Cruz pullout makes Trump presumptive Republican nominee

Text by FRANCE 24

Latest update : 2016-05-04

Republican front-runner Donald Trump went from long-shot contender to become the party's presumptive nominee on Tuesday after his top rival Ted Cruz bowed out of the race on the heels of a resounding defeat in Indiana.

The New York billionaire, who has never held public office, had repeatedly defied pundits' predictions that his campaign would implode. He prevailed despite making outrageous statements along the way that drew biting criticism but still fed his anti-establishment appeal.

Addressing jubilant supporters at Trump Tower in New York after romping to his seventh straight state-wide victory in the Indiana primary, the real-estate mogul promised them: “We’re going to win in November, and we’re going to win big, and it’s going to be America first.”

Tuesday’s contest in the Midwestern state was seen as a final firewall by the “stop Trump” movement seeking to prevent him from locking in the party nomination.
But as the race was called overwhelmingly in Trump’s favour, Cruz conceded to supporters in Indianapolis that he no longer had a viable path to the nomination.

“We left it all on the field in Indiana,” Cruz said. “We gave it everything we’ve got, but the voters chose another path.”

“And so with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign.”

Reporting from Washington DC, FRANCE 24’s Philip Crowther called Trump and Cruz “two competitors who do not like each other at all. In fact, they largely hate each other, at least that’s what we’ve heard over the past few weeks and months. Despite this, there was gratitude from Donald Trump for Ted Cruz having exited the race this quickly, that he succumbed to this very, very large defeat in Indiana and now the road for Donald Trump is wide open toward the Republican nomination.”

The former reality-TV star is now free to prepare for a matchup in the Nov. 8 election, with Hillary Clinton expected to be his Democratic opponent. Clinton's march to the Democratic nomination was slowed by rival Bernie Sanders's victory over her in Indiana.

‘We're going after Hillary Clinton’

Trump's immediate challenge is to unite deep fissures within the Republican Party, as many party loyalists are appalled at his bullying style, his treatment of women and his signature proposals to build a wall on the border with Mexico and deport 11 million illegal immigrants.

"We have to unite the party if we want to win in November," said Henry Barbour, a Republican National Committee leader from Mississippi. "Donald Trump is the guy with the keys to the car. He's the one who needs to unite us. Now is his opportunity. The voters have picked him."

Trump himself called for unity in a speech at a victory rally that was free of his usual bombast and flamboyance.

Trump's victory put to rest a belief that Republicans would choose their nominee at a contested convention when party leaders gather in Cleveland July 18-21.

Reacting to the Cruz pullout, conservative pundits and politicians took to Twitter Tuesday night calling unity within the GOP party ranks. Shortly after the Indiana results were declared, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus noted that, “@realDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton."

“Trump got that crucial phone call from the chairman of the Republican National Committee,” noted Crowther. “He’s called Donald Trump the presumptive nominee and if he says that, well so be it: he’s the nominee for the Republican party according to the establishment that had put so much in the way of his nomination. Now it’s time for the party to unite, said Reince Priebus, but that will be easier said than done because remember how many in the Republican Party establishment wanted to stop Donald Trump from this nomination that is now virtually his.”

At his victory rally at Trump Tower in New York, Trump walked on stage with wife Melania and other family members as the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" blared over loudspeakers.

He is likely to formally wrap up the nomination on June 7 when California votes, although Ohio Governor John Kasich vowed to stay in the race as Trump's last challenger.

Trump called Indiana a "tremendous victory" and immediately directed fire at Clinton.

"We're going after Hillary Clinton," he said. "She will not be a great president, she will not be a good president, she will be a poor president. She doesn't understand trade."

Cruz sounds beaten, but defiant

As the vote returns flowed in, Cruz announced that he has ended his campaign in Indianapolis, with his wife, Heidi, at his side. Cruz, 45, sounding beaten but defiant, said he no longer sees a viable path to the nomination.

"We gave it everything we got. But the voters chose another path, and so with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign," said Cruz, a US senator from Texas.

Clinton's campaign signaled the former secretary of state's approach to dealing with Trump in a statement issued by senior Clinton adviser John Podesta, who said Trump seeks to "bully and divide Americans."

"Throughout this campaign, Donald Trump has demonstrated that he's too divisive and lacks the temperament to lead our nation and the free world. With so much at stake, Donald Trump is simply too big of a risk," he said.

Cruz had hoped to show he was still a factor in the race. Some at his event expressed shock at the decision by Cruz, who had been the last serious challenger to Trump out of an original field of 17 candidates.

Dan Follis, 62, was too rocked by Cruz's announcement to know for sure his next thought on the campaign. But he was sure of one thing: "I will not vote for Trump."

Trump won at least 51 of 57 possible delegates awarded in Indiana, according to the Associated Press delegate tracker. His victory in the state pushed him to 1,047 delegates of the 1,237 needed to clinch the nomination, compared with 153 for Kasich.

Cruz had 565 delegates before suspending his campaign.

On the Democratic side, Clinton now has 2,202 of the 2,383 needed, while Sanders has 1,400.

Trump declared Cruz a tough man to beat.

"Ted Cruz, I don't know if he likes me or doesn't like me. But he is one hell of a competitor. He is one smart guy. And he has got an amazing future," Trump said.

Trump also reached out to both Hispanics and African-Americans as he talked about ensuring jobs and saying he would "make America great again."

"This is going to be a beautiful and loving country," Trump said.

Still eyeing a third-party alternative

But anti-Trump groups said they would continue fighting, and Lanhee Chen, who had advised former Republican candidate Marco Rubio, broached the possibility of a third-party candidate.

"Tonight's outcome raises seriousness & urgency of discussions about third-party alternative; how real it is depends on who steps up to run," he tweeted.

Cruz had been counting on a win in Tuesday's primary to slow the New York businessman's progress toward the nomination. But Trump rode momentum from wins in five Northeastern states a week ago to wrest Indiana from Cruz, whose brand of Christian conservatism had been expected to have wide appeal in the state.

The only hope Kasich has for becoming the Republican nominee is to somehow deny Trump the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the nomination outright and force Republicans at the July convention to choose one of them.

Kasich vowed to stay in the race.

"As long as it remains possible Governor Kasich will fight for the higher path," said Kasich senior strategist John Weaver. "Governor Kasich will continue to campaign and offer the voters a clear choice for our country."

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

Can Japan's defense firms bounce back from failed Australia sub bid?

Japan's recent failure to clinch a deal to sell submarines to Australia was a major disappointment for the country. Julian Ryall reports from Tokyo about the impact of the setback on the nation's defense industry. 

The announcement at the end of April that Canberra had chosen to spend A$50 billion ($38 billion) on submarines made by French contractor DCNS clearly caught the Japanese government by surprise, understandable given that ministers and the media had expressed absolute certainty that the Japanese bid, based on its Soryu class of vessels, held an "insurmountable lead" over the rival proposals.

The depth of that disappointment was voiced by Gen Nakatani, the Japanese defense minister, who told reporters in Tokyo, "I want to seek an explanation of why [the Japanese bid] was not chosen and have the findings reflected [in future export proposals]."

Much of the blame for the Japanese bid's failure has been directed toward the apparent change of heart in Canberra, where Malcolm Turnbull went back on the supposed "gentlemen's agreement" that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe believed he had with Tony Abbott - who stepped down as Australian leader in September 2015 - to purchase the Japanese vessels.

Emphasis on jobs

Turnbull placed more emphasis on ensuring that jobs in Australian shipyards are safeguarded - particularly given that this is an election year - Japanese media reported, while there are also suggestions that Canberra came under pressure from China. Beijing is one of Australia's most important trading partners in a whole host of sectors and China has no desire to see Tokyo and Canberra forging closer security ties.

But blame for the missed opportunity must also be laid at the door of the Japanese government and the companies that were bidding for the project, both for overconfidence that the deal was as good as signed and for failing to go the extra mile when it was clear that the French and German bids were gaining traction.

"The defense export sector is an important one to the Abe administration and he sees it as a way to exploit Japan's technological knowhow and give the economy a boost," said Stephen Nagy, an associate professor in the department of politics and international relations at Tokyo's International Christian University.

"But this setback demonstrates that Japan needs to improve its sales pitch when it is bidding for major international contracts like this," he said. "Even if they have the best technology and products, it is possible that Japan overestimated the strength of its relationship with Australia."

Robert Dujarric, director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, says Japanese companies faced a number of disadvantages in the bidding process. But they can learn from the experience, he added.

Not tested in battle

"Japan does not have systems that are battle tested, a legacy of more than 70 years of peace and the self-imposed rule on not exporting weapons systems, which may have harmed their bid," he told DW.

"There has been a limited market for Japanese warships and military aircraft - their own - in those seven decades, while Japan's defense attaches overseas are not trained in selling Japanese defense equipment," he pointed out.

There is also a degree of reluctance on the part of the country's major defense makers - companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, who bid for the Australian submarines - to promote the military side of what they do.

"Mitsubishi Heavy would be much happier of the Japanese public thought of it as a maker of civilian passenger jets rather than as a 'merchant of death,'" Dujarric said. "So while it's acceptable for companies in Europe and the US to be associated with 'killing machines,' Japanese firms would not like that label."

'Bigger fish to fry'

Still, Nagy says the failure of the Australian submarine deal will have little impact on Japan's defense industry as there are plenty of opportunities in the increasingly uncertain Asia-Pacific region. "In spite of this loss, Japan has bigger fish to fry with potential deals with India, Vietnam and the other nations of Southeast Asia," he said.

That is underlined by the deal between Tokyo and New Delhi for the sale of long-range Shinmaywa US-2 amphibious patrol aircraft. "Japan has already deployed some very advanced surveillance equipment, as well as search-and-rescue vehicles, that are ready to be sold, while its first stealth aircraft has recently had its maiden flight," Nagy noted.

"But it could be argued that building close defense sector relationships is the most important part of these deals," he said. "These are developing nations with a need to build up their defense capabilities as tensions rise in the region - due to China's efforts to develop the disputed islands of the South China Sea.

"So if Japan provides defense systems to a number of nations in the region, they will keep coming back to Japan for upgrades and newer versions as that is cheaper than buying entirely new systems," he said.

As it has done successfully in other industrial sectors, Japan appears to be playing the long game with its defense deals, although it will not be in a position to challenge the world's largest arms exporters for many years to come.

Will Turkey get preferential treatment for visa-free travel?

The EU Commission might make concessions to Ankara on visa-free travel to save the migrant deal. Is the EU about to make an uneasy compromise that would erode its refugee pact with Turkey? 

By Wednesday, Turkey must have met all 72 EU criteria to allow Turkish citizens visa-free travel to the EU beginning this summer. Wednesday is when the European Commission is scheduled to announce its recommendation on the scheme. Ankara had only met 62 criteria by last weekend.

If the Commission insists on Ankara meeting all benchmarks by Wednesday, visa-free travel would have to be postponed. In that case, the Turkish government has threatened to let migrants journey unhindered to Greece once again, or to refuse to accept deported refugees - a nightmare for European governments. While Turkish visa waivers technically have nothing to do with the refugee situation, Turkey made sure that the two are seen as linked to the pressure on Brussels.

Turkey has more leverage

The Commission will make the recommendation, says Yanis Emmanouilidis of the Brussels-based European Policy Center think tank. To save face, it could extend the deadline to mid-June to allow Turkey more time to meet the requirements and allow visa-free travel as of the end of June. "They urgently want to make headway because they know how important the relaxed visa regulations are for the EU refugee deal with Turkey," Emmanoulidis told DW.

Critics fear the Commission might also make concessions concerning the criteria. Commission deputy president, Frans Timmermans, has denied the EU would lower its standards: "They are clear."

However, Sophie in't Veld, a European lawmaker from the Netherlands, wonders "whether the Commission will be as strict in assessing Turkey's progress concerning the visa criteria as Timmermans announced." Other politicians have also warned of showing weakness and allowing Ankara a "discount;" that is, preferential treatment.

Several European governments have also voiced concerns that instead of refugees from the Mideast, the EU might face just as many Turkish Kurds applying for asylum once visa-free travel is launched.

A need for emergency brakes

For just that reason, the conservative European People's Party group (EPP) in the European Parliament is urging the addition of "emergency brakes." "We want Turkey as a partner, but we're not naive," chairman Manfred Weber told the "Passauer Neue Presse" newspaper. If Turkey doesn't meet the criteria on a permanent basis, "visa liberalization must be suspended."

The governments in Berlin and Paris have also pushed for the option of suspending the visa waiver. The possibility already exists for visa-free travel deals in general. In the case of Turkey it could be suspended for at least six months; for instance, if the number of Turkish citizens who enter the EU skyrockets, but then don't want to return to Turkey.

The EU might want to put on the brakes if the number of asylum applications rises that are unlikely to be granted, or if Turkey refuses to take back Turkish citizens who had wanted to stay in the EU. If even one of these conditions applies, the EU can suspend visa-free travel. Berlin and Paris say they want this mechanism to work at short notice, a demand the Commission supports.

Yanis Emmanoulidis is confident that Turkish visa-free travel won't trigger anything close to the surge of refugees Europe saw last year. The migrant deal may have put Turkey in a "stronger position than in the past," allowing Ankara to put on more pressure, but Turkey also needs the EU on an economic and political level, he says. "Turkey is navigating difficult political waters, so it needs friends in the EU."

Satirical Erdogan doll up for auction on Ebay in 'solidarity' with Jan Böhmermann

A satirical doll of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has gone under the hammer on Ebay. The figure which is holding a goat in the colors of the German flag on a leash, has attracted a huge bid of 10,000 euros.

The proceeds of the auction, which ends on Friday, May 6, at 3:58 p.m. local time (1358 UTC), will be donated to "Reporters without Borders." The non-governmental organization, which defends freedom of information and freedom of the press, uses donations for causes such as the medical treatment or legal fees of persecuted journalists. The unexpected offer of 10,000 euros ($11,500) was made on Monday by an Ebay bidder in Austria, the doll's creator Marcel Offermann told DW.

The 45-year-old artist from the western German town of Neuss, near Düsseldorf, said he recreated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a 65-centimeter-sized figurine in solidarity with German satirist Jan Böhmermann.

Advertised on Ebay as "one of a kind," the porcelain reincarnation of the Turkish leader is accompanied by a goat - painted in the colors of the German flag, with the name "Angela" written close to its hind leg - which is held by "Erdogan" on a rein.

"Usually, I don't take such a clear stance," Offermann told local German paper "Rheinische Post, "But the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan presents himself as a dictatorial ruler and leads the German nation on a leash."

Press freedom debate

Böhmermann made headlines around the world last month after his poem, targeting Erdogan, prompted the Turkish leader to sue him for defamation.

The poem which aired on March 31 on the weekly German satirical show "Neo Magazin Royal" accused Erdogan of allowing the physical abuse of Kurds and Christians, violence against women, and repression of minorities in Turkey. It also contained numerous sexual innuendos, including the implication that Erdogan had participated in sex with goats, sodomy, and had a child-porn habit.

On the request of Erdogan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed German authorities to launch an investigation into Böhmermann, citing paragraph 103 of Germany's penal code, which protects foreign heads of state from insult, as justification for the inquiry.

The decison has sparked a fierce debate on freedom of speech in Germany, as well as anger over Berlin's decision to give the investigation a green light. If convicted, Böhmermann, who has suspended his show for the time being, could face up to five years in prison.

Spain readies for fresh polls in June as parties fail to form coalition

A fresh round of polls could be in the offing for Spain after the country's political parties failed to form a coalition. Voting is expected to take place at the end of next month. 

King Felipe VI was expected to dissolve the parliament in Madrid on Tuesday and restart the polling process, four months after the last elections took place.

None of the parties, including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Conservative People's Party, were able to secure a complete majority to form a government despite weeks of talks after the December vote. Chief of the Socialist Party, Pedro Sanchez, was also unable to form a coalition before the deadline ended on Monday, leading to the call for fresh polls.

"We are going back to vote," a reporter of Spain's official RVTE channel said on television.

Polling campaigns were expected to begin on June 10, with the vote expected on June 26.

Spain has been in limbo after no party won a decisive majority in the December 20 elections. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Conservative Party won 28.7 percent of the votes and was unable to find a coalition partner.

The socialist PSOE was able to get the support of the liberal Ciudadanos party, but could not win over the leftist Podemos in order to have enough seats to form the government.

mg/jm (dpa)

Brazil judge orders three-day WhatsApp block

A Brazilian judge has ordered a 72-hour nationwide shutdown of the popular messaging application WhatsApp. The move reportedly aims to increase pressure on the service to turn over client data records in a criminal case. 

The decision was delivered on Monday in the northeastern state of Sergipe by Judge Marcelo Montalvao will affect more than 100 million WhatsApp users across the country.
The exact reason for the order is not known due to legal secrecy in an ongoing case in the Sergipe state court. The decision appeared, however, to be the latest attempt to force the Facebook-owned company to turn over records to investigators of chats involving an accused drug dealer.
In March, the same judge ordered the brief arrest of Facebook's vice-president for Latin America, Diego Dzodan, on grounds of failing to comply with a court order to hand over the records. At the time, WhatsApp said it had no way to access the encrypted data. Dzodan was jailed and subsequently freed.
WhatsApp 'disappointed'
In a statement released on Monday, WhatsApp said the company was "disappointed at the decision" after doing the utmost to cooperate with Brazilian tribunals.
The decision "punishes more than 100 million users who depend upon us to communicate themselves, run their business and more, just to force us hand over information that we don't have," the statement said, without elaborating further.
Failure to comply with the nationwide block on "Whatsapp" could see Brazil's five largest mobile data providers, face fines of 500,000 reals (127,000 euros) per day.
Monday's court ruling marked the second time since mid-December that WhatsApp was targeted by a blocking order. A court shut down the service for two days shortly before Christmas, but restored it soon after following public outcry and a separate court which overturned the ruling.
Inquiry into opposition leader over corruption claims
News of the Whatsapp ban broke on Monday as Brazil's chief prosecutor asked the Supreme Court to authorize a corruption investigation into the country's opposition leader and one of embattled President Dilma Rousseff's top rivals, Aecio Neves.
Chief prosecutor Rodrigo Janot called the inquiry over allegations that Neves took bribes from a corruption scheme at a state electricity company, which is linked to a wider scandal centered on state oil giant Petrobras.

Germany's domestic intelligence chief calls for more powers in anti-terror fight

Hans-Georg Maassen told a symposium in Berlin his intelligence agency needed more resources to fight threats from militant Islamists and right-wing extremists. He warned of a growing danger of terror attacks in Germany. 

Maassen told Monday's symposium, called to discuss the global threat posed by militant Islamists, that "a worsening security situation needed corresponding adjustments" in the powers and resources given to security authorities. Among other things, he suggested tighter supervision of conduct for convicted Islamists and the introduction of electronic tagging.

He also criticized a recent ruling by Germany's highest court, based on personal privacy concerns, to revoke some anti-terror powers accorded to the authorities under a 2009 law.

Maassen said the decision ignored the new dangers posed by the jihadist group "Islamic State" ("IS"), telling the some 300 security experts gathered at the meeting in the German capital that the extremists were planning to carry out terrorist attacks both on German soil and against German interests abroad.

The authorities received tip-offs about planned terrorist acts on a daily basis, he said, also warning that radical Islamists were "the most dynamically growing extremist scene in Germany."

In light of the growing threats, he called for better cross-border exchange of information within Europe to counter criminal and terrorist groups.

He also spoke about the risk posed by "IS" fighters who entered Germany disguised as refugees, saying this infiltration should be taken more into account in security planning and strategy. Speaking of a "security deficit," he said he was concerned about the large number of migrants without valid passports and whose identity had not been certainly established.

Right-wing threat

Maassen also called on the intelligence community to review the threat not only from Islamist fundamentalist groups, but also from right-wing organizations that have been carrying out attacks on refugee shelters in Germany on an almost weekly basis.

He warned that the political climate in Germany was "a lot rougher" than it used to be, as former non-voters and disaffected supporters of the established parties become radicalized against the backdrop of the refugee crisis.

German Chancellery Minister Peter Altmaier echoed Maassen's call for a better exchange of data between intelligence agencies, saying that current challenges could be met only by enhanced cooperation between agencies and police authorities within the framework of the rule of law.

He said the government wanted to ensure that in the future, information aimed at preventing terrorism could also be exchanged to avoid possible attacks.

tj/jm (AFP, dpa)