Three Delhi schools receive bomb threat mail, second in a week
A Delhi Fire Services official said, “We received calls (regarding the threat emails) from Bhatnagar International School in Paschim Vihar (4:21 am), Cambridge School in Shri Niwas Puri (6:23 am) and DPS Amar Colony in East of Kailash (6:35 am).”
US President-elect Trump invites China’s Xi Jinping to his inauguration
United States President-elect Donald Trump has invited his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration ceremony in January, despite his history of hawkish rhetoric and tariff threats. On Thursday, Trump’s incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed reports of the invitation in an appearance on the conservative TV channel Fox News. She framed the invitation as an effort to strengthen ties between the two countries, long seen as rivals. “This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies but our adversaries and our competitors, too,” Leavitt told the programme Fox & Friends. Experts say that it would be unprecedented for a Chinese leader to attend a US presidential inauguration, given the frosty relations that have persisted between the two countries for decades. “This is diplomatic theater, nothing more. Other heads of state, let alone Xi Jinping, haven’t attended US presidential inaugurations,” Scott Kennedy, a China specialist at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the news agency Reuters. Advertisement Experts say Xi is unlikely to accept the invitation. When asked at a briefing about Trump’s invitation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded: “I have nothing to share at present.” But the symbolism behind his appearance at Trump’s second inauguration would likely be fraught. Danny Russel, vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told The Associated Press that Xi’s attendance – if he accepts – could be construed as the Chinese president “celebrating the triumph of a foreign leader”. “Can you imagine Xi Jinping sitting outdoors in Washington, DC, in January at the feet of the podium, surrounded by hawkish members of Congress, gazing up at Donald Trump as he delivers his inaugural address?” asked Russel. Xi and Trump have also butted heads in the past. During Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2021, he initiated a trade war with China that saw the two countries impose tariffs on each other’s imports. In 2019, the United Nations Trade and Development organisation issued a report warning that the trade war was “economically hurting both countries”. Experts have also warned that the cost of tariffs is often offset onto consumers. Trump also exchanged a war of words with Xi’s government during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he called the “China virus”. He demanded China be held accountable for its spread. China, for its part, condemned Trump’s accusations as “baseless” and called his rhetoric stigmatising. Advertisement A second Trump term may spark further tensions with China. Already, he has pledged to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods if more is not done to curb the trade of the synthetic drug fentanyl. And his incoming administration is stacked with several notable foreign policy hawks, including Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, who has accused China of deploying “theft” and “predatory tactics” to strengthen its economy. China sanctioned Rubio in 2020. The current administration of US President Joe Biden has also left some tariffs from Trump’s first term largely in place and taken aggressive steps meant to hobble China’s tech sector. But this week, there was evidence the US could seek to increase cooperation with China moving forward. The Biden administration announced a delegation of senior Treasury Department officials would travel to Nanjing, China, while other officials would coordinate with their Chinese counterparts at a meeting for the Group of 20 (G20) forum in South Africa. Trump too has signalled a willingness to warm relations. Speaking from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, Trump also said his incoming administration would engage in “a lot of talks with China”. “We have a good relationship with China. I have a surprising relationship. Now, when the COVID came in, I sort of cut it off. That was a step too far,” he said. Some are hopeful that the two global powers will find room for collaboration where possible. “We should choose dialogue over confrontation and win-win cooperation over zero-sum games,” Xi said in the letter read aloud at a US-China Business Council gala in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Trump backs dockworkers in fight over automation
US president-elect says savings from automation are not worth the ‘distress, hurt, and harm’ caused to workers. United States President-elect Donald Trump has thrown his support behind union dockworkers who are at an impasse with their employer over the use of automation. The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) have until January 15 to agree on a new contract, after the sides reached a temporary deal in October. The deal, which was brokered under intense pressure from the administration of President Joe Biden, brought an end to a three-day strike that crippled operations at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, but left the contentious use of semi-automated cranes unresolved. Trump on Thursday signalled his support for the workers’ stance following a meeting with Harold Daggett, the president of ILA, and Dennis Daggett, the union’s executive vice president. “I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen,” Trump said on Truth Social. Advertisement Trump said that foreign shipping firms had “made a fortune” through their access to the US market and should hire more American workers. “They shouldn’t be looking for every last penny knowing how many families are hurt. They’ve got record profits, and I’d rather these foreign companies spend it on the great men and women on our docks than machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced. In the end, there’s no gain for them, and I hope that they will understand how important an issue this is for me,” he said. Much as his support of tariffs and scepticism of interventionist foreign policy marked him out from traditional Republicans, Trump’s remarks are a departure from his party’s longstanding support of businesses over unions. The ILA argues that automation destroys jobs, while USMX contends that modernisation is necessary to keep US ports competitive. USMX said in a statement after Trump’s remarks that it looked forward to working with the incoming administration to strengthen supply chains and support jobs. “It’s clear President-elect Trump, USMX, and the ILA all share the goal of protecting and adding good-paying American jobs at our ports. But this contract goes beyond our ports – it is about supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global marketplace – from farmers, to manufacturers, to small businesses, and innovative start-ups looking for new markets to sell their products,” the employer group said. “To achieve this, we need modern technology that is proven to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains. ILA members’ compensation increases with the more goods they move – the greater capacity our ports have and goods that are moved means more money in their pockets.” Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Indonesia’s Prabowo steers strategic middle path amid China, US rivalry
When Prabowo Subianto was sworn in as Indonesia’s eighth president in October, an immediate question was what the appointment of the once-feared ex-special forces general would mean for regional security during his five-year term in office. Analysts tell Al Jazeera that Prabowo’s approach to foreign policy will differ significantly from his predecessor – ex-President Joko Widodo, better known as “Jokowi” – whose term in office was focused more on attracting foreign investment to Indonesia and building export markets, than on defence spending and international affairs. As competition mounts between China and the United States in the Asia Pacific region, just how far the 73-year-old President Prabowo will take Indonesia in a new foreign policy direction remains to be seen. “Unlike Jokowi, who largely delegated foreign affairs and security matters, Prabowo, through his defence minister, will drive more opportunities with the Pentagon,” Natalie Sambhi, an Indonesia expert and executive director of Verve Research, told Al Jazeera. Advertisement “That said, we have early signs that Indonesia is looking to deepen its relationship with China, including resuming military exercises,” Sambhi said. “We have five years to see whether the complexity and frequency of military exercises with the [Chinese] People’s Liberation Army evolves in ways that rival the intensity with the US military,” she said. ‘Mitigating the impact of US–China rivalry’ While it raised some eyebrows at the time, Prabowo’s early choice of state visits upon securing Indonesia’s presidency gave away little of his strategic thinking for Indonesia’s place in a region of rapidly evolving military competition. He visited Australia in August and Russia in September as Indonesia’s president-elect. That was followed by a visit to China in November when he was elected president. Shortly after, he travelled to Washington, DC, where he met with US President Joe Biden, capping the visit with a phone call to the US’s president-elect Donald Trump. In late November, Prabowo visited the United Kingdom and met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles. Zachary Abuza, a lecturer in Southeast Asian politics and security at the National War College in Washington, DC, said the decision to visit Russia and China ahead of the US “certainly raised some alarm bells about what he is going to do with the bilateral relationship”. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Prabowo attend at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on November 9, 2024 [Florence Lo/pool/Reuters] But the order of the countries that Prabowo chose to visit could have also been more an issue of logistics and timing than a symbolic indication of strategic intent as a visit to the US would have been complicated while the country was in the middle of a presidential election campaign in October and early November, Abuza said. Advertisement What is certain, according to Abuza, is that “Prabowo is going to be a different figure” when it comes to foreign policy and the new Indonesian president may also mean a strengthened Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN] amid the regional rivalry between Beijing and Washington. Prabowo “understands that ASEAN is more effective with a stronger Indonesia at the helm”, Abuza said. Sambhi of Verve Research said that analysts would likely be looking at how Indonesia under Prabowo might deepen and diversify its regional security partnerships away from the twin poles of Washington and Beijing. US President Joe Biden, right, meets with President Prabowo in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2024 [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters] Other security partners for Indonesia may include Australia, France, India, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, Sambhi said. “The more Indonesia does with other middle and emerging Indo-Pacific powers, the better for the region in mitigating the impact of US-China rivalry,” she said. Special forces commander to Indonesian president Prabowo comes to Indonesia’s top job with a diverse portfolio and a chequered reputation in some of the Western countries that may now be eager to build a new security relationship as a counterbalance to China. Born in Jakarta in 1951, Prabowo began his military career in 1970, when he enrolled in the Indonesian Military Academy, and from which he graduated in 1974 before joining the Indonesian Special Forces Command (Kopassus). Advertisement Throughout his military career, he was accused of a string of human rights abuses while in active service, including accusations of abuses in East Timor and Indonesia’s West Papua, as well as involvement in the bloody race riots in 1998 during the fall of then-president Soeharto – of whom he was once a son-in-law. Prabowo denied involvement in the abductions of student activists during Soeharto’s rule and while he has never stood trial, the allegations of abuses and rights violations saw him banned from travelling to the US and Australia for almost two decades. Then-Indonesian Chief of Strategic Command Lieutenant-General Prabowo, right, speaks with the country’s Military Commander General Wiranto in Jakarta in 1997 [File: Reuters] Prabowo’s travel ban was quietly overturned by Washington in 2020 when he was named Indonesian defence minister by Jokowi. Australia also dropped its ban on Prabowo in 2014 when Canberra too hastily predicted that he was on the cusp of securing the Indonesian presidency on his first attempt a decade ago. Australia ‘yoking itself exclusively to the US’ Australia’s relationship with Indonesia remains complex. In August, both countries signed a defence cooperation agreement described as “historic”. But the relationship between Indonesia and Australia will be one to watch as Prabowo tries to steer a middle path between China and the West, said Ian Wilson, a lecturer in politics and security studies at Perth’s Murdoch University. Indonesia was one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War, and has a “bebas-aktif” or “free and active” approach to foreign policy, which means that it does not align itself with any major power bloc – choosing instead to work with everyone, Wilson told Al Jazeera. Advertisement Australia, however, has new regional security commitments under AUKUS – the trilateral defence partnership between Australia, the UK
Biden administration announces $500M aid package for Ukraine
The Biden administration announced a new $500 million military aid package to Ukraine Thursday, weeks before President-elect Trump takes office. “The United States is providing another significant package of urgently needed weapons and equipment to our Ukrainian partners as they defend against Russia’s ongoing attacks,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. The package announced Thursday includes drones; High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) artillery and ammunition; armored vehicles; nuclear, chemical and radiological protective equipment; and other equipment. ZELENSKYY FEARS DANGER IF UKRAINE LOSES UNITY, DEFEAT IF US CUTS FUNDS, 1,000 DAYS AFTER WAR BEGAN The newest round of aid follows Biden’s announcement of a $988 million military aid package to Ukraine earlier this week. TRIUMPHANT TRUMP AT NOTRE DAME SIGNALS AMERICA AND THE WEST ARE BACK Trump’s election victory has raised questions about whether he will continue to aid Ukraine with billions in assistance. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance criticized the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine, and the former president said on the campaign trial he would bring an end to the war before even entering office. Vance made headlines this year after he suggested the best way to end the war was for Ukraine to cede the land Russia has seized and for a demilitarized zone to be established, a proposal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flatly rejected. During his visit to Paris last weekend, Trump met with Zelenskyy, where the pair were expected to discuss the ongoing conflict. Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
SpaceX wants to turn its Texas launch site into a city
Citing all the work the company has put into the region, employees are requesting a special election in Cameron County to incorporate a city.
Biden administration launches national strategy to combat Islamophobia, anti-Arab hate
The Biden administration on Thursday announced it is launching a national strategy to combat Islamophobia. The move, which the administration described as the first-ever Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Hate, comes a little more than a year after Hamas’ unprovoked attack on Israel Oct. 7, 2023, which was followed by spikes in antisemitic protests and antisemitism across the United States. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. “The very idea of America is that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives,” President Biden said in a statement posted to social media. “This Strategy is a historic step forward to live up to our ideals. Let us walk forward together, upholding those ideals and advancing our collective prosperity.” DEPAUL UNIVERSITY STUDENT ASSAULTED BY ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATOR SEEKS LEGAL ACTION: ‘I WILL NEVER APOLOGIZE’ The aim of the strategy is to “address the bias, discrimination and threats Muslim and Arab Americans have long faced,” the White House said in a release, noting that threats against Muslim and Arab communities in the U.S. increased over the last year. “In October 2023, 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, an American Muslim boy of Palestinian descent, was viciously killed in his home in Illinois, and, over the last year, there have been other grievous attacks on Muslim and Arab Americans,” the release said. The White House noted President Biden established an interagency group in December 2022 to fight antisemitism and Islamophobia. Last year, the administration released the first-ever National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism. CHICAGO JEWISH MOTHER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST RESPONSE TO ALLEGED HATE CRIME: ‘TERRORISM ON MY PROPERTY’ The strategy to combat Islamophobia will focus on increasing awareness about anti-Arab hate, improve safety, tackle discrimination, accommodate religious practices and build solidarity across communities. Antisemitic incidents hit record highs after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the continued war with Hamas. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Just this week, students at Columbia University started distributing a newspaper that had articles like “Zionist Peace Means Palestinian Blood” and “The Myth of the Two-State Solution” and anti-Israel protesters interrupted last month’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Join us Jan. 13 in Austin for a conversation with Comptroller Glenn Hegar
We’ll discuss takeaways and recommendations from the state’s just-released biennial revenue estimate.
Biden’s full list of clemency and commutation recipients revealed
The White House released a list of names of the 39 people whom President Joe Biden pardoned, as well as a list of the nearly 1,500 whose sentences he commuted, on Thursday. The move from Biden set a new, single-day record for clemency under any president, and it comes after he pardoned his son, Hunter, earlier this month. The controversial pardon of his son put pressure on Biden from others in the Democratic Party to issue additional pardons. Biden said Thursday that he plans to take more steps during the next few weeks before he exits the Oval Office. LONGTIME BIDEN ADVISER RIPS ‘RATIONALE’ OF HUNTER PARDON: ‘ATTACK ON OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM’ “My Administration will continue reviewing clemency petitions to advance equal justice under the law, promote public safety, support rehabilitation and reentry, and provide meaningful second chances,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. A list provided to Fox News Digital by the White House indicated that all 39 pardons had been given to only non-violent offenders, many of whom had been convicted of drug crimes. Drug offenders were labeled as much on the list, but no other details were given about the non-drug-related, non-violent offenses committed by the list of 39 pardons. The list did go into extensive detail as to why each of the 39 pardons was deserved, citing examples of community engagement, professional and academic accomplishments. HOW BIDEN – AND TRUMP – HELPED MAKE THE PARDON GO HAYWIRE Speaking of the nearly 1,500 sentences he commuted, Biden said that their long prison sentences would have been shorter under today’s laws. All of those selected had been placed under home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, and “have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance.” Among those included in the sweeping action were a decorated military veteran and pilot, a nurse who helped lead vaccination efforts during the pandemic and an addiction counselor who works with young people to help them avoid drugs. Biden has not reserved clemency and commutations for the end of his term. He first granted clemency in April 2022 to 75 people who had been convicted of drug offenses and others who were under home confinement as part of provisions of Congress’ pandemic relief bills. That action was followed up by six pardons in December of that same year, consisting of people convicted of alcohol- and drug-related crimes. Between April 2023 and April 2024, Biden granted 47 additional commutations and 11 pardons to people under home confinement or convicted of non-violent drug offenses.
More than 20 days into phenomenon, Pentagon still has no answers about origins of mysterious NJ drones
More than three weeks after dozens of mysterious drones began popping up in the New Jersey night sky, the public has still been offered no clear insight on what the phenomenon could be. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., suggested the swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles could be from an Iranian “mother ship.” The Pentagon shot down his idea. “There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mother ship launching drones towards the United States,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh. She added there is “no evidence” to suggest the drones are “the work of a foreign adversary.” “We aren’t being told the truth,” Van Drew responded Thursday on Fox News. “They are dealing with the American public like we’re stupid.” While the Pentagon maintains that the drones are not foreign, the FBI has admitted it is “concerned” about how little the agency knows about them. Asked if Americans are “at risk,” Robert Wheeler, FBI assistant director of the Critical Incident Response Group, told Congress: “There is nothing that is known that would lead me to say that, but we just don’t know. And that’s the concerning part.” In recent weeks, the drones have flown near sensitive sites, like a military research facility. And if the drones aren’t foreign in origin, onlookers are left wondering why it’s taking U.S. agencies so long to figure out who is behind them. “What I can say is a lot of our detection systems, means of tracking and understanding, are so vastly undersized and radically out of date,” Doug Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told Fox News Digital. “So it would not surprise me that we could still be out of sync with this and not understand at the level we should,” he added. “After the Cold War, the notion of air defense really took a back burner.” And Birkey remains unconvinced that the drones are not foreign in origin. “I don’t think we can speak declaratively about the source, but obviously they seem of a certain sophistication, size and set of behaviors that would suggest high potential of being from an adversary source,” he said. NEW JERSEY DRONE SIGHTINGS: MILITARY ANALYSTS BREAK DOWN NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS, DOUBT HOBBYISTS AT PLAY “I think they are either using them for intel, imagery, etc., but they can also just be testing us to see what our responses are, to then help inform their strategies and their concepts of operation.” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has insisted the drones do not pose a threat to public safety. The FBI is assisting local law enforcement in investigating and has called on the public for assistance through its tip line. It’s far from the first time unidentified drones have been seen flying near U.S. military installations. Last year, drones hovered near Langley Air Force Base for over two weeks, and their origin has still not been revealed. Before that, a Chinese spy balloon traversed the U.S., traipsing near military installations, for a week before being shot down off the East Coast. “There are seemingly few hard consequences [for the drones], and that is causing a very dangerous risk of escalation.” None of the New Jersey drones have been shot down or had their systems jammed by U.S. officials. The drones that hovered near Langley were not intercepted either. “Whoever is flying these drones does not necessarily care about their relationship with Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, because clearly they’re breaking almost every rule the FAA has in place for safe drone flying,” said Pramod Abichandani, associate professor at NJIT’s School of Applied Engineering and a drone expert. “These drones are flying at night, over populated areas, flying around in a group, whether they’re being programmed as a swarm of drones or not,” he said. “All of those things are not permitted freely by the FAA.” In military settings, officers use “swarms” of drones to attack enemies to make it harder for them to shoot the drones down. The drones are “six feet in diameter,” fly in a coordinated way with their lights off and “appear to avoid detection by traditional methods,” according to New Jersey state Rep. Dawn Fantasia, who relayed a briefing given by law enforcement. MYSTERIOUS DRONE SIGHTINGS CONTINUE TO BE REPORTED IN NEW JERSEY WITHOUT ANSWERS The drones were first spotted on Nov. 18, and have been spotted every night since, flying from dusk to about 11 p.m. Reports have ranged from four to 180 sightings per night. “We know nothing. Period. To state that there is no known or credible threat is incredibly misleading, and I informed all officials of that sentiment,” she said. “At this point, I believe military intervention is the only path forward. There will be no answers in the absence of proactivity.” U.S. Northern Command, the military command center in charge of defending the U.S. homeland, said it had not yet been asked to step in and help. “We are aware and monitoring the reports of unauthorized drone flights in the vicinity of military installations in New Jersey, to include Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle, and we refer you to those installations for information on any efforts they may be conducting to ensure the safety and security of their personnel and operations,” a U.S. Nothern Command spokesperson told Fox News Digital.