Gunshots have been heard inside the Senate of the Philippines as tensions escalate over a planned arrest of a top senator.

Witnesses reported multiple shots on Wednesday, sending journalists and others scrambling for cover as armed personnel moved through the building.

What happened at the Senate?

More than 10 soldiers in camouflage had earlier entered the complex, some carrying assault rifles, though it remained unclear who fired the shots or why troops were deployed.

The incident comes as Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a key figure in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, faces a possible arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Dela Rosa, who has been sheltering in his office since Monday, said his arrest was imminent and called on supporters to mobilize to block any attempt to transfer him to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity.

Dela Rosa urged “my fellow men in uniform” and former classmates at the Philippine Military Academy, to “express their sentiment” that President Ferdinand Marcos’s government “should not hand me over to foreigners.”

Why is Dela Rosa wanted by the ICC?

Dela Rosa was national police chief in 2016-2018, during Duterte’s first two years in office and acted as his chief drug war enforcer.

He is better known by his nickname “Bato,” meaning “Rock.” 

Human rights monitors say the crackdown left thousands dead, many of them drug users and low-level narcotics sellers. He denies involvement in ​illegal killing and insists that a transfer to the ⁠ICC would be illegal, because the country is no longer a signatory.

As president, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018 after its ⁠prosecutor announced a preliminary examination into his anti-drugs ​campaign had begun. Alleged crimes committed while a country was a member of the ICC are, according to the court, still under its jurisdiction.

On Monday, the Philippine lower house of parliament voted to advance impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of the former president. Duterte himself is already in the Hague awaiting trial at the ICC.

Bato was previously the City Director of the Davao City Police under both Sara Duterte and her father when he succeeded her as that city’s mayor in 2013. (DW)

The post Gunshots reported inside Philippine Senate amid arrest tensions over senator appeared first on Newswire.

US Senate Republicans voted down a resolution on Wednesday pushed by Democrats to prohibit President Donald Trump from taking further military action in Iran.

The vote was 47-52, largely along party lines.

Once again, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the only Republican to vote for the measure, and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the only Democrat or independent to vote against it. (Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., missed the vote.)

It was the latest instance of Republicans rejecting attempts to end the war or rein in Trump’s authority to act without congressional approval. While Trump has said for weeks he wants the war to wrap up soon, there is no clear end in sight.

The measure, offered by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., says: “Congress hereby directs the President to remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.”

Despite the vote, some Republicans have indicated they will be less deferential to Trump once the war hits 60 days, which will come at the end of April. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires presidents to get congressional approval for military action that goes beyond 60 days.

“We’ve got to start answering questions,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said. “The 60-day target is what I’m looking at.”

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, who is usually a reliable vote for Trump’s agenda, wrote in his local paper, the Deseret News: “I will not support ongoing military action beyond a 60-day window without congressional approval. I take this position for two reasons — one is historical, and one is constitutional.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has also expressed misgivings about the Iran war and floated a resolution that would give Trump limited authorization to use military force.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed to keep forcing votes on ending the Iran war, which are privileged and don’t require the consent of Republican leaders to get to the floor.

“We will bring these resolutions to the floor every week,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday. “Our troops deserve a mission, not a mess. They deserve a strategy, not chaos. Now, Republicans have a choice. Stand with our troops or keep them in harm’s way without a plan, stand up as a senator or rubber-stamp Trump’s disastrous and failed war policies.”

A recent CBS News poll found that 40% of Americans approve of the U.S. taking military action in Iran, while 60% disapprove. The survey found widespread disapproval and distrust of Trump’s handling of the situation.

Gas prices have risen since the war began, and the rising costs of diesel and fertilizer have driven economic concerns in the U.S. That has fueled fears of political fallout among Republicans, which could impact their votes on future war powers measures.

“I hope we’re getting closer to having this be over. I think we need an exit strategy that will bring down energy prices in this country, quickly. They’re very high. Very, very high,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said. “I heard about it constantly while I was at home. Gas prices in Missouri are a little bit cheaper than they are here, but they’re very expensive. And an exit strategy that will be good for our national security and preserve our security.”

Hawley said the 60-day window gives the president some latitude to take military action without Congress, adding: “We’re a few weeks off from that, but not too far.”

But other Republicans, like Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., say Trump can act without their approval for as long as he sees fit.

Johnson also signaled openness to a U.S. military ground presence, while saying it doesn’t need to be “massive.”

“If it requires some special ops to help the Iranian people take over their government, I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” he said. “Unconditional surrender, this regime has to be ended.” (NBC News)

The post US Senate Republicans block latest bid to rein in Trump Iran war powers appeared first on Newswire.

The United States Senate is holding a vote to advance a Republican stopgap funding package that could pave the way to end the longest government shutdown in the country’s history.

The breakthrough on Sunday came after a group of centrist Democrats negotiated a deal to reopen the government through January if Republicans promise to hold a vote on expiring healthcare subsidies by December.

The package also included bills to fund some parts of the government, including food aid and the legislative branch, until the end of the fiscal year.

Some eight Democrats voted in favour of advancing the package.

Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC, said the support from the Democrats meant that the Senate has the 60 votes required to break the weeks-long impasse.

“Now, this is what is called a cloture, a procedure by which the Senate agrees to continue the debate about the legislation and begin introducing and passing the bills aimed at ending the shutdown,” Hanna said.

“The important thing about the cloture vote is that once it is passed, at that 60 percent majority, every subsequent vote is by a simple majority. So it would appear to be plain sailing in the Senate to pass this bill and the continuing resolution to refund the government and ending the closure,” he added.

The amended package would still have to be passed by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.

As news of the breakthrough emerged, Trump told reporters when he arrived at the White House after a weekend in Florida: “It looks like we’re getting very close to the shutdown ending.”

Fallout deepens

The shutdown, currently in its 40th day, has caused thousands of flight cancellations, furloughed about 750,000 federal employees and put food assistance for millions of Americans at risk.

Air traffic staffing shortages led at least 2,300 flights travelling within the US and to and from the country to be cancelled as of Sunday, according to data from tracking platform FlightAware, along with more than 8,000 delays.

New York City area airports, along with Chicago’s O’Hare and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airports, were especially hard-hit.

Meanwhile, some 42 million people – or one in eight Americans – who rely on the food aid programme Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have seen their benefits threatened. Although two courts ordered that the Trump administration must pay out SNAP funds during the shutdown, the Supreme Court paused one of the rulings until further legal arguments could be heard.

“Now, the Trump administration has told states they cannot pay more than 60 percent of the funds due this month, and it is threatening to cut all federal funds to any state that does so,” said Al Jazeera’s Hanna.

“For Americans, this is really beginning to bite home, and they are trying to ramp up the pressure on senators,” Hanna said.

Health subsidies

The shutdown began on October 1, when the Senate failed to agree on spending priorities. Since then, Democrats have voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they demanded the extension of tax credits that make coverage more affordable for health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The subsidies, which were put in place in 2021, have helped double ACA enrolment to 24 million Americans.

Democrats have pushed for a one-year extension of the subsidies, but Republicans have maintained they are open to addressing the issue only after government funding is restored.

Ahead of Sunday’s vote, Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Angus King and Tim Kaine said they would support the agreement.

“This deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans weren’t willing to do,” said Kaine, who is from Virginia, which is home to millions of federal workers.

The bill “will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay” as required by law, he added.

But many Senate Democrats are opposed to the deal, including the chamber’s top Democrat Chuck Schumer, who expressed anger that it offers a vote for extending the health care subsidies instead of extending them directly.

“I cannot in good faith support this CR that fails to address the health care crisis,” Schumer told the chamber, adding: “This fight will and must continue.”

Final passage of the legislation could take several days if Democrats object and draw out the process. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats, said that giving up the fight was a “horrific mistake.”

House Democrats also chimed in against it.

Texas Representative Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that does not reduce healthcare costs is a “betrayal” of millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight.

“Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isn’t a compromise – it’s capitulation,” Casar said in a post on X. “Millions of families would pay the price.”

Trump, meanwhile, pushed again to replace subsidies for the ACA health insurance marketplaces with direct payments to individuals.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted the subsidies as a “windfall for Health Insurance Companies, and a DISASTER for the American people”, while demanding the funds be sent directly to individuals to buy coverage on their own.

“I stand ready to work with both Parties to solve this problem once the Government is open,” Trump wrote.

Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, said he believed Trump’s healthcare proposal was aimed at gutting the ACA and allowing insurance companies to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

“So the same insurance companies he’s railing against in those tweets, he is saying: ‘I’m going to give you more power to cancel people’s policies and not cover them if they have a pre-existing condition,’” Schiff said on ABC’s “This Week” programme. (Al Jazeera)

The post US Senate reaches deal to end 40-day government shutdown appeared first on Newswire.