4 killed in violence over timber smuggling at Assam-Meghalaya border
Guwahati (PTI): Four people, including a forest guard, were killed in violence at the Assam-Meghalaya border after the police intercepted a truck transporting illegal timber in the early hours of Tuesday, officials said.
The truck was intercepted at the Meghalaya border by an Assam Forest Department team around 3 am, West Karbi Anglong's Superintendent of Police Imdad Ali told PTI.
As the truck tried to flee, the forest guards fired at it and punctured a tyre. The driver, handyman and another person were apprehended, while others managed to escape, he said.
The forest guards informed the Zirikending police station about the incident, and asked for reinforcements, he added.
As police reached, a huge number of people from Meghalaya armed with 'dao' (dagger) and other weapons gathered at the spot around 5 am, the officer said.
As the mob gheraoed the forest guards and the police demanding the immediate release of those arrested, the officers fired at them to bring the situation under control, he said.
"A forest home guard and three persons of the Khasi community were killed in the incident. The situation is under control now," the officer said.
However, it was not immediately clear how the forest guard, identified as Bidyasing Lekhte, was killed.
Ali said top officers of the district were on the way to the remote area.
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Republicans going public with their growing worries about Trump's tariffs
Washington (AP): Manufacturers struggling to make long-term plans. Farmers facing retaliation from Chinese buyers. US households burdened with higher prices.
Republican senators are confronting the Trump administration with those worries and many more as they fret about the economic impact of the president's sweeping tariff strategy that went into effect Wednesday.
In a Senate hearing and interviews with reporters this week, Republican skepticism of President Donald Trump's policies ran unusually high. While GOP lawmakers made sure to direct their concern at Trump's aides and advisers — particularly US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who appeared before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday — it still amounted to a rare Republican break from a president they have otherwise championed.
Lawmakers had reason to worry: the stock market has been in a volatile tumble for days and economists are warning that the plans could lead to a recession.
"Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Republican Sen. Thom Tillis told Greer as he pressed for an answer on which Trump aide to hold accountable if there is an economic downturn.
Tillis' frustration was aimed at the across-the-board tariff strategy that could potentially hamstring U.S. manufacturers who are currently dependent on materials like aluminum and steel from China. His home state of North Carolina, where he is up for reelection next year, has attracted thousands of foreign firms looking to invest in the state's manufacturing industries.
Ever wary of crossing Trump, Republicans engaged in a delicate two-step of criticizing the rollout of the tariffs then shifting to praise for the president's economic vision. In the afternoon, Tillis in a Senate floor speech said that the “president is right in challenging other nations who have for decades abused their relationship with the United States," yet went on to question who in the White House was thinking through the long-term economic effects of the sweeping tariffs.
Tillis even allowed that Trump's trade strategy could still turn out to be effective, but said there is a short window to show that it is worth the higher prices and layoffs that will burden workers.
For his part, Greer emphasised to the committee that the US was engaged in negotiations with other countries but that “the trade deficit has been decades in the making, and it's not going to be solved overnight.”
Republican leaders in Congress, as well as a sizeable chunk of lawmakers, have emphasized that Trump needs time to implement his strategy. They've mostly rejected the idea of putting a check on Trump's tariff power, but it is clear that anxiety is growing among rank-and-file Republicans about what's ahead.
Sen James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, said there is a company in his state that had spent “millions of dollars" moving its parts production from China to Vietnam. But now that Vietnam is facing steep tariffs, the business is unable to move forward with negotiating prices with retailers.
Lankford pressed Greer for a timeline for negotiations, but the trade representative responded, “We don't have any particular timeline. The outcome is more important than setting something artificially for us.”
Trade agreements between countries typically take months or even years to work out and often require the parties to navigate through a host of legal, economic and business issues. Still, Republicans said they were encouraged by the indications that Trump is entering into negotiations with other nations.
Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, said at the committee hearing that he was “very encouraged” by news of trade negotiations and attributed a momentary upward tick in the stock market to “hope that these tariffs are a means and not solely an end.”
He told Greer, "Who pays these high tariffs? It will be the consumer. I'm worried about the inflationary effect. I'm worried if there is a trade war that we're going to have markets shutting down for American farmers, ranchers and manufacturers.”
Other GOP lawmakers contended that the pain was worth bearing. Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, said the president is on the right track.
“It's pain, but it's going to be,” he said. “The president will make the right call. He's doing the right thing.”
Still, traditional Republicans were looking for ways to push back on Trump's tariff plan.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, a senior Republican, has introduced a bipartisan bill to give Congress the power to review and approve of new tariffs, and Republican members in the House were also working to gain support for a similar bill. Such legislation would allow Congress to claw back some of its constitutional power over tariff policy, which has been almost completely handed over to the president in recent decades through legislation.
But the White House has already indicated that Trump would veto the bill, and both Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have said they are not interested in bringing it up for a vote.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican closely aligned with Trump, said on social media that the bill was a bad idea because “Congress moves at the pace of a tortoise running a race.”
“The reason why Congress gave this authority to the president to begin with is because the ability to pivot,” he added.
But the president's unclear messaging has also left lawmakers only guessing as they try to decipher which advisers and aides hold sway in the White House.
Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said that as he's received calls from the business community in his state, he's had no answers for them besides telling them the prospects for the economy are uncertain. The communication from the president's aides has often been conflicting, Kennedy said even as he voiced support for Trump's long-term goals.
Kennedy told reporters, “I don't think there's any way to double or triple your tariffs on the world when you're the wealthiest country in all of human history without being somewhat shambolic."
