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Trump names latest White House staff picks as Jan. 20 inauguration approaches

Trump names latest White House staff picks as Jan. 20 inauguration approaches

President-elect Trump announced his latest staff picks on Saturday night, naming four additional people to serve in the White House in administrative and advisory capacities. Trump, who takes office in less than three weeks, began by naming Stanley E. Woodward, Jr., to serve as an assistant to the president and a senior counselor. Woodward co-founded a law firm called Brand Woodward Law, LP, where he “represented numerous high-profile clients in complex, high-stakes litigation, including multiple federal jury trials,” according to Trump.  “Previously, he worked at a multinational law firm where his experience included the representation of multiple international corporations in defense of alleged violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as well as serving as coordinating counsel to companies involved in nationwide federal litigation,” the statement read. AMB. CARLA SANDS: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S FOCUS ON GREENLAND–WHY WE HOPE TO STRENGTHEN OUR RELATIONSHIP Next, Trump said that Robert Gabriel, Jr., will work as an assistant to the president for policy. “Mr. Gabriel has served President Donald J. Trump in various roles since his 2015 campaign for the world’s most powerful office,” the statement read. He started in Trump Tower as a Policy Advisor on Mr. Trump’s historic campaign.” “Mr. Gabriel served in the West Wing, for the entirety of the first Trump Administration, as Special Assistant to the President.” Nicholas F. Luna is slated to serve as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for strategic implementation, the president-elect said. His role will involve scheduling and managing external White House communications. JEAN-PIERRE BRISTLES WHEN PRESSED ON PAST ‘DEMOCRACY’ WARNINGS: ‘DO NOT APPRECIATE HAVING MY WORDS TWISTED’ Trump called Luna a “highly respected White House veteran and a Trump-Vance campaign warrior.” “He previously served in the White House as Presidential Trip Director, Personal Aide to the President, Assistant to the President, and Director of Oval Office Operations,” Trump said. “Most recently, he served with great distinction as Director of Operations for Vice President-elect JD Vance.” Finally, Trump said that William “Beau” Harrison will serve as an assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for operations. The statement called him a “trusted aide to the President and First Family.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “During President Trump’s first term, Mr. Harrison served as the liaison between the operational elements of the Executive Office of the President and was charged with the coordination and execution of all presidential travel, including dozens of complex international visits,” Trump’s statement added. “He has participated in and led multiple U.S. delegations across the globe in countries, such as North Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and played a critical role in planning each of the historic summits with DPRK Leader Kim Jong-Un.”

Silence on Israel’s massacres of journalists is dangerous to all

Silence on Israel’s massacres of journalists is dangerous to all

A December 26 press statement by the Israeli army attempted to justify a war crime. It unabashedly admitted that the military incinerated five Palestinian journalists in a clearly marked press vehicle outside al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip. The five victims were Ibrahim Sheikh Ali, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, Mohammed al-Ladaa, Fadi Hassouna, and Ayman al-Gedi. Ayman had arrived at the hospital with his wife who was about to give birth to their first baby; he was visiting his colleagues in the vehicle when it was struck. His baby boy was born several hours later and now carries the name of his father who was not allowed to live long enough to celebrate his birth. The Israeli army statement claimed that the five Palestinians were “operatives posing as journalists” and that they disseminated “combat propaganda” because they worked for Al-Quds Al-Youm TV, affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement. The Israeli army made no claims that they were actually carrying weapons or involved in any armed action. Advertisement Many Western publications quoted the Israeli army statement as if it was an objective position and not propaganda whitewashing a war crime. They failed to clarify to their audiences that attacking journalists, including journalists who may be accused of promoting “propaganda”, is a war crime; all journalists are protected under international humanitarian law, regardless of whether armies like their reporting or not. The Geneva Conventions Article 79 of the Additional Protocol states that all journalists “engaged in dangerous professional missions in armed conflict areas shall be considered civilians … [and] shall be protected […] and without prejudice to the right of war correspondents accredited to the armed forces”. Completely disregarding these provisions of international law, the Israeli army has gone on a killing spree of Palestinian journalists over the past 15 months. According to the Gaza Government Media Office, 201 have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Other counts put the number at 217. According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), some 138 Palestinian journalists were killed in Gaza and the occupied West Bank between October 7, 2023 and December 31, 2024. The organisation counted the five victims of the Israeli army’s attack on December 26 in the tally. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders described the Israeli killing of journalists as “an unprecedented bloodbath” and Palestine as “the most dangerous country for journalists”. CPJ has also listed Israel as one of the top “jailers of journalists”. Advertisement Israel not only refuses to recognise any Palestinian media worker as being protected, but it also bars foreign journalists from entering Gaza. It has been truly disturbing that the international media has done little to protest this ban. Except for one petition signed by 60 media outlets over the summer, the international media has not followed up consistently on such demands over 15 months. If a major media organisation is not given access to a particular location, an indication of this ban is frequently attached to news reports as a form of protest. However, in the case of Gaza, Israel is given a pass, especially by mainstream Western media, with the Israeli press releases regularly passed on as facts. This complacency has allowed Israel to control the narrative and propagate its claim that this is a defensive war carried out by “the most moral army” in the world within the parameters of international law. While United Nations experts, some Israeli NGOs like B’Tselem, and every major international rights organisation have denounced Israel’s actions, the legacy media continues to give it the benefit of the doubt. In the rare cases where Western outlets have investigated Israeli claims, as The New York Times did recently, the findings overwhelmingly repeat reports that Arab and some left-wing Israeli media had made months before, outlining grave crimes being committed. One of the reasons why we have gotten to the point where Israel, the self-proclaimed “only democracy in the Middle East”, massacres journalists with impunity is because it was never held accountable for its gradual intensification of violence against media workers all these years. Advertisement The 2022 assassination of Palestinian-American reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin is a case in point. While there was coverage and investigative work done by Western media outlets on her murder, Israel was still allowed to get off the hook with the claim that it was the doing of a “bad apple” and the soldier responsible would be held to account. He wasn’t. What our foreign colleagues should understand is that Israel’s push to normalise the mass killing of journalists threatens not just Palestinian media workers. If such abhorrent behaviour in war zones is normalised, then no journalist, no matter what passport they carry, would be safe. It is time the international media community stop making excuses for Israel and call its actions what they are: war crimes. It is time journalists around the world stand in solidarity with their Palestinian colleagues and demand accountability for those who have massacred them. It is time they demand action from their governments that results in direct sanctions on Israel. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Adblock test (Why?)

Russia promises retaliation after saying Ukraine fired US-supplied missiles

Russia promises retaliation after saying Ukraine fired US-supplied missiles

Outgoing US President Joe Biden has authorised Kyiv to use the long-range weapons against Russia. Russia has pledged to retaliate after it claimed to have shot down eight US-supplied ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine at its border region of Belgorod. “On January 3, an attempt was made from Ukrainian territory to launch a missile attack against the Belgorod region using US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles,” the Russian Ministry of Defence said on Saturday. “These actions by the Kyiv regime, which is supported by Western curators, will be met with retaliation,” it added, saying all the missiles were shot down. The ministry said earlier that air defences downed eight ATACMS missiles in total, without saying when or where. Officials in Ukraine have not yet responded to the accusation. The Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) has a range of 300km (190 miles) and was first developed in the 1980s. Outgoing US President Joe Biden had authorised Kyiv to use long-range weapons against Russia last year, in a move the Kremlin denounced as a grave escalation of the nearly three-year conflict. Biden is expected to announce additional security assistance for Ukraine in the coming days, according to White House spokesperson John Kirby. Advertisement US President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview last month he was “very vehemently” opposed to Ukraine using the arms, which he said were “escalating” the conflict. Besides military support from the US, Kyiv will also reportedly receive its first French Mirage 2000-5F multirole fighters this month, according to French magazine Avions Legendaires. Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened last year to strike central Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile if Ukraine continued hitting Russian territory with long-range Western weapons. Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of fatal attacks on civilians since the year began. A Russian attack on a village in Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region earlier on Saturday killed a 74-year-old man, regional Governor Oleg Synegubov said. At least three people, including two children, were wounded in a Russian attack on the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, local authorities said. Sumy borders Russia’s Kursk region and has been regularly shelled by Russian forces for months. Russian forces also launched attacks near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in an effort to bypass it from the south and cut off supply routes to Ukraine’s troops, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Russia had launched 300 attack drones and 20 missiles at Ukrainian targets in the first three days of 2025, but said a large amount was shot down by Kyiv’s forces. “Such Russian terror, which continues with unrelenting intensity, requires both us and all our partners not to reduce efforts in strengthening our air defence shield and all its systemic components – from Patriot systems to mobile fire groups,” Zelenskyy said on his social media platforms. Advertisement US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will embark on his final trip in office this weekend, travelling to South Korea, Japan, and France. At meetings in Paris, he is expected to discuss European security and Russia’s war in Ukraine with French officials, showcasing the Biden administration’s final outreach towards Kyiv before the Trump government takes over. Adblock test (Why?)