US Congress opens impeachment proceedings against President Trump

Agencies
September 25, 2019

Washington, Sept 25: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the initiation of a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump over the latter's controversial phone call with the Ukrainian president.

"Today, I'm announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry," said the Democratic congresswoman from California in a speech on Tuesday, after she concluded a closed-door meeting with the House Democratic Caucus, Xinhua news agency reported.

Citing Trump's admission this week that he talked about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden during the July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Pelosi said "the actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonourable fact of the president's betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections."

Pelosi said she will direct six House committees to proceed with their investigations into Trump "under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry."

"The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law," she said.

Trump responded immediately to Pelosi's announcement, taking to Twitter and calling the inquiry "a presidential harassment."

The president said the Democrats "never even saw the transcript of the call," adding their decision to impeach him is "a total Witch Hunt!"

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he authorized the release of the full transcript of the phone call between him and his Ukrainian counterpart.

The president Trump tweeted from New York, where he was attending the United Nations General Assembly session, that he has "authorized the release tomorrow of the complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript" of the phone call. "You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call," he added.

The presidential conversation between Washington and Kiev is at the centre of a whistleblower complaint filed in mid-August by an unidentified intelligence official, alleging that Trump interacted inappropriately with a foreign leader and made an unspecified "promise."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat from New York, said Tuesday his chamber voted unanimously in support of the content of the whistleblower complaint being provided to Congress.

"The Senate by unanimous consent passed my resolution calling for the whistleblower complaint to be provided to Congress as required by law," Schumer tweeted.

"That means every GOP Senator supports the whistleblower report being immediately provided to the Senate and House Intel Committees," he added. Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has been withholding the material from congressional committees investigating the scandal.

The Hill, in a Monday report, cited a congressional official as saying Maguire and Michael Atkinson -- inspector general of the intelligence community with which the complaint was filed -- are both expected to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee later this week.

Maguire is scheduled to appear before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday, the report added.

On the other side of the aisle, Republicans in both chambers denounced Pelosi's announcement. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called on the Democrats to "put the public before politics."

"Speaker Pelosi happens to be the speaker of this House but she does not speak for America when it comes to this issue. She cannot decide unilaterally what happens here," McCarthy told reporters Tuesday. "They have been investigating this President before he even got elected," he added, referring to the Democrats.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for his part, called the impeachment inquiry a "rush to judgment" by "Washington Democrats."

"This rush to judgment comes just a few hours after President Trump offered to release the details of his phone conversation with President Zelensky," the Republican from Kentucky said in a statement. "It comes despite the fact that committee-level proceedings are already underway to address the whistleblower allegation through a fair, bipartisan, and regular process."

In an attempt to contain the fallout of the scandal, McConnell said Monday that lawmakers should handle the issue through bipartisan cooperation.

"I believe it's extremely important that their work be handled in a secure setting with adequate protections in a bipartisan fashion, and based on facts rather than leaks to the press," he said.

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News Network
September 12,2024

Mangaluru: Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur said that as a part of the International Day of Democracy, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) will hold a 23-km long human chain and plant 1000 saplings in the Bengre area on September 15.

The human chain will be formed from Pavanje bridge to the border of Arkula, which will pass through Nanthoor Junction- Kannur Junction. The event is organised with the objective of creating awareness among the public, particularly the youth, about the significance of democracy. Around 10,000 people, particularly students, will participate in forming the human chain in the city limits, he told media persons.

He said Democratic system in India is a model to the world and we should be grateful to Dr B R Ambedkar for giving the country a beautiful constitution. To make the people, particularly the youth, aware of the Constitution and its preamble, the state government has chalked out a plan to form a mega human chain from Bidar to Chamrajnagar. As a part of it, the programme will be held in Mangaluru. Students from various schools, colleges, various organisations, NGOs should actively participate to make the event a grand success.”

The Mayor said as a part of the celebrations, an arch will be built at Pavanje bridge and Kannur Junction. The Zonal office at Surathkal will be decorated with tri colour along with KPC Circle, Nanthoor Junction, Padil Junction. The main programme will be held at Kadri Circle near Circuit House in Mangaluru, which will be attended by DK MP Capt Brijesh Chowta, MLAs D Vedavyasa Kamath, Dr Y Bharath Shetty, DC Mullai Muhilan MP and others. Flags will be placed for every 100 metre of the human chain stretch. The participants can click their photos and upload it through https://democracydaykarnataka.in/ to collect a certificate, added the mayor. 

The human chain will be held from Pavanje to Mukka checkpost, Mukka chepost to Mukka Junction, Mukka Junction to NITK gate, NITK gate to Tadambail Junction, Tadambail Junction to Hotel Suraj, Hotel Suraj to Govinda Dasa College, Govinda Dasa College to Kordabbu Daivasthana, Hosabettu, Kordabbu Daivasthana to Honnakatte Junction, Kulai to APMC, Baikampady, Hotel Vishwasagar to Mangaluru traffic police check post , Mangaluru traffic police check post to Panambur circle, Panambur Circle to NMPA railway track, MCF to Kuloor bridge, Kuloor bridge to Gold Finch ground, Gold Finch ground to Kottara Chowki, Kottara Chowki to BMS Hotel, BMS Hotel to SKS apartment, KPT to Saptagiri petrol bunk, Nanthoor Circle to Kaikamba, Maroli Jodukatte till Padil Circle, Padil to First Neuro Hospital – Kannur Junction, Adyar Katte to Sahyadri College, Sahyadri College to Expert Cross (Valacchil), Express Cross to Arkula border.

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News Network
September 20,2024

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Mangaluru, Sep 20: The bye-election for the MLC seat, vacated by Kota Srinivas Poojary after his election as an MP, will take place on October 21. The election covers 6,037 voters from 392 local bodies across Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner and election officer Mullai Muhilan provided details at a press conference held at the DC office on Thursday.

Key Election Dates:

Nomination Period: September 26 to October 3
Verification of Nominations: October 4
Last Date for Withdrawal of Nominations: October 7
Election Day: October 21 (Polling from 8 AM to 4 PM)
Vote Counting: October 24

Code of Conduct:

The model code of conduct came into effect on September 19 and will remain in place until October 28 in both Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. During this period, government development projects cannot be announced, and foundation stone-laying ceremonies are prohibited. Political banners and hoardings are also banned. Government officials are restricted from participating in public programs or meetings. The Election Commission will oversee all political events, and the regulations that apply to MP and MLA elections will also govern this MLC bye-election.

Election Management:

Additional DCs of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi will assist as election officers. While no election-related check posts will be set up, flying squads and video surveillance teams will monitor compliance. Political party buntings and hoardings will be removed immediately.

Voter and Polling Information:

Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts fall under the Dakshina Kannada local body authority. In this bye-election, eligible voters include members of gram panchayats, city corporations, city municipalities, town municipalities, town panchayats, as well as MLAs, MLCs, and MPs.

Dakshina Kannada: 3,551 voters, 234 polling booths
Udupi: 2,486 voters, 158 polling booths

Officials Present:

The press conference was attended by ZP CEO Dr. Anand, Additional DC Dr. Santhosh Kumar, Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal, SP Yatheesh, MCC Commissioner Anand C L, and Assistant Commissioner Girish Nandan.

This election marks a significant political event for both districts, with voters from various local bodies participating in the process.

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News Network
September 12,2024

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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees says six of its employees are among the at least 18 people killed in a recent Israeli aerial assault on a school in the central Gaza Strip.

In a statement released on Thursday, UNRWA said Wednesday’s Israeli airstrikes targeting the UN-run al-Jaouni school in the Nuseirat refugee camp resulted in "the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident” since the occupying regime waged a genocidal war on Gaza more than 11 months ago.

"Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people," it added.

UNRWA also said the al-Jaouni school, home to around 12,000 displaced Palestinians- mainly women and children, has been hit five times since the Israeli aggression began.

“No one is safe in Gaza. No one is spared,” it emphasized. “Schools and other civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times, they are not a target.”

In an X post, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the deaths demonstrated “very dramatic violations of the international humanitarian law and the total absence of an effective protection of civilians.”

Meanwhile, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said the agency's staff who were killed had been providing support to families sheltering in the al-Jaouni school.

“Humanitarian staff, premises & operations have been blatantly & unabatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war,” he asserted.

Lazzarini further noted that at least 220 UNRWA employees have been killed during the Israeli offensive on Gaza.

The Israeli military claimed that the school had been used by members of the Hamas resistance group to “plan and execute” attacks against the occupation troops.

However, a survivor said the section of the school that was hit by Israel had been “dedicated only to women.”

“All of a sudden there was a huge explosion … Women and children were blown to pieces. We rushed to see our children but found them torn to pieces,” he told Al Jazeera.

Another survivor said she had lost all of her six children in the Israeli attack, adding, “What crime, what wrong did those innocent children do?”

Israel waged its brutal Gaza offensive on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

So far, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 41,084 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 95,029 others. 

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