Trump’s top team: who’s who?

Trump’s top team: who’s who?
Donald Trump is building his administration team ahead of retaking the White House in January. (AFP)
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Trump’s top team: who’s who?

Trump’s top team: who’s who?
  • Trump is starting to fill key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump is building his administration team ahead of retaking the White House in January, handing top roles to his closest allies.
While many of his cabinet nominations require approval by the Senate, Trump is trying to bypass that oversight by forcing through so-called recess appointments.
Here are the key people nominated by Trump for positions in his incoming administration:


Billionaire Elon Musk has been named to lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” targeting $2 trillion in cuts from the federal government’s $7 trillion budget, according to the businessman — although no one has explained how such drastic cuts would be made.
The world’s richest man has pledged to bring his “hardcore” management style to Washington while promising “fair and humane” transitions for sacked federal workers.
Trump said that another wealthy ally, Vivek Ramaswamy, would co-lead the new department.

Marco Rubio, secretary of state
Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration’s top diplomat.
Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump’s running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement.

The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man” during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.
Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the US illegally, now supports Trump’s plan to use the US military for mass deportations.




Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Trump's choice as his top diplomat, called Trump a “con man” during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. (AFP/File photo)

 

Matt Gaetz, attorney general
Trump said Wednesday he will nominate Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as his attorney general, naming a loyalist in the role of the nation’s top prosecutor.
In selecting Gaetz, 42, Trump passed over some of the more established lawyers whose names had been mentioned as being contenders for the job.

“Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and Restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” Trump said in a statement.
Gaetz resigned from Congress Wednesday night. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating an allegation that Gaetz paid for sex with a 17-year-old, though that probe effectively ended when he resigned. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.




Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz will head the department, which for years has carried out an investigation into sex trafficking and obstruction of justice allegations involving him. (Reuters photo)

 

Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense
Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show.
Hegseth is a US Army veteran but lacks senior military and national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a ceasefire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea.
Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year.
Trump has said that “with Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice.”




Host Pete Hegseth speaks onstage during the 2023 FOX Nation Patriot Awards at The Grand Ole Opry on November 16, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (AFP/File Photo)

Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence

Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields.
Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party’s 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall.
“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement.
Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions.




Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a former Army National Guard officer who saw service in Iraq and Kuwait, left the Democratic Party after an unsuccessful bid for the party's 2020 presidential nomination. (AFP photo)

Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security

Longtime Trump loyalist and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was selected to head the Department of Homeland Security, a key role in any Trump plan to restrict immigration or deport undocumented migrants en masse as he has promised. In addition to key immigration agencies, the department oversees natural disaster response, the US Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports.

In her memoir, Noem recounted having shot dead an “untrainable” pet dog after a hunting excursion gone awry. The 52-year-old has said her action showed she was able to make tough choices.

Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics.
South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic.
 




South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is set to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hard-line immigration agenda. (AFP)

Elize Stefanik, United Nations ambassador
Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump’s staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment.
Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership.
Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile.
If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the UN as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine that began in 2022.




Elise Stefanik will represent the Trump administration at the UN as the world body grapples with the war in Ukraine as well as Israel’s bombardments of Gaza and Lebanon. (AP)

Susie Wiles, chief of staff
Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager.
Wiles has a background in Florida politics. She helped Ron DeSantis win his first race for Florida governor. Six years later, she was key to Trump’s defeat of him in the 2024 Republican primary.
Wiles’ hire was Trump’s first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration considering her close relationship with the president-elect. Wiles is said to have earned Trump’s trust in part by guiding what was the most disciplined of Trump’s three presidential campaigns.
Wiles was able to help keep Trump on track as few others have, not by criticizing his impulses, but by winning his respect by demonstrating his success after taking her advice.




Susie Wiles, senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager, was the first to be named to Trump's forthcoming cabinet. She will be his chief of staff. (REUTERS)


Tom Homan, ‘border czar’
Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history.
Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign.
Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump’s policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to “run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”
Democrats have criticized Homan for defending Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border.
 




Tom Homan is a former acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Getty Images/AFP)

Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history.
Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign.
Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump’s policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to “run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”
Democrats have criticized Homan for defending Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border.

John Ratcliffe, CIA director
Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump’s first term, leading the US government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation’s highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”




 John Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump’s first term. (AP/File)

Steven Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East
The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect’s golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump’s club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination.
Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud.”
Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee.




Businessman Steve Witkoff stands onstage with Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Atrium Health Amphitheater in Macon, Georgia, on Nov. 3, 2024. (REUTERS)

Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel
Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align US foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.
“He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.”
Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland.
Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Huckabee has rejected a Palestinian homeland in territory occupied by Israel, calling for a so-called “one-state solution.”




Mike Huckabee has rejected a Palestinian homeland in territory occupied by Israel, calling for a so-called “one-state solution.” (AP)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Health and Human Services Secretary
Kennedy ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump. He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign.
The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines. For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism.




Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his wife Cheryl Hines arrive before President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14. (AP)

Mike Waltz, national security adviser
Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs.
He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a US boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population.




Former Rep. Michael Waltz, Trump's pick for the national security adviser post, is a former army special forces veteran and noted China hawk Michael Waltz. (AFP)

Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff
Scavino, whom Trump’s transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump’s longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president.
Scavino had run Trump’s social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.




Dan Scavino was a White House deputy chief of ataff for communications during Trump's first term. (AFP)

Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy
Miller, an immigration hard-liner, was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump’s priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump’s first administration.
Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump’s policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families.
Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation’s economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security.




Political adviser Stephen Miller speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) meeting on February 23, 2024, in National Harbor, Maryland. (AFP)

Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency
Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former US House member from New York wrote on X, “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.”
“We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added.
During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration’s promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referred to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign that his administration would “drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration.
In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.”




Former Representative Lee Zeldin speaks during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. (AFP)

James Blair, deputy chief of staff
Blair was political director for Trump’s 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president.
Blair was key to Trump’s economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate’s “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago.

Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff
Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump’s 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president.
Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency.

William McGinley, White House counsel
McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump’s first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee’s election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign.
In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.”


Croatian health minister arrested and sacked over alleged graft

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Croatian health minister arrested and sacked over alleged graft

Croatian health minister arrested and sacked over alleged graft
Beros’ lawyer Laura Valkovic told local media that he denied any criminal responsibility
The prime minister’s comments came after Croatia’s Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK) said it was conducting several arrests

SARAJEVO: Croatian Health Minister Vili Beros was sacked on Friday after being arrested on suspicion of corruption, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said.
Beros’ lawyer Laura Valkovic told local media that he denied any criminal responsibility. The health ministry declined to comment.
The prime minister’s comments came after Croatia’s Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK) said it was conducting several arrests.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office also said it had initiated an investigation against eight people, including Beros and the directors of two hospitals in Zagreb, over alleged bribery, abuse of authority and money laundering.
Croatia’s State Attorney Ivan Turudic, whose office works closely with USKOK, said there were two parallel investigations into the alleged crimes and that EPPO has not informed his office nor USKOK about its investigation.
Turudic said Beros was accused of trade of influence. He said two other individuals had been arrested and one legal entity would be investigated on suspicion of the criminal act of receiving a bribe.
The people detained will be brought before an investigative judge who will decide on any pre-trial detention, Turudic told a news conference.
The EPPO said that a criminal group seeking to secure financing for the sale of medical robotic devices in several hospitals was suspected of giving bribes to officials to try to win contracts for projects, including EU funded ones.
“What is obvious is that this is about criminal acts of corruption,” Plenkovic said. “On behalf of the government, I want to say that agencies authorized for criminal persecution should investigate everything.”

Protesters storm parliament in breakaway Georgian region Abkhazia over deal with Russia

Protesters storm parliament in breakaway Georgian region Abkhazia over deal with Russia
Updated 23 min 36 sec ago
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Protesters storm parliament in breakaway Georgian region Abkhazia over deal with Russia

Protesters storm parliament in breakaway Georgian region Abkhazia over deal with Russia
  • Eshsou Kakalia, an opposition leader and former deputy prosecutor general, said the parliament building was under the control of the protesters
  • “We will now seek the resignation of the current president of Abkhazia,” he was quoted by Russia’s Interfax news agency as saying

TBILISI: Protesters stormed the parliament of the Russian-backed breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia on Friday and opposition politicians demanded the resignation of the self-styled president over an unpopular investment agreement with Moscow.
Protesters used a truck to smash through the metal gates surrounding the parliament in the capital Sukhumi. Video from the scene then showed people climbing through windows after prying off metal bars and chanting in the corridors.
Eshsou Kakalia, an opposition leader and former deputy prosecutor general, said the parliament building was under the control of the protesters.
“We will now seek the resignation of the current president of Abkhazia,” he was quoted by Russia’s Interfax news agency as saying. Protesters also broke into the presidential administration offices located in the same building as the parliament.
Emergency services said at least eight people were taken to hospital.
The presidential administration said in a statement that authorities were preparing to withdraw the investment agreement with Russia that some Abkhaz fear will price them out of the property market.
Russia recognized Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008 after Russian troops repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war.
Most of the world recognizes Abkhazia as part of Georgia, from which it broke away during wars in the early 1990s, but Russian money has poured into the lush sub-tropical territory where Soviet-era spa resorts cling to the Black Sea coast.

RUSSIAN MONEY
Abkhazian lawmakers had been set to vote on Friday on the ratification of an investment agreement signed in October in Moscow by Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov and his Abkhazian counterpart, Kristina Ozgan.
Abkhazian opposition leaders say the agreement with Moscow, which would allow for investment projects by Russian legal entities, would price locals out of the property market by allowing far more Russian money to flow in.
The opposition said in a statement that the protesters’ actions were not against Russian-Abkhazian relations.
“Abkhazian society had only one demand: to protect the interests of our citizens and our business, but neither the president nor the parliament have heard the voice of the people until today,” Interfax cited the statement as saying.
Earlier this week Abkhazia’s self-styled president, Aslan Bzhania, held an emergency security council meeting after protesters blocked a key highway and rallied in central Sukhumi to demand the release of four activists.
The activists, who were subsequently freed, had been detained for opposing the passage of a law regulating the construction industry which references the Russian-Abkhazian agreement.
In 2014, demonstrators stormed the presidential headquarters, forcing then-leader Alexander Ankvab to flee. He later resigned over accusations of corruption and misrule.
Opposition leader Raul Khadzhimba, elected following the unrest in 2014, was himself forced to step down in 2020 after street protests over disputed election results.


Pakistani province declares health emergency due to smog and locks down two cities

Pakistani province declares health emergency due to smog and locks down two cities
Updated 15 November 2024
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Pakistani province declares health emergency due to smog and locks down two cities

Pakistani province declares health emergency due to smog and locks down two cities
  • Smog has choked Punjab for weeks, sickening nearly 2 million people and shrouding vast swathes of the province in a toxic haze
  • Average air quality index readings in parts of Lahore exceeded 600 on Friday

LAHORE, Pakistan: A Pakistani province declared a health emergency Friday due to smog and imposed a shutdown in two major cities.
Smog has choked Punjab for weeks, sickening nearly 2 million people and shrouding vast swathes of the province in a toxic haze.
A senior provincial minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb, declared the health emergency at a press conference and announced measures to combat the growing crisis.
Time off for medical staff is canceled, all education institutions are shut until further notice, restaurants are closing at 4 p.m. while takeaway is available up until 8 p.m. Authorities are imposing a lockdown in the cities of Multan and Lahore and halting construction work in those two places.
“Smog is currently a national disaster,” Aurangzeb said. “It will not all be over in a month or a year. We will evaluate the situation after three days and then announce a further strategy.”
Average air quality index readings in parts of Lahore, a city of 11 million, exceeded 600 on Friday. Anything over 300 is considered hazardous to health.
The dangerous smog is a byproduct of large numbers of vehicles, construction and industrial work as well as burning crops at the start of the winter wheat-planting season, experts say.
Pakistan’s national weather center said rain and wind were forecast for the coming days, helping smoggy conditions to subside and air quality to improve in parts of Punjab.
Dr. Muhammad Ashraf, a professor at Jinnah Hospital Lahore and Allama Iqbal Medical College, said the government must take preventative measures well before smog becomes prevalent.
“It is more of an emergency than COVID-19 because every patient is suffering from respiratory tract infections and disease is prevailing at a mass level,” he said earlier this week.


Sri Lankan president’s leftist coalition secures landslide election win

Sri Lankan president’s leftist coalition secures landslide election win
Updated 15 November 2024
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Sri Lankan president’s leftist coalition secures landslide election win

Sri Lankan president’s leftist coalition secures landslide election win
  • National People’s Power alliance wins 159 seats in the 225-member parliament
  • First time in history, election is won by representatives of Sri Lanka’s poor

COLOMBO: The coalition of Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won a landslide victory in a snap parliamentary vote, results from the election body showed on Friday, giving the left-leaning leader a mandate to fight poverty and corruption in the crisis-hit island nation.

Dissanayake’s alliance, the National People’s Power, secured 159 seats in the 225-member assembly, according to the results released by the Election Commission.

The United People’s Power of Sajith Premadasa retained its role from the previous parliament as the largest opposition party, winning 40 seats.

When Dissanayake won the presidential vote in September, he had only three members of his party in parliament, which limited his ability to realize his campaign promises.

To boost the NPP’s representation — as government ministers can be appointed only from among lawmakers — he dissolved the parliament and cleared the way for the polls that took place on Thursday, a year ahead of schedule.

While ahead of the poll, the president expressed optimism that the 42 percent of the vote he received in the presidential election showed the NPP was “a winning party,” the landslide win came with a surprise.

“It’s a historic election,” Lakshman Gunasekara, a political analyst in Colombo, told Arab News. “The result has gone far beyond the expectations of analysts ... I did not expect them to win a total majority, but they have done so.”

Dissanayake and his coalition took over control of Sri Lanka as the nation continued to reel from the 2022 economic crisis — its worst since independence in 1948. The austerity measures imposed by his predecessor, Ranil Wickremesinghe — part of a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund — led to price hikes in food and fuel and caused hardship to millions of Sri Lankans.

Dissanayake said during his campaign that he planned to renegotiate the targets set in the IMF deal, as it placed too much burden on the ordinary people.

More than half of former lawmakers chose not to run for re-election. No contenders were seen from the powerful Rajapaksa family, including former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, also former president, Gotabaya — who was ousted in 2022 and largely blamed for the crisis.

Sri Lanka People’s Front, the party loyal to the Rajapaksa family, secured only three seats in the new parliament.

Sri Lankans decided to choose the NPP, a movement that until now would never win more than 4 percent, as there was a general “anti-incumbency kind of mood, but also tiredness among the voters of the same old parties alternating and doing political mismanagement, whipping up ethnic chauvinism, encouraging attacks on minorities to cover up for their own corruption,” Gunasekara said.

He explained that even more voted for the NPP than for Dissanayake in the presidential vote, as during slightly over one month of his and his three-member cabinet’s rule, they “realized that this new leadership is very fresh in their style of governance, very collective ... not personality-oriented, and also did not resort to violence or bullying or thuggery.”

Both Dissanayake and most of his party members come from the poorest segments of Sri Lankan society.

“He’s a son of a farmer, benefited from free education ... He’s an educated person, but coming from the lowest classes, not from the urban elite, not the urban middle class, the Westernized people, fashionable people, not at all,” Gunasekara said.

“It will be a new entrant into the South Asian political arena ... For the first time, we have subalterns who have arrived in power. And they have arrived with a huge majority.”


Primary schools empty as smog persists in India’s capital New Delhi

Primary schools empty as smog persists in India’s capital New Delhi
Updated 15 November 2024
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Primary schools empty as smog persists in India’s capital New Delhi

Primary schools empty as smog persists in India’s capital New Delhi
  • New Delhi and the surrounding metropolitan area, home to more than 30 million people, consistently tops world rankings for air pollution in winter
  • The smog is blamed for thousands of premature deaths each year and is an annual source of misery for residents

NEW DELHI: Residents in India’s capital New Delhi again woke under a blanket of choking smog on Friday, a day after authorities closed primary schools and imposed measures aimed at alleviating the annual crisis.
Delhi and the surrounding metropolitan area, home to more than 30 million people, consistently tops world rankings for air pollution in winter.
The smog is blamed for thousands of premature deaths each year and is an annual source of misery for residents, with various piecemeal government initiatives failing to measurably address the problem.
All primary schools were shut by government order on Thursday night with young pupils – particularly vulnerable to smog-related ailments due to their age – instead moving to online lessons.
“I have an eight-year-old kid and he has been suffering from a cough the past couple of days,” Delhi resident Satraj, who did not give his surname, said on the streets of the capital.
“The government did the right thing by shutting down schools.”
Thursday’s edict also banned construction work, ordered drivers of older diesel-powered vehicles to stay off the streets and directed water trucks to spray roads in a bid to clear dust particles from the air.
Delhi’s air quality nonetheless deteriorated to “hazardous” levels for the fourth consecutive day this week, according to monitoring firm IQAir.
Levels of PM2.5 pollutants – dangerous cancer-causing microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs – were recorded more than 26 times above the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum shortly after dawn on Friday.
Critics have consistently said that authorities have fallen short in their duty to tackle a crisis that blights the city each year.
“We haven’t responded to the emergency with the same intensity with which we are facing this crisis,” Sunil Dahiya of New Delhi-based advocacy group Envirocatalysts said.
The acrid smog over New Delhi each year is primarily blamed on stubble burning by farmers in nearby states to clear their fields for plowing.
A report by broadcaster NDTV on Friday said that more than 7,000 individual farm fires had been recorded in Punjab state, to the capital’s north.
Emissions from industry and numerous coal-fired power stations ringing the city, along with vehicle exhaust and the burning of household waste, also play a part.
“Since we haven’t yet carried out any systemic long-term changes, like the way we commute, generate power, or manage our waste, even the curtailed emissions will be high,” Dahiya said.
Cooler temperatures and slow-moving winds worsen the situation by trapping deadly pollutants each winter.
A study in The Lancet medical journal attributed 1.67 million premature deaths to air pollution in the world’s most populous country in 2019.