Last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the Korean War will lie in honor at the US Capitol
Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday that Colonel Ralph Puckett, Jr., the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the Korean War, will lie in honor in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. He died at home on Monday, April 8. He was 97. The ceremony will happen on Monday, April 29, the lawmakers said. “The extraordinary valor of Colonel Ralph Puckett, Jr. represents the best of the 1.7 million Americans who left home to fight for freedom in the Korean War,” the two lawmakers said in a joint statement. They added: “He demonstrated tireless sacrifice for our country and his fellow Rangers and is an exceptional model for servicemembers and civilians alike. To recognize Colonel Puckett’s remarkable heroism and service, and the contributions of all Korean War veterans, it is our privilege to permit his remains to lie in honor in the Rotunda of the Capitol.” COL. RALPH PUCKETT, KOREAN WAR HERO AND MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT, DEAD AT 97 President Biden presented Puckett, Jr. with a Medal of Honor during a White House Ceremony on May 21, 2021. “He leads from the front. He leads by example. He leads with heart. He is a Ranger, and that’s how Rangers lead — that’s how you lead,” the president said of the then-94-year-old retired Army colonel. Puckett Jr., born Dec. 8, 1926, is from Tifton, Georgia. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in 1949. He then served as a U.S. Army Ranger and was deployed to the Korean War in 1950 and the Vietnam War in 1967. LOU CONTER, LAST LIVING PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR ABOARD USS ARIZONA, DEAD AT 102 During his 22 years of service, he received two Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars with V device for valor, five Purple Hearts, ten Air Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal, among others, according to the Army. He also received the two highest awards for military valor: the Distinguished Service Cross and another Distinguished Service Cross that was upgraded to the Congressional Medal of Honor. “He feared no man, he feared no situation and he feared no enemy. Clearly a unique, courageous Soldier in combat and even more importantly, in my opinion, Col. Puckett was an ultimate Infantry leader,” said retired General Jay Hendrix, Army reported. Puckett was offered a medical discharge in 1950, for wounds he received during a battle that raged more than four hours against Chinese forces that outnumbered his division 10-to-1, according to the U.S. Army. “1st Lt. Ralph Puckett, United States Army, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 25-26 November 1950 while serving as Commander, Eighth Army Ranger Company, Task Force Dolvin. As the Rangers commenced the daylight attack of Hill 205, the enemy directed mortar, machinegun and small arms fire against the advancing force. To obtain supporting fire, 1st Lt. Puckett mounted the closest tank exposing himself to the deadly enemy fire. Leaping from the tank, he yelled, ‘Let’s go!’ and began to lead his Rangers in the attack.,” the U.S. Army said. In another description of the events, the Army wrote: “While attached to Task Force Dolvin and leading the advance of the 25th Infantry Division on Nov. 25, 1950, Puckett and his Rangers attacked and secured Hill 205 in the vicinity of Unsan, Korea. Though outnumbered ten to one, Puckett and his Rangers defeated five successive Chinese counterattacks over four hours that night and into the early morning hours of Nov. 26. Finally, on the sixth assault, with supporting artillery fires unavailable, the Ranger company was overrun in hand-to-hand combat. Having suffered multiple serious wounds, Puckett was unable to move. Despite orders to abandon him, fellow Rangers fought their way to his side and evacuated him to safety. For his actions, Puckett was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.” Refusing to quit his service, Puckett took an assignment at the U.S. Army Ranger School and West Point. He then completed his own Special Forces training in 1960 and served in Germany. He ultimately retired in 1971, going on to serve his community with his wife of 68 years. Puckett is survived by his wife, two of his children and six grandchildren. Pucket will also lie in honor following a Celebration of Life at the National Infantry Museum on Saturday, April 20th at 11:00am. According to the Architect of the Capitol, government officials and military officers typically lie in state in the U.S. Capitol while private citizens lie in honor. “No law, written rule, or regulation specifies who may lie in state; use of the U.S. Capitol Rotunda is controlled by concurrent action of the House and Senate. Any person who has rendered distinguished service to the nation may lie in state if the family so wishes and Congress approves,” according to its website.
White House deems House impeachment inquiry ‘over,’ President Biden formally declines to testify
The White House formally declined an invitation by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., for President Biden to testify in connection to his son Hunter’s business dealings. “As our Office has demonstrated, and you acknowledged in a recent fundraising email, your impeachment investigation is over,” Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, wrote in a letter to Comer on Monday. “It is past time for the House to focus on the issues that matter to the American people rather than continuing to waste time and taxpayer resources on this partisan charade.” Sauber said the House Oversight Committee’s impeachment inquiry “has succeeded only in turning up abundant evidence that, in fact, the President has done nothing wrong.” “Yet rather than acknowledge this reality, your March 28, 2024, letter contains the same litany of false allegations that have been repeatedly debunked and refuted by the very witnesses you have called before your Committee and the many documents you have obtained,” the special counsel told Comer. “Your insistence on peddling these false and unsupported allegations despite ample evidence to the contrary makes one thing about your investigation abundantly clear: The facts do not matter to you.” BIDEN IMPEACHMENT EFFORT STARTING TO ‘LOSE STEAM,’ HOUSE REPUBLICANS SAY The National Review published a full copy of the letter also obtained by The Associated Press and other outlets. Reacting to President Biden’s refusal to testify, Comer issued a blistering statement on his X account, declaring, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Biden family.” “Like his son, Hunter Biden, President Biden is refusing to testify in public about the Bidens’ corrupt influence peddling,” Comer wrote. “This comes as no surprise since President Biden continues to lie about his relationships with his son’s business partners, even denying they exists when his son said under oath during a deposition that they did. It is unfortunate President Biden is unwilling to answer questions before the American people and refuses to answer the very simple, straightforward questions we included in the invitation. Why is it so difficult for the White House to answer those questions? The American people deserve transparency from President Biden, not more lies.” Despite providing testimony behind closed doors, Hunter Biden declined to testify in a public committee alongside former business associates, Tony Bobulinski and Jason Galanis, regarding alleged “pay-for- influence” schemes to provide access to certain offices in exchange for payments to the Biden family. Notably, Bobulinski at the committee hearing accused Hunter Biden and his uncle, James Biden, of lying under oath regarding the nature of their dealings with the Chinese conglomerate CEFC. In a March 28 letter, Comer invited President Biden to “explain, under oath,” what involvement he had in the Biden family businesses, claiming the committee “has accounted for over $24 million that has flowed from foreign sources to you, your family and their business associates.” FBI INFORMANT CHARGED WITH GIVING FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN IN 2020 The letter included questions about Biden’s interactions with specific foreign business officials. Comer told President Biden that “you have asserted your pressuring Ukraine in 2015 to fire a government official investigating a company in which your son has a financial interest was wholly in line with U.S. policy.” The committee received bank records showing Hunter Biden was paid $1 million per year for his position on the board of the Ukrainian company Burisma until Joe Biden left office, when Hunter’s salary “was inexplicably cut in half,” Comer wrote. The letter specifically asks if President Biden has interacted with executives at Burisma Holdings, which was at the center of the indictment of a former FBI informant in February who the Justice Department accused of providing false information to the FBI. The indictment says the former informant, Alexander Smirnov, claimed that during meetings with Burisma executives, they admitted to hiring Hunter to “protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems,” and later that they had specifically paid $5 million for such protection. But the DOJ goes on the claim that those events that Smirnov first reported to the FBI Agent in June 2020 were “fabrications.” Sauber, who was brought on in 2022 to oversee the president’s response to congressional investigations into the Biden family, is leaving the White House early next month to return to the private sector. To replace him, the White House is elevating his deputy, Rachel Cotton. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
India to test 130 km strike range Astra Mark-2 missile this year
The Astra Mark-1 air-to-air missile with a strike range of around 90-100 kms is already in the Indian Air Force and is already integrated with the LCA Tejas and the Su-30 MKI fighter jets.
‘We know what happened when…’: SC on plea for 100% EVM-VVPAT verification
The apex court now posted the case for hearing on April 18.
Biden under fire for shutting down US oil production, urged to impose sanctions on Venezuela
FIRST ON FOX: A group of top Senate Republican leaders is urging President Biden to block oil sanctions relief for the Venezuelan government, an authoritarian regime which continues to oppress its opponents. The seven lawmakers, led by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, sent a letter to the president Friday, calling on him to cancel the so-called General License 44, which is set to come up for renewal later this week. They argued that Venezuela’s government has failed to meet key requirements related to ensuring fair elections that it agreed to when the Biden administration issued the six-month license last year. “History has proven time and time again that appeasing dictators does not work. We strongly urge you to reinstate and fully enforce all U.S. sanctions on the [Nicolás] Maduro regime,” they wrote. “We must not cede American leverage by lifting U.S. sanctions while the Maduro government deliberately disregards its obligations.” “If the U.S. fails to take a credible stance on ensuring free and fair elections are held in Venezuela, the prospects of a democratic Venezuela will continue to diminish, which will further embolden authoritarian aggressors such as the People’s Republic of China, Iran, and Russia,” the lawmakers continued. CALIFORNIA’S GREEN AGENDA IS TARGETING EVERY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION, DESPITE WIDE OPPOSITION In October, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro signed an agreement with the nation’s opposition leaders, agreeing to freer elections as part of a deal in which the U.S. Treasury Department eased sanctions on the South American country’s key oil sector. However, the Maduro regime almost immediately began taking actions in apparent violation of the deal, cracking down on the opposition and imprisoning political opponents ahead of Venezuela’s upcoming presidential election slated for July 2024. The State Department said in October it would not renew the General License 44 absent progress by the Venezuelan government. BIDEN ADMIN CANCELS PLAN TO REFILL EMERGENCY OIL RESERVE AMID HIGH PRICES The October agreement broadly authorized oil and gas transactions with Venezuela and came a year after the Biden administration granted a separate license for California-based energy firm Chevron to continue drilling in Venezuela. According to federal data, U.S. oil imports from Venezuela have spiked from zero barrels in December 2022 to nearly 5 million barrels in January. In 2019, the Trump administration imposed heavy sanctions on the nation’s oil industry after a dispute arose between Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido over the 2018 presidential election. Those sanctions led to a precipitous fall off in U.S. imports of Venezuelan oil. In a statement on Tuesday to Fox News Digital, Sullivan, who serves as the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee, expressed deep concern with Biden – both potentially for maintaining sanctions relief for Venezuela and recent actions his administration has taken to curb domestic production. WHITE HOUSE PROHIBITING OFFICIAL TRAVEL TO FOSSIL FUEL CONFERENCES, INTERNAL MEMO SHOWS “Joe Biden needs to wake the hell up and stop appeasing dictators and the eco-colonialists – fast,” he said. “The world is on fire and Biden is still focused on appeasing his most far-left radical supporters at the expense of America’s national security.” Sullivan noted that the Department of the Interior is expected to soon finalize regulations blocking off 13 million acres of land across the National Petroleum Reserve, an area in North Slope Borough, Alaska, set aside by Congress for resource development. Bloomberg reported last week the agency is expected to finalize those rules this week. “The NPR-A is one of the world’s most prolific oil basins and Biden wants to lock up more than half of it. Literally, during the same week, his administration is expected to renew their lifted oil sanctions for the Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela,” Sullivan said. “Alaska, more than any other state, has taken the brunt of this administration’s failed energy policy,” he continued. “This rule, once finalized, is on track to be the 61st action by his administration targeting Alaska. Like many others, it ignores the laws on the books and has been done without real consultation of impacted Alaska Native communities.” ALASKAN NATIVE AMERICANS UNLEASH ON BIDEN ADMIN’S CLIMATE AGENDA: ‘COMMUNITIES AND CULTURE ARE AT RISK’ Calls placed to The White House were not returned at press time. Joining Sullivan in penning the letter to Biden were Republican Sens. James Risch of Idaho, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida.
Bragg files motion to hold Trump in contempt for alleged gag order violations, threatens 30 days of jail time
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a motion Tuesday to hold former President Trump in contempt of court, claiming he violated the gag order imposed upon him by publishing three social media posts relating to two known witnesses in his criminal trial — Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels. Bragg is urging Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan to also warn Trump that “future violations” of the gag order can be punished “not only with additional fines, but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days.” TRUMP TRIAL: JURY SELECTION TO RESUME AFTER POSSIBLE JURORS EXCUSED FOR SAYING THEY COULD NOT BE IMPARTIAL Merchan last month imposed a gag order on Trump, due to his “prior extrajudicial statements.” Merchan said they established “a sufficient risk to the administration of justice.” Merchan ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses concerning their potential participation or about counsel in the case — other than Bragg — or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff. Merchan also ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about any prospective juror or chosen juror. During the first day of the criminal trial and start of jury selection, Manhattan prosecutors suggested Trump had violated the order on three separate occasions on social media. Prosecutors said Trump should be fined $3,000 for the three alleged violations of the gag order — $1,000 for each violation. On Tuesday, Bragg’s team filed a motion to hold the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee in contempt of Court. The first statement Bragg’s team said was in violation of the order was a social media post on April 10 about Michael Avenatti, a lawyer who formerly represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Avenatti was later convicted of stealing from Daniels. Trump, earlier this month, re-posted a statement from Avenatti, which said: “We can’t be hypocrites when it comes to the 1st Amendment. It is outrageous that Cohen and Daniels can do countless TV interviews, post on social, & make $$ on bogus documentaries—all by talking sh*t about Trump—but he’s gagged and threatened with jail if he responds.” Trump, after re-posting Avenatti’s statement, added: “Thank you to Michael Avenatti –for revealing the truth about two sleeze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!!” Bragg’s office also pointed to another post from April 10, in which Trump shared a picture of a document titled “Official Statement of Stormy Daniels,” which was dated Jan. 30, 2018. “Over the past few weeks I have been asked countless times to comment on reports of an alleged sexual relationship I had with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago,” the statement from Daniels says. “I am not denying this affair because I was paid ‘hush money’ as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened.” Trump posted, along with the photo, “LOOK WHAT WAS JUST FOUND! WILL THE FAKE NEWS REPORT IT.” Separately, Daniels had denied the allegation in a Jan. 10, 2018 statement as well. “I recently became aware that certain news outlets are alleging that I had a sexual and/or romantic affair with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago. I am stating with complete clarity that this is absolutely false,” Daniels wrote in that Jan. 10, 2018 statement. “My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more.” Daniels wrote in the letter that when she met Trump, he was “gracious, professional and a complete gentleman to me and EVERYONE in my presence.” “Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false,” the letter read. “If indeed I did have a relationship with Donald Trump, trust me, you wouldn’t be reading about it in the news, you would be reading about it in my book. But the fact of the matter is, these stories are not true.” HUSH MONEY TRIAL JUDGE TEES UP RULING ON WHETHER TRUMP VIOLATED GAG ORDER, SHOULD PAY THOUSANDS Bragg’s office also pointed to a third statement, in which Trump blasted former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz. “Has Mark POMERANTZ been prosecuted for his terrible acts in and out of the D.A.’s Office,” Trump posted on April 13. “Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING? Only TRUMP people get prosecuted by this Judge and these thugs! A dark day for our Country. MAGA2024!!!” Cohen, in 2018, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, making false statements to Congress, making false statements to Congress and tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison. As for Pomerantz, he and his colleague Carey Dunne resigned from the Manhattan district attorney’s office in 2022 after Bragg took over as district attorney. At the time, Bragg had stopped pursuing charges against Trump and suspended the investigation “indefinitely,” according to a letter written by Pomerantz and obtained by Fox News Digital last year. POTENTIAL TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL JURORS BEING ASKED 42 QUESTIONS Pomerantz and Dunne, who had been leading the investigation under Bragg’s predecessor, former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, submitted their resignations in February 2022 after Bragg began raising doubts about pursuing a case against Trump. After Pomerantz resigned, he wrote a tell-all book based on the investigation, which was still ongoing. The book seemingly made the case to charge Trump. Meanwhile, Bragg’s team, in their Tuesday motion, said that fines may not be enough to prevent future issues and violations of the gag order. “This Court should warn defendant that future violations of the Court’s restrictions on his extrajudicial statements can be punished not only with additional fines, but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days,” the motion states. The contempt motion comes as part of the historic criminal trial of Trump. He is the first U.S. president to stand criminal trial. Bragg charged him with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree related to alleged hush
GOP lawmaker demands action from Japan PM on key issue impacting hundreds of US children abroad
FIRST ON FOX: A Republican congressman has personally delivered a letter to Japan’s prime minister urging him to take action in order to address the issue of hundreds of American children being abducted and held in Japan by parents who took the children from the other parent without their consent. “As our two countries continue to take steps to strengthen our democratic, economic and security ties, I would like to draw your attention to an open wound that threatens to derail many ongoing efforts,” GOP Rep. Chris Smith wrote in a letter that he hand-delivered to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. “To date, more than 500 American children have been abducted to Japan by one of their respective parents and remain separated from their American parent. These abductions often occur against pre-existing court orders and, in some cases, with the passport assistance of the Japanese government.” Smith’s letter cites examples of parents who have been unable to access their children in Japan due in part to Japanese law not recognizing joint custody. One of those parents, Jeffrey Morehouse, has testified at several congressional hearings chaired by Smith about his struggle to gain access to his son Mochi since 2010 despite Japanese law recognizing his legal custody in Washington state. 250 NEW CHERRY TREES COMING TO WASHINGTON, D.C., FROM JAPAN “For the sake of the children who are suffering, and for the sake of U.S. and Japanese relations, I seek your public commitment to reunite these families,” Smith wrote in the letter. “I respectfully request that you work with the United States to create a process by which families can be reunited and heal.” Smith points out in his letter that the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 1326 in 2010 calling on Japan to “address the urgent problem of abduction to and retention of United States citizen children” and in 2014, the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act was signed into law to “prevent the terrible crime of international parental child abduction and empower the U.S. executive branch with tools to address this problem bilaterally with countries of particular concern.” AS VIDEO SHOWS A CHILD ESCAPING A KIDNAPPING ATTEMPT, EXPERT REVEALS WHAT PARENTS MUST KNOW “Regrettably, the abduction of American children to your country remains an ongoing human rights crisis that cannot be sidelined or overlooked,” Smith wrote. “When a country such as Japan has failed to resolve 30 percent of abduction cases that have been pending more than 12 months, U.S. law requires the Secretary of State to take action.” Smith wrote that the Goldman Act has helped return U.S. citizen children from other countries but “Japan has not assisted in any notable returns.” “Mr. Prime Minister, there is no doubt that child abduction is a form of child abuse,” Smith wrote. “Children who are kidnapped by one parent to live overseas and kept away from another are at grave risk of serious mental trauma, and may experience anxiety, eating disorder, nightmares, mood swings, sleep disturbances, aggressive behavior, resentment, guilt, and fearfulness.” Smith wrote in his letter that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has found that abduction victims are often taught by their kidnapper that the left-behind parent “doesn’t want them” or that the left-behind parent is “dangerous,” “harmful,” “dead” or “unknown.” “This trauma is not easily erased,” Smith wrote. Unlike many other countries, Japan does not allow dual custody of children for their divorced parents. Only one parent can take the children, though the other parent can gain visitation rights. In some cases, the parent with custody blocks contact with the other one. There have been some high-profile cases of custody disputes brought up by foreign husbands divorced from Japanese women accusing them of child abduction. “Your Excellency, it is my sincere hope that these Japanese American children will become a source of strength between our two countries rather than a reminder of an ongoing injustice and a barrier to a robust United States-Japan relationship,” Smith concluded in his letter. “I respectfully request that you work with the United States to create a process by which families can be reunited and heal.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Since the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the so-called “Hague Convention”) entered into force in Japan in 2014, Japan has been taking appropriate measures to deal with cases covered by the Hague Convention through cooperation with each contracting state based on the Convention.” “Regarding cross-border child abduction cases between Japan and the U.S., the relevant authorities in both countries cooperate to appropriately respond to such cases.” The statement continued, “The Government of Japan has explained the position of the Government of Japan, including the above points, to relevant U.S. officials, including Congressman Smith.” Fox News Digital’s Matthew Noyes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Massie threatens to oust Speaker Johnson if he doesn’t step down over foreign aid plan
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is facing renewed motion to vacate threats a day after he introduced a plan to pass foreign aid. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., threatened to force a vote to oust the speaker during remarks in House Republicans’ closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday morning, if the speaker did not willingly step aside first. He’s the second conservative to do so after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., filed a motion to vacate against Johnson last month. “I asked him to resign…he said he would not,” Massie told reporters after the meeting. “And I said, well, you’re the one who’s going to put us into this because the motion is going to get called, OK? The motion will get called.” Massie took it a step further and said Johnson would lose more GOP support than the eight House Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last year. SPEAKER JOHNSON, MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE EXCHANGE TEXTS AFTER MOTION TO OUST HIM: ‘WE’RE GOING TO TALK’ Asked about the chaos wrought in October during the race to replace McCarthy, Massie said, “We ended up with some guy nobody in America ever heard of.” A defiant Johnson said at his weekly press conference afterward, “I am not resigning.” “It is, in my view an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion. We’re simply here trying to do our job. It is not helpful,” Johnson said. “It is not helping the House Republicans advance our agenda, which is in the best interest of the American people.” Massie is among the conservatives pushing back against Johnson’s plan for aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, which was announced Monday night and is already facing pushback from members on the right over its lack of border security provisions. He predicted that the proposal would not even pass its initial procedural hurdle on the House floor, a chamber-wide rule vote. “I’m the canary in the coal mine. This rule’s dead on arrival,” Massie said. I WANT MY MTV (MOTION TO VACATE): SPEAKER JOHNSON FACES POTENTIAL THREAT WHEN CONGRESS RETURNS A GOP lawmaker who was present at the meeting said Massie told Johnson that he should “just get all this legislation out of the way and then announce he’s not going to stay speaker.” Asked if Massie was serious about trying to oust Johnson, the GOP lawmaker said, “I’ve never found him as someone who is not serious.” A second GOP lawmaker said Johnson responded to Massie with some form of “Bring it on” challenge – and noted that McCarthy made similar comments when presented with a leadership fight. “My experience has been so far, don’t do that,” the second GOP lawmaker said. While no House Republicans leaving the Tuesday morning meeting said they would back Massie’s effort, they were divided on whether his accusations had any merit. CONSERVATIVES THREATEN TO SINK FISA RENEWAL AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS BATTLE OVER FEDERAL SURVEILLANCE TOOL “I think if the speaker ignores the obvious desire of the conference to include border control [in the foreign aid plan], and I think a lot of people who want part of this to be paid for, I think he ignores that at his own risk,” House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital. Meanwhile, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital of Massie’s threat, “I think it’s ridiculous. Speaker Johnson is doing the best job that he can with a divided conference. I think it’s about time we come together.” Massie said he would sign onto Greene’s existing resolution to vacate Johnson. But unless they file it as a privileged motion, as was the case with McCarthy, there is nothing compelling House Republican leadership to hold a vote.
Insurance firms should shun the East African Crude Oil Pipeline
Last year was the hottest on record, with extreme weather events in many corners of the globe. It was also the year in which countries reached a landmark agreement at the UN Climate Conference (COP28) to begin “transitioning away from fossil fuels”. If governments are to comply with this agreement and avert global climate collapse, there cannot be any new expansion of coal, oil and gas production. This includes the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), one of the largest and most controversial fossil fuel projects currently under development. Financing for EACOP is yet to be secured, but if it is and the project moves forward, a 1,443km (897-mile) pipeline will stretch from oil fields in western Uganda to the port of Tanga in eastern Tanzania. The project’s completion would not only contribute to increased greenhouse gas emissions which fuel climate change but also harm local communities. That is why, Human Rights Watch is calling on insurance firms to stop providing support for it. The pipeline is planned to traverse some of Africa’s most sensitive ecosystems, including Murchison Falls National Park and the Murchison Falls-Albert Delta Ramsar site. Pipeline ruptures, inadequate waste handling, and other pollution impacts would cause significant damage to the land, water, air and the species that rely on them. Our research found that the project’s initial land acquisition process has already devastated thousands of people’s livelihoods in Uganda, causing food insecurity and household debt that has resulted in children dropping out of school. During our interviews with local communities, many described being largely self-sufficient before the project began, using revenue from coffee, bananas and other cash crops to pay for school fees and other household expenses. When their land was allocated for the pipeline construction, they were not compensated immediately for it. They waited an average of three to five years after the land evaluation process took place, and interviewees repeatedly told Human Rights Watch that the payments they received were not adequate to purchase replacement land. They said they were worse off than they were previously. While they were waiting for compensation, many farmers understood that they were not permitted to access their land to tend perennial crops, and were therefore deprived of crucial income. Residents described how the payment delays impacted their food security, pushing them to sell household assets, including livestock, or borrow money from predatory lenders at excessive rates to buy the food they would have previously grown on their plots and cover other expenses. This has left many families poorer and more insecure about their future. If the pipeline is completed, more than 100,000 people in Uganda and Tanzania will permanently lose land to make way for it. Civil society groups in Uganda and Tanzania have called for the pipeline not to be built, citing climate, environmental and social risks. Ugandan civil society groups say that, instead of building the pipeline, the Ugandan government should develop its abundant renewable energy resources – particularly solar and hydropower – to drive economic development and secure access to energy without further contributing to climate change. Their demands have been met with hostility from the Ugandan authorities. Our research documented the Ugandan government’s systematic harassment, arbitrary arrests of and threats against environmental defenders and anti-fossil fuel activists for raising concerns over the pipeline project and oil development. In this context, it is deeply troubling that insurance companies are enabling this and other big fossil fuel projects by providing insurance for them. This is despite the fact that new oil projects are wholly inconsistent with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoiding the worst consequences of climate change. In late 2023, Human Rights Watch wrote to 15 insurance and reinsurance companies and shared our findings on the grave environmental and human rights risks associated with the pipeline. Only two companies – Lloyd’s of London and Chubb – responded to us, and neither agreed to reassess their involvement in the project. In early March, civil society groups across the world organised a global week of action to end fossil fuels, including confronting insurance companies about their role in the climate crisis and asking them to rule out support for fossil fuel projects. Anti-fossil fuel activists held peaceful protests at regional offices of the insurance companies still involved in the East African project with the message: “Insure our futures, not fossil fuels.” Increasing numbers of insurers have made public commitments to not underwrite the pipeline, but others have persisted. Continued support for EACOP is a mistake. By underwriting the project, insurers are helping to build the longest heated oil pipeline in the world at a time when the world is warming at dangerous levels. Insurance companies should refuse to support this project. The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Adblock test (Why?)
Armenia claims Azerbaijan ‘completed’ ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh
Azerbaijan systematically ‘erasing’ all traces of ethnic Armenians in the disputed region, Yerevan says. Azerbaijan has “completed” the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia claimed to the UN’s top court. In a case brought by Yerevan against its Caucus neighbour and rival over alleged discrimination and ethnic cleansing, lawyers for Armenia on Tuesday told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Baku is “erasing all traces of ethnic Armenians’ presence” in the contested territory. “After threatening to do so for years, Azerbaijan has completed the ethnic cleansing of the region,” Armenia’s representative Yeghishe Kirakosyan claimed. The two Caucasian countries have been contesting the Nagorno-Karabakh territory during the three decades since the Soviet Union collapsed. Yerevan has sought to bring international attention to the mountainous enclave since Baku took control in a military operation in September. The ICJ case, filed by Armenia in 2021, accuses Azerbaijan of glorifying racism against and allowing hate speech against Armenians and destroying Armenian cultural sites. Armenia said that put Azerbaijan in violation of a UN anti-discrimination treaty. Baku has denied all the accusations against it. The case stems from a 2020 war over Nagorno-Karabakh that left more than 6,600 people dead, one of three full-scale conflicts that the pair have fought over the issue. Azerbaijan’s armed forces recaptured the mountainous region in September after years of ethnic Armenian control, prompting most ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. Kirakosyan said Baku was “now consolidating [its control of Nagorno-Karabakh] by systematically erasing all traces of ethnic Armenians’ presence, including Armenian cultural and religious heritage”. He told the judges that Baku “has increasingly been characterising Armenia’s human rights claims … as some sort of challenge to Azerbaijan’s sovereignty or territorial integrity.” “Azerbaijan is profoundly mistaken. Armenia has no claims to Azerbaijan’s territory and is also committed to establishing conditions for genuine and enduring peace,” the lawyer asserted. Bad faith On Monday, the first day of the hearings, Azerbaijan told the court that most of Armenia’s complaints did not fall within the scope of the UN treaty. Baku’s lawyers also accused Armenia of failing to genuinely engage in negotiations, a pre-requisite under the treaty for bringing the case to the ICJ. Kirakosyan rejected the claims. “Armenia negotiated with Azerbaijan in good faith and pursued discussions far beyond the point of utility,” he stated. An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh sits inside an old Soviet-style car as she arrives in Goris, in Syunik region, Armenia, on September 27 [File: Vasily Krestyaninov/AP Photo] In November, the court issued emergency measures in the case, ordering Azerbaijan to allow ethnic Armenians who fled Nagorno-Karabakh to return. Azerbaijan says it has pledged to ensure all residents’ safety and security, regardless of national or ethnic origin, and that it has not forced ethnic Armenians to leave Karabakh. The hearings will cover only the legal objections to the jurisdiction of the ICJ and will not go into the merits of the discrimination claims. A final ruling in both cases could be years away and the ICJ has no way to enforce its rulings. Adblock test (Why?)