Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/710370
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 3 AUGUST 2016 News Obama: Donald Trump is unfit to be US president US President Barack Obama said Republican presiden- tial nominee Donald Trump is unfit to be president, and questioned why his party still supports the New York billion- aire's candidacy. "There has to come a point at which you say: 'Enough '," Oba- ma said. Trump has been sharply criti- cised for attacking the parents of a fallen US soldier who spoke out against him. He has also come under fire for backing the Russian annex- ation of Crimea. Obama dismissed Trump as "woefully unprepared " for the office of the presidency, ad- dressing reporters at the same time Trump held a campaign event in Loudon County, Vir- ginia. Obama said he had had policy differences with previous Re- publican Presidents and candi- dates. However, he added that he had never thought they could not function as President. "I think I was right and Mitt Romney and John McCain were wrong on certain policy issues, but I never thought that they couldn't do the job," Obama said. "And had they won, I would have been disap- pointed but I would have said to all Americans, 'This is our President, and I know they're going to abide by certain norms and rules and common sense – will observe basic decency, will have enough knowledge about economic policy and foreign policy and our constitutional traditions and rule of law that our government will work, and then we'll compete four years from now to try to win an elec- tion.' But that's not the situa- tion here." "And that's not just my opin- ion – that's the opinion of many prominent Republicans," Obama continued. "There has to come a point at which you say: Enough. And the alternative is that the entire party, the Republican party, ef- fectively endorses and validates the positions that are being ar- ticulated by Mr Trump. And as I said in my speech last week, I don't think that actually repre- sents the views of a whole lot of Republicans out there." Speaking alongside Singa- pore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Obama reiterated his view that Trump is unfit for of- fice, adding "I said so last week, and he keeps on proving it. The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that had made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia means that he's woefully unprepared to do this job." The outgoing US president added that even though he fought hard against his op- ponents for the White House in past elections, he never doubted that they could safely execute the duties of the office of the presidency. Thousands attend funeral of priest killed in France terrorist attack SOME 2,000 mourners gathered in Rouen cathedral in Normandy yesterday for the funeral of the Catholic priest knifed to death at his church altar – with his sister describing him as "our brother, your brother". Father Jacques Hamel was lead- ing morning mass in the indus- trial town of Saint-Etienne-du- Rouvray on Tuesday last week when the attackers stormed in, forced the 85-year-old to his knees and slit his throat. The public ceremony was led by the city's archbishop, after which Father Hamel was interred in a private burial. The emotionally charged cer- emony at Rouen cathedral, at- tended by the French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, and religious leaders including Muslim representatives, took place amid high security. Hundreds of people who could not get into the cathedral watched the ceremony from un- der umbrellas on a big screen. At the service his sister, Rosely- ne, told the congregation that her brother, who was 85, had been a man of "mercy and love". She said he had turned down an officer position when doing his military service in Algeria, as the role would have required him to give the order for his men to kill other men. "His refusal was categorical," she said. "He chose to serve God so that he can cultivate love and sharing and tolerance among people of all faiths and denomi- nations, believers and non-be- lievers, throughout his life." She said Father Hamel's mes- sage to everyone would be: "Let us learn to live together. Let us be the workers and artisans of peace, each one in his own way." In the homily, Rouen Archbish- op Dominique Lebrun said: "As brutal and unfair and horrible as Jacques's death was, we have to look deep into our hearts to find the light." He called for forgive- ness, quoting the New Testament command to love your neigh- bours. Saluting representatives of the Muslim and Jewish faiths, he called for peace and tolerance adding: "Never again." It was not a question of forgiving those who had made a "pact with the devil", but called on those taken by "de- monic madness" to remember their mothers "who gave you life." Three men are in the custody of anti-terrorist police and are being questioned about their connection to the attack. One of them, a 30-year-old cousin of Petitjean, is accused of "associa- tion with criminals in relation to an illegal terrorist organisation". The public prosecutor's office said the suspect "was perfectly aware that his cousin's violent plan of action was imminent", adding that examination of the man's phone and computer re- vealed that he knew "a lot more than he wanted to tell police". A 17-year-old who tried to reach Syria with Kermiche in 2015 be- fore he was arrested in Switzer- land and a 19-year-old are also under arrest. Barack Obama said Republican candidate Donald Trump is 'woefully unprepared' for the presidency Father Hamel's murder by French citizens was the first Islamist attack on a church in western Europe Syrian town attacked with chlorine gas SOME 33 civilians, includ- ing 18 women and 10 chil- dren have been injured in a suspected chemical attack on a town in northern Syria, a doctor who treated the vic- tims and aid workers said. The attack, using a gas cyl- inder laced with chlorine, tar- geted the town of Saraqeb in Idlib province, which is under opposition control, and near where a Russian helicopter was shot down on Monday. Chlorine gas can cause victims to become short of breath and to foam blood from the mouth. The government and some rebel groups have been ac- cused of, and denied, using chemical agents. It came almost exactly a year after the UN security council adopted a resolution that set a 12 month-deadline to identify the perpetrators of chlorine attacks in Syria. The deadline expires next week. Ibrahim al-Assaad, a doctor who treated the victims, said none of the 29 injured he saw exhibited physical wounds. "All of them had breathing and lung problems, spanning mild, moderate and severe symptoms, while coughing and having bloodshot eyes," he said. "They smelled of chlorine, and the civil de- fence workers who rescued them said the site of the at- tack also smelled strongly of chlorine." "It is impossible to get used to this pain we see," he added. "Impossible." The suspected chemical at- tack occurred against a back- drop of escalating warfare across Syria and particularly in the neighbouring province of Aleppo, where rebels have launched a wide-ranging of- fensive to break a weeks-long siege on the opposition-held east of the city. Syria Civil Defense, a rescue service that operates in oppo- sition-held areas, said it had transferred at least 30 vic- tims with breathing problems to a hospital after what they described as an attack using a toxic gas that smelled like chlorine. The organisation published images and videos of the victims of the alleged attack, which it described as being intended to "spread fear and panic among civilians". Local people said a helicop- ter dropped cylinders from the sky on to the town – an approach that would fit the modus operandi of previous air raids that used chlorine and were blamed on the re- gime of Bashar al-Assad.