Can India’s Rahul Gandhi defeat Narendra Modi with ‘unity marches’?
Mumbai, India – Loud chants and songs on justice echoed around Shivaji Park in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, as thousands of people gathered at the iconic venue that had played frequent host to rallies by freedom fighters when the country fought for independence from the British decades ago. This time, the slogans called for a different “freedom” – from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party government. On stage, Bollywood singers Vishal and Rekha Bhardwaj sang classic songs from popular films, new and old. The park was decked in flags and life-sized cardboard cutouts of politicians from the opposition Indian National Congress (INC) party. Police officers were everywhere, but the atmosphere was festive – almost resembling that of a rock concert. The man at the centre of the event: Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family that ruled India for most of its first 50 years after independence. On Sunday evening, Gandhi and a bevy of leaders from other opposition parties launched the election campaign of their Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) from Shivaji Park, a day after the Election Commission of India announced dates for the world’s largest vote. Nearly a billion Indians will elect their next government in a seven-phase election that starts on April 19 and ends with the declaration of results on June 4. The INDIA alliance hopes to challenge Modi’s BJP, which is aiming to win a third straight term in office, riding on the back of the prime minister’s personal popularity, even as the Congress and other critics have accused it of dividing the nation on religious lines and favouring select industrialists. At the heart of the opposition alliance’s efforts are long marches undertaken by Gandhi across the length and breadth of the country, to galvanise support against Modi. His Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (Uniting India for Justice March) had culminated in Mumbai on Saturday. The marches and Gandhi’s message of unity and justice resonated with supporters at Shivaji Park on Sunday. Ganggu Bai, a 40-year-old cook who lives in Mumbai’s Dharavi – one of the world’s largest slum clusters made famous globally by the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire – was among those at the Sunday rally. “I am here to support the future of our country. and women’s rights,” she said. “This event gives me hope and feels like it is actually for the people of India,” she added. But for Gandhi, the Congress and the INDIA alliance to turn that sentiment into a national wave against the ruling government, they’ll need the votes of more than their core supporters: In the last national elections in 2019, the Congress won just 52 seats in the Lok Sabha or lower house of parliament, while the BJP won an overwhelming majority with 303 seats. Life-size cardboard posters of Rahul Gandhi are seen at a rally to mark the end of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, India [Priyanka Shankar/Al Jazeera] Political message Addressing the rally, Gandhi insisted that the INDIA alliance’s fight was not against a political party [referring to the BJP] or the prime minister – but for a vision of India. “There is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti. The question is, what is that Shakti. The soul of the king is in the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) and every institution of the country, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Income Tax department,” he said, adding that these institutions are the only reason the BJP is in power. The allegation: The “king” is Modi, EVMs can be hacked, and the government is using law enforcement agencies to coerce opposition members and business leaders into submission. #WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra: At the conclusion ceremony of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says, “There is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti. The question is, what is that Shakti. The soul of the King is in the EVM. This… pic.twitter.com/lL9h9W0sRf — ANI (@ANI) March 17, 2024 Several key politicians from the INDIA alliance, like Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Tamil Nadu state Chief Minister MK Stalin and former Maharashtra state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the former chief minister of Maharashtra, also attended the rally. “Ab ki baar, BJP tadipaar [This time, the BJP will be exiled],” Thackeray said and added that those who tried to divide them [the INDIA alliance] would be defeated. “Wherever Rahul goes, it looks like a festival,” Stalin told the cheering crowds. Then, he alluded to the litmus test that awaits the alliance. “The real victory of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra stands in defeating BJP and capturing Delhi,” he said. Are Gandhi’s marches working? Gandhi’s rally at Shivaji Park came a day after he concluded his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra – a 6,600km (4,100-mile) march from India’s east to west, with detours in each state he passed through. His promise: “panch nyay” or “five pillars of justice” for women, youth, farmers, labourers and justice in terms of equity. During the walk, he announced a one lakh rupee ($1,200) annual payout to every woman below the poverty line, and a 50 percent reservation in in all new recruitments of central government jobs for poor families. He began walking on January 15 this year in the conflict-torn northeast Indian state of Manipur, promising to bring peace to the region where tensions between the state’s mainly Hindu Meitei majority and the predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo have led to violence killing hundreds and displacing more than 60,000 people. Traversing west from Manipur, Gandhi ended his walk in Mumbai on March 16. Previously, he also walked from South India all the way to Kashmir in the north, between September 2022 and January 2023, in a march called Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India walk), which focused on fighting against poverty, unemployment and growing polarisation between Hindus and Muslims in India. Those messages are what inspired Sudha Prakash* to walk with Gandhi in his first Bharat
Harsh Mongolian winter leaves 4.7m animals dead; Red Cross issues appeal
UN says Mongolian herders are experiencing extreme ‘dzud’ cold conditions more often, with little time to recover before the next one. Mongolian herders have endured months of extreme cold, known as the “dzud”, that have already claimed the lives of about 4.7 million livestock animals, according to Mongolia’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), prompting an emergency appeal for assistance from the Red Cross. At least 2,250 herder families have lost more 70 percent of their livestock, as this year’s dzud blankets grazing lands in deep snow and ice, according to the Red Cross, and there are predictions many more animals will be unable to survive the next few weeks. About 30 percent of the country’s 3.3 million people are nomadic herders, living in dwellings known as gers or yurts on the country’s vast open steppes. Olga Dzhumaeva, head of the East Asia delegation of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), said herders were facing “the loss of their precious livestock” and “immense pressures on people’s mental and physical health. “The ongoing livestock deaths, diminishing resources and deteriorating conditions of hundreds of thousands of people in Mongolia this winter is a stark reminder of the urgent need for assistance,” she said in a statement on Tuesday. Heavy snowfall has buried more than 1,000 herder households’ gers – round tent-like dwellings [Courtesy of Mongolian Red Cross Society] Mongolians are used to enduring cold conditions, especially during the winter months from December to March, but extreme cold is known as dzud – the Mongolian word for disaster. During dzuds, temperatures in some parts of the country fall as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 Fahrenheit). This year’s dzud has seen numerous blizzards, bringing heavy snow. According to the United Nations, dzuds are already becoming more common with climate change. This is the sixth dzud Mongolia has experienced in the past decade, with herders still struggling to recover after last year’s harsh winter which claimed the lives of 4.4 million livestock animals. The crisis disproportionately affects Mongolian families with smaller herds, the Red Cross said [Courtesy of Mongolian Red Cross Society] A drought last summer also meant that many animals were not able to build up enough fatty stores ahead of the colder months. Changing conditions Climate change has disrupted Mongolia’s four season cycle, leading to a rise “in recurrent summer droughts and subsequent harsh winters” since 2015, Tapan Mishra, the UN resident coordinator in Mongolia, said last month. The loss of grazing options for livestock has meant herders already used up their hay and fodder stocks months earlier than usual, the Red Cross says. According to official data, Mongolia had some 64.7 million livestock animals at the end of 2023. Mongolia is known for its unique breeds of sheep, cattle, horses, goats, dromedaries, Bactrian camels and yaks, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These include the Bayad sheep, which can endure even Mongolia’s coldest regions after centuries of selective breeding, and provide families with milk, wool and meat. A herder walks with a horse through the snow [Courtesy of Mongolian Red Cross Society] The loss of so many livestock has placed strains on herder communities, who were “prepared for harsh conditions, but not to such an extent”, according to the Red Cross. Bolormaa Nordov, secretary-general of the Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS), said she hoped a new Red Cross appeal would help to “minimise the impact of the Dzud emergency and support households with longer-term solutions for their lives and livelihoods”. IFRC’s Dzhumaeva said Mongolians were surviving, but were in urgent need of help. “Yet we see the unwavering hope and resilience of so many families as they battle winter’s wrath with incredible strength,” said Dzhumaeva. Adblock test (Why?)
Israel’s war on Gaza: List of key events, day 165
Twenty Palestinians were killed in the early hours of Tuesday in Rafah, while UN warns Gaza could be hit by famine between mid-March and May. Here’s how things stand on Tuesday, March 19, 2024: Fighting and humanitarian crisis Twenty Palestinians were killed in the early hours of Tuesday in Israeli air strikes on Rafah and central parts of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials. At least six people were killed in an Israeli attack on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Israeli forces shelled a house in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Monday, killing at least eight Palestinians, including children, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire on Monday after a new report warned that northern Gaza could be hit by famine any time between mid-March and May. Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul was released on Monday after being detained for 12 hours and severely beaten by Israeli forces in Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital. According to the White House, Israel killed a senior Hamas commander Marwan Issa, in an air strike last week. Diplomacy and regional tensions US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have agreed to have their teams meet in Washington, DC to discuss “alternative approaches” to a ground offensive on Rafah, according to the White House. The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday it destroyed “seven anti-ship missiles, three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and three weapons storage containers” in attacks on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur for the right to food, has urged the United States to do more to end the ongoing hunger and starvation crisis in Gaza. Separately, EU foreign ministers on Monday “unanimously” approved sanctions against violent settlers who harass Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Violence in the occupied West Bank The Israeli military arrested three Palestinians from Qalqilya governorate in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reported on Monday. Two men were arrested after Israeli forces stormed their homes in the town of Azzun, while a third man was arrested from the town of Kafr Thulth, both east of the city of Qalqilya. On Monday, the Israeli military also arrested a man in the Jabal al-Sharif area of Hebron, while in the Balata camp, east of the city of Nablus, Palestinian groups have targeted a bulldozer with an explosive device following an Israeli raid on the area. Adblock test (Why?)
At least 12 bodies found after gang attacks in upscale Haiti suburb
Bodies found outside capital, Port-au-Prince, as attacks by gang members have ravaged the country for weeks. At least 12 bodies have been removed by ambulance from the affluent neighbourhood of Petion-Ville on the outskirts of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, as tensions simmer pending the announcement of a new government. Gunmen looted homes in the mountainous communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise on Monday, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police. The neighbourhoods had remained largely peaceful despite a surge in gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on February 29. The bodies of the victims, who had been shot, were removed from the main road leading into the suburb and from outside a fuel station, the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies reported. The latest attacks have raised concerns that gang violence will not end, despite Prime Minister Ariel Henry announcing nearly a week ago that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created. The council will have seven voting members and two observers from different political coalitions and sectors of society. Gang leaders, who have long sought to remove Henry, have warned of a “battle” for Haiti and threatened politicians who join the transition council. Meanwhile, residents are facing worsening shortages of food and medical care. Haiti has seen years of unrest that took a sharp turn to the worst after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. The crisis deepened this year as Haitian armed groups launched attacks on police, prisons and other state institutions. The main airport in Port-au-Prince has been shut down, and residents have been afraid to leave their homes to get water, food and other supplies. On Monday, Haiti’s power company announced that four substations in the capital and elsewhere “were destroyed and rendered completely dysfunctional”. As a result, swathes of Port-au-Prince were without power, including the Cite Soleil slum, the Croix-des-Bouquets community and a hospital. The company said criminals also seized important documents, cables, inverters, batteries and other items. The deteriorating conditions are making it difficult for humanitarian organisations to deliver aid to the Caribbean country, said Jean-Michael Bauer, the Haiti director at the United Nations World Food Programme. “Port-au-Prince is a place that’s in a bubble right now. You can’t get in and out by road. It’s very difficult to get in by air. Getting in and out by sea is a challenge,” Bauer told European Parliament’s subcommittee on human rights on Monday. “We need security in this country. Security is the number one problem right now. But we also need to make sure that at the same time we bring security, that we have a strong humanitarian component to everything we do.” The violence has created a political impasse that has seen the UN as well as the United States and Canadian embassies withdrawing their staff in recent days. The international community is also pushing to deploy a Kenyan-led police force to help maintain security in Haiti. US Department of State spokesperson Vedant Patel on Monday said that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is close to finalising the transitional council. “The announcement of this council, we believe, will help pave the way for free and fair elections and the deployment of the multi-national security support mission,” Patel told reporters. The State Department has chartered flights to evacuate dozens of US citizens out of Haiti. Patel said the evacuation plan was put in place in response to the limited availability of commercial flights out of the country. Adblock test (Why?)
What’s the impact of Niger cutting military ties with the US?
Niger was a crucial Western ally before a coup happened there last July. Niger has cut military ties with the United States – a setback from what was once a crucial ally in West Africa. It follows other leaders in the Sahel in forging closer ties with Russia, after taking power in military coups. So, what impact will this have on the region? Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra Guests: Idayat Hassan – Non-resident senior associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Abuja Alexis Akwagyiram – Managing editor at Semafor Africa in London Kabir Adamu – Security and intelligence specialist focusing on West Africa and the Sahel region, based in Abuja Adblock test (Why?)
Israel asks ICJ not to order new measures over looming famine in Gaza
Israel asks the UN court to reject South Africa’s request for more emergency orders in the Gaza genocide case. Israel has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) not to issue emergency orders for it to step up humanitarian aid to Gaza to address a looming famine, dismissing South Africa’s request to do so as “morally repugnant”. In a legal filing to the top United Nations court, made public on Monday, Israel said it “has real concern for the humanitarian situation and innocent lives, as demonstrated by the actions it has and is taking” in Gaza. Lawyers for Israel denied allegations of deliberately causing humanitarian suffering in the besieged enclave, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and hunger is rising. They said South Africa’s repeated requests for additional measures are an abuse of procedures. The filing said South Africa’s accusations in its request for new measures, filed March 6, are “wholly unfounded in fact and law, morally repugnant, and represent an abuse both of the Genocide Convention and of the court itself”. The new exchange between the parties is part of South Africa’s ongoing case accusing Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel In January, the ICJ, also known as the World Court, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel described the genocide allegation as baseless. Relief agencies said essential aid to Gaza’s 2.3 million people is being severely restricted. ‘Man-made’ looming famine Israel has imposed a siege on Gaza since October 7 and has also prevented much-needed fuel from entering. ICJ emergency measures serve as temporary injunctions meant to keep a situation from deteriorating before the court in The Hague can hear the full case, a process that usually takes several years. Israel’s response was published on the day the UN’s World Food Programme said “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza. The agency said 70 percent of its remaining population is experiencing catastrophic hunger and a further escalation of Israel’s assault could push about half of Gaza’s total population to the brink of starvation. The more than five-month offensive has killed nearly 32,000 people in the strip, according to health officials in Gaza. Another 1,139 people died in southern Israel in Hamas attacks on October 7, after which Israel launched its war on Gaza. At least 20 people have died from malnutrition and starvation in Gaza since Israel began its assault, Palestinian authorities said. The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, on Monday said the impending famine in Gaza was “entirely man-made” as “starvation is used as a weapon of war”. “Trucks are stopped. People are dying while the land crossings are artificially closed,” he said. South Africa’s request to the ICJ is the second time Pretoria has asked the court for additional measures. Its first request to pressure Israel to halt an offensive against the southern Gaza city of Rafah in February was denied. Adblock test (Why?)
Gaza has become the ‘greatest open-air graveyard’
NewsFeed The EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell says that Gaza has become a ‘graveyard for the many of the most important principles of humanitarian law’, at a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels. Published On 18 Mar 202418 Mar 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
No evidence of brain injury in people suffering ‘Havana Syndrome’: US study
US research agency finds no ‘biological abnormalities’ in US officials reporting incidents, but says symptoms are real. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States has found no evidence that government employees reporting symptoms of the “Havana Syndrome” suffer from “biological abnormalities”, including brain injury. In a statement announcing its study on Monday, the US medical research agency stressed that, despite its findings, the unexplained ailments “are very real”. First reported in the Cuban capital Havana in 2016, the syndrome results in vertigo, headaches, cognitive dysfunction and ear-ringing. Since then, US foreign service and intelligence personnel have reported enduring such symptoms across the world. “Using advanced imaging techniques and in-depth clinical assessments, a research team at the National Institutes of Health found no significant evidence of MRI-detectable brain injury, nor differences in most clinical measures compared to controls, among a group of federal employees who experienced anomalous health incidents (AHIs),” the NIH said in a statement on Monday. The study compared test results and MRI imaging between healthy volunteers and more than 80 US government employees and their relatives who are experiencing “anomalous health incidents”. “The researchers were unable to identify a consistent set of imaging abnormalities that might differentiate participants with AHIs from controls,” the NIH said. The administration of US President Joe Biden had vowed to work “tirelessly” to tackle Havana Syndrome. In November 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken appointed two officials to lead the government’s response to the issue, calling it an “urgent priority” for Washington. Earlier that year, possible “Havana Syndrome” cases at the US embassy in Hanoi led to Vice President Kamala Harris delaying a visit to Vietnam by three hours. There had been early speculations that the symptoms may be caused by microwaves deliberately targeting US officials abroad. But several US intelligence agencies concluded last year that it was “very unlikely” that a foreign adversary was responsible for Havana Syndrome. Their findings were released in a report by the National Intelligence Council. Still, US officials have sought to acknowledge that those reporting symptoms are indeed suffering from ailments. Carlo Pierpaoli, a lead author on the NIH study, said lack of evidence of difference in neurological imaging between healthy individuals and those experiencing AHIs “does not exclude that an adverse event impacting the brain occurred” in people with Havana Syndrome symptoms. “It is possible that individuals with an AHI may be experiencing the results of an event that led to their symptoms, but the injury did not produce the long-term neuroimaging changes that are typically observed after severe trauma or stroke,” Pierpaoli said in a statement. “We hope these results will alleviate concerns about AHI being associated with severe neurodegenerative changes in the brain.” Adblock test (Why?)
India bank ordered to share electoral bonds data linking donors, recipients
The Supreme Court gives the government-run State Bank of India until Thursday to disclose all the information. India’s Supreme Court has ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to submit all the details of electoral bonds, including the unique codes linking donors to political parties, just a month before the country’s general election. The seven-year-old election funding system, called “electoral bonds”, allowed individuals and companies in India to donate money to political parties anonymously and without any limits. In February, the top court scrapped the opaque system, calling it “unconstitutional”. In its order on Monday, the Supreme Court gave the SBI until Thursday to provide the Election Commission of India with the unique identification numbers of the bonds, so as to allow donors to be matched with recipients. “You have to disclose all details … we must have finality to it,” Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said. Last week, the commission made public some data on donations made since April 2019 under the funding mechanism. Some of India’s biggest companies, such as Vedanta Ltd, Bharti Airtel, RPSG Group and Essel Mining, were among the top political funders over the last five years, the data showed. But last week’s data did not link donors to recipients, though it showed that nearly half of all donations were received by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will seek a rare third term in the seven-phase election that starts April 19. Corporate funding of political parties is a sensitive issue in India. Critics say the electoral bonds helped companies hide their donations to avoid any accusations of winning favours from India’s ruling BJP party. On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the main opposition Congress Party, addressed a rally in Mumbai where he accused Modi’s government of using electoral bonds to extort money from companies, an accusation the government has denied. Meanwhile, three industry bodies – the Confederation of Indian Industry; the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry; and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) – sought to stop the court from making public information about who donated to which party. “Protection of anonymity is critical for preserving donors’ privacy and guarding against any adversity by any opposing political factions to whom the investment is not made by a corporate,” ASSOCHAM said. The court, however, did not hear their pleas. Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli forces launch new attack on Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital
NewsFeed The Israeli army has launched a new attack on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, raiding and opening fire on the facility where thousands are taking shelter. Published On 18 Mar 202418 Mar 2024 Adblock test (Why?)