WASHINGTON: Republican US Senator Markwayne Mullin called on the House of Representatives on Sunday to share an unreleased ethics report into alleged sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl by Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general.
Gaetz, 42, resigned his seat in the Republican-controlled House on Wednesday, hours after Trump unveiled his choice of the lawmaker and two days before the House Ethics Committee was expected to release its report, which also looked into allegations of illegal drug use. Gaetz denies any wrongdoing.
Mullin told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the Senate, which holds the authority to confirm or deny Trump’s nominations to high-level positions, needs to see the report.
“The Senate should have access to that,” Mullin said. “Should it be released to the public or not? That I guess will be part of the negotiations.”
Gaetz is one of a number of Cabinet nominees tapped by Trump last week who lack the resumes normally seen in candidates for high-level administration jobs. He would need to be confirmed by the Senate — where Trump’s Republicans will have a majority of at least 52 of the 100 seats — to get the post. A handful have expressed skepticism at the choice.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday said the ethics committee should not release its report. He stood by that on Sunday.
“The speaker does not have the authority to stop the release of a report by the ethics committee, but I’ve just simply said what I believe is an obvious point, that we don’t want to go down that road,” Johnson said on CNN.
Mullin has previously described Gaetz as unprincipled, and he said on Sunday that “the background of Matt Gaetz does matter.”
But he said he had not made a decision on whether to vote for or against Gaetz.
“I’m going to give him a fair shot just like every individual,” Mullin said.
The Justice Department investigated Gaetz for nearly three years over sex trafficking allegations involving the teenager. Gaetz’s office said in 2023 he had been told by prosecutors he would not face criminal charges.
The girl’s lawyer on Thursday called for the report to be released to the public.
Mullin also appeared open to the idea of letting Trump bypass the Senate altogether as an “absolute last resort” if lawmakers somehow couldn’t agree.
The technique, called a recess appointment, allows the president to short circuit the upper chamber’s power to block political nominees. Trump has publicly called for Republican lawmakers to give him that power, a move that would give him extraordinary latitude to appoint whomever he wished.
Senate Democrats have expressed widespread opposition to the Gaetz pick.
“The Senate has a constitutional role,” said Democratic Senator Chris Coons on Fox News Sunday. “It’s called our advice and consent role to make sure that a president-elect mostly gets their choice ... but doesn’t get to put people in who are unqualified or who lack the requisite character and capabilities to lead an incredibly important agency like the Department of Justice.”
US House urged to share ethics report on sexual misconduct case of Trump nominee for attorney general
https://arab.news/26q8x
US House urged to share ethics report on sexual misconduct case of Trump nominee for attorney general
- Justice Department investigated Matt Gaetz for sexual misconduct but brought no charges
- The former House member is a frequent defender of President-elect Trump on cable news
Freight shipping on Mosel river in Germany blocked after accident
Vessels cannot pass the Sankt Aldegund lock in either direction, the spokesperson said
HAMBURG: Freight shipping on the river Mosel in west Germany has been blocked to shipping after an accident involving a passenger ship that damaged a lock, authorities said on Thursday.
The river, known as the Moselle in France, is an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France. Transit was halted after an accident on Wednesday damaged a lock at Sankt Aldegund between Koblenz and Trier, a police spokesperson said.
Vessels cannot pass the Sankt Aldegund lock in either direction, the spokesperson said.
Technical experts on Thursday were examining the lock, and it is not yet possible to comment on the level of damage or say how long the impact on shipping will last, river navigation authority WSA said.
German federal transport minister Patrick Schnieder said in a statement he will visit the accident site later on Thursday.
“I will do everything in my power to ensure that the lock can resume operations as soon as possible,” Schnieder said.
The river was closed to inland waterways shipping in December after an accident that damaged a lock at Mueden, south of Koblenz, and only reopened in February after lengthy repairs.
Initial indications are that the lock’s concrete structure and drive mechanism were not damaged in the accident, WSA head Eric Oehlmann said in a statement.
Technicians are currently assessing whether it is possible to resume limited lock operations for the waiting vessels to pass, he said.
“If not, we will find another solution, for example, through emergency locks with temporary water control barriers, which have already proven effective,” Oehlmann said.
A temporary lock was successful in allowing ships to transit during the winter disruption.
“Despite the accident, there is determination that shipping on the Moselle will not come to a complete standstill," Oehlmann said.
Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA
- ‘The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue,’ the Japanese Foreign Ministry says
TOKYO: Japan has expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s decision to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Japan attaches great importance to the activities of the IAEA in verifying Iran’s nuclear program and expresses serious concern over this announcement,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
“The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue.”
Iranian authorities announced on Wednesday that they would no longer cooperate with the agency. Japan had been urging Iran to continue to cooperate with the IAEA and said all necessary diplomatic efforts to achieve this will go on, in cooperation with the international community and relevant organizations.
“Japan has consistently emphasized the importance of resolving Iran’s nuclear issue through dialogue, based on the position that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed, for the sake of maintaining the international nuclear non-proliferation regime,” the Foreign Ministry added.
Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK
- Corbyn in talks with Independent Alliance MPs elected in 2024 for opposing Gaza war
- Jeremy Corbyn: That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative
LONDON: Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested he could launch a political movement to provide a left-wing “alternative” to the governing party before the next general election.
Corbyn was suspended from Labour in 2020 by the UK’s current Prime Minister Keir Starmer due to a row over antisemitism.
He has since sat as an independent MP, and has hinted at a desire to form a new group centered around socialist policies with a pro-Palestine stance.
Corbyn told ITV’s “Peston” political show that he is holding discussions with members of the Independent Alliance, who were elected last year by running on pro-Palestine platforms against Labour MPs.
The alliance includes Leicester South MP Shockat Adam; Birmingham Perry Barr MP Ayoub Khan; Blackburn MP Adnan Hussain; and Dewsbury and Batley MP Iqbal Mohamed.
“That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative,” Corbyn said, adding that its foreign policy platform would be “based on peace rather than war,” and that it would seek to alleviate poverty and inequality.
Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine
- "We must strengthen Ukraine. And we must weaken Russia," Frederiksen said
- Zelensky is meeting Frederiksen in the city of Aarhus, as well as European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa
AARHUS, Denmark: Denmark promised on Thursday to push for Ukraine to join the EU, as the Nordic country welcomed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to mark the start of its six-month EU presidency.
Ukraine launched its bid to become an EU member in the aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion, but it has stalled because of opposition from Hungary.
"We must strengthen Ukraine. And we must weaken Russia," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement, promising to mix increased military support to Kyiv with sanctions on Moscow.
Zelensky is meeting Frederiksen in the city of Aarhus, as well as European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.
Frederiksen has stressed the importance of European security, which she links to a strict migration policy, and the country has promised to push the agenda and champion Ukraine during its EU presidency.
The Aarhus meeting comes as the United States announced it would stop supplying some weapons to Ukraine, after President Donald Trump effectively nixed the country's attempts to join the NATO military alliance.
Russian strikes have intensified in the absence of progress on resolving the conflict, and the US moves have severely hampered Kyiv, which has relied on Western military support since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
"Ukraine is essential to Europe's security. Our contribution to Ukraine is also a protection of our freedom," Frederiksen said.
"Ukraine belongs in the European Union. It is in both Denmark's and Europe's interest. Therefore, the Danish EU presidency will do everything we can to help Ukraine on their way towards EU membership."
Denmark's Europe minister Marie Bjerre told reporters earlier on Thursday that Ukraine's EU membership bid was "very important for us".
"We are still trying to lift the resistance from Hungary," she said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Ukraine's membership of the EU would "ruin" the 27-nation bloc.
Using its veto power, Hungary has effectively frozen the accession process.
Ukraine has insisted it still hopes Budapest can be brought around, claiming intensive work is being done "behind the scenes".
The Danish government said discussions at the Aarhus meeting would include increased military support, cooperation with the Ukrainian defence industry and new sanctions against Russia.
The Nordic nation has also made repeated calls for Europe to boost defence spending.
Denmark wants to move forward on a European plan presented in March to increase the defence capabilities of EU countries using simplified procedures and loans to finance investments in the European defence industry.
The Scandinavian country has already begun increasing its own defence spending, which now exceeds three percent of GDP.
Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director
- Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, renowned cardiac surgeon, was killed in targeted Israeli airstrike
- Israel has killed at least 492 doctors and health workers in Gaza since October 2023
JAKARTA/DUBAI: Israel’s assassination of Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, has sparked shock in Jakarta, with parliamentarians calling for new international accountability mechanisms to hold Israel legally responsible for its crimes in Gaza.
A renowned cardiac surgeon and one of Palestine’s most senior doctors, Dr. Al-Sultan graduated from Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Hyderabad, Pakistan, in 2001.
He was killed along with his wife and children in an Israeli airstrike on their temporary residence in northern Gaza on Wednesday.
His surviving daughter, Lubna, told the media that the missile “targeted his room exactly, right where he was.” Her testimony confirmed statements from the Gaza Ministry of Health and the Jakarta-based Medical Emergency Rescue Committee — which funded the Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia — that the attack was a targeted assassination.
“The attack on Dr. Marwan was utterly savage and barbaric,” Dr. Sarbini Abdul Murad, chairman of MER-C’s board of trustees, told Arab News.
“It was a shock to hear the news. I couldn’t believe it. He was the only heart specialist left in the north. This is a huge loss.”
The Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia, one of the biggest health facilities in Gaza, was one of the first targeted by Israel when it started its deadly war on the Palestinian enclave in October 2023.
Dr. Al-Sultan had never left his post, remaining with patients through multiple Israeli offensives on the hospital and personally overseeing repairs to restore essential services, MER-C said in a statement recalling how in December 2024, he evacuated the facility while under Israeli siege.
The moment was recorded on a mobile phone, showing Dr. Al-Sultan leaving only after he had ensured the safety of every patient.
The Indonesia Hospital opened in late 2015. Coordinated by MER-C, its construction and equipment were financed from donations of the Indonesian people, with dozens of engineers and builders volunteering to design and build the facility and to prepare its operations.
The killing of Dr. Al-Sultan has spurred outcry in Indonesia, with the government issuing an official condemnation and lawmakers from the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation calling on parliamentarians around the world to “push for international accountability mechanisms” to ensure that “crimes against humanity be immediately brought to international forums, including global parliamentary bodies, so that Israel can be held legally and morally accountable for its actions in Gaza.”
Israel has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 133,000 others, since October 2023. The true death toll is feared to be much higher, with research published in The Lancet medical journal in January estimating an underreporting of deaths by 41 percent.
The study says the death toll may be even higher, as it does not include deaths caused by starvation, injury and lack of access to health care, caused by the Israeli military’s destruction of most of Gaza’s infrastructure and the blocking of medical and food aid.
Data from the UN and international health organizations shows that Israel has killed at least 492 doctors and medics in Gaza since October 2023.
Dr. Al-Sultan is the 70th health care worker to be killed in the last 50 days, according to Healthcare Workers Watch.
“He was a prominent medical figure, both as a heart specialist and director of the Indonesia Hospital,” Dr. Hadiki Habib, chairman of MER-C’s executive committee, told Arab News.
“We had feared that this could happen, but he had said that he would remain in Gaza and, if he were to be martyred, it would be in his homeland.”
