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When Donald Trump sits at the defence table in the wood-panelled Manhattan courtroom over the next several weeks, he will be joined by a cast of characters who could feature in a Hollywood blockbuster. Opening statements in the first criminal trial of a former US president were heard on Monday. There are a slate of intriguing potential witnesses, including an adult film actress, a fixer-turned-star-witness, a loyal money-man convicted of tax fraud and others. A white-collar defence lawyer who has bet his career on defending Mr Trump is leading the former president's defence team. Meanwhile, Manhattan's first black district attorney has assembled a crack team of Manhattan prosecutors who are very familiar with Mr Trump and his organisation. And the entire case is overseen by a seasoned New York Supreme Court judge who is well aware of Mr Trump's courtroom troubles and behaviour. Mr Trump faces 34 charges of falsifying business records to disguise a hush-money payment to a woman with whom he allegedly had an affair. He has pleaded not guilty and denies having the affair. Below are the central players to know in the historic case. Justice Juan Merchan - the seasoned New York jurist - has previously spent time with Mr Trump in a Manhattan courtroom. He presided over the Trump Organization's tax fraud case that resulted in a hefty fine and jail time for the company's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. That means the judge is well acquainted with Mr Trump's orbit and his courtroom tactics to delay, deny and deflect. That behaviour will likely draw Justice Merchan's ire. While he may be soft-spoken, he has earned the reputation of being a no-nonsense jurist. He has already shut down Mr Trump once during jury selection. Meanwhile, Mr Trump has claimed on social media that "there has virtually never been a more conflicted judge than this one", and he has attacked Justice Merchan's daughter - who is employed by a firm that works with Democrats. Mr Trump has since been barred from speaking about the judge's family. The Manhattan prosecutors Alvin Bragg - the Manhattan district attorney - became the first black man to lead the Manhattan District Attorney's office when he was elected in November 2021. He took over the investigation into Mr Trump and announced that his office would bring felony charges against the former president last April. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68861539
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Bentley revealed the Bentayga Apex Edition, which, as the name suggests, is a new special edition of its luxury SUV. The Apex Edition gets a special look, carbon-fiber wheels, and carbon-ceramic brakes to save weight. Production of the new special edition Bentayga is being limited to just 20 units worldwide with a subset being offered to owners of the Continental GT Le Mans Edition in matching trim and livery. Special-edition luxury models are a dime a dozen these days, and two weeks after revealing the Bentayga Black Edition, Bentley's got another one with the new Bentayga Apex Edition. Bentley took the nearly 5500-pound luxobarge and removed weight where it could. So it's basically a Miata, right? Not quite. The Apex Edition sheds roughly 97 pounds compared with the standard Bentayga S. Half of that saved weight comes thanks to the 10-spoke 22-inch carbon-fiber wheels. The other half comes from a new set of performance-oriented carbon-ceramic brake rotors. Looks-wise, Bentley's in-house Mulliner team came up with six curated liveries—though the automaker will also welcome the creation of a bespoke model, assuming your wallet can handle it. All six Mulliner-designed models come with a racing stripe extending from nose to tail over the hood and roof of the car. Buyers of last year's Bentley Continental GT Le Mans edition cars will be given the opportunity to order a Bentayga Apex Edition in matching trim and livery. As for specifics, there are new spoilers on the front and rear, while the sills and mirror caps are finished in carbon fiber. There's an abundance of carbon fiber inside the Apex Edition, with the material spanning the dash and covering the center console. Lest you forget which special edition you're in, Bentley kindly labeled the Apex Edition with special badging inside and out. Power is sourced from Bentley's 542-hp twin-turbocharged V-8. The slightly heavier standard Bentayga S can sprint to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. Considering the Apex Edition only shaves 1.8 percent off the Bentayga S's curb weight, we don't really expect the limited-edition version will be quicker in any meaningful way. Production will be limited to a mere 20 units globally. Bentley was mum on pricing, but we're sure the special edition will fetch quite a bit more than the V-8 Bentayga S's $243,025 starting price. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a60638810/2024-bentley-bentayga-apex-edition/
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China lifts ban on Fujian tourists to Taiwan, signals easing cross-strait relations amid political shiftChina has lifted the ban on tourists from Fujian province visiting Taiwan, Nikkei Asia reported citing China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Sunday.According to the report, China's Vice Minister Rao Quan announced the eased restrictions to a visiting delegation from Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), which seeks closer ties with China. The move comes ahead of the ceremonial induction of Taiwanese President-elect William Lai to office, whom China calls a separatist. Nikkei Asia reported that travel would first be permitted to Taiwan's Matsu islands, close to the Fujian coast, with group tours to restart once ferry service resumes between Fujian's Pingtan and Taiwan's main island. China imposed tourism restrictions on individual travel by residents from the mainland, including Fujian, in 2019. Cross-strait relations deteriorated after the 2016 election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, whose Democratic Progressive Party opposes unification with China in favour of the status quo. Lai is now vice president under the term-limited Tsai and ran as the DPP's presidential candidate in 2024. https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/travel/china-lifts-ban-allows-tourists-from-fujian-province-to-visit-taiwan-101714481390628.html
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Winchester Cathedral has apparently scattered her eggs overnight. Mel, who took over as the cathedral's resident female falcon in March, after the previous bird Winnie was found dead, was incubating two eggs. The eggs were seen pushed out of the nesting tray early on Monday. Keith Betton of the Hampshire Ornithological Society said they were put back in place but there was only a "small chance" of them hatching. Mr Betton, who manages the nesting site, said it was not clear how the eggs had ended up out of the nest, but the bird was "clearly stressed". It meant they were away from the warmth of the mother for four to five hours. He said he made the "emotional call" to put them back in place after consulting a number of peregrine experts. "They've got a small chance - rather than just leave them, we took the decision to put them back on the nest. "She had been trying to incubate them when they were out of the nest, so she clearly wanted to carry on." Mel was seen sitting back on the eggs again shortly after 12:00 BST. It is estimated that if the eggs did hatch, it would happen around 18 May. The eggs will be removed if they do not hatch, Mr Betton said. Mel, named after 19th Century writer Melesina Trench, who is buried in the cathedral, mated with Winnie's former partner William. Nothing is known about Mel's age or background as she is not ringed. Winnie was a familiar sight over Winchester having first nested on the old police headquarters building in 2011 before moving to the cathedral nesting site in 2017. The peregrine falcon is the fastest flying bird and can regularly reach speeds of more than 100mph. Numbers have recovered in recent decades, with 1,750 breeding pairs recorded in 2014. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-68921760
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Fulham have been fined £75,000 by the Premier League and given a suspended six-month ban "from registering any academy players currently or previously registered with another club". The punishment, external relates to a payment made by the Cottagers to Balham Blazers FC following Fabio Carvalho's move to Liverpool. Attacking midfielder Carvalho joined Fulham's academy from Balham Blazers in December 2014. The Premier League said, external Fulham "accepted breaches of the Premier League rules in relation to player registrations". The judgement about the issue added the London club "has accepted that the payment of the settlement sum pursuant to the Carvalho agreement and/or settlement agreement are breaches of rule U.38". The club's ban is suspended for one year and started on 15 April, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cxe8d71dx0do
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says the US is the only country that can stop Israel from attacking Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million people are taking refuge. Mr Abbas, who runs parts of the occupied West Bank, said any attack could see Palestinians flee Gaza. Israel has consistently vowed to carry out an offensive in Rafah. US President Joe Biden "reiterated his clear position" on Rafah to Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu in a call on Sunday. The US has repeatedly said it cannot support a large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah without seeing a credible plan to keep civilians out of harm's way. Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Saudi capital Riyadh earlier, Mr Abbas - whose Palestinian Authority is not present in Gaza, which has been under Hamas rule since 2007 - urged the US to intervene. "We appeal to the United States of America to ask Israel to stop the Rafah operation because America is the only country capable of preventing Israel from committing this crime," he said, adding that only a "small strike" on Rafah would force the Palestinian po[CENSORED]tion to flee the Gaza strip. "The biggest catastrophe in the Palestinian people's history would then happen." More than half of Gaza's po[CENSORED]tion is in Rafah and conditions in the overcrowded southern city are already dire, with displaced people there telling the BBC there was a lack of food, water and medication. While the White House did not elaborate on what specifically Mr Biden's latest comments to Mr Netanyahu were regarding the planning offensive in Rafah, national security spokesman John Kirby told the ABC network that Israel had agreed to listen to US concerns and thoughts before going in. Meanwhile, the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas over a potential ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages in Gaza, which have gained new momentum recently, have been further exposing divisions in Israel's governing coalition. War cabinet member and opposition figure Benny Gantz on Sunday said that the current government "would not have the right to continue to exist" if a reasonable deal to return the hostages was not accepted. "Entering Rafah is important in the long struggle against Hamas. The return of our abductees, is urgent and of far greater importance," Mr Gantz wrote on X, formerly Twitter. The far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, however, said the government should resign if it accepted a deal in which the planned offensive in Rafah was cancelled. Their comments come after Israel's foreign minister said that the country could suspend the incursion, which Mr Netanyahu has said is the next step in its battle against Hamas, if there was a hostage deal. The Israeli military said its chief Herzi Halevi had approved plans to continue the war, with Israeli media saying this referred to the Rafah operation. Long-running talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar have largely stalled because of the gaps between the Israeli and Hamas positions, but on Sunday Hamas said it would send representatives to Cairo to give a response to the latest proposal. US media have quoted unnamed Egyptian officials as saying the latest ceasefire proposal given to Hamas involved a several-week period of calm intended to lead to the end of the war, in return for the release of 20 hostages. Hamas wants a permanent end to the war and withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza, while Israel insists Hamas must be destroyed in Gaza and all hostages freed. Egypt and other Arab states have previously said an influx of Palestinian refugees fleeing the war would be unacceptable because it would amount to the expulsion of Palestinians from their land. Satellite pictures have shown new tent encampments being built near the Gaza coast, to the west of Rafah and the city of Khan Younis slightly further north, which has been left largely in ruins. Media reports say the tents are to accommodate people displaced from Rafah. The current war began when Hamas attacked Israeli communities near Gaza, killing about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages. Some 133 hostages are believed still to be in Gaza, of whom about 30 are thought to be dead, after a brief truce in November saw some hostages released. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68916315
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Hello, today is the birthday of the most precious person to me. Happy new year to you @Amaterasu イタチ May you be rewarded for a thousand years God bless you and many more years! Have a great day & awesome birthday! 💪🤗
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[STREETZM] | PRESENTS | Daily Admins/Managers
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Nn @Otman.
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★ GAME ★ - Count 1 to 1000 [STREETZM]
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[STREETZM] ★ GAME ★ - 10 KING/QUEEN! ?
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★ GAME ★ - Let`s count 5 to 5 [ٍSTREETZM]
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u : clap Me : 187
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[STREETZM] | PRESENTS | Daily Admins/Managers
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