A bitterly divided US senate judiciary committee remained split over whether to approve the nomination of Vanita Gupta to be President Biden’s associate attorney general, with Republicans on the attack over her history of advocating for progressive policies. The tied vote in committee was not seen as a setback for Gupta, because her nomination can now proceed to the floor of the full Senate, which Democrats control. However, it will face an additional procedural hurdle before the Senate can formally vote to confirm her. “Her public record is too extreme and her testimony hasn’t helped me contextualize it in any meaningful way,” ranking Republican Charles Grassley said prior to the vote. At the same committee hearing, Republicans and Democrats unanimously approved Biden’s deputy attorney general nominee, Lisa Monaco, by voice vote without any debate. Gupta criticised former President Trump in her role as head of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights advocacy group. Despite opposition, Gupta is expected to win Senate confirmation after moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, a key swing vote, said earlier this month he will likely back her nomination.
Indian-American pleads guilty to $24 mn fraud
An Indian-American from Texas has pleaded guilty to the charges of $ 24 million Covid-19 relief scheme fraud, the US Department of Justice said. According to documents, Dinesh Sah, 55, admitted that he submitted 15 fraudulent applications, filed under the names of various purported businesses that he owned or controlled, to eight different lenders seeking approximately $ 24.8 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Sah claimed that these businesses had numerous employees and hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll expenses when, in fact, no business had employees or paid wages consistent with the amounts claimed in the PPP applications, they stated. According to the court documents, Sah further admitted that he submitted fraudulent documentation in support of his applications, including fabricated federal tax filings and bank statements for the purported businesses.
Protesters disrupt Holi celebration in Canadian city
Tension flared up in the Canadian city of Edmonton as a celebration of the Holi festival by the Indo-Canadian community was disrupted by protesters opposing the three farm laws passed by India’s Parliament. Nearly 400 people gathered at the Heritage Valley Park in Edmonton, a city in the province of Alberta, to celebrate Holi, to be followed by a Peace and Harmony Indo-Canadian Tiranga Yatra organised by the Bharatiya Multicultural and Heritage Society of Alberta. The participants included families with children. However, they were confronted by a group of about 100 protesters shouting slogans against the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The protesters blocked the route that the car rally was to take, delaying the event for nearly three hours.
Pakistan test-fires N-capable missile
Pakistan last week conducted a flight test of the surface-to-surface ballistic missile, Shaheen-IA, which is capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear warheads up to a range of 900km, the army’s media wing said. The test flight, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations, army’s media arm, was aimed at re-validating various design and technical parameters of the weapon system including advanced navigation system. “Shaheen-IA with its sophisticated and advanced guidance system is a highly accurate missile system,” the ISPR claimed. Pakistan’s missile programme, according to defence analysts, was aimed at balancing India’s conventional superiority.
Move Omar Sheikh to Lahore jail facility, orders SC
Pakistan’s Supreme Court directed authorities to move Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British-Pakistani militant who spent 18 years on death row over accusations that he had beheaded US journalist Daniel Pearl, from Karachi prison to Kot Lakhpat jail facility in Lahor. The court issued the order while hearing a petition filed by Sheikh against his continued detention despite a ruling for his release. “The detainee shall be accommodated in a government building in which officers of jail reside,” the court said. Sheikh’s lawyer objected to the proposal, saying being held in the prison staff colony was akin to being detained in jail. The court, however, overruled and adjourned the hearing for two weeks.
Church bombing in Indonesia leaves 19 injured
Two suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist militant group attacked a Catholic church in the Indonesian city of Makassar on Sunday on the first day of the Easter Holy Week, wounding 19 people, police said. The mass was finishing when the attackers detonated at least one device outside the church. The two suspects were the only fatalities. A security source said they were a male college student and his female partner. Police chief Listyo Prabowo said the bombers were believed to belong to the IS-inspired Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, which is suspected of suicide attacks on churches and a police post that killed 30 people in 2018. Around 20 suspected JAD members were arrested in January. The group is believed to have been involved in a bomb attack on a Philippine church in 2019 that killed over 20 people.
Train collision kills 32 in Egypt
At least 32 people were killed and 108 injured when two trains collided in Egypt last week, health ministry officials said. “Unknown individuals” triggered the emergency brakes on one of the trains causing it to stop, the rail authority said. The second train, which was travelling in the same direction, crashed into the first from behind. The public prosecutor’s office said it had ordered an investigation into the crash which took place close to the Nile-side town of Tahta. Egypt has one of the oldest and largest rail networks in the region and accidents are common.
Taliban threaten to target foreign troops if May 1 deadline missed
The Taliban threatened to resume hostilities against foreign troops in Afghanistan if they did not meet a May 1 deadline to withdraw. The Taliban threat followed comments by US President Joe Biden, who said it would be “hard” to withdraw the last US troops by the deadline, which was agreed with Washington last year. The Taliban said in a statement they would be “compelled to... continue its jihad and armed struggle against foreign forces to liberate its country” if the deadline was not met.
N Korea test-fires ballistic missiles in message to US
North Korea test-fired its first ballistic missiles since President Joe Biden took office as it expands its military capabilities and increases pressure on Washington while nuclear negotiations remain stalled. Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga said North Korea’s resumption of ballistic testing threatens “peace and safety in Japan and the region,” and that Tokyo will closely coordinate with Washington and Seoul on the North’s military activities. South Korean foreign minister Chung Eui-yong expressed “deep concern” and urged the North to uphold its commitments for peace. South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the two short-range missiles were fired on the North’s eastern coast and flew 450 km on an apogee of 60 km before landing in the sea. A senior US official matched the information from Tokyo and Seoul, saying that initial assessments suggest the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles. “This activity highlights the threat that North Korea’s illicit weapons programme poses to its neighbours and the international community,” said US Indo-Pacific Command spokesperson Captain Mike Kafka.
NZ approves paid leave for miscarriages
New Zealand’s parliament has passed legislation giving mothers and their partners the right to paid leave following a miscarriage or still birth, becoming only the second country in the world to do so. India is the only other country with similar legislation. The bereavement allowance, passed unanimously in parliament, gives employees three days leave when a pregnancy ends with a stillbirth without having to tap into sick leave. “Once again New Zealand is leading the way for progressive and compassionate legislation,” said Labour Party MP Ginny Andersen, who initiated the bill. New Zealand was the first country in the world to give voting rights to women.
NY reaches deal to legalise pot for recreational use
New York state officials finalised a deal to legalise recreational marijuana in the state, paving the way for a potential $4.2 billion industry that could create tens of thousands of jobs. Following several failed attempts, lawmakers in Albany struck an agreement with Governor Andrew Cuomo to allow the recreational use of cannabis for adults 21 and older. The bill could pass the state legislature as soon as next week, according to sources. The deal would allow delivery of the drug and permit club-like lounges where marijuana could be consumed. It would also allow a person to cultivate up to six marijuana plants at home, indoors or outdoors, for personal use.
Biden trends online for using ‘cheat sheet’ at first presser
Joe Biden’s first presidential news conference was notable for what was missing after predecessor Donald Trump: no contentious exchanges with reporters, no Fox News and no questions about Covid-19. But another reason Biden’s presser made buzz online was a list with pictures and first names of the 25 reporters who were allowed for the hour-long event. A photo of the card showed circled numbers around select reporters, apparently the ones he planned to call on. The 10 selected reporters mostly obliged him with softball questions and the president often looked at notes when answering. The list and the notes were dubbed as Biden’s ‘cheat sheet’ on social media. “Joe Biden needed 64 days to prepare for a press conference and still needed a cheat sheet,” one user on Twitter wrote. His defenders said the notes showed Biden was prepared and serious.
Facebook CEO blames Trump for riots
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg refused to own up any responsibility for the January 6 attack on the US Capitol as he put the blame on former US President Donald Trump for his “words” and the people involved in the assault for “their actions.” In his first appearance before the US Congress since the January 6 attack, Zuckerberg also blamed the people for spreading misleading content. At the hearing with the House Energy and Commerce committee, lawmakers pressed the Facebook CEO to own up some responsibility for the attack for facilitating the organisation of the attack. Zuckerberg said that “the responsibility lies with the people who took the actions to break the law and do the insurrection”.
Thousands affected by fire in Sierra Leone slum
A slum in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown was destroyed in a fire last week, authorities said, adding that the toll was unclear but thousands may have been affected. "Earlier tonight, the Susan's Bay community was gutted by fire," Freetown City council said. "The extent of the damage is unknown but thousands are likely to have been affected. We will provide more details as we receive them. Keep affected residents in your thoughts and prayers!" Most homes in Susan's Bay are flimsy constructions of corrugated sheeting and recovered materials. The community is clustered on Freetown's seafront, close to the city's historic centre. The European Union's ambassador to Sierra Leone, Tom Vens, said the EU was looking at ways of sending aid to the victims. The diamond-rich former British colony is one of the poorest countries in the world.
350 dairy cows starved to death in SA
Some 350 dairy cows were left to starve to death at a state-funded farm in South Africa after it was found to no longer be in operation, South African media said. The Mantusini Dairy Project in Eastern Cape launched in 2014 with 500 cows and with 43 million rand from the regional and national governments. The aim was to benefit around 500 individual households under communal tenure. But the site was found to no longer be operational and there are currently believed to be around 148 cows that are still alive and starving. They feed on natural pastures. The cows had to be milked by hand as the electricity company disconnected its services to the farm as payments were not made. The DA made the discovery and also found the cows had not been treated for ticks and other parasites and that there is no water due to a broken power cable. It was also reported that 350 cows had died and their rotting carcasses had been left in the fields, feeding vultures.
Eritrean troops killed more than 100 civilians, rights group
Eritrean soldiers killed more than 100 civilians in the city of Aksum in Tigray in November last year, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in a report. The independent rights group made a separate investigation following reports made by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International into killings in the city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. “Information collected during this preliminary investigation confirms that during the two days of November 28 and November 29, grave violations of human rights were committed and that in Axum, over one hundred residents… were killed by Eritrean soldiers,” the commission said. “As these grave human rights violations may amount to crimes against humanity or war crimes, it underscores the need for a comprehensive investigation into overall human rights situation in Tigray region.”
