Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Author:

Flag of NATO’s 32nd member, Sweden, raised at alliance’s headquarters

Flag of NATO’s 32nd member, Sweden, raised at alliance’s headquarters

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson preside over flag-raising ceremony in Brussels. Sweden’s flag has been raised at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, marking the country’s entry into the military alliance two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg looked on as two soldiers on Monday raised the blue banner emblazoned with a yellow cross among the official circle of national flags at the transatlantic grouping’s offices in the Belgian capital. Ahead of the flag-hoisting ceremony held in the rain, Kristersson said expectations were “high”. “We have chosen you, and you have chosen us. All for one, and one for all,” the prime minister said, adding that his country was a “proud” member and pledging that it would uphold the values enshrined in NATO’s founding Washington Treaty. “The security situation in our region has not been this serious since the Second World War, and Russia will stay a threat to Euro-Atlantic security for a foreseeable future,” Kristersson said. For his part, Stoltenberg said Sweden becoming the alliance’s 32nd member shows Russian President Vladimir Putin “failed” in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening it. “When President Putin launched his full-scale invasion two years ago, he wanted less NATO and more control over his neighbours. He wanted to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state, but he failed,” Stoltenberg said, adding that Ukraine is “closer to NATO than ever before”. The ceremony came as 20,000 troops from 13 countries began NATO drills in the high north of Sweden as well as its neighbours Finland and Norway. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 prompted Sweden and Finland, which shares a 1,340km (832-mile) border with Russia, to end years of military nonalignment and apply to join the United States-led alliance. While Finland joined in April 2023, Sweden’s adhesion to NATO took close to two years as Turkey and Hungary held up the process that requires the unanimous support of all members. The Turkish parliament gave its formal consent in January and Hungary’s came last week. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday labelled the accession a “historic moment for Sweden, for our alliance and for the transatlantic relationship”. “Good things come to those who wait,” Blinken said as he received Sweden’s accession documents in Washington, DC. The members of NATO have lent their military and financial support to Ukraine in its fightback against Russian forces, but momentum is slowing as US political will fractures and Europe struggles to meet the Ukrainian ammunition needs. Sweden brings to the table well-trained and equipped armed forces. It also adds cutting-edge submarines and a sizeable fleet of domestically produced Gripen fighter jets to NATO forces and would be a crucial link between the Atlantic and Baltic. Adblock test (Why?)

FDNY tells firefighters to protest ‘on your own time’ after booing NY AG Letitia James, cheering Trump: report

FDNY tells firefighters to protest ‘on your own time’ after booing NY AG Letitia James, cheering Trump: report

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) issued a scolding to firefighters it says brought “discredit” to the department after booing New York Attorney General Letitia James and cheering for former President Trump at a promotion ceremony last week, warning those who took part to protest on their own time, according to a report. The department handed out a memo at firehouses across New York City on Sunday that said the FDNY’s Bureau of Investigations and Trials (BITS) is combing through video to identify those who took part in the behavior, the New York Post reported. Firefighters “should understand that BITS is gathering video and identifying members that brought discredit … to the department,” read the memo obtained by the Post. “We want the members to come forward. They will come to HQ to be educated [on] why their behavior is unacceptable.” The memo also advised firefighters not to express their political views while on duty. FDNY ‘LOOKING INTO’ STAFF WHO BOOED NY AG LETITIA JAMES, CHEERED FOR TRUMP AT CEREMONY “When you’re not on duty, feel however you want about politicians,” the memo said. “Vote. Protest. That’s your right. But don’t do it on the job’s time, on other members’ time, or on their families’ time. Do it on your own time.” Fox News Digital reached out to FDNY for comment, but they did not immediately respond. The controversy began after booing erupted as James walked up to the podium to honor the swearing-in of the first Black female chaplain of the FDNY, the Rev. Pamela Holmes, as well as other first responders at a promotion ceremony on Thursday at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn. “Oh, c’mon, we’re in a house of God. Simmer down,” James told the rowdy crowd. “Thank you for getting it out of your system.”  As James continued her remarks, the crowd repeatedly chanted “Trump!” NEW YORK OFFICIAL FIRES BACK AT STATE AG AMID FIGHT OVER TRANS ATHLETE LAW: ‘THIS IS NOT TRANSPHOBIC’ James led the civil fraud case against Trump in New York City that resulted in Judge Arthur Engoron finding Trump liable for more than $350 million in damages and barring him from operating his business in New York for three years. The department also claimed in the memo that it is at risk of losing the cultural center as a venue after the incident hurt its reputation with the host. Meanwhile, FDNY spokesman Jim Long told Fox News Digital in an email on Sunday morning that the department’s investigation was “about professionalism at an official event,” and “has nothing to do with politics.” “Nobody is hunting anyone down,” Long said. “We’re looking into those who clearly broke department regulations.”

Trump aide Peter Navarro ordered to report to prison for 4-month sentence

Trump aide Peter Navarro ordered to report to prison for 4-month sentence

Peter Navarro, who served in the White House under former President Trump, was ordered to report to a Miami prison by March 19 to begin serving a four-month sentence for flouting a House Jan. 6 committee subpoena.  The order was revealed in a court filing Sunday by Navarro’s lawyer, Stanley Woodward.  In January, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Navarro to four months in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of $9,500. The sentence was two months shorter than the six prosecutors had sought, but Mehta drastically reduced the whopping $200,000 fine sought by the Justice Department.  TRUMP WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL PETER NAVARRO SENTENCED TO 4 MONTHS FOR DEFYING JAN 6 SUBPOENA The former Trump White House aide is looking for an appeals court to intervene to block the sentence while he fights the conviction. Sunday’s filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia states that Navarro has now been ordered to report to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, FCI Miami, on or before 2:00 p.m. on March 19. “Accordingly, Dr. Navarro respectfully reiterates his request for an administratively stay so as to permit the Court to resolve the instant motion. Should this Court deny Dr. Navarro’s motion, he respectfully requests an administrative stay so as to permit the Supreme Court review of this Court’s denial,” Woodward wrote.  A former adviser to the president on trade and manufacturing policies, Navarro was convicted in September of two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The subpoena required Navarro to appear and produce documents in February 2022, and sit for a deposition in March 2022, but Navarro refused to provide the materials and testify. As a private citizen, he was indicted on June 2, 2022.  This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates

Russia tightlipped on reports Navy commander sunk by Black Sea losses

Russia tightlipped on reports Navy commander sunk by Black Sea losses

Kremlin refuses comment on report it replaced navy commander after losing warships to Ukrainian attacks in Black Sea. The Kremlin has declined to comment on reports that the commander-in-chief of the Russian navy has been sacked. A spokesperson in Moscow said on Monday that “no public decrees” have been made on the fate of Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov. Reports over the weekend asserted that he had been replaced following the loss of a string of warships to Ukrainian attacks in the Black Sea. Several news outlets, including the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper, claimed that Yevmenov, 61, had been replaced by Northern Fleet commander Alexander Moiseyev. Any such appointment would typically be announced by presidential decree. “There are decrees labelled secret, I cannot comment on them. There were no public decrees on this matter,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. If confirmed, the removal of Yevmenov – who was appointed head of the navy in May 2019 – would be the biggest shake-up in Russia’s military top brass since the sacking of aerospace force chief Sergei Surovikin last year. Ukrainian forces claim to have destroyed more than two dozen Russian ships since the conflict began in February 2022, including a military patrol boat last week. The losses are an embarrassment for Moscow, which has been forced to move ships from its historic Sevastopol naval base in Crimea to Novorossiysk, further east. Russia’s Black Sea woes come in stark contrast to its land offensive in east Ukraine, where its forces have advanced in recent months after over a year of deadlocked fighting. ‘Understandable’ The Kremlin spokesman also refused to comment on a recent CNN report that claimed that in late 2022 the US had been primed for a potential nuclear strike by Russia in Ukraine. “This is the type of speculation that is published in various newspapers,” Peskov told reporters, without confirming or denying the report that Russian military commanders had discussed such a scenario at the time. Peskov was, however, more enthusiastic to discuss the call by Pope Francis for Ukraine to sue for peace. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken of Russia’s willingness and openness to negotiations, but Kyiv had rejected such proposals, the Kremlin spokesman said. Ukraine has rebuffed the pope’s call for it to show what he called the courage of the “white flag” and negotiate an end to the two-year war. “It is quite understandable that he [the pope] spoke in favour of negotiations,” Peskov told reporters. “Unfortunately, both the statements of the Pope and the repeated statements of other parties, including ours, have recently received absolutely harsh refusals.” Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also leapt upon the pope’s comments. “The way I see it, the pope is asking the West to put aside its ambitions and admit that it was wrong,” she said, claiming that the West is using Ukraine to try to weaken Russia. Peskov said that the battlefield situation showed that Western hopes of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia were mistaken. “This is the deepest misconception, the deepest mistake, and the course of events, primarily on the battlefield, is the clearest evidence of this,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)

Pakistan police crack down on PTI protests over alleged rigging in election

Pakistan police crack down on PTI protests over alleged rigging in election

There were allegations of large-scale rigging in last month’s vote, which the PTI blames on authorities to stop it from coming to power. Islamabad, Pakistan – The police in Pakistan have been accused of launching a brutal attack on the supporters of the main opposition party and arresting more than 100 of its members during countrywide protests over alleged rigging in last month’s general election. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) had called for the protests on Sunday to demand the restoration of their “stolen mandate” in the February 8 election as well as the immediate release of its leaders, including party founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Last month’s vote saw large-scale allegations of rigging which the PTI says was carried out by the authorities to stop it from coming to power. Since Khan’s government was removed from power in 2022, PTI has seen an unprecedented crackdown. Khan himself has been in prison since August last year following his conviction in cases related to the leaking of state secrets, corruption and even “unlawful” wedding. He denies the charges, calling them politically motivated and intended to keep him out of active politics. Meanwhile, the crackdown on his party saw the PTI losing its election symbol days ahead of the polls it was widely favoured to win. The action forced its candidates to contest the polls as independents. The election day was marred by violence, followed by unusually delayed results, raising fears that the votes were manipulated by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Yet, the PTI-backed candidates emerged as the largest political group in parliament, winning 93 seats. But its rivals – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) with 75 seats and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 54 – entered into an alliance and formed the government earlier this month. The PTI says it is opposed to the new government since the votes were rigged and has demanded action against election authorities and the interim government that oversaw the polls. To push for its demands, the PTI called on its supporters across the country to hit the streets on Sunday. As PTI members and supporters rallied, raising slogans against the government and calling for its dismissal, the demonstration in the eastern city of Lahore turned violent. Multiple videos on social media showed police officers attacking the protesters with sticks and shoving people inside police vehicles. One video showed a bearded man holding a PTI flag being dragged out of his car. A large crowd gathered around his vehicle forcing the police to let the man go. Another video showed a PTI leader being pulled inside a police vehicle as he continued to raise slogans. In a statement, the PTI said all its arrested leaders should be immediately released and “the shameful series of state repression, brutality and fascism should be abandoned”. The party said it will hold weekly protests until its demands are met. “A majority of those arrested [on Sunday] have now been released, but the point is the police cannot arrest people carrying out peaceful protests,” PTI leader Shayan Bashir told Al Jazeera. Adblock test (Why?)