As Kamala Harris readies for US vote, her Indian village wants end to Gaza war

As Kamala Harris readies for US vote, her Indian village wants end to Gaza war
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the Thomas and Mack Center, University of Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 10, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 13 August 2024
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As Kamala Harris readies for US vote, her Indian village wants end to Gaza war

As Kamala Harris readies for US vote, her Indian village wants end to Gaza war
  • VP Harris’s maternal grandfather was born in Thulasendrapuram in Tamil Nadu state
  • Many residents are hopeful that Harris would shift US policy on Israel’s invasion of Gaza

NEW DELHI: In a small south Indian village more than 12,900 kilometers from Washington, residents have put up giant blue-white posters adorned with the face of US Vice President Kamala Harris. In the local Tamil language, each one wished her luck for the presidential election in November.

Thulasendrapuram, a village surrounded by rice paddy fields in India’s Tamil Nadu state, is where Harris’s maternal grandfather, P.V. Gopalan, was born more than a century ago. 

Throughout the years, its residents have been closely observing her political ascent, seeing the 59-year-old as one of their own. When she was inaugurated as vice president in 2021, they celebrated with firecrackers, free chocolate, posters and calendars with her picture. 

As she became the US democratic presidential candidate, many are beaming with pride as they pin new hopes that a Harris presidency would shift US policy on Israel’s war on Gaza.

“She belongs to our village and her ancestor was born here. We are very proud of her,” village chief Arulmozhi Sudhakar told Arab News. 

“She is from India and from Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, there is a saying that ‘every part of the entire world is ours and every human is our relatives’ … Once she wins she will stop and end the war. This is what I believe.”

Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinian citizens in over 300 days, has influenced election discussions in the US, with many now considering supporting Harris more than the previous democratic nominee, President Joe Biden, over her perceived stronger tone on the suffering of Palestinians. 

While she has not strayed from Biden’s policy on Israel, she has given a glimmer of hope for the supporters of Palestine, both within the US and abroad. 

It is also a salient issue for many Arab Americans, numbering more than 3.5 million in the US, whose support for Harris appears to depend on whether her proposed policies will save Palestinian lives. 

When it comes to the tiny Indian village of Thulasendrapuram, which temple is offering special prayers to the local deity for Harris’ success, there is also faith that she would “try to bring peace to Gaza.”

“She comes from Indian ancestry, which believes in non-violence … I hope that her decision would reflect her background and where she comes from,” village resident M. Krishnamurthy told Arab News. 

“No doubt she will try for peace in Gaza and stop the world from going into crisis.” 

A. Kanan, a retired government servant from Thulasendrapuram, is also hopeful that a Harris presidency would bring about a meaningful change for the besieged enclave.

“I want Kamala Harris to stop the war. This is my wish,” Kanan told Arab News. 

“Lots of women and children are being killed in Gaza. War needs to be stopped and there should be no more war and Kamala Harris should intervene to stop the war.” 


G20 leaders gather for deadlocked talks on climate, Middle East, Ukraine wars

G20 leaders gather for deadlocked talks on climate, Middle East, Ukraine wars
Updated 20 sec ago
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G20 leaders gather for deadlocked talks on climate, Middle East, Ukraine wars

G20 leaders gather for deadlocked talks on climate, Middle East, Ukraine wars
  • Wars which have bitterly divided G20 members are set to feature prominently in discussions in Brazil
  • Biden will attend his last summit of world’s leading economies with China’s XI as the most influential leader

Rio de Janeiro: G20 leaders began arriving for a summit in Brazil on Monday to try reignite deadlocked climate talks and overcome their differences on the Middle East and Ukraine wars ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

US President Joe Biden will attend his last summit of the world’s leading economies, but as a lame duck leader eclipsed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the most influential leader at this year’s meeting.

Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is using his hosting duties to promote issues close to his heart, including fighting hunger and climate change and taxing the super-rich.

But the wars which have bitterly divided G20 members are also set to feature prominently in the discussions.

A Brazilian foreign ministry source said Monday that some countries wanted to renegotiate a draft summit communique.

“For Brazil and other countries the text is already finalized, but some countries want to open up some points on wars and climate,” he told AFP.

Biden’s decision Sunday to allow Ukraine to use long-range US missiles to strike targets inside Russia — a major policy shift — could prompt European allies to also review their stance.

G20 leaders are also under pressure to try rescue UN climate talks in Azerbaijan, which have stalled on the issue of greater climate finance for developing countries.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for G20 members, who account for 80 percent of global emissions, to show “leadership” to facilitate a deal.

Security is tight for the gathering, which comes days after a failed bomb attack on Brazil’s Supreme Court in Brasilia by a suspected far-right extremist, who killed himself in the process.

The get-together will cap a farewell diplomatic tour by Biden which took him to Lima for a meeting of Asia-Pacific trading partners, and then to the Amazon in the first such visit for a sitting US president.

Biden, who has looked to burnish his legacy as time runs down on his presidency, insisted in the Amazon that his climate record would survive another Trump mandate.

All eyes at the stalled COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan are on Rio to break an impasse over how to raise $1 trillion a year for developing countries to cope with global warming.

Rich countries want fast-developing economies like China and Gulf states to also put their hands in their pockets.

The meeting comes in a year marked by another grim litany of extreme weather events, including Brazil’s worst wildfire season in over a decade, fueled by a record drought blamed at least partly on climate change.

At the last G20 in India, leaders called for a tripling of renewable energy sources by the end of the decade, but without explicitly calling for an end to the use of fossil fuels.

Conspicuously absent from the summit is Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose arrest is sought by the International Criminal Court over the Ukraine war.

Lula, 79, told Brazil’s GloboNews channel on Sunday that he did not want the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to take the focus off global poverty.

“Because if not, we will not discuss other things which are more important for people that are not at war, who are poor people and invisible to the world,” he said.

The summit opens on Monday with Lula, a former steelworker who grew up in poverty, launching a “Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.”

Brazil is also pushing for higher taxes on billionaires.

Lula had faced resistance to parts of his agenda from Argentinian President Javier Milei, a libertarian Trump uber-fan who met the Republican last week at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

The head of the Argentine delegation, Federico Pinedo, told AFP that Buenos Aires has raised some objections and would not “necessarily” sign the text, however. He did not elaborate.

But the Brazilian foreign ministry source on Monday downplayed the likelihood of Argentina blocking a consensus.


Why has ethnic violence escalated in India’s Manipur state again?

Why has ethnic violence escalated in India’s Manipur state again?
Updated 25 min 56 sec ago
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Why has ethnic violence escalated in India’s Manipur state again?

Why has ethnic violence escalated in India’s Manipur state again?
  • On May 3, 2023, members of the Kuki and Naga tribes launched protest against extension of benefits to dominant Meiteis
  • Latest violence flared this month after 31-year-old woman from Kuki tribe was found burned to death in a village in Jiribam district

Hundreds of people defied a curfew to stage demonstrations in India’s northeastern state of Manipur over the weekend and 23 were arrested for violence as tensions between two ethnic communities flared up again.
These are the reasons behind the violence in the border state.

HOW DID THE MANIPUR VIOLENCE BEGIN?

On May 3, 2023, members of the Kuki and Naga tribes, who inhabit Manipur’s hills and are regarded as Scheduled Tribes, or India’s most disadvantaged groups, launched a protest against the possible extension of their benefits to the dominant Meiteis.
The Meitei have sought special benefits for more than a decade, but received a fillip in April last year after the Manipur High Court recommended the state government should consider the demand and set a deadline of mid-May.
Meiteis account for half of Manipur’s population and extending limited affirmative action quotas to them would mean they would get a share of education and government jobs reserved for Kukis and Nagas.
Meiteis have traditionally lived in Manipur’s more prosperous valley region that makes up 10 percent of the state’s area.
They have also had better access to employment and economic opportunities. Nagas and Kukis live in the poorly developed hill regions.
The imbalance in development that has favored the valley over the hills has been a point of contention and rivalry between the ethnic groups.

WHAT WERE THE TRIGGERS?

The groups co-existed peacefully until unrelated events in 2023 exposed old faultlines.
Manipur shares a nearly 400-km (250-mile) border with Myanmar and the coup there in 2021 pushed thousands of refugees into the Indian state.
Kukis share ethnic lineage with Myanmar’s Chin tribe and Meiteis feared they would be outnumbered by the arrival of the refugees.

WHY IS PEACE YET TO RETURN?

Both the Meiteis and Kukis are known to be flush with arms, including automatic weapons either stolen from the state police or sourced from Myanmar.
The Indian Army and federal paramilitary forces in the state cannot act independently and are legally bound to work with state police and authorities, who analysts say are also divided along ethnic lines.
Kukis also accuse Biren Singh, the chief minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state and a Meitei, of complicity in violence against them and have sought his removal. Singh denies the accusations.

WHAT IS BEHIND THE LATEST SPIRAL OF VIOLENCE?

The latest violence flared this month after a 31-year-old Kuki woman was found burned to death in a village in Jiribam district, an area that was untouched by the conflict until June.
Kuki groups blamed Meitei militants for the act.
Kukis and Meiteis have moved to separate parts elsewhere in Manipur since the clashes last year but Jiribam still has a mixed population, leading to tensions and violence.
Days after the incident, 10 armed Kuki men were killed in a gunfight with security forces after they tried to attack a police station in Jiribam district, and security forces retaliated. During this gunfight, a Meitei family of six people went missing.
On Friday, bodies of three of the six were found floating in a river, triggering angry protests in the state capital Imphal. Police said on Sunday they had arrested 23 people for ransacking and setting fire to the homes of lawmakers and ministers, in a second straight day of unrest in the area.


Emergency declared as smog in New Delhi hits highest level this year

Emergency declared as smog in New Delhi hits highest level this year
Updated 33 min 8 sec ago
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Emergency declared as smog in New Delhi hits highest level this year

Emergency declared as smog in New Delhi hits highest level this year
  • New Delhi was the world’s most polluted city on Monday, according to IQAir
  • PM 2.5 concentration was 138.4 times higher than WHO’s recommended levels

NEW DELHI: New Delhi was in a medical emergency on Monday as toxic smog engulfing the Indian capital reached the highest level this year, prompting authorities to close schools and urge people to stay indoors.

Pollution in Delhi and the surrounding metropolitan area — home to around 55 million people — reached the “severe plus” category as some areas reached an Air Quality Index score of 484, this year’s highest, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

On the AQI scale from 0 to 500, good air quality is represented by levels below 50, while levels above 300 are dangerous.

Delhi was ranked as the most polluted city in the world on Monday by Swiss group IQAir, with a concentration of PM 2.5, 138.4 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended levels.

“All of North India has been plunged into a medical emergency,” Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Marlena Singh said in a press conference, adding that many cities were “reeling under severe levels of pollution.”

She said farm fires, where stubble left after harvesting rice is burnt to clear fields, were causing the extreme levels of pollution.

“Why is the (central government) not taking action against these states and implementing concrete steps? People are unable to breathe. I am getting calls from people complaining about breathing and respiratory issues,” she said.

“All of North India is paying the price for this, especially children and elderly who are struggling to breathe.”

Authorities in Delhi have directed all schools to move classes online and tightened restrictions on construction activities and vehicle movements.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president of meteorology and climate change at forecast company Skymet Weather, said people in the capital region are faced with serious health risks.

“If they are non-smokers, then they will also inhale at least 30 to 40 cigarettes per day (at these pollution levels). So, you can imagine how bad it is for our health,” he told Arab News.

“PM 2.5 is a very minute particle (that can be inhaled). It is so minute that it can go into our blood vessels also, so it is very harmful and leads to various diseases, particularly for older people and infants who have breathing problems.”

Palawat is expecting the air quality to remain at this level for at least a few more days.

“It will remain in the very poor to serious category in coming days also,” he said.


Emergency declared in New Delhi as smog hits highest level this year

Emergency declared in New Delhi as smog hits highest level this year
Updated 18 November 2024
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Emergency declared in New Delhi as smog hits highest level this year

Emergency declared in New Delhi as smog hits highest level this year
  • New Delhi was the world’s most polluted city on Monday, according to IQAir
  • PM 2.5 concentration was 138.4 times higher than WHO’s recommended levels

New Delhi: New Delhi was in a state of ‘medical emergency’ on Monday as toxic smog engulfing the Indian capital reached the highest levels this year, prompting authorities to close schools and urge people to stay indoors.

Pollution in Delhi and the surrounding metropolitan area — home to around 55 million people — reached the “severe plus” category as some areas reached an Air Quality Index score of 484, this year’s highest, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

On the AQI scale from 0 to 500, good air quality is represented by levels below 50, while levels above 300 are dangerous.

Delhi was ranked as the most polluted city in the world on Monday by Swiss group IQAir, with a concentration of PM 2.5, 138.4 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended levels.

 “All of North India has been plunged into a medical emergency,” Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Marlena Singh said in a press conference, adding that many cities were “reeling under severe levels of pollution.”

She said farm fires, where stubble left after harvesting rice is burnt to clear fields, were causing extreme levels of pollution.

“Why is the (central government) not taking action against these states and implementing concrete steps? People are unable to breathe. I am getting calls from people complaining about breathing and respiratory issues,” she said.

“All of North India is paying the price for this, especially children and elderly who are struggling to breathe.”

Authorities in Delhi have directed all schools to move classes online and tightened restrictions on construction activities and vehicle movements.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president of meteorology and climate change at forecast company Skymet Weather, said people in the capital region are faced with serious health risks.

“If they are non-smokers, then they will also inhale at least 30 to 40 cigarettes per day (at these pollution levels). So, you can imagine how bad it is for our health,” he told Arab News.

“PM 2.5 is a very minute particle (that can be inhaled). It is so minute that it can go into our blood vessels also, so it is very harmful and leads to various diseases, particularly for older people and infants who have breathing problems.”

Palawat is expecting the air quality to remain at this level for at least a few more days.

“It will remain in the very poor to serious category in coming days also,” he said. 


Palestinian NGO to ask UK court to block F-35 parts to Israel over Gaza war

Palestinian NGO to ask UK court to block F-35 parts to Israel over Gaza war
Updated 18 November 2024
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Palestinian NGO to ask UK court to block F-35 parts to Israel over Gaza war

Palestinian NGO to ask UK court to block F-35 parts to Israel over Gaza war
  • West Bank-based Al-Haq is taking legal action against Britain’s Department for Business and Trade at London’s High Court

LONDON: Britain is allowing parts for F-35 fighter jets to be exported to Israel despite accepting they could be used in breach of international humanitarian law in Gaza, lawyers for a Palestinian rights group told a London court on Monday.
West Bank-based Al-Haq, which documents alleged rights violations by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, is taking legal action against Britain’s Department for Business and Trade at London’s High Court.
Israel has been accused of violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza war, with the UN Human Rights Office saying nearly 70 percent of fatalities it has verified were women and children, a report Israel rejected.
Israel says it takes care to avoid harming civilians and denies committing abuses and war crimes in the conflicts with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Al-Haq’s case comes after Britain in September suspended 30 of 350 arms export licenses, though it exempted the indirect export of F-35 parts, citing the impact on the global F-35 program.
Al-Haq argues that decision was unlawful as there is a clear risk F-35s could be used in breach of international humanitarian law.
British government lawyers said in documents for Monday’s hearing that ministers assessed Israel had committed possible breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) in relation to humanitarian access and the treatment of detainees.
Britain also “accepts that there is clear risk that F-35 components might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of IHL,” its lawyer James Eadie said.
Eadie added that Britain had nonetheless decided that F-35 components should still be exported, quoting from advice to defense minister John Healey that suspending F-35 parts “would have a profound impact on international peace and security.”
A full hearing of Al-Haq’s legal challenge is likely to be heard early in 2025.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 43,800 people have been confirmed killed since the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in attacks on communities in southern Israel that day, and hold dozens of some 250 hostages they took back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.