CAMDEN, Arkansas: As they stood before massive rocket launchers built in part by their Arkansas constituents, Republican lawmakers were getting an unambiguous message Thursday from America’s top military officer: A Ukraine aid package that’s stalled in Congress will not only help in the fight against Russia, but also support jobs in their districts.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff doesn’t normally fly around the United States with members of Congress. But Gen. C.Q. Brown’s trip was part of the Pentagon’s full-court press to get the House to move forward on a $95 billion foreign aid package that’s key to getting critical munitions flowing to Kyiv again.
Brown’s travel companions included both supporters and opponents of the current Ukraine aid package. But even some who have been cautious said they do see a path forward for approval of the bill, which includes roughly $60 billion to support Ukraine.
“We want to be able to help our allies and also help keep our industrial complex to stay afloat,” said Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas. “All of that said, it has to be a bill we can come to agreement on, and it has to be something that members of Congress feel like they understand what the mission is, and what the objective is, and what the plan is.”
Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas and Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma also joined Brown for a tour of Lockheed Martin’s factory in Camden, Arkansas, where they walked past workers assembling massive ring bases for the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System and the tube components of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. Both systems have been in high demand in Ukraine.
Mullin, who previously voted against the bill, said he still sees a way to get approval for the aid, which he supports.
“There is a package that’s being worked on the Senate and the House side that could possibly move forward,” he said, citing an idea that would give the US first rights to Ukraine’s mineral resources in return for the aid. It’s a type of loan that former President Donald Trump has supported and that could make the US less dependent on China, Mullin said.
“The whole world is out of ammunition,” said Boozman, who supported the bill. “Eventually we are going to get the dollars, because it’s so important.”
All three cited the impact the massive bill would have on the local workforce.
Brown also met with Oklahoma Republican Rep. Josh Brecheen on this trip, during a second stop at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, Oklahoma. Brecheen has previously indicated he would not support the bill currently in the House.
In a call with reporters before the trip, Brown said he would use the time with the lawmakers, including during their flights, to talk about the importance of the supplemental national security funding.
“As I have done with other members, and I’ll do with these members, I’ll talk to them about the importance of the supplemental and not only how it helps Ukraine but also how it helps all of us. What I mean by that is much of the money, about 80 percent of the money out of the supplemental, will go back into our defense industrial base,” Brown said.
He said the funding is needed to replenish US military stockpiles that have been sent forward to Ukraine and that increased production ultimately generates income at home. It’s a point the Pentagon has increasingly pushed in recent months as current Ukraine funding ran out — and Ukrainian forces on the front line began to ration munitions against a much more robustly supplied Russian army.
Besides the HIMARS, Lockheed Martin’s Camden plant makes Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, long-range missiles that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said have proved effective against Russian forces.
The McAlester plant produces Navy and Air Force bombs, but is also a major storage site for critically needed 155mm munitions. Brown and the lawmakers visited one of the munitions storage sites at the sprawling plant, where bunkers and storage sites hold an undisclosed number of pallets of 250-pound and 2,000-pound bombs, among tens of thousands of rounds of 155mm ammunition, much of it shipped back to the US from South Korea to be retrofitted for Ukraine. In support of Ukraine, the McAlester plant has also accelerated repair of Stinger and Hawk missiles.
The massive plant, which is one of several similar sites across the US, has orders to be ready at any time to surge and be able to send as many as 435 shipping containers — each able to carry 15 tons worth of munitions — if ordered to do so by the president. For the past year it’s been pulling from its storage sites to fill Ukraine’s needs when each new aid package has been announced.
Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, a high-ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, who negotiated the failed border bill that has now become a sticking point for the Ukraine aid bill in the House, had been scheduled to travel with Brown but were not on the trip.
The lawmakers have taken different approaches on their support for Ukraine as the war has dragged on.
In May 2022, the Arkansas senators split on a $40 billion Ukraine aid package, with Cotton joining Lankford in favor of the aid and Boozman opposed.
Mullin, who was a member of the House at the time before being elected to the Senate, also voted in favor of the 2022 aid package, as did Westerman.
But more recently, as the Senate last month approved the $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific allies, Cotton, Lankford and Mullin voted against it, while Boozman was in favor.
That bill is now stalled in the House, opposed by hard-line Republicans, including Brecheen, who said on social media the “disastrous legislation must be stopped.”
Trump, the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee, has led the party away from Ukraine aid.
On Thursday, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has championed the Ukraine aid despite objections from his own party, urged the House to “finish the job” by passing the Senate bill.
He said providing equipment to Ukraine for battlefield success is not only “the surest way” to resolve the war, but it strengthens America’s interests. “Investing in our own military and our own defense industrial capacity at the same time is common sense,” McConnell said in a Senate speech.
To push the package forward, some House lawmakers are attempting a rarely used procedural tool — a “discharge petition” — that could force an eventual vote. But it is a cumbersome process that’s also been complicated by dueling approaches, one for the Senate-passed bill and another for an emerging package.
US military chief tours arms plants with GOP lawmakers to show that Ukraine aid boosts jobs at home
https://arab.news/m5wpg
US military chief tours arms plants with GOP lawmakers to show that Ukraine aid boosts jobs at home
Taliban leader bans windows overlooking women’s areas
- “Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts,” according to decree posted by Taliban spokesman
KABUL: The Taliban’s supreme leader has issued an order banning the construction of windows in residential buildings that overlook areas used by Afghan women and saying that existing ones should be blocked.
According to a statement released late Saturday by the Taliban government spokesman, new buildings should not have windows through which it is possible to see “the courtyard, kitchen, neighbor’s well and other places usually used by women.”
“Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts,” according to the decree posted by government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on social media platform X.
Municipal authorities and other relevant departments would have to monitor construction sites to ensure it is not possible to see into neighbors’ homes.
In the event that such windows exist, owners would be encouraged to build a wall or obstruct the view “to avoid nuisances caused to neighbors,” the decree states.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, women have been progressively erased from public spaces, prompting the United Nations to denounce the “gender apartheid” the administration has established.
Taliban authorities have banned post-primary education for girls and women, restricted employment and blocked access to parks and other public places.
A recent law even prohibits women from singing or reciting poetry in public under the Taliban government’s ultra-strict application of Islamic law. It also encourages them to “veil” their voices and bodies outside the home.
Some local radio and television stations have also stopped broadcasting female voices.
Azerbaijan’s president says crashed jetliner was shot down by Russia unintentionally
- Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials
BAKU: Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticized Moscow for trying to “hush up” the issue for days.
“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (...) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he told Azerbaijani state television.
Aliyev said that the airliner, which crashed Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.” Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.
“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he said.
The crash killed 38 of 67 people on board. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash.
“First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,” he said.
Aliyev noted that the first demand was “already fulfilled” when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to him on Saturday. Putin called the crash a “tragic incident” though stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility.
He said that an investigation into the crash was ongoing, and that “the final version (of events) will be known after the black boxes are opened.”
He noted that Azerbaijan was always “in favor of a group of international experts” investigating the crash, and had “categorically refused” Russia’s suggestion that the Interstate Aviation Committee, which oversees civil aviation in the Commonwealth of Independent States, investigate it.
“It is no secret that this organization consists mostly of Russian officials and is headed by Russian citizens. The factors of objectivity could not be fully ensured here,” Aliyev said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had spoken to Aliyev over the phone again, but did not provide details of the conversation.
The Kremlin also said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was underway at the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.
The crash is the second deadly civil aviation accident linked to fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people aboard, as it flew over the area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.
Russia has denied responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defense system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.
Bangladesh imports fertilizers from Saudi Arabia to boost food security
- Saudi Arabia supplies about one-third of country’s DAP fertilizer demand
- The Kingdom is Dhaka’s ‘preferred country’ partner for fertilizer imports
Dhaka: Bangladesh has secured a two-year deal to import 400,000 tons of fertilizer from Saudi Arabia, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation said on Sunday as the South Asian country seeks to boost its food security.
Bangladeshi officials have been working to increase food production as the country faces rising food demand amid decreasing farming land due to rapid urbanization and a growing population.
The BADC signed the new agreement with Saudi state-owned company Ma’aden in Riyadh on Dec. 15, following years-long cooperation between them.
“Good quality fertilizer plays a vital role in ensuring food security for our 175 million people. This fertilizer helps us increase productivity by many folds,” BADC general manager Ahmed Hassan Al-Mahmud told Arab News.
Under the latest deal, Ma’aden will supply 400,000 tonnes of diammonium phosphate fertilizer every year until 2026 and provide training for Bangladeshi farmers.
“The Saudi state-owned fertilizer company offered to provide training for our farmers, for the purpose of knowledge transfer on optimizing the use of the DAP fertilizers,” Al-Mahmud said, adding that Ma’aden has also offered to build fertilizer warehouses in Bangladesh.
The Saudi imports will contribute to about one-third of Bangladesh’s annual DAP fertilizer needs, which stands at about 1.3 million tonnes, he added.
Bangladesh also stands to benefit more from the latest agreement, as the fertilizers cost $2 less per tonne compared to the average market price.
“It will save us a significant amount of money,” Al-Mahmud said. “Saudi Arabia has been our trusted supplier for a long time, and we can purchase it at a reasonable rate compared with other sources.”
While the South Asian nation also imports from China and Morocco, Al-Mahmud said that the Kingdom was a “dependable and reliable source.”
He added: “We have been importing fertilizer from the Kingdom for more than 15 years. It takes only around 2 weeks to import fertilizer from the Kingdom, while from Morocco it takes more than 6 weeks. From that perspective also, Saudi Arabia is our preferred country for importing fertilizer.”
Jeju Air flight crashes in South Korea, killing nearly all 181 aboard
- All but 2 of the 181 people on board died in the accident, authorities confirmed
- The crash on Sunday is the deadliest aviation disaster ever on Korean soil
SEOUL: A passenger plane carrying 181 people belly-landed and crashed at an airport in southwestern South Korea on Sunday morning, killing all but 2 aboard the flight, officials said.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216 had taken off from Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board. It was landing at Muan International Airport, about 290 km south of Seoul, when it crashed at around 9 a.m.
Footage broadcast by local media showed the Boeing 737-800 skidding across the airstrip, apparently with its landing gear still closed, and colliding head-on with the airport’s concrete fence before bursting into flames. Only the aircraft’s tail was recognizable after the explosion.
“After the plane hit the fence, passengers were flung out of the aircraft. There is almost no possibility of survival,” the National Fire Agency said during a briefing held for the victims’ families.
The accident has killed 179 people aboard the flight, the fire agency said. Emergency workers rescued two crew members, who health officials said are conscious and not in life-threatening condition.
Ju Jong-wan, senior official at the Ministry of Land, Traffic and Infrastructure, said the control tower had issued a bird strike warning that was followed by the pilots declaring a mayday shortly afterward, before the aircraft made its ill-fated attempt to belly land at the airport.
“Bird strike and landing gear malfunction are being suggested as possible causes of the accident, but we will need to do a thorough investigation to determine the true cause,” Ju told a press briefing, adding that the ministry is analyzing both black boxes from the crashed airliner.
One of the rescued crew members told fire authorities that a bird strike occurred a few minutes before the plane crashed, causing the engine to smoke up and explode.
A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, the News1 agency reported. The person’s final message was: “Should I say my last words?”
The crash is the deadliest aviation accident ever on South Korean soil, more than two decades after an Air China crash that killed 129 people in 2002. It is also the worst aviation accident involving a South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed more than 200 people.
The accident appears to have been the first fatal one for Jeju Air, a low-cost South Korean carrier established in 2005 that flies to dozens of Asian countries.
“We sincerely apologize to all those suffering because of the accident at Muan International Airport,” said Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae. “I relay my deepest condolences to the victims who have passed away and to the bereaved families … We will cooperate with the government to determine the cause.”
Boeing, the aircraft’s manufacturer, said in a statement that it is in contact with Jeju Air and is “ready to support them.”
While the US aviation giant has had a turbulent time in recent years, including two 737 Max crashes, analysts have said that the Boeing 737-800 had a strong safety record.
Mikheil Kavelashvili sworn in as Georgia’s president amid political crisis
- Current President Salome Zurabishvili has refused to step down when her term ends and demanded new elections
- Parliament, controlled by the governing Georgian Dream party, is shortly expected to inaugurate Mikheil Kavelashvili
TBILISI: At least 2,000 pro-EU protesters gathered in Tbilisi on Sunday as Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, took the oath of office as Georgia’s president
Kavelashvili’s inauguration has sparked a political crisis in the South Caucasus country, whose government has frozen European Union application talks, provoking major protests.
Georgia’s pro-EU president Salome Zurabishvili declared she was the country’s “only legitimate president”, refusing to step down as her term ended Sunday with the inauguration of a disputed successor but saying she would vacate the presidential palace.
“I remain the only legitimate president,” she told thousands of pro-EU demonstrators. “I will leave the presidential palace and stand with you, carrying with me the legitimacy, the flag and your trust.”
Months of political crisis are poised to enter an unpredictable phase, and it is unclear what will happen if Zurabishvili does not leave the presidential palace.
Parliament, controlled by the governing Georgian Dream party, is shortly expected to inaugurate its loyalist Mikheil Kavelashvili, a far-right former footballer.
An AFP reporter in Tbilisi saw a growing crowd of protesters outside the presidential palace, with many bringing EU flags and chanting “Georgia!”
Many held on to the railings of the presidential palace, which was decorated with a large Georgian and EU flag.
Zurabishvili and protesters have accused Georgian Dream of rigging the October parliamentary election, demanding a fresh vote.
They say this makes Kavelashvili’s inauguration illegitimate.
Zurabishvili had said she would spend the night in the palace, calling on protesters to come in the morning.
Her term is due to end with the inauguration of a successor.
Georgia has been gripped by protests throughout 2024, with Georgian Dream’s opponents accusing it of steering Tbilisi toward Moscow rather than toward the Caucasus country’s longstanding goal of joining the EU.
