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☆ Exiled leader tells US Congress Tibet faces 'slow death' under China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - Tibet is dying a "slow death" under Chinese rule, the head of the India-based organization known as Tibet's government in-exile said on Tuesday in a first address to the U.S. Congress. The Sikyong role was created in 2012 after the Dalai Lama, Tibetans' 87-year-old spiritual leader, relinquished political authority in favor of an organization that could outlive him. China has ruled the remote western region of Tibet since 1951, after its military marched in and took control in what it calls a "peaceful liberation." Actor and long-time Tibet activist Richard Gere told the hearing that Chinese policies in Tibet increasingly "match the definition of crimes against humanity." Reporting by Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. Congress members seek halt to $1 billion Nigeria weapons deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We write to express our concern with current U.S. policy on and military support to Nigeria," the lawmakers said. The United States has paired security assistance to Nigeria with training focused on compliance with international law. Nigerian military leaders denied the program has ever existed and said Reuters reporting was part of a foreign effort to undermine the country's fight against the insurgents. Nigerian military leaders told Reuters the army has never targeted children for killing. Amid international outcry, Nigeria’s defense ministry agreed to cooperate with an investigation by Nigeria’s Commission on Human Rights, which is underway.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., doesn't care that former President Donald Trump backs Kevin McCarthy for speaker of the House. "Endorsements don't matter to me," said Norman, one of 20 Republican holdouts who have blocked McCarthy, R-Calif., from winning the majority he needs on a series of deadlocked votes for House speaker. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., another anti-McCarthy voter, took umbrage at Trump calling recalcitrants on behalf of the beleaguered House GOP leader. "I think it actually needs to be reversed; the president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, sir, you do not have the votes, and it’s time to withdraw." "But I don't think when you have eyes on an institution for years and you've made up your mind, I don't think President Trump or anyone else is going" to change it.

☆ 'Sr.' review: Robert Downey Jr. deals with his late dad in an intimate Netflix documentary
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —At the end of “Sr.,” a documentary so personal the word “intimate” almost doesn’t do it justice, Robert Downey Jr. ponders what his 90-minute ode to his father was really all about. The simple answer, stripped of celebrity, is the painful process of saying goodbye to an aging, increasingly infirm parent, filtered through the careers of these two entertainers. It’s a conversation Downey Sr. clearly doesn’t relish having, although their interplay throughout is one of warmth, forgiveness and love, and if there was second guessing or recriminations on the way to making that peace, you won’t find it here. Shot over three years, the film captures Downey Sr.’s physical decline as he experiences the ravages of Parkinson’s disease. “I’ll miss him,” Downey Jr. says after visiting the old man with his own young son, Exton.

On Monday, the White House said it backed the right of people to peacefully protest in China but stopped short of criticizing Beijing as protesters in multiple Chinese cities demonstrated against heavy COVID-19 measures. The Republican response was swift. Senator Ted Cruz called White House response "pitiful," adding in a tweet: "At a potentially historic inflection point, Dems shill for the CCP." Beyond this, say analysts, the U.S. wants to avoid language that allows China to pin the protests on U.S. interference. Daniel Russel, who served as the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia in the Obama administration, said the Biden White House would be focused on the next steps by Chinese authorities.

☆ U.S. lawmakers slam Wall Street bankers' plan to attend Hong Kong summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Two U.S. lawmakers on Thursday urged top American bankers to cancel their planned attendance at a Hong Kong financial summit next week, saying their participation would contribute to Chinese government rights abuses. Hong Kong officials hope the event will signal a re-opening from COVID-19 border restrictions, but it has raised the ire of Hong Kong activists after authorities used a national security law to stifle dissent in the former British colony. The State Department last year warned U.S. businesses of civil and criminal penalties should they violate U.S. sanctions by "engaging in certain transactions" with sanctioned Hong Kong and Chinese officials. Hong Kong reverted to Chinese from British rule in 1997 with the guarantee of a high degree of autonomy, which critics say Beijing has significantly eroded. Republicans, who hope to win control of Congress in November midterm elections, have also slammed executives for their plans to attend the Hong Kong event.

☆ Old money: How retirees are funding and fueling political candidates unlike ever before
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

In the 2020 election cycle, retirees gave hundreds of millions of dollars to federal candidates. Crystal Snow, a 60-year-old retired business owner, also donated hundreds of times to Republican groups ahead of the 2020 election, according to federal records. Snow told Insider she donated according to her Christian values and did so exclusively online, including to the likes of Sens. By the 2020 election cycle, retirees accounted for more than $1 in every $5, amounting to more than $378 million. Retirees are responsible for a greater and greater share of large political contributions, federal campaign finance data indicates.

☆ Lindsey Graham's abortion ban bill baffles some Republicans as Democrats sharpen attacks in key midterm races
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Graham's bill has virtually no chance of passing the current Congress, where Democrats hold slim majorities in the House and Senate. Some Republicans, including GOP candidates in pivotal Senate races, have backed Graham's new proposal. But other top Republicans either refused to back Graham's bill or expressed a belief that individual states should set their own abortion laws. "With regard to abortion, Democrats are clearly focused on abortion," he added. As Graham's bill brought a renewed focus to the issue, Democrats pounced.

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