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Key Syria rebel, Murhaf Abu Qasra becomes defence minister in interim govtArticle content FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Republican senators pushed back on Sunday against criticism from Democrats that Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead U.S. intelligence services, is “compromised” by her comments supportive of Russia and secret meetings, as a congresswoman, with Syria’s president, a close ally of the Kremlin and Iran. Recommended Videos Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, a veteran of combat missions in Iraq, said she had concerns about Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s choice to be director of national intelligence. “I think she’s compromised,” Duckworth said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” citing Gabbard’s 2017 trip to Syria, where she held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gabbard was a Democratic House member from Hawaii at the time. “The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America’s foes. And so my worry is that she couldn’t pass a background check,” Duckworth said. Gabbard, who said last month she is joining the Republican party, has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades. She was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait and, according to the Hawaii National Guard, received a Combat Medical Badge in 2005 for “participation in combat operations under enemy hostile fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III.” Duckworth’s comments drew immediate backlash from Republicans. “For her to say ridiculous and outright dangerous words like that is wrong,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, said on CNN, challenging Duckworth to retract her words. “That’s the most dangerous thing she could say — is that a United States lieutenant colonel in the United States Army is compromised and is an asset of Russia.” In recent days, other Democrats have accused Gabbard without evidence of being a “Russian asset.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has claimed, without offering details, that Gabbard is in Russian President Vladimir “Putin’s pocket.” Mullin and others say the criticism from Democrats is rooted in the fact that Gabbard left their party and has become a Trump ally. Democrats say they worry that Gabbard’s selection as national intelligence chief endangers ties with allies and gives Russia a win. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat just elected to the Senate, said he would not describe Gabbard as a Russian asset, but said she had “very questionable judgment.” “The problem is if our foreign allies don’t trust the head of our intelligence agencies, they’ll stop sharing information with us,” Schiff said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Gabbard in 2022 endorsed one of Russia’s justifications for invading Ukraine: the existence of dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs working on some of the world’s nastiest pathogens. The labs are part of an international effort to control outbreaks and stop bioweapons, but Moscow claimed Ukraine was using them to create deadly bioweapons. Gabbard said she just voiced concerns about protecting the labs. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, said he thought it was “totally ridiculous” that Gabbard was being cast as a Russian asset for having different political views. “It’s insulting. It’s a slur, quite frankly. There’s no evidence that she’s a asset of another country,” he said on NBC. Sen. James Lankford, another Oklahoma Republican, acknowledged having “lots of questions” for Gabbard as the Senate considers her nomination to lead the intelligence services. Lankford said on NBC that he wants to ask Gabbard about her meeting with Assad and some of her past comments about Russia. “We want to know what the purpose was and what the direction for that was. As a member of Congress, we want to get a chance to talk about past comments that she’s made and get them into full context,” Lankford said.Elon Musk — the proud owner of the website formerly known as Twitter —is once again threatening to buy a thing he doesn't like. This time, Musk threatened to purchase left-leaning MSNBC. In a bit of big media industry news, Comcast announced this week it intends to spin off its cable companies , including MSNBC. That's what led to Musk throwing in his two cents about the news channel. As things often go in this political climate, the situation began with a troll, this time from Donald Trump Jr. "Hey @elonmusk I have the funniest idea ever!!!" Trump Jr. posted on X, reacting to a meme saying MSNBC might be for sale. Musk, not one to miss out on a chance to troll, responded : "How much does it cost?" Now, to be clear, there is no indication that MSNBC is actually for sale. Rather, the plan is for Comcast to create a new company, including brands like USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, Golf Channel, CNBC, Rotten Tomatoes, and Fandango. But that didn't stop Musk, Trump Jr., and other rightwing pals from jumping in on the idea. Uber-popular podcaster Joe Rogan responded , for instance: "If you buy MSNBC I would like Rachael Maddow’s job. I will wear the same outfit and glasses, and I will tell the same lies." Rightwing streamer Tim Pool, meanwhile, wrote: "Alex jones hosting would be the most entertaining outcome." Jones' conspiracy site Infowars, of course, was just bought by The Onion . This all feels like a big joke from Musk. And it most likely is just that. But Musk buying Twitter seemed like a joke, too — and we all know how that ended.
Ukrainian officials have denounced a Christmas Eve attack on President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown, which has killed one person and injured 15, four seriously. or signup to continue reading A ballistic missile struck an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. "The monsters landed a direct hit on a four-storey residential block with 32 apartments," the head of the city's military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, wrote on Telegram. One man whose body had been pulled from under the rubble could not be revived by medics, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said. Vilkul later said that a woman had been rescued and taken to a hospital after spending four hours covered in rubble. "While other countries of the world are celebrating Christmas, Ukrainians are continuing to suffer from endless Russian attacks," Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets wrote on Telegram. Governor Lysak posted photographs of rescuers trawling through a large pile of rubble, recovering a person covered in dust and loading them into an ambulance. Kryvyi Rih is a steelmaking city with a pre-war population of more than 600,000. Its southern outskirts lie about 65 km from the nearest Russian-occupied territory, and it has regularly been the target of Russian missile attacks throughout the war. Russia says it does not deliberately target civilians, although thousands have been killed since Moscow launched its invasion in 2022. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. 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Advertisement AdvertisementCreate Lasting Holiday Magic with a Personalized Letter from SantaA bankruptcy judge on Monday ordered a new hearing in conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' effort to stop the satirical news outlet The Onion from buying Infowars and turning it into a parody. Jones alleges fraud and collusion marred the bankruptcy auction in which The Onion was named the winning bidder on Nov. 14 over a company affiliated with him. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez had been scheduled to hear an emergency motion to disqualify The Onion's bid, but decided to put it off until either Dec. 9 or Dec. 17. That's also when the judge will hear arguments on a request to approve the sale of Infowars to The Onion. Lopez said similar arguments are being made in both requests. Lopez could ultimately allow The Onion to move forward with its purchase, order a new auction or name the other bidder as the winner. At stake is whether Jones gets to stay at Infowars’ studio in Austin, Texas, under a new owner friendly to him, or whether he gets kicked out by The Onion. The other bidder, First United American Companies, runs a website in Jones’ name that sells nutritional supplements. Regardless, Jones has set up a new studio, websites and social media accounts that would allow him to keep airing his show. And his personal account with 3.3 million followers on the social platform X was not part of the sale, although Lopez will be deciding whether it should be included in the liquidation and sold off later. In a new court filing Monday, lawyers for X objected to any sale of the accounts of both Jones and Infowars, saying X is the owner of the accounts and that it has not given consent for them to be sold or transferred. Jones has praised X owner Elon Musk on his show and suggested that Musk should buy Infowars. Musk has not responded publicly to that suggestion and was not among the bidders. Jones' bankruptcy and the liquidation of his assets came about after he was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion to relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Jones was found liable for defamation and emotional distress damages in lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas for repeatedly calling the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators a hoax staged by actors to increase gun control. Proceeds from the liquidation are to go to Jones' creditors, including the Sandy Hook families who sued him. Jones alleges The Onion’s bid was the result of fraud and collusion involving many of those families, the humor site and a court-appointed trustee who is overseeing the liquidation. First United American Companies submitted a $3.5 million sealed bid, while The Onion offered $1.75 million in cash. But The Onion's bid also included a pledge by Sandy Hook families to forgo some or all of the auction proceeds due to them to give other creditors a total of $100,000 more than they would receive under other bids. The trustee, Christopher Murray, said that made The Onion's proposal better for creditors and he named it the winning bid. He has denied any wrongdoing. Jones and First United American Companies claimed that the bid violated Lopez’s rules for the auction by including multiple entities and lacking a valid dollar amount. Jones also alleged Murray improperly canceled an expected round of live bidding and only selected from among the sealed bids that were submitted. Jones called the auction “rigged” and a “fraud” on his show, which airs on the Infowars website, radio stations and Jones' X account. He filed a counter lawsuit last week against Murray, The Onion's parent company and the Sandy Hook families in the bankruptcy court. In a court filing on Sunday, Murray called the allegations a “desperate attempt” to delay the sale of Infowars to The Onion and accused Jones, his lawyers and attorneys for First United American Companies of a “vicious smear campaign lobbing patently false accusations.” He also alleges Jones collaborated with First United American Companies to try to buy Infowars. Lopez’s September order on the auction procedures made a live bidding round optional. And it gave broad authority to Murray to conduct the sale, including the power to reject any bid, no matter how high, that was “contrary to the best interests” of Jones, his company and their creditors. But at a Nov. 14 hearing Lopez said he was concerned about the process and transparency. “We’re all going to an evidentiary hearing and I’m going to figure out exactly what happened,” he said. “No one should feel comfortable with the results of this auction.” The assets of Infowars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, that were up for sale included the Austin studio, Infowars' video archive, video production equipment, product trademarks, and Infowars' websites and social media accounts. Jones is appealing the $1.5 billion in judgments citing free speech rights, but has acknowledged that the school shooting happened . Jones has brought in millions of dollars a year in revenue by hawking nutritional supplements, clothing, survival gear and other merchandise, including more than $22 million this year through Sept. 30 from his Infowars Store website, according to court documents. Many of Jones’ personal assets, including real estate, guns and other personal belongings, also are being sold as part of the bankruptcy. Documents filed in court this year say Jones has about $9 million in personal assets, while Free Speech Systems has about $6 million in cash and more than $1 million worth of inventory.
A Joint Seminar on Customs Regulation between Myanmar and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) was held via videoconferencing at Office 1, Nay Pyi Taw, on the afternoon of 23 December 2024, to exchange experiences on trade facilitation, upgrade of customs regulations, and strengthening the regional economic stability and development between Myanmar and the Eurasian Economic Commission. Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations Dr Kan Zaw and the Member of the Board – Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the EEC Mr Eldar Alisherov delivered the opening remarks in the seminar. Dr Kan Zaw addressed that trade facilitation processes are being carried out in digital technology since the international trade processes have increased and upgraded in this age, the status of trade facilitation processes in Myanmar, and encouraged the participants to exchange experiences and best practices on customs regulations. Mr Eldar Alisherov gave remarks on the situation of single window mechanism development in the implementation of foreign economic activity regulation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the status of coordination among the members of EAEU, and the future work plan of EEC. After that, Mr Grigor Ohanyan, Deputy Director of the Department of Customs Legislation and Law Enforcement Practice of the EEC explained the Customs Code of EAEU and Acts of EEC with the title “Unified Customs Regulation in the EAEU”, and U Kyaw Linn Myaing, Assistant Director of the Customs Department of the Ministry of Planning and Finance presented the Myanmar Customs Laws, Duties and Taxes, Three pillars of Customs Duties, and Customs Procedures under title of “Customs Regulation System in Myanmar”. Then, Mr Grigor Ohanyan continued the discussion on the prospects of the development of a single window mechanism in the EAEU, and U Hein Htet Aung, Deputy Director of the Customs Department of the Ministry of Planning and Finance made the presentation on Myanmar Automated Cargo Clearance System (MACCS) and National Single Window System within the title of “Application of the Single Window mechanism in the system of foreign economic activity regulations”. Moreover, Mr Vladimir Badeynov, Head of the Division for Integration of Information Systems of Customs Authorities of the Customs Infrastructure Department of the EEC exchanged information on the approach used in the EAEU, and U Si Thu Kyaw, Assistant Director of the Customs Department of the Ministry of Planning and Finance explained the ASEAN Single Window Live Operation, Myanmar National Single Window Routing Platform and exchange electronic messages under the title of “Exchange of Information on the Implementation of Interstate Electronic Information Exchange in the Customs Sector”. After the presentations, the questions and answers session was followed. The seminar was attended by senior officials and the relevant officials with a total number of 25 from the Ministry of Planning and Finance, the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and the Ministry of Commerce. Similar joint seminars on Finance and Digital Economy and Agro-Industrial Complex will be held in 2025 between Myanmar and the Eurasian Economic Commission. — MIFERIs a liberal arts degree useless if you want to succeed in life? Not at all.
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