Hamas official rejects talk of new negotiations with Israel
Hamas official Osama Hamdan has said that there is no need for new negotiations with Israel, amid Israeli media reports that there is an intention to renew Gaza truce talks. In a phone interview with Al Jazeera Arabic on Saturday, Hamdan said that the immediate requirement is for Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and for all aggression to stop. “We do not need new negotiations,” he said, adding that Hamas has already agreed to a ceasefire proposal that Israel has rejected. “There is no guarantee that it [Israel] will accept new proposals to go to negotiations … If there are no serious guarantees, this means giving Israel more time to continue the aggression,” he added. Earlier this month, Hamas approved a proposal for a ceasefire in the seven-month Gaza war put forward by mediators Qatar and Egypt although Israel said the proposal falls short of its demands. On Saturday, according to Israeli media, officials involved in the negotiations said the Israeli government intended to renew talks for a Gaza captive release deal the in coming days, after a meeting with mediators in Paris. According to the reports, Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea had agreed to a new framework for the stalled negotiations with mediators — CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The new offer was drafted by the Israeli negotiating team and contains possible solutions to points of disagreement in previous discussions. But defence ministry officials believe that even if Israel agrees to a temporary ceasefire, it will be able to return to war again when needed after months. Hamas has insisted that it is not willing to accept only a temporary ceasefire, but that an end to the fighting has to be permanent. Israel has insisted that the war will not end before its goals are met, including the total defeat of Hamas. However, Israel is coming under growing international pressure to stop and is increasingly isolated. Among recent blows for Israel are an International Court of Justice order for it to stop its Rafah offensive, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court seeking arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and a decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognise Palestine. Rafah crossing Meanwhile, Washington said top diplomat Antony Blinken had also spoken with Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz about new efforts to achieve a ceasefire and reopen the border crossing in Gaza’s far-southern city of Rafah. Al-Qahera News said Cairo was also continuing “its efforts to reactivate ceasefire negotiations and exchange prisoners and detainees”. It added that Egypt was exerting “all kinds of pressure on Israel to urgently let in the aid and fuel” stranded at the Rafah crossing after its closure by Israel earlier this month. But a Hamas official denied Israeli media reports that Gaza ceasefire talks would resume in Cairo on Tuesday. “There is no date,” the unnamed Hamas official told the Reuters news agency when asked about the reports. Talks aimed at reaching a hostage release and truce deal for Gaza ground to a halt this month after Israel launched a military operation in Rafah. At least 35,903 people have been killed and 80,420 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from Hamas’s attack stands at 1,139, with dozens still held captive. On Saturday, thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv to demand urgent government action to bring home captives held in Gaza, after the bodies of several were retrieved. Another protest, calling for the resignation of Netanyahu and an early election, was also held nearby. Despite the immense pressure, Netanyahu and his government have so far failed to strike a deal with Hamas, with many critics doubting their desire to reach a deal. Adblock test (Why?)
Colombia’s ex-President Uribe charged with witness tampering
Uribe, who was president from 2002 to 2010, faces up to 12 years in prison for witness tampering and bribing witnesses. Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has been charged with witness tampering and bribery, becoming the first head of the state to face a criminal trial in the Latin American nation. The charges arise from an investigation into Uribe’s alleged ties to right-wing paramilitary groups. The 71-year-old leader is accused of “offering cash or other benefits” to witnesses to discredit a political opponent who was digging into his family ties to the armed groups. If convicted, Uribe faces up to 12 years in prison. Uribe, who was president from 2002 to 2010, has denied any wrongdoing and has accused Colombia’s chief prosecutor’s office of “political vengeance”. There are wiretapped phone conversations in which the former president can be heard discussing with one of his lawyers efforts to flip two former paramilitary fighters who were set to testify against him. Uribe said his conversations were intercepted illegally. “I never sought to look for witnesses. I wanted to defend my reputation,” Uribe said during the virtual hearing. Judge Sandra Heredia rejected his request to have the case scrapped. The case dates to 2012 Uribe said on Friday he felt hurt for being the first former president to have to defend himself in court. The matter dates to 2012, when Uribe, then a senator, filed a complaint against left-wing senator Ivan Cepeda, whom he accused of hatching a plot to falsely link him to paramilitary groups. But the Supreme Court decided against investigating Cepeda, instead turning its sights on Uribe. The investigation against Uribe began in 2018 and has had numerous twists and turns, with several attorneys general seeking to close the case. It has gained new impetus under Attorney General Luz Camargo, who took over in March and was chosen by Colombia’s first-ever left-wing president, Gustavo Petro – historically a foe of Uribe. Uribe, who remains a prominent voice on Colombia’s right, was known for being tough on the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) fighters and strongly opposed the historic 2016 peace accord that saw the Marxist rebels disarm. Adblock test (Why?)
Rescuers search rubble after over 300 buried in Papua New Guinea landslide
Landslide blocked highway access to affected communities making helicopters the easiest way to reach the disaster zone. Rescue teams have arrived at the site of an enormous landslide in Papua New Guinea‘s remote highlands, helping villagers search for hundreds of people feared dead under towering mounds of rubble and mud. “At this time, we are still searching for bodies who are buried by the massive landslide,” community leader Mark Ipuia told Reuters news agency on Saturday, adding that “more than 300” villagers may be entombed. So far, only four bodies have been pulled from the debris, a United Nations official based in the capital, Port Moresby, was quoted as saying. The disaster hit Kaokalam village in Enga province early on Friday morning when many villagers were at home asleep, according to government officials. According to Papua New Guinea media, at least 1,182 houses were also buried in the landslide in the area located about 600km (370 miles) northwest of Port Moresby. “There are a lot of houses under the debris that cannot be reached,” said UN official Serhan Aktoprak, who estimated as many as 3,000 people called the hillside settlement home. “The land continues to slide and move, and that makes it dangerous for people to operate,” he told AFP news agency. While the area is not densely populated, humanitarian agency CARE said that it is worried that the death toll could be disproportionately high. The landslide has also blocked highway access, making helicopters the only way to reach the area. The emergency team of medics, including military and police, also faced difficulty in reaching the area due to rugged terrain and damage to major roads. In all, more than six villages had been affected by the landslide in the province’s Mulitaka region, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said on Saturday. “Australia’s High Commission in Port Moresby is in close contact with PNG authorities for further assessments on the extent of the damage and casualties,” a DFAT spokesperson said in a statement. Social media footage posted by villager Ninga Role showed people clambering over rocks, uprooted trees and mounds of dirt searching for survivors. Women could be heard weeping in the background. Prime Minister James Marape has said disaster officials, the Defence Force and the Department of Works and Highways were assisting with relief and recovery efforts. The South Pacific county is vulnerable to natural disasters, including heavy rain and flooding, as well as earthquakes. In March, at least 23 people were killed by a landslide in a nearby province. Residents look into a demolished house at the site of a landslide at Yambali village in the region of Maip Mulitaka following the deadly disaster [AFP] Adblock test (Why?)
Some 45,000 Rohingya flee amid allegations of beheading, burning in Myanmar
UN rights chief Volker Turk urges Bangladesh, other countries ‘to provide effective protection’ to the latest refugees. Escalating violence in conflict-torn Myanmar’s Rakhine State has forced another 45,000 minority Rohingya to flee, the United Nations warned, amid allegations of beheadings, killings and burnings of property. Clashes have rocked Rakhine State since the Arakan Army (AA) rebels attacked forces of the ruling military government in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since a military coup in 2021. The fighting has caught in the middle the Muslim minority group, long considered outsiders by the majority Buddhist residents, either from the government or the rebel side. The AA says it is fighting for more autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population in the state, which is also home to an estimated 600,000 members of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, who have chosen to remain in the country. More than a million Rohingya have taken shelter in neighbouring Bangladesh after fleeing Rakhine, including hundreds of thousands in 2017 during an earlier crackdown by the military that is now the subject of a United Nations genocide court case. UN rights office spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell told reporters in Geneva on Friday that tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced in recent days by the fighting in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. “An estimated 45,000 Rohingya have reportedly fled to an area on the Naf River near the border with Bangladesh, seeking protection,” she said, as she urged the protection of civilians according to international law. UN rights chief Volker Turk was urging Bangladesh and other countries “to provide effective protection to those seeking it, in line with international law, and to ensure international solidarity with Bangladesh in hosting Rohingya refugees in Myanmar”, she said. But Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, said that with more than a million Rohingya already in the country, the government has been reluctant to take more, leaving the latest refugees stuck on the Myanmar side of the border. ‘Beheadings’ James Rodehaver, head of the rights office’s Myanmar team, described the horrifying situation many were fleeing from. He said his team had received testimonies and seen satellite images, online videos and pictures indicating that Buthidaung town had been “largely burned”. “We have received information indicating that the burning did start on May 17 … two days after the military had retreated from the town … and the Arakan Army claimed to have taken full control of the village.” One survivor had described seeing dozens of dead bodies as he fled Buthidaung, while another had said he was among tens of thousands who fled the town only to find themselves blocked by the Arakan Army on the road west towards Maungdaw town. Other survivors also said AA members had abused them and extorted money from them as they tried to make their way to Rohingya villages south of the town. In the weeks leading up to the burning of Buthidaung, Rodehaver said the rights office had documented renewed attacks on Rohingya civilians by both the AA and the military in northern Rakhine, including through air strikes. The team had documented “at least four cases of beheadings”, he said, adding that they had determined with a high level of confidence that those were carried out by the AA. There have also been previous allegations of Rohingya being used as human shields. Al Jazeera’s Chowdhury, said the Rohingya were “caught in the middle”. “They are in a precarious situation,” he said, adding that recent Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar had told him that both the AA and the military have been trying to recruit them to fight. “They are threatened that if they don’t join, their villages would be burned,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Worms, insects infest Gaza bound food stuck rotting in Egyptian sun
NewsFeed Worms and insects are eating up shipments of food originally meant for the people of Gaza. The trucks carrying them have been stuck on the Egyptian side of the border for weeks after Israel closed the Rafah border crossing in early May. Published On 24 May 202424 May 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
El-Sisi and Biden agree to send aid to Gaza via Karem Abu Salem crossing
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has agreed in a phone call with his United States counterpart, Joe Biden, to allow United Nations aid through the Karem Abu Salem border crossing (known in Israel as Kerem Shalom) to the bombarded and besieged Gaza Strip, the White House says. “President Biden welcomed the commitment from President el-Sisi to permit the flow of UN-provided humanitarian assistance” through the crossing, it said in a readout of the call, adding: “This will help save lives.” The aid will be sent to Gaza via the crossing – located where the borders of Egypt, Israel and Gaza come together – until legal mechanisms are in place to reopen the crucial Rafah border crossing from the Palestinian side, the Egyptian presidency said. The agreement resulted from “the difficult humanitarian situation of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the lack of means of life in the Strip, and the lack of fuel needed for hospitals and bakeries,” the statement said The move was also confirmed by the Palestinian Authority presidency, according to the Wafa news agency. According to the White House statement, Biden expressed “his full commitment to support efforts to reopen the Rafah crossing with arrangements acceptable to both Egypt and Israel”. The statement said he agreed to send a senior team to Cairo next week for further talks. Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on May 6, shortly after it launched a widely criticised ground and aerial offensive in the area where tens of thousands of displaced families had sought shelter. The resulting closure has created a backlog of aid in Egypt, where some of the food aid has begun to rot. Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said it is “not entirely a big surprise” that the opening of the crossing has been secured. “What has been happening is, behind the scenes for a number of weeks now, we’ve been told there have been talks taking place between Israel, Egypt and US officials to get some sort of a deal to try and get some sort of opening to facilitate aid to come in,” Halkett said. “The goal actually, from a United States standpoint, is to try and get a neutral third party … to try and take control of the Rafah crossing – and that seems to be where the stumbling block is,” Halkett added. Aid agencies and rights groups, including several UN bodies, have warned that dwindling supplies in Gaza will result in a famine and will further worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis. Before the closure of the Rafah crossing, supplies of humanitarian aid and much needed fuel were trickling into the territory. Shortages have caused multiple hospitals to cease operations and have affected much of Gaza’s north, where famine has taken hold in some ravaged areas. Earlier on Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that access to the Gaza Strip is extremely limited with fewer than 1,000 truckloads of humanitarian assistance entering the enclave since May 7, the day Israel’s Rafah offensive began. “There are a lot of doorways into Gaza. … Whether by land or by sea, we don’t control those doorways, but we want them all to be open,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday. The announcement on Friday came as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to stop its military offensive in Rafah and open the border crossing for aid. “The humanitarian situation is now to be characterised as disastrous,” the ICJ, also known as the World Court, said on Friday. It also demanded access to Gaza for war crimes investigators. More than a million Palestinians have fled Rafah in recent weeks as Israeli forces pressed deeper into Gaza’s southern-most city. People displaced by fighting lack shelter, food, water and other essentials for survival, the UN says. Gaza’s Ministry of Health said 35,857 Palestinians have now been killed and 80,293 injured in the Israeli assault on the enclave since October 7. The war began after Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel killed 1,139 people. Adblock test (Why?)
US calls for swift police deployment to Haiti after missionaries killed
The administration of United States President Joe Biden has called for the rapid deployment of a Kenyan-led security force to Haiti following the killing of three missionaries working with a US group in the violence-hit Caribbean country. The appeal on Friday came shortly after the non-profit Missions in Haiti Inc announced that three of its missionaries were fatally shot by armed gunmen on Thursday night in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. The deaths are the latest in months of spiralling violence in Port-au-Prince, which remains largely under the control of powerful armed groups that have unleashed a wave of deadly attacks across the city. They also came as Kenyan President William Ruto wrapped up a visit to Washington, DC, where he met Biden and other senior US leaders to discuss a range of issues, including the long-stalled Haiti deployment. “The security situation in Haiti cannot wait,” a National Security Council spokesperson said on Friday, adding that Biden had pledged to support the “expedited deployment” of the Kenya-led force in talks with Ruto on Thursday. “Our hearts go out to the families of those killed as they experience unimaginable grief,” the spokesperson added, referring to the missionaries. Missouri State Representative Ben Baker on Friday identified his daughter, Natalie Lloyd, and son-in-law, Davy Lloyd, as being among those killed. The pair had been working as full-time missionaries in the country, and Davy Lloyd was the son of Missions in Haiti Inc’s founders, David and Alicia Lloyd, who started the organisation in 2000. The identity of the third person killed has not been released. The United Nations and other humanitarian organisations have been calling for more support for the citizens of Haiti amid years of gang violence and political instability, which worsened after the 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moise. The most recent wave of unrest, which kicked off in February with gang attacks on police stations, prisons and other state institutions, forced Haiti’s unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry to step down. An interim presidential council has since been appointed to lead the country, but major concerns and uncertainty persist. The UN humanitarian coordinator in Haiti earlier this month warned that “hundreds of thousands of people, including many women and children, are caught in violence, which shows little sign of abating”. As of mid-March, more than 360,000 Haitians were internally displaced across the country, according to the UN, and at least 1,500 people have been killed in gang violence since the beginning of the year. Yet while many Haitian civil society leaders and citizens say the country’s depleted and ill-equipped police force needs help to restore security, the looming deployment of Kenyan-led foreign forces continues to raise questions. Kenya has committed 1,000 police officers to the UN-backed mission, which is being largely financed by the US and aims to counter the gangs. The deployment is set to eventually comprise up to 2,500 personnel. But it remains unclear when the mission will begin after officials had said it could be launched to coincide with Kenyan President Ruto’s visit to the US. Citing two unnamed sources, the Reuters news agency reported on Thursday that the deployment had been delayed. Daniel Foote, a former US special envoy to Haiti who has been critical of the Biden administration’s policies, also told Al Jazeera earlier this week that the mission’s mandate is unclear. “Do they have arrest authority? Are they going to be offensively going against the gangs, or are they going to be protecting infrastructure and not moving around? Nobody knows,” Foote said on Thursday after Biden and Ruto held a news conference at the White House. Many Haitians also remain wary of outside intervention after past foreign missions failed to bring stability or address systemic problems in the country. Most recently, a UN peacekeeping force in Haiti was linked to a deadly cholera outbreak and sexual abuse allegations. Pressed on the new police deployment to Haiti during Thursday’s news conference, Ruto said Kenya “believes the responsibility of peace and security anywhere in the whole world, including Haiti, is the responsibility of all nations”. The Kenyan president promised the deployment would “break the back” of gangs in the country. Adblock test (Why?)
Dozens feared dead after ‘massive’ landslide hits Papua New Guinea
Governor of Enga province says the disaster caused ‘loss of life and property’ in at least six villages. A massive landslide has struck Papua New Guinea’s highlands, local officials and aid groups said, with dozens believed to have been killed. The disaster hit Kaokalam village in Papua New Guinea’s Enga province, about 600km (370 miles) northwest of the South Pacific island nation’s capital of Port Moresby, at about 3am local time on Friday (17:00 GMT Thursday). According to reports from the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) about 100 people are believed to have been killed, but authorities have not confirmed this figure. “Authorities say the scale of the landslide is ‘massive’, but they still cannot confirm the death toll,” said Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington, reporting from Jakarta in Indonesia. She said authorities have assembled a team to assist in the aftermath of the disaster that affected a community of mostly subsistence farmers. “Many homes have been destroyed as well as the gardens that people rely on to feed themselves in these communities,” our correspondent added. Enga’s provincial governor Peter Ipatas told the AFP news agency that a big landslide had caused “loss of life and property”. He said at least six villages had been affected. “It is a quite remote and quite hilly area where landslides are common,” Washington said, adding that “Papua New Guinea is susceptible to natural disasters, landslides, flooding, earthquakes.” Images from the scene of the landslide were posted on social media [AFP] ‘Houses got buried’ Images from the scene posted on social media showed a vast bite of rock and soil cleaved off from a densely vegetated hill. A long and wide scar of car-size boulders, felled trees and dirt stretched down towards the valley floor. The remains of many corrugated tin shelters could be seen at the foot of a large landslide. Dozens of local men and women scrambled over the piles of rock and soil, digging, crying out, listening for survivors or standing scanning the scene in disbelief. Some became instant rescuers, pulling out bodies buried under rocks and trees. “The landslide hit around three last night and it looks like more than 100 houses got buried. It is not yet known how many people were in those houses,” Vincent Pyati, president of the local Community Development Association, told AFP. “The number of victims is unknown.” Elizabeth Laruma, who runs a women’s business association in Porgera, a town in the same province near the Porgera Gold Mine, told the ABC houses in Kaokalam village were flattened when the side of a mountain gave way. “From what I can presume, it’s about 100-plus people who are buried beneath the ground,” she said. Media in the nation said the landslide may have impacted operations at the mine. Aid agencies including the Papua New Guinea Red Cross and CARE said they had received confirmation of the landslide, and were working to find out more. Sitting just south of the equator, the area gets frequent heavy rains. This year has seen intense rainfall and flooding. In March, at least 23 people were killed by a landslide in a nearby province. Adblock test (Why?)
Chad’s Deby sworn in as president as Allamaye Halina named new PM
Inauguration of Mahamat Idriss Deby follows disputed election and marks an end to three years of military rule. Chad’s newly elected president, Mahamat Idriss Deby, has been sworn in to succeed his late father after three years as an interim leader under military rule in the northcentral African country. Shortly after, the country announced that Allamaye Halina would assume the post of prime minister after Succes Masra announced his resignation from the position this week. Speaking at an inauguration ceremony in the capital in N’Djamena on Thursday, which followed contested elections earlier this month, Deby said: “To my brothers and sisters who did not choose me … I would like to say that I respect your choice, which contributes to the vitality of our democracy.” Deby won a sweeping 61 percent of the May 6 vote that international NGOs said was neither credible nor free. He was proclaimed transitional president in April 2021 after rebels killed his father, Idriss Deby, who had himself ruled Chad since a coup in the early 1990s. Deby was quickly endorsed as transitional leader by an international community led by France, whose forces in recent years have been removed by military regimes in former colonies Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. France currently has 1000 soldiers in Chad. The swearing-in on Thursday marked the end of three years of military rule in oil-rich Chad, one of Africa’s poorest countries, making official what the opposition has denounced as a Deby dynasty, accusing the clan and its allies of controlling the main institutions of power. New prime minister Following the inauguration, Chad named Halina, who was previously its ambassador to China, the new prime minister in a decree read out on state television. Masra, who resigned from the post on Wednesday, was Deby’s main rival in the election. He had only served as prime minister since the beginning of the year, having returned to the country under a reconciliation agreement after a period in exile following a crackdown on protests against military rule. The opposition leader came second in the election with 18.54 percent of the vote, unsuccessfully challenging the result on allegations of fraud. After the Constitutional Council rejected his bid, he called on supporters to “remain mobilised” but “peaceful”. Eight African heads of state and foreign dignitaries, including Franck Riester, France’s minister for foreign trade and Francophonie, attended Deby’s swearing-in ceremony. The presidential term runs for five years and can be renewed once. Adblock test (Why?)
India Lok Sabha election 2024 Phase 6: Who votes and what’s at stake?
India’s staggered general election is heading towards its penultimate phase, with voters from eight states and federally-governed union territories poised to decide the fate of 889 candidates on May 25. Among some prominent candidates, Kanhaiya Kumar, a former student leader and fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is challenging sitting MP Manoj Tiwari, regional Bhojpuri language cinema actor and singer, in the North East Delhi constituency, while Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan is seeking to enter the Lok Sabha, the lower House of Indian Parliament, from Sambalpur in the eastern state of Odisha. The sixth phase will see all seven seats in the Indian capital region, a stronghold of the local governing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), go to polls. The first five phases – April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20 – saw voter turnouts of 66.1, 66.7, 61, 67.3 and 60.5 percent, respectively. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), led by the main opposition Congress party, has promised to address the economic distress and lack of employment generation as it aims to challenge the electoral dominance of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Who is voting in the sixth phase? Registered voters in the following six states and two union territories will cast their ballots for 58 seats: Haryana: All 10 of the northern state’s constituencies Jharkhand: Four of the eastern state’s 14 constituencies Odisha: Six of the eastern state’s 21 constituencies Uttar Pradesh: 14 of the northern state’s 80 constituencies Bihar: Eight of the eastern state’s 40 constituencies West Bengal: Eight of the eastern state’s 42 constituencies Delhi: All seven National Capital Territory (NCT) constituencies Jammu and Kashmir: Anantnag-Rajouri, one of the union territory’s five constituencies where polling was deferred from Phase 3 to Phase 6 due to weather conditions What are some of the key constituencies? New Delhi, North East Delhi (NCT): The battle for Delhi has gotten ugly with the region’s popular Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal unleashing a sharp attack on Modi after getting out of jail on bail in a corruption case. He has accused the BJP of using investigative agencies to frame him. A number of opposition leaders have either been jailed or are facing corruption cases. Kejriwal’s AAP has joined forces with the Congress to wrest the seven seats from the BJP. It is going to be an uphill task for Congress candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, who lost to BJP’s Giriraj Singh in Bihar’s Begusarai in the 2019 elections, to defeat Tiwari – a two-time MP representing North East Delhi. In 2019, Tiwari defeated Congress stalwart and three-time Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit by a margin of more than 360,000 votes. The BJP, which swept Delhi Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and 2019, has fielded Bansuri Swaraj, the 40-year-old daughter of former Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, for the New Delhi seat. She is being challenged by AAP’s Somnath Bharti. Kurukshetra, Gurgaon and Karnal (Haryana): The BJP swept all the 10 seats in Haryana state, primarily an agricultural belt neighbouring Delhi, in 2019. But since then, the party has faced backlash from sections of the state, after cracking down on the 2021 farmers’ agitation. The Modi government, which promised to double farm income by 2022, has been accused of helping corporate groups at the expense of farmers. The BJP, which governs the state, has denied the accusations. Leading industrialist Naveen Jindal is seeking election from Kurukshetra after switching from the Congress to the BJP. He lost the last two elections (2014 and 2019) to the BJP after previously representing the constituency for 10 years. BJP leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is contesting from Karnal against Congress’s Satpal Brahmachari, while the BJP’s Rao Inderjit Singh, a federal minister, is hoping to continue his victory run from Gurgaon – a satellite city on the outskirts of Delhi – with actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar of the Congress as the key challenger. Anantnag-Rajouri (J&K): People’s Democratic Party leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is aiming to enter parliament from Anantnag-Rajouri. She is facing Mian Altaf Ahmad of the National Conference party. Azamgarh, Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh): Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh voted for the BJP in 2019, when Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua, a popular Bhojpuri actor, was elected. The Samajwadi Party, which is the main opposition party in the state, has fielded Dharmendra Yadav, nephew of former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. The constituency has in the past sent Mulayam and his son Akhilesh Yadav, also a former chief minister and the party chief, to parliament. Tamluk (West Bengal): Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who resigned as a judge, is contesting the election on a BJP ticket from this constituency. He will be up against Debangshu Bhattacharya of the governing Trinamool Congress (TMC) party – a constituent of the INDIA alliance. When does the voting start and end? Voting will begin at 7am (01:30 GMT) and end at 6pm (12:30 GMT). Voters already in the queue by the time polls close will get to vote even if that means keeping polling stations open longer. The seventh and final phase of the election will be held on June 1. Vote counting will be done on June 4 and results will likely be announced the same day. Which parties rule the states being polled in the sixth phase? The BJP governs Uttar Pradesh and Haryana outright and governs Bihar in an alliance. Odisha is governed by the NDA-aligned Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Jharkhand is governed by the INDIA alliance led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). The TMC of INDIA has been governing West Bengal since 2011. The AAP, a part of the INDIA alliance, rules Delhi. Jammu and Kashmir is governed directly by the central government under Prime Minister Modi. Who won these Lok Sabha seats in 2019? In the last Lok Sabha elections, the Congress, parties now affiliated with the INDIA alliance and the constituents of the erstwhile Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won seven of