Trump’s Pentagon nominee Hegseth pushes ahead amid doubts

Trump’s Pentagon nominee Hegseth pushes ahead amid doubts
Pete Hegseth is joined by his wife Jennifer Rauchet, right, as they depart a meeting with Republican House members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
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Updated 05 December 2024
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Trump’s Pentagon nominee Hegseth pushes ahead amid doubts

Trump’s Pentagon nominee Hegseth pushes ahead amid doubts
  • Hegseth has faced a wave of allegations since Trump tapped him
  • Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has emerged as an option

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, pushed ahead on Wednesday with his bid for the job amid doubts in the Senate over allegations about his personal and professional life.
Even as Hegseth made his case to Republican lawmakers whose support he’d need to be confirmed as defense secretary, Trump was considering alternates, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis emerging as an option, according to two sources familiar with internal deliberations.
Republican Representative Mike Waltz, whom Trump had previously tapped to be White House national security adviser, was another potential pick, a third source told Reuters. Another source said Republican Senator Joni Ernst could also be in the running for the job.
A former Fox News personality and former National Guard officer, Hegseth has faced a wave of allegations since Trump tapped him, including one of sexual assault, which he denied; media reports of public inebriation while working; and claims of financial mismanagement at prior jobs.
“I have some very real concerns about some things that have come out recently and I want to ask him about that,” Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said on Wednesday. Republicans will have a 53-47 Senate majority, meaning that Hegseth could afford to lose the support of just three fellow Republicans and still be confirmed.
During a break between meetings with lawmakers, Hegseth told the Megyn Kelly radio show, “I’ve never had a drinking problem” but would nonetheless not drink alcohol if confirmed as defense secretary. He said he spoke on Wednesday morning with Trump, who urged him to keep fighting.
Hegseth is not the first Trump Cabinet pick to run into difficulties. Former Representative Matt Gaetz dropped his bid for attorney general last month in the face of questions among Senate Republicans about alleged sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl and drug use. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing.
Trump’s pick to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, Chad Chronister, dropped his bid on Tuesday after pushback from some Republicans for the Florida sheriff’s actions during the early days of the COVID pandemic.
Trump said on Wednesday on social media of Chronister, “He didn’t pull out. I pulled him out.”
Senator John Thune, who will lead Senate Republicans next year, told reporters he would meet with Hegseth on Wednesday, as would other Senate Republicans.
“He’s going to have an opportunity to address all the questions that have been raised, and there are some hard questions being raised. So he’ll have to answer those,” Thune said.
Hegseth was also set to meet with Ernst, a military veteran and sexual assault survivor, on Wednesday. That talk is seen as key to his prospects, according to a person familiar with the process.
Hegseth also met with Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who is in line to chair the Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Defense Department, next year.
“I don’t see any obstacles that can’t be overcome,” Wicker told reporters afterward.
A wave of media reports has raised questions about Hegseth.
Hegseth has denied allegations made in a police report that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017 at a conference in California. The woman said that while drinking with colleagues, she may have been drugged and was then sexually assaulted by a man she later identified as Hegseth, according to the report.
No charges were filed, and he entered into a private settlement with the alleged victim.
NBC News cited 10 current and former Fox employees in a report on Tuesday that Hegseth’s drinking of alcohol concerned co-workers at the television network, including showing up at work smelling of alcohol and talking about being hung over.
The New York Times last month reported on an email Hegseth’s mother wrote him in 2018 in which she accused him of mistreating women, including lying, cheating, sleeping around and using women for “his own power and ego.”
Hegseth’s mother told the Times in an interview that she had sent Hegseth an immediate follow-up email at the time apologizing for what she had written and that she “disavows the sentiments she had expressed in the initial email about his character and treatment of women.”
On Sunday the New Yorker, citing documents and accounts of former colleagues, reported that Hegseth was forced to step down by the two nonprofit advocacy groups he ran after “serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct.”
The article said Hegseth’s lawyer declined to comment on the claims, which he described as “outlandish.”
Hegseth did not respond to a request for comment sent through the Trump transition office. Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment. A DeSantis representative also did not respond to a request for comment.
A source confirmed that Trump and DeSantis had spoken about the Pentagon job and that DeSantis was considering it.


Indian police arrest 44 men accused of raping teenager over five years

Indian police arrest 44 men accused of raping teenager over five years
Updated 13 sec ago
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Indian police arrest 44 men accused of raping teenager over five years

Indian police arrest 44 men accused of raping teenager over five years
  • Case came to light after the girl narrated gang rape to volunteer during a gender awareness program
  • There were more than 31,000 reported rapes in 2022 in India, the latest year for which data is available

KOCHI, India: Police in India’s southern state of Kerala have arrested 44 men accused of raping an 18-year-old girl over a period of five years, a police official said on Tuesday, in a case that has shocked the coastal tourist resort.
The victim, an athlete who belongs to the so-called lower caste community known as Dalits, told police in a statement that she was sexually abused by 62 people over a period of five years.
Police have identified 58 of those men, some of whom are minors and arrested 44 over the last two days, officials said.
“We have identified the remaining 14 and they would be arrested soon,” the Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Pathanamthitta district where the crimes took place, PS Nandakumar, told Reuters.
The case came to light after the girl narrated the gang rape to a volunteer during a gender awareness program. Nandkumar, who heads the investigation, said details of how the crimes were committed were still being investigated.
In her statement to the police, the victim said the abuse began when she was 13 after her neighbor allegedly raped her.
Local media reported that four of the accused were minors.
Under Indian law, accused in rape cases that involve lower castes do not immediately get bail. Reuters was not able to reach any of the accused for a comment.
There were more than 31,000 reported rapes in 2022 in India, the latest year for which data is available, and conviction rates are notoriously low.
The rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata caused outrage across the country last year, with protests and street marches calling for action against the accused.


Iraqi PM in London to launch ‘new era’ of ties

Britain’s King Charles III greets Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani during a private audience at Buckingham Palace.
Britain’s King Charles III greets Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani during a private audience at Buckingham Palace.
Updated 41 min 25 sec ago
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Iraqi PM in London to launch ‘new era’ of ties

Britain’s King Charles III greets Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani during a private audience at Buckingham Palace.
  • Iraqi PM’s trip to London comes more than 20 years after Britain took part in the US-led invasion of Iraq
  • The visit will see the start of talks on a returns agreement for Iraqi irregular migrants to the UK, Starmer’s office said

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was to meet his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Tuesday for talks on trade, security and migration, in a visit hailed as a “new era” in ties.
The Iraqi prime minister’s trip to London, during which he will also meet King Charles III, comes more than 20 years after Britain took part in the US-led invasion of Iraq.
A “strategic partnership” to be signed during the trip would consolidate cooperation and be “one of the most important steps in relations between Iraq and the United Kingdom, representing the start of a new era,” Sudani told AFP during the flight from Baghdad.
The three-day visit comes amid a complicated situation in the Middle East fueled by the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, as well as a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and the Lebanese pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah.
Donald Trump will also move back into the White House next week, with observers expecting he will resume his hard-line stance toward Iran.
Oil-rich Iraq, which is an ally of Iran as well as a strategic partner for Washington, has for decades practiced a delicate balancing act, while also seeking to deepen its ties to wealthy Gulf countries.
Sudani was due to first meet Tuesday with the UK’s head of state King Charles, before meeting Starmer at Downing Street.
The visit will see the start of talks on a returns agreement for Iraqi irregular migrants to the UK, Starmer’s office said.
The leaders will also unveil a £12.3 billion ($15 billion) export package to boost opportunities for British businesses, it added.
Starmer said the trip “marks a new era in UK-Iraq cooperation, which will deliver mutual benefits from trade to defense, as we continue to work together toward stability in the wider region.”
Immigration, both irregular and regular, was a major issue in the UK’s July general election, which brought the premier’s Labour party to power.
“Secure borders are a vital foundation of our plan for change, so I am also very pleased to get started on talks for a bespoke returns agreement between our countries,” Starmer said in a statement.
“The deal will help dismantle the people smugglers’ business model by sending the clear message that if you come here illegally, you cannot expect to stay.”
Sudani will also meet with business leaders including from oil giant BP.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, following a visit to Iraq and its autonomous Kurdistan region in November, said a security agreement with Iraq to target people-smuggling gangs and strengthen its border security was already having “an impact.”
Due to strengthened border security, better intelligence-sharing, and “additional funding to support Iraq’s law enforcement capabilities, we’re targeting people smuggling gangs where it hurts,” she said.
Swept to power in a landslide election victory in July, Starmer has had a bumpy first six months in power and is under pressure to kickstart growth and slash immigration.
The number of irregular migrants arriving in Britain on small boats soared to over 36,800 in 2024, according to official data.
At least 76 deaths were recorded, making it the deadliest year for migrants who are taking ever greater risks to evade Britain’s border controls.
Tuesday’s talks come as Sudani said his country was preparing for the end of the military presence in Iraq of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh.
The US maintains about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 more in Syria seeking to prevent any resurgence of Daesh. 
President Joe Biden’s administration has agreed with Iraq to end the coalition’s role by September 2025, but stopped short of a complete withdrawal of the US forces, whose presence has been opposed by Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq.


NATO launches Baltic Sea patrols after suspected cable sabotage

NATO launches Baltic Sea patrols after suspected cable sabotage
Updated 14 January 2025
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NATO launches Baltic Sea patrols after suspected cable sabotage

NATO launches Baltic Sea patrols after suspected cable sabotage
  • Several telecom and power cables have been severed with experts and politicians accusing Russia of orchestrating a hybrid war against the West
  • The “Baltic Sentry” mission would involve “frigates and maritime patrol aircraft” among other assets, NATO chief Mark Rutte said

HELSINKI: The NATO military alliance said Tuesday it would launch a Baltic Sea monitoring mission following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months.
Several telecom and power cables have been severed with experts and politicians accusing Russia of orchestrating a hybrid war against the West as the two sides square off over Ukraine.
The “Baltic Sentry” mission would involve “frigates and maritime patrol aircraft” among other assets, NATO chief Mark Rutte said at a regional meeting in Finland’s capital Helsinki on Tuesday.
But he declined to give details on the number of vessels “because that might differ from one week to another” and he did not want to make “the enemy any wiser than he or she is already.”
NATO was also tight-lipped on the duration, saying in a statement the operation would continue “for an undisclosed amount of time.”
The suspected sabotage has been blamed on a “shadow fleet” of vessels — often aging and operating under opaque ownership — that carry Russian crude oil and petroleum products, embargoed since the invasion of Ukraine.
“Investigations of all of these cases are still ongoing, but there is reason for grave concern,” Rutte said.
He said protecting undersea infrastructure was of “utmost importance” not only for energy supplies but also for Internet traffic.
Leaders of NATO’s Baltic countries said in a statement after the Helsinki meeting that the shadow fleet “poses a particular threat to the maritime and environmental security in the Baltic Sea region and globally.”
They said the fleet “significantly supports funding of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said foreign ministries from the Baltic Sea NATO states would set up a group of legal experts to assess what they could do without affecting freedom of navigation.
NATO said in late December it would increase its presence in the region but had not announced an operation.
Iro Sarkka, a researcher from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told AFP that NATO had been pushed into action by the Russian shadow fleet.
A comprehensive operation would serve as a “deterrent and a strategic signal” that NATO was prepared to act, according to Sarkka.
Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe in September 2022, the cause of which has yet to be determined.
In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship.
Two telecom cables in Swedish waters were severed on November 17-18 last year.
And weeks later, on December 25, the Estlink 2 electricity cable and four telecom cables linking Finland and Estonia were damaged.
Investigators suspect the cables were damaged by the anchor of the Eagle S, a Cook Island-flagged oil tanker believed to be part of the “shadow fleet.”
Finnish police seized the Eagle S on December 28 as part of a criminal investigation.
Finnish authorities last week deemed the ship unseaworthy, barred it from sailing and have banned eight crew members from leaving the country while police carry out a probe.


Malaysia signs economic pact with UAE, eyes new opportunities in Middle East

Malaysia signs economic pact with UAE, eyes new opportunities in Middle East
Updated 14 January 2025
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Malaysia signs economic pact with UAE, eyes new opportunities in Middle East

Malaysia signs economic pact with UAE, eyes new opportunities in Middle East
  • Pact with Malaysia is the UAE’s third in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia and Cambodia
  • UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest trade partner in the Middle East, after Saudi Arabia

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE on Tuesday, its first with a GCC country.

The countries started negotiations over a CEPA in 2023. It will lower tariffs, reduce trade barriers, promote private-sector collaboration, and create new opportunities for investment.

The deal was signed on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, in the presence of Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

“The Malaysia-UAE CEPA will open up deeper economic cooperation opportunities, including the elimination or reduction of tariffs and enhanced market access, which will drive exports and create new investment opportunities for key sectors,” Anwar said, after witnessing the signing ceremony with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

Besides the UAE, Malaysia has signed CEPAs with India and Pakistan. It also enjoys free trade agreements with Australia, Japan, Chile and Turkiye.

For the UAE, it is the third such pact in Southeast Asia, after it signed similar deals with Indonesia in 2022 and Cambodia in 2023.

The immediate effect of the Malaysia-UAE CEPA is that for both countries it “opens up inter-region trade and increases access to non-traditional Western markets,” Dr. Lim Kim Hwa, director of the public policy think tank Penang Institute, told Arab News.

“The agreement will enhance trade, boost investments, and deepen Malaysia-UAE economic ties, providing both countries with clear clarity on tariff-free trade in the era of Trump 2.0. This provides both countries with market access certainty, thereby reducing the cost of business and diversify market access,” he said.

“Malaysia views the UAE as a strategic hub for Malaysian exporters to access markets in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly as Malaysian exports, such as electrical and electronics, machinery, jewelry, prepared foodstuff, tropical fruits, palm oil, cocoa and rubber, will immediately enjoy zero import duties when the CEPA agreement comes into force.”

The UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest trade partner in the Middle East, after Saudi Arabia, and contributes 32 percent of the Southeast Asian nation’s trade with the region.

The economic relationship is not massive but is growing rapidly. It stood at $8.61 billion in the first 11 months of 2024, registering growth of 8.6 percent on an annual basis for that period, according to data from the Malaysian Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry.

It “means there’s room to grow,” said Lee Heng Guie, executive director at the Socio-Economic Research Center in Kuala Lumpur. He expects the CEPA to spur more economic activity with the whole region.

“It’s a breakthrough,” Lee told Arab News. “Malaysia can use this CEPA to make more trade partners with other Middle Eastern countries, expand our economic ties with the Islamic world.”

Expanding economic ties with the Middle East — especially GCC countries — is a part of the Malaysian government’s policy. Since assuming office in late 2022, Anwar has committed to enhancing the country’s relations with the region and positioning it as a key economic gateway to the fast-growing Asia-Pacific.

As this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Malaysia will be hosting the 2025 ASEAN-GCC and ASEAN-China summits.

“Hopefully, that can spark more future strategic collaborations between the three blocs,” Lee said.

“Hopefully, this forum will have a further follow-up. Not just trade (and) investment, but people connectivity. Given the current geopolitical trade conflicts it’s good for this part of Asia and Middle East to come up with this kind ... of collaboration.”


Chinese tourist killed in jet ski collision in Thailand

Chinese tourist killed in jet ski collision in Thailand
Updated 14 January 2025
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Chinese tourist killed in jet ski collision in Thailand

Chinese tourist killed in jet ski collision in Thailand
  • The cause of the incident was being investigated
  • This marks the second incident involving Chinese tourists

BEIJING: One Chinese tourist was killed and another injured after their jet skis collided off Thailand’s Phuket island on Tuesday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing China’s embassy in Thailand.
The cause of the incident was being investigated, CCTV said.
This marks the second incident involving Chinese tourists near Phuket in just two days.
Thailand is a popular destination for Chinese tourists who are set to travel during the upcoming Lunar New Year break.
On Monday, a catamaran carrying 33 Chinese and 5 crew members capsized off the coast of Koh Racha island north of Phuket, CCTV reported.
All those on board were rescued with no casualties, the report said.
Last year, Chinese tourists accounted for the largest group of visitors to Thailand, with 6.7 million visits to the Southeast Asian country.