US Republican leader says debt cliff talks with Biden went well

US Republican leader says debt cliff talks with Biden went well
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US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks to reporters following his meeting with President Joe Biden about the looming debt ceiling issue at the White House in Washington on Feb. 1, 2023. (REUTERS)
US Republican leader says debt cliff talks with Biden went well
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US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks to reporters following his meeting with President Joe Biden about the looming debt ceiling issue at the White House in Washington on Feb. 1, 2023. (REUTERS)
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Updated 02 February 2023

US Republican leader says debt cliff talks with Biden went well

US Republican leader says debt cliff talks with Biden went well
  • Republicans are threatening to block the usually rubber-stamp approval for raising the nation’s credit limit if Democrats don’t first agree to steep future budget cuts
  • The White House accuses the Republicans of taking the economy “hostage” in order to posture as fiscally responsible

WASHINGTON: The US took a small step back from the risk of a catastrophic debt default Wednesday after the new Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, said talks with President Joe Biden went well — even if a deal has yet to be reached.
“The president and I tried to find a way that we can work together,” McCarthy told reporters after an approximately one-hour meeting with Biden at the White House. “I think at the end of the day, we can find common ground.”
McCarthy said that while it was a “good discussion,” he cautioned that there were “no agreements, no promises, except we will continue this conversation.”
The White House also sounded positive, saying in a statement that Biden and McCarty had “frank and straightforward” talks and “agreed to continue the conversation.”
At stake is the stability of the world’s biggest economy.
Republicans are threatening to block the usually rubber-stamp approval for raising the nation’s credit limit if Democrats don’t first agree to steep future budget cuts.
The White House, meanwhile, accuses the Republicans of taking the economy “hostage” in order to posture as fiscally responsible.
Fail to raise the debt ceiling by around June, the Treasury says, and the United States will be forced into default on its $31.4 trillion debt — a historic first that would leave the government unable to pay bills, undermine the US economy’s reputation, and likely panic investors.
McCarthy said Republicans and Democrats have about five months to talk before reaching the debt cliff, but “hopefully it doesn’t take that long.”
There have been other showdowns over the years when Republicans balked at allowing US debt to spiral ever higher. But on most occasions the dispute was quickly smoothed over, Congress extended the ceiling and the economy kept going without a hiccup.
This time, the political heat makes things far riskier.
Two years through his first term, Biden is widely expected to be on the cusp of announcing his bid for a second term in the 2024 election. And Republicans, who have just taken over control of the House, are eager to show their muscle.
Even if McCarthy is minded to show flexibility, his power in Congress depends almost entirely on the desires of a far-right group of Republicans who are more likely to play chicken, regardless of the global financial consequences.

The White House says it won’t allow the current debt ceiling to be part of any negotiation on future government spending because that $31.4 trillion is money already agreed to by Congress. In other words, refusal to raise the debt ceiling would be like refusing to pay an already existing credit card bill.
There could be room for negotiating on changes to future budgets.
McCarthy said he had told Biden that he was against defaulting on the existing debt but that he wanted to see cuts in future spending, because “the current path we’re on we cannot sustain.”
But when it gets down to brass tacks, it’s hard for either party to say where they can find significant reductions — unless they go into the usually politically untouchable Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or other government-subsidized health care.
Biden signalled he wanted to call McCarthy’s bluff by insisting that the Republicans lay out where exactly they’d make cuts. His bet is that the internal divisions in the party will burst into the open as more right-wing members demand cuts to popular spending programs.
“What are House Republicans hiding?” deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said.
In a memo Tuesday, Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, and Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, challenged McCarthy to publish a draft budget. The White House will issue its own on March 9, they said.
 


Afghan pilot to remain in UK after PM’s intervention: report

Afghan pilot to remain in UK after PM’s intervention: report
Updated 11 sec ago

Afghan pilot to remain in UK after PM’s intervention: report

Afghan pilot to remain in UK after PM’s intervention: report
  • Pilot who served alongside British forces was threatened with deportation to Rwanda
  • Unnamed pilot reached Britain in a small boat

LONDON: The UK Home Office is set to grant an Afghan pilot leave to remain in Britain after an intervention by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, The Times reported on Friday.

The unnamed pilot, who served as a lieutenant in the Afghan Air Force, reached Britain in a small boat across the English Channel as he said there were no safer legal routes into the country.

Despite flying more than 30 missions against the Taliban alongside coalition forces, he was threatened with deportation to Rwanda before his case became public after an investigation by The Independent, as he had traveled to the UK via a number of safe countries, including Italy, Switzerland and France.

The case was put to Sunak during questions at the House of Commons Liaison Committee earlier this week, at which he said “these are exactly the sort of people we want to help,” adding that he would ask the Home Office to look again at the pilot’s application.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has now said the former lieutenant will receive the right to permanently remain in the UK when he applies through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, but warned other Afghans not to travel illegally to the UK via the same route.

“The ARAP scheme is agnostic about where you’re applying from. The ARAP scheme has been used to bring people out of refugee camps in Greece. I would encourage people to apply for the ARAP scheme if they fit the requirements that we have set out,” Wallace said.

The decision comes after several senior political and military figures criticized the initial threat to deport the pilot.

Tobias Ellwood, chair of the House of Commons Defence Committee, and Lord West of Spithead, former head of the Royal Navy, both said the UK has a “duty” to people who had served alongside British forces in Afghanistan.

Lord West told The Independent: “The Afghans who helped us, whether they be interpreters or whether they were fighting alongside us, we have a duty to look after them — not least because they were helping us, but also because no one is ever going to want to help us if we ever get involved in a situation like that again.”

He added: “I understand all the issues about trying to stop boats coming across the Channel and people drowning. But I think occasionally one has to show some flexibility. And I would have thought this was a classic case where we should.”

A Home Office spokesman told The Times: “We remain committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan and so far have brought around 24,500 people impacted by the situation back to the UK.

“We continue to work with like-minded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan on resettlement issues, and to support safe passage for eligible Afghans.”


Afghan pilot to remain in UK after PM’s intervention: report

Afghan pilot to remain in UK after PM’s intervention: report
Updated 11 sec ago

Afghan pilot to remain in UK after PM’s intervention: report

Afghan pilot to remain in UK after PM’s intervention: report
  • Pilot who served alongside British forces was threatened with deportation to Rwanda
  • Unnamed pilot reached Britain in a small boat

LONDON: The UK Home Office is set to grant an Afghan pilot leave to remain in Britain after an intervention by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, The Times reported on Friday.

The unnamed pilot, who served as a lieutenant in the Afghan Air Force, reached Britain in a small boat across the English Channel as he said there were no safer legal routes into the country.

Despite flying more than 30 missions against the Taliban alongside coalition forces, he was threatened with deportation to Rwanda before his case became public after an investigation by The Independent, as he had traveled to the UK via a number of safe countries, including Italy, Switzerland and France.

The case was put to Sunak during questions at the House of Commons Liaison Committee earlier this week, at which he said “these are exactly the sort of people we want to help,” adding that he would ask the Home Office to look again at the pilot’s application.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has now said the former lieutenant will receive the right to permanently remain in the UK when he applies through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, but warned other Afghans not to travel illegally to the UK via the same route.

“The ARAP scheme is agnostic about where you’re applying from. The ARAP scheme has been used to bring people out of refugee camps in Greece. I would encourage people to apply for the ARAP scheme if they fit the requirements that we have set out,” Wallace said.

The decision comes after several senior political and military figures criticized the initial threat to deport the pilot.

Tobias Ellwood, chair of the House of Commons Defence Committee, and Lord West of Spithead, former head of the Royal Navy, both said the UK has a “duty” to people who had served alongside British forces in Afghanistan.

Lord West told The Independent: “The Afghans who helped us, whether they be interpreters or whether they were fighting alongside us, we have a duty to look after them — not least because they were helping us, but also because no one is ever going to want to help us if we ever get involved in a situation like that again.”

He added: “I understand all the issues about trying to stop boats coming across the Channel and people drowning. But I think occasionally one has to show some flexibility. And I would have thought this was a classic case where we should.”

A Home Office spokesman told The Times: “We remain committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan and so far have brought around 24,500 people impacted by the situation back to the UK.

“We continue to work with like-minded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan on resettlement issues, and to support safe passage for eligible Afghans.”


NATO chief says Finland to become member ‘in coming days’

NATO chief says Finland to become member ‘in coming days’
Updated 29 min 11 sec ago

NATO chief says Finland to become member ‘in coming days’

NATO chief says Finland to become member ‘in coming days’
  • NATO chief says he looks forward to also welcoming Sweden as full member soon

BRUSEELS: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that Finland would formally become a member within days, as he congratulated its president on clearing the final obstacle to joining.
“I look forward to raising Finland’s flag at NATO HQ in the coming days. Together we are stronger and safer,” Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter.
After months of delays, Turkiye’s parliament on Thursday removed the last hurdle for Finland by becoming the last member of the US-led military alliance to ratify its application.
Stoltenberg said in separate statement that “Finland has highly capable forces, advanced capabilities, and strong democratic institutions.”
“So Finland will bring a lot to our alliance,” he said.
NATO foreign ministers are meeting at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels next week, when it is expected the membership could be formalized.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year upended European security and pushed Finland and its neighbor Sweden to drop decades of non-alignment and seek to join NATO’s protective umbrella.
Stockholm application remains stuck, however, because of ongoing resistance from both Turkiye and Hungary.
But Stoltenberg insisted that “all allies agree that a rapid conclusion of the ratification process for Sweden will be in everyone’s interest,“
“I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as a full member of the NATO family as soon as possible,” he said.


Lawyer: Steenkamp’s parents to oppose parole for Oscar Pistorius

Lawyer: Steenkamp’s parents to oppose parole for Oscar Pistorius
Updated 31 March 2023

Lawyer: Steenkamp’s parents to oppose parole for Oscar Pistorius

Lawyer: Steenkamp’s parents to oppose parole for Oscar Pistorius
  • Former Olympic runner was convicted of murder for the Valentine’s Day 2013 shooting of Reeva Steenkamp
  • A decision on Pistorius’ parole could come on Friday but is more likely to take days to finalize

PRETORIA: The parents of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman Oscar Pistorius shot dead 10 years ago, will oppose the former Olympic runner’s application for parole, their lawyer said Friday.
Lawyer Tania Koen said ahead of a scheduled parole hearing for Pistorius that “unless he comes clean, they don’t feel that he is rehabilitated.”
Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion who made history by running against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics, was convicted of murder for the Valentine’s Day 2013 shooting of Reeva Steenkamp at his home.
Pistorius claims he shot Steenkamp by mistake thinking she was an intruder in his home.
He was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison and is eligible for parole under South African law after having served half his sentence.
Koen said Steenkamp’s mother, June Steenkamp, would submit written and oral statements at Friday’s hearing opposing Pistorius’ application to be released from prison.
“She doesn’t feel that he must be released,” Koen told reporters outside the Atteridgeville Correctional Center in Pretoria, where Pistorius has been held since 2016 and where his parole hearing is expected to take place.
Submissions from a victim’s relative are just one of the factors a parole board takes into account when deciding if an offender can be released early on parole. The parole board will also consider Pistorius’ behavior in prison and if he would be a threat to society if he were released.
A decision on Pistorius’ parole could come on Friday but is more likely to take days to finalize.


Hijacked Danish ship located in Gulf of Guinea, ‘part of crew’ kidnapped

Hijacked Danish ship located in Gulf of Guinea, ‘part of crew’ kidnapped
Updated 31 March 2023

Hijacked Danish ship located in Gulf of Guinea, ‘part of crew’ kidnapped

Hijacked Danish ship located in Gulf of Guinea, ‘part of crew’ kidnapped
  • No details were provided on the number of crew kidnapped, nor their nationalities
  • The owner said there was no reported damage to the vessel or cargo

COPENHAGEN: The Danish oil tanker seized by pirates has been located in the Gulf of Guinea but a part of its crew has been kidnapped, the ship’s owner Monjasa said Friday.
The Monjasa Reformer, which had 16 crew on board when it was boarded by pirates on March 25, was found on Thursday by the French navy off the coast of Sao Tome and Principe.
When the vessel was located, “the pirates had abandoned the vessel and brought a part of the crew members with them,” Monjasa said in a statement.
“The rescued crew members are all in good health and safely located in a secure environment and receiving proper attention following these dreadful events,” it said.
No details were provided on the number of crew kidnapped, nor their nationalities.
“Our thoughts are with the crew members still missing and their families during this stressful period,” Monjasa said, adding that it was “working closely with the local authorities” to obtain the sailors’ safe return.
The owner said there was no reported damage to the vessel or cargo.
The 135-meter-long Monjasa Reformer “experienced an emergency situation” on March 25 around 260 kilometers west of Port Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo, Monjasa said.
The shipowner added that the crew had sought refuge in the tanker’s secure room or “citadel” when the pirates boarded, “in accordance with the onboard anti-piracy emergency protocol.”
The vessel was “sitting idle” at the time of the incident.