Trump indicted on charges relating to hush money to porn star

as lawyer's fees and illegally using the payments to further his election.

Trump on charges relating to hush money paid to a porn star.

Ukraine seeks to join EU within year after start of membership talks

New York, March 31 (IANS) Former President Donald Trump has become the highest-ranking former US official to be indicted as he pursues his bid to get the Republican Party nomination for next year's election.

While there has been no formal announcement from the Manhattan prosecutor that he has been indicted, several media outlets reported on Thursday that the grand jury had voted to indict

Michael Cohen, the former lawyer for Trump, who handled the payment and was the key witness against Trump, issued a statement confirming the indictment.

Trump in a call to ABC TV said that the indictment was "an attack on our country" and an attempt to "impact an election".The exact charges were not immediately known as the grand jury hearings and its vote are secret. Neither the alleged affair nor the payments are of themselves illegal and the potential charges he faces are falsifying business records for allegedly hiding the payments

Under New York legal procedures, a grand jury - a panel made up of citizens - holds a secret preliminary hearing on allegations to determine whether there is a prima facie case to bring charges for trial.

Stormy Daniels, the porn star, alleged that she had an affair with Trump in 2016.

On the eve of the election in 2016, Cohen paid her to buy her silence and he was himself convicted in relation to the payments.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @ arulouis)

Hong Kong’s economy to rebound by 4% in 2023

rating at "AA-" with a stable outlook.

Hong Kong's ratings are supported by large fiscal buffers, robust external finances, and high per capita income, Fitch said in a commentary about its rating action.

flight and the loss in market confidence".

The sector's capital adequacy ratio stood at 20.1 percent at the end of end-2022, near the top end of banking systems in the AsiaPacific region, said the agency.

Kiev, March 31 (IANS) Ukraine aims to join the European Union (EU) within a year after the start of the membership talks, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.

"Our goal is to start EU membership negotiations in 2023. I think it will take about a year for Ukraine to become a full member," Kuleba was quoted as saying by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ukraine is performing the tasks put forward by the EU for the membership "much faster than anyone expected", the minister stressed.

In June 2022, EU leaders accepted Ukraine as a candidate for membership in the bloc. The European Commission put forward seven requirements to be fulfilled by Ukraine for starting the accession talks.

Japanese PM to lead a panel on declining birthrate amid population crisis

Hong Kong, March 30 (IANS)

International rating agency Fitch on Thursday predicted that Hong Kong's economy would rebound by 4 percent this year, following a contraction of 3.5 percent in 2022. Removal of most pandemicrelated restrictions has led to visible improvements in business activity and cross-border connectivity since early 2023, the firm said, adding that "we believe the economic recovery will endure well into next year", reports Xinhua news agency Fitch forecasts growth of 3.5 percent in 2024, modestly above the pre-pandemic trend of around 3 percent.

Calling the region's credit fundamentals strong, Fitch affirmed Hong Kong's long-term foreign-currency issuer default

The ratings also reflect the closer alignment of governance and institutional management practices with the Chinese mainland, trends that have advanced steadily since 2019, said the agency.

In terms of currency stability, Fitch said it sees low risk to Hong Kong's linked exchange rate system with the US dollar.

The agency said Hong Kong's foreign exchange reserves totaled $429 billion as of February end, equivalent to roughly 1.8 times the region's monetary base and 119 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Hong Kong banks benefit from healthy liquidity buffers, strong capitalization, and stable funding, Fitch said, noting that "we believe these factors will make the sector more resilient to deposit

In terms of currency stability, Fitch said it sees low risk to Hong Kong's linked exchange rate system with the US dollar.

The agency said Hong Kong's foreign exchange reserves totaled $429 billion as of February end, equivalent to roughly 1.8 times the region's monetary base and 119 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Hong Kong banks benefit from healthy liquidity buffers, strong capitalization, and stable funding, Fitch said, noting that "we believe these factors will make the sector more resilient to deposit flight and the loss in market confidence".

The sector's capital adequacy ratio stood at 20.1 percent at the end of end-2022, near the top end of banking systems in the AsiaPacific region, said the agency.