Day: January 19, 2023

The Biden administration slammed Republican members of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday for appointing controversial members of their party to the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

Included on the appointment list were Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona, who were both stripped of their committee assignments during the last session of Congress for spewing violent rhetoric toward other lawmakers.

Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania was also appointed to the committee. Perry was a key Republican involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

“These are members who have promoted violent rhetoric and dangerous conspiracy theories, including suggesting violence against political opponents, trafficking in anti-Semitic lies, and defending and downplaying a violent insurrection against our democracy,” said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre at a news conference.

White House spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement that Republicans were “handing the keys of oversight to the most extreme MAGA members of the Republican caucus,” referring to Make America Great Again, a slogan that Donald Trump used in his campaign for the 2016 presidential race.

Sams noted that Greene was censured for her social media posts referencing violence against Democrats, Gosar repeatedly downplayed events of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and Perry defied a subpoena in a House investigation into the Capitol riots.

“House Republican leaders should explain why they are allowing these individuals to serve on this committee and reveal transparently once and for all what secret deals they made to the extreme MAGA members in order to elect a Speaker,” Sams added.

Republicans are expected to aggressively use their oversight powers to probe President Joe Biden’s conduct, with some members, including Greene, suggesting that the president could be impeached.

“The president intends to work with both parties in good faith, if they choose to, and make more progress on behalf of the American people,” said Jean-Pierre.

Source: Anadolu Agency

France’s intelligence agency expects up to 750,000 people to gather on Thursday to protest against a recently proposed pension reform legislation, media reports said Wednesday.

Broadcaster Europe 1 referred to a statement by homeland intelligence that said the number of participants would be around 550,000 and 750,000 across the country in 221 demonstrations.

French intelligence dreads acts of violence, Europe 1 added, and 50,000 to 80,000 will gather in Paris, according to forecasts.

Authorities also expect 200 to 400 radical individuals to spark violence in the capital, according to the statement.

Unions representing the police will participate and Yellow Vests might seek to lash out at authorities, creating anxiety for French intelligence, said the statement.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said earlier that more than 10,000 police officers, including 3,500 in Paris, will ensure security.

He added that according to intelligence information, a group of 1,000 people in Paris are likely to spark violence, including “far-left members and ultra-yellows,” referring to the violent wing of the Yellow Vests.

Government spokesman Olivier Veran, after the Council of Ministers, met Wednesday, urged opponents of the reform to not disrupt life during the strikes and demonstrations.

He acknowledged that the social movement is a “democratic form of expression” but warned: “No to blocking the country and the daily lives of the French.”

Veran is not the first representative to make the call. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne last week called for “responsibility” and to “not penalize” the French and consider the daily lives of citizens.

Transport Minister Clement Beaune warned Tuesday about a “nightmare” and serious disruptions to transportation Thursday.

“I call those who can … to avoid or postpone their movement … to work from home when it’s possible since it will be a very difficult Thursday in terms of public transportation,” he said, expressing hope that the mobilization will not last.

National railway operator, SNCF, and Parisian regional transport operator, RATP announced serious disruptions for buses.

The French Directorate General for Civil Aviation also urged companies to preventively cancel 20% of flights planned for Jan. 19 at the Paris-Orly airport.

The pension reform project, which includes an increase to the retirement age from 62 to 64 in 2030, immediately triggered outrage from workers and unions when the government announced preparations last year.

Several unions called for demonstrations and strikes after Elisabeth Borne revealed details last week.

The eight main labor unions issued a statement last week that encouraged a nationwide strike and demonstrations Thursday.

Borne said the minimum pension would also rise to 85% of the minimum wage, meaning around €1,200 ($1,288) per month.

Starting in 2027, the change will also require at least 43 years of work to be eligible for full pensions, she said.

The draft reform is set to be presented on Jan. 23 to the Council of Ministers.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of the Russian Security Council, on Thursday warned of a nuclear war in the event of Russia’s defeat in its war on Ukraine.

Commenting on the forthcoming meeting of Western and Ukrainian officials at the Rammstein military base in Germany, Medvedev, a former Russian president, said he expects they will discuss new deliveries of heavy weapons and strike systems.

“And this is right after the forum in Davos, where underdeveloped political party-goers repeated like a mantra: “To achieve peace, Russia must lose,” he wrote on Telegram.

He added that no one thought about drawing an “elementary conclusion” that “the defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may provoke the outbreak of a nuclear war.”

“The nuclear powers have not lost major conflicts on which their fate depends. And this should be obvious to anyone,” he said.

Last December, President Vladimir Putin said Russia’s military doctrine only allows defensive use of nuclear weapons, in response to an external attack.

Earlier, Medvedev, known for making loud and bellicose public statements, had asserted that Moscow could use nuclear weapons to defend itself.

Medvedev’s latest remarks come a day after Putin, on a visit to a facility in Saint Petersburg that makes air defense systems, said his country would win in Ukraine because of its powerful military-industrial complex, claiming that the defense industry manufactures the same number of missiles as the rest of the world combined.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The US and Germany will continue to support the Ukrainian people “as they resist Russian aggression and defend their sovereign territory,” the US defense chief said on Thursday.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the remarks in Berlin during a joint news conference with his new German counterpart, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

Austin said his talks with Pistorius will focus on military support to Ukraine, ahead of Friday’s meeting at Ramstein Air Force Base in southwestern Germany.

“Tomorrow in Ramstein we will join our allies and partners at the year’s first meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, and we will renew our united commitment to support Ukraine’s self-defense for the long haul,” he said.

“At our meeting today, we will discuss some of the issues that we’ll tackle tomorrow at the contact group together with our friends. We’ll also discuss other key issues for NATO and for our bilateral defense relationship, and ways that we can do even more together,” he added.

The visit came amid reports that the allies have stepped up pressure on Germany to send Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, with intelligence officials fearing that Russia is readying a spring offensive.

Tricky issue of tanks

A senior American official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told US media that providing Ukraine with armored fighting vehicles and tanks will be among the key issues to be discussed at the meeting.

The German government has been hesitant so far to deliver Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, despite growing calls from its Western allies.

The US official stressed that a number of allies, such as Poland and Finland, are willing to provide Ukraine with German-made Leopard tanks, but they need third-party transfer approval from Germany.

One of the focuses for Austin is to work with Berlin to “unlock that decision,” the official said.

Germany’s hesitancy

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged additional military support to Ukraine but remained reluctant to deliver Leopard battle tanks.

When asked about the tanks during a panel at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Scholz gave a cautious reply.

“The Ukrainians can rely on our support for the courageous fight, but it is also clear that we will avoid this becoming a war between Russia and NATO,” he said.

The German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Thursday that Germany is prepared to supply Leopard tanks, only if the US also sends Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine.

In a phone call earlier this week, Scholz reportedly told US President Joe Biden that Germany will not act alone on issues of military support to Ukraine, but will continue to closely coordinate with the US.

Germany’s hesitancy to send heavy weapons and battle tanks to Ukraine has long been a source of tension between Berlin and Kyiv.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will be among the participants of the Ukraine Contact Group meeting on Friday at Ramstein.

Around a dozen countries will have a meeting on the sideline of the contact group meeting, which will focus particularly on the issue of sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine, according to US officials.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A Turkish woman was killed in Malta when a car ploughed into a restaurant after midnight on Wednesday, local media reported.

The 33-year-old driver was under the influence of alcohol and drugs when he first caused harm to an oil station and then smashed his black car into a restaurant in the eastern city of Gzira around 1 a.m. (0000GMT) on Thursday, according to daily Times of Malta.

The Turkish woman was celebrating her 30th birthday in the restaurant when she got hit by the car.

The driver got out of the car and threw stones at the woman, also blocking those who tried to rescue her, according to eyewitnesses.

He also resisted the security forces and was neutralized with a taser.

The Turkish woman succumbed to her injuries in hospital.

Tests run on the driver, a Maltese-French citizen named Jeremie Camilleri, proved high levels of alcohol and cocaine in his blood, according to the daily.

The driver and the victim did not know each other, it also said, adding that Camilleri was already on probation for theft.

An Anadolu correspondent learned that the Turkish Embassy in Valletta is following the case closely and in contact with Maltese authorities.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Russia on Thursday announced that 31 more New Zealand journalists, officials, and public figures were sanctioned in response to Wellington’s latest sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities.

According to the list, published on the Foreign Ministry’s website, 26 of the 31 figures are journalists.

“In response to the new sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities by the New Zealand government, imposed as part of the Russophobic campaign of the ‘collective West’, entry to our country is closed indefinitely for an additional 31 New Zealanders from among government officials, journalists, and public figures involved in promoting the anti-Russian agenda and supporting the regime in Kyiv,” the ministry said.

It added that due to Wellington’s anti-Russian course, the work on the stop list will continue.

New Zealand has imposed a raft of sanctions on Russia in response to its war on Ukraine that started last February.

Wellington says “our sanctions are aligned with those of like-minded countries” to “exert pressure on Russia to change course by limiting its ability to finance and equip the war in Ukraine.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Thursday dissolved the lower house of parliament and called an early election for March 19.

“In accordance with the Constitution, after consultations with the chairmen of the chambers of Parliament and the Prime Minister, I signed decrees on the dissolution of the Majilis and the early termination of the powers of maslikhats,” Tokayev said in a statement shared by the presidency.

The extraordinary voting for deputies of the Majilis will be held on March 19, while the election of deputies to the maslikhats, local representative bodies elected by the people of a region, will be scheduled by the Central Election Commission.

“The holding of early elections to the Mazhilis and maslikhats is dictated by the logic of the constitutional reform, supported by citizens in a national referendum. Based on its results, our country has switched to new, more fair and competitive rules for the formation of a representative branch of government,” the Kazakh leader said.

Tokayev also said 70% of the deputies of the Majilis will be elected from party lists and 30% will be from single-mandate constituencies. Voting for maslikhats of regions and cities of significance will also be held based on a mixed electoral system.

“The new model for the formation of the Majilis and maslikhats will fully protect the interests of voters both at the national and regional levels, and will provide a wide range of views in the representative bodies of power. This will create favorable conditions for the further development of civil society,” Tokayev said.

He also said the Central Electoral Commission and the General Prosecutor’s Office will control the observation of the elections, their transparency and fairness, as the electoral process will be closely monitored by domestic and international observers.

“We have entered a new era in the development of Kazakhstan. The country is undergoing a dynamic and comprehensive renewal process. These elections will become the embodiment of the changes taking place in society and will give a powerful impetus to the further modernization of our political system,” he added.

Source: Anadolu Agency