Singapore’s Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong is recovering from surgery after doctors discovered a severely blocked artery

A summit in Brazil sees the countries that share the Amazon basin agree only to a new alliance on the issue.

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus criticised Texas governor Greg Abbott for deploying “cruel and inhumane” tactics like razor-tipped buoys as part of his controversial effort to lock down the US-Mexico border. “Today was eye-opening,” Rep Sylvia Garcia of Texas wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing a video of orange buoys used in the Rio Grande which are separated with blade saw-like barbed disks. “Seeing the barbaric, inhumane, and ungodly practices in my home state of Texas. This is beyond politics and crosses a line into human rights violations.” “Everyone needs to see what I saw in Eagle Pass today,” said Texas congressman Joaquin Castro in his own dispatch from the border. “Clothing stuck on razor wire where families got trapped. Chainsaw devices in the middle of buoys. Land seized from US citizens. Operation Lone Star is barbaric — and Governor Abbott is making border communities collateral damage.” The Texas governor has insisted that the buoys and razor wire he’s installed across the border between the state and Mexico will save lives by deterring migration. However, as The Independent has reported, advocates and Texas troopers are warning the tools are already putting people at risk. In July, a Texas state border medic named Nicholas Wingate went public with allegations that the border barriers were already causing severe injuries, and that he and his fellow troopers were ordered, as part of the governor’s Operation Lone Star, to push exhausted migrants back into the river and refuse to offer them water. (The state denies this order existed.) “I believe we have stepped over a line into the inhumane,” he told his superiors, in messages shared with media outlets. Last week, Mexican officials informed the state of Texas that two bodies were found in the Rio Grande: one ensnared in Governor Greg Abbott’s controversial floating border wall, and another in a nearby area. Critics allege the border build-up cause these deaths, though the cause of death for the two people found hasn’t been determined yet. Despite years of border security installations and billions invested across multiple state and federal administrations, migration continues to increase, hitting a record in December. “It’s been proven time after time that these so-called prevention through deterrence strategies don’t work,” Fernando García of the Border Network for Human Rights told The Independent last month. “They have not stopped immigration flows, but what they have done is they have put immigrants at risk.” “It’s very likely that with [the floating buoy wall] they are looking for more remote and isolated places to come across so that whenever they are in danger by heat exhaustion, by drowning, they will not have anybody to help them,” he added, saying he worries it could be a record year for migrant deaths in the Rio Grande. Members of Congress and human rights activists aren’t the only ones taking issue with the border barriers. Last month, a local kayak guide in Eagle Pass named Jessie Fuentes sued the state, arguing it doesn’t have authority to erect a floating border barrier in the Rio Grande. “You’ve taken a beautiful waterway and you’ve converted it into a war zone,” he toldThe Independent. The Department of Justice has also sued the state, arguing it violated federal waterways laws. Texas has insisted it has legal authority to carry out such measures, some of which it argues are allowed under a controversial reading of the US Constitution granting states war powers when theyr’e under invasion. Legal experts told The Independent this is a mistaken reading of the clause, which was intended to cover invasion by military forces, not regular immigration by civilians. “The theory that Abbott is relying on here is that the influx of undocumented individuals is an actual invasion. That also doesn’t pass muster,” Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center’s Liberty & National Security Program, told The Independent. Read More How governor Greg Abbott is using an obscure ‘invasion’ legal theory for a border power grab in Texas Republicans and Democrats agree: They want to kill migrants at the US-Mexico border Buoys, razor wire, and a Trump-y wall: How Greg Abbott turned the Rio Grande into an immigration ‘war zone’ After a glacial dam outburst destroyed homes in Alaska, a look at the risks of melting ice masses District attorney threatens to charge officials in California's capital over homelessness response Judge is asked to block Florida law making it a crime to drive people who are in the US illegally

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Donald Trump branded a Georgia prosecutor “a young racist” and claimed she had an “affair” with a gang leader, speaking to a rally just days before he is expected to face a criminal indictment from her office. The three-times indicted former president took shots at Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, who is investigating him for his conduct in the state during the 2020 presidential election. “There’s a young racist in Atlanta ... They say she was after a certain gang and she ended up having an affair with the head of the gang or a gang member,” claimed Mr Trump during a speech in New Hampshire on Tuesday. “This is a person who wants to indict me. She’s got a lot of problems. But she wants to indict me to try and run for some other office … Wants to indict me for a perfect phone call, this was even better than my perfect call on Ukraine.” And he added: “I challenged the election in Georgia, which I had every right to do… and they want to indict me because I challenged the election.” It was not immediately clear what Mr Trump may have been referring to. Ms Willis is expected to soon indict him for illegally trying to reverse Joe Biden’s victory in the state, which paved his way to the White House. Mr Trump’s alleged election interference included his infamous phone call to Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, in which he demanded that he “find” him the 11,780 votes he needed to beat Mr Biden. Ms Willis has also investigated a scheme to put in place an alternate slate of presidential electors. Even if Mr Trump wins the 2024 election he cannot fire Ms Willis, unlike special counsel Jack Smith, as state crimes are not subject to presidential pardon. Mr Trump has already been indicted on federal charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 election and a separate federal case over alleged retention of government documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. He has also been charged by the Manhattan DA in a hush-money case linked to the 2016 presidential election. That case relates to allegations he paid off a porn actress he had allegedly had an affair with while his wife was nursing their newborn son. He has pleaded not guilty in all of the cases and strongly denied any wrongdoing. Earlier this year the former president was found liable for sexually assaulting a magazine columnist, E Jean Carroll, in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. Read More Trump vows to keep campaigning on his criminal cases despite prosecutors seeking order to stop Trump lawyers request date for protective order hearing – while completely ignoring judge’s instructions Trump doubles down on attacking Chris Christie’s weight Trump plans Iowa State Fair stop, though he won't attend candidate chat with GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds Trump and Biden tied in hypothetical 2024 rematch, poll finds

The man identified as the lover of Lindsay Shiver, who is charged with plotting to kill her former Auburn football player husband, rejected claims that the pair hired a hitman. Terrance Bethel, 28, told the Daily Mail that the now-infamous WhatsApp messages sent between him, Ms Shiver, and 29-year-old Faron Newbold were misunderstood and overblown by police. The outlet previously reported that Ms Shiver confessed during an interview with police to sending photos of her husband Robert Shiver to Mr Newbold, along with the message: “kill him.” Mr Bethel suggested that the messages were sent “out of frustration,” and insisted to the outlet that the charges would be dropped. After a Daily Mail reporter approached Mr Bethel asking for more insight into the WhatsApp messages, he reportedly responded that the police “have had both of my phones for three weeks. They’ve been through every single message - there’s nothing there.” He added, “None of us have anything to hide. People are taking everything at face value and defaming us.” From the outside looking in, this entire case is shocking. Mr Shiver was a college football star while Ms Shiver was a beauty pageant queen. The woman who once bragged on Instagram about her “perfect marriage”—and frequently posted photos of tropical family vacations—was accused last month of plotting to kill her husband of 13 years. The pair had already filed for divorce and are pursuing vicious counterclaims. Both are seeking custody of their three children as well as full use of their $2.5m Georgia mansion. She, Mr Bethel and Mr Newbold had been held in custody until, surprisingly, Mr Shiver helped them post bail. All three of the accused were granted emergency bail on 1 August. Ms Shiver was seen leaving Nassau’s Fox Hill Prison on Tuesday morning. The mother-of-three is required to wear an ankle monitor and stay in the Bahamas until her next court date on 5 October. Similarly, their next divorce hearing is reportedly set for 31 October. Mr Shiver filed for divorce for “adulterous conduct,” according to reports, while attorneys for Lindsay Shiver denied the affair, writing: “Any extramarital relationship defendant has had was during the parties’ separation and legally condoned by husband.” Read More College football star reportedly helped wife post bail after arrest for hitman plot to kill him Chilling text shows Lindsay Shiver telling lover and ‘hitman’ to ‘kill’ husband in Bahamas murder plot A football star’s wife bragged of her ‘perfect marriage’. Now she’s charged with hiring a hitman to kill him Trump doubles down on attacking Chris Christie’s weight Trump plans Iowa State Fair stop, though he won't attend candidate chat with GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds Trump and Biden tied in hypothetical 2024 rematch: poll

Donald Trump’s lawyers appeared to ignore the judge’s orders in their latest filing in the case related to the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Special counsel Jack Smith and the Trump defence team submitted their suggestions for when a hearing may be held on a proposed “protective order”. Last week, the special counsel’s office requested an order restricting what Mr Trump can share about the case. The judge ordered that a date between 9 and 11 August be agreed upon. The special counsel said his team would be available on any of those days while Mr Trump’s team ignored the judge’s order and suggested 14 or 15 August, CBS News noted. In a filing on Monday night, the special counsel office wrote that Mr Trump was attempting to “litigate this case in the media”. This came after Mr Trump objected to the proposal that public discussion of the discovery evidence in the case be restricted. “The defendant’s principal objection to it—as defense counsel stated publicly yesterday, and in conference with Government counsel—is that it would not permit the defendant or his counsel to publicly disseminate, and publicize in the media, various materials obtained from the Government in discovery,” the office wrote. “But there is no right to publicly release discovery material, because the discovery process is designed to ensure a fair process before the Court, not to provide the defendant an opportunity to improperly press his case in the court of public opinion.” The filing came shortly after Mr Trump’s attorneys requested that the judge in charge of the case give permission to the ex-president to use large parts of the discovery materials in the case during his campaign to return to the White House. Over the course of 13 pages, the attorneys responded to the government’s motion for a protective order banning Mr Trump from sharing any of the material that is set to be handed over by the prosecution during the pre-trial discovery process. Mr Trump faces charges of conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding. The defence lawyers argued that the standard protective order would mean that the judge, Tanya Chutkan, would be able to “censor” Mr Trump and put in place “content-based restrictions” on his “political speech”. Prosecutors pointed to Mr Trump’s frequent “public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him”. They had asked the judge to impose an order barring Mr Trump from sharing discovery materials “directly or indirectly to any person or entity other than persons employed to assist in the defense, persons who are interviewed as potential witnesses, counsel for potential witnesses, and other persons to whom the Court may authorize disclosure”. Read More Trump will have mugshot taken ‘if warranted’ after expected indictment, Georgia Sheriff says Who are the 2024 presidential election candidates? Meet the Republicans and Democrats campaigning Trump rails against ‘bulls***’ charges in latest angry rant over indictment

Donald Trump’s attacks against Chris Christie turned uglier than ever on Tuesday as the former president spoke at a rally in New Hampshire, the site of the second Republican statewide nominating contest. Mr Trump has long leaned on jabs aimed at making fun of the former New Jersey governor’s weight in Truth Social postings and other comments about his once-ally. But on Tuesday, America’s 45th president took the stage in front of cheering supporters and demeaned his combative primary opponent as a “fat pig”, while mockingly imitating an aide advising him against doing so. “Sir, please do not call him a fat pig,” said the twice-impeached former president, who is currently facing nearly 80 criminal charges in three indictments. It was an otherwise unnotable moment for Mr Trump that is, however, worth understanding as a revealing preview of his debate strategy should he eventually end up onstage with Mr Christie and his other GOP rivals like his former vice president, Mike Pence, later this summer and into the fall. The GOP debates are set to be the bloodiest televised fight for the former president in years, following a largely sleepy set of debates against now-President Joe Biden in 2020 and the tame performance, by comparison, of Hillary Clinton in 2016. There’s no indication that either Mr Trump or Mr Christie, who has made a name for himself in recent weeks with aggressive attacks of his own against his rival, will hold anything back should they come face-to-face in front of the cameras. And there are other Republicans who will be on that debate stage who have likely learned the lessons of 2016 and 2020 and plan to take on Mr Trump in his own commandeering manner, if only to avoid the fates of Jeb Bush and other Republicans who were bullied into submission by him in his first presidential run. Several Republicans including most prominently Mr Christie have attacked Mr Trump over his leadership and electoral track record, blaming him for poor GOP perfomances in the House and Senate. Mr Christie has also taken a sharp edge against the former president’s campaign to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 election, which has now resulted in four criminal charges against Mr Trump as well. Mr Christie and to a lesser extent other Republicans like Asa Hutchinson have argued that Mr Trump’s growing legal baggage makes him an untenable candidate for the GOP to field against an incumbent Democratic president, Joe Biden, in 2024. Read More Trump ramps up attacks on indictment at New Hampshire rally as lawyers ignore judge’s orders - latest Trump and Biden tied in hypothetical 2024 rematch, poll finds Trump rails against ‘bulls***’ charges in latest angry rant over indictment Judge rejects challenge to Ohio school district’s transgender bathroom policy Trump and Biden tied in hypothetical 2024 rematch, poll finds Who are the 2024 presidential election candidates? Meet the Republicans and Democrats campaigning

California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's proposed debate rules, likening them to crutches and calling him a "joke." Mr Newsom has repeatedly called for Mr DeSantis to debate him on policy issues, with the Florida governor only recently accepting the challenge. Mr DeSantis — who is running against Donald Trump in the GOP's 2024 presidential primary — told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday that he would duke it out with Mr Newsom, assuming they could reach an agreement on rules. "I'm game, let's get it done, just tell me when and where," Mr DeSantis said. While the ideologically opposed governors did find some common ground — they both agreed to have Hannity act as a moderator and they both listed Georgia as an acceptable host state for the event — Mr Newsom otherwise rejected Mr DeSantis's proposals, Politico reports. The Florida governor's team asked that opening statements be replaced with pre-recorded videos, and that the venue include a live audience rather than a debate in an empty room, according to Politico Playbook. Mr Newsom's spokesperson called the stipulations a "crutch" and laid into Mr DeSantis. “What a joke,” Mr Newsom's spokesperson, Nathan Click, said in a statement. “Desantis’ counterproposal is littered with crutches to hide his insecurity and ineptitude — swapping opening statements with a hype video, cutting down the time he needs to be on stage, adding cheat notes and a cheering section.” He added that "Ron should be able to stand on his own two feet," and that "it's no wonder Trump is kicking his a**." Mr Newsom's rule proposal — which he issued in late July — included no audience, live opening statements, and suggested venues in Georgia, Nevada, or North Carolina. While Mr DeSantis suggested dates spanning the fall — from 19 September through 8 November — Mr Newsom only offered November dates for a possible debate. Read More Ron DeSantis replaces campaign manager as 2024 bid falters Ex-Pence adviser hammers his old boss as ‘unworthy of the presidency’ and endorses Trump DeSantis once again defends slavery curriculum: Enslaved people ‘showing resourcefulness’ developed ‘skills’

The sheriff in the Georgia county where former President Donald Trump is expected to be indicted in connection to his attempts to overturn the presidential election results in the state has said that Mr Trump will receive no special treatment and that a mugshot will be taken “if warranted”. Fulton County Sheriff appeared on CNN on Sunday, saying that “first and foremost, we will follow our own policies and procedures”. “We simply don't ... give any leniency just because of your status. Ultimately, there may be a court order that his lawyers may ask for, there may be some alternate ... processes around it, but we'll stay focused on our policies and procedures. And if a mugshot is warranted, we'll follow that policy and procedure as well,” he added. “We have a lot of high-profile cases here in Fulton County in Atlanta. And so again, we treat everybody equally,” he said. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to indict Mr Trump any day this month in relation to her years-long investigation into the ex-president’s conduct. It’s set to be Mr Trump’s fourth indictment of this year. “The work is accomplished,” Ms Willis recently told local news stations. “We’ve been working for two-and-a-half years. We’re ready to go.” Sheriff Labat told CNN on Sunday that Atlanta police have taken lessons from Mr Trump’s previous arraignments. “We’ve certainly learned from both New York as well as Miami. So, we’ve got a lot of different agencies involved,” he said. “And so ultimately, we’ve created a force multiplier and really just focusing on the moment. So, again, you mentioned roads being closed, and several other security opportunities for us that we keep close to the vest. But other than that, we are standing ready.” Ms Willis has said that she’s been receiving a high number of threats in connection to her work prosecuting Mr Trump. “They’re very grotesque things. We’re on family television. I don’t even know that I like to say all of them but ‘slave whore’ is one of them. I’ve been called pretty much everything but a child of God,” Ms Willis said, according to WSB-TV. “I’m receiving phone calls and emails and communications that are derogatory in nature. They don’t always state what the reason is that their calling. But I’ve probably been called the N word more times in the last two-and-a-half years than most — a hundred people combined,” she added. Sheriff Labat told CNN that “we investigate every threat and she and her team have forwarded us those threats. I’ve received threats personally, both text, cell phone messages ... and e-mails. It’s easy to be a keyboard bully, but our goal is to focus on the safety and security of our community and really stick to the plan”. When asked if the threats are directly connected to Mr Trump, Sheriff Labat said, “Oh, absolutely”. “They mentioned the former president by name in many of them – e-mails, social media, again, including voicemails,” he added. “We’re focusing on all of the courthouse security, the surrounding security and just trying to be prepared as we possibly can,” Sheriff Labat told CNN. Read More Ron DeSantis replaces campaign manager as 2024 bid falters Gavin Newsom rips DeSantis terms for debate: ‘What a joke’ Trump-appointed judge orders Southwest attorneys to take ‘religious liberty training’ from right-wing group Trump rails against ‘bulls***’ charges in latest angry rant over indictment Former Trump lawyer slams ex-president’s latest legal strategy Washington DC grand jury that indicted Trump meets again in sign probe isn’t over

At least one of Donald Trump’s former lawyers appears to have a pretty low opinion of the newest defence that the ex-president’s legal team is trying out for size. Ty Cobb, former White House counsel, was speaking on CNN when he was asked about a whirlwind Sunday morning media tour embarked upon by John Lauro, one of Mr Trump’s currently defence attorneys. On several shows across the major TV networks, Mr Lauro displayed the Trump camp’s newest excuse for the former president’s efforts to pressure various Republican officials to interfere with state or federal election processes on his behalf, including his vice president, Mike Pence. In multiple interviews, Mr Lauro used the same word — “aspirational” — to describe Mr Trump’s urgings for Mr Pence to attempt to halt the Senate’s process certifying the 2020 election that he did to describe a phone call in which the former president was heard urging Georgia officials to “find” thousands of votes for him that did not exist. Mr Cobb was asked by CNN’s Erin Burnett whether there was any First Amendment defence that would come into play when a politician or elected official requests that a subordinate violate the law. “Not at all. I’m not aware of the ‘aspirational’ defence or the free speech defence to a gang leader saying to two of his subordinates, ‘I need you two to please rob a bank for me,’ and they do it. That’s aspirational but it leads to a crime and that’s exactly what Trump did with Pence,” Mr Cobb responded. His analysis appeared to poke a hole cleanly through the argument that the Trump team has made all weekend — that merely encouraging a crime to be committed is not an offence. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to all of the 78 criminal charges that the former president is accused of, including the four related to the 2020 election. But the “aspirational” defence appears to be the closest the Trump team has come to acknowledging that the actions the president requested, if carried out, would have been blatantly illegal. DoJ special counsel Jack Smith has argued that Mr Trump conspired to violate the constitutional rights of millions of Americans when he worked to change the results of the 2020 election even after losing all of his court challenges and being told, repeatedly, by his own expert authorities that his claims of election fraud were false. The ex-president is separately charged in two other cases involving classified documents retained from the White House as well as his own hush payments to a porn star in 2016. Despite his professed innocence, his lawyers have said that they expect more charges related to the 2020 election to be handed down in Georgia. His latest criminal indictment has been understood by numerous experts to have been engineered by the Justice Department for speed in the hopes that it will play out, one way or another, before the 2024 presidential election concludes. Mr Trump remains the dominant candidate in the Republican presidential primary. Read More Trump lawyer calls Trump request to Pence for Jan 6 ‘aspirational’ Chris Christie thinks this ex-Trump aide has already flipped Pence says he's now met polling, donor qualifications for first Republican debate Ron DeSantis replaces campaign manager as 2024 bid falters Gavin Newsom rips DeSantis terms for debate: ‘What a joke’ Trump-appointed judge orders Southwest attorneys to take ‘religious liberty training’ from right-wing group

Former president Donald Trump decried the multiple charges and indictments, calling them “bulls***,” during a rally in New Hampshire on Tuesday afternoon. Mr Trump spoke during a rally in the state that holds the first presidential primary and the one that gave him his first primary win in 2016. The twice-impeached and now three-times-indicted former president said that President Joe Biden’s administration indicted him to hamper his 2024 run despite the fact that Attorney General Merrick Garland nominated Special Counsel Jack Smith to handle the probes into Mr Trump independently. “How can my corrupt political opponent, crooked Joe Biden put me on trial during an election campaign that I'm winning by a lot, but forcing me nevertheless to spend time and money away from the campaign trail in order to fight bogus made up accusations and charges,” he said. “So what they're doing, I'm sorry, I won't be able to go to Iowa today. I won't be able to go to New Hampshire today because I'm sitting in a courtroom on bulls**t because his Attorney General charged me,” he said. In response, attendees in Windham proceeded to chant “bulls**t.” Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Read More Pence says he's now met polling, donor qualifications for first Republican debate Thousands in Haiti march to demand safety from violent gangs as killings and kidnappings soar New Hampshire is sued over removal of marker dedicated to Communist Party leader