PM Modi to inaugurate Haryana section of Dwarka expressway today
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the Haryana section of the Dwarka Expressway, easing traffic between Delhi and Gurugram.
SBSP leader Nandini Rajbhar stabbed to death in Sant Kabir Nagar
The state general secretary of Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party’s (SBSP) women cell, Nandini Rajbhar, was allegedly stabbed to death in Uttar Pradesh’s Sant Kabir Nagar, police said on Sunday.
Are US and EU plans to send supplies to Gaza credible?
Famine looms in parts of Gaza as Israel’s war on the beseiged territory enters its sixth month. As many Palestinians in Gaza face starvation from Israel’s war and siege, the United States and European Union have revealed plans to send aid supplies. The US and some EU members have also supplied weapons to Israel. Will their new initiatives help Gaza? Or are they just a PR exercise for US President Joe Biden and his European allies? Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra Guests: Mansour Shouman – Aid activist who was in Gaza from October until February Dr Mads Gilbert – Professor of emergency medicine at the University of Tromso, with extensive experience of working in Gaza Marwan Bishara – Al Jazeera senior political analyst Adblock test (Why?)
Muslim countries announce start of Ramadan in shadow of Gaza war
This year’s observance, for many, is marred by Israel’s war on Gaza. Saudi officials have spotted the crescent moon and declared the the holy fasting month of Ramadan for many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims. The officials saw the moon Sunday night, making Monday the first day of the fasting month, Saudi state television reported. The month consists of Muslims abstaining from food and water from sunrise to sunset as they reflect more deeply on their faith and hold family gatherings. This year’s observance, for many, is marred by Israel’s war on Gaza. After officials in Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia spotted the moon, many Gulf Arab nations, as well as Iraq, Syria and Egypt, followed the announcement to confirm they as well would start fasting on Monday. Some Asia-Pacific countries, however, like Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, said they will begin Ramadan on Tuesday after failing to see the crescent moon. Oman, on the easternmost edge of the Arabian Peninsula, similarly announced Ramadan would begin on Tuesday. Jordan will also begin Ramadan on Tuesday. Ramadan works on a lunar calendar. and moon-sighting methodologies often vary between countries, meaning some nations declare the start of the month earlier or later. Saudi King Salman specifically made reference to the war in Gaza in comments following the Ramadan announcement. “As it pains us that the month of Ramadan falls this year, in light of the attacks our brothers in Palestine are suffering from, we stress the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities, to stop these brutal crimes, and provide safe humanitarian and relief corridors,” the king said. Saudi Arabia had been urging its public to watch the skies from Sunday night in preparation for the sighting of the crescent moon. In Iran, which views itself as the worldwide leader of Shia Muslims, authorities typically begin Ramadan a day after Sunnis start. The office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced Ramadan will start on Tuesday there, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Palestinian women in Gaza are seen volunteering to prepare food to distribute to families who fled Israeli attacks and took refuge in Rafah city, March 10, 2024 [Jehad Alshrafi/Anadolu Agency] During Ramadan, those observing have a pre-dawn meal, or “suhoor,” to sustain themselves during the daylight hours, and later break their fast with “iftar,” often a large meal. During the month, Muslims try to avoid conflict and focus on acts of charity. However, Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip is looming large for many Muslims. There were hopes that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas could be reached before Ramadan began. More than 31,000 people have been killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities in the besieged territory, and aid agencies have warned of a looming famine in parts of the Gaza Strip. Hassuna Tabib Hassnan, a dentist displaced from Gaza City in the north of the besieged Gaza Strip, told the AFP news agency: “We had hoped that for Ramadan [we] would be in our homes, but unfortunately it is clear that we will live in displacement, pain and oppression.” Meanwhile, Israeli restrictions on Muslims praying at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site, may further also ramp up tensions in the region. Palestinians walk past stalls set up in a street in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on March 10, 2024, as Muslims prepare for the holy fasting month of Ramadan [Mohammed Abed/AFP] Adblock test (Why?)
Centre-right party ahead in Portugal election, exit polls show
Three exit polls show the right-leaning parties combined, including far-right Chega, could secure an outright majority. Portugal’s centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) is poised to win the most votes in the country’s parliamentary election but fall well short of an outright majority, three exit polls showed. The polls, published after voting closed at 8pm (20:00 GMT) on Sunday by the three main television channels SIC, RTP and TVI, showed the AD alliance in the 27.6-33 percent range, just ahead of the incumbent Socialists. The polls projected that all right-leaning parties combined, including the far-right Chega, were likely to secure an outright majority. Chega was likely to win 14 to 21.6 percent, a large jump from its 7.2 percent in the last election in January 2022. However, the AD has so far ruled out any agreement with Chega, which could make for an unstable government. The polls put the Socialist Party in the 24.2 percent to 29.5 percent range. Far-right party Chega’s leader Andre Ventura gestures as he queues at a polling station during the general election in Lisbon, Portugal, March 10, 2024 [Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters] Far-right could help form a coalition The issues that have dominated the election campaign have included a crippling housing crisis, low wages, sagging healthcare and corruption. The Social Democrats and Socialists have alternated in power for decades but have never faced such a strong challenge from a far-right party. Social Democrat leader Luis Montenegro, who is also at the helm of the AD alliance of right-leaning parties and would likely become prime minister if it wins, ruled out the possibility of teaming up with Chega during campaigning. But if Montenegro is unable to assemble a majority government, his hand could be forced, leaving Chega as a kingmaker. Luis Montenegro, the leader of the centre-right Democratic Alliance coalition, casts his ballot at a polling station in Espinho, northern Portugal, Sunday, March 10, 2024 [Luis Vieira/AP] Far-right party could drop controversial proposals Chega leader Andre Ventura, a former law professor and television football pundit, has said he is prepared to drop some of his party’s most controversial proposals – including chemical castration for some sex offenders and the introduction of life prison sentences – if that enables his party to be included in a possible governing alliance with other right-of-centre parties. However, his insistence on national sovereignty instead of closer European Union integration and his plan to grant police the right to strike are other issues that could thwart his ambitions to enter a government coalition. The Chega party has looked to capitalise on corruption allegations that have dogged the two main parties. The general elections were triggered by Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s sudden resignation amid a corruption investigation. That episode appeared to have hurt the Socialists at the ballot box. Low wages and a high cost of living – worsened last year by surges in inflation and interest rates – coupled with a housing crisis and failings in public healthcare have further contributed to public disgruntlement. The discontent has been further stirred up by Chega, which potentially could gain the most from the current public mood. Adblock test (Why?)
Sudan army general rules out Ramadan truce unless RSF leaves civilian sites
Sudan general rejects truce after UNSC calls for cessation of hostilities during the Islamic holy month. Senior Sudanese Armed Forces General Yasser al-Atta has said there will be no truce in Sudan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan unless the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group leaves the homes and sites of civilians. The statement follows an appeal by the United Nations Security Council for a truce during Ramadan, which begins this week. The RSF said it welcomed the truce call. Al-Atta’s statement, issued on the army’s official Telegram channel on Sunday, cited recent military advances by the army in Omdurman, part of Sudan’s wider capital. It said there could be no Ramadan truce unless the RSF complied with a commitment made in May last year at Saudi and US-mediated talks in Jeddah to withdraw from civilian homes and public facilities. It also said Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF leader commonly known as Hemedti, should not play a role in Sudan’s future politics or military. The statement follows the UNSC’s appeal for a respite from the 11-month-old conflict during Ramadan, which is expected to begin on Monday or Tuesday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. Fourteen countries on the 15-member council on Friday backed the resolution proposed by the United Kingdom, with only Russia abstaining from the vote. The resolution called on “all parties to the conflict to seek a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue”. Fighting between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF erupted in mid-April 2023. Tens of thousands of people have since been killed, 8.3 million have been forcibly displaced, and the UN says nearly 25 million people – half of Sudan’s population – are in need of aid. The army has been on the back foot militarily for much of the conflict. In the first days of fighting, the RSF occupied large parts of the capital, Khartoum. Guterres backs Ramadan truce UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the warring sides for a truce following the adoption of the UK-drafted resolution by the UNSC on Friday. However, the mechanism for implementing the resolution remains unclear. Sudan’s UN ambassador, Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, told the council on Thursday that the president of the country’s transitional council commended Guterres’s truce appeal. However, he said the leader is “wondering about how to do this”. Welcoming the truce call, the RSF said in a statement on Saturday, “In embracing the proposed humanitarian ceasefire, we express our readiness to partake in discussions concerning the establishment of mutually agreed upon monitoring mechanisms.” “These mechanisms are crucial for ensuring the effective implementation of the ceasefire and for achieving the humanitarian objectives intended by this resolution.” Adblock test (Why?)
US military airlifts some embassy personnel from Haiti, bolsters security
The US operation comes amid gang violence that threatens to bring down the government and has led thousands to flee their homes. The US military says it has carried out an operation in Haiti to airlift non-essential embassy personnel from the Caribbean country amid a state of emergency. It also brought in additional personnel to boost security at the compound in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince. “This airlift of personnel into and out of the embassy is consistent with our standard practice for embassy security augmentation worldwide, and no Haitians were on board the military aircraft,” the US military’s Southern Command said in a statement on Sunday. The US embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti [File: Matias Delacroix/AP Photo] Haiti is spiralling deeper into gang violence, which threatens to bring down the government and has led thousands to flee their homes. The escalation began a week ago after Haiti’s embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to hold general elections in mid-2025 while attending a meeting of Caribbean leaders in Guyana. Henry has faced a crisis of legitimacy since he took up his post less than two weeks after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. In the past week, Henry flew from Guyana to Kenya – and gangs in Haiti set fire to police stations, attacked the main international airport, which remains closed, and raided the country’s two largest prisons, where they freed more than 4,000 inmates. During that time, Henry was in Nairobi, seeking a deal for the long-delayed United Nations-backed mission to help tackle gang violence. Kenya announced last year that it would lead the force, but months of domestic legal wrangling have effectively put the mission on hold. Henry is currently in Puerto Rico, where he was forced to land after armed groups laid siege to the airport and the neighbouring Dominican Republic barred him from entering after officials there closed the country’s airspace to flights to and from Haiti. Earlier in the week, the head of the powerful G9 Haitian gang alliance, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, warned, “If Ariel Henry doesn’t resign, if the international community continues to support him, we’ll be heading straight for a civil war that will lead to genocide.” Jimmy Chérizier holds a press conference in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, March 5, 2024 [Odelyn Joseph/AP Photo] On Saturday, the US State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto about the Haiti crisis. The two men underscored their commitment to a multinational security mission to restore order. The US Southern Command’s statement said Washington remained committed to those goals. “Our embassy remains focused on advancing US government efforts to support the Haitian people, including mobilizing support for the Haitian National Police, expediting the deployment of the United Nations-authorized Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission and accelerating a peaceful transition of power via free and fair elections,” it said. Adblock test (Why?)
Ukraine rejects pope’s call to ‘raise the white flag’ to end Russia’s war
The Catholic leader, 87, told a Swiss broadcaster that Ukraine should negotiate with Russia and raised the idea of surrender. Ukraine has rejected Pope Francis’s call to hold negotiations with Russia more than two years into its invasion, saying that Kyiv will “never” surrender. “Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on social media Sunday, a day after the pope said Kyiv should “have the courage to raise the white flag”. The 87-year-old Catholic leader said in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RTS that Ukraine should negotiate with Russia, which has seized large swathes of Ukrainian territory since it launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. In part of the interview released on Saturday, the Catholic leader raised the prospect of surrender. “I believe that the strongest are those who see the situation, think about the people, and have the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate,” Pope Francis said in an interview that the Vatican said was conducted in early February. Kuleba called on the pope to stand “on the side of good” and not put the opposing sides “on the same footing and call it ‘negotiations’”. The strongest is the one who, in the battle between good and evil, stands on the side of good rather than attempting to put them on the same footing and call it “negotiations”. At the same time, when it comes to the white flag, we know this Vatican’s strategy from the first half… — Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 10, 2024 Kuleba also appeared to reference some Catholic church collaboration with Nazi forces during World War II when he said the following: “At the same time, when it comes to the white flag, we know this Vatican strategy from the first half of the 20th century.” “I urge to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and to support Ukraine and its people in their just struggle for their lives,” Kuleba added. He also thanked Pope Francis for his “constant prayers for peace” and said Kyiv hoped he would visit Ukraine. “We continue to hope that after two years of devastating war in the heart of Europe, the Pontiff will find an opportunity to pay an Apostolic visit to Ukraine to support over a million Ukrainian Catholics, over five million Greek-Catholics and all Ukrainians,” Kuleba said. The foreign minister of Poland, a vocal ally of Kyiv, also condemned the pope’s remarks. “How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine? Peace would immediately ensue without the need for negotiations,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a post on X. How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine?Peace would immediately ensue without the need for negotiations. https://t.co/gWNYSUt79u — Radosław Sikorski 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) March 10, 2024 In a separate post, Sikorski made parallels between those calling for negotiations while “denying [Ukraine] the means to defend itself” and European leaders’ “appeasement” of Adolf Hitler before World War II. Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, compared the pope’s comments to calls for “talking with Hitler” while raising “a white flag to satisfy him”. Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, also said Sunday that surrender is not on the minds of Ukrainians. “Ukraine is wounded, but unconquered! Ukraine is exhausted, but it stands and will endure. Believe me, it never crosses anyone’s mind to surrender. Even where there is fighting today: listen to our people in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Kharkiv, Sumy,” he said. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni later clarified that the pope supported “a stop to hostilities [and] a truce achieved with the courage of negotiations”, rather than an outright Ukrainian surrender. While Pope Francis has tried to maintain the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality, he has also expressed some sympathy with the Russian rationale for invading Ukraine, such as when he noted that NATO was “barking at Russia’s door” with its eastward expansion. Ukraine has remained steadfast on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying multiple times that peace negotiations must come from the country that has been invaded. Adblock test (Why?)
House Speaker Johnson chastises Biden for apology to Laken Riley murder suspect: ‘What an embarrassment’
House Speaker Mike Johnson blasted President Biden as an “embarrassment” for seemingly apologizing to Laken Riley’s accused killer instead of to the slain student’s family. “The president is cowering to his base and showing deference to a man who deserves none. This man is an illegal immigrant who brutally murdered Laken Riley. President Biden should be apologizing to Laken’s family. What an embarrassment,” Johnson wrote on X on Sunday, responding to Biden’s interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart that aired Saturday. At the urging of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Biden, during an off-script moment in his State of the Union address on Thursday, decried Riley’s killing by “an illegal.” The president later backtracked during his interview with Capehart, saying he should have instead used the word “undocumented” to describe Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan national charged with murdering Riley, an Augusta University nursing student who was out for a run on the University of Georgia campus last month. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that Ibarra illegally crossed the border near El Paso, Texas, and was released into the U.S. for further processing in September 2022. He was later arrested and released in New York City for allegedly endangering a child about a year later. BIDEN TORCHED FOR CLAIMING ‘UNDOCUMENTED’ IMMIGRANTS ‘BUILT THIS COUNTRY’ AFTER SAYING SAME OF MIDDLE CLASS The Athens-Clarke County Police Department confirmed Ibarra and his brother had been cited for shoplifting in Georgia in October 2023, months before Riley’s slaying. Ibarra is charged with the felonies of malice murder, murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and concealing the death of another, as well as the misdemeanor of physically hindering a 911 call, according to the affidavit filed on Feb. 23. According to charging documents, Ibarra is accused of “disfiguring” Riley’s skull. ICE CONFIRMS GEORGIA STUDENT MURDER SUSPECT ENTERED US ILLEGALLY, WAS PREVIOUSLY ARRESTED IN NYC “I shouldn’t have used illegal, I should’ve … it’s undocumented,” Biden told Capehart. “And look, when I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about on the border was his – the way he talks about vermin, the way he talks about these people polluting the blood. I talked about what I’m not going to do, what I won’t do. I’m not going to treat any, any, any of these people with disrespect. Look, they built the country.” Notably, former President Trump, the GOP presidential nomination front-runner, slammed Biden’s apology at a rally. Torching Biden for mixing Riley’s first name up with USC head football coach Lincoln Riley, Trump said Biden “went on television and apologized for calling Laken’s murderer an illegal,” drawing boos from the crowd. Trump, who spoke to Riley’s parents backstage at the rally, doubled down on his choice of language. “They have a new name that’s even worse. You know what the new name is? Neighbor,” Trump said. “A newcomer to our country … are we going crazy or what? Is this country going crazy? How about that one, ‘newcomer’ … no, he was an illegal. And I say he was an illegal alien. He was an illegal immigrant. He was an illegal migrant. And he shouldn’t have been in our country, and he never would have been under the Trump policy.” Biden addressed Riley’s parents during the State of the Union address while also asking, “But how many thousands of people are being killed by legals?” “To her parents, I say: My heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand,” he said.
Johnson chastises Biden for ‘regret’ on calling Laken Riley murder suspect ‘illegal’: ‘What an embarrassment’
House Speaker Mike Johnson blasted President Biden as an “embarrassment” for seemingly apologizing to Laken Riley’s accused killer instead of to the slain student’s family. “The president is cowering to his base and showing deference to a man who deserves none. This man is an illegal immigrant who brutally murdered Laken Riley. President Biden should be apologizing to Laken’s family. What an embarrassment,” Johnson wrote on X on Sunday, responding to Biden’s interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart that aired Saturday. At the urging of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Biden, during an off-script moment in his State of the Union address on Thursday, decried Riley’s killing by “an illegal.” The president later backtracked during his interview with Capehart, saying he should have instead used the word “undocumented” to describe Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan national charged with murdering Riley, an Augusta University nursing student who was out for a run on the University of Georgia campus last month. The White House said Monday that Biden “did not apologize.” “There was no apology anywhere in that conversation,” principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters aboard Air Force One. “He did not apologize. He used a different word.” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that Ibarra illegally crossed the border near El Paso, Texas, and was released into the U.S. for further processing in September 2022. He was later arrested and released in New York City for allegedly endangering a child about a year later. BIDEN TORCHED FOR CLAIMING ‘UNDOCUMENTED’ IMMIGRANTS ‘BUILT THIS COUNTRY’ AFTER SAYING SAME OF MIDDLE CLASS The Athens-Clarke County Police Department confirmed Ibarra and his brother had been cited for shoplifting in Georgia in October 2023, months before Riley’s slaying. Ibarra is charged with the felonies of malice murder, murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and concealing the death of another, as well as the misdemeanor of physically hindering a 911 call, according to the affidavit filed on Feb. 23. According to charging documents, Ibarra is accused of “disfiguring” Riley’s skull. ICE CONFIRMS GEORGIA STUDENT MURDER SUSPECT ENTERED US ILLEGALLY, WAS PREVIOUSLY ARRESTED IN NYC “I shouldn’t have used illegal, I should’ve … it’s undocumented,” Biden told Capehart. “And look, when I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about on the border was his – the way he talks about vermin, the way he talks about these people polluting the blood. I talked about what I’m not going to do, what I won’t do. I’m not going to treat any, any, any of these people with disrespect. Look, they built the country.” Notably, former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nomination frontrunner, slammed Biden’s walk-back at a rally. Torching Biden for mixing Riley’s first name up with USC head football coach Lincoln Riley, Trump said Biden “went on television and apologized for calling Laken’s murderer an illegal,” drawing boos from the crowd. Trump, who spoke to Riley’s parents backstage at the rally, doubled down on his choice of language. “They have a new name that’s even worse. You know what the new name is? Neighbor,” Trump said. “A newcomer to our country … are we going crazy or what? Is this country going crazy? How about that one, ‘newcomer’ … no, he was an illegal. And I say he was an illegal alien. He was an illegal immigrant. He was an illegal migrant. And he shouldn’t have been in our country, and he never would have been under the Trump policy.” Biden addressed Riley’s parents during the State of the Union address while also asking, “But how many thousands of people are being killed by legals?” “To her parents, I say: My heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand,” he said.