Excise policy case: Another blow to AAP as ED summons Delhi Minister Kailash Gehlot
Kailash Gahlot, an AAP MLA from Najafgarh, is the minister for transport, home, and law in the Delhi government led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been arrested in the case by ED.
Mukhtar Ansari laid to rest at ancestral burial ground in UP’s Ghazipur amid tight security
Mukhtar Ansari, who was lodged in the Banda jail, was rushed to the Rani Durgawati Medical College on Thursday night when his health condition deteriorated. He died at the hospital during treatment.
Gaza war reminds Vietnam of liberation struggle once shared with Palestine
Hanoi, Vietnam – At a private venue tucked away in a narrow alley in Hanoi’s city centre, a group of more than 20 people listened attentively to Saleem Hammad, a charismatic, 30-year-old Palestinian man, as he spoke in fluent Vietnamese. Hammad, who runs a business in Vietnam, shared an incident from his childhood in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Those present listened as he recounted a vivid memory of being awoken one night as Israeli soldiers surrounded and raided his family home. Earlier, he had told those attending the discussion that Vietnam’s history of fighting for liberation against the United States had inspired Palestinians in their struggle against Israel’s occupation of their lands. “Vietnamese people, with their painful and glorious history, have always been the source of inspiration for the Palestinians in our struggle for justice,” Hammad told his audience. “We always look up to you as the role model.” Horrified by Israel’s war on Gaza and the spiralling death toll, primarily young Vietnamese people have begun to raise their voices in support of Palestinians. In the process, they are discovering historical ties between Vietnam and Palestine and their shared fights for national liberation. But the decades-old relationship between the two nations has been overshadowed by more recent promotion of Israel’s business culture to a younger generation of Vietnamese. Focused on achieving success in Vietnam’s fast-growing free market economy, many have been inspired by Israel’s startup business culture while knowing little about the darker side of Israel’s success in terms of its long occupation of Palestinian land. Organised late last year by pro-Palestinian activists Trinh* and Vuong*, the gathering where Hammad spoke was inspired by the student activism the pair encountered while studying in the US. Trinh and Vuong are part of a burgeoning grassroots movement among Vietnamese youth who have been drawn to the Palestinian cause since the war on Gaza started in October. But Vietnam’s strict policies against public assemblies and political activism means pro-Palestinian campaigners have to come up with low-key and creative ways of organising events without attracting the unwanted attention of Vietnamese authorities. In Ho Chi Minh City, Trinh and some friends have organised discussions on Palestine and drawing classes with a Palestinian theme. A designer by training, Trinh has also worked with fellow creatives to design pro-Palestine merchandise, political art and fanzines. Vietnamese youth create art in support of Palestine [Courtesy of Tu Ly] In November, a screening of documentaries and films on Palestine, the Nakba and the history of Israel’s occupation of Palestine took place under the title Films for Liberation: Palestine Forever with the aim, according to the organisers, of undoing “the demonising descriptions of the Palestinians” by “Western and imperialist” actors. On social media, a host of Vietnamese-language fan pages has sprung up featuring translated Palestinian poems, pro-Palestine artwork and analyses on the history of the conflict while the embassy of Palestine in Vietnam invited former veterans of the war against the US, academics, activists and members of the public to a commemoration for those killed in Gaza. On November 29, which is the United Nations-designated International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Vietnam’s government also published a message from then-President Vo Van Thuong in which he spoke of the long history of fraternity between Vietnam and Palestine and “Vietnam’s strong support and solidarity with the Palestinians in their struggle for justice”. But the relationship between Vietnam and Palestine is not as it once was. Adblock test (Why?)
Senegal’s top court confirms Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s election victory
The 44-year-old will be inaugurated to replace Macky Sall, who ruled the West African nation for 12 years. Senegal’s Constitutional Council has confirmed the presidential election victory of opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The confirmation on Friday paves the way for his inauguration as the country’s fifth president, which is expected to take place on April 2. The top court validated provisional results announced on Wednesday based on vote tallies from 100 percent of polling stations. Faye – an anti-establishment candidate and ally of popular opposition figure Ousmane Sonko – won more than 54 percent of votes cast in last Sunday’s delayed presidential poll. His closest competitor in the polls, ruling coalition candidate Amadou Ba who was handpicked by outgoing President Macky Sall, took about 35 percent of the vote. The Council said no objections had been raised by the other contenders. At age 44, Faye becomes Africa’s youngest president. The African Union hailed the “unanimous acceptance of the results”. African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said he “warmly congratulates” Faye on his victory and wished him “full success in his weighty and noble charge”. French President Emmanuel Macron also offered Faye “warm congratulations” and said France wanted to “continue and intensify the partnership” between their countries, his office said. Faye’s victory came just 10 days after he was freed from prison. He has said he wants a “break” with the current political system. Analysts said his win reflected a protest against the outgoing leadership and divisions within a powerful, but weakened, governing coalition. ‘Ousmane is Diomaye’ Millions in Senegal took part in the vote last Sunday. The polls followed three years of political turbulence that led to violent antigovernment protests, which garnered greater support for the opposition. Going into the election, Faye was seen as a strong contender to replace Sall, after his ally Sonko was disqualified from the ballot because of a suspended jail sentence following a conviction for defamation. Sonko endorsed Faye to run in his place. Although Faye was imprisoned last April and charged with contempt of court, defamation and acts likely to compromise public peace, after posting a message critical of the justice system, he was not convicted of any crime and was able to stand in the election. “A man that was imprisoned for more than 11 months, over a Facebook post that authorities had deemed dangerous to the sovereignty and the security of the state, is now at the helm of one of the fastest growing economies in West Africa,” said Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from Dakar. “Faye is the youngest elected head of state in Africa and is promising change to the people … of Senegal,” he added. Commonly known as ‘Diomaye’, Faye ran under the slogan “Ousmane mooy Diomaye”, meaning “Ousmane is Diomaye” in Wolof – reinforcing the links between him and Sonko. Both men studied law and worked as tax inspectors, where they met and spoke out against corruption, and later co-founded the now-dissolved PASTEF party in 2014. They have branded themselves as incorruptible tax inspectors who did not fill their pockets while others did. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Pure veg fleet’: How Indian food app Zomato sparked a caste, purity debate
Rajesh Jatavad*, a delivery rider for Zomato, a food delivery app in southern India, is worried about his full name being displayed for customers on the platform – because his last name reveals that he belongs to a marginalised caste. More privileged communities among India’s caste system historically considered castes like Jatavad’s “untouchables”. Jatavad’s worry is based on lived experience. “It is easy for others to identify my caste from my surname. Some of the customers, after reading my surname from the app, they won’t allow me near them, or even [allow me to] hand over the food packet. They will tell me to place it down and then leave,” Rajesh told Al Jazeera. Then, in mid-March, his employer announced a decision that threatens to make Jatavad’s already perilous daily struggle against caste biases even tougher. On March 19, Deepinder Goyal, CEO of Zomato, declared on social media platform X that the company was launching a “Pure Veg Mode along with a Pure Veg Fleet on Zomato, for customers who have a 100% vegetarian dietary preference.” “India has the largest percentage of vegetarians in the world, and one of the most important feedback we’ve gotten from them is that they are very particular about how their food is cooked, and how their food is handled,” he wrote. The Pure Veg Mode allows customers to pick from curated list of restaurants that serve only vegetarian food and excludes eateries that serve any meat or fish. The Pure Veg Fleet, Goyal announced, would consist of riders who will only carry food from Pure Veg Mode restaurants. And in the future, Goyal wrote, the company plans to introduce other specialised fleets – a comment that left Jatavad anxious and that betrays, said sociologists, an ignorance of a complex reality that undergirds India’s enormous app-based food delivery industry, valued at $7.4bn in 2023. More than half – 54.5 percent – of delivery workers belong to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, according to a March 11 study by the University of Pennsylvania. These communities are designated “scheduled” by the government because they have suffered centuries of discrimination and socioeconomic disadvantages. In India’s caste-stratified society, they are also often associated with being “impure” by privileged castes. Zomato’s latest policies could end up reinforcing those stereotypes and deepening the discrimination workers like Jatavad face, said sociologists and workers’ rights advocates. There are 700,000 to one million food delivery workers on platforms like Zomato in India. Delivery riders – many working for Zomato – wait in line to collect their orders outside a mall in Mumbai, India, on August 10, 2023 [Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters] ‘If that happens, I’m in trouble’ Jatavad learned about the specialised fleets from a screenshot shared by his colleagues. Instantly, his mind went racing. “’What is the company aiming for?” he said. “Will they create fleets based on religion and caste next? If that happens, I’m in trouble.” In his posts on X, Goyal explained his rationale for the separate fleets. “Because despite everyone’s best efforts, sometimes the food spills into the delivery boxes. In those cases, the smell of the previous order travels to the next order and may lead to the next order smelling of the previous order,” Goyal reasoned. “For this reason, we had to separate the fleet for veg orders.” Following pushback over the risks colour-coded uniforms could pose to riders, if neighbourhoods that view meat as impure decide to attack or abuse delivery workers, Goyal backtracked partly. “All our riders – both our regular fleet, and our fleet for vegetarians, will wear the colour red,” he wrote in a follow-up post. “This will ensure that our red uniform delivery partners are not incorrectly associated with non-veg food and blocked by any during any special days … our riders’ physical safety is of paramount importance to us,” his post read. But while riders carrying vegetarian and non-vegetarian food will not be distinguishable by their uniform, they will still belong to different fleets – and customers will be able to pick the “Pure Veg” fleet on the Zomato app. Workers are worried. “Today, they will say veg and non-veg; tomorrow, they will bring in religion and caste,” Shaik Salauddin, national general secretary and co-founder of the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), a trade union federation of ride-sharing and other gig transport workers, told Al Jazeera. “They will say, upper-caste customers have demanded upper-caste delivery boys. This will create a further division among workers.” Shaikh questioned why Zomato was wading into sensitive food and culture-related issues in a country as diverse as India. “This company is dividing people,” he said. “If they’re here to do business, let them do business.” ‘Purity and pollution’ Asked by Al Jazeera about the concerns of delivery workers, Zomato said that customers would not be able to choose delivery partners based on the rider’s own dietary preference. It added that the “delivery partners onboarded on Zomato are not and will never be discriminated against on the basis of any criteria (including dietary/ political/religion preferences).” But that’s easier said than done, according to Mini Mohan, a sociologist based in the southern Indian state of Kerala, who argued that by segregating vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, Zomato was exploiting religious and caste-based divisions. “The caste system in India links food with purity and pollution,” she said. “Vegetarian food is considered ‘pure’, while meat and occupations associated with lower castes are seen as ‘impure’. This shapes dietary practices, with higher castes even avoiding food handled by lower castes.” Zomato considered special green uniforms for its ‘Pure Veg Fleet’ delivery riders rather than the red uniform pictured here, but has backed away from that plan, Kolkata, India, July 13, 2021 [Rupak De Chowduri/Reuters] Zomato’s approach “not only discriminates against certain groups but also risks widening social rifts. When food choices dictate treatment, it creates conflicts and undermines social harmony,” she added. And the intersection of deep-seated biases and food delivery isn’t new for India – or for Zomato. In 2019,
‘India does not need…’: Vice President Dhankar hits back after US, UN, Germany comment on Delhi CM Kejriwal’s arrest
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar emphasized India’s robust democracy and independent judiciary at the 70th Founders’ Day of the Indian Institute of Public Administration.
Mukhtar Ansari’s death: Security beefed up in UP’s Ghazipur, last rites at 10 am
Mukhtar Ansari, who was lodged in the Banda jail, was rushed to the Rani Durgawati Medical College on Thursday night when his health condition deteriorated. He died at the hospital during treatment.
India, Ukraine discuss achieving ‘peaceful settlement’ to Moscow-Kyiv conflict
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian FM Kuleba said on social media platform X that he held “comprehensive talks” with EAM Jaishankar on bilateral ties and global security. The two leaders paid special attention to the Peace Formula and the next steps to be adopted for its implementation.
Georgia House and Senate showcase contrasting priorities as 2024 session ends
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s 2024 legislative session again showcased contrasting Republican approaches to governing, while minority Democrats couldn’t leverage those differences to advance top policy priorities. And while many GOP initiatives in the state Senate seemed like appeals to that party’s primary voters, Republicans are hoping tax cuts and a harder line on immigration will carry them to victory in November’s legislative races. Democrats walked away more furious than ever about the failure to expand Medicaid health insurance, one cornerstone of their campaign to make gains in the state House. TRUMP APPEALS GEORGIA COURT ORDER THAT KEEPS FANI WILLIS ON THE CASE: ‘SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISQUALIFIED’ In the background of 2024 campaigns for all 236 state legislative seats is jockeying for elections to statewide office in 2026. Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, displaying a conservative edge, seems more likely than ever to run to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp, as many GOP lawmakers try to satisfy an activist base. Some issues unified Republicans, including speeding up an income tax cut, uniting around a crackdown on undocumented immigrants in jails, and pay raises for teachers and state employees. But there’s a continuing power struggle between the chambers. Last year, that conflict burst into the open, with House and Senate leaders killing bills from the other chamber in a dispute that was set off by Jones’ push to loosen health care permitting requirements. Jones won a partial loosening of those rules this year, and conflict overall was less public. But sharp disagreements were evident as each chamber completely disregarded measures passed by the other. “You know, some folks choose politics. The House chooses results,” Republican House Speaker Jon Burns of Newington told reporters moments after the House adjourned at 12:58 a.m. Friday. He and other House leaders said they instead focused on “kitchen table” issues often funded through the budget, like a spending boost for prekindergarten programs. Divisions showed in how, even more than normal, decisions cascaded into the last hours of the last legislative day. Both the House and Senate blew past a once-sacrosanct midnight deadline. “There were a lot of challenges and tensions between the two chambers. It’s not the first time, but it was particularly elevated this year.” said Rep. Scott Holcomb. The Atlanta Democrat again saw the Senate snub his push to compensate people released from prison after they are exonerated, even though top House Republicans supported the effort. That was far from the only initiative that failed. The Senate spent precious time on the session’s last day passing a ban on puberty blocking drugs for transgender youth, but the bill sank without a trace in the House. So did an education bill that sought to cut back on sex education and write a ban on transgender girls playing girls’ sports into law, as well as a Senate bill banning public money from being spent on what Republican senators say is the left-wing American Library Association. “To me, the 2024 session was a battle of the far-right Senate versus the moderate Republican House, in which the House ultimately prevailed by stopping the vast majority of these culture war issues, from attacks against transgender youth to putting a Clarence Thomas monument on the Capitol grounds,” House Minority Whip Sam Park, a Lawrenceville Democrat, said Friday. But on some other terms, the Senate may the winner. All of the priorities the Senate Republican Caucus announced in January became law. That included a bill requiring cash bail for more crimes, and a call for private and home school vouchers that finally passed the House after Kemp and House leaders joined the push. A Senate-backed bill requiring parental consent before children younger than 16 can sign up for social media is also on the way to Kemp’s desk. “I’m proud of all that the Senate accomplished this session, promoting an agenda to help Georgia families, expand access to health care, support HBCUs, crack down on sanctuary policies and protect women’s sports,” Jones said in a statement Friday. “These issues are a marathon, not a sprint, and we’ll continue to build on our accomplishments year after year to enact policies that lift up the middle class and fight back against radical Democrats’ insanity.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP For Democrats, though, it was another year of frustration. After Burns opened the door to Medicaid expansion, the minority party worked feverishly to try to expand health coverage to lower-income adults. They even believed they had a deal with Senate leadership to bring forward a bill at the last minute, only to claim betrayal after it was voted down in committee by Republicans who said they wanted to support Kemp’s struggling Pathways program that offers insurance only with proof of work or study. “The problem is that Georgia’s health care policy failures are deliberate choices made by Gov. Kemp and the Republican leadership in the legislature,” outgoing House Minority Leader Gloria Butler, a Stone Mountain Democrat, told reporters. “We were told to let them cook. We were told that if we were nice to Republicans and if we asked politely, Medicaid expansion would be on the table. But guess what? It is still on the table.”
Biden campaign reaches out to Nikki Haley voters in new ad: ‘Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote’
President Biden appealed to supporters of Nikki Haley in a new campaign ad on Friday. “If you voted for Nikki Haley, Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote,” the ad begins, showing clips of the presumptive Republican nominee Trump calling the former South Carolina governor Haley “bird brain” and claiming she made an “unholy alliance with RINOs, Never Trumpers, [and] Americans for No Prosperity.” Another clip later in the ad shows Trump telling a reporter he didn’t think “we need too many” after he was asked about how to “bring Haley voters back into the tent.” “Nikki Haley voters, Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote,” Biden wrote on X, linking to the ad. “I want to be clear: There is a place for you in my campaign.” WEALTHY NIKKI HALEY VOTERS LAUNCH EFFORT TO BOOST BIDEN OVER TRUMP: REPORT Haley dropped out of the presidential race after Super Tuesday earlier this month, following losses in almost every state to Trump. She had remained in the race as Trump’s last opponent for the nomination despite his almost insurmountable lead, because she felt voters deserved another choice. After leaving the race, Haley, who served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, didn’t endorse him. TRUMP’S AIMS TO TROUNCE BIDEN’S RECORD $26 MILLION HAUL AT UPCOMING FLORIDA FUNDRAISER: ‘WE FEEL REALLY GOOD’ In just Michigan, North Carolina and Nevada — three important battleground states — Haley earned nearly 570,000 votes. After Super Tuesday, Trump said on Truth Social he would “like to invite all of the Haley supporters to join the greatest movement in the history of our Nation. BIDEN IS THE ENEMY, HE IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY.” Before she dropped out, Trump had warned that anyone who donated to Haley’s campaign would be “permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign and a representative for Haley for comment.