Senate breaks with Trump on Saudi-led war in Yemen

The Senate broke with President Trump on Wednesday over the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, paving the way for a veto showdown with the White House.

Senators voted 54-46 to pass a resolution requiring the president to withdraw any troops in or "affecting" Yemen within 30 days unless they are fighting al Qaeda.

GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Steve Daines (Mont.), Mike Lee (Utah), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Todd Young (Ind.) voted with Democrats on the resolution.

The chamber first passed the resolution in December, but it did not pass the GOP-controlled House before the end of the 115th Congress and was reintroduced this year.

The Senate vote comes hours after the White House formally threatened to veto the resolution, arguing it was “flawed” and has an “erroneous premise.”

“The joint resolution would raise serious constitutional concerns to the extent that it seeks to override the President’s determination as Commander in Chief,” the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said.

The resolution still needs to pass the House before it heads to Trump’s desk. Senate supporters believe it could get a vote in the lower chamber as soon as Thursday, paving the way for potentially the first veto of Trump’s presidency.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said he expected the House would take up the legislation in the next couple of weeks.

“Our office is working with leadership and the [Congressional Progressive Caucus] to finalize a date of when we will pass the Senate [War Powers Resolution] and send it to the president's desk,” his office added.

Wednesday’s vote comes a day before the Senate is likely to also pass a resolution of disapproval blocking Trump’s emergency declaration — setting up a one-two punch that will force the president to reject back-to-back legislation from Capitol Hill.

“I’m sure Republicans want to … peel two Band-Aids off at once; it hurts less,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a co-sponsor of the Yemen legislation. “This will be the first two vetoes coming in rapid succession. Maybe Republicans did notice the 2018 election.”

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a growing split between Trump and Congress in the wake of the slaying last fall of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, who was a critic of the Saudi government.

Trump has refused to pin the blame of Khashoggi’s death on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, saying in a widely panned statement late last year that “maybe he did and maybe he didn’t" order the slaying. Trump added that the U.S. "may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder" of Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. The Saudi government maintained that the killing was carried out by rogue agents as part of an interrogation that went off track — an explanation that has been met with heavy skepticism by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/433926-senate-breaks-with-trump-on-saudi-led-war-in-yemen

NSW priest charged over teen boy’s alleged historic sex abuse

An 85-year-old former priest has been charged over the alleged historic sexual abuse of a teenage boy.

NSW Police this morning confirmed in a statement that the Anglican clergyman was arrested at about 2.30pm yesterday at a home in Stockton, near Newcastle, following a lengthy investigation.

Detectives from the Richmond Police District launched the investigation in August last year after receiving a complaint about the alleged abuse of a 13-year-old schoolboy in 1978.

It is alleged the boy was befriended by the priest during high school scripture class and piano lessons, and later assaulted.

The priest has since been charged with buggery and issued with a court attendance notice.

He is expected to appear at the Newcastle Local Court on May 2.

https://www.9news.com.au/2019/03/14/10/13/news-nsw-priest-arrested-charged-alleged-historic-child-sexual-abuse-stockton-newcastle-teenager-1978-scripture-classes-piano-lessons

Denmark to make foreign mosque funding illegal

A new law proposal from the Danish government and the right-wing Danish People’s Party would make it illegal for foreign governments and authorities to give money to religious communities and institutions in Denmark.

The law will be implemented if the donations are assessed to pose a security threat and undermine Denmark’s fundamental freedoms and democracy. The ban will cover loans, gifts, donation of equipment, financial aid to staff and even hiring premises.

Extensive support to mosques from countries such as Qatar and Turkey is said to be one of the primary reasons for the ban.

In the past, countries such as Turkey and Qatar have donated money to both religious bodies and mosques.

“We have been extremely frustrated by the examples of mosques funded from abroad. And I am sure that a ban on foreign donations will stop the cash flow”, the Danish People’s Party’s foreign spokesman, Martin Henriksen, says.

Turkey has invested in mosques in Roskilde and Holbæk, and Qatar has donated an estimated DKK 100 million (€13.5 million) for the construction of a brand new mosque in Copenhagen’s Nørrebro district.

However, experts fear that the move could provoke a backlash abroad.

“It is obvious that such a move could be seen as harassment in Turkey and yet another example of the religious inequality,” says Cecilie Felicia Stokholm Banke, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies.

According to a 2018 estimate, Denmark, a nation of 5.5 million, had a Muslim population of slightly over 300,000 (or 5.3 percent), which is increasing due to immigration.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/03/denmark-to-make-foreign-mosque-funding-illegal/

Russian Aerospace Force destroys terrorist weapons depot in Syria’s Idlib

MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. The Russian Aerospace Force has destroyed a weapons depot belonging to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terror group (also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, outlawed in Russia) in the Syrian province of Idlib, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

A pinpoint airstrike was carried out on March 13 in coordination with Turkey. The airstrike "targeted a weapons depot belonging to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Jabhat al-Nusra) terror group in the city of Idlib," the ministry said.

"According to information confirmed through several channels, militants earlier brought a large number of combat unmanned aerial vehicles to the facility, which they planned to use for attacks on Russia’s Hmeimim air base," the statement adds.

A thing to note is that Russia’s military facilities in Syria have on numerous occasions been attacked with unmanned aerial vehicles.

On January 6, 2018, militants carried out a large-scale drone strike on the Hmeimim air base and a naval facility in Tartus. The Russian military either destroyed or took control of the UAVs used in the attack. A Defense Ministry source noted at the time that "the programming of systems to control unmanned aerial vehicles and drop GPS-guided munitions requires completing engineering studies in a developed country."

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said, in turn, that the drones involved in the January 2018 attack on the Hmeimim base were run from a US Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft. When the drones were confronted by Russian jamming systems, they went to manual mode controlled from the US aircraft.

http://tass.com/defense/1048531