US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asks Donald Trump to postpone State of the Union address, and Iran claims US has arrested its journalist.
Theresa May’s government survives no-confidence motion
British Prime Minister Theresa May won Wednesday’s no-confidence vote by a narrow margin, with 325 MPs voting against the motion moved by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn Tuesday after her Brexit deal was shot down by Parliament. A total of 309 House of Commons members voted in support of the no-confidence motion.
After the vote, May made an address at Downing Street, where the residence of the British Prime Minister is located. “I understand that [for] people getting on with their lives away from Westminster, the events of the last 24 hours have been unsettling,” she said. “Now MPs have made it clear what they don’t want, we must all work constructively together to set out what Parliament does want.”
She also invited Corbyn and other members of the opposition for a discussion on how to secure a Brexit deal. On his refusal to attend the discussions, May said, “I am disappointed that the leader of the Labour party has not so far chosen to take part – but our door remains open … It will not be an easy task, but MPs know they have a duty to act in the national interest, reach a consensus and get this done.”
Corbyn tweeted saying, “The starting point for talks to break the Brexit deadlock must be that No Deal is taken off the table.”
Now that Theresa May's botched deal has been decisively rejected, the starting point for talks to break the Brexit deadlock must be that No Deal is taken off the table. pic.twitter.com/io3fRHOznO
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) January 16, 2019
According to a report by The Guardian, many MPs are now declaring support for a second referendum, as they see it as the only “logical option”. Hours before the vote, 71 MPs came out in support for a second referendum on Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU).
US House Speaker wants Trump to delay State of the Union address
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has written a letter to President Donald Trump, asking him to either postpone the annual State of the Union address or deliver it in writing, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Citing the continued partial government shutdown, the longest in American history, she said the unfunded security agencies were not equipped to offer protection during the speech.
Lakhs of federal employees in the US have either been furloughed or are working without amid the shutdown, which has also choked funding for several agencies.
Officials of the Trump administration, however, have rejected Pelosi’s concerns.
Pelosi’s request to the President, The Wall Street Journal reported, could prevent Trump from giving a traditional prime-time speech to the joint session of the US Congress where he was expected to reprimand lawmakers over the ongoing shutdown.
In her letter, Pelosi said the US Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security, two federal agencies tasked with security, had been underfunded for the 26 days the shutdown has now lasted.
Today, I wrote to @realDonaldTrump recommending that we delay the State of the Union until after government re-opens, as the @SecretService, the lead federal agency for #SOTU security, faces its 26th day without funding. https://t.co/K2oL8WGvqo pic.twitter.com/g3fIlxDbbK
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 16, 2019
The White House hasn’t responded to Pelosi’s letter yet but an official said that Pelosi’s office did not forward her concerns to the Secret Service.
However, Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen sought to dispel Pelosi’s concerns in a tweet.
The Department of Homeland Security and the US Secret Service are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union. We thank the Service for their mission focus and dedication and for all they do each day to secure our homeland.
— Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) January 16, 2019
A report in The Washington Post said the State of the Union address is delivered annually at the invitation of the House Speaker, and this must be formalised after the House and the Senate have passed a resolution in this regard. But it hasn’t happened this year.
The report also mentioned that Pelosi later clarified to reporters that she had only made a suggestion in her letter and did not seek to revoke an invitation for Trump’s address altogether. The Democrat also pointed out that no address had been given during a government shutdown.
The US government has been in shutdown over the failure of Trump and Democrats to arrive at a consensus over the funding for his promised border wall along the Mexico border, for which he has sought $5 billion.
Iran TV channel alleges arrest of journalist in US
An Iranian state-run media house has claimed that one of its employees, an American-born journalist working in the US, has been arrested in the country, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The US, however, has not confirmed the arrest of Marzieh Hashemi, who works for the satellite television channel Press TV.
The 59-year-old journalist, who is an anchor for the state-run broadcaster, was reportedly arrested Sunday at the St Louis airport in Missouri, and taken to Washington. The channel, however, said no charges had been filed against Hashemi.
Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed the journalist’s alleged arrest, with CNN quoting him as saying: “The custody of Iran’s reporter in the US is highly political, and she should be released immediately”.
A report in Al Jazeera quoted the Iranian broadcaster as claiming that Hashemi’s “relatives were unable to contact her, and she was allowed to contact her daughter only two days after her arrest”.
The Press TV report also alleged that Hashemi was being mistreated, and had been forced to remove her hijab for a mugshot.
The Al Jazeera report added that many jails around Washington that kept federal inmates had denied having Hashemi in their custody. The FBI hasn’t responded yet.
Goldman Sachs new CEO apologises for executive’s role in Malaysia scam
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has apologised to the Malaysian people for a former employee’s role in the embezzlement of money it helped raise for the country’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB.
According to a CNN report, former partner Tim Leissner is accused of helping embezzle up to $4.5 billion from the fund, in a scam whose accused include former prime minister Najib Razak. “Almost half the money Goldman raised for the fund was allegedly siphoned off to pay for jewelry and fine art, and to fund bribes and kickbacks to foreign officials, according to US officials,” the report added.
The report quoted Solomon as saying Wednesday, “It is very clear that the people of Malaysia were defrauded by many individuals, including the highest members of the prior government.”
Leissner left the company in 2016 but was charged by the Malaysian government last month for misappropriating money raised for the 1MDB funds. Leissner reportedly “pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money from 1MDB”. He admitted that he concealed certain facts from Goldman, but he said in his guilty plea that this was in line with the bank’s “culture”, the report added.
After the news of the company’s involvement with the fund misappropriation surfaced, shares of the bank have fallen by 25 per cent in the last three months.
1MDB stands for 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, a strategic development company established to drive initiatives for development.