Nancy Pelosi Cancels Afghanistan Trip After Trump Leaks Travel Plans
The House speaker cited “the grave threats caused by the President’s action.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nancy-pelosi-trip-trump-afghanistan_us_5c41e80ae4b0bfa693c2f8b2?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067
Pelosi cancels Afghanistan trip after details leaked by White House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday canceled plans for a commercial flight to Afghanistan after the White House leaked the details of her planned trip, a spokesman said.
The cancellation comes one day after President Trump sent a letter to Pelosi canceling her planned congressional trip to Brussels and Afghanistan, which he dismissed as a “public relations event,” in an escalation of tensions between the two amid the ongoing partial government shutdown.
That move followed Pelosi’s suggestion that Trump’s annual State of the Union address be postponed until after the shutdown or else delivered in writing.
"After President Trump revoked the use of military aircraft to travel to Afghanistan, the delegation was prepared to fly commercially to proceed with this vital trip to meet with our commanders and troops on the front lines," Drew Hammill, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, said in a statement.
“In the middle of the night, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service provided an updated threat assessment detailing that the President announcing this sensitive travel had significantly increased the danger to the delegation and to the troops, security, and other officials supporting the trip. This morning, we learned that the Administration had leaked the commercial travel plans as well."
Mimicking the language used in Pelosi's letter to Trump regarding the State of the Union, Trump told her that the congressional delegation’s trip would be rescheduled until the government reopened just moments before lawmakers were slated to leave on a bus to Andrews Air Force Base for their trip to top meet with top NATO commanders in Brussels and visit troops in Afghanistan.
The president suggested Pelosi could opt to fly commercial in lieu of military-provided transportation to the war zone.
“We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the shutdown is over,” Trump wrote. “I also feel that, during this period, it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the shutdown.”
Hammill said due to the security threats presented by the leak, the trip will be rescheduled for a later date.
“In light of the grave threats caused by the President’s action, the delegation has decided to postpone the trip so as not to further endanger our troops and security personnel, or the other travelers on the flights," he said.
The feud between Pelosi and Trump is intensifying as the partial government shutdown approaches the one-month mark.
Negotiations over Trump’s border wall remain stalled with both sides digging in on their respective positions. Democrats have vowed not to support any legislation that provides funding for Trump’s border wall. Trump said he will not sign any spending legislation that doesn't appropriate funds toward a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/426002-pelosi-cancels-afghanistan-trip-after-details-leaked-by-white-house
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1086292025744474112
INMO reissues call on Govt to help avert strike action
The INMO has again called on the Government to bring forward meaningful proposals to avert strike action by over 40,000 nurses from 30 January.
Arriving for a meeting with the Public Service Stability Agreement Oversight Body, INMO general Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said her union was there to do business - and hoped the Government side was in the same mindset.
She said they were only 12 days away from a national nurses' dispute.
She said it would be a very serious situation which would impact on services for patients.
She said they needed meaningful proposals that they could bring back to their members to tell them someone was taking account of their working conditions and the terrible conditions in which they were trying to care for patients.
https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2019/0118/1024094-nurses-strike-proposals/
Two Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber jets crash in mid-air over Sea of Japan
Two pilots involved in a midair crash between two Sukhoi Su-34s today have been dramatically rescued after ejecting.
Both were found at separate locations in the icy Sea of Japan and were in “satisfactory” conditions, said Russian defence sources.
The fighter bombers collided over the Strait of Tatary (or Tatar Strait) in Russia’s Far Eastern Khabarovsk Region.
The jets - each with a crew of two - were reported to have vanished from radar screens.
Two parachutes from the ejected pilots were seen in the skies.
Later it was said that one of the warplanes had landed safely with a damaged engine while the other crashed into the sea.
Initially one pilot was spotted on a raft in the sea.
"A pilot was lifted from the life raft to a Mi-8 helicopter of the search and rescue forces of the Eastern Military District.
“According to the report from the rescue site, the pilot's condition is satisfactory,” said the Russian defence ministry.
TV 360 then reported that the second Su-34 pilot was found.
“He is in satisfactory condition,” said a source.
The aircraft were reported to have been “manoeuvring without ammunition” when they collided.
"The theory of the pilots' failure to measure a safe distance between the two aircraft” is being investigated, said a source.
One account said the planes “brushed against each other”.
Interfax reported that one of the Su-34s landed with a ‘defunct’ engine after the collision.
“One Su-34 fell after the collision, and the other managed to land with a defunct engine,” a source said.
The bombers were performing scheduled flights from the Hurba airfield located ten miles outside Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/two-russian-su-34-fighter-13875952
https://twitter.com/ReutersPolitics/status/1086299483594518528