Tag: Congress

  • Normalisation of ties with Israel puts Mohammad Bin Salman’s life at risk

    Normalisation of ties with Israel puts Mohammad Bin Salman’s life at risk

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS) is at risk of assassination amid his normalisation of ties with Israel, reports Politico, a U.S.-based publication.

    MBS reportedly told a U.S. Congress member that he is risking his life for a significant deal with the U.S. and Israel.

    Posing a question to the U.S., he said, “What did they do to protect Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated after making a peace deal with Israel?”

    The crown prince, however, is reportedly determined to pursue the mega-deal with the U.S. and Israel despite the threats, deeming it pivotal to his country’s future.

  • Two years since Sidhu Moose Wala’s death, parents keep son’s memory alive

    Two years since Sidhu Moose Wala’s death, parents keep son’s memory alive

     
    Today is the second death anniversary of the late Punjabi singer/rapper Sidhu Moose Wala, who was the ‘King of Punjabi music industry’ and ‘Heartthrob of Young Hearts’.
     
    On May 29, 2022, Sidhu Moose Wala was brutally murdered by gunfire in Jawaharke village of Mansa district on May 29, 2022. Over 30 bullets were fired at him.
     
     
    Lawrence Bishnoi, a renowned mobster, was later identified as the murder’s facilitator. The singer, a political activist who ran for office in the last election from Mansa on a Congress ticket but was unsuccessful, was the target of the attackers’ long-standing anger.
     
    The Indian police have been unable to locate the criminals and prosecute them, even after making many arrests. Today, the family of Sidhu Moose Wala has announced a unique ceremony to honor his memory.
     
     
    His mother has posted a heartfelt message on Instagram, saying, “We remember you, dear son Sidhu. We will never forget you, and your memory will always be alive in our hearts. This day is written in black ink in history.”

     
    Moose Wala’s father, Sardar Balkaur Singh Sidhu, has also posted a picture of his son and appealed for justice, using the hashtag #JusticeForSidhuMooseWala. He expressed his disappointment and frustration over the lack of justice, saying, “Justice has become a distant hope.”

     
    Sidhu Moose Wala’s parents, ‘Balkaur’and ‘Charan Kaur’, have recently welcomed their second son. ( Shubhdeep)

  • India opposition criticises PM Modi for anti-Muslim comments

    India opposition criticises PM Modi for anti-Muslim comments

    India’s main opposition party on Thursday condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for anti-Muslim comments in election campaign speeches that have heightened concerns over sectarian tensions in the world’s biggest democracy.

    Modi remains popular across much of India and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely expected to win this general election when it concludes in early June.

    Since voting began last month, the 73-year-old premier has stepped up his rhetoric targeting India’s main religious divide in a bid to rally voters.

    He has referred in campaign rallies to Muslims as “infiltrators” and claimed the main opposition Congress party would redistribute the nation’s wealth to Muslims if it won.

    P. Chidambaram, a former Indian finance minister and senior lawmaker for Congress, said Thursday that Modi was playing “his usual game of dividing Hindus and Muslims”.

    “The world is watching and analysing the Indian prime minister’s statements, and they do not bring glory to India,” he added.

    After Modi suggested that a former prime minister from Congress had planned for a separate “Muslim budget”, the party’s general secretary Jairam Ramesh condemned his statements as “nonsensical”.

    “This is typical Modi bombast and bogusness,” he said Wednesday on social media platform X.

    Since he swept to power a decade ago, Modi has sought to align India’s politics more closely with its majority faith, in defiance of the country’s officially secular constitution.

    His cultivated image as a champion of Hinduism has made him roundly popular but has left many among the country’s 200-million-plus Muslim minority uneasy about their status and anxious about their futures.

    Modi on Tuesday denied stoking religious tensions in a television interview with broadcaster News18.

    “The day I start talking about Hindu-Muslim (divisions) will be the day I will lose my ability to lead a public life,” Modi said.

    ‘Vote jihad’

    But at a campaign rally the following day, Modi accused Congress of planning to commit “vote jihad”, an implied suggestion that his opponents were rallying Muslims to vote against him.

    India’s poll code prohibits sectarian campaigning and opposition parties lodged a complaint about an earlier Modi speech last month with the election commission, which has yet to announce any sanctions against the premier.

    Other members of Modi’s party have been accused of matching his rhetoric and unfairly targeting Muslims during the election.

    A BJP candidate in Hyderabad, Madhavi Latha, was widely condemned on social media Monday for demanding veiled Muslim women remove their facial coverings at a polling station so she could personally check that their appearances matched their identity documents.

    Police in the southern city announced an investigation into the incident.

  • Congressman Andy Ogles introduces bill to send protesting students to Gaza

    Congressman Andy Ogles introduces bill to send protesting students to Gaza

    Republican lawmaker Andy Ogles has decided that the violent detention of college students participating in Gaza solidarity protests isn’t enough of a punishment. Instead, he believes the only way to encourage the students to stop using their right to protest is to ship them off to Gaza.

    Ogles, a Tennessee Representative, introduced a new bill into the House proposing that students who were arrested for protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza should be sent abroad to “provide community service” for a minimum of six months in the war-torn strip.

    He proposed this bill on Wednesday.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/college-anti-israel-agitators-could-173040790.html?

    “Any person convicted of unlawful activity on the campus of an institution of higher education beginning on and after October 7, shall be assigned to Gaza for the purpose of providing community service… for a period not fewer than six months,” the bill reads.

    It is not currently clear what the exact parameters of the proposed community service would be, though the bill points to the term’s definition in U.S. Code, which are identified by universities “through formal or informal consultation with local nonprofit, governmental, and community-based organizations.”

    Even though it’s unlikely to gain momentum, the bill could impact approximately 2,100 students who were arrested while participating in peace protests in recent weeks.

    It’s at least the second time Ogles has hatefully condemned the citizens of Gaza and their American allies who want an end to the war. In February, the Tennessee Republican ruthlessly advocated for the complete extermination of Palestine while engaging in a fiery spat with an activist.

    “You know what? So, I think we should kill ’em all, if that makes you feel better,” Ogles, a self-described Christian, told a protester asking him about dead Palestinian children. “Everybody in Hamas.”

    “Hamas and the Palestinians have been attacking Israel for 20 years. And It’s time to pay the piper,” the lawmaker had remarked.

    Meanwhile, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, and more than 77,000 Palestinians have been injured in the conflict, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry. Most of the victims have been women and children.

  • India’s Congress party promises minority protection and jobs

    India’s Congress party promises minority protection and jobs

    India’s main opposition party Congress vowed Friday to protect minorities – generally seen as a reference to the country’s Muslims – while accelerating growth and jobs in a manifesto for an election it is widely expected to lose.

    Nearly a billion Indians will vote to elect a new government in six-week-long parliamentary elections starting on April 19, the largest democratic exercise in the world.

    Many analysts see Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election under his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) banner as a foregone conclusion.

    Congress led India’s independence struggle and dominated politics for most of the next seven decades but its secularist vision has since struggled against the BJP’s appeal to members of India’s majority faith.

    In its manifesto, Congress promised to protect “linguistic and religious minorities”.

    “The plurality of religions represents the history of India,” it said. “History cannot be altered.”

    India has a long and grim history of sectarian clashes between the country’s Hindu majority and Muslims, its biggest minority faith with 200 million members.

    Party leader Rahul Gandhi — the son, grandson and great-grandson of prime ministers — said the upcoming election was “fundamentally different” from any other in India’s history.

    “It is between those who want to end India’s constitution and democracy and those who want to save it,” he said.

    The Congress manifesto, titled a “justice document”, offered “concrete guarantees unlike Modi’s empty promises”, said lawmaker and lead author P Chidambaram.

    The party has promised to address India’s “massive unemployment” on a “war footing”, adding that it would earmark half of all government jobs for women.

    Young people voted for Modi in droves when he was first elected a decade ago after he said he would create 10 million jobs a year.

    But a recent International Labour Organization (ILO) report warned that India was hamstrung by a “grim” crisis, with unemployment on the rise.

    Congress proposed an unconditional annual cash transfer of Rs 100,000 ($1,200) “to every poor Indian family”, without precisely defining who would qualify.

    The BJP is yet to publish its own manifesto.

  • US diplomat Donald Lu to testify on Feb 8 polls before Congress

    US diplomat Donald Lu to testify on Feb 8 polls before Congress

    The Assistant Secretary of the US Department of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, has been asked to appear before a congress panel to testify whether the February 8 polls in Pakistan were fair or not.  

    Lu will testify during a hearing on March 20 as the former prime minister Imran Khan accused him of playing a part in overthrowing his government in 2022.

    The subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia will hold a hearing called “Pakistan After the Elections: Analysing the Future of Democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan Relationship.”

    State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, during a press briefing on Thursday, responded to a query, saying that any number of State Department officials testify all the time before Congress.

    “We see it as an important part of our jobs to help Congress do its job, both from a policymaking perspective and from an oversight perspective,” said Miller. 

    He stated that the State Department eagerly anticipates engaging in both informal and formal discussions with Congress, as well as the actual testimony provided by officials.

  • US defense chief under fire for undisclosed hospitalisation

    US defense chief under fire for undisclosed hospitalisation

    US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is facing growing criticism for waiting days to inform the White House and Congress about his hospitalisation, keeping key officials in the dark about his status during a major Middle East crisis.

    Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on January 1 due to complications from an elective medical procedure, but the Pentagon did not make any public announcement until four days later, and also waited to notify other top government figures.

    The 70-year-old secretary’s hospitalization comes with Washington struggling to contain the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war, which has sparked violence against American forces in Iraq and Syria as well as attacks on international shipping.

    With the Middle East in turmoil, the idea that “for four days the secretary of defense is in a hospital and (President Joe) Biden doesn’t know is shocking,” Ian Bremmer, the president of the Eurasia Group political risk firm, said Monday.

    Bremmer said the situation gives the president an opportunity to replace Austin, but the White House has stood by the secretary.

    Austin underwent an unspecified medical procedure on December 22 and was discharged the following day, but began experiencing “severe pain” on January 1 and was taken by ambulance to Walter Reed, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists on Monday.

    Some of Austin’s authorities were transferred to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks on January 2, but she was not told that he was hospitalized until two days later, Ryder said.

    The US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was likewise informed on January 4, bringing the White House into the loop, while Congress was not told until the day after that — the same day the Pentagon made a public announcement.

    Ryder said Austin’s chief of staff “had been out sick with the flu, which caused a delay in these notifications.”

    “We are currently reviewing how we can improve these notification procedures, to include White House and congressional notifications,” he said.

    Ryder also said he was informed of Austin’s hospitalization on January 2, but “did not feel that I was at liberty” to disclose information on the secretary’s condition “until we knew more.”

    The lack of notification has drawn criticism from Congress, with some Republican lawmakers calling on Austin to go.

    “It is shocking and absolutely unacceptable that the Department of Defense waited multiple days to notify the president, the National Security Council, and the American people,” Representative Elise Stefanik said in a statement, calling for Austin’s “immediate resignation.”

    Former president Donald Trump also weighed in, saying in a social media post that Austin “should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty.”

    But the White House has backed him, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying, “The president has complete confidence, continues to have confidence in Secretary Austin.”

    Ryder also said Austin — who remains hospitalized but is no longer in intensive care and has resumed his full duties — “has no plans to resign.”

    “Nothing is more important to the secretary of defense and the (Defense) Department than the trust and confidence of the American public we serve,” Ryder said, adding that “we will continue to work hard every day to earn and deserve that trust.”

    Austin meanwhile said in a statement on Saturday that he took “full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure,” and admitted that he “could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed.”

  • ‘Painful to watch’: social media horrified after Congress votes to censure Palestinian-American politician Rashida Tlaib

    ‘Painful to watch’: social media horrified after Congress votes to censure Palestinian-American politician Rashida Tlaib

    On Tuesday night, the US House voted to censure Palestinian-American Representative Rashida Tlaib over comments she made on the situation in Gaza.

    Among the voters were 22 Democrats who backed a resolution saying Tlaib has been “Promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for destruction of the state of Israel.”

    The death toll of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes has soared to 10,000 civilians. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder has called Gaza “a graveyard for thousands of children”, urging world leaders to call for a ceasefire.

    Tlaib provoked ire by using the slogan ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, which Republican politicians claimed was anti-Semitic.

    Speaking on the House floor, Rashida defended her stance and urged fellow lawmakers to end USA’s complicity in the genocide of Gaza.

    “I will not be silenced and I will not let you distort my words,” Tlaib responded. “No government is beyond criticism. The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it’s been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation.”

    Social media users were horrified by the censure, hailing Rashida as the bravest politician for having the courage to speak truth during a time of censorship.

  • Indian journalists, opposition leaders ‘targeted by state-sponsored attackers’

    Indian journalists, opposition leaders ‘targeted by state-sponsored attackers’

    Several prominent leaders from India’s opposition parties, including members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), have recently been alerted about potential security breaches concerning their Apple devices.

    Indian National Congress’s Shashi Tharoor and Pawan Khera, Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra, and Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadha are among those who received warning emails from Apple, highlighting the threat of state-sponsored attacks targeting their iPhones.

    The news broke when The Wire, an online publication, revealed that even Siddharth Varadarajan, the founding editor of The Wire, and Samir Saran from the Observer Research Foundation, were also on the list of individuals who received the warning emails.

    The situation prompted immediate action from various quarters, including the media, with several journalists and opposition leaders reportedly receiving similar notifications from Apple about potential state-sponsored attacks.

    Shashi Tharoor, Pawan Khera, Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Siddharth Varadarajan confirmed the receipt of the warning emails during the late hours of Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

    Tharoor, who noticed the email on Tuesday morning, emphasized the importance of making these threats public, citing the necessity of transparency in safeguarding security. Expressing his concern, Tharoor highlighted the misuse of public funds and the urgent need to address more significant national security threats.

    The situation escalated further when The Wire alleged that the language used in the warning emails was similar to previous alerts from Apple, although this claim could not be independently verified by Newslaundry.

    Tharoor took to Twitter, sharing that the emails were sent from “threat-notifications@apple.com”.

    Mahua Moitra, a member of the Trinamool Congress, later added that individuals within Rahul Gandhi’s office had also been targeted.

    In response to the unfolding events, Apar Gupta, the founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation, provided a detailed analysis emphasizing the importance of not dismissing these alerts as false alarms.

    Seeking clarification from Apple, Newslaundry contacted the company’s official spokesperson, seeking information about the origin of the alleged attacks and the number of affected users. Apple responded, stating that while they do not specifically attribute the notifications to any state-sponsored attackers, the detection process is complex and evolving.

    Notably, the alerts were not limited to India alone, as it was discovered that individuals from nearly 150 countries had also received similar threat notifications from Apple.

    These developments have emerged approximately two years after reports of India’s alleged use of Israeli spyware for targeted surveillance, indicating a continued focus on digital security concerns within the country.

  • 400 congressional staffers demand ceasefire in letter to Congress

    400 congressional staffers demand ceasefire in letter to Congress

    On Thursday, Muslim and Jewish congressional staff members in the US signed a letter demanding that Congress call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. They termed the situation “especially urgent” in view of “antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian sentiment on the rise nationwide.”

    The letter has been reportedly signed by 411 staffers, opposing the Biden administration’s approach to the Israeli assault on Palestine.

    Following the events of October 7, an Illinois man killed a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child in Chicago. Jewish and Muslims have expressed fear of increasing hate crimes.

    As the letter condemned the Hamas attack on Israel, it then highlighted the “catastrophic suffering” of the Palestinians “at the hands of the Israeli government”.

    It underlined the 6,000 bombs dropped on the Gaza strip, death of more than 4,000 Palesinians, shortage of food, medicine, water, electricity etc because of Israeli blockade.

    “We have appreciated seeing nearly every Member of Congress express quick and unequivocal solidarity with the Israeli people, but we are profoundly disturbed that such shows of humanity have barely been extended to the Palestinian people. Only a fraction have called for a cease fire or at least cessation of hostilities. We believe that Palestinian civilians deserve to be remembered,mourned, and defended with the same rigor that Jewish Israelis deserve from the U.S. Congress.”the letter read.

    “As Muslims and Jews, we are tired of reliving generational fears of genocide and ethnic cleansing. We are tired of leaders pushing us to blame each other, exploiting our pain and our histories to rationalize political agendas and justify violence.”

    Previously, a US Department of State senior official had resigned after America’s assurance to provide increased military aid to Israel, saying the US-back Gaza war would consequently result in trouble for Israelis as well as Palestinians.

    Josh Paul, a director in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, published a note on social media on Wednesday that the administration of President Joe Biden was repeating the same mistakes Washington has been making for decades.

    “The response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people,” he wrote.

    “I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades, and I decline to be a part of it for longer,” he said, adding that the Biden administration’s “blind support for one side” was leading to policy decisions that were “shortsighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the very values we publicly espouse”.

    Read more: US government official resigns over ‘provision of lethal arms to Israel’