Indian deputy IT minister investigated over online post after attack on Jehovah’s Witnesses

Indian Deputy Minister for Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in New Delhi, India, May 19, 2023. (Reuters)

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Updated 31 October 2023

Reuters

October 31, 2023 15:06

Indian deputy IT minister investigated over online post after attack on Jehovah’s Witnesses

Homemade bombs exploded, killing three people and wounding 50 at event of Christian-based religious movement
Rajeev Chandrashekhar condemned blast but accused Kerala ruling Communist party of appeasing Hamas

Updated 31 October 2023

Reuters

October 31, 2023 15:06

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India: Police in Kerala opened an investigation against India’s deputy minister of Information Technology on Tuesday for allegedly stirring religious hatred on social media after bomb blasts at a Jehovah’s Witnesses convention in the southern state.
Homemade bombs exploded, killing three people and wounding 50 in the attack on Sunday that targeted a three-day event organized by the Christian-based religious movement a few miles northeast of the city of Kochi.
More than 2,000 people were attending the convention in the state, where the Jehovah’s Witnesses have a strong presence.
Police arrested a man after he posted a video claiming responsibility for the attack, accusing the religious group of being anti-national.
Hours after the blasts, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government condemned the blast in a post on social media that went on to accuse Kerala’s ruling Communist party of appeasing radical organizations such as the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.
Chandrashekhar used former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s 2011 quote “You can’t keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbors. You know, eventually those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard” and used hashtags #HamasTerrorists and #KochiTerrorAttacks.
Last week the former head of Hamas, Khaled Mashal, virtually addressed a rally organized by a local Muslim group in Kerala calling for solidarity with Gaza, media reported.
Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Modi’s Hindu nationalist party was trying to destabilize the state, home to millions of Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
Vijayan said Chandrashekhar’s allegations that the Kerala government permitted protests against Israel were false.
Chandrashekhar’s aide told Reuters the criminal case filed by the Kerala police would be addressed by the minister’s lawyer.

Harris warns of dangers of another Trump presidency in speech at Jan. 6 site

Updated 16 sec ago

Reuters

October 30, 2024 01:57

Harris warns of dangers of another Trump presidency in speech at Jan. 6 site

Harris issues warning at site where Trump urged supporters to march on US Capitol in 2021
Campaign says over 75,000 gathered at event near White House

Updated 16 sec ago

Reuters

October 30, 2024 01:57

WASHINGTON: Democrat Kamala Harris warned tens of thousands of people gathered in Washington at her biggest rally that her Republican opponent Donald Trump was seeking unchecked power as their tightening race for the presidency entered its final week.
Harris spoke on Tuesday evening to an outdoor rally estimated by her campaign to number more than 75,000 people at the spot near the White House where on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump addressed his supporters before they attacked the US Capitol.
“We know who Donald Trump is,” Harris said. She said the then-president sent an “armed mob” to the US Capitol to try to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
“This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power,” Harris said during what her campaign called her closing argument before a tightly contested Nov. 5 election.
More than 53 million Americans have already voted in the election, according to Election Hub at the University of Florida, in a battle that will decide who runs the world’s richest and most powerful country for four years.
Harris was flanked by American flags on stage and surrounded by blue and white banners that said “FREEDOM” with a well-lit White House behind her.
The crowd included older people and college students, people from overseas, from New York and from nearby Virginia. Many women came in groups with other female friends.
“It’s important that we do not go back to the horrible past policies under President Trump,” said Saul Schwartz, a former federal worker from Alexandria, Virginia.
“She is everything that I always wanted in a president. She is joyous. She is real, she is powerful. And she is a woman,” said Danielle Hoffmann from Staten Island, New York. “It’s time for you guys... to take a backseat because we’re driving right now,” she said, addressing men in general. Her husband, she noted, is a Trump supporter.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed that Harris’ lead had eroded to just 44 percent to 43 percent among registered voters.
Harris has led Trump in every Reuters/Ipsos poll since she entered the race in July, but her advantage has steadily shrunk since late September.
Trump and his allies have sought to play down the violence of Jan. 6.
Thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol, sending lawmakers fleeing for their lives after Trump’s address on the Ellipse, where as president in 2021 he told the crowd to “fight like hell” to prevent Congress from ratifying his loss.
Four people died in the ensuing riot at the Capitol, and one police officer who defended the Capitol died the following day. Trump has said that if reelected, he would pardon the more than 1,500 participants who have been charged with crimes.
“We have to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms,” Harris told the Washington crowd on Tuesday and urged Americans to put divisions behind them.
In Florida earlier in the day, Trump sought to move on from the racist and other vulgar remarks made by allies at his New York rally on Sunday.
Trump did not comment on the remarks made by speakers at the Sunday event where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and disparaged Black Americans, Jewish people, Palestinians and Latinos.
Trump’s campaign had said previously that the comments about Puerto Rico did not reflect the former president’s views, but Trump on Tuesday called the New York event “an absolute lovefest” and said he was honored to be involved.
President Joe Biden drew ire from Trump’s campaign for remarks he made about the Sunday rally during a fundraising call on Tuesday.
According to a transcript posted by a White House spokesperson on X, Biden said: “the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and it’s un-American.”
Several news organizations cited the same quote but without the apostrophe.
Biden later posted on X, the social media site: “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage — which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”
As Harris spoke in Washington, Trump visited a heavily Hispanic city in Pennsylvania, two days after Hinchcliffe’s comments about Puerto Rico drew outrage at the New York rally.
The US Census Bureau says Puerto Ricans are the largest Hispanic group in Pennsylvania, a state that holds the highest number of Electoral College votes of the seven battleground states expected to decide the election.
“I’d like to begin with a very, very simple question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? I’m here today with a message of hope for all Americans,” Trump said.
Harris, who would be the first female president, and Trump, seeking a return to office after his 2017-21 term, diverge on support for Ukraine and NATO, abortion rights, taxes, basic democratic principles and tariffs that could trigger trade wars.
On tariffs, Trump on Tuesday explicitly mentioned the European Union. “They’re brutal,” he said in Pennsylvania. “They sell millions and millions of cars in the United States. No, no, no, they are going to have to pay a big price.”

Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico

Updated 51 min 2 sec ago

October 30, 2024 04:36

Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico

“Vote to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” Biden said. “He’s a true danger to, not just Latinos but to all people. Particularly those who are in a minority in this country”

Updated 51 min 2 sec ago

October 30, 2024 04:36

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden took a swipe against Donald Trump’s supporters on Tuesday as he reacted to the Republican presidential nominee’s weekend rally at Madison Square Garden, which was overshadowed by crude and racist rhetoric.
In a call organized by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino, Biden responded to a comic at Trump’s rally who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Biden’s initial comments were garbled.
“Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something, I don’t, I don’t know the Puerto Rican that I know, the Puerto Rico where I’m fr — in my home state of Delaware. They’re good, decent honorable people,” he said.
The president then added: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden “referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’”
In referring to Trump’s supporters as “garbage,” Biden’s tone was at odds with the message that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is seeking to present as she aims to cast a broad appeal, including to disaffected Republicans. Just minutes after Biden’s comments, Harris spoke from the Ellipse in Washington, vowing to be a president who would unite the country.
“I pledge to be a president for all Americans,” said Harris, who is Biden’s vice president.
Republicans quickly highlighted Biden’s remark. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio interrupted Trump’s rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to recount what happened.
““Moments ago Joe Biden stated that our supporters, our patriots, are garbage,” Rubio said. ”He’s talking about everyday Americans who love their country.”
Some prominent Democrats also began to distance from Biden’s comments. Speaking on CNN, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he would “never insult the good people of Pennsylvania or any Americans even if they chose to support a candidate that I didn’t support.”
The comments recalled then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton dismissing Trump supporters during a 2016 fundraiser in New York by saying that half would fit into a ” basket of deplorables.”
Clinton later called that characterization “grossly generalistic.” But it became a defiant rallying cry for many Trump backers who said the insult encapsulated the elitist attitudes of Clinton and the Democrats.
With Election Day now just a week off, Biden has worked to maintain relevance, furiously promoting his administration’s accomplishments while Harris in her race against Trump.
But his efforts to remain in the political spotlight might not always be so helpful for the top of the Democratic ticket he’s now promoting. That’s because, while Harris has been sharply critical of Trump for months, repeatedly calling him “unstable” and “unhinged” and even suggesting that he was ” fascist,” she has been careful not to decry his supporters.
In fact, the vice president has campaigned extensively with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and other former GOP elected officials — hoping to woo conservative crossover voters. The Democratic convention — and Harris ads — have highlighted the stories of everyday Americans who talked about having voted for Trump in the past but now say they are supporting the vice president.
On Tuesday’s call, Biden also said that Trump “doesn’t give a damn about the Latino community” and urged rejection of the former president even as Trump’s campaign says its support is rising among Hispanics, particularly men.
“Vote to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” Biden said. “He’s a true danger to, not just Latinos but to all people. Particularly those who are in a minority in this country.”

Topics: US Election 2024 Puerto Rico Donald Trump Joe Biden

Climate change is making temperatures deadlier, food less reliable, experts warn

Updated 30 October 2024

Reuters

October 30, 2024 03:29

Climate change is making temperatures deadlier, food less reliable, experts warn

The study’s authors urged the upcoming UN climate summit, COP29, to direct climate finance toward public health

Updated 30 October 2024

Reuters

October 30, 2024 03:29

Climate change, driven by fossil fuel emissions, is raising temperatures to dangerous new heights, while also worsening drought and food security, a new report by doctors and health experts warned on Tuesday.
The record temperatures of 2023 — the hottest year on record — meant the average person experienced 50 more days of dangerous temperatures than they would have without climate change, according to the Lancet Countdown, an annual report based on work by dozens of experts, academic institutions, and UN agencies, including the World Health Organization.
Especially vulnerable are the elderly, with the number of heat-related deaths in people over 65 last year reaching a level 167 percent above the number of such deaths in the 1990s. Without climate change, researchers would have expected that number to rise by 65 percent from the 1990s, the report said.
“Year on year, the deaths directly associated with climate change are increasing,” said Marina Belén Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown.
“But heat is also affecting not just the mortality and increasing deaths, but also increasing the diseases and the pathologies associated with heat exposure,” she said.
For example, people who exercise outdoors are increasingly at risk, she said. Companies are facing limited capacity for working outdoors.
In fact, last year’s extreme heat cost the world an estimated 512 billion potential labor hours, worth hundreds of billions of dollars in potential income, the report said.
“Similar to what we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is key workers who tend to be most exposed and unable to shield as easily during heatwaves, such as those working in one of our many hospitals without air conditioning, or outdoor construction workers,” said data scientist Nathan Cheetham at King’s College London in a statement. Cheetham was not involved in the study.
Climate change is also making food more unreliable, the authors warned.
With up to 48 percent of the world’s land area facing extreme drought conditions last year, the researchers said, about 151 million more people would be experiencing food insecurity as a result, compared with the years 1981-2010.
Extreme rainfall last year also affected roughly 60 percent of lands, unleashing floods and raising risks from water contamination or infectious disease.
The study’s authors urged the upcoming UN climate summit, COP29, to direct climate finance toward public health. The COP29 talks begin Nov. 11 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on countries to “cure the sickness of climate inaction” by slashing fossil fuel use and emissions in order “to create a fairer, safer, and healthier future for all.”

Topics: climate change fossil fuel food security Drought emissions

Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists

Updated 30 October 2024

Reuters

October 30, 2024 03:11

Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists

Canada in mid-October expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil

Updated 30 October 2024

Reuters

October 30, 2024 03:11

The Canadian government alleged on Tuesday that Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was behind the plots to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.
The Indian government has dismissed Canada’s prior accusations as baseless, denying any involvement.
The Washington Post newspaper first reported that Canadian officials alleged Shah was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison said to a parliamentary panel on Tuesday that he told the US-based newspaper that Shah was behind the plots.
“The journalist called me and asked if it (Shah) was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee, without providing further details or evidence. The High Commission of India in Ottawa and the Indian foreign ministry had no immediate comment.
India has called Sikh separatists “terrorists” and threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan to be carved out of India. An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands.
That period included the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that left thousands dead following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered security forces to storm the holiest Sikh temple to flush out Sikh separatists.
Canada in mid-October expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India also ordered the expulsion of Canadian diplomats.
The Canadian case is not the only instance of India’s alleged targeting of Sikh separatists on foreign soil.
Washington has charged a former Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and Indian critic in New York City.
The FBI warned against such a retaliation aimed at a US resident. India has said little publicly since announcing in November 2023 it would formally investigate the US allegations.
The accusations have tested Washington and Ottawa’s relations with India, often viewed by the West as a counterbalance to China.

Topics: Canada Amit Shah Sikh separatists Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Russia expanded use of torture after Ukraine invasion: UN expert

Updated 30 October 2024

AFP

October 30, 2024 02:19

Russia expanded use of torture after Ukraine invasion: UN expert

Katzarova, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, noted that the use of torture had been documented in the country for the past three decades

Updated 30 October 2024

AFP

October 30, 2024 02:19

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Russia has expanded its use of torture at home and abroad since invading Ukraine, with the practice notably used to clamp down on dissent during the war, a report by a UN rights expert said Tuesday.
Torture has become “a tool for stifling the civic space, for silencing all anti-war or dissidents, anybody who disagrees with the policies and the Russian authorities,” report author Mariana Katzarova told reporters.
Katzarova, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, noted that the use of torture had been documented in the country for the past three decades.
“But now, after the full-scale invasion, it has become a concerted strategy,” she said.
Those subjected to torture have included conscientious objectors to the draft as well as mobilized men and regular troops who have refused orders to fight against Ukraine, according to the report, which was presented to the UN General Assembly.
At least 15 “unofficial places of detention” exist near the conflict’s frontlines, where “hundreds are kept and subjected to torture to punish them,” the report said.
It noted that Katzarova’s requests to meet with Russian authorities and visit the country “have remained unanswered.”
The findings were based on a review of Russian legislation, reports and analysis from human rights groups, Russian defense lawyers and testimony from survivors, including LGBTQ Russians and detained Ukrainians who have since been released back to their home country.
“Russian authorities rarely face accountability. This impunity has contributed to its ‘normalization’ in society and the ‘legitimization’ of a culture of violence,” it said.
The report also documented a variety of methods used by law enforcement, prison guards and inmates acting under government orders.
“Brutal methods... are designed not just to punish but also to purposefully humiliate and inflict lasting injuries, both psychological and physical, or even death.”
The report also criticized prolonged solitary confinement, such as that inflicted upon opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in prison earlier this year.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Indian deputy IT minister investigated over online post after attack on Jehovah’s Witnesses

Indian deputy IT minister investigated over online post after attack on Jehovah’s Witnesses

Harris warns of dangers of another Trump presidency in speech at Jan. 6 site

Harris warns of dangers of another Trump presidency in speech at Jan. 6 site

Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico

Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico

Biden turns infamous ‘lock her up’ chant on Trump

Biden says global leaders are terrified of Trump quietly tell him, ‘He can’t win’

Climate change is making temperatures deadlier, food less reliable, experts warn

Climate change is making temperatures deadlier, food less reliable, experts warn

UN climate chief calls for more ambitious plans to prevent climate change

Climate change-worsened floods wreak havoc in Africa

Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists

Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists

Sikh separatist claims Indian ‘spy network’ operates in US and Canada

Expelled Indian high commissioner denies involvement in murder of Sikh leader in Canada

Russia expanded use of torture after Ukraine invasion: UN expert

Russia expanded use of torture after Ukraine invasion: UN expert

Russian air attacks kill four in Kharkiv, injure six in Kyiv

Russian army claims new advance in east Ukraine

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Indian deputy IT minister investigated over online post after attack on Jehovah’s Witnesses

Indian deputy IT minister investigated over online post after attack on Jehovah’s Witnesses

Harris warns of dangers of another Trump presidency in speech at Jan. 6 site

Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico

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