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Yellen to urge Congress to ‘act quickly’ on Ukraine aid, warning of ‘unthinkable consequences’ to security
EXCLUSIVE: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday is expected to urge Congress to “act quickly” to provide additional support to Ukraine, and warn that a failure to act would “hand a victory” to Russian President Vladimir Putin and would have “unthinkable consequences” for the U.S. and its allies. Yellen is set to host European Commission Executive Vice Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis at the Treasury Department on Wednesday to discuss the “importance” of collective support for Ukraine. SENATE GOP IN ‘QUANDARY’ OVER BORDER SECURITY, UKRAINE AID PACKAGE: ‘DESIGNED NOT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM’ Fox News Digital exclusively obtained Yellen’s prepared remarks she plans to deliver at the start of the meeting. “Europe has been a key partner in the effort to impose increasing costs on Russia through putting in place multiple sanctions packages, implementing a novel oil price cap, and cracking down on sanctions evasion,” she is expected to say. “In Ukraine, our financial support is inextricably linked to success on the battlefield. It helps underpin Ukraine’s war effort.” Yellen will add: “Simply put, we cannot allow Ukraine to run out of money before it runs out of ammunition.” Yellen is expected to thank the European Union for its “strong” partnership, and tout the more than $54 billion combined in direct budget support to Ukraine since 2022. BIDEN TOUTS POTENTIAL BORDER DEAL WITH SENATE AS SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON SAYS BILL ‘DEAD ON ARRIVAL’ IN HOUSE The Biden administration is currently requesting an additional $11.8 billion in budget support from Congress for Ukraine. Yellen on Wednesday is expected to urge Congress to “act quickly to provide support to Ukraine, including through direct budget assistance.” “Failure to act would hand a victory to President Putin and have unthinkable consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for our collective security,” she is expected to say. “Failure to act would hand a victory to President Putin and have unthinkable consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for our collective security.” Yellen is also expected to echo remarks made by Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky that the support is “not charity” but an “investment” in the national security of the United States and its allies. But in her expected plea to Congress, Yellen is set to explain that U.S. budget support “benefits from an unprecedented level of robust oversight and transparency—an issue of great importance to Congress and the Administration—and additional support would be conditioned on Ukraine making essential reforms.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We will continue to urge Congress to act, and we are proud to stand alongside our European partners in this vital work,” she is expected to say. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has been trying to secure a deal for months with White House officials to unlock $60 billion of aid to assist Ukraine’s war with Russia that’s included in the national security supplemental bill. The Department of Defense has already depleted its available funds earmarked for Ukraine without needing approval from Congress.
Freedom Caucus chair probes military’s effort to ‘rewrite our nation’s history’ with Naming Commission
FIRST ON FOX: House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., is going after the group tasked with scrubbing references to the Confederacy from the U.S. military, accusing the Pentagon of trying to “rewrite” history. In letters to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sent on Wednesday, Good took issue with the recent removal of the Reconciliation Monument, a Confederate memorial, from Arlington National Cemetery. “We write regarding the recent implementation of the Naming Commission’s recommendation to remove Arlington National Cemetery’s ‘Reconciliation Monument.’ We are concerned about this removal and the broader efforts by the commission to rewrite our nation’s history,” Good wrote. GOP LAWMAKERS DEMAND PENTAGON STOP REMOVAL OF CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL IN ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY He said in the letter to Austin, “Efforts to remove statues and memorials like this encourage an endless cycle of renaming institutions, buildings, and cities across the country under the destructive ruse of political wokeness.” “Historical sites are healthy environments to observe varied perspectives of historical events, engage diverse viewpoints, and inspire robust conversation as we remember our nation’s history,” Good added. US MILITARY CARRIES OUT AIRSTRIKES ON FACILITIES IN SYRIA OPERATED BY IRANIAN-BACKED FORCES Good asked Comer’s Oversight Committee to hold a hearing on the Naming Commission and request that the panel hand over any relevant documents. In his letter to Austin, Good asked him to compile all relevant documents and correspondence with the Naming Commission, including memos to private entities and the White House. The Reconciliation Monument was slated for removal by the Pentagon’s Naming Commission, a panel tasked with renaming and removing military installations named after the Confederacy in the wake of the summer 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA DRIVER AND NATIONAL GUARD MEMBER IS ‘HONORED’ TO TAKE PART IN HOLIDAY MISSION The memorial was unveiled in 1914 by then-President Wilson after being commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Congress had authorized the reinterment of Confederate remains to Arlington National Cemetery just 14 years prior. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin had asked for it to be moved to the Virginia Military Institute, according to reports from late last year. Its removal was challenged in court, but a judge ultimately cleared the way for it to be taken down in late December.
Biden, Dems planned to make America like California; they succeeded in key areas
California stands as a vanguard for progressive policies in the nation’s capital, shaping the narrative on issues like criminal justice, homelessness, climate laws and more. This became even more apparent when President Biden tapped former San Francisco prosecutor Kamala Harris to be his VP four years ago. The administration has already adopted some of the Golden State’s most innovative policy ideas championed by liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom, from progressive climate initiatives such as “clean energy,” the “Housing First” solution to homelessness and its own version of the Golden State’s controversial AB 5 labor law. Newsom has also been circulated as a viable option for Democrats to propel him as a presidential candidate in 2028 as he continues to position himself on the national stage. Last week, Newsom made several stops to campaign for Biden’s re-election bid ahead of South Carolina’s Democratic primary in February. But what would the U.S. look like if a few of California’s most controversial policies were enacted federally? State experts weighed in on these key issues with Fox News Digital. Homelessness California boasts the highest population of homeless people in the country with more than 170,000 living outdoors. The state’s highly concentrated cities, like San Francisco and Los Angeles, are two hot spots where the problem has spiraled out of control in recent years. But the state touts a “Housing First” solution, which is the belief that homelessness is first solved through putting people in apartments, motels, hotels or “tiny homes,” rather than mandating rehabilitation for drug addiction or mental health treatment. Between 2018 and 2023, the state spent $20 billion trying to address the crisis, only for the problem to increase by 30%. According to LAPD officer Deon Joseph, who has worked on Skid Row – where LA’s highest density of homeless people live – for more than 20 years, some of the state’s homelessness policies are already spilling out to other cities. Four years ago, he said, he was invited to share with the Austin City Council the policies that have exacerbated Los Angeles’s homeless crisis. “It sounded like the mayor was hell-bent on doing things the LA way,” Joseph told Fox News Digital. “And once again, I looked at Austin compared to the first time I went, to where it is now, and it’s really sad because it all could have been avoided.” “You can’t have a hands-off approach to homelessness, it fails every time,” he said. Even though Texas passed a law banning public camping to prevent homeless people from congregating, encampments continue to be an issue for Austin residents. Last summer, the Biden administration unveiled “ALL INside,” with a target to cut homelessness by 25% by 2025. This initiative focuses on providing housing for homeless individuals in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix Metro, Seattle and the state of California through collaboration with local governments – a federal push for the “Housing First” approach. LOS ANGELES RECRUITS UP TO 6K VOLUNTEERS TO COUNT CITY’S HOMELESS POPULATION AS CRISIS WORSENS Crime Recent FBI data shows California’s violent crime rate was 31% higher than the national average in 2022. This is mainly due to an increase in aggravated assaults, which are rising in California while declining nationwide, a November 2023 Pew Research study found. Zero cash bail, also known as no-cash bail or zero-dollar bail, has been a popular social justice initiative to allow individuals who are arrested and charged with a crime to be released from custody without having to pay any bail money upfront. The policy was first rolled out in LA during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to decrease jail crowding. It was terminated in July 2022, but a judge reinstated the policy in May after a class action lawsuit was filed by recent arrestees who couldn’t afford to pay bail and had to remain in custody for a few extra days. Last year, Illinois eliminated cash bail entirely, following in the footsteps of California’s liberal city. “Looking to California for guidance and leadership, they’re gonna end up as bad or worse,” former Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley told Fox News Digital. “The California state Legislature has adopted virtually every radical left wing concept that they can locate in the criminal justice system, and they have been sort of a silent but deadly part of California’s deteriorating criminal justice system.” Cooley argued zero cash bail nationwide would have a “detrimental” effect on public safety, as criminals are often booked and re-released within hours. “There are people who are now dead – murdered – because some people who should have been in pending posting bail got out automatically,” he said. During his 2020 campaign, Biden described cash bail as a “modern-day debtors’ prison,” and vowed to terminate it. However, almost four years into his term, he has hardly mentioned it. ZERO CASH BAIL TO BLAME FOR ‘BRAZEN’ SMASH AND GRAB ROBBERIES IN LA, POLICE UNION SAYS Climate and Economy Biden recently introduced a new independent contractor rule similar to California’s AB 5, potentially impacting the earnings of millions relying on gig work. AB 5, signed by Newsom in 2020, redefined many freelancers as full-time employees based on the “ABC” test – making it harder for companies to hire freelancers. While proponents argued for better compensation and benefits, thousands of freelancers protested against the law. “That’s one of the most destructive things to wealth creation for individuals,” a Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association spokesperson, Susan Shelley, told Fox News Digital. “To take away their ability to work freelance and to pursue different kinds of career opportunities outside of traditional payroll employment, and [Biden] wants to take that away in the whole country.” “It’s a rule that essentially makes freelancing illegal, which is horrible for people,” she said. Shelley said California employs a cap-and-trade program, akin to a hidden energy tax, requiring utilities and industries to pay for permits to emit greenhouse gases, which ultimately increases costs for consumers in energy, gasoline and goods. BIDEN ADMIN AIMS TO PUSH TOWNS, CITIES TO
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Who is Champai Soren, new chief minister of Jharkhand?
Champai Soren has been appointed as the new chief minister of Jharkhand on Tuesday (Jan 31).
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Rolex to diamonds: What’s landed Pakistan’s Imran Khan a 14-year jail term?
EXPLAINER The ex-PM denies he profited from the sale of ‘state gifts’ but prosecution says their value was concealed. A court in Pakistan has sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 years in prison just a week before general elections, for unlawfully buying and selling state gifts. The former prime minister and his wife were also fined each 787 million rupees ($2.8m) in a case known as the asset concealment case, or Toshakhana case. The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-leader was jailed for 10 years for leaking state secrets on Tuesday. The former prime minister has said the cases are politically motivated and aimed at keeping him and his party away from the elections. So what is the case behind the latest ruling, and what gifts were part of it? What is the Toshakhana or state gifts case against Khan? The former prime minister has been accused of misusing his 2018-2022 prime ministership to unlawfully buy and sell gifts kept inside the Toshakhana, or treasure house – a government-owned department. The Toshakhana stores gifts received by prime ministers, presidents, ministers, members of parliament and government officials. Khan was sentenced to three years in prison in August for selling state gifts worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($500,000). The August sentencing, now suspended, was brought by the election commission. Wednesday’s conviction against the cricketer-turned-politician was brought by the anticorruption body in the same case. Khan and Bibi were indicted three weeks ago on charges they bought gifts – including jewellery and watches – at reduced prices and sold them at market value. They pleaded not guilty. What were the gifts mentioned in Khan’s Toshakhana case? Some 108 gifts have been listed by Pakistan’s information minister, including perfumes, diamond jewellery, dinner sets and cufflinks. The gifts allegedly also include seven watches, six of them Rolexes. The most expensive was a “Master Graff limited edition” valued at 85 million rupees ($300,000). (Al Jazeera) Why did Khan’s handling of the gifts become problematic? Expensive gifts given to Pakistani officials by foreign dignitaries range from Rolex watches to bulletproof BMW cars to a 21-karat gold crown. In Pakistan, government leaders are allowed to buy gifts received from foreign dignitaries and heads of state, but they aren’t usually then sold. If they are, the earnings must be declared. In many cases, politicians and bureaucrats have bought luxury gift items at a considerably lower price. Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf – who died last February – kept a pearl necklace worth about $250 by paying just 750 rupees (about $12 according to the exchange rate at the time) in 2006. Khan has said he declared the items and had bought them legally. He has also dismissed allegations that he held onto any state gifts or profited from them. But the prosecution said Khan did not correctly disclose his income after selling the gifts. The former prime minister’s aides were also accused of selling some gifts in Dubai and “concealing” their value. His wife, Bushra Bibi, became embroiled in the case after alleged leaked audio included her telling former Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Zulfiqar Bukhari to sell some of Khan’s watches, which opposition leaders have said referred to the state gifts. Bukhari said the audio was fake and that he did not sell any watches. The alleged buyer of a watch also came out saying he did not make any such purchase. Where is Imran Khan now? Khan has been in jail since August as he has been facing more than 150 cases ranging from corruption to “terrorism”. He is currently being held in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. Bushra Bibi surrendered at the jail on Wednesday. Khan’s lawyers are filing an appeal to the verdict. Adblock test (Why?)
Nearly eight million people displaced by war in Sudan: UN
Nine months into a bloody war, nearly eight million people have been forced from their homes in Sudan, the United Nations says, calling for urgent additional support to cope with the crisis. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported the alarming figure on Wednesday as High Commissioner Filippo Grandi concluded a visit to Ethiopia, to which many of the displaced people have fled. The UNHCR said it is facing a chronic shortfall in needed funds. Since April 2023, more than 100,000 people have crossed into Ethiopia from Sudan, including close to 47,000 refugees and asylum seekers. About 50,000 Sudanese refugees were already in the country. Grandi called for “urgent and additional support to meet their needs” as he inspected the efforts of the Ethiopian government and the UNHCR to assist. Five other neighbouring countries have also received huge numbers of Sudanese refugees. More than half a million people have fled to Chad since April. On average, 1,500 people cross daily into South Sudan. The latest wave of violence in the 20-year conflict has left nearly half of Sudan’s 49 million people requiring aid. The UN reports that 12,000 people had been killed by the end of 2023, but the actual death toll is believed to be higher. Chaos Sudan plunged into chaos last April when long-simmering tensions between the military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, erupted into street battles in the capital, Khartoum, and other areas. Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, left, and RSF commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo [File: Ashraf Shazly/AFP] The violence has extended from an earlier conflict that began in 2003, when rebels from the territory’s ethnic sub-Saharan African community launched an armed rebellion, accusing the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum of discrimination and neglect. The government, under then-President Omar al-Bashir, responded with aerial bombings and unleashed the militia group Popular Defence Forces, also known as the Janjaweed, which is accused of mass killings and rapes. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes. Internationally-brokered deals and peacekeeping forces have struggled to subdue the violence over the last two decades. Khartoum ravaged According to a report by the UN agency International Organization for Migration last year, approximately three million of the displaced are originally from Khartoum, the epicentre of the conflict. A damaged car and buildings are seen at the central market amid clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF in Khartoum North, on April 27, 2023 [Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters] For months now, the RSF has controlled most of the city, making life impossible for locals, contributing to reducing entire neighbourhoods to rubble by embedding its fighters in residential areas, which are then indiscriminately shelled and bombed by the army. While millions have fled the city, some are too poor to leave, while others have stayed behind, fearing that the RSF will confiscate and loot their homes if they flee. Funding shortage Ethiopia hosts one of the largest refugee and internally displaced populations globally, the UN notes. As the third largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, it is currently home to nearly one million displaced people – mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan. An estimated 3.5 million Ethiopians are internally displaced. At the end of last year, UNHCR’s programmes in Ethiopia were less than half-funded, with just 36 percent of the $431m needed. In 2024, the overall requirements for UNHCR’s response in Ethiopia totals $426m. Adblock test (Why?)
Myanmar military further extends state of emergency
The military has continuously extended emergency rule since it took power in a coup in February 2021. Myanmar’s ruling military government has extended the state of emergency in the country for six months. The National Defence and Security Council decided to prolong emergency rule for another six-month stint on Wednesday, just ahead of the previous term’s expiry at midnight. The move further delays elections that were promised following the coup that put the military government in power in February 2021. The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the coup, which ended a 10-year experiment with democracy and sparked mass protests and a crackdown on dissent. The military says it is not able to lift the state of emergency while it is battling armed opposition across the country. “Myint Swe, the acting president, announced the extension of the state of emergency … as the situation is not normal and to be able to continue the process of combatting terrorists,” the government said in a statement. The council discussed “preparations for holding multi-party elections” and a national census at its meeting in the military-built capital of Naypyidaw, the statement added, without giving further details. Emergency rule extended The military has continuously extended emergency rule since it took power in February 2021, toppling ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. More than 4,400 people have been killed in a crackdown on dissent since, according to a local monitoring group. The military-drafted 2008 constitution, which the current government has said is still in force, requires authorities to hold fresh elections within six months of a state of emergency being lifted. However, the government is struggling to crush widespread armed opposition to its rule and recently suffered a series of stunning setbacks to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups. More than two million people have been displaced by the violence, according to the United Nations. Spring Revolution eyes victory Since 2021, Myanmar has faced a barrage of international sanctions, undoing years of progress and leaving the economy 10 percent smaller than it was in 2019. On Wednesday, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch were among those calling on the international community to cut off the military’s access to jet fuel. The UN and human rights groups have accused military generals of rights abuses in their crackdown on the opposition, including crimes against humanity. Furthermore, economists say the generals who toppled the previous government increasingly rely on illicit revenues from gem mining and logging. The country’s anti-coup forces, however, say they are moving closer to victory against the military. “After three years, the Spring Revolution is stronger than ever,” Duwa Lashi La, the acting president of the National Unity Government (NUG), an alliance of ethnic armed groups and resistance fighters, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday. “With each passing day, we are edging closer to victory. The criminal military will never crush the will of the people.” Adblock test (Why?)