‘We don’t need…’: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh makes big statement on PoK
Elaborating on his statement during the Lucknow rally, Rajnath Singh said, ”I had said three years ago that we don’t need to attack (anyone) to capture PoK. One day, people there will themselves demand to join India.”
Speaker Johnson pushes ‘decorum’ after AOC, Marjorie Taylor Greene duel in heated House hearing
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) condemned the fiery House hearing after Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Greene traded barbs, saying that members needed to show decorum. “It’s not a good look for Congress,” Johnson told reporters on Friday. The Republican speaker chided both parties, saying that while “vigorous debate” was welcomed, “we have to treat one another with dignity and respect.” “Decorum is an important principle to maintain,” he said. “And we need people on both sides of the aisle to just, I think, just take the emotion out of it. We can have vigorous debate. That’s what this institution is built upon. But you know, we have to treat one another with dignity and respect,” Johnson said. AOC, ‘BABY GIRL’ MARJORIE TAYLOR GREEN TRADE BARBS IN FIERY GARLAND HEARING: ‘ARE YOU FEELING HURT’ The hearing quickly spiraled out of control, after Greene took a shot at her Democrat colleague, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Mo. “Do you know what we’re here for?” Crockett asked Greene, who shot back: “I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading.” WATCH: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer pleaded for order amid audible groans in the chamber. Ocasio-Cortez weighed in saying: “I do have a point of order, and I would like to move to take down Ms. Green’s words. That is absolutely unacceptable. How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person… move her words down.” “Are your feelings hurt?” Greene asked. AOC RIPS FETTERMAN FOR COMPARING HOUSE TO ‘JERRY SPRINGER’ SHOW: ‘I STAND UP TO BULLIES’ “Oh girl, baby girl!” Ocasio-Cortez shot back. “Don’t even play!” Ocasio-Cortez pushed to have Greene’s words “taken down,” which is a procedure to give a speaker the chance to withdraw their words or amend them if they are deemed out of order. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-KY, ruled that the comments did not violate House rules against engaging in “personalities” during debate. The hearing led to a 24-20 vote along party lines to recommend holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt. Crockett reacted to the brouhaha on X. “So MTG wanted to talk about my appearance in COMMITTEE?!” Crockett wrote on X. “This is what happens when mentally deficient people who can’t read and follow rules or just don’t give a da–… somehow end up in CONGRESS!”. “Disagreement is part of democracy, but the hearing descended into outright name-calling and insults about Congressmembers’ appearances,” Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) wrote on X. “No American deserves this chaos in Congress.” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), observing the hearing, wrote on X: “Looks like they’re having a totally normal one over in Oversight…” Fox News Digital has reached out to Speaker Johnson’s office for comment. Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
Weather update: IMD issues severe heatwave alert for these 6 states, check state-wise forecast
The Meteorological Department indicates a wet spell with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall expected to persist over South Peninsular India.
Gunmen kill four, including three Spanish tourists, in central Afghanistan
No group claims responsibility for attack in Bamyan, which official says also injures seven people. Gunmen have killed an Afghan citizen and three foreign tourists in central Afghanistan’s Bamyan province, the Ministry of Interior Affairs says. Four foreign nationals and three Afghans were also injured in the attack on Friday when gunmen opened fire, ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said. Four people have been arrested, he said. The Taliban government “strongly condemns this crime, expresses its deep feelings to the families of the victims and assures that all the criminals will be found and punished”, Qani said in a statement. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the late evening attack. Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed that the three individuals killed on Friday were Spanish citizens. At least one Spanish national was also among those injured. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a post on social media that he was “overwhelmed by the news of the murder of Spanish tourists in Afghanistan”, offering his condolences to the families and friends of the victims. Sanchez also said he was following the situation closely and pledged consular support. The mountainous region of Bamyan is Afghanistan’s top tourist destination, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the remains of two giant Buddha statues that the Taliban blew up during their previous rule of Afghanistan in 2001. Since taking over the country again in 2021 after the withdrawal of United States-led forces, the Taliban have promised to restore security and encourage a small but growing number of tourists trickling into the country. Friday’s attack was the deadliest since the Taliban took over three years ago. ISIL (ISIS) claimed an attack that injured Chinese citizens at a hotel popular with Chinese businessmen in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in 2022. The European Union condemned the attack in Bamyan in a brief statement on Friday. “Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims who lost their lives and those injured in the attack,” it said. Adblock test (Why?)
Is Putin’s visit to China a defining step toward shaping a new world order?
Western powers are concerned by the growing economic and strategic alliance between Russia and China. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have met more than 40 times in the last 10 years – signs of what the two leaders call a “no limits” partnership. Putin’s latest visit comes as Russia’s dependence on China has increased in the face of crippling Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine. Beijing’s support has boosted the Russian economy. And although it’s not directly supplied Moscow with weapons, the flow of Chinese technology and goods have helped its war effort. Western powers are increasingly troubled by this deepening friendship between Russia and China. Will this collaboration extend beyond their borders? And could it lead to a shift in alliances and the global balance of power? Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam Guests: Andy Mok, Senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization Chris Weafer, Chief executive officer at Macro-Advisory, a global risk consultancy Theresa Fallon, Director of the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies Adblock test (Why?)
International students risk immigration status to engage in Gaza protests
New York, New York – Israel’s war in Gaza is personal for Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil. A 29-year-old Palestinian refugee raised in Syria, Khalil wanted to get involved in the on-campus activism against the war, but he was nervous. Khalil faced a dilemma common to international students: He was in the United States on a F-1 student visa. His ability to stay in the country hinged on his continued enrollment as a full-time student. But participating in a protest — including the encampment that cropped up on Columbia’s lawn last month — meant risking suspension and other punishments that could endanger his enrollment status. “Since the beginning, I decided to stay out of the public eye and away from media attention or high-risk activities,” Khalil said. “I considered the encampment to be ‘high risk’.” He instead opted to be a lead negotiator for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a student group pushing school administrators to sever ties with Israel and groups engaged in abuses against Palestinians. “I’m one of the lucky ones who are able to advocate for the rights of Palestinians, the folks who are getting killed back in Palestine,” Khalil said, calling his advocacy work “literally the bare minimum I could do”. Khalil explained he worked closely with the university to make sure that his activities would not get him in trouble. Based on his conversations with school leaders, he felt it was unlikely that he would face punishment. Still, on April 30, Khalil received an email from Columbia administrators saying he had been suspended, citing his alleged participation in the encampment. “I was shocked,” Khalil said. “It was ridiculous that they would suspend the negotiator.” Columbia University student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil says he chose his role in the protests to avoid punishments that would endanger his immigration status [Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo] Legal jeopardy However, a day later — before Khalil could even appeal the decision — the university sent him an email saying his suspension was dropped. “After reviewing our records and reviewing evidence with Columbia University Public Safety, it has been determined to rescind your interim suspension,” the short, three-sentence email said. Khalil said he even received a call from the Columbia University president’s office, apologising for the mistake. But legal experts and civil rights advocates warn that even temporary suspensions could have severe consequences for students who depend on educational visas to stay in the country. Naz Ahmad, co-founder of the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility project at CUNY School of Law, told Al Jazeera that when a student-visa holder is no longer enrolled full time, the university is obliged to report the student to the Department of Homeland Security within 21 days. That department oversees immigration services for the US government. Students must then make plans to leave — or risk eventual deportation proceedings. “If they don’t leave right away, they would begin to accrue unlawful presence,” Ahmad said. “And that can affect their ability to apply again in the future for other benefits.” Students watch as police enter the Columbia University encampment in April [Isa Farfan/Al Jazeera] Ann Block, a senior staff lawyer at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, told Al Jazeera that most schools have a designated official to monitor the status of international students. “They generally are international student advisers, and they’re the ones that help people get into the school, get their visas to come to the school from abroad initially and normally help advise them,” Block explained. Even outside of an academic context, non-citizens face the possibility of heightened consequences should they choose to protest. While non-citizens enjoy many of the same civil rights as US citizens — including the right to free speech — experts said that laws like the Patriot Act may limit how those protections apply. Passed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the Patriot Act includes broad language that could be used to interpret protests as “terrorist” activity, according to civil rights lawyer and New York University professor Elizabeth OuYang. And the law empowers the government to restrict immigration to anyone engaged in such activity, she added. “Section 411 of the Patriot Act bars entry to non-citizens who have used their ‘position of prominence with any within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity’,” OuYang said. “And what constitutes terrorist activity? And that’s where the secretary of state of the United States has broad discretion to interpret that.” Students at Columbia University were threatened with suspension for their participation in a campus encampment, designed to show solidarity with the people of Gaza [Isa Farfan/Al Jazeera] Avoiding the front lines The high level of scrutiny towards the campus protests has amplified fears that such consequences could be invoked. Criticism of Israel, after all, is a sensitive subject in the US, the country’s longtime ally. While a study released in May indicated that 97 percent of US campus protests were peaceful, politicians on both sides of the aisle have continued to raise fears of violence and anti-Semitic hate. Just last week, Republican Representative Andy Ogles introduced a bill called the Study Abroad Act that would take away student visas “for rioting or unlawful protests, and for other purposes”. He cited the recent wave of university protests as a motivation for sponsoring the legislation and compared the demonstrators to terrorists. “Many elite American universities have damaged their hard-earned reputations by opening their doors to impressionable terrorist sympathisers,” Ogles told The Daily Caller, a right-wing site. Some international students who spoke to Al Jazeera said the charged political atmosphere has forced them to avoid the protests altogether. The student encampment at Columbia University in April inspired similar protests on campuses across the world [Isa Farfan/Al Jazeera] “We cannot take the risk as international students to even be caught at the scene at all,” said one student journalist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), who requested anonymity in order to speak freely. Another student added that he does not even feel comfortable reporting
Trump speaks in battleground state he vowed to avoid after losing twice
It’s been more than 50 years since a Republican won Minnesota in a presidential election, but former President Trump says he’s got “a really good shot” of breaking the losing streak this November in his 2024 rematch with President Biden. The former president is in the reliably blue state Friday evening to headline the Minnesota GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan fundraising dinner. Trump lost Minnesota by just 1½ points in his 2016 presidential election victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Four years ago, he lost the state to President Biden by more than seven points in his unsuccessful re-election campaign. Ahead of the 2020 election, Trump promised a victory in Minnesota, saying that if he lost, “I’m never coming back.” FIRST ON FOX: TOP JEWISH GOP GROUP STEPS UP FUNDRAISING FOR TRUMP AMID ANTI-ISRAEL COLLEGE CAMPUS PROTESTS Fast-forward four years and Trump is back and once again predicting a victory. “We think we have a really good shot at Minnesota,” Trump emphasized in an interview Wednesday with KSTP, a local TV station in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. “We have great friendships up there.” Trump added that he’s “worked hard on Minnesota” and that “Tom Emmer is very much involved,” pointing to the House majority whip. Emmer, who is joining Trump at the state GOP gala, is chairing the Trump campaign in Minnesota even though the former president and his allies helped sink Emmer’s bid last autumn to become House speaker. As the Trump and Biden campaigns prepare for battle in seven crucial swing states that decided the 2020 election (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which were narrowly won by Biden, and North Carolina, which Trump carried by a razor-thin margin) and will likely once again in the 2024 rematch, both campaigns see opportunities to expand the map. WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP, BIDEN, AS THEY CAREEN TOWARD DEBATES Two weekends ago at a closed-door Republican National Committee retreat for top-dollar donors at a resort in Palm Beach, Florida, senior Trump campaign advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita and veteran pollster Tony Fabrizio spotlighted internal surveys that suggested both “Minnesota and Virginia are clearly in play.” “In both states, Trump finds himself in positions to flip key electoral votes in his favor,” the survey, which was shared with Fox News, emphasizes. And both states have sizable populations of rural white voters without college degrees who disproportionately support the former president. Biden’s campaign disagrees that either Minnesota or Virginia are up for grabs. While noting they are “not taking any state or any vote for granted,” Biden campaign battleground states director Dan Kanninen told reporters last week “we don’t see polls that are six or seven months out from a general election, head-to-head numbers certainly, as any more predictive than a weather report is six or seven months out.” Kanninen highlighted that the campaign has teams on the ground in both states engaging voters. “We feel strongly the Biden-Harris coalition in both Minnesota and Virginia, which has been strong in the midterms and off-year elections, will continue to be strong for us in the fall of 2024,” he added. And Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt, pointing to the president’s current fundraising dominance and ground-game advantage in the key battlegrounds, argued “Trump’s team has so little campaign or infrastructure to speak of they’re resorting to leaking memos that say ‘the polls we paid for show us winning.’” But Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who launched a long-shot and unsuccessful primary challenge against the president, insists “Minnesota’s in play.” Phillips, in an interview this week on Fox News’ “Special Edition,” argued Minnesota’s “like a lot of states that I think a lot of my fellow Democrats don’t want to confess is the reality. … I’m telling my Democratic colleagues who are supporting President Biden, myself included, that there’s a lot of work to do.” While Trump’s campaign looks for opportunities to expand the map in Minnesota and Virginia, Biden’s campaign appears to be eyeing swing state North Carolina and Florida. Trump carried the Sunshine State by less than four points in 2020, but two years ago, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP Sen. Marco Rubio each won re-election by nearly 20 points. LaCivita argued the Biden campaign was playing “a faux game” in both states but insisted Trump has a “real opportunity in expanding the map in Virginia and Minnesota.” Trump’s stop in Minnesota comes a week after he held a large rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, a red bastion in an overwhelming blue state where no Republican has carried the state in a presidential election in over three decades. Trump lost the state to Biden by 16 points four years ago. “We’re going to win New Jersey,” Trump vowed at the rally. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Special Counsel urges judge to reject Hunter Biden’s request to delay tax trial
Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to deny Hunter Biden‘s request to delay his upcoming California tax trial in what is expected to be a busy summer for the president’s son, who also faces a separate criminal trial in Delaware. In his motion, Special Counsel David Weiss said Biden’s attorney, who is representing him in the California and Delaware cases, previously agreed to the trial dates last year. “No defendant would be afforded a continuance because he wrongly chose to lodge a jurisdictionless appeal, and this defendant should be treated no differently,” the motion states.” Defense counsel offers a handful of other reasons why he wants a trial delay of 77 days, but none of them warrant a continuance. The motion should be denied.” HUNTER BIDEN INDICTMENT MUDDIES WEISS’ CREDIBILITY AS WHISTLEBLOWERS FEEL VINDICATED: ATTORNEY Weiss said Biden’s attorney agreed in April 2023 to commence with the trial in Delaware, in which Biden is accused of federal gun charges, despite the tax trial being scheduled to begin on June 20. The Delaware proceeding is expected to begin June 3. “In his latest effort to delay trial (an application for a continuance), defendant’s lead counsel’s primary reason is the weeklong June 3, 2024, trial in Delaware at which he is one of the lawyers representing the defendant with respect to firearms charges,” the court document reads. “But on March 13, 2024, and again on April 11, 2024, lead counsel told the Delaware court he was able to try the gun case in Delaware on June 3, 2024, with full knowledge that this trial would begin on June 20, 2024.” On Tuesday, a federal judge rejected a request to delay the gun case until September. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika said she believes “everyone can get done what needs to get done” by the trial’s start date of June 3. SHAPLEY ATTORNEY: HUNTER BIDEN PROSECUTOR ‘ALL OVER THE MAP,’ SHOULD TESTIFY TO CONGRESS Later that day, a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court said the tax case against Biden can also move forward. In Delaware, Biden is accused of lying about his drug use in October 2018 while filling out a form to buy a gun that he kept for 11 days. He has pleaded not guilty. In California, he’s charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors over at least $1.4 million in taxes he owed between 2016 and 2019. A plea agreement reached between Biden and prosecutors was rejected by a judge who was supposed to sign off on it, forcing the case to go to trial.
Mayorkas forced to admit more migrants have crossed US border under Biden than Trump: ‘Several million people’
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday admitted that the number of migrants who have crossed the southern border under his watch outpaces that under the Trump administration — but blamed a number of hemispheric factors and a “broken” system for the border crisis. Mayorkas was asked at an event at The Economic Club in Washington, D.C., about the border crisis, and the historic numbers of migrants the U.S. has been seeing in recent years. There were more than 2.4 million migrant encounters in FY 23, and that mark could be broken in FY 24, although monthly numbers have decreased. “The number of encounters at the southern border is very high, but it’s very, very important, number one, to contextualize it and, number two, to explain it,” he said. From a context perspective, the world is seeing the greatest level of displacement since at least World War II.” BIDEN ADMIN REFUSES TO REVEAL TERROR WATCHLIST NATIONALITIES AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION EXPLODES ON HIS WATCH “So the challenge of migration is not exclusive to the southern border, nor to the Western Hemisphere,” he said. “It is global.” Mayorkas cited violence, insecurity, poverty, corruption, authoritarian regimes and “extreme weather events” among the reasons for migration across the globe. However, he also said there were additional explanations for why the U.S. was a top destination. “In our hemisphere, we overcame COVID more rapidly than any other country. We had, in a post-COVID world, 11 million jobs to fill, we are a country of choice as a destination, and one takes those two forces and then one considers the fact that we have an immigration system that is broken fundamentally and we have a level of encounters that we do,” he asserted. As evidence that the system is broken, Mayorkas said that the average time between an encounter and the adjuciation of an asylum claim is seven years. He was later asked by David Rubenstein, president of the Economic Club, how many people have come across the border since President Biden took office. “It’s several million people,” Mayorkas said. Rubenstein asked if it was true that more people have come in under President Biden than former President Trump. Mayorkas said it was, but said that was in part due to a suppression of migration during the COVID pandemic that followed a significant increase in migration under the last pre-COVID Trump year. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARY HIT NEW HIGH AMID NATIONAL SECURITY FEARS “That is true,” he said. “Now in 2019, there was almost a 100% increase in the number of encounters at the southern border over 2018. The situation in the hemisphere was propelling people to leave their country. 2020 was a period of tremendously suppressed migration throughout the hemisphere and around the world because of the COVID-19 people coming over the border illegally.” The Biden administration has defended its record on immigration, saying it has combined additional consequences for illegal entry with broader pathways for lawful migration. It has coupled that with calls for reform and additional funding from Congress, including most recently a bipartisan Senate bill that has failed to pick up support. It has also pointed to 720,000 removals or returns of illegal immigrants since May 2023, more than in every full fiscal year since 2011. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS Mayorkas also noted a recent drop in numbers that showed 179,725 encounters in April, compared to 211,992 in April 2023 and 189,357 in March. Republicans, however, have blamed the Biden administration for the border crisis, saying it is the rolling back of Trump-era policies that have caused the surge in migration. Republicans in the House have passed their own border security bill, which would restart border wall construction and limit asylum claims, among other inclusions. They also impeached Mayorkas earlier this year, but those articles of impeachment have not been taken up in the Senate for a trial. Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
Nathan Wade’s estranged wife says he’s failed to pay spousal support since resigning from Fani Willis’ office
The estranged wife of ex-special prosecutor Nathan Wade said in a Georgia court filing Friday that Wade claims his resignation from his post at the Fulton County District Attorney’s office “constitutes a substantial change in circumstance, rendering him unable to meet his financial obligation” in their divorce proceedings. Wade was hired in 2021 by DA Fani Willis to help prosecute the sweeping election interference case against former President Trump. She was accused by Trump and co-defendants of having an “improper” affair with Wade. On March 15, Wade resigned after a Georgia judge gave Willis an ultimatum of either Willis or Wade quitting the case to move forward. Joclyn Wade, from whom Nathan Wade filed for divorce, alleged in Friday’s court filing that due to her soon-to-be ex-husband’s “consistent failure to provide accurate or timely discovery or responses in this matter, [she] sought updated financial documentation from Fulton County regarding Plaintiff’s employment as a Special Assistant District Attorney.” NATHAN WADE SPEAKS OUT ON ‘WORKPLACE ROMANCE’ WITH FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS: ‘AMERICAN AS APPLE PIE’ According to the filing, Nathan filed an emergency motion April 8 to modify his payment agreement to Joclyn. The Fulton County Chief Financial Officer revealed Nathan was issued two checks dated three days before filing his motion, totaling $53,000. “There appears to be no plausible explanation other than Plaintiff’s deceitfulness to justify his pursuit of emergency relief from this Court on April 8, 2024, alleging essentially insolvency when he had received Fifty-Three Thousand Dollars only three (3) days prior,” the document states. “As additional evidence of Plaintiff’s lack of candor and deceit towards this Court, both checks and corresponding invoices to Fulton County pertain to work performed in October and November of 2023. Plaintiff did not resign until March 15, 2024; thus, it is reasonable to infer that there are further outstanding payments due to Plaintiff that likely have not been disbursed as of the current date.” FANI WILLIS RAISES EYEBROWS WITH WINK ON THE STAND, LABELS FORMER LOVER NATHAN WADE A ‘SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN’ On April 4, Jocelyn accused Nathan of failing to pay her court-ordered expenses and said he should be held in “contempt of court.” She alleged that her husband, with whom an agreement in divorce proceedings was made earlier this year, had neglected to pay court-ordered medical expenses, contributing to a “worsening” health condition that could “necessitate emergency intervention.” “Defendant urgently requires medical procedures, namely an endoscopy, colonoscopy, and ultrasound, due to severe physical symptoms she has been enduring. These symptoms have significantly impacted her ability to consume most foods, leading to a substantial weight loss, notwithstanding her already slender stature when in better health,” the filing stated. Nathan broke his silence earlier this month about his “workplace romance” with Fani Willis, which he said was “American as apple pie.” Nathan spoke to ABC News’ Linsey Davis in his first media interview since resigning from his role as special counsel. FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ADMITS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PROSECUTOR BUT DENIES CONFLICT OF INTEREST “Workplace romances are as American as apple pie,” Nathan said in an interview that aired on “Good Morning America.” “It happens to everyone. But it happened to the two of us.” Asked if he regretted the relationship, Nathan said he did because it became the focus of the case. House Republicans have invited Nathan to interview with the House Judiciary Committee, and chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio said Nathan’s role in the case is too important to “go unquestioned.” Nathan did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.