Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely resigns, says party allied with AAP
Lovely was appointed to the post in August 2023. In his letter to the Congress National President, Mallikarjun Kharge, Lovely said that all unanimous decisions taken by the Senior Delhi Congress leaders have been unilaterally vetoed by the AICC General Secretary (Delhi In-charge).
Weather updates: IMD issues severe heatwave condition in these states; check forecast here
Several states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, are expected to witness widespread light to moderate rainfall or snowfall from April 28 to 30.
Hamas releases video of two Israeli captives held in Gaza
The two men, identified as Keith Siegel and Omri Miran, send love to their families and ask to be released in the video. Hamas’s military wing has published a video of two Israeli captives held in Gaza, showing footage of them calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to make a deal to secure their release. The video released on Saturday is similarly filmed to previous captive videos made public by the group, which Israel has condemned as “psychological terrorism”. The two men, identified as Keith Siegel, 64, and Omri Miran, 47, speak individually in front of an empty background. They send their love to their families and ask to be released. Miran was taken captive from his home in the community of Nahal Oz in front of his wife and two young daughters during the October 7 Hamas attack. “I have been here in Hamas captivity for 202 days. The situation here is unpleasant, difficult and there are many bombs,” Miran is heard saying in the footage, indicating it was taken earlier this week. “It’s time to reach a deal that will get us out of here safe and healthy … Keep protesting, so that there will be a deal now.” Saturday’s video comes as Hamas says it is studying Israel’s latest counterproposal for a Gaza ceasefire after reports that mediator Egypt had sent a delegation to Israel to jump-start stalled negotiations. The video was published during the Passover holiday, when Jews traditionally celebrate the biblical story of gaining freedom from slavery in Egypt. At one point, Siegel breaks down crying as he recounts celebrating the holiday with his family last year and expresses hope that they will be reunited. “We are in danger here, there are bombs, it is stressful and scary,” he said, burying his face in his arms as he cried. “I want to tell my family that I love you very much. It’s important to me that you know that I am fine.” The latest video comes just three days after Hamas released another video showing captive Hersh Goldberg-Polin alive. About 250 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive during the Hamas assault, which killed 1,139 people, according to Israeli tallies. In response, Israel launched an assault on Gaza, pledging to destroy Hamas and bring the captives home. The war has so far killed at least 34,388 Palestinians. The Israeli military has said 129 of the captives are still being held in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 people who died in captivity. Reporting from Tel Aviv, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith said the families and friends of the captives were relieved to see evidence that they were alive. “They’ve said ‘time is running out. We need our Prime Minister [Benjamin Natanyahu] to accept any deal fast’,” he said. Smith was speaking from a protest against Netanyahu. “These protests are calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Netanyahu. They’re calling for an end to the war and they’re calling for the release of hostages,” he said. “Many of the protesters here are saying Netanyahu is deliberately prolonging this war in Gaza because it saves him from the ultimate reckoning of the ballot box.” Adblock test (Why?)
Iraq criminalises same-sex relationships with maximum 15 years in prison
The law is backed mainly by Shia Muslim parties who form the largest coalition in Iraq’s parliament. Iraq’s parliament has passed a law criminalising same-sex relationships with a maximum 15-year prison sentence, in a move it said aimed to uphold religious values, but was condemned by rights advocates as the latest attack on the LGBTQ community in Iraq. The law adopted on Saturday aims to “protect Iraqi society from moral depravity and the calls for homosexuality that have overtaken the world,” according to a copy of the law seen by the Reuters news agency. It was backed mainly by conservative Shia Muslim parties who form the largest coalition in Iraq’s parliament. The Law on Combating Prostitution and Homosexuality bans same-sex relations with at least 10 years and a maximum of 15 years in prison, and mandates at least seven years in prison for anybody who promotes homosexuality or prostitution. The amended law makes “biological sex change based on personal desire and inclination” a crime and punishes transgender people and doctors who perform gender-affirming surgery with up to three years in prison. The bill had initially included the death penalty for same-sex acts but was amended before being passed after strong opposition from the United States and European nations. ‘A serious blow to human rights’ Until Saturday, Iraq did not explicitly criminalise gay sex, though loosely defined morality clauses in its penal code had been used to target LGBTQ people, and members of the community have also been killed by armed groups and individuals. “The Iraqi parliament’s passage of the anti-LGBT law rubber-stamps Iraq’s appalling record of rights violations against LGBTQ people and is a serious blow to fundamental human rights,” Rasha Younes, deputy director of the LGBTQ rights programme at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters. “Iraq has effectively codified in law the discrimination and violence members of the LGBTI community have been subjected to with absolute impunity for years,” the AFP news agency quoted Amnesty International’s Iraq Researcher Razaw Salihy as saying. “The amendments concerning LGBTI rights are a violation of fundamental human rights and put at risk Iraqis whose lives are already hounded daily,” Salihy added. Lawmaker Raed al-Maliki, who advanced the amendments, told AFP that the law “serves as a preventive measure to protect society from such acts”. Major Iraqi parties have in the past year stepped up criticism of LGBTQ rights, with rainbow flags frequently being burned in protests by both governing and opposition conservative Shia Muslim factions last year. More than 60 countries criminalise gay sex, while same-sex sexual acts are legal in more than 130 countries, according to Our World in Data. Adblock test (Why?)
Has South Africa’s ANC failed to live up to its promises?
South Africa is commemorating the 30th anniversary of its first democratic election. South Africa is marking Freedom Day – the historic day that changed the course of the country. Hopes were high in 1994, as years of segregation and white-minority rule came to an end, and millions of Black South Africans cast their vote for the first time. But 30 years on, many say there’s little to celebrate. Hope has been replaced by disappointment and scepticism. The African National Congress, which has been in power since the end of apartheid, is accused of not keeping its promises. It has been embroiled in corruption scandals. Unemployment is at an all-time high, crime is widespread and race-based inequality is still a problem. This year’s anniversary comes a month ahead of general elections – which could see the governing party lose its majority for the first time. So, has the ANC failed to live up to its promises? Presenter: Neave Barker Guests: Melanie Verwoerd – Political analyst William Gumede – Founder of Democracy Works Foundation Zackie Achmat – Activist and independent candidate for South Africa’s parliament Adblock test (Why?)
Washington chooses its wars; Ukraine and Israel have made the cut despite opposition on right and left
Washington, D.C., chooses its wars. And, for now, leaders in Washington have decided the U.S. has a vested interest in the war in Ukraine. After months of consternation, lawmakers eventually approved $62 billion for Ukraine to fight Russia in recent weeks, with most Democrats endorsing American assistance. But Congress only dislodged the money after a lengthy push by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. President Biden, McConnell and others finally pushed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to support the aid, even though most House Republicans opposed it. The Senate OK’d a combination foreign aid package a few days later, 79-18. Only 31 of the Senate’s 49 GOP members voted yes. Tucked into that package was money for Israel, another conflict in which the U.S. has infused itself, thanks to the votes of bipartisan lawmakers. THE HOUSE IS PRACTICALLY FUNCTIONING AS A PARLIAMENT, WITH MIKE JOHNSON AS ITS ‘PRIME MINISTER’ A not-so-subtle reminder of how Washington immerses itself into overseas conflicts came the other day following the death of Alfonso Chardy. Chardy was a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Miami Herald and helped untangle and expose the Iran-Contra Affair in the mid-1980s. That was a decision by the Reagan administration to involve itself in proxy wars in Central America under the guise of fighting the spread of communism during the Cold War. There was worry about increasing Soviet influence in the Western Hemisphere. Leftist Sandinistas grabbed power in Nicaragua in the late 1970s. Congress sent money to the Contra rebels to support them in the civil war. But lawmakers began restricting money to the Contras in the early 1980s before eliminating all funding. Reagan administration officials found a creative — albeit illegal way — to go around Congress. The U.S. would covertly sell weapons to Iran in an effort to curry favor with Tehran to release western hostages held in the Middle East. The proceeds from those arms sales benefited the Contras to wage their battles against the Sandinistas. Congress may have decided against getting involved in Nicaragua. But Washington as a whole picked that particular fight, making sure the U.S. was fighting through a proxy in Central America. Fast-forward several decades, when the U.S. made a decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003. Congress voted in the fall of 2002 to approve the operation, but few lawmakers defend the entirety of that conflict today. That was the thesis of a floor speech from Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, perhaps the most ardent opponent in Congress against sending assistance to Ukraine. “In 2003, I was a high school senior and I had a political position,” declared Vance, speaking about his time finishing high school in Middletown, Ohio, and enlisting in the Marine Corps. “Back then, I believed the propaganda of the George W. Bush administration that we needed to invade Iraq.” Vance later said arguments about helping Ukraine “sound familiar.” TRUMP DEMANDS EUROPE COUGH UP MORE CASH FOR UKRAINE, SAYS WAR WITH RUSSIA WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED ON HIS WATCH “It’s the same exact talking points 20 years later with different names,” said Vance. “I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to. That the promises of the foreign policy establishment of this country were a complete joke.” Vance called the push for war in Iraq “perhaps the most shameful period in the Republican Party’s history of the last 40 years.” Vance added that his “excuse” for backing the war in Iraq “is that I was a high school senior. What is the excuse of many people who are in this chamber or in the House of Representatives at the time and are now singing the same song when it comes to Ukraine?” The answer is that America’s leaders are committed to helping Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. BUTTIGIEG DEFENDS BIDEN CONFUSING UKRAINE AND IRAQ TWICE IN 2 DAYS: ‘VERY FOCUSED ON DETAILS’ History will bear out who is right or wrong on this front. Just the same as history has judged U.S. involvement in Central America against Soviet influences or by seeking war in Iraq. Remember that the foreign aid package includes money for Israel. Congressional Republicans were more comfortable assisting Israel than some liberals. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was one of the most outspoken opponents of sending U.S. dollars to Israel. “Put simply, we are deeply complicit in what is happening. This is not an Israeli war. This is an Israeli-American war. Most of the bombs and most of the military equipment the Israeli government is using is provided by the United States and subsidized by American taxpayers,” said Sanders. “We are aiding and abetting the destruction of the Palestinian people.” Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., also opposed the legislation in the House. SQUAD DEMOCRATS PUSH ISRAEL AID PACKAGE AMENDMENT IN FAILED CEASE-FIRE EFFORT: ‘DEATH WARRANT ON PALESTINIANS’ “This bill passed today is a death warrant. A death warrant on Palestinians,” said Bush. “Apparently, it means that Palestinians are not as valued. That their lives are not as valuable as Israeli lives. And I have to say this, for those that feel that way, shame on you.” Back on Ukraine, it was clear McConnell prevailed. Perhaps it’s one of his last major policy achievements as Republican leader. McConnell didn’t call out Vance by name. But it was clear who he was targeting in an impassioned floor speech. “So much of the hesitation and shortsightedness that has delayed this moment is premised on sheer fiction,” said McConnell. “I take no pleasure in rebutting misguided fantasies. I wish sincerely that recognizing the responsible ideas of American leadership was the price of admission for serious conversation about the future of our national security.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., echoed his counterpart. “Getting this done was one of the greatest achievements the Senate has faced in years. Perhaps decades. A lot of people inside and outside the Congress wanted this package to fail,” said Schumer. “I think we’ve turned the corner on the isolationist movement,” observed McConnell.
Justice Thomas raised crucial question about legitimacy of special counsel’s prosecution of Trump
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas raised a question Thursday that goes to the heart of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s charges against former President Donald Trump. The high court was considering Trump’s argument that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took while president, but another issue is whether Smith and the Office of Special Counsel have the authority to bring charges at all. “Did you, in this litigation, challenge the appointment of special counsel?” Thomas asked Trump attorney John Sauer on Thursday during a nearly three-hour session at the Supreme Court. Sauer replied that Trump’s attorneys had not raised that concern “directly” in the current Supreme Court case — in which justices are considering Trump’s arguments that presidential immunity precludes the prosecution of charges that the former president illegally sought to overturn the 2020 election. Sauer told Thomas that, “we totally agree with the analysis provided by Attorney General Meese [III] and Attorney General Mukasey.” SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH HITS BACK AT JUDGE FOR ‘FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED LEGAL PREMISE’ IN TRUMP DOCUMENTS CASE “It points to a very important issue here because one of [the special counsel’s] arguments is, of course, that we should have this presumption of regularity. That runs into the reality that we have here an extraordinary prosecutorial power being exercised by someone who was never nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate at any time. So we agree with that position. We hadn’t raised it yet in this case when this case went up on appeal,” Sauer said. In a 42-page amicus brief presented to the high court in March, Meese and Mukasey questioned whether “Jack Smith has lawful authority to undertake the ‘criminal prosecution’” of Trump. Mukasey and Meese — both former U.S. attorneys general — said Smith and the Office of Special Counsel itself have no authority to prosecute, in part because he was never confirmed by the Senate to any position. Federal prosecutions, “can be taken only by persons properly appointed as federal officers to properly created federal offices,” Meese and Mukasey argued. “But neither Smith nor the position of special counsel under which he purportedly acts meets those criteria. He wields tremendous power, effectively answerable to no one, by design. And that is a serious problem for the rule of law — whatever one may think of former President Trump or the conduct on January 6, 2021, that Smith challenges in the underlying case.” TRUMP ATTORNEY, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLASH ON WHETHER A PRESIDENT WHO ‘ORDERED’ A ‘COUP’ COULD BE PROSECUTED The crux of the problem, according to Meese, is that Smith was never confirmed by the Senate as a U.S. attorney, and no other statute allows the U.S. attorney general to name merely anyone as special counsel. Smith was acting U.S. attorney for a federal district in Tennessee in 2017, but he was never nominated to the position. He resigned from the private sector after then-President Trump nominated a different prosecutor as U.S. attorney for the middle district of Tennessee. Meese and Mukasey argued that because the special counsel exercises broad authority to convene grand juries and make prosecutorial decisions, independent of the White House or the attorney general, he is far more powerful than any government officer who has not been confirmed by the Senate. Sauer and Trump’s other attorneys objected to the legitimacy of Smith’s appointment in the charges against Trump in the classified documents case, also brought by Smith, before a Florida federal court. In a March court filing in Florida, Trump’s attorneys claimed that the special counsel’s office argues in federal court that Smith is wholly independent of the White House and Garland — contradicting Trump’s arguments that the federal charges against him are politically motivated. But at the same time, the special counsel’s attorneys insist that Smith is subordinate to the attorney general, and therefore not subject to Senate confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. SPECIAL COUNSEL IN TRUMP CASE UNCONSTITUTIONAL, FORMER REAGAN AG SAYS “There is significant tension between the Office’s assurances to that court that Smith is independent, and not prosecuting the Republican nominee for President at the direction of the Biden Administration, and the Office’s assurance here that Smith is not independent and is instead so thoroughly supervised and accountable to President Biden and Attorney General Garland that this Court should not be concerned about such tremendous power being exercised to alter the trajectory of the ongoing presidential election,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in the filing. The special counsel’s office, responding to Trump’s claims in the Florida case, argued that the attorney general “has the statutory authority to appoint a Special Prosecutor” and that the Supreme Court even upheld that authority “in closely analogous circumstances nearly 50 years ago” — in a 1974 case that challenged the prosecutor investigating the late President Richard Nixon. Meese and Mukasey wrote in their brief that the Nixon case was irrelevant because it “concerned the relationship between the President and DOJ as an institution, not between the President and any specific actor purportedly appointed by DOJ.” The pair also said special counsel investigations are necessary and often lawful, but stated that “the Attorney General cannot appoint someone never confirmed by the Senate, as a substitute United States Attorney under the title ‘Special Counsel.’ Smith’s appointment was thus unlawful, as are all actions flowing from it, including his prosecution of former President Trump.” Smith was a private citizen when Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him as special counsel to investigate Trump in 2022. Other recent special counsels — including John Durham’s Trump-Russia probe; David Weiss of the Hunter Biden investigation; and Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s mishandling of classified documents — were all confirmed by the Senate to various positions before being named as special counsels. The Florida court has yet to rule on Trump’s motion to dismiss the classified documents case due to claims that Smith was improperly appointed. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Trump’s immunity arguments before its
‘Congress should apologise to the country for…’: PM Modi slams opposition over EVM doubts
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that Congress should apologise to the country for making false claims about the Electronic Voting Machines after the Supreme Court held that EVMs have strengthened India’s democracy.
GOP Rep. Bill Posey won’t seek re-election, endorses former Florida Senate President as replacement
Florida GOP Rep. Bill Posey announced Friday that he would not be seeking re-election, joining a slew of other GOP lawmakers also not seeking re-election. “It has been the greatest honor of Katie’s and my life to represent you in Congress. And, polls suggest that because of YOUR support, I could remain in the job forever, and we were looking forward to another spirited campaign for a final term in office,” Posey said in a statement released. “However, earlier this week circumstances beyond my control now require me to suspend my re-election campaign.” “I will continue to devote all possible resources to continue representing you through the end of my current term, helping President Donald Trump return to the oval office, and supporting former Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos, in whom I have the greatest trust and confidence, to take up my battles against the swamp and replace me as your Congressman,” Posey continued in the statement. HOUSE REPUBLICANS EYE CRACKDOWN ON FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMIGRATION The GOP representative then shared his endorsement of former Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos. Haridopolos announced his campaign on Friday, thanking Posey in a Facebook post announcing his run. “For many years, Mike has served as my Congressional Finance Committee Chairman, while I have mentored him to replace me. Mike was, and remains, my first choice to represent you, me, and our district in Congress,” Posey said in the statement. EX-HOUSE REPUBLICAN WHO VOTED TO IMPEACH TRUMP DROPS MICHIGAN SENATE BID “Without going into a lot of personal details, stars aligned during the past week, and Mike decided he was ready for Congress. I enthusiastically endorse him and will do everything I can to help him get elected,” he continued. “I wish to thank our incredible Congressman Bill Posey for his faithful service to our community, state, and nation. I will work every day to live up to his legacy of service and serve the people of District 8 with integrity and honor,” Haridopolos said in a statement to Space Coast Daily upon his announcement. Posey was first elected to Congress in 2008 and worked in the Florida State Legislature for 18 years prior. The Florida Republican was a supporter of former President Donald Trump. He recently voted against the foreign aid package supported by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson as well as the FISA renewal earlier this month. “Our nation is facing an unprecedented border security crisis and a crippling national debt putting undue strain on our cities and jeopardizing the safety and security of Americans,” Posey said in a statement after voting against the foreign aid package. “Defending our borders and balancing our budget should be THE top priority in Washington. I’ve voted against 99% of all spending over the past four years because those bills failed to secure our border. The American people expect Washington to put America first.”
Trump endorses GOP Utah Senate candidate looking to replace Romney: ‘He will be a GREAT Senator’
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Trent Staggs, a Republican mayor seeking to replace retiring Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, in Utah’s GOP primary race for the Senate. “Trent Staggs is 100% MAGA, and is running to fill The Mitt Romney, a Total Loser, Seat as the next Senator from the Great State of Utah,” Trump wrote in a Saturday morning post on Truth Social. “A Highly Successful Entrepreneur, who has served brilliantly as Mayor of Riverton for the past six years, Trent knows how to Create Jobs, Stop Inflation, Grow the Economy, and Secure the Border.” “As your next Senator, Trent will help us Unleash American Energy, Support our Military/Vets, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment,” he added. “Trent Staggs has my Complete and Total Endorsement – He will be a GREAT Senator, and never let you down!” Trump’s endorsement of Staggs came on the same day nearly a dozen Republicans — including former House Speaker Brad Wilson and current Utah Rep. John Curtis — squared off for the party’s nomination in a race expected to reveal the brand of political conservatism that most appeals to modern voters in the state. TRENT STAGGS RECEIVES ENDORSEMENT FROM UTAH’S LARGEST POLICE UNION Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who gained notoriety in 2020 for his opposition to mask mandates amid the coronavirus pandemic, announced his decision to enter the race last May, prior to Romney’s announcement that he would retire from the chamber at the end of his term next year. “I love my children, and I’m worried about the country they will inherit if I sit on the sidelines,” Staggs told Fox News Digital at the time. “For too long, we’ve allowed government bureaucrats to spend away the next generation’s future, and we need more voices willing to push back.” “Mitt Romney fits in the Senate much better than I do. We’ve elected far too many people who ‘fit in’ in Washington. I’m not going to Washington to make friends, I’m going to make change,” he added. Romney, who won the GOP nomination for president in 2012 and was later defeated by Barack Obama, announced in September that he would not be seeking a second term in the Senate. GOP SENATE HOPEFUL LOOKS TO DISTANCE HIMSELF FROM LINK TO TEXAS GREEN ENERGY FIRM In announcing his decision, Romney declared he’s not “retiring from the fight,” and he bashed both President Biden and Trump while calling for “a new generation of leaders.” “I have spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in,” Romney said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital at the time. Staggs was one of the first candidates to pose a potential challenge to Romney and has since picked up endorsements from several prominent Republicans, including Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, among others. He has also received the backing of Utah’s largest police union — the Utah Fraternal Order of Police, which labeled Staggs as “a longtime supporter of law enforcement and specifically the FOP.” “He understands the need to protect our safety as well as our working conditions, and we wholeheartedly endorse his candidacy,” the union said in a statement to Fox last June. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The winner at Saturday’s state GOP convention, which tends to favor far-right candidates who appeal to the most zealous party members, may get a bump in the race. Some losing candidates still may qualify for the June 25 primary ballot by gathering signatures, so Republican voters will ultimately decide the party’s pick to succeed Romney. The Associated Press contributed to this report.