade comments on his decisions and threatened to have Costello removed from the stand if he did not change his behaviour.

Journalists and observers were allowed to re-enter the room after a few minutes, and the questioning continued.

Trump’s lawyers have said they do not plan to call any further witnesses after Costello. Closing arguments are expected on May 28.

The public prosecutor’s office in New York accuses Trump of wanting to improve his chances of success in the 2016 presidential election by paying $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

The payment itself was not illegal. However, Trump is said to have manipulated documents when reimbursing the amount to lawyer Michael Cohen in order to conceal the true reason for the transaction, making the payments illegal campaign financing.

Trump, who is campaigning to win re-election in November as the Republican Party candidate, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. If found guilty, he could face a prison sentence.

–IANS/DPA

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London, May 21 (IANS/DPA) A woman in her fifties has been mauled to death by her two registered XL bully dogs.

Armed police officers were among those who attended the woman’s home in Cornwall Close, Hornchurch, east London, at just after 1 pm (1200 GMT) on Monday.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and the two registered dogs were safely seized, having been contained inside a room.

London Ambulance Service sent crews, an incident response officer and a helicopter to the house.

From February 1, it became a criminal offence to own the XL bully breed in England and Wales without an exemption certificate.

Anyone who owns one of the dogs must have had the animal neutered, have it microchipped and keep it muzzled and on a lead in public, among other restrictions.

The UK government’s move to ban XL bullies followed a series of attacks on people.

–IANS/DPA

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Tokyo, May 21 (IANS) A 6.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday struck near the Ogasawara Islands in the Pacific Ocean, south of Tokyo, with no tsunami warnings issued, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

The temblor occurred at around 9:39 a.m. local time at a depth of around 50 km, measuring 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Hahajima Island, said the weather agency.

There was no threat of a tsunami, it added, Xinhua news agency reported.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage.

–IANS

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Washington, May 21 (IANS/DPA) US President Joe Biden has rejected accusations against the Israeli leadership that it is committing genocide in its fight against the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“Contrary to allegations against Israel made by the International Court of Justice, what’s happening is not genocide. We reject that,” Biden said on Monday in the Rose Garden of the White House at a Jewish American Heritage Month event.

On Monday, International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Joav Galant for alleged crimes against humanity.

The request for warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant relates to alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip beginning on October 8, a day after Hamas militants launched their unprecedented attack on Israel.

Among the allegations are “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare” and “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population,” a statement from Khan’s office said.

Arrest warrants were also requested for the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar, and other representatives of the militant organisation.

South Africa has repeatedly called on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to take action against Israel and accused the country of genocide.

In urgent rulings, the UN judges have obliged Israel to do everything possible to prevent genocide and to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

–IANS/DPA

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Kyiv, May 21 (IANS/DPA) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has again emphasised his country’s urgent need for air defence weapons.

In his daily video address on Monday evening, Zelensky said Ukraine urgently needs more air defence systems and Western fighter jets.

“Unfortunately, the free world lacks speed on these two issues,” he said, adding that, due to its air superiority, Russia is able to destroy Ukrainian cities and defence positions with glide bombs.

According to Zelensky, the Russians actively used destructive tactics on the front lines near Kharkiv and in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk in the direction of Chasiv Yar and Pokrovsk.

Zelensky had already requested the delivery of two additional Patriot air defence systems several times in recent days.

He said that this would provide better protection for Kharkiv, which has been repeatedly attacked from the air. The city in northeast Ukraine is one of the hardest hit by the war.

Also, the fighter jets mentioned by Zelensky were promised to Ukraine a year ago. However, according to official information, the F-16s have still not arrived.

According to experts, the generally long delivery times of weapons from the West are allowing Russia to prepare for the new weapons.

–IANS/DPA

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