Who is Rahul Navin, IRS officer appointed as new ED director?
Acting Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief Rahul Navin was on Wednesday appointed as the full-time director of the federal anti-money laundering agency.
‘Indulging in…’: CM Mamata Banerjee slams Opposition over Kolkata doctor rape-murder case
Mamata Banerjee said, “Instead of standing with the (woman’s) family, CPI(M) and BJP are indulging in cheap politics. They think they can do a Bangladesh here. But let me tell you, I am not greedy for power.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton threatens to sue Dallas over State Fair gun ban
A state fair spokesperson said they would cooperate with the city of Dallas’s guidance on the matter.
Top House committee demands Mayorkas fork over docs after Biden admin freezes migrant flight program
FIRST ON FOX: A top House committee is investigating the Biden administration’s decision to freeze a controversial program that allows migrants to fly or travel directly into the U.S. after revelations of fraud within the program – saying they are “deeply concerned” by what has been revealed. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., wrote to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding documents and communications on the pause of the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV) after a briefing he says was “wholly unsatisfactory.” Fox News Digital first reported that the Biden administration paused the issuing of advance travel authorizations in July for the program, which allows 30,000 nationals from those countries to travel into the U.S. each month and enter legally under the administration’s use of parole since early 2023. ‘SHUT IT DOWN’: BIDEN MIGRANT FLIGHT PROGRAM UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE TO DISBAND AFTER FRAUD REVELATIONS The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Fox News Digital at that time that “out of an abundance of caution” it has stopped issuing the authorizations and that it takes abuse of processes very seriously. “Out of an abundance of caution, DHS has temporarily paused the issuance of advanced travel authorizations for new beneficiaries while it undertakes a review of supporter applications. DHS will restart application processing as quickly as possible, with appropriate safeguards,” a spokesperson said. The pause came after an internal report, parts of which have been made public by the Federation of American Immigration Reform, found that 100,948 forms were filled out by 3,218 serial sponsors – those whose number appears on 20 or more forms. It also found that 24 of the 1,000 most used numbers belonged to a dead person. Meanwhile, 100 physical addresses were used between 124 and 739 times on over 19,000 forms. Those addresses included storage units. The focus is on issues with supporter filings, and not with the filings from the beneficiaries of the program themselves. The House Republicans say they received a briefing on Aug. 5, but officials “failed to adequately respond to even basic questions about the confirmation of the dates that parole processing was suspended, fraud indicators used by the Department to screen sponsors, sponsorship threshold numbers that would trigger concerns for fraud, the Department’s plan for tracking upcoming parole expirations, or the current backlog of CHNV travel authorizations awaiting Department approval.” DHS DOCS REVEAL WHERE PAROLED MIGRANTS UNDER CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN FLIGHT PROGRAM ARE LANDING “The Committee finds the August 5 briefing wholly unsatisfactory,” the lawmakers, including Reps. Clay Higgins, R-La., and Dan Bishop, R-N.C., say. They also say documents they have obtained so far show that officers were instructed to allow supporters to sponsor up to 10 separate applications before being submitted for a review of potential fraud. “The Committee is deeply concerned that such measures reduced the level of scrutiny that prospective sponsor applications received, which possibly enabled the widespread abuse of the CHNV parole program as described in the report on the Department’s internal investigation,” they say. The lawmakers are requesting an unredacted copy of the internal report, all communications internally about fraud within the program, documents on the suspension of the program, documents related to the dates of when authorizations were suspended – and information related to current backlogs, as well as documents about fraud safeguards for other parole programs in use. DHS told Fox that it responds to congressional correspondence directly via official channels, and that “the Department will continue to respond to congressional oversight.” BIDEN ADMIN FREEZES CONTROVERSIAL MIGRANT FLIGHT PROGRAM AFTER FRAUD REVELATIONS The program has long been controversial among Republicans, It was initially announced for Venezuelans in October 2022, expanded to additional nationals in January 2023, and allows migrants to receive work permits and two years of authorization if they pass biometric and biographical checks, and have a sponsor. The program does not itself facilitate flights, and migrants are responsible for their own travel. Republicans have claimed the program is an abuse of parole authority – which is allowed to be used for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. “Shut it down permanently,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after the pause was revealed. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE DHS stressed to Fox News Digital that CHNV beneficiaries are “thoroughly screened and vetted prior to their arrival to the United States.” “The multi-layered screening and vetting for advanced travel authorizations is separate from the screening of U.S.-based supporters,” the spokesperson continued. “DHS has not identified issues of concern relating to the screening and vetting of beneficiaries.”
Uvalde police failed to turn over some video from Robb Elementary shooting, department says
Chief Homer Delgado said the department has turned over the footage to the district attorney’s office and ordered an investigation into how the error occurred.
Walz defends his military record, praises JD Vance’s, in 1st solo campaign stop
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz defended his military record amid an onslaught of accusations that he has been intentionally misleading about his service and also offered some kind words about his Republican vice presidential rival’s service in the U.S. Marine Corps. “I am damn proud of my service to this country,” Walz, who was tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate last month, said during a speech in front of members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), one of the country’s strongest public sector unions. The speech marked Walz’s first solo event since joining the campaign and comes amid a wave of questions about how he has represented his military service, including from his Republican counterpart on the trail. HARRIS CAMPAIGN MANIPULATED HEADLINES OF NEWS STORIES INJECTING PRO-KAMALA SPIN IN GOOGLE ADS “What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage,” Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who was tapped by former President Trump to run on the Republican ticket, said of Walz last week. Vance’s critique was in reference to remarks Walz made in which he argued he would like to ban the kind of weapons he had “carried in war,” despite the Minnesota governor having never served in a war zone. “We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at,” Walz said in a video that was released by the Harris campaign last month. “What was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq, and he has not spent a day in a combat zone?” Vance said in response to the remarks, referencing Walz’s decision to retire and run for Congress shortly before his unit deployed to Iraq. VIDEO SHOWS WALZ PRAISING CONTROVERSIAL MUSLIM CLERIC HARRIS CAMPAIGN SAID HE HAD ‘NO RELATIONSHIP WITH’ Critics have also accused Walz of being misleading when referencing deployments “in support” of Operation Enduring Freedom and claims that he retired as a command sergeant major when he never completed the necessary coursework to keep the rank and instead retired as a master sergeant. However, Walz used his first solo event to push back against the critics, arguing he was “proud to serve my country, and I always will be.” Walz then turned his attention to Vance, noting that some of the criticism has come from Trump’s campaign. “These guys have — are even attacking me for my record of service,” Walz said. However, Walz argued that such critiques should be off limits, going so far as to thank Vance, a Marine veteran, for his time in uniform. “I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record,” Walz said. “To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice.” The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
How people in Gaza are working remotely amid war
NewsFeed One man is making it possible for people in Gaza to work remotely while Israel continues to wage war on the besieged enclave. The initiative is providing hope for Palestinians to earn much-needed income after having lost everything. Published On 14 Aug 202414 Aug 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
What happened in the Kolkata rape case that triggered doctors’ protests?
Activists and doctors across India are planning to march on Wednesday evening to demand justice for a female doctor, who was raped and murdered while on duty in a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata. Protests titled “Reclaim the Night” are expected in West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Odisha, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, among other states, according to an organiser of the protests based in Kolkata. This comes after two days of nationwide protests by doctors following the incident at RG Kar Medical College in West Bengal’s capital city. “Sit-in demonstrations and agitation in the hospital campus will continue,” one of the protesting doctors, identified as Dr Mridul, told Al Jazeera. Services in some medical centres were halted indefinitely, and marches and vigils shed light on issues of sexual violence, as well as doctors’ safety in the world’s most populous nation. What happened to the doctor in Kolkata? A 31-year-old trainee doctor’s dead body, bearing multiple injuries, was found on August 9 in a government teaching hospital in Kolkata. The parents of the victim were initially told “by hospital authorities that their daughter had committed suicide,” lawyer and women’s rights activist Vrinda Grover told Al Jazeera. But an autopsy confirmed that the victim was raped and killed. Grover has appeared for victims in sexual violence cases in India in the past, including Bilkis Bano, a Muslim woman who was gang-raped during the 2002 Gujarat riots, and Soni Sori, a tribal activist based in Chhattisgarh state. Thousands of doctors marched in Kolkata on Monday, demanding better security measures and justice for the victim. On Tuesday, the Kolkata High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) called for a nationwide halting of elective services in hospitals starting on Monday. Elective services are medical treatments that can be deferred or are not deemed medically necessary. Doctors hold posters to protest the rape and murder of a young medic from Kolkata, at the Government General Hospital in Vijayawada on August 14 [Idrees Mohammed/AFP] On Tuesday, FORDA announced on its X account that it is calling off the strike after Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda accepted protest demands. One of these demands was solidifying the Central Protection Act, intended to be a central law to protect medical professionals from violence, which was proposed in the parliament’s lower house in 2022, but has not yet been enacted. FORDA said that the ministry would begin working on the Act within 15 days of the news release, and that a written statement from the ministry was expected to be released soon. Press release regarding call off of strike. In our fight for the sad incident at R G Kar, the demands raised by us have been met in full by the @OfficeofJPNadda , with concrete steps in place, and not just verbal assurances. Central Healthcare Protection Act ratification… pic.twitter.com/OXdSZgM1Jc — FORDA INDIA (@FordaIndia) August 13, 2024 Why are some Indian doctors continuing to protest? However, other doctors’ federations and hospitals have said they will not back down on the strike until a concrete solution is found, including a central law to curb attacks on doctors. Those continuing to strike included the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA), Delhi-based All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Indira Gandhi Hospital, local media reported. Ragunandan Dixit, the general secretary of the AIIMS Resident Doctors’ Association, said that the indefinite strike will continue until their demands are met, including a written guarantee of the implementation of the Central Protection Act. Medical professionals in India want a central law that makes violence against doctors a non-bailable, punishable offence, in hopes that it deters such violent crimes against doctors in the future. Those continuing to protest also call for the dismissal of the principal of the college, who was transferred. “We’re demanding his termination, not just transfer,” Dr Abdul Waqim Khan, a protesting doctor told ANI news agency. “We’re also demanding a death penalty for the criminal,” he added. “Calling off the strike now would mean that female resident doctors might never receive justice,” Dr Dhruv Chauhan, member of the National Council of the Indian Medical Association’s Junior Doctors’ Network told local news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). Which states in India saw doctors’ protests? While the protests started in West Bengal’s Kolkata on Monday, they spread across the country on Tuesday. The capital New Delhi, union territory Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow and city Prayagraj, Bihar capital Patna and southern state Goa also saw doctors’ protests. [Al Jazeera] Who is the suspect in the Kolkata rape case? Local media reported that the police arrested suspect Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer who would visit the hospital often. He has unrestricted access to the ward and the police found compelling evidence against him. The parents of the victim told the court that they suspect that it was a case of gang rape, local media reported. Why is sexual violence on the rise in India? Sexual violence is rampant in India, where 90 rapes were reported on average every day in 2022. Laws against sexual violence were made stricter following a rape case in 2012, when a 22-year-old physiotherapy intern was brutally gang-raped and murdered on a bus in Delhi. Four men were hanged for the gang rape, which had triggered a nationwide protests. But despite new laws in place, “the graph of sexual violence in India continues to spiral unabated,” said Grover. She added that in her experience at most workplaces, scant attention is paid to diligent and rigorous enforcement of the laws. “It is regrettable that government and institutions respond only after the woman has already suffered sexual assault and often succumbed to death in the incident,” she added, saying preventive measures are not taken. In many rape cases in India, perpetrators have not been held accountable. In 2002, Bano was raped by 11 men, who were sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2022, the government of
North Korea set to reopen borders to foreign tourists
The reclusive country has largely been closed to tourists since 2020, when it imposed strict COVID-19 border controls. North Korea is set to reopen its borders to international visitors after years of strict COVID-19 border controls, say two Chinese tour operators. Beijing-based Koryo Tours announced on its website on Wednesday that the reclusive country would be welcoming tourists to the northeastern city of Samjiyon and “likely the rest of the country” in December 2024. “Having waited for over four years to make this announcement, Koryo Tours is very excited for the opening of North Korean tourism once again,” said the operator. Big News! https://t.co/RTEsf1BB97 pic.twitter.com/g0XbeJhGYG — Koryo Tours (@KoryoTours) August 14, 2024 KTG Tours, based in Shenyang, also announced that tourists would be able to go to Samjiyon starting at the end of 2024. North Korea has largely been closed to international tourists since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Koryo Tours, which has been operating in the country for over 30 years, said it had never come across such a lengthy closure of the borders. International flights in and out of North Korea only resumed last year, when a small group of Russian tourists flew there for a private tour in February. Their arrival came as Moscow and Pyongyang bolstered ties, with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un making a rare overseas trip to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia last September, the latter visiting North Korea in June. The Russian tour group included people in the tourism business and “travellers from literally all parts of Russia from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok”, said the Russian embassy in Pyongyang at the time. North Korea has been building what it has called a “socialist utopia” in Samjiyon, a city near the Chinese border, billing it as “a model of highly civilised mountain city”, with new apartments, hotels, a ski resort and commercial, cultural and medical facilities. Back in July, Kim sacked or demoted some senior officials for their “irresponsible” handling of his flagship Samjiyon project. Koryo Tours visited the city back in 2018 while assisting British television star Michael Palin with a travel documentary. The operator said its website would be open for bookings once its local partner confirmed itineraries and dates in the coming weeks. “Your safety is our priority,” it said. “And your enjoyment too!” Adblock test (Why?)
Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: Rahul Gandhi breaks silence, said…
Rahul Gandhi condemned the authorities in his first statement made on Friday following the Thursday night tragedy and raised concern on the safety measures in educational and health sectors