Politics

Foreign Affairs

America’s chief interest is to end the conflict.

(Photo by Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The terrible Russia-Ukraine war continues. Everyone concerned would benefit from ending the conflict as soon as possible. This requires minimizing Washington’s objectives in the fight.

House Republicans are delaying decisions on prime committee assignments and chairmanships for next year, a move that could help Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy undercut challenges to his bid for speaker.

The internal House GOP steering panel was set to meet with candidates this week for contested committee chairmanships, but that schedule was scrapped. Instead, those meetings could be delayed until January, when the panel will also meet with candidates making uncontested bids to chair a committee.

Officially, the delay will only affect three committees: Ways and Means, Budget, and Homeland Security. But the move essentially freezes assignments for all other committees given that the tax-writing Ways and Means is a prize assignment for more than a dozen members.

ANDY BIGGS TO CHALLENGE KEVIN MCCARTHY FOR SPEAKER ON HOUSE FLOOR

House Democrats are increasingly likely to elect their troika of top leaders for the next Congress without any major confrontation, ensuring a show of unity as they enter the minority.

And it didn’t happen without some work: The caucus has quietly defused several potential conflicts that could have divided its members. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who’d been eyeing a shot for the No. 2 slot, is expected to run for reelection as chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus instead of mounting a caucus-wide leadership bid, according to four people familiar with the situation.

Jeremy Corbyn has infuriated Ukrainian officials after he agreed to talk at an event named Real Path to Peace in Ukraine, organised by a far-left group which parts pro-Moscow claims such as that the invasion of Ukraine is to blame on NATO.

The Independent MP for Islington North, formerly Labour MP,  will join a panel at the event expected to urge Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to tell western leaders to halt weapons deliveries and talk peace with Putin.

The move reportedly sparked fury in President Zelensky’s circles.

Dasha Zarivna, a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser, told the Daily Mail that the group’s aim is to “spread narratives that have been carefully crafted by the Russian intelligence services”.

She added: “Once again Jeremy Corbyn finds himself cosying up to known associates of Vladimir Putin and other useful idiots manipulated by the Kremlin.

FRANKS FIELD, Wis. — The three counties in Wisconsin’s far northwest corner make up one of the last patches of rural America that have remained loyal to Democrats through the Obama and Trump years.

But after voting Democratic in every presidential election since 1976, and consistently sending the party’s candidates to the State Legislature for even longer, the area could now defect to the Republican Party. The ramifications would ripple far beyond the shores of Lake Superior.

President Muhammadu Buhari has charged the Nigerian police to evolve measures in tackling the nation’s internal security threats as they may impact negatively on the peaceful conduct of the 2023 elections.

Mr Buhari gave the charge on Monday when he declared open a three-day retreat for senior police officers in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

The theme of the conference was “The Imperative of a Nigerian Police Strategy Plan for Peaceful Elections.”

Israelis are heading to the ballot box for an unprecedented fifth time in four years on Tuesday, as Israel holds yet another national election aimed at ending the country’s ongoing political deadlock.

For the first time in 13 years, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not running as the incumbent. Bibi, as he is universally known in Israel, is hoping to return to power as the head of a hard-right coalition, while centrist caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid is hoping the mantle of the acting premiership will help keep him in place.

​​​​​Emotional ex-chief says Ottawa police ‘did the best in inhumane conditions’ during Freedom Convoy

In previous interviews, Blair also believed that the City of Ottawa and the OPS were not following the “correct procedure” for applying for funds.

The RCMP and OPP were initially “reluctant” to send funds to the Ottawa Police Department (OPS) to help handle the Freedom Convoy protests, fearing the organization did not have a “coherent plan,” according to the report. notes from the interview with Secretary Bill Blair.

Seattle Dem who pushed police defunding fumes at cops for not investigating human feces on her lawn

A socialist Seattle City Council member who pushed for police defunding is livid that cops aren’t addressing reports of feces being tossed onto her lawn. 

Kshama Sawant, 49, wrote a letter to police after they failed to investigate six bags of human feces left in her yard along with threatening emails received dubbing her ‘the queen of s***,’ according to Fox 13 news. 

Sawant led Defund the Police protests in 2020 and advocated for the Seattle police budget to be cut by 50 percent. 

The most recent bag of filth was tossed onto her property on October 13 – the same day police closed the investigation. She said the acts are ‘politically motivated.’ 

NSW health minister to leave politics at next election

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has announced he will quit politics at the next election.

After more than three decades as the Member for Wakehurst, the 71-year-old on Monday night told The Sydney Morning Herald it was time for a “new beginning”, joining a growing list of retiring senior Liberals.

Reflecting on his most prominent and recent role, in which he fronted daily COVID-19 press conferences alongside former premier Gladys Berejiklian and Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant, Hazzard said being health minister was the “best of times and the worst of times”.

He said the best times were delivering 180 new hospitals or health facilities and working with “incredibly talented” people in the health system.

“The worst of times came with COVID-19. When the pandemic began, we were bracing for an expected 25,000 deaths in NSW in the first year,” he said.