Politics

27

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Politics, World News

Zoned land tax causing coalition cracks

Ireland - For farmers, August can mean one thing: harvest season. And in Leinster House, crops are being eyed up too. This week's Government row over the long-promised Residential Zoned Land Tax has all the hallmarks of a pre-election fight between political partners who are now as worried about maximizing their votes as they are about keeping the coalition peace. For so long in relative lockstep with each other, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael now appear to be at odds over how to resolve an issue that risks affecting their key farming voter base - and on who gets to…

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26

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Opinions, Politics

Trump promises mass deportations of undocumented people. How would that work?

WASHINGTON — “Mass deportation now!” is a catchphrase for the Trump presidential campaign, as the Republican nominee proposes a crackdown on immigration that would oust thousands of undocumented people. Often citing a deportation operation enacted by former President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, former President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed in campaign rallies that he plans to not only go back to the tough immigration policies of his first term in office but expand them greatly. “We’re going to have the largest deportation,” Trump said at a June campaign rally in Racine, Wisconsin. “We have no choice.” The crowd responded…

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26

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

She’s the sitting vice president. She’s the candidate of change. How Harris is having it both ways

WASHINGTON (AP) — She’s the sitting vice president who has been in office for 3 1/2 years. She’s also the presidential candidate of just five weeks promising a “new way forward.” Kamala Harris is having it both ways as she hits the campaign trail after the Democratic National Convention, taking credit for parts of President Joe Biden’s record in rallies staged in front of Air Force Two while casting herself as a new leader who rails against “the politics of the past.” In every presidential cycle candidates run on experience or freshness, but Harris so far appears to be successfully…

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21

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

World News, Politics

Senate upholds Governor Kawira Mwangaza’s impeachment

Embattled Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has been impeached. This is after 26 senators voted to send her home after upholding her impeachment by the Meru County Assembly. Mwangaza was found guilty of all three charges against her in a vote marred with some Senators abstaining in protest after 26 senators upheld MCAs' ouster motion with four voting no and 14 abstaining. Senate Speaker Amason Kingi said that the Senate had accordingly voted to remove from office Governor Mwangaza and accordingly she ceased holding office paving the way for the swearing into office her Deputy Governor Isaac Mutuma as the fourth…

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18

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Trump vs Harris live: Trump rallies in Pennsylvania as Harris, Walz to take bus tour through state ahead of DNC

Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are on the campaign trail this weekend, with both candidates holding events in Pennsylvania. On Saturday, Trump held a rally in Wilkes-Barre where he launched familiar attacks against Harris, Democrats, prosecutors in New York and the media. The former president spent most of the time repeating his familiar remarks about inflation, the border, the stock market and more. Meanwhile, the Harris-Walz campaign will embark on a bus tour around Pennsylvania on Sunday, just one day ahead of the Democratic National Convention. Harris, joined by her husband, Doug Emoff, her running mate…

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15

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Youngkin tax team delayed business tax refunds worth hundreds of millions

RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration failed to provide timely tax refunds worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Virginia corporations two years in a row, an error made public Wednesday after Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears inquired about an odd footnote in a financial presentation to the House and Senate money committees. After Youngkin (R) gave an upbeat assessment of the state’s finances to the committees, Finance Secretary Stephen E. Cummings presented the members with a slide show with more details. One of the slides noted “a backlog of corporate refunds [that] had accumulated from prior years,” and Earle-Sears (R)…

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12

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Revamped AUKUS Deal Faces Backlash Over Clauses Favoring US, UK In Nuclear Submarine Pact

The revamped AUKUS agreement tabled in the Australian Parliament drew criticism over key provisions that exempted the United States and the United Kingdom from certain obligations. Under the revamped clauses, Australia has agreed to indemnify the U.S. and the U.K. in case of any loss or injury, including third-party claims, related to nuclear waste storage and disposal. Secondly, the two partners may cancel the deal with a year's notice if their nuclear submarine program is affected, ABC News reported. The three AUKUS partners signed the deal in Washington last week. The deal will remain in force till Dec. 31, 2075,…

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08

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Youngkin issues executive order to strengthen election security

(The Center Square) – An executive order has been issued to codify Virginia’s “election security procedures” implemented by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The governor issued Executive Order 35 on Wednesday to “protect legal voters and accurate counts,” which includes “stringent ballot security, complete and thorough counting machine testing,” and “best-in-the-nation voter list maintenance.” Youngkin touted the commonwealth’s election integrity, reaffirming the need for every “legal” vote to be counted. “The Virginia model for election security works,” Youngkin said. “This isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s an American and Virginian issue. Every legal vote deserves to be counted without being watered…

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07

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Candidates, political leaders react to Walz selection for vice presidential running mate

CHARLESTON — Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president in November, received praise from a former West Virginia Democratic leader and current Democratic candidates in the state for selecting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice presidential running mate. Harris, who serves as President Joe Biden’s vice president, announced Walz as her running mate Tuesday morning. Walz, a former six-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, was re-elected to a second term as governor in 2022. Walz was among several names being considered by Harris as her running mate, including Kentucky…

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05

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Keir Starmer to hold emergency Cobra meeting this morning over violent riots

Keir Starmer will chair an emergency Cobra meeting this morning with senior police officials in response to widespread scenes of rioting. It comes after the PM insisted far-right thugs will face justice for the riots that gripped the country over the weekend. Towns and cities across England suffered violence, disorder, and looting at the hands of hate-filled anti-migrant mobs. Mr Starmer vowed rioters would "regret" engaging in "far-right thuggery" and promised those involved in unrest would "face the full force of the law" as he addressed the nation on Sunday. During the Cobra meeting at 10 am today in Downing…

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