Pakistan slams US sanctions on ballistic missile programme
Pakistan’s foreign ministry warns sanctions have ‘dangerous implications’ for the ‘strategic stability of the region’. Pakistan has denounced new US sanctions on the country’s ballistic missile programme as “discriminatory” and said they put the region’s peace and security at risk. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday warned in a statement that the sanctions “have dangerous implications for strategic stability of our region and beyond”. It also cast doubt on US allegations that targeted businesses were involved in weapons proliferation because previous sanctions “were based on mere doubts and suspicion without any evidence whatsoever”. It also accused the US of “double standards” for waiving licensing requirements for advanced military technology to other countries. The sanctions freeze any US property belonging to the targeted businesses and bar Americans from doing business with them. The US Department of State said one such sanctioned entity, the Islamabad-based National Development Complex, worked to acquire items for developing Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile programme that includes the SHAHEEN series of ballistic missiles. Advertisement The other sanctioned entities are Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International and Rockside Enterprise. The latest US sanctions came months after similar measures were slapped on other foreign entities, including a Chinese research institute, after the US State Department accused them of working for the National Development Complex, which it says was involved in the development and production of Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missiles. Pakistan became a declared nuclear power in 1998, when it conducted underground nuclear tests in response to those carried out by its rival and neighbour India. The two sides regularly test-fired their short-, medium- and long-range missiles. ‘Emerging threat to US’ Later on Thursday, a senior White House official said Pakistan is developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that eventually could allow it to strike targets outside of South Asia, including in the United States. Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer said Islamabad’s conduct raised “real questions” about the aims of its ballistic missile programme. “Candidly, it’s hard for us to see Pakistan’s actions as anything other than an emerging threat to the United States,” Finer told the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace audience. “Pakistan has developed increasingly sophisticated missile technology, from long-range ballistic missile systems to equipment that would enable the testing of significantly larger rocket motors,” he said. If those trends continue, Finer said, “Pakistan will have the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including in the United States.” Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Why is Apple being sued by the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Tech giant accused of using illegally mined metals in iPhones and other products sold globally. The world’s most valuable company – Apple – is being sued by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The tech giant has been accused of using illegally mined minerals in products like iPhones. Apple denies the claim. What is behind this legal action? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Robert Amsterdam – International lawyer representing the Democratic Republic of the Congo in this case Alain Uaykani – Journalist who has covered the conflict for more than 15 years Gregory Mthembu-Salter – Consultant who specialises in natural resource governance and served on the UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo Adblock test (Why?)
In the dark: How rolling blackouts have transformed life in Ecuador
As Ecuador’s historic drought continues, power cuts may persist until April, said Jorge Luis Hidalgo, an energy consultant. For decades, experts have urged authorities to increase Ecuador’s energy supply by expanding its solar and wind energy capacities and bolstering its thermoelectric plants. But Hidalgo said that electricity and fossil fuel subsidies have kept Ecuador’s energy prices among the lowest in the region: Residents and businesses pay only around $0.10 per kilowatt hour, according to government estimates. That lack of income has, in turn, disincentivised the private sector from investing in alternative energy, according to Hidalgo. “While Ecuador continues to give energy away, this situation will continue,” he said. A protester in Quito on November 21 held a sign that reads, ‘Come together Ecuador. Noboa = chaos’ [Christina Noriega/Al Jazeera] Over the years, as the population grows, the demand for energy has exceeded supply, Hidalgo added. It is a problem President Noboa himself has acknowledged. In October, he posted a video on social media where he explained that Ecuador currently has an energy deficit that fluctuates between 1,000 to 1,400 megawatts. That means that Ecuador’s need for electricity exceeded its capacity for production by more than one-tenth. As of 2022, the country was only capable of producing around 8,864 megawatts in total. The shortage has spurred a political crisis for Noboa, who faced protests in the streets as a result of the government-imposed power cuts. Those demonstrations come at a delicate time for Noboa. He faces re-election in 2025, as his current mandate is to complete the remainder of his predecessor’s term. Protesters in November even marched on the presidential palace in Quito, chanting, “There’s no light. There’s no education. And you have the nerve to ask for re-election?” By December, Noboa promised to end the government blackouts. “We will go back to having normal lives,” he pledged. Already, in November, Noboa announced that his administration had spent $700m on maintenance of Ecuador’s outdated thermoelectric plants, designed to support Ecuador’s hydroelectric power system during dry periods. Currently, hydroelectric dams are responsible for generating about 70 percent of Ecuador’s energy. Noboa also reached an agreement with Colombia to continue buying energy from the neighbouring country. Earlier this year, Colombia had cut electricity exports to Ecuador due to its own problems with drought. The Ecuadorian government has also brought in a floating thermoelectric plant from Turkiye that produces 100 megawatts and 23 power generators that produce 80 megawatts in total. In addition, Noboa has axed an energy subsidy for mining companies. “The mining companies in Ecuador consume more energy than a hospital needs to operate. And yet, their energy rate has been subsidised by the state,” Noboa wrote on social media in October. “The subsidies must go to those who need them most.” But the changes may come too late for the families hardest hit by the blackouts, like Samueza’s. Brandon Samueza, 26, is currently working for a ride-hailing app while looking for long-term employment [Christina Noriega/Al Jazeera] Since he was laid off, his wife has stepped up as the family breadwinner, working as a treasurer at a logistics company. Samueza, meanwhile, is trying out driving for a ride-hailing app, which has so far earned him less than a minimum wage. With a tighter household budget, Samueza said the holiday season is likely to come and go without much fanfare. But he is optimistic that, come the new year, the power cuts will have ceased and the economy will have recovered enough that he might find a job. Still, he feels frustrated with the government for his present predicament. “There shouldn’t be power cuts,” said Samueza. “A government should be prepared for these types of cases, especially since we already went through the same thing in April and May. The fact that they have not done anything to adjust speaks badly of the government.” Adblock test (Why?)
Texas regulators shelve an electricity market reform proposal they say does too little to shore up grid
The Public Utility Commission found that the performance credit mechanism, a financial tool the Legislature capped at $1 billion, would only marginally improve reliability of the state power grid.
Texas’ latest effort to deter migrants is a billboard campaign in Mexico, Central America
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the new strategy, which will cost an estimated $100,000, during a press conference in Eagle Pass.
‘Cascade of harm’: Cuomo threatens defamation lawsuit against former aide who accused him of sexual harassment
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday submitted a notice that he would be filing a defamation lawsuit against a former aide, who previously filed a federal lawsuit against him for sexual harassment, claiming that she defamed him through the process. “The nature of this action is to recover compensatory and punitive damages for the serious injuries and losses that Governor Cuomo has suffered and will continue to suffer as a result of the December 9, 2024 false statement by Bennett and her agents that Governor Cuomo ‘sexually harassed’ Bennett,” a legal notice filed by Cuomo against Charlotte Bennett on Thursday reads. “Bennett’s agents tweeted this statement on December 9, 2024 with the headline: “Debra Katz and Charlotte Bennett issued statements on news that Bennett voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in the SDNY against Andrew Cuomo, who sexually harassed her.” Bennett reposted her agents’ tweet, which has garnered more than 90,000 views. The December 9 Defamatory Statement – which was intended to be and was widely disseminated and which was made in the wake of Bennett and her agents’ numerous prior public accusations against Governor Cuomo – was false and defamatory, and Bennett made it knowing full well that it was false and intending to cause harm to Governor Cuomo.” Bennett was one of several women to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, which ultimately contributed to his resignation in 2021. CHRIS CUOMO SAYS HE VOTED FOR BROTHER, FORMER NY GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, FOR PRESIDENT: ‘HE DIDN’T WIN’ “I would never want to be unhelpful in any way, and I think given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing, and therefore, that’s what I’ll do,” Cuomo said at the time while denying the allegations against him and arguing that state investigators from the office of Attorney General Letitia James were biased against him. “I have slipped and called people ‘honey, ’sweetheart’ and ‘darling.’ I mean it to be endearing, but women found it dated and offensive,” Cuomo said at the time. “I take full responsibility for my actions. I have been too familiar with people. My sense of humor can be insensitive and off-putting.” “In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn,” he added. “There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate. And I should have, no excuses.” Bennett dropped her lawsuit against Cuomo, which she filed in 2022, this December on the eve of her deposition in the case. FORMER NY GOV. ANDREW CUOMO REFERRED TO DOJ FOR PROSECUTION BY HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE: REPORT “Since Ms. Bennett filed suit in federal court in September 2022, former Governor Cuomo has used every opportunity to harass our client with an astonishing number of invasive discovery requests and outrageous statements in pleadings to embarrass and humiliate her,” Bennett’s lawyer, Debra Katz, said in a statement as the lawsuit was dropped on Dec. 9. “These include requests for medical records for unrelated specialists, including gynecologists, optometrists, and others, as well as medical records dating back more than ten years ago from when she was a minor.” “This fishing expedition was designed to dig up material to smear our client and distract from the fact that Mr. Cuomo did, as the New York Attorney General’s Office concluded after a lengthy investigation, sexually harass Ms. Bennett and at least 11 other women. It is also important not to lose sight of the fact that before engaging in his multi-year, multi-million dollar legal war against Ms. Bennett – funded by N.Y. State taxpayers – Mr. Cuomo apologized for his behavior. At a March 2021 press conference, he apologized for ‘making anyone feel uncomfortable’ and for ‘whatever pain I caused anyone,’ and said, ‘I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.’ His apologies were empty.” Richard Azzopardi, a rep for Cuomo, praised Bennett’s decision to drop the case at the time, saying that her claims “falsely smeared” the former governor “for years.” “Ms. Bennett’s decision to drop her baseless lawsuit should be viewed as a complete capitulation and a desperate attempt to avoid being confronted with the mountains of exculpatory discovery – including contemporaneous texts and videos that the AG’s office never obtained – that completely refute her claims against Governor Cuomo,” he said, in a statement to Fox News Digital. “After falsely smearing Governor Cuomo for years, Ms. Bennett suddenly withdrew her federal lawsuit on the eve of her deposition to avoid having to admit under oath that her allegations were false, and her claims had no merit,” he said. “If New York State does give in to her public pressure campaign and settles, it will not be on the merits and should require the public release of all the evidence so that New Yorkers finally know the truth: Governor Cuomo never sexually harassed anyone.” Katz pushed back against Cuomo’s notice of claim in a statement to the Times Union, saying it has “no merit.” “There is a long history of using defamation lawsuits to silence and punish accusers of sexual harassment,” Katz said. “It is shameful that Mr. Cuomo has apparently now chosen to go down that path.” Fox News Digital reached out to Katz for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Cuomo’s notice alleges that Bennett “cynically used” conversations with Cuomo to “advance” her career and that her “false allegations materially contributed to a cascade of harm to Governor Cuomo.” Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report
House Republicans agree on Plan B government funding bill with Trump’s debt limit increase
House Republicans have struck a deal on a backup plan for averting a government shutdown by the Friday deadline. Multiple sources told Fox News Digital that the deal would extend current government funding levels for three months and also suspend the debt limit for two years – something President-elect Trump has demanded. Trump praised the deal minutes after Fox News Digital reported its contents. The deal also includes aid for farmers and roughly $110 billion in disaster relief funding for Americans impacted by storms Helene and Milton. It would also include certain health care provisions minus reforms to the Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) system that some Republicans and Democrats were pushing for – but others vehemently opposed. Trump said of the deal, “Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People. The newly agreed to American Relief Act of 2024 will keep the Government open, fund our Great Farmers and others, and provide relief for those severely impacted by the devastating hurricanes.” “All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote ‘YES’ for this Bill, TONIGHT!” he wrote. It comes after conservatives led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy torpedoed Speaker Mike Johnson’s initial government funding plan on Wednesday, prompting fears of a partial government shutdown right before the holidays. GOP hardliners were furious about what they saw as unrelated measures and policy riders being added to the bill at the last minute. House Republicans began negotiations for a “clean” bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), but those were also upended when Trump urged GOP lawmakers to pair a CR with action on the debt limit – which was expected to be a contentious battle in the first half of next year. Musk and Ramaswamy also lent their voices to the fight, with Musk calling on any Republican who supported the deal to lose their House seats. The original plan, which was bipartisan, was declared “dead” by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., as he left the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday night. This story is breaking and will be updated…
ICE nabs several migrants convicted of child molestation, one convicted murderer, in blue state suburbs
EXCLUSIVE: Baltimore ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officials on Thursday arrested eight migrants, including four convicted of child molestation and one murderer, in suburban Maryland. The arrests happened during an exclusive Fox News ride-along with the government agency. One of the migrants apprehended was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor and exposing himself in public several times. Another migrant, from the Philippines, was previously convicted of molesting a 10-year-old girl. According to ICE, the one migrant convicted of murder was living in the U.S. on a permanent visa status. MIGRANT CRIME PROBLEM ‘COURTESY’ OF BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, DEMOCRATIC PARTY: REP. PETE SESSIONS “The people we are out for are the worst of the worst,” Baltimore field office Director Matthew Elliston told Fox News’ David Spunt. “It’s not the average person who is in the country illegally. If we are targeting you, there is a reason.” The goal is simple for the Baltimore ICE Field Office: arrest and then deport as many illegal migrants with criminal records as possible. ICE agents’ goal at the start of the day was to capture eight targets, and all eight targets are now in custody. Now all eight of those migrants are behind bars and await hearings in front of immigration judges and potential deportation. FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR ON IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY IN 2025 According to ICE data obtained by the House Homeland Security Committee in September, there are at least 650,000 criminal illegal immigrants on the agency’s “non-detained docket,” meaning they are free in the U.S. interior. Of those, 14,944 are murderers and over 20,000 have been convicted of sexual assault. Although not officially a sanctuary state, Maryland, which is led by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and a majority Democratic state assembly, is considered immigrant friendly. The city of Baltimore, meanwhile, has an official policy that does not allow law enforcement to ask residents about their immigration status. ICE data indicates that Baltimore ERO arrested 570 migrants with either a criminal conviction or a pending criminal charge in fiscal year 2024.
DOJ seeks to block Jan. 6 defendants from attending Trump inauguration
Attorneys at the Department of Justice are urging federal judges to reject petitions from at least two Jan. 6 defendants who are asking that they be allowed to return to the nation’s capital for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Cindy Young, convicted of four misdemeanors for her involvement in the riot at the Capitol, and Russell Taylor, who pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge, both petitioned the courts to allow them to return to Washington, D.C., despite provisions of their sentences requiring them to stay away. “Contrary to Young’s self designation that she ‘poses no threat of danger to the community,’ Young presents a danger to the D.C. community, including the very law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” U.S. attorneys said in response to Young’s petition. The federal attorneys cited calls from Young “for retribution against those involved in January 6 prosecutions” and argued that she has failed “to recognize the seriousness of her actions.” FBI SHOULD PROBE ‘POTENTIAL’ LIZ CHENEY ‘WITNESS TAMPERING’ IN JAN 6 MATTER, HOUSE REPUBLICANS SAY A request from Taylor, who was invited to attend the inauguration by members of Utah’s congressional delegation, is also being challenged by attorneys at the Department of Justice who argue that the serious nature of his crimes should preclude him from being able to “return to the scene of the crime.” “He is asking for the Court to bless his desire to return to the scene of the crime, and the Court should not look past his criminal conduct the last time he was on Capitol grounds,” the U.S. attorneys wrote in a filing to U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. The attorneys added in their court filing that, while they had granted previous travel requests to other defendants involved in the Capitol siege, those approvals were to support people’s continued employment, and the requests did not involve travel to the nation’s capital. TRUMP INAUGURATION: DC POLICE CHIEF EXPECTING ‘4,000 POLICE OFFICERS TO ASSIST US’ However, another Jan. 6 defendant, Eric Peterson, who was convicted of a misdemeanor in November for his involvement in the Capitol riot but has yet to be sentenced, was given approval by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to travel to the District for Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, according to Peterson’s criminal case docket. Notably, the docket did not include any responses from the Department of Justice urging Chutkan to deny Peterson’s request. There remains uncertainty around whether Trump will pardon any, some, or all of those defendants who were convicted of crimes as a result of their involvement in the U.S. Capitol siege that occurred in 2021. Trump has said at times that pardons will be reserved for those who remained peaceful on that fateful day; however, at other points he has suggested a blanket pardon for all those who were convicted. One thing that Trump has been steadfast on is that the pardons will come quickly following his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. The Department of Justice declined to comment for this story.
ICE deportations catch up to Trump-era numbers in FY 2024 as Biden admin comes to a close
Deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) caught up to levels seen during the Trump administration in Fiscal Year 2024, just as the number of illegal immigrants not in ICE detention soared to new highs. The annual ICE report released Wednesday shows that ICE deported 271,484 illegal immigrants to 192 different countries in fiscal year 2024. Of those, 32.7% had criminal histories and 237 were known or suspected terrorists. It’s a significant increase from more than 142,000 deported in FY 23, and around 72,000 in FY 2022. In FY 2020, the last year of the Trump administration and which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, there were around 185,000 deportations and in FY 2019 there were 267,000 deportations. TRUMP’S TRANSITION TEAM EYES EXPANSION OF ANKLE MONITORS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NOT IN CUSTODY However, those numbers also include removals of those encountered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the border, which typically make up the vast majority of ICE deportations. Of removals of those arrested in the interior by ICE itself, just 47,000 illegal immigrants were deported, compared to 44,255 last fiscal year and 28,204 in FY 2022. That compared to 62,739 in FY 2020 in the last full year of the Trump administration and 85,958 conducted in FY 2019, nearly double that of FY 2024. ICE says that its resources were strained by having to shift staff and attention to the southern border to help with the migrant crisis, as well as an increase in those released into the interior. “In addition, ERO detailed significant numbers of its personnel to support DHS efforts for managing irregular migration at the Southwest Border over the past several fiscal years, further straining ERO’s finite resources,” the report says. Consequently, it says the number of arrests by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) dropped in FY 2024. “In FY 2024, ERO arrested 113,431 noncitizens — a 33.5% decrease from FY 2023, when ERO conducted a total of 170,590 arrests,” the report said. “Although shifts in arrest numbers are driven by multiple complex factors, many of ERO’s resources throughout FY 2024 were concentrated on processing and removing noncitizens at the Southwest Border, limiting interior law enforcement actions. This focus on border cases impacted routine interior enforcement operations.” Both ICE arrests and the number of deportations of those arrested by ICE are expected to increase under the next administration, which has indicated it intends to drop the restrictions put on ICE during the Biden administration and launch a “historic” mass deportation campaign. ‘STANDING BY TO HELP:’ RED STATE REVEALS PLAN TO PURCHASE BORDER WALL MATERIALS TO STORE FOR TRUMP That promise was a centerpiece of Trump’s 2024 campaign and his team are already making concrete steps towards that goal. It has already drawn resistance from some Democrats, but also some support from others in cities that have been overwhelmed by the massive migrant influx that the country has seen since 2021. The scope of that challenge is emphasized by the ICE report, which shows that the number of illegal immigrants on ICE’s non-detained docket has exploded during the Biden administration to nearly 7.7 million, more than doubling what it was when Trump left office. It was at 3.2 million at the end of FY 2020. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS The non-detained docket is made up of illegal immigrants in deportation proceedings, who are not in ICE custody, but who may be in federal, state or local custody or in forms of monitoring. This includes illegal immigrants who were caught and released at the border and are waiting for their court dates, as well as illegal aliens who have already been ordered deported by a DOJ immigration judge after already having their cases heard. Fox has previously reported that there are over 1.4 million illegal immigrants in the US with final orders of removal, meaning they have been ordered deported but are still in the U.S. The report revealed that ther were more than 701,000 Venezuelan illegal immigrants on ICE’s non-detained docket, but only 1,470 were in ICE detention. Meanwhile, despite a surge into the U.S. of more than 500,000 unaccompanied migrant children into the U.S. during the Biden administration, just 411 were removed in FY 2024, an increase from the 212 in FY 2023. For comparison, more than 4,000 were removed in FY 20202.