Washington – US President Donald Trump praised his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh but said he would be open to withdrawing his nomination if he finds testimony on Thursday about sexual assault allegations against him to be credible.

“I can always be convinced,” Trump said on the eve of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing featuring one of Kavanaugh’s accusers.

“If I thought he was guilty of something like this, yes, sure,” Trump said at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. “It’s possible I’ll hear that, and I’ll say, ‘Hey, I’m changing my mind.'”

“I want to watch,” Trump said ahead of the hearing featuring Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers.

“I look forward to what she has to say,” Trump said. “I also look forward to what Judge Kavanaugh has to say. I think it’s going to be a very important day in the history of our country.”

In prepared testimony released on Wednesday, the 51-year-old Blasey Ford said she feared Kavanaugh would rape her during the attack, which she said occurred in the summer of 1982.

Blasey Ford said the incident left her “drastically altered,” but it was her “civic duty” to tell lawmakers what happened.

Kavanaugh has also been accused of exposing himself to a classmate, Deborah Ramirez, during an alcohol-fueled Yale University party a few years later.

On Wednesday a third woman came forward with explosive allegations, saying she witnessed sexually abusive behavior by Kavanaugh when he was a teenager.

Trump described Kavanaugh as a “great gentleman” and a “great intellect” and said he believed the accusations against the conservative judge were “false.”

– ‘Big, fat con job’ –

Trump said he was skeptical because he personally had been the target of “false statements” in the past made by various women.

“I’ve had a lot of false charges made against me,” he said. “People want fame, they want money, they want whatever.”

He also slammed his Democratic opponents, accusing them of being “con artists” and destroying the 53-year-old judge’s reputation.

The Kavanaugh nomination has turned into a political firestorm ahead of November congressional elections and is threatening to derail Trump’s push to get a conservative-minded majority on the top court ahead of the vote.

Democrats on Wednesday demanded that Trump withdraw Kavanaugh’s nomination or order an FBI investigation.

“He is asking for a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court where he will have the opportunity to rule on matters that will impact Americans for decades,” the 10 Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee said in a letter to the president.

The third woman to come forward, Julie Swetnick, said she saw Kavanaugh engage in sexually abusive behavior as a teenager and claimed she had been drugged and gang-raped at a party he attended in approximately 1982.

Kavanaugh strongly denied the allegations by Swetnick, 55, who has worked extensively for the federal government.

“This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone,” he said in a statement. “I don’t know who this is and this never happened.”

Later, the judiciary committee said it had received a fourth allegation, this time in a letter from an anonymous source who said their daughter and others had witnessed Kavanaugh physically assault a woman while intoxicated in Washington in 1998, shoving her “up against the wall very aggressively and sexually.”

But a spokesman for the committee told AFP the letter lacked credibility and the panel had no way to investigate the matter because the complaint was anonymous.

– ‘Physically aggressive behavior‘ –

Swetnick said she saw Kavanaugh behave as a “mean drunk” at parties they both attended growing up in suburban Maryland.

“I observed Brett Kavanaugh drink excessively at many of these parties and engage in abusive and physically aggressive behavior towards girls, including pressing girls against him without their consent, ‘grinding’ against girls, and attempting to remove or shift girls’ clothing to expose private body parts,” Swetnick said.

She did not specifically claim Kavanaugh took part or that he was aware of her rape, but said that he and other boys in his circle engaged in similar behavior.

She said she saw efforts by “Kavanaugh and others to cause girls to become inebriated and disoriented so they could then be ‘gang raped’ in a side room or bedroom by a ‘train’ of numerous boys.

“I have a firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their ‘turn’ with a girl inside the room,” she said.

“These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh,” she said. Judge is a boyhood friend of Kavanaugh who has written a book describing the debauchery of his high school years.

Kavanaugh, in prepared testimony released on Wednesday, repeated his denial of Blasey Ford’s allegation and said “this effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out.”

And he told Senate Judiciary Committee investigators that he is “looking forward” to the hearing on Thursday, according to a transcript of a call released by the committee.

“I’m really just, you know, stunned. And outraged.” Kavanaugh said. “I look forward to defending my name, defending my integrity.”

He said this was raised by Britain during Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s bilateral meeting with his British counterpart Theresa May.

The bilateral meeting with May was one of three meetings which Dr Mahathir had with international leaders.

The other two leaders which the Prime Minister held bilateral meetings on Wednesday (Sept 26) here were Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.

“Following their decision to no longer be with the EU, they wish for some form of cooperation be done between them and Asean,” Saifuddin told Malaysian media here.

Saifuddin said Dr Mahathir responded to May by saying that the matter would be discussed first with Asean before any decision can be made.

“However, we respect and feel that the fact that the UK PM referred to Malaysia as an Asean member to state their desire is an honour to Malaysia in Asean,” said Saifuddin.

He said Malaysia on its part raised ways to increase cooperation, especially hoping that Britain can help our efforts to handle the palm oil issue in Europe.

On Dr Mahathir’s bilateral meeting with the Iranian President, Saifuddin said the Iranian leader asked for Malaysia’s understanding and support on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or Iran nuclear deal.

Saifuddin said the matter was becoming more complex due to unilateral action by the United States which may impose more sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.

The Foreign Minster said Malaysia was sympathetic to the problem faced by Iran as it also involved Malaysian companies operating there, specifically Petronas.

“The Prime Minister at the same time asked for the cooperation of Iran relating to giving assistance and facilitation to Malaysian companies investing in Iran such as Petronas.”

On Dr Mahathir’s bilateral meeting with Sri Lanka, Saifuddin said both leaders exchanged views on their experiences developing the economy in both countries.

The 76-year-old businessman, activist, philanthropist and potential presidential aspirant spoke with AFP on the sidelines of the One Planet Summit featuring several world leaders Wednesday in New York City.

When he took the podium he reiterated the message he delivered at a climate conference he co-organized in San Francisco two weeks ago; that private initiatives and local actors could take over from states when it comes to meeting the challenges of global warming.

QUESTION: Why do you present yourself as an eternal optimist on climate, given how many leaders warn that the Earth is careening toward disaster?

BLOOMBERG: “We are making progress, China is making some progress, throughout Europe they’re making some progress. In the end, it’s not governments that drive behavior, it’s capitalism, it’s the economic interest of companies who want to be environmentally friendly because their employees want it, their investors want it, their customers want it. And individuals who want to breathe clean air today and drink clean water today.

“Basically, the federal government has been missing in action for a long time, not just this administration. But it really doesn’t matter because coal fired power plants, no matter what the government says, are going to go out of business because of low-priced natural gas.

“So the federal government can make things worse with some environmental rules and rolling back some of our things, but the good news is in America, the courts are stopping our government from rolling most of them back.”

QUESTION: Isn’t China still building coal-fired plants?

BLOOMBERG: “It’s still opening coal plants, but it’s also closing a bunch… India is even worse.

“And eventually I think China will come around to understand that because of their geography, they’re going to run out of water unless we do something here. Because of their geography, and the number of poor people who can’t have filters in their air and live in closed houses, they are going to really suffer.”

QUESTION: You have said you are actively considering a White House run in 2020. What is your deadline for deciding?

BLOOMBERG: “There’s no deadline. I think it’s probably not right after the (midterm elections set for November 6) — within the next two or three months after that you would have to start focusing. But there’s no drop dead date we have to do it.

“It’d be harder to do it the day before the election, it’d be a little bit easier two days before, and a year and a half before it would be much easier.”

QUESTION: You also announced a few months ago that you would spend $80 million supporting Democratic congressional candidates in the November elections. Where are you on that?

BLOOMBERG: “There are some people who are running for Congress, women and men, a lot more women than men this time, who will all of a sudden see ads on television that are helpful to them or hurtful, depending on which side they’re on.

“But we’re not going to help people that have no chance whatsoever, nor people that have a very good chance and don’t need our help. It’s in the middle, it will be 25, some number like that.

“I think we’ll do more than 80 (million dollars)… I think I have an obligation to do that. I can afford to do it, and I should do everything I can to improve the government that I’m going to leave to my children and grandchildren.”

Unesco Culture Programme Specialist Philippe Delanghe told The Post yesterday that the project which is slated to begin this year will be completed in 2020. This is according to a mutual agreement signed by the UN agency and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

The project is backed by the Japanese and Cambodian governments, with each contributed $1 million and $500,000 respectively, he said.

Delanghe said: “The financial contribution is necessary to continue restoration of the Bayon Temple.”

Through Waseda University, Japan plays a crucial role in researching, protecting and preserving the Kingdom’s World Heritage site.

It has been financing restoration projects via the Japan Trust Fund for the Conservation of Culture World Heritage.

During the implementation of phase three (2005-2011) under the joint framework called Japan-Apsara Safeguarding Angkor (JASA), Japan provided financial support amounting to $3,268,286 in addition to the $500,000 contribution given by the Apsara Authority.

Unesco was responsible for the administrative arrangements for this project.

Phase four of the project, which started in 2011 and finished in 2015, was implemented with a $2.5 million contribution from the Japanese government and $500,000 from the Cambodian one.

Greater understanding

A spate of restoration activity by various stakeholders throughout the years led to the uncovering of many buried artefacts and greater understanding of the Khmer empire.

Apsara Authority director-general Sum Mab said the fund will make the process of protecting and conserving the temple easier.

“The contribution indicated a huge participation by the Japanese government in protecting and conserving [Bayon temple] which is part of the Angkor Archaeological Park – a world heritage site.”

He said restoration within the archaeological park is very important, noting that the effort would allow future generations to learn and research the traditions and culture of the ancient empire reflected through the historical structures.

Other than Japan, other countries have also participated in many of the Kingdom’s temple restoration projects.

Last year, a report saw China rolling out funds to restore the royal palace complex within the Angkor Thom archaeological site in Siem Reap.

In 2014, Korea, via The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), contributed $4 million towards a three-year restoration project of the 12th century Preah Pithu Temple located within the Angkor Wat World Heritage site.

Twitter user @Jokoedy6 posted pictures of the rice sacks, claiming that the man shown carrying a bundle of rice stalks was in fact Jokowi and accused the President of unfairly promoting himself.

“The Agriculture Ministry’s rice has Jokowi as its logo,” he tweeted on Tuesday. “If he doesn’t break the rules, Jokowi cannot win. To win, he needs to cheat and act corruptly.” As of the time of writing, the post had been retweeted 425 times and liked 527 times.

Several other netizens chimed in to criticize what they perceived as Jokowi’s misuse of government facilities.

“So, all this time rice imports have been used to fulfill the free sembako [the nine basic commodities] stock and produce rice with special packaging for self-promotion,” Twitter user @BaktiSuci said on Wednesday.

The incident took place as an IndiGo flight was preparing to take off from Mumbai for Kolkata on Monday.

“While an IndiGo aircraft being on the ground an unruly passenger tried to enter the cockpit stating that his mobile needs to be charged,” IndiGo said in a statement.

“Following standard operating procedures the captain… initiated the offloading of the passenger on grounds of security violation,” the airline added.

An airport official told the Press Trust of India news agency that the man, said to be in his mid-thirties, was drunk. Police questioned and then released him without charge, the official added.

It was the second bizarre incident involving an Indian domestic flight this week after a passenger tried to open an exit door in mid-air, apparently mistaking it for the toilet.

The man was travelling with GoAir from New Delhi to Patna on Saturday when he attempted to open the aircraft’s rear exit, the carrier said.

A co-passenger raised the alarm and the man was apprehended by the crew. He was handed to the authorities for questioning on arrival and later released.

Indian media reports said he was a first time flier.

India’s airline sector has seen a six-fold increase in passenger numbers over the past decade as citizens take advantage of better connectivity and cheap flights, with many taking to the skies for the first time.

But Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten perhaps had the most historic wedding when he married Scotsman and airline director James Coyle on Saturday, Sept. 22, reports The Daily Mail.

The two grooms both wore matching velvet coats, with Coyle decked in dark blue and Ivar in emerald green.

James Coyle (left) and Lord Ivar  (Image: Instagram/@ivar_mountbatten)

Both men are in their mid-fifties and met back in 2014 in the Swiss Alps resort Verbier. Lord Ivar was first married to Penelope Anne Vere Thompson—better known as Lady Penny Mountbatten—back in 1994. They divorced amicably in 2011 and have three daughters, namely Ella, 22, Alix, 20, and Luli, 16.

He came out as bisexual two years ago and has found love and support from his family: his children were behind the idea of having their mother give him away during his big day.

Sixty guests attended the intimate ceremony in a chapel in exclusive country estate Bridwell Park, his and Penny’s former home, which he now uses as an events venue.

Lord Ivar broke tradition in more ways than one: he and Coyle opted for tiers of cheese instead of a cake and requested for donations to the spinal injury charity Regain, instead of gifts.

The couple also chose a gospel choir, a break from the usual solemnity seen in royal weddings such as that of Princes William and Harry. Ivar shared a video of the choir singing on Instagram, as guests danced and clapped to the music.

He also shared pictures from the wedding day and couldn’t contain his happiness in his caption. “Well we did it finally! It was an amazing day despite the miserable British weather.”

Image: Instagram/@ivar_mountbatten

“A massive thanks to my 3 gorgeous girls for being so understanding and supportive, without their support this could never have happened! And finally the biggest thank you to James for being just perfect.”

He revealed that his dog Rosie, decked in rainbow shades and a rainbow-colored ribbon, was wiped out after the ceremony.Though there were no royals in sight, the Queen’s son Prince Edward sent his well-wishes. Lord Ivar is a direct descendant of Queen Victoria and is a great-nephew of Prince Philip’s uncle Earl Louis Mountbatten.

Asked by The Daily Mail why he chose to get married, he said, “I have had the whole marriage thing—and been very happy—but James hasn’t, so I see it as a validation of my love for him.”

The man was travelling on a GoAir flight from New Delhi to Patna on Saturday (Sept 22) when he attempted to open the aircraft’s rear exit, the carrier said.

“A co-passenger raised the alarm and he was intercepted by the crew,” GoAir said in a statement e-mailed to AFP on Tuesday.

Indian media reports said he was a first-time flier in his late 20s.

“Pandemonium prevailed amid all this and he was restrained and finally handed over to us.”

“He said that the confusion happened because he had boarded a flight for the first time in his life,” Mohammad Sanowar Khan told the newspaper.

GoAir said the passenger was handed over to the authorities for further investigation after the plane arrived safely at its destination.

A spokesman for the airline added that the man wouldn’t have succeeded in opening the door anyway due to air pressure in the cabin.

India’s aviation market has witnessed a sixfold increase in passenger numbers over the past decade as a growing middle class take advantage of better connectivity and cheap flights, with many taking to the skies for the first time.

The incident comes almost a week after a cockpit mix-up left more than 30 passengers on a Jet Airways plane bleeding from their ears and noses after the crew reportedly forgot to flick a switch regulating cabin air pressure.

The flight from Mumbai to Jaipur, which was carrying 166 passengers, had to turn back. Those affected were given medical attention while the flight crew was suspended pending an investigation.

Rosmah Mansor, widely reviled in Malaysia for her expensive tastes and imperious manner, arrived at the offices of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to be grilled.

Local media reported this week that anti-corruption officials were wrapping up their probe into Rosmah, and she could be charged soon.

It was the second time she has been quizzed by the graft-fighting body since her husband Najib Razak’s coalition was unexpectedly booted out of office at elections in May after six decades in power.

A major factor in the loss were allegations that Najib, his family and his cronies looted billion of dollars from state fund 1MDB in an audacious fraud that stretched from Singapore to Switzerland.

Rosmah’s love of costly overseas shopping trips, designer handbags and jewellery made her a lightning rod for public anger, and fuelled suspicions that she benefitted from the plundering of 1MDB.

After the election loss, a stash of cash, jewellery and hundreds of designer handbags worth as much as $273 million was seized from properties linked to Najib in raids around Kuala Lumpur.

Rosmah is often compared to Imelda Marcos, who left behind more than a thousand pairs of shoes after her husband, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, was ousted in 1986.

Najib’s fall from grace has been swift since he was ousted from power by a reformist alliance led Mahathir Mohamad, 93, who is in his second stint as premier.

The ex-leader has been arrested and hit with 32 charges linked to the 1MDB scandal, including allegations that hundreds of millions of dollars ended up in his personal bank account. He denies any wrongdoing.