U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas poses during a group portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., October 7, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took private jet flights provided by billionaire Texas businessman Harlan Crow, according to a 2022 financial disclosure report made public on Thursday.
Thomas listed trips by private jet to Dallas, Texas for a conference and to a property in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. He has faced scrutiny after revelations that he had not disclosed luxury trips paid for by the wealthy benefactor.
Fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito also filed a delayed report on Thursday. Both Thomas and Alito had been granted extensions to file their mandatory reports listing outside income and gifts received last year, as required for certain senior government officials. Disclosures by the other seven justices were released in June.
Unlike other members of the federal judiciary, the life-tenured justices have no binding code of conduct, though they are subject to certain financial disclosure laws.
Food and other "personal hospitality" such as lodging at an individual's residence is generally exempt from disclosure. The Judicial Conference, the policymaking body for the federal judiciary, has tightened its regulations to require disclosure of private jet trips.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Windham, New Hampshire, U.S., Aug. 8, 2023. REUTERS/Reba Saldanha/File Photo
Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a wide-ranging Georgia criminal indictment related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
"As evidenced by my signature below, I do hereby waive formal arraignment and enter my plea of NOT GUILTY to the Indictment in this case," Trump said in a court filing in Fulton County Superior Court.
The plea means that Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, will not appear in person in court next week to face the charges.
An indictment accuses Trump of 13 felony counts, including racketeering, for pressuring state officials to reverse his 2020 election loss and allegedly setting up a fake slate of electors to undermine the congressional certification of Democratic President Joe Biden's victory.
Fulton County prosecutors seek an October start to the trial. Some of Trump's co-defendants in Georgia, including attorney Sidney Powell, Trevian Kutti and Ray Smith, have also waived formal arraignment and entered not guilty pleas.
The 98-page Georgia indictment filed in mid-August charges Trump and 18 other defendants with a total of 41 criminal counts.
The Georgia case is Trump's fourth indictment. He faces a New York state trial in March involving a hush money payment to a porn star and a federal trial in May in Florida for allegedly mishandling federal classified documents.
Another indictment, in Washington federal court, accuses him of illegally seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump is due to stand trial in March 2024 for that case, one day before Republican voters in more than a dozen U.S. states decide whether to give him a chance to recapture the White House.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in all criminal cases and could spend much of next year in court, even as he campaigns to retake the White House.
Two Ukrainian assault groups that attempted to break through Russian defense lines on the outskirts of the Verbovoe village have been destroyed, Head of the Zaporozhye Region Yevgeny Balitsky said on Thursday.
“During last night alone, two enemy assault groups were completely destroyed, when they attempted to break through the line of our defense on the outskirts of Verbovoe. Two hours later, the enemy tried again and was also destroyed,” the official wrote on his Telegram channel.
Ukraine launched its long-announced counteroffensive in June and promised that it will lead to a major turn on the battlefield.
However, Ukrainian troops ran into stalwart Russian defenses and minefields.
According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, as of August 4, Kiev lost over 43000 militants and over 1800 tanks, including 25 German Leopard tanks, once considered a weapon that can turn the tide.
Russia's FSB Says Ukrainian Sabotage Group Defeated in Bryansk Region
A sabotage group including employees of Ukraine's Security Service, Main Intelligence Directorate and Special Operations Forces was defeated in Russia's Bryansk Region, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday.
"On August 30, the FSB, in cooperation with the Russian Guard and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, stopped the activities of a Ukrainian sabotage and terrorist group in Russia [in the Bryansk Region], consisting of personnel from the Security Service of Ukraine, military personnel of the Main Intelligence Directorate and the Special Operations Forces of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine," the FSB said in a statement.
The saboteurs entered Russia with the aim of staging "a series of high-profile terrorist attacks on military and energy infrastructure facilities," the statement read, adding that during the operation, two saboteurs were eliminated and five other were detained. Thee of those detained were injured.
Ukrainian saboteurs were equipped with US-made automatic rifles with silencers, night-vision devices, explosives and grenades. Authorities are currently opening a criminal case.
Russian forces repel six Ukrainian attacks in Kupyansk area
Russia’s Battlegroup West repelled six counterattacks by Ukrainian troops in the Kupyansk area in the past day, the battlegroup’s spokesman Yaroslav Yakimkin told TASS on Thursday.
"In the Kupyansk area, forward units of the Battlegroup West repelled six enemy’s counterattacks... The battlegroup’s warplanes delivered 15 strikes on the enemy manpower and vehicles," he said.
According to Yakimkin, Russian artillery and other heavy weapons wiped out three Ukrainian mortar positions near the settlements of Novoyegoryevka, Kulagovka, Tabayevka, and Stelmakhovka. "Air defense systems destroyed two unmanned aerial vehicles, Sinitsa and Leleka-100, near Sofiyevka and Zhiglovka. The enemy’s overall losses amounted up to two platoons," he added.
Kiev confirms loss of military helicopters
The Ukrainian military has confirmed losing six officers in an incident involving two Mil Mi-8 helicopters in Donbass. The deaths were earlier reported by local media, in the second high-profile Air Force incident in as many weeks.
The military aircraft were downed on Thursday by a Russian Su-35 fighter jet while trying to land on a combat mission, military spokesman Ilya Evlash said on Thursday, adding that the exact circumstances are under investigation.
Ukrainian media first reported the crash on Wednesday, citing sources in the brigade to which the pilots belonged. It happened in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic, and reports indicated that the Mi-8s were involved in action near the city of Artyomovsk, also known as Bakhmut.
Last Friday, two Ukrainian L-39 combat training aircraft collided over Zhytomyr Region to the west of Kiev, resulting in the deaths of three pilots.
Merayakan Danau Toba
Doodle hari ini merayakan Danau Toba, danau terbesar di Indonesia dan danau vulkanik terbesar di dunia
Hari ini ada yang berbeda dengan laman google karena menampakkan google doodle yang cantik. Ternyata google doodle hari ini adalah Danau Toba, Danau Toba menjadi Google Doodle hari ini, Kamis, 31 Agustus 2023.
Peringatan Danau Toba sebagai Google Doodle hari ini karena pada 31 Agustus 2020 lalu, danau yang kental akan sejarah ini ditetapkan sebagai Global Geopark UNESCO.
"Doodle hari ini merayakan Danau Toba di pulau Sumatra, Indonesia. Ini adalah danau kawah terbesar di dunia dan salah satu danau terdalam di dunia. Pada hari ini di tahun 2020, Danau Toba ditetapkan sebagai Global Geopark UNESCO," dikutip dari laman resmi Google, hari Kamis, 31/08/2023.
Saat kursor diarahkan ke gambar, akan muncul keterangan "Celebrating Lake Toba" atau "Merayakan Danau Toba". Ya, Google Doodle hari ini mengambil tema soal Dana Toba.
Tentang Danau Toba
Berjudul 'Revitalisasi Nilai-Nilai Kearifan Lokal Masyarakat Hukum Adat Batak Toba Dalam Melindungi Eksistensi Danau Toba Di Mata Dunia' oleh Muhammad Ansori Lubis dari Universitas Darma Agung, Danau Toba adalah danau kaldera terbesar di dunia yang berjarak 176 km ke arah barat Kota Medan sebagai ibu kota provinsi, memiliki ukuran panjang 87 km, lebar 27 km, ketinggian 904 meter mdpl, dan kedalaman danau yang terdalam 505 meter.
Dalam keterangannya, Google menjelaskan bahwa tema Google Doodle hari ini untuk memperingati penetapan Danau Toba sebagai UNESCO Global Geopark pada 31 Agustus 2020.
Danau Toba yang terletak di Sumatera Utara ini merupakan danau kawah terbesar dan salah satu danau terdalam di dunia.
Danau ini terbentuk dari letusan gunung berapi dahsyat dari Kaldera Toba lebih dari 74.000 tahun lalu.
Akibat letusan itu, ruang magma gunung runtuh dan membentuk pulau yang sekarang dikenal sebagai Pulau Samosir.
Kini, Pulau Samosir menjadi salah satu tujuan wisata terkenal dan rumah bagi beberapa suku etnis.
Dalam penetapan status ini, Indonesia berhasil meyakinkan UNESCO bahwa Kaldera Toba memiliki kaitan geologis dan warisan tradisi masyarakat lokal.
Oleh karena itu, negara-negara anggota UNESCO mendukung Danau Toba untuk dilestarikan dan dilindungi, sehingga dijadikan sebagai UNESCO Gloal Geopark.
Proses penilaian ini dilakukan pada pada Konferensi Internasional UNESCO Global Geoparks ke-IV di Lombok, 31 Agustus-2 September 2019.
Tangkapan layar - Presiden RI Joko Widodo saat berpidato dalam agenda pembukaan Rapat Kerja Nasional XVIII Himpunan Pengusaha Muda Indonesia Tahun 2023 di Kabupaten Tangerang, Banten, Kamis (31/8/2023). (ANTARA/Andi Firdaus)
"Kita bersyukur IMD Global Competitiveness Index di 2023, Indonesia naik rangking dari 44 ke 34. Naik 10 peringkat, ini masuk kategori tertinggi di dunia karena lompatannya 10 peringkat"
Presiden RI Joko Widodo (Jokowi) mengatakan bahwa Indonesia berhasil melakukan lompatan 10 tangga peringkat daya saing dunia di tengah kompetisi antarnegara dalam memperebutkan peluang pasar ekspor dan investasi yang berlangsung sengit.
"Kita bersyukur IMD Global Competitiveness Index di 2023, Indonesia naik rangking dari 44 ke 34. Naik 10 peringkat, ini masuk kategori tertinggi di dunia karena lompatannya 10 peringkat," kata Presiden Jokowi saat berpidato di Pembukaan Rapat Kerja Nasional XVIII Himpunan Pengusaha Muda Indonesia (Hipmi) Tahun 2023 di Kabupaten Tangerang, Banten, Kamis.
Presiden Jokowi mengatakan daya saing Indonesia dalam kompetisi tersebut, salah satunya dibuktikan oleh capaian penyediaan infrastruktur yang memperoleh tanggapan positif dunia.
"Dan komponen competitiveness-nya, daya saing kita yang paling bagus di infrastruktur. Sekarang kita dinilai bagus di infrastruktur," ujarnya.
Selain infrastruktur, kata Jokowi, efisiensi bisnis di Indonesia juga melompat naik 11 peringkat, diikuti efisiensi pemerintah yang juga naik empat peringkat.
"Tapi yang paling bagus adalah performa ekonomi, naik 13 peringkat dari sebelumnya 42 ke 29," katanya.
Presiden Jokowi mengajak seluruh pihak untuk melanjutkan peningkatan competitiveness index Indonesia agar semakin baik dalam merespons persaingan global.
"Urusan peringkat ini bukan kita yang mengeluarkan, tapi ini internasional," katanya.
Kabupaten Bekasi sukses menjadi tuan rumah gelaran Hari Pramuka ke-62 Tingkat Jawa Barat (Jabar) Tahun 2023. Lebih dari 35 ribu orang dari berbagai daerah di Jawa Barat menghadiri peringatan Hari Pramuka Jabar yang digelar di Stadion Wibawa Mukti, Cikarang Timur, hari Rabu, 30/08/2023.
Dalam kesempatan tersebut hadir Gubernur Jabar, Ridwan Kamil selaku Ketua Majelis Pembimbing Daerah, Sekjen Kwarnas Bahtiar, Ketua Kwarda Atalia Praratya beserta para Bupati/Walikota se-Jabar.
Ketua Majelis Pembina Cabang, Dani Ramdan menyampaikan rasa bangganya atas momentum Hari Pramuka Jabar yang diselenggarakan di wilayah Kabupaten Bekasi.
"Acara hari ini dihadiri 33.400 insan pramuka Kwarcab Kabupaten Bekasi, dan 3.400 perwakilan dari seluruh Kwarcab se-Jabar, seperti mengulang sejarah tahun 1964 hadir nasional Satya Dharma di Tambun Selatan," ujar Dani, hari Kamis, 31/08/23.
Selain itu, momen ini juga diabadikan dengan pemecahan rekor MURI untuk peserta semapohoore dan holane tongkat pramuka terbanyak serta penerbangan pesawat tiruan roof drain di Indonesia. Ditambah lagi dengan ribuan peserta pencak silat 'ujungan' yang merupakan seni budaya khas Kabupaten Bekasi.
Hal ini, menurut Dani, tidak lepas dari peran Ka Mabida Ridwan Kamil serta Ka Kwarda Atalia Praratya yang telah berkomitmen menggerakkan Pramuka di Jawa Barat, dengan visi dan integritas pelayanan serta yang kuat kepada masyarakat.
“Kemudian kami dari seluruh gerakan Pramuka di Kabupaten Bekasi menyampaikan terima kasih kepada Kamabida dan KaKwarda atas komitmennya membangun gerakan Pramuka di Jawa Barat selama masa jabatannya, terima kasih Kak Emil dan Kak Atalia telah menjadi teladan bagi kita semua,” tuturnya.
Momen ini menjadi kesan dan kenangan terbaik, karena merupakan kesempatan terakhir Gubernur Jabar menjadi Ka Mabida.
“Kami yakin jejak langkah dan warisan positif yang ditinggalkan Bapak Ibu akan terus memberikan inspirasi bagi kami dalam memperjuangkan Jabar Juara,” tutupnya.
