WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday paid tribute to the 2,977 people killed on September 11, 2001, warning that “savage killers” who threaten the United States will find no haven on earth.
On the 16th anniversary of the attacks, Trump’s first as president, he observed a moment of silence at a White House before laying a wreath and delivering remarks at the Pentagon, where 184 people died.
His tone unbending and solemn, Trump championed America’s resilience and “common bonds,” but issued a stern warning to “enemies” that “America cannot be intimidated.”
“Those who try will soon join the long list of vanquished enemies who dared to test our mettle,” he said, as a drone of jet engines carried echoes of a day half a generation ago that many Americans have vowed not to forget.
In Trump’s native New York, at Ground Zero, there was a minute’s silence at 8:46 am (1246 GMT), the moment the first of two hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center.
In all, four planes were hijacked by Al-Qaeda militants who used them to topple the trade center’s twin towers and hit the Pentagon.
The fourth plane, Flight 93, crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Vice President Mike Pence traveled for the day.
“It was the worst attack on our country since Pearl Harbor and even worse because this was an attack on civilians — innocent men, women and children whose lives were taken so needlessly,” Trump said.
The attacks remain the deadliest ever on US soil, plunging the United States into a chain of rolling wars against Islamic militants, in which Trump has vowed to give no quarter.
Next year, Americans who were born after 9/11 are due to be deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq for the first time.
“We’re ensuring that they never again have a safe haven to launch attacks against our country,” Trump said.
“We are making plain to these savage killers that there is no dark corner beyond our reach, no sanctuary beyond our grasp and nowhere to hide anywhere on this very large earth.”
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Trump marks 9/11 with threat to ‘savage killers’
Trump marks 9/11 with threat to ‘savage killers’
EU reconsidering funds for Serbia as justice laws ‘eroding trust’
BELGRADE: The European Union could withhold funds from a 1.6 billion euro allocation of loans and grants to Serbia, after Belgrade passed laws that are “eroding trust” in its commitment to the rule of law, the bloc’s enlargement commissioner said.
Reforms to centralize the judiciary that came into force this week brought criticism from judges and prosecutors who see them as bolstering President Aleksandar Vucic’s hold on power, weakening the fight against organized crime and undermining Serbia’s bid to join the EU.
“These amendments are eroding trust. It is becoming harder for those in Brussels who are willing to advance with Serbia to make their case,” EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said in emailed comments to Reuters late on Thursday.
Kos said the commission was reviewing funding for Serbia under the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, aimed at aligning the region to EU rules and ultimately bringing countries such as Serbia into the bloc. Serbia was allocated 1.6 billion euros of loans and grants under the program.
“These (funds) contain preconditions linked to the rule of law,” she said.
Serbia began official talks to join the EU in 2014 but widespread corruption and weak institutions have slowed progress.
The judicial reforms include limiting the mandate of chief public prosecutors and granting court presidents — responsible for court administration — greater powers over judges. Critics fear the reforms will erode judges’ independence and jeopardize high-level corruption cases overseen by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime.
The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. The justice ministry has said that the new laws will make the judiciary more efficient by streamlining the decision-making process.
Since the backlash, Serbia has requested the opinion of the Venice Commission, a panel of constitutional law experts of the Council of Europe, a human rights body.
“Once that opinion is issued, we expect these laws to be revised accordingly and in an inclusive manner,” Kos said.
Reforms to centralize the judiciary that came into force this week brought criticism from judges and prosecutors who see them as bolstering President Aleksandar Vucic’s hold on power, weakening the fight against organized crime and undermining Serbia’s bid to join the EU.
“These amendments are eroding trust. It is becoming harder for those in Brussels who are willing to advance with Serbia to make their case,” EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said in emailed comments to Reuters late on Thursday.
Kos said the commission was reviewing funding for Serbia under the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, aimed at aligning the region to EU rules and ultimately bringing countries such as Serbia into the bloc. Serbia was allocated 1.6 billion euros of loans and grants under the program.
“These (funds) contain preconditions linked to the rule of law,” she said.
Serbia began official talks to join the EU in 2014 but widespread corruption and weak institutions have slowed progress.
The judicial reforms include limiting the mandate of chief public prosecutors and granting court presidents — responsible for court administration — greater powers over judges. Critics fear the reforms will erode judges’ independence and jeopardize high-level corruption cases overseen by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime.
The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. The justice ministry has said that the new laws will make the judiciary more efficient by streamlining the decision-making process.
Since the backlash, Serbia has requested the opinion of the Venice Commission, a panel of constitutional law experts of the Council of Europe, a human rights body.
“Once that opinion is issued, we expect these laws to be revised accordingly and in an inclusive manner,” Kos said.
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