Page 2704 – Texas Weekly Online

Six students died when picnic boat overturned in lake in Gujarat’s Vadodara

In the Harni Lake on the outskirts of Vadodara, Gujarat, a boat filled with schoolchildren on a picnic capsized.

Delhi-NCR: Ban on non-essential construction, plying of BS-III petrol, BS-IV diesel cars lifted as AQI improves

The Stage III restrictions under GRAP were activated on Sunday after air quality plummeted to ‘severe plus’ levels.

Gingrich tells House GOP to ‘stand firm’ as Senate negotiates border deal

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Wednesday he hopes House Republicans “stand firm” as their Senate counterparts negotiate a deal with Democrats on border security and Ukraine funding. “I hope the House Republicans stand firm and tell the Senate Republicans, ‘We want a real border bill or nothing. And we’re not going to pass the aid to Ukraine without taking care of the American border,’” Gingrich said on the “Cats & Cosby” show on 77 WABC. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., met with President Biden and congressional leaders at the White House Wednesday afternoon to discuss a national security supplemental package requested by the president. Biden wants Congress to pass billions in additional aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. But House Republicans are adamant that Biden must first agree to their demands on border security before any more taxpayer dollars flow to Ukraine. SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS HE CONFRONTED BIDEN ON DOZENS OF MEASURES THAT WEAKENED BORDER: ‘DO YOUR JOB’ “We’re not playing politics with this, we’re demanding real, transformative policy change, because that’s what the American people need and deserve, and that they’re demanding as well,” Johnson said Wednesday before his meeting with Biden. The proposed national security package includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel (with $10.6 billion allocated for military aid), $13.6 billion for some border security provisions and significant investments in Indo-Pacific security assistance, totaling around $7.4 billion. Additionally, there is $9 billion earmarked for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. Johnson said he wanted clarity from Biden on Ukraine’s endgame and strategy, accountability for funds and assurance that Ukraine “will not be another Afghanistan. But his first priority was “border, border border.” Last year, Senate GOP lawmakers threw a wrench in plans to unanimously pass a supplemental that ties Ukraine and Israel aid together and argued they should be separate. However, Republican lawmakers have now linked the $60 billion additional aid to Ukraine with changes in border security policies as a prerequisite for its passage, despite Ukraine President Volodymr Zelenskyy making several pleas on Capitol Hill for continued assistance. GOP REBELS ADMIT DEFEAT IN SHORT-TERM SPENDING FIGHT AS JOHNSON STICKS BY BIPARTISAN DEAL Biden has flatly rejected the House Republican border proposal, H.R. 2, which the House passed last May. Democrats want a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would provide amnesty and a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States. More than 300,000 migrants were encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border in December, an all-time record. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., is leading negotiations on a bipartisan border deal that Senate Republicans are hopeful will allow the national security package to move forward, but Johnson said Wednesday after his meeting with Biden that the House GOP position is still H.R. 2. “I’m hopeful that they’ll [in the Senate] come up with something meaningful. But what I have said from the very beginning is that we have to have H.R. 2, or the functional equivalent thereof,” Johnson told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. HOUSE, SENATE RELEASE BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT FUNDING AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINES LOOM “[H.R. 2] has very important provisions. We reform asylum and the broken parole process. We restore the Trump-era Remain-in-Mexico policy, which is essential. And you end catch-and-release,” he said. “We need to rebuild the wall. There are other elements as well, but some of those are essential to stop the flow.” However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters that the border should not be the only priority for Republicans. “The rest of the bill is important. We’re getting shot at. The Houthis are shooting at our ships, at commercial ships. We’ve got a war in Israel, a war in Ukraine. I’m sure the Chinese were unhappy with the outcome of the presidential election in Taiwan a few days ago,” McConnell said. “I think it’s time to go ahead with the supplemental, and I’m anticipating it will be before us next week.” Gingrich, on the “Cats & Cosby” show, disagreed with McConnell and emphasized the importance of border security to the American people, though he said he supports Ukraine’s war against Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The American border is at least as important to Americans as the Ukrainian border. And I’m very much in favor of stopping Putin, but I’m also really, really alarmed at the sheer numbers that Biden has brought into this country and the total dishonesty of their program,” he said. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Rep. Nancy Mace’s former chief of staff considering South Carolina Republican primary run against her: report

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., reportedly could face a primary challenge from her own former chief of staff, Dan Hanlon. Hanlon, who joined Mace’s office in 2021 and in 2022 rose to chief of staff, a role he held until a few weeks ago, has been meeting with potential donors and staffers while considering run against his former boss, according to Politico, which cited two Republicans with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Hanlon has been pleased with how well the idea has been received and how many people are looking for a Mace alternative, both money people in D.C. and movers and shakers in S.C.,” one of the Republicans told Politico. One of the Republicans also predicted that some of Mace’s other staffers could jump ship to support a Hanlon campaign if one emerges. Mace notably ruffled feathers within her own party in joining seven other Republicans in voting to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year. WATCH: NANCY MACE SHREDS HUNTER BIDEN FOR HAVING ‘NO B—S’ AFTER SURPRISE VISIT DERAILS HOUSE HEARING Hanlon, who previously served in the Trump administration for all four years, must make a filing decision ahead of the March 30 deadline. Though primary challengers are not unusual, one brought by someone with such insider knowledge of the candidate he’d be battling for the nomination is rarer. NANCY MACE PUTS HOUSE COLLEAGUES ON NOTICE OVER SILENCE ON HAMAS SEXUAL ASSAULT OF ISRAELI WOMEN After he was booted from the speakership in October, McCarthy referenced Mace’s chief of staff in an on-air interview, saying he called Hanlon to ask “where have I not kept my word.” “Chief of staff said, ‘You have kept your word, 100 percent,’” McCarthy said.”Her chief of staff told all of us, we have kept every single one of our words. And he said he’s told her that too.” Hanlon left Mace’s office in early December after the congresswoman was already vying to name a new chief of staff, four people familiar with the matter told Politico. Three people familiar with the matter told the outlet that Mace’s incoming chief of staff, Lorie Khatod, called the Capitol Police amid a tense scene when Hanlon came to hand in his keys.

Maghazi residents left reeling after Israeli forces withdraw

Central Gaza Strip – Palestinians in Gaza’s smallest refugee camp have once again found themselves digging the bodies of their relatives out from under rubble, hours after Israeli forces announced their withdrawal from the area. Witnesses in the Maghazi refugee camp say many of the residents were shot at close range by Israeli soldiers “in cold blood”. Piles of broken concrete and scenes of widespread destruction are evidence that homes were not spared in Israeli attacks, which included missile strikes and heavy artillery shelling. Israeli soldiers have been conducting ground operations in northern, central, and parts of southern Gaza, for more than three months. Maghazi camp has come under Israeli attack several times over the last few weeks. In one of the deadliest attacks last month, more than 100 people were killed, mostly displaced women and children. Dozens more have been reported killed in the camp in the past several days. Ambulances have been unable to navigate destroyed roads and infrastructure in order to recover the bodies. The camp normally houses about 30,000 people, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in the Near East (UNRWA). But the population of the camp rose to at least 100,000 as thousands more frightened Palestinians came there seeking shelter from Israel’s relentless bombardment in other parts of the besieged enclave. Attacks on refugee camps and civilian infrastructure have become common since October 7. Nuseirat and Bureij camps in central Gaza have also been targeted several times, as well as the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. The attacks have killed thousands of Palestinian civilians. Adblock test (Why?)

Somalia rejects mediation with Ethiopia gov’t over Somaliland port deal

The Ethiopia-Somalia feud continues with Mogadishu claiming its territorial integrity has been violated by the deal. Somalia said on Thursday there was no room for mediation in a dispute with Ethiopia unless Addis Ababa cancelled a controversial deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland. Tensions in the Horn of Africa have escalated after landlocked Ethiopia reached a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland on January 1 that gives it access to the sea. “There is no space for mediation unless Ethiopia retracts its illegal MOU and reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement posted on its official social media accounts. The comment comes after the African Union’s conflict resolution body on Wednesday discussed the crisis and called on the two countries “to exercise restraint, de-escalate and engage in meaningful dialogue towards finding a peaceful resolution of the matter”. The eight-country trade bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is also holding an extraordinary summit in Uganda on Thursday on the Ethiopia-Somalia feud, as well as the conflict in Sudan. All four countries are part of the bloc, along with South Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya and Eritrea. Access to the sea Somalia says its sovereignty and territorial integrity have been violated by the pact and has appealed for international support. Somaliland is a former British protectorate facing the Gulf of Aden which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, a move not recognised by the international community. Under the January 1 deal, Somaliland agreed to lease 20 kilometres (12 miles) of its coast for 50 years to Ethiopia, which wants to set up a naval base and a commercial port on the coast. For years, Ethiopia, with a population of approximately 100 million people, has sought access to the sea after Eritrea broke away from Addis Ababa and formally declared independence in 1993 following a three-decade war. The Horn of Africa country currently relies on neighbouring Djibouti for most of its maritime trade. In Ethiopia, where for much of 2023 the government stressed the economic need for a seaport and even subtly hinted at possibly invading Eritrea for access to the Red Sea, the deal is being portrayed as a victory. Adblock test (Why?)

Why does the US act as Israel’s lawyer?

Former US diplomat Aaron David Miller says prospects for a ‘conflict-ending solution’ have entered ‘a long, dark tunnel’. President Joe Biden’s failure to demonstrate the same regard and sympathy for Palestinian suffering as he has shown Israel has turned the United States into “Israel’s lawyer,” says former US State Department official Aaron David Miller. Miller tells host Steve Clemons that Israel has lost the Western perception of being David in the story of “David v Goliath,” and its image will be further damaged the more its people veer to the right. US officials “don’t have any better answers right now than the Israelis do”, Miller says, adding that there will be no “open breach” in relations with the Netanyahu government. Adblock test (Why?)

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