Lebanon to achieve 2.2 pct GDP growth
The Institute of International Finance said Tuesday that the Central Bank’s stimulus package and the modest recovery...
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
Largest Group Of U.S. Presbyterian Churches Allows Same-Sex Marriages
Tammy Brown, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of North Alabama, reads a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on Feb. 21 at First Presbyterian Church in Florence, Ala., that will allow Presbyterian ministers to officiate marriages of same-sex couples in states where that is legal. With votes Tuesday, a majority of presbyteries have approved the measure. Kay Campbell/Landov hide caption
itoggle caption Kay Campbell/Landov
Tammy Brown, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of North Alabama, reads a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on Feb. 21 at First Presbyterian Church in Florence, Ala., that will allow Presbyterian ministers to officiate marriages of same-sex couples in states where that is legal. With votes Tuesday, a majority of presbyteries have approved the measure.
Kay Campbell/Landov
Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which includes more than 4,000 ministers and the 1.8 million members of their congregations, approved new language Tuesday that allows its churches to perform same-sex marriages.
In a statement, the Covenant Network of Presbyterians said the change would become effective June 21.
"With today's presbytery votes, a majority of the 171 presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have approved an amendment to the church's Book of Order that describes marriage as 'a unique relationship between two people, traditionally a man and a woman.'
"The change aligns the church's constitution with a reality that has long been true: Both same-gender and opposite-gender couples have been living in relationships that demonstrate covenant faithfulness, shared discipleship, and mutual love."
Individual churches may still refuse to perform gay marriage ceremonies if preferred. While the a New Jersey presbytery became the 87th to approve the language today, providing a majority, the New York Times reports that 41 have opposed it and one was tied.
"The church, with about 1.8 million members, is the largest of the nation's Presbyterian denominations, but it has been losing congregations and individual members as it has moved to the left theologically over the past several years. There was a wave of departures in and after 2011, when the presbyteries ratified a decision to ordain gays and lesbians as pastors, elders and deacons, and that may have cleared the way for Tuesday's vote.
"With many conservative Presbyterians who were active in the church now gone, as well as the larger cultural shift toward acceptance of same-sex marriage, the decisive vote moved quickly toward approval, according to those on both sides of the divide."
Conservative Presbyterian groups encouraged members to keep the debate going and to redirect donations away from the national organization, the Associated Press reports.
Secret Service Director Grilled About Agency Scandals In House Hearing
Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security Tuesday that it took five days before he was informed that a car carrying two agents struck a security barrier outside the White House.
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Joint Committee talks on wage hike hit impasse again
BEIRUT: Talks over the long-awaited salary scale for the public sector came to impasse again Tuesday, with rival March 8 and March 14 coalitions disagreeing over whether the wage hike and the draft 2015 budget should be studied together.
March 14 MPs boycotted a session by Parliament’s Joint Committees to discuss the salary scale, arguing that the wage hike and the 2015 draft budget were related and should be passed together.
The group also said that the salary scale figures required further study by a parliamentary subcommittee and opposed the fact that the Joint Committees’ session was chaired by the head of Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee MP Ibrahim Kanaan, saying this violated the legislature’s bylaws.
Estimated to cost $ 1.2 billion, the salary scale would provide a wage hike to public sector employees including security forces, along with teachers at private and public schools.
The Union Coordination Committee, a coalition of public sector employees and teachers, has spearheaded protests over the past three years to push authorities to endorse the wage hike.
Chaired by Kanaan, the session, mostly attended by March 8 MPs, lasted for over an hour. Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel and Future bloc lawmaker Jamal Jarrah were the only March 14 MPs who took part in the discussion.
Speaking during a news conference held before the end of the session, Jarrah outlined the reasons that prompted the March 14 coalition to boycott the session. He said members of the Joint Committees received figures related to the wage hike requested by security forces as part of the salary scale only Tuesday. He added that these figures had not been examined by a parliamentary subcommittee headed by MP George Adwan which studied other salary scale items.
“We received the demands made by security forces just today. No one discussed them with us or gave us the exact cost,” Jarrah said. “This issue should be referred to the subcommittee headed by colleague George Adwan so that it can be discussed with the Finance Ministry and security institutions.”
Also, Jarrah said the salary scale could not be put to a vote independent of the draft 2015 budget submitted to Cabinet by Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil.
He said the revenues stated in the draft 2015 budget were the same ones specified in the salary scale draft law as a means to finance the wage hike, and thus required both draft laws to be studied and approved together.
Jarrah said that on behalf of his Future bloc, he called on Kanaan to adjourn the session and to ask the Cabinet to refer the 2015 draft budget to Parliament for endorsement.
“We are not the ones linking the [approval] of the salary scale to the draft budget, the Finance Ministry already linked the two when it included the new revenues in the submitted budget,” Jarrah said.
The lawmaker stressed that according to Article 39 of Parliament’s bylaws, only the speaker or the deputy speaker could chair a session for Parliament’s joint committees.
“Considering it a continuation of a session which convened back in Oct. 13, 2014 is unhealthy, particularly because there are figures put for discussion of which we know nothing about,” Jarrah said.
But Berri maintained that the session was a continuation of a previous meeting chaired by Deputy-Speaker Farid Makari on Oct. 13 of last year. Since Makari is currently abroad, Berri tasked Kanaan, the session’s rapporteur, to chair it.
Should March 14 MPs continue their boycott of upcoming sessions, it is unlikely that quorum will be achieved when the bill is referred to Parliament’s General Assembly for final endorsement.
Speaking after the session, Kanaan said that members of the Joint Committees discussed the salary raise for security forces, adding that they agreed that the Joint Committees, rather than any parliamentary subcommittee, was the appropriate side to discuss the matter and refer it to Parliament for final endorsement.
Kanaan announced that the joint committees would keep meeting until all issues in the salary scale were resolved.
A member of Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc, Kanaan said that according to Parliament’s bylaws, Tuesday’s session could be considered a continuation of the Oct. 13 session.
Kanaan is opposed to linking the salary scale to the 2015 draft budget. “I am not against its [the draft budget’s] endorsement, but we should not make the salary scale a hostage of ... the draft budget,” Kanaan said.
He added that major obstacles prevented linking the draft 2015 budget to the salary scale.
“Finalizing the draft budget is in need of so many sessions whether in Cabinet, Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee or Parliament’s General Assembly,” Kanaan said.
Khalil, who also attended Tuesday’s session, told reporters as he walked out that the ministry had been “technically ready for months” to approve the wage hike bill.
MP Ali Fayyad, from Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, echoed Kanaan, saying that the matters of budget and wage hike should not be seen as interdependent. “We should not tie the people’s rights and interests to political disputes,” Fayyad said.
Hezbollah-Hariri ties were relaxed, Sabaa tells STL
BEIRUT: While Rafik Hariri was combatting an aggressive media campaign leveled against him by the Syrian security apparatus in Lebanon in the days before his assassination, his relationship with Hezbollah was not strained, according to his political ally Bassem Sabaa.
As pro-Syrian elements mounted a sustained media campaign to suggest that Hariri was a corrupt confessionalist in the winter of 2005, the former prime minister was eager to stand his political ground, Sabaa testified Tuesday.
Hariri carefully coordinated a series of photo ops at meetings with his allies to that effect in the days before he was killed on Feb. 14 2005, Sabaa said.
On Feb. 10, Hariri met with Maronite Archbishop Boulos Matar in what Sabaa said amounted to an act of defiance against Syrian orders.
“The Syrian leadership at the time wanted a complete severance of communications between the Maronite patriarchy and the prime minister,” Sabaa testified. Hariri, however, met Matar and other high-ranking Maronites with the cameras rolling.
On the evening of Feb. 13, less than 24 hours before he would be killed in a massive bomb blast, Hariri met with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt at Qoreitem palace.
“The objective of the meeting was this photo opportunity,” Sabaa testified. “Walid Jumblatt came to tell everyone that he was acting in solidarity with Rafik Hariri. He came to proclaim to everybody that he was an ally to Rafik Hariri in the path they both had chosen,” he told the court.
Finally, literally minutes before Hariri was killed, he posed for a photograph with Sabaa himself. “As soon as the cameramen arrive, we’re going to flash them a wide smile,’” Sabaa recalled Hariri telling him that afternoon. “‘Let them see us like this; we are comfortable and we are at ease,’” Hariri told him. “He wanted to face and confront the campaign that was being launched against him through a smile that was addressed to all the parties,” Sabaa added.
Jamil al-Sayyed, the pro-Syrian director of Lebanon’s General Security back then, was the architect of the media campaign against Hariri, according to Sabaa.
While Hezbollah was closely allied to the Syrian security apparatus operating in Lebanon at the time, the party was not involved in publically smearing, explained Sabaa.
“Hezbollah was not at the forefront of the political confrontation with ... Rafik Hariri,” Sabaa told the court.
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and Rafik Hariri had been engaging in constructive dialogue sessions when the latter was killed, several witnesses have testified. Hariri even “thought about having an electoral alliance with Hezbollah in Beirut” in the 2005 parliamentary election.
While five Hezbollah members have been charged with plotting the bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others in 2005, the prosecution has recently called a series of witnesses who have stressed the fraught relationship between Hariri and the Syrian regime in the months leading up to his assassination.
It appears that the defense is poised to capitalize on the prosecution’s change of tact. STL’s defense counsel has insinuated that jihadis may have been responsible for Hariri’s assassination. Apparently following that premise, defense attorney Guenael Mettraux asked Sabaa if Hariri was ever called a “kaffir” [infidel] for working with Western officials.
Mettraux is expected to cross-examine Sabaa for the rest of the week. He explained to the court that Sabaa is “one of the few witnesses who might be conducive to eliciting evidence that is useful” to the defense.
Future lashes out at Hezbollah but says will carry on talks
BEIRUT: The Future bloc launched a scathing attack against Hezbollah Tuesday, accusing the party of attempting to impose its presidential candidate on the rest of the Lebanese, but reiterated its commitment to dialogue with its bitter rival.
The group’s statement came as the party prepared to take part in an eighth round of talks with Hezbollah Wednesday at Speaker Nabih Berri’s Ain al-Tineh residence.
“It was Hezbollah’s leaders who started verbal escalation after insisting that either Gen. Michel Aoun be the only candidate for the presidency or else the [presidential] vacuum would continue,” read the Future bloc statement, issued following its weekly meeting.
The group criticized Hezbollah’s deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem, who said that the solution to the vacant presidency lies in electing Aoun, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, or else Lebanon will wait a long time for a president.
“What the Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said suggests that the minority, which is currently preventing a quorum [at the electoral sessions], actually gets to appoint the president, while the majority has only the right to applaud their choice, [this] means that democracy in Lebanon has been abolished,” the statement said.
The bloc also denounced the “inaction of Hezbollah and its allies” concerning an Iranian official’s controversial remarks referring to a “Persian empire.”
At a conference earlier this month, Ali Younesi, an adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, was quoted as declaring a new Iranian empire, “whose capital is Baghdad.”
Tension between Hezbollah and the Future Movement soared over the weekend, as Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad and other party officials questioned the benefits of the 3-month-old dialogue, while Future officials kept up their anti-Hezbollah rhetoric.
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, head of the Future bloc, warned that the Lebanese state was no longer able to ensure the continuity of its institutions as a result of Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria.
He spoke at the launch of the March 14 National Council, which was announced during an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the coalition. The new body would be comprised of both party officials and independent March 14 figures.
However, the Future bloc pledged to continue the dialogue with Hezbollah in order to reduce sectarian tensions and help elect a president.
Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc stressed the need to continue the dialogue, which it said helped to preserve calm.
But in a statement following its own weekly meeting, the bloc slammed the formation of the March 14 National Council, saying its establishment was to compensate for losses suffered by the group.
Other dialogues continue, as Lebanon comes up on a full year without a president. Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt discussed local and regional developments with Aoun Tuesday.
Speaking to the pro-Hezbollah Al-Ahd news website, Jumblatt said he had “an extremely friendly” meeting with Aoun, who visited him at his Beirut residence.
Jumblatt added that his party’s meetings with the FPM were ongoing and were not in need of a mediator.
Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV said the two leaders discussed the upcoming appointments of top security officials and the need to avoid vacant posts in the security services. Aoun opposes extending the terms of top security officials, particularly Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi, whose term expires in September.
But many politicians, including Speaker Nabih Berri, believe that the extension of Kahwagi’s term could be the only way to keep the top position filled if the cabinet is unable to agree on a successor.
Government officials also met with Daniel Glaser, U.S. assistant secretary of the treasury for terrorist financing, who urged Lebanese authorities to continue their efforts to combat illicit financing.
“Assistant Secretary Glaser encouraged Lebanese authorities and financial institutions to continue their work to combat the threat of illicit financing, and prevent attempts to evade U.S. and international financial sanctions from Iran and Syria, in particular,” a U.S. Embassy statement read.
Glaser held meetings with the Lebanese premier in addition to talks with the finance, foreign affairs and interior ministers as well as with the Central Bank governor and a delegation from the Association of Banks of Lebanon.
Glaser also discussed ISIS’ financing and U.S. and international efforts to combat the financial networks of the jihadi group, the statement added.
“He reiterated the U.S. commitment to work with Lebanon to continue protecting Lebanon’s financial system from abuse by terrorism threats,” the embassy statement said.
Honduran VP building Lebanese ties
BEIRUT: The Vice President of Honduras Ricardo Alvarez encouraged Lebanese businessmen and tourists to consider his home country a prime destination for investment or travel, during an interview with The Daily Star. “Right now [Honduras is] on the right track,” said Alvarez, who visited Beirut last week. “Honduras is a destination of many possibilities in many senses.”
Honduras is best known for having the highest homicide rate in the world. Its second-largest city San Pedro Sula is considered the world’s most dangerous city outside of a war zone, but Alvarez said the situation was improving.
“[My government] has been in power for one year. Since we’ve come into power, security has been our main purpose as a government,” Alvarez explained. “In only one year, we’ve moved from 86 deaths per 100,000 in Honduras to 68 ... we have a 17 percent decrease in one year because we’re doing the right thing.”
The vice president arrived last Tuesday and subsequently met with Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
His trip marks the first time a high-ranking official from Honduras has visited Lebanon. Alvarez came to the country on a mission to improve relations between the two countries and encourage more investment.
“President [Juan Orlando] Hernandez ... sends a message of our interest in starting better relations,” Alvarez said. “Even though the political, diplomatic ties are [important], we’re more focused on the commercial relations.”
However, Honduras is no stranger to the Middle East. Like many Latin American countries, Honduras has a significant number of third-generation Arabs that migrated to that region a century ago. The vast majority of those migrants are of Palestinian descent, including the former President Carlos Roberto Flores.
Alvarez stressed that the Arab descendants have lost their connection with the Middle East, but noted that they are very successful in the Honduran private sector.
“I have to tell you that the people in Honduras that [have] Middle East[ern] roots are probably the people that are doing the best business in Honduras,” Alvarez said.
Last Friday, the vice president attended a gala dinner with dozens of Lebanon’s business leaders and politicians to discuss the possibility of investing in Honduras.
Despite improvements, the security situation in the country may ward off many potential investors. The root of Honduras’ problem, according to Alvarez, is that the country was once, “the bridge for South America to take drugs to the United States.”
“For many years, for many decades, drug lords took possession of many places in Honduras. Obviously that brought a lot of criminality.”
Alvarez said that his government, which was elected in 2013, is making headway to improve the security situation.
They’ve implemented strict security measures such as militarizing the police force and improving coordination between the judiciary, attorney general and the police, Alvarez said.
He also boasted that Honduras has new laws which permit wiretapping and extradition.
Furthermore, Alvarez highlighted a law unique to Honduras that gives them the permission to shoot down any plane violating their airspace without permission. Alvarez explained that this prevents smugglers from flying drugs over Honduras to America.
These new measures have given him cautious hope for the future.
“I don’t know if it sounds OK but when a person has cancer, they receive the chemotherapy, and they have good and bad moments, but at the end their chemotherapy is going to work and we’re going to save the country,” he said.
Fearing for loved ones held by ISIS, Assyrian refugees remain silent
BEIRUT: Assyrian Christian refugees from northern Syria are streaming into Lebanon but remain reluctant to speak about their plight publicly, fearing this might undercut efforts to free relatives still being held by ISIS. Thousands of Assyrian families fled their villages along the Khabour River in Hassakeh province to avoid capture by the Sunni militant group after an estimated 220 were abducted in the early hours of Feb. 23. Men, women, children and elderly are among the captives.
Approximately 75 Assyrian families have come to Lebanon from the region in recent weeks, according to Archbishop of the Assyrian Church of the East Yatron Koliana, a relatively low number due to the considerable geographical distance separating Lebanon from northern Syria, which borders Turkey and Iraq. These families have been instructed by their church not to speak to media about relatives still in militant custody.
In March, 19 of the abducted were released by ISIS, reportedly in exchange for money. Of that number at least three have come to Lebanon, according to Koliana.
“Those [19] won’t talk because, although they were released their sons, brothers or parents are still in captivity and that is why the church took an internal decision, in coordination with the church in Hassakeh, to keep this issue in the dark for the safety of the others,” Koliana told The Daily Star. The released were told by militants that they would be killed if recaptured.
Assyrian refugees have to drive to Qamishli, near the Turkish border, in order to come to Lebanon. From there they take a domestic flight to Damascus and often drive to Masnaa.
One man, who identified himself as Jameel, took the plane route. He arrived in Lebanon with his family just a day before speaking to The Daily Star. Three of his relatives, including an 80-year-old woman, were kidnapped by ISIS in February.
The last he heard from his acquaintances who were among the released was that they were being kept in relatively good condition in the ISIS-held town of Shaddadi, southern Hassakeh.
Jameel refused to disclose from which of the 35 villages along the Khabour River he hails. “I can’t say because it might hurt my family.”
But the former clerk and member of the local village militia remembers the last frenzied moments he spent in his hometown. It began around 4:30 a.m., he recalled, when dozens of militants attacked the village. The village militia fought ISIS for around 50 minutes before surrendering. Jameel took his family and ran to the river’s edge, and waited there until nightfall. “They were shooting over our heads,” he said.
A small boat came to collect them from the river and they eventually made their way to Hassakeh city and a temporary sense of freedom. The family couldn’t travel by land because fighting was ongoing between the Kurdish peshmerga and ISIS in several villages along the way. Rather than stay in Hassakeh or escape to Turkey or Kurdistan, Jameel decided to take the longer route and come to Lebanon. “It’s safer here,” he said.
The Interior Ministry had previously instructed General Security to facilitate the entry of Assyrian refugees from Hassakeh province in particular, considering theirs to be an exceptional humanitarian case.
Once in Lebanon, Jameel went directly to his church, the first destination for most Assyrian refugees. His was among the hundred or so families who came to pick up food baskets distributed by the non-profit organization In Defense of Christians, whose mission is to protect Christians in the Middle East. The relief effort targeted both Christian Iraqis displaced from Mosul earlier this summer and Assyrian refugees.
IDC representative Alexi Moukarzel told The Daily Star that the aid distribution was made possible by generous private donors, but that more international assistance was necessary to keep the relief efforts alive.
Bishop Koliana said the Assyrian Church was not involved in negotiating with ISIS to release those they are holding captive. “We have no links to any party that is [negotiating],” he added. But the church is imploring ISIS to release their community members, as Koliana explained, according to their rules. “They said: convert, pay tax or leave. Well, they won’t convert, they can’t afford the tax, so they should be released.”
“We’re asking ISIS to apply their own beliefs, even though we don’t agree with them. Even if it means we lose our homes and our churches,” he said.
Porcupine hunting still popular in south Lebanon
JEZZINE, Lebanon: Carrying a metal trap, 35-year-old Dawoud Iskandar leaves his village of Ain al-Mir every day at sunset and wanders the mountains and valleys of the southern district of Jezzine in search of porcupines.
“During the day porcupines hide inside caves and grottos,” Iskandar said. “They come out at night to look for food.”
Porcupines live in the region’s forests and valleys and are also found along riverbanks, where they shelter in rocky caves and the dense underbrush. They usually come out of hiding to feed between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Iskandar tracks them from the traces of food they leave behind.
“I use a metal trap, with bars made of hardened wires,” he explained. Porcupines are able to chew through some types of wire to make their escape.
To catch the animals, Iskandar said he baits his trap with pieces of potato or other vegetables. Once the porcupine smells the food, it enters the cage, the door drops and it is then trapped inside.
“In the morning I take the trapped porcupine back home and feed it until it’s ready for slaughter. [Then I] skin it and remove the quills,” Iskandar said.
Porcupines are covered with sharp quills, which they use to defend themselves from predators.
Iskandar caught three porcupines last week, and another two earlier this week – one female and one male. He’s unwilling to slaughter them yet as he’s hoping they will breed.
“The meat is tender and low in fat and I grill it for my guests,” he added.
Iskandar isn’t the only one hunting porcupines. Other trappers speak of the rush they get from hiking the mountainous terrain in search of the animals.
Abu Salim al-Nouri, said that Bedouins are famous for hunting porcupines. “We live in tents and move from one place to another – we have inherited this from our ancestors.”
Unlike Iskandar, Nouri said he doesn’t use traps. Instead, a group corners the porcupine and strikes it on the head.
“Then we carry it cautiously out of fear that it will injure us with its quills,” he added.
But few Bedouins still hunt porcupines to feed their families.
Palestinian national Nayef Hamadeh, 76, has been trapping the animals since he was 16.
He said his father used to hunt porcupines in Palestine and continued the practice in Lebanon when his family moved to the Nabatieh village of Ansar following the Nakba in 1948.
“My father would climb across mountains, caves, and valleys in order to hunt porcupines. I used to go with him,” Hamadeh recalled.
Originally, hunting dogs were used to find porcupine lairs, but in time, trapping became more prevalent.
Hamadeh is famous in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh for hunting porcupines in the rugged areas outside the camp. “You have to be careful because its quills can inflict serious injuries,” he warned.
He boasted that he has probably hunted thousands over the course of his life.
“I inherited it from my father, but none of my children cared about it. After my death the porcupines will finally have a break from me,” Hamadeh quipped.
Netanyahu Hopes To Win 4th Term In Israeli Election
Polls are now closed in Israel's parliamentary elections. NPR's Emily Harris says that voter turnout was a little higher than expected Tuesday.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
France, Germany, Italy Defy U.S. In Joining China-Led Development Bank
The three nations said they would join the fledging Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is largely funded by China. But the U.S. sees the new bank as a rival to the World Bank.
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Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock Resigns Amid Spending Scandal
Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock resigned Tuesday after questions were raised about mileage reimbursements he received for his personal vehicle.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
Ukraine Finance Minister On Rebuilding The Economy In The Midst Of War
NPR's Don Gonyea speaks with Ukraine Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko about strengthening and rebuilding Ukraine's economy. She took her position just a few months ago.
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Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
U.N. Peacekeeping Behind The Curve Technologically, Experts Say
The Obama administration describes U.N. peacekeeping as a "growth industry," but experts warn that troops and police sent to global hotspots are "way behind the curve" when it comes to technology.
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Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock Resigns Amid Spending Questions
Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., talks to reporters on Feb. 6. The congressman, whose spending habits have come under heavy scrutiny, resigned today. Seth Perlman/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Seth Perlman/AP
Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., talks to reporters on Feb. 6. The congressman, whose spending habits have come under heavy scrutiny, resigned today.
Seth Perlman/AP
Rep. Aaron Schock, the Illinois Republican whose lavish spending has come under heavy scrutiny, has resigned.
NPR's Juana Summers tells our Newscast unit that Schock will resign his House seat at the end of the month.
Here's Schock's statement on his resignation, which was first reported by Politico:
"Today, I am announcing my resignation as a Member of the United States House of Representatives effective March 31st.
"I do this with a heavy heart. Serving the people of the 18th District is the highest and greatest honor I have had in my life. I thank them for their faith in electing me and letting me represent their interests in Washington. I have given them my all over the last six years. I have traveled to all corners of the District to meet with the people I've been fortunate to be able to call my friends and neighbors.
"But the constant questions over the last six weeks have proven a great distraction that has made it too difficult for me to serve the people of the 18th District with the high standards that they deserve and which I have set for myself.
"I have always sought to do what's best for my constituents and I thank them for the opportunity to serve."
Focus on Schock's spending habits intensified last month when The Washington Post reported that the congressman had decorated his office to resemble the red room in Downton Abbey, the hit PBS series. The woman who designed the room had apparently done it for free, leading to ethics questions. Schock, 33, responded by saying he would pay her for the work. Later, there were reports that Schock billed taxpayers and his campaign thousands for private flights or trips take on planes owned by donors.
The Associated Press reported this week the Office of Congressional Ethics reached out to the congressman's associates as it apparently begins an investigation. The news service also reported on business deals involving Schock and his political donors over the past decade. The AP adds:
"Political donors built, sold and financed a house owned by Schock in suburban Peoria. Donors also were involved in the sale and financing of a Peoria apartment complex in which Schock invests."
The AP says the congressman had built much of his estimated $1.4 million fortune through real estate investments with his donors.
(You can read the full AP story here)
Future bloc unleashes on Hezbollah
BEIRUT: The Future bloc launched a scathing attack against Hezbollah in its weekly statement Tuesday, while stressing its commitment to dialogue with its political rivals.
“It was Hezbollah’s leaders who started the political verbal escalation and incitement, after it had avowed, not long ago, its insistence on Gen. Michel Aoun as the only candidate for the presidency or else to continue with [presidential] vacuum,” the bloc said.
In the statement read by MP Kazem Kheir, the bloc criticized Hezbollah’s deputy chief Naim Qassem for saying that the solution to the presidential vacuum lies in electing MP Michel Aoun as president.
They said Qassem’s statement undermined the principle of majority rule.
The bloc also denounced the “inaction of Hezbollah and its allies” concerning an Iranian official's controversial “Persian empire” remarks.
In a conference earlier this month, Ali Younesi, an adviser for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, was quoted as declaring a new, Iranian empire “whose capital is Baghdad.”
The statement said the creation of the National Council for March 14 was the “best response to the attempts to assault the foundations of Lebanon’s solid formula."
The statement suggested that Hezbollah was behind the assassination of all March 14 officials from former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 to Mohammad Shatah in 2013.
However, the bloc pledged to continue its dialogue with Hezbollah to agree on “the consensual nature of the next president,” and to reduce sectarian tensions.
The bloc also raised the issue of the Lebanese families deported from the UAE.
“The bloc thinks the government should follow up on the matter of the Lebanese expelled from the United Arab Emirates, to examine the background and reasons for deportation,” the bloc said.
“We have always warned about the intervention in internal affairs of other countries, and its negative effect on the Lebanese communities in these countries.”
The bloc commented on the fourth anniversary of the Syrian war, accusing the Syrian government of committing “crimes against humanity.”
The statement said these crimes will remain “stains of shame" for international community.
It also denounced U.S. Secretary of States John Kerry’s comments about the readiness to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
It said the U.S. must not coordinate with “the tyrannical system,” calling for a solution based on the Geneva Pact.
House GOP Budget Sets Stage For Showdown With The President
Republican Rep. Tom Price, House Budget Committee chair, said Tuesday that his budget "saves $5.5 trillion, gets to balance within ten years, without raising taxes." Cliff Owen/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Cliff Owen/AP
Republican Rep. Tom Price, House Budget Committee chair, said Tuesday that his budget "saves $5.5 trillion, gets to balance within ten years, without raising taxes."
Cliff Owen/AP
House Republicans unveiled a draft budget Tuesday designed to bring government spending in line with revenues over the next decade, while making significant cuts to safety net programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.
The plan is non-binding, but sets the stage for a political showdown between the new, all-Republican Congress and President Obama.
"Our balanced budget for a stronger America saves $5.5 trillion, gets to balance within 10 years, without raising taxes," said House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga. "The president's response in his budget: more taxes, more spending, more borrowing, more debt, more stagnant growth."
The GOP-controlled House has adopted similar budgets in previous years with little effect. This year's effort could go further, now that the Senate is in Republican hands for the first time in eight years.
If the two chambers can agree on a budget, it would open the door for the procedural tactic known as reconciliation, which prevents Senate Democrats from mounting a filibuster. Price said that gives Republicans "an opportunity to pass a piece of legislation out of the House and out of the Senate with just 51 votes in the United States Senate and put it on the president's desk — to put forward good policy and to provide a contrast for the American people to see who's trying to solve these challenges and who might be standing in the way."
The Republican House budget calls for a repeal of the president's signature health care law. It would also replace Medicare for those 56 and younger — future retirees — with a voucher-like system of subsidies that beneficiaries could use to shop for private insurance.
"What we're seeing right now is a failure to invest in education and infrastructure and research and national defense," Obama said about the House Republicans' budget Tuesday. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AP
"What we're seeing right now is a failure to invest in education and infrastructure and research and national defense," Obama said about the House Republicans' budget Tuesday.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
President Obama was quick to blast the GOP plan for what he sees as misguided austerity. "What we're seeing right now is a failure to invest in education and infrastructure and research and national defense," Obama said during a photo opp with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. "All the things that we need to grow, to create jobs, to stay at the forefront of innovation and to keep our country safe."
While the president's own budget released last month calls for increased taxes on the wealthy to help offset the cost of higher spending, the House Republican plan includes no additional taxes. "Every dollar that's taken for taxes or that's taken to borrow money is a dollar that can't be spent to buy a car, to pay the rent, to send a child to college or to technical school, to buy a house, to expand a business or grow a business, create jobs," Price said. "We think there's a better way."
The GOP budget does assume an increase in tax revenue, though, through faster economic growth. "We believe in the American people and we believe in growth," Price said.
The House budget officially maintains the limits on both domestic and military spending set by the Budget Control Act of 2011. But it adds tens of billions of dollars to a war-fighting fund that's not subject to the caps. "We recognize the imperative of providing for our military men and women and their families the resources that are needed to protect our national security and to respect their service," Price said.
In addition to highlighting differences with the president, the Congressional budget process may also expose fault lines within the Republican party. Defense hawks, for example, want to explicitly lift the cap on military spending, while deficit hawks are eager to hold the line. Republican senators running for re-election in blue and purple states next year may also be reluctant to embrace big changes in Medicare.
The Senate Budget Committee is due to begin marking up its version of a budget on Wednesday.
Secret Service Head Clancy Tells Panel: 'This Is My First Test'
Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy testifies before a Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the Secret Service budget Tuesday, when he responded to sharp questions about misconduct by his agents. Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA /LANDOV hide caption
itoggle caption Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA /LANDOV
Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy testifies before a Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the Secret Service budget Tuesday, when he responded to sharp questions about misconduct by his agents.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA /LANDOV
Answering pointed questions about new claims of misconduct by his agents, Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy says he had a "good stern talk" with his staff about why he wasn't told sooner about an incident in which two senior agents who were apparently drunk drove a government vehicle through an area at the White House complex where their colleagues were investigating a suspicious package.
The agents in question were not given field sobriety tests, Clancy said. He later added that as the investigation continues, the agents have been placed in non-supervisory positions. The recent scandal erupted after an anonymous email claimed that two agents drove slowly into an orange traffic barrel after they attended a reception.
The culture of the Secret Service, something that's been blamed for other recent incidents, also came up in the budget hearing held by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
Discussing the various ways agents cope with the stresses of their work, Clancy said, "We do have an element that goes to alcohol."
Clancy said that after discussing why he hadn't been told of the reported misconduct, he instructed his staff "to ensure that these events, and any event of misconduct or operational errors have to be relayed up the chain.
He added, "I will that it's going to take time to change maybe some of this culture. There's no excuse for this information not to come up the chain."
Those remarks didn't keep Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., from demanding a further explanation from Clancy. When the Secret Service director mentioned the ongoing inspector general investigation, Rogers interrupted him to say, "I don't care about the office of the inspector general — God love them and good luck to them."
Pointing a finger at Clancy, Rogers said, "You're in charge. This is an administrative problem you've got, among other things."
Clancy responded, "First of all, you're right, Mr. Chairman."
"There will be accountability," he said, later adding, "This is my first test."
Clancy said he will be comparing the inspector general's report to Secret Service logs and records from that night.
And he said that part of the challenge is establishing a culture of trust at the troubled agency, to encourage people to report problems up the command chain.
"I've got to work to earn that trust, and I'm going to do that through my actions," he said.
"Well, your actions, in my judgment, should be punishment," Rogers replied. "Termination. Firing people who have subordinated their command."
Clancy said that he hasn't spoken with the agent who was in charge of the White House complex that night, out of concern that he might influence or distort the investigation.
Rogers said he is "disappointed" that Clancy had not conducted his own "vigorous tough investigation" into the incident.
"To say you're not investigating because you want the inspector general of the department to investigate is hogwash," Rogers stated. "What do you think?"
Clancy responded by citing a recent case in which a witness told different versions of their account to different agencies, including the Secret Service.
"I'm frustrated," Clancy said, using a word he repeated often during his testimony. "I'm very frustrated that we didn't know about this."
Hezbollah, Iran excluded from terror report due to 'format change': US official
BEIRUT: A U.S. official Tuesday dismissed speculation that Washington was softening its position towards Hezbollah and Iran after the two were excluded from an annual terror threat report.
“Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah continue to directly threaten the interests of U.S. national interests because of its support to the Assad regime in Syria, promulgation of anti-Israeli policies, development of advanced military capabilities, and pursuit of its nuclear program,” the official said, according to a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon.
The official attributed the exclusion of Iran and Hezbollah from its 2015 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community report to "a format change."
The report, released on Feb. 26, excluded the two from its list of terror threats despite being named as threats in previous years.
In a 2014 report the National Intelligence director said that Iran and Hezbollah continue to directly threaten the interests of U.S. allies. The report claimed that Hezbollah had increased its “global terrorist activity.”
In the latest report, the terrorism section focuses exclusively on the rise of militant groups like ISIS and the Nusra Front.
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Bird strike forces emergency landing at Beirut airport
BEIRUT: A Lufthansa passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing early Tuesday, minutes after taking off from Beirut's airport after its left engine devoured a flock of birds.
Sources at the airport told The Daily Star the Airbus A321 safely landed after the pilot reported an engine failure due to a bird strike three minutes after its 4:48 a.m. departure.
The plane, which was carrying 148 passengers, was flying over the sea at the time of the incident.
The pilot returned to the airport and landed the aircraft at 5:04 a.m.
Daniel al-Haiby, director general of Lebanon’s Civil Aviation Organization, said that bird strikes are common during this time of the year due to the increase in bird migration.
Haiby said the airport is equipped with devices that keep birds out of the area, but those flying at high altitudes are not affected by the device.
The plane is currently undergoing maintenance.
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Tweets: Under Pressure — Service Director Testifies
U.S. Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy pauses as he testifies during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
itoggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images
U.S. Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy pauses as he testifies during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Updated at 11:50 A.M.
Appearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy fielded questions about his agency's latest scandal. Two weeks ago, two senior officers crashed a government car into the White House security barricade after they had been drinking at a party. At Tuesday's hearing, Clancy admitted he wasn't told about the incident until days after it happened.
He was called to Capitol Hill to talk about the Secret Service budget, but committee members hammered him on the agency's now long-running issues with security breaches and officer discipline.
Catch up on the hearing via NPR's politics desk here:
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