Khalilzad Resigns As Special US Envoy To Afghanistan

US diplomat and the former Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad (Wikimedia Commons)

Zalmay Khalilzad, the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation who brokered the peace deal between the United States and the Taliban, has stepped down and been replaced by veteran American diplomat Thomas West, Secretary of State Tony Blinken said.

“As Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad steps down from his role. I extend my gratitude for his decades of service to the American people,” Blinken said.

"Thomas West, who previously served as the Deputy Special Representative, will be the Special Representative for Afghanistan,” he said.

West, who earlier served on the Vice President's national security team and the National Security Council staff, will lead diplomatic efforts, advise the Secretary and Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs and coordinate closely with the US.

In his resignation letter, according to Politico, Khalilzad said, "The political arrangement between the Afghan government and the Taliban did not go forward as envisaged. The reasons for this are too complex and I will share my thoughts in the coming days and weeks."

"Going forward, I plan to contribute to the discussion and debate about not only what happened but what should be done next," he told Politico.

 

Bangladesh: 29 Hindu Homes Torched Amid Rising Communal Tensions

 

Hundreds of Hindus in Dhaka protest attacks on temples and the killing of two Hindu devotees in another district (AP)

A group of assailants set ablaze at least 29 homes of Hindus in Bangladesh over an alleged blasphemous social media post amidst protests by the minority community against temple vandalism incidents during the Durga Puja celebrations last week, media reports said on Monday.

The arson attack happened late on Sunday in a village in Rangpur district's Pirgonj upazila, the bdnews24.com reported.

The police rushed to a fishermen neighbourhood as tensions mounted over a rumour that a young Hindu man of the village had "dishonoured religion" in a Facebook post, the report quoted the district's superintendent of police Mohammad Qamruzzaman as saying.

As the police stood guard around the man's home, the attackers set fire to other homes nearby, the report said.

The Fire Service Control Room said that their report from the scene indicates that 29 residential houses, two kitchens, two barns and 20 haystacks belonging to 15 different owners were torched in Pirgonj's Majhipara. An "unruly crowd" was identified as the cause of the fire.

The fire service received a report of the fire at 8:45 PM and put it out by 4:10 AM, the report said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The arson incident occurred amid rising communal tensions over an alleged blasphemy incident at a Durga Puja venue in Comilla, which led to attacks on Hindu temples and clashes between vandals and the police in Cumilla, Chandpur, Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Bandarban, Moulvibazar, Gazipur, Chapainawabganj, Feni and other districts.

Dozens of people have been arrested in connection with the attacks and the spread of communal hatred on social media, the report said.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council alleges that at least four Hindu devotees have died in the attacks in Chandpur and Noakhali.

Meanwhile, the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested two more men in connection with the looting and vandalism of temples and shops belonging to the Hindu minority community in Feni, about 155 kms from Dhaka.

They were arrested for their involvement in communal violence and inciting people on social media. They were handed over to the local police station, said Imran Khan, assistant director of the paramilitary force's Legal and Media Wing.

Earlier on Saturday, one person was arrested in connection with the attack which took place when the Feni Puja celebration committee and its supporters were preparing to protest against the communal violence in the country.

The assailants also vandalised and looted several temples and a number of shops owned by Hindus and torched vehicles. They clashed with the police for about seven hours.

Authorities deployed additional police forces and the paramilitary force -- Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), after several temples and businesses owned by Hindus were vandalised and robbed during clashes.

Approximately 40 people were injured in the violence, including Feni Model Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Nizam Uddin.

On Sunday, two cases were filed against 400 unnamed people.

Meanwhile on Monday, a group of Dhaka University students joined hands with protesting religious groups against the attacks on the temples, puja venues and homes of the Hindu community across Bangladesh, the report said.

The protesters called for the formation of a separate ministry to handle affairs related to minority groups.

In a separate report, the bdnews24.com, quoting the prominent rights group in Bangladesh Ain-o-Salish Kendra (ASK), said that as many as 3,679 attacks on the minority Hindu community took place between January 2013 and September this year.

The attacks included vandalism of and setting fire to 559 houses and 442 shops and businesses of the Hindu community, it said.

At least 1,678 cases of vandalism and arson attacks on Hindu temples, idols and places of worship were also reported in the same period, it said.

While 11 citizens from the Hindu community have died in these incidents, another 862 were injured, the report said.

Two Hindu women were raped in 2014 and another four were sexually assaulted, it said, adding that at least 10 Hindu families were evicted from their homes and land in 2016, 2017 and 2020.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised to bring to justice the culprits behind the violence, saying anyone involved in the attacks on Hindu temples and Durga Puja venues in Comilla will not be spared.

"The incidents in Comilla are being thoroughly investigated. Nobody will be spared. It doesn't matter which religion they belong to. They will be hunted down and punished," she said while exchanging greetings with the Hindu community members during an event at Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka on the occasion of Durga Puja.

The Durga Puja celebrations, considered to be the biggest festival of the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh, concluded without the traditional Bijoya Dashami procession.

Farmers’ Body Condemns Singhu Murder

 

Lakhbir Singh of District Tarn Taran in Punjab was found mutilated and murdered at the Singhu border

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Friday issued a statement condemning the “gruesome killing” of a man whose mutilated body was found earlier in the morning near the farmers’ protest site at Kundli in Haryana on the Singhu Border near Delhi.

The SKM, an umbrella organisation under which many unions are protesting against the farm laws, said that “both the parties to the incident, the Nihang group and the deceased person, have no relation with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha”.

“Samyukta Kisan Morcha condemns this gruesome killing and wants to make it clear that both the parties to this incident, the Nihang group (accused) and the deceased person, have no relation with Samyukta Kisan Morcha,” the statement read.

According to SKM, “A person hailing from Punjab (Lakhbir Singh, son of Darshan Singh, Village Cheema Kala, Police Station Sarai Amanat Khan, District Tarn Taran) was mutilated and murdered this morning at the Singhu Border.”

“A Nihang group at the scene has claimed responsibility, saying that the incident took place because of the deceased’s attempt to commit sacrilege with regard to the Sarbaloh Granth,” added the statement.

According to the Haryana Police, the dead person has been identified as Lakhbir Singh, a labourer aged 35 or 36, hailing from Punjab’s Tarn Taran.

The body was found hanging on a police barricade at the farmers’ protest site near Singhu border in the early hours of Friday, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Hansraj said.

The SKM has demanded that the culprits should be punished after lawful investigation into the allegation of murder and conspiracy behind the sacrilege and they will “cooperate with the police and administration in any lawful action.”

The group said that it is “against sacrilege of any religious text or symbol, but that does not give anyone the right to take the law into their own hands”.

“This peaceful and democratic movement is opposed to violence in any form,” the SKM said .

Earlier, on Friday morning, DSP Hansraj said, “At about 5 am today, Kundli police station received information about a body of a man hanged near a stage where the farmers have been protesting at the Singhu border.”

“A police inspector reached the site with a team and found that the man’s body only had his undergarment on and his hands and legs were chopped off. He was found hanging on a police barricade,” he added.

 

In Assam, Village Committees Lead The Way During Floods

 

Disaster management committees in Assam teach villagers how to build makeshift stretchers during a drill (Image: Tirtha Prasad Saikia, NEADS)

Over the past three decades, the severity of both droughts and floods has increased in the state of Assam. In this new normal, where flash floods are increasingly common, village disaster management committees are stepping up to save lives.

The village of Chomoni Chapori is one such place. Everybody recalls the birth of a child during a storm seven years ago. The surging waters of the Brahmaputra and its tributary Jhanji – located within a five-kilometre radius of the village – engulfed the mud houses along the village’s single road. By the time Aparajita Borah realised she was going into labour, it was 6 am. Rain pounded the windows of her house.

Her brother dialled 108 for an ambulance. It was three kilometres away, across the floodwaters. Bhupen Bora, the president of the Duryug Bebosthapana Samiti, the village disaster management committee, sent a boat right away with two to three volunteers. They made sure Aparajita arrived at the right location. “Thanks to him [Bhupen Bora], I got the boat. I gave birth around 8.00-8:15 a.m. on the boat itself,” she said.

New Climate-Induced Disasters

In August this year, a study conducted by professors at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati on the impact of climate change on rainfall in the upper Brahmaputra valley of Assam was published. It found that the state has experienced longer duration of high-intensity rainfall or dry spells in recent years.

“The new pattern of rainfall leads to more incidences of soil erosion [and] landslides. [The] enormous volume of run-off leads to heavy deposition of debris and silt, causing flash floods. In the absence of proper documentation, it is difficult to get a quantitative idea of such incidents,” said Partha Jyoti Das, who heads the water, climate and hazard division of the Guwahati-based think-tank, Aaranyak.

With floods worsening in the state, village committees in Assam face a problem of a different scale. Last year, record-breaking rainfall brought a tributary of the Brahmaputra – the Jhanjhi – back to life, to the extent that it overflowed its banks, and a flash flood followed.

In unexpected situations like these, farmers like Anando Bora look to village committees to rescue them. Bora, who is in his 90s, and his family graze their buffaloes on lush islands spread across the Jhanjhi River. With the river washing away calves and decimating islands during floods, his livelihood suffers. His milk yield reduces from 10 litres to 2-3 litres a day, Bora said.

During the 2020 floods, Bora, his family and their animals were stranded on an island. “Six families were stuck among 300 to 400 buffaloes. They couldn’t leave their buffaloes. I had to send the boats [to] rescue [them],” Bhupen said.

Disaster Management Committees Keep Villagers Safe

The village committees are changing the social fabric of the region. Communities living in Chomoni Chapori and the surrounding villages in the catchment area of the Brahmaputra and its tributary Jhanji up to its confluence, used to be largely self-reliant. The slew of disasters is pushing cooperation, and creating leaders.

Every village has its own disaster committee comprising 15 to 17 members who have four main responsibilities. An early warning team provides information to the community prior to a disaster to prevent loss of life and property; a first aid team covers the administration of basic healthcare to those injured in accidents; a WASH team covers the sanitation, hygiene and water issues related to a disaster; and the search and rescue team looks for survivors.

These committees, organised with the support of local NGO North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS), act as emergency responders in 70 villages in the districts of Majuli, Jorhat and Golaghat in Assam.

“The frontline communities have a deeper understanding of the disasters they face. When equipped with adequate resources and capacity, they can save lives and create awareness without depending on the government,” said Tirtha Prasad Saikia, the joint director of NEADS.

Bora, who is also a farmer, is the president of Chomoni Chapori’s village disaster management committee. He is engaged in both early warnings and search and rescue operations. If the Brahmaputra level rises in nearby Dibrugarh – around 138 kilometres from Chomoni Chapori – the water takes at least 12 hours to reach his village in Jorhat district. Hence, it’s essential for Bhupen to follow flood updates closely and relay this information to his community, so they have time to prepare.

He is also responsible for the distribution of relief and humanitarian aid among villagers and submitting action plans proposed by NEADS to the panchayat (village council). In fact, he won the approval of the village council in installing flood-proof tubewells. The tubewells provided by the government were not working. “I raised the issue so that people can drink clean water. Now, there are 10 such tubewells for every ward [a smaller unit of villages] of the gram panchayat,” he said.

Women Make Up Half The Committee

In the aftermath of floods, when sanitation and hygiene facilities are hit hard, women are severely affected. “Toilets are not available during floods. I have to go to a distant chapori [island],” said Aparajita from Chomoni Chapori. To address these issues, the village committee ensures half of its members are women.

Nitumoni Doley, a villager in her mid-30s, is responsible for teaching women in Ouguri Mising village to disinfect water from tubewells during floods.

“I personally go to their homes and bleach the water from tubewells. I ask them to boil water before intake,” Doley said. She even keeps records of pregnant women who fail to keep up with routine checkups.

“I ensure no pregnant woman is late for her checkup, especially during heavy rainfall. I arrange for them to travel to the nearby PHC [primary health centre] by boat if required,” Doley said. For the past two years, she has managed to secure raised flood-proof toilets for women in her community. “The toilets are created on higher ground where the tanks are kept. A drain system is arranged between two tanks,” Nitumoni told The Third Pole.

Menstrual hygiene is often not considered a priority in emergency flood response. “Flood victims, especially women, are more concerned about saving their lives and resources. Their sanitation concerns and menstrual hygiene take a back seat, making them more vulnerable,” said Rituparana Patgiri, assistant professor at Delhi’s Indraprastha College for Women. But Doley has that ticked off her list of essential duties. Before and after floods, she distributes sanitary napkins for free to vulnerable women.

Drills, Training And A Bigger Role For Disaster Management Committees

This year, rainfall has been low rather than high; severe floods only arrived in late August. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, over 225,000 people from 15 districts in Assam have been affected.

Floods or no floods, disaster management committees in Assam make sure their message gets out. Through emergency drills, they keep communities on their toes. During the last drill in March, Bhupen Bora said, villagers in Chomoni Chapori were taught to quickly string together plastic bottles to make a lifejacket; build a makeshift stretcher from bamboo poles and bedsheets that can be hauled over floodwaters; and identify a snake bite before calling for emergency assistance.

The success of the village disaster management committees in Assam suggests they could do far more. “There is no other institution which can understand climate change better. But everyone bears them in mind only when floods occur,” said Eklavya Prasad, managing trustee at Megh Pyne Abhiyan, a public charitable trust working on water stress in eastern India.

“When the government talks about the impact of climate on floods, they should look towards non-structural measures like taking the insights of such communities in knowing the river and its tributaries.”

TheThirdPole

Climate Talks Must Deliver Finance That’s Fit For Future

 

Delegates during a plenary session of the UN Climate Change Conference COP20 in Lima, Peru in December 2014 (Image: Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Alamy)

The Paris Agreement works on a five-year cycle. Twice a decade, each country is expected to increase its ambition on national climate action through a formal submission, known as the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

For the first time since signing the Paris Agreement in 2015, countries will be formally submitting their revised versions of “increased ambition”. For this reason alone, COP26 – the annual climate talks taking place in Glasgow next month – has taken the global centre stage.

Ambitious action, however, needs money. Finance then naturally becomes a critical discussion block at climate change negotiations. Over the past six years, not only the pandemic, but also a set of economic and political developments have taken place outside the UN negotiations that will influence climate finance discussions at COP26.

A Fragile Global Economy

Back in Paris, there was very little recognition of how fragile our financial system actually is. A global re-evaluation of the planet’s economic “resilience” only happened when we were hit by the pandemic, the most damaging financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

We witnessed how debt vulnerability, loss of revenue, contractions in GDP, and loss of foreign investments created monumental fiscal pressures in developing economies, reversing progress achieved over decades. The existing USD 100 billion commitment by rich countries as annual climate finance to developing countries paled in comparison with the USD 11 trillion that advanced economies injected into their own systems in response to the pandemic.

While the same countries talk about seizing the opportunity and suggest a “green recovery”, their own immediate interventions are far from green. In fact, the stimulus to date is set to have a net negative environmental impact in 16 of the G20 countries and economies.

The Way Forward

Nonetheless, since Paris a couple of good things have happened. These can potentially help to reduce the cost of ambitious actions.

First, a fundamental shift in technology has led to greater support for renewables across the entire energy sector. For example, under the right conditions, solar has become the cheapest electricity ever produced according to the International Energy Agency in its 2020 World Energy Outlook report. As a result, low-emission development pathways are now not as unachievable as they seemed five years ago.

However, access to clean energy has to be democratised. If developing economies are not able to access cheaper forms of energy on an immediate basis, developed countries’ ambitions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 may not be realised.

Secondly, markets have clearly signalled they are ready to deliver a greener future, if politicians deliver on policy. 

The shipping industry, for example, in a letter in the Financial Times, has expressed its desire to support the 2050 target, provided governments come together with policy decisions allowing the development of green fuels or biofuels.

Businesses need structure, security and certainty. If governments and businesses can start trusting each other, solutions in addition to renewables can come much sooner than expected. Engagement of the private sector in developing countries will be a game changer.

Climate Finance And The COP26 Agenda

Let’s now zoom in on the finance negotiations that will take place at Glasgow under heightened public scrutiny. Negotiators will focus on two main streams.

First, they will think through the 2020-25 negotiation cycle and the delivery of the promised USD 100 billion annually to developing countries for this period. Back in 2009, developed countries committed to mobilising USD 100 billion a year by 2020. To follow up on the commitment, in 2011 a work programme on Long Term Finance (LTF) was established to guide the process. It was in Paris that countries decided to extend the goal to 2025.

In the absence of a clear definition of “climate finance”, the LTF has not had an easy ride. The USD 100 billion target remains elusive because we are not clear about what we are counting. Public or private sources; loans or grants? Without an established “counting methodology”, it is merely the rich nations’ word against the poor nations’ word.

For example, according to an OECD report published in 2020, the total amount of public climate finance mobilised in 2018 was USD 62.2 billion. Oxfam however estimates USD 19-22.5 billion.

In addition to the “counting” ambiguity which the LTF has not been able to address, COP26 faces another technical challenge: the very fate of the LTF itself, which was due to end in 2020. Over time, processes have been initiated under different streams. If the LTF is not properly unpacked and streamlined along with other processes, this may lead to unnecessary duplication of effort or may miss out some critical elements of climate negotiations.

The negotiators will have to be particularly careful in ensuring there are no loose ends, as we are already one year into the five-year window.

Secondly, at Paris countries agreed to set a new collective quantified goal after 2025 from a “floor” of USD 100 billion per year, considering the needs and priorities of developing countries.

COP26 will essentially have to start from scratch on this front. Learning from the shortcomings of setting the arbitrary goal of USD 100 billion in 2009, a substantial portion of deliberations on the post-2025 goal need to focus on content as well as process.

Negotiators need to discuss scale. Should any new target grow incrementally year by year, or should there be another five-year cycle? When it comes to breaking down general targets into more specific actions, how should these sub-targets be identified in terms of mitigation and adaptation, public and private, grant and loan? Is there an enabling environment for new financial flows consistent with low emissions and climate-resilient development?

The process will also have to be determined: where and how should the technical deliberations take place? At what point should political leaders be engaged?

In a post-pandemic world, the success of Glasgow’s climate talks should not be determined only by closing the unfinished technical business to implement the Paris Agreement. Nor by pushing all countries to commit to the ambitious race to net carbon neutrality that they may not be able to deliver.

The real success of COP26 hinges upon developed countries genuinely addressing the very obvious money problem. Showing mere willingness to support developing countries will not save the world.

by The Third Pole

Kim Vows To Build 'Invincible' Military While Slamming US

 

Kim also used his speech to stress that his military might isn't targeted at South Korea and that there shouldn't be another war pitting Korean people against each other

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reviewed powerful missiles developed to launch nuclear strikes on the US mainland, as he vowed to build an “invincible” military to cope with what he called persistent U.S. hostility, state media reported on Tuesday.

In an apparent continued effort to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, Kim also used his speech at a rare exhibition of weapons systems on Monday to stress that his military might isn't targeted at South Korea and that there shouldn't be another war pitting Korean people against each other.

“The US has frequently signaled it's not hostile to our state, but there is no action-based evidence to make us believe that they are not hostile,” Kim said on Monday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. “The US is continuing to create tensions in the region with its wrong judgments and actions.”

Calling the United States a “source” of instability on the Korean Peninsula, Kim said his country's most important objective is possessing an “invincible military capability” that no one can dare challenge.

The exhibition, which KCNA says was meant to mark the 76th birthday of the ruling Workers' Party on Sunday, was the first of its kind since Kim took power in late 2011, according to Seoul officials. North Korean photos showed Kim, clad in a dark suit, walking on a red carpet lined with big missiles mounted on trucks, passing by a multiple rocket launch system and watching jets flying in a formation.

The exhibition featured an array of newly developed weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles North Korea has already test-launched or displayed during military parades in recent years, experts say.

Yang Wook, a military expert who teaches at South Korea's Hannam University, said the weapons in the photos include what appears to be a new ICBM that North Korea disclosed during a military parade last year but hasn't test-fired, Yang said. That missile mounted on an 11-axel launch vehicle during the parade is considered to be the North's biggest-yet ICBM.

Other weapons on display were another ICBM that North Korea tested in 2017; ballistic missiles that can be fired from submarines or a train; solid-fueled, short-range missiles; and a developmental hypersonic missile that had its first test-flight last month, said Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert at South Korea's Science and Technology Policy Institute.

“Basically, North Korea wants to send this message: We'll continue to develop new weapons and arm ourselves with nuclear force, so don't slap sanctions with these as we can't agree on the double standards,” Yang said.

Seoul's Defense Ministry said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were analyzing the North Korean weapons displayed but didn't elaborate.

In recent weeks, North Korea has sent mixed signals toward its rivals, as it resumed its missile tests after a six-month hiatus but offered conditional talks with South Korea.

During his exhibition speech, Kim accused South Korea of hypocrisy because it criticizes North Korea's weapons development as provocations while spending heavily to increase its own military capabilities. But he still said his military doesn't target South Korea.

“I say once again that South Korea isn't the one that our military forces have to fight against,” Kim said. “Surely, we aren't strengthening our defense capability because of South Korea. We shouldn't repeat a horrible history of compatriots using force against each other.”

Some experts say North Korea is attempting to use South Korea's desire to improve ties to pressure it to convince the United States to relax punishing economic sanctions on the North and make other concessions.

North Korea has long sought improved ties with the United States because it wants sanctions relief and a better security environment to focus on reviving its moribund economy. The high-stakes diplomacy between the countries fell apart in early 2019 after the Americans rejected North Korea's calls for extensive sanctions relief in return for partial disarmament steps.

The United States has recently repeatedly offered talks with North Korea “anywhere and at any time” without preconditions. Kim has called such an offer a “cunning” attempt to conceal U.S. hostility against North Korea, as he wants Washington to ease the sanctions or suspend its regular military drills with Seoul first before the talks can resume.

Despite its recent missile tests, Kim still maintains a 2018 self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile tests directly targeting the American homeland, a sign that he still wants to keep alive chances for future talks with Washington.

In 2017, North Korea conducted three ICBM tests and claimed to have acquired an ability to attack the US mainland with nuclear missiles. Lee, the expert, questioned the North's claim, saying it needs to conduct several more flight-tests to prove it has overcome the last remaining technological hurdles such as one on protecting a warhead from the extreme heat and pressure after re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. 

US: Indigenous People's Day Marked With Celebrations And Protests

 

Indigenous People of America protesting in front of the White House against fossil fuel pipelines (Twitter - Indigenous Environmental Network)

Indigenous people across the United States marked Monday with celebrations of their heritage, education campaigns and a push for the Biden administration to make good on its word.

The federal holiday created decades ago to recognise Christopher Columbus' sighting in 1492 of what came to be known as the Americas increasingly has been rebranded as Indigenous People's Day.

For Michaela Pavlat, cultural interpreter at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, the day is one of celebration, reflection and recognition that Indigenous communities are fighting for land rights, for the U.S. government to uphold treaties, and for visibility and understanding.

“As long as you're on Native land and stolen land, it's Indigenous People's Day,” said Pavlat, who is Sault Ste. Marie Band of Chippewa Indians (Anishinaabe). “We have a lot of movement and a lot of issues we're facing in our communities, and you can have that conversation every day.”

EVENTS THIS YEAR

More than a dozen protesters linked arms and sat along the White House fence line on Monday to call on the Biden administration to do more to combat climate change and ban fossil fuels. Others cheered and chanted in support from across the street as police blocked off the area with yellow tape and arrested the seated protesters.

The Andrew Jackson statue at the center of Lafayette Park was defaced with the words “Expect Us” — part of a rallying cry used by Indigenous people who have been fighting against fossil fuel pipelines. Jackson, a slave-owning president, forced Cherokees and many other Native Americans on deadly marches out of their southern homelands.

“Indigenous people have been on the front lines of protecting the land, the people, and it's time for the government and these huge systems to do more,” said Angel Charley, of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, who was among the protesters.

Indigenous groups also planned protests in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

At the Boston Marathon, race organizers honored 1936 and '39 winner Ellison “Tarzan” Brown and three-time runner-up Patti Catalano Dillon, a member of the Mi'kmaq tribe. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo, said she ran for missing and slain Indigenous people and their families, the victims of the boarding school era and the "promise that our voices are being heard and will have a part in an equitable and just future in this new era."

Others gathered for prayers, dances and other commemorations in cities across the U.S.

On social media, people posted educational resources that included maps of Indigenous land, ways to support Indigenous communities, and recommendations for television shows and films that prominently feature Indigenous people, like “Reservation Dogs.”

WHAT'S NEW?

President Joe Biden last week issued the first presidential proclamation of Indigenous People's Day, the most significant boost yet to efforts to refocus Columbus Day in recognition of the Italian explorer's brutal treatment of people who already occupied what came to be known as the Americas.

About 20 states observe Indigenous People's Day by law, through proclamation or other action, along with cities and universities across the country.

Oregon recognized Indigenous People's Day on Monday, months after its Legislature overwhelmingly approved a bill in support of the change from Columbus Day.

In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers joined the leaders from tribes in the state and issued a formal apology for Wisconsin's role in Native American boarding schools era.

NOT JUST A CELEBRATION

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian on Monday hosted a virtual conversation about mixed Black and Indigenous identity and how the struggles of one side sometimes get overshadowed by the other.

Joy SpearChief-Morris pointed to the Civil Rights movement and the Red Power movement, which included the Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island off the coast of San Francisco more than 50 years ago.

“Both groups supported each other, but we don't really talk about the Red Power movement,” said SpearChief-Morris, who is African American and Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe) from Canada.

The panelists noted that Afro-Indigenous identity goes back generations.

“Everything that we do is to bring about Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty on this land and to dismantle white supremacy and settler colonialism,” said Amber Starks, who is African American and a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. “And I'd like to add racial capitalism”

Kyle Mays, an assistant professor at the University of California-Los Angeles who is Black and Saginaw Anishinaabe, acknowledged the work isn't easy.

While Indigenous People's Day is “cool," he said, “I don't want a day for celebration. I want justice." (AP)

 

Priyanka Leads Silent Protest To Demand Removal Of Union Minister

 

Congress leaders led by party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra staged a silent protest in Lucknow on Monday demanding the dismissal of Union Minister Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

The minister's son Ashish was arrested on Saturday by the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the October 3 violence in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed.

He was produced before a court late on Saturday night, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

Congress members sat on a ''maun vrat'' in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, demanding the dismissal of the Union minister, a party spokesperson said.

Congress workers and leaders, including state president Ajay Kumar Lallu, Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra, leader in the Legislative Council Dipak Singh, among others, converged at the GPO Park in Lucknow and were later were joined by Priyanka Gandhi, the spokesperson said.

The party has demanded dismissal of the minister for ensuring a free and fair investigation in the case.

Addressing a rally in Varanasi on Sunday, Priyanka Gandhi had said, "Congress workers do not fear anyone even if you put them in jails or beat them up. We will continue to fight till the Union minister resigns. Our party has fought for the country's Independence. No one can silence us."

UP minister Siddharth Nath Singh, however, said the law will take its own course and will not be influenced by any kind of pressure.

Singh said if the Congress leaders want to sit on a ''maun vrat'' or hold protests, it is their democratic right.

In an apparent jibe at Manmohan Singh, the UP government spokesperson said a prime minister had been on ''maun vrat'' for 10 years.

"Why were protests not held in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where atrocities were allegedly being committed against Dalits and farmers?" asked Singh.

US Condemns Suicide Attack On Afghan Mosque

 

People view the damage inside a mosque following a bombing in Kunduz, Afghanistan on Friday, October 08, 2021 (AP)

The US has condemned in the strongest terms the suicide attack on worshippers at a mosque in Afghanistan in which at least 46 people were killed, saying the Afghan people deserve a "future free of terror".

The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that tore through the packed Shiite Mosque in the northern Afghanistan city of Kunduz.

At least 46 people were killed and dozens of others injured in the attack which was the latest in a series of Islamic State bombings targeting Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers, religious institutions and members of the country's minority Shiite Muslims.

In a statement on Friday, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that the US condemns in the strongest terms the Friday's attack on worshippers at a mosque in northern Afghanistan.

"We offer our deepest condolences to the victims and their families. The Afghan people deserve a future free of terror," Price said.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference: "Obviously, any loss is an enormous tragedy, and our heart goes out to the families who lost loved ones."

"We, of course, will continue to work in partnership with leaders in the region to work to get partners who stood by our side out of Afghanistan, who want to depart. That's something that there's ongoing work on, as we speak," Psaki added.

The Islamic State's Afghanistan affiliate, dubbed Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), which has stepped up attacks in several Afghan cities since the Taliban seized power in Kabul on August 15, had claimed the deadly suicide attack at Kabul airport on August 26 that killed nearly 170 Afghans and 13 US military personnel. 

Abortions Resume In Some Texas Clinics After Judge Halts Law

 

Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence at an abortion justice march (Instagram)

Abortions quickly resumed in at least six Texas clinics after a federal judge halted the most restrictive abortion law in the US, but other physicians remained hesitant, afraid the court order would not stand for long and thrust them back into legal jeopardy.

It was unclear how many abortions Texas clinics rushed to perform on Thursday after US District Judge Robert Pitman suspended the law known as Senate Bill 8, which since early September had banned abortions once cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks.

Prior to the blistering 113-page order late on Wednesday, other courts had declined to stop the law, which bans abortions before some women even know they are pregnant.

“There's actually hope from patients and from staff, and I think there's a little desperation in that hope,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman's Health, which operates four clinics in Texas. She said some of those clinics performed abortions on Thursday but did not reveal how many.

“Folks know this opportunity could be short-lived," she said.

By all accounts, the ruling did not usher in a fast return to normal in Texas.

At least six Texas clinics resumed abortion services on Thursday or were gearing up to offer them again, said Kelly Krause, spokeswoman for the Center for Reproductive Rights. There were roughly two dozen abortion clinics in Texas before the law took effect on Sept. 1.

Planned Parenthood, the state's largest abortion provider, did not say on Thursday whether it had resumed abortions, stressing the ongoing uncertainty and the possibility of an appeals court quickly reinstating the law in the coming days. Fund Choice Texas, which covers travel expenses for women seeking abortions, was still receiving a high volume of calls on Thursday from patients needing help to make out-of-state appointments.

The 20 calls were about the normal volume over the past month, executive director Anna Rupani said. She said her organization — which has helped Texas women travel as far away as Seattle and Los Angeles — was still discussing whether it would help a patient get an abortion in Texas even with a court injunction in place.

The Texas law leaves enforcement solely up to private citizens, who are entitled to collect $10,000 in damages if they bring successful lawsuits against not just abortion providers who violate the restrictions, but anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion. Republicans crafted the law in a way designed to also allow retroactive lawsuits if the restrictions are set aside by one court, but later put back in place by another.

“What's really frustrating ... is this law was drafted to create confusion, and this law was drafted to create problems," Rupani said. “It's unfortunate that we have an injunction, and people are still having to understand the legal ramifications of what that means for them."

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office has served notice of the state's intent to appeal but had yet to do so on Thursday.

“We are confident that the appellate courts will agree that every child with a heartbeat should have a chance at life," said Renae Eze, a spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who signed the law in May.

Hagstrom Miller said her Texas clinics called in some patients early on Thursday who were on a list in case the law was blocked at some point. Other appointments were being scheduled for the days ahead, and phone lines were again busy. But some of the clinics' 17 physicians were still declining to perform abortions, fearful they might be held liable despite the judge's order.

Pitman's order amounted to the first legal blow to Senate Bill 8, which had withstood a wave of earlier challenges. In the weeks since the restrictions took effect, Texas abortion providers said the impact had been “exactly what we feared.”

Meanwhile, Pitman took Texas to task, saying Republican lawmakers had “contrived an unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme” by trying to evade judicial review.

“From the moment S.B. 8 went into effect, women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives in ways that are protected by the Constitution,” wrote Pitman, who was appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama.

“That other courts may find a way to avoid this conclusion is theirs to decide; this Court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right."

The lawsuit was brought by the Biden administration, which has said the restrictions were enacted in defiance of the US Constitution. Attorney General Merrick Garland called the order “a victory for women in Texas and for the rule of law.”

Abortion providers say their fears have become reality in the short time the law has been in effect. Planned Parenthood says the number of patients from Texas at its clinics in the state decreased by nearly 80% in the two weeks after the law took effect.

Some providers have said Texas clinics are now in danger of closing while neighboring states struggle to keep up with a surge of patients who must drive hundreds of miles for an abortion. Other women, they say, are being forced to carry pregnancies to term.

How many abortions have been performed in Texas since the law took effect is unknown. State health officials say additional reporting requirements under the law will not make September data available on its website until early next year.

Other states, mostly in the South, have passed similar laws that ban abortion within the early weeks of pregnancy, all of which judges have blocked. A 1992 decision by the US Supreme Court prevented states from banning abortion before viability, the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

But Texas' version had so far outmaneuvered the courts because it leaves enforcement to private citizens to file suits, not prosecutors, which critics say amounts to a bounty.

The Texas law is just one that has set up the biggest test of abortion rights in the U.S. in decades, and it is part of a broader push by Republicans nationwide to impose new restrictions on abortion.

On Monday, the US Supreme Court began a new term, which in December will include arguments in Mississippi's bid to overturn 1973's landmark Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing a woman's right to an abortion.

Last month, the court did not rule on the constitutionality of the Texas law in allowing it to remain in place. But abortion providers took that 5-4 vote as an ominous sign about where the court might be heading on abortion after its conservative majority was fortified with three appointees of former President Donald Trump. 

What Caused The California Oil Spill That Is Destroying Huntington Beach?

 

A school of fish swim under a barrier holding back oil from entering an ecological estuary after a major oil spill off the coast of California came ashore in Huntington Beach, California, US on October 4, 2021 (Reuters)

A massive cargo ship made a series of unusual movements while anchored in the closest spot to a Southern California oil pipeline that ruptured and sent crude washing up on beaches, according to data collected by a marine navigation service.

The Coast Guard is investigating whether a ship anchor might have snagged and bent the pipeline owned by Amplify Energy, a Houston-based company that operates three offshore oil platforms south of Los Angeles.

According to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, an anchor hooking an oil pipeline is likely to have caused the spill. 

"The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bowstring. And so at its widest point is about 105 feet away from where it was. So it is kind of an almost a semicircle," Amplify's CEO Martyn Willsher told CNN.

As per data from MarineTraffic, a navigation service that tracks radio signals from transponders that broadcast the locations of ships and large boats every few minutes, Rotterdam Express, a German-flagged ship nearly 1,000 feet (305 meters) long, was assigned to anchorage SF-3, the closest to where the pipeline ruptured off Huntington Beach. The ship made three unusual movements over two days that appear to put it over the pipeline. 

A 4000-foot part of the pipe was displaced 105 feet and the pipe had a 13-inch split. Capt. Rebecca Ore, the commanding officer at US Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach said, a response team is working with other agencies to determine whether a ship was in the area. The spill spewed up to 144,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean.

Amplify Energy said, that it is working with the local, state and federal agencies to ensure a speedy recovery of the situation. Authorities are looking into the timeline of the event to learn more about the spill. 

In a statement to AP, Hapag-Lloyd, the shipping company that operates the Rotterdam Express, denied any role in the spill.

A US official told the AP on Wednesday that the Rotterdam Express has become a focus of the spill investigation. The official cautioned the ship is only one lead being pursued in the investigation, which is in the early stages.

The investigators are seeking to collect tracking and navigational information from the vessel that could help them identify its exact movements, the official said. The ship appears to have then engaged its engines to return to its anchorage about 10 minutes later.

The ship then moved again around midnight and a third time shortly before 8 am. on Sept. 23, each time moving back to its assigned anchorage, according to its online location data. The Rotterdam Express remained at spot SF-3 until Sunday when it moved into the port to unload.

The first report of oil in the water near the pipeline was made on Friday evening. Amplify said the pipeline was shut down early on Saturday morning but has not said how long it believes oil flowed from it.

On Wednesday morning, AP sent an email that included a screenshot of the Rotterdam Express' movements as indicated on MarineTraffic to the Unified Command Joint Information Centre for state and federal agencies responding to the oil spill. Senior Chief Petty Officer Lauren Jorgensen said the command was unable to discuss matters involving an ongoing investigation.

Nikolas Xiros, a professor of marine engineering at the University of New Orleans, said it would be highly unlikely that the transponder data for a ship, which works through a global network called the Automatic Identification System, would be off by several thousand feet.

AIS transporters are very accurate and the whole system is also very accurate, Xiros said, after reviewing the location track for Rotterdam Express. 

"I think probably the ship moved, that's what I think. And with the anchor down, which was a big problem." Xiros, who has spent more than two decades teaching marine navigation and electronics to future ship captains and crew, said the only alternative explanation he could think of was that either someone had hacked the AIS system to make the Rotterdam Express appear to move or that the ship's transmitter somehow became unfastened from its mast, fell in the water and drifted away before being retrieved by the crew, only to have it come unfastened two more times.

Xiros said he could provide no reasonable explanation for why the ship might have moved so far off its assigned station. Records show relatively calm weather and seas during the days in question.

California Oil Spill Renews Calls To Ban Offshore Drilling

California has been a leader in restricting offshore oil drilling since the infamous 1969 Santa Barbara spill that sparked the modern environmental movement, and the latest spill off Huntington Beach is prompting fresh calls for an end to such drilling.

That's easier said than done, even in California. While the state hasn't issued a new lease in state water in five decades, drilling from existing platforms continues. Similarly, an effort in Congress that aims to halt new drilling in federal waters more than 3 miles off the coast wouldn't stop drilling that's already happening.

California remains the nation's seventh-largest oil-producing state, and winding down the state's oil production has proved politically difficult. The industry employs more than 150,000 people and the state makes money from oil and gas leases.

California Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted the steps he's taken to curb reliance on oil since he took office in 2019, including a plan to end oil production in the state by 2045 and stop selling new gas-powered cars by 2035. Still, his administration continues to issue new oil drilling permits offshore and on land, though in 2020 it issued more permits to close wells than to open new ones, said Jacob Roper, a spokesman for the state Department of Conservation.

Offshore, there are nearly 1,200 active wells in California waters, according to state data compiled by FracTracker Alliance. About 370 wells are idle, while nearly 1,300 have been plugged. As they age, these platforms become more and more fragile and corroded from ocean water, said Deborah Sivas, professor of environmental law at Stanford Law School.

She said California operates with cognitive dissonance when it comes to oil by continuing to issue permits for drilling even as the state takes aggressive steps to tackle climate change.

Speaking alongside Newsom on Tuesday, Rep. Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat representing parts of Orange County, said the federal government needs to do more.

"We have to come up with a plan to not only stop new drilling but to figure out how do we stop all drilling that's going on in California," he said.

No legislation to ban current offshore drilling is pending in Congress.

A spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association called the spill a tragedy. Amplify Energy, the owner of the platform, is not an association member. While the spill is prompting calls for more restrictions on drilling, spokesman Kevin Slagle said he hopes we don't resort to bans and mandates to address our energy future.

 

 

Desmond Tutu Turns 90 Amid New Racist Slur

 

Desmond Tutu with Nelson Mandela

As South Africa's anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu turns 90, recent racist graffiti on a portrait of the Nobel winner highlights the continuing relevance of his work for equality.

Often hailed as the conscience of South Africa, Tutu was a key campaigner against South Africa's previous brutal system of oppression against the country's Black majority. After South Africa achieved democracy in 1994, he continued to be an outspoken proponent of reconciliation, justice and LGBT rights.

The racial insult sprayed last month on a mural of Tutu in Cape Town is loathsome and sad, said Mamphela Ramphele, acting chairwoman of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Trust.

South Africans must continue Tutu's work for racial equality, she told The Associated Press.

"Racism is a curse South Africa must escape," said Ramphele. "Archbishop Tutu's legacy is huge. He fought against racism and fought for the humanity of us all." Although frail, Tutu is expected to attend a service on Thursday, his birthday, at St. George's Cathedral in central Cape Town, where as the country's first Black Anglican archbishop he delivered sermons excoriating apartheid.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his campaign of non-violent opposition to South Africa's system of white minority rule.

After retiring as archbishop in 1996, Tutu was chairman of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission which investigated human rights abuses during the apartheid era.

Despite the serious nature of his work, Tutu brought an irrepressible humour to his frequent public appearances. Notably, he supported LGBT rights and same-sex marriage.

"I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this," he said in 2013. "I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say Sorry, I would much rather go to the other place."

Tutu said he was "as passionate about this campaign (for LGBT rights) as I ever was about apartheid. For me, it is at the same level."

He withdrew from public life in 2010 and issued statements through his foundation. He has been treated for prostate cancer and was hospitalised several times in 2015 and 2016, and underwent a surgical procedure to address recurring infections from past cancer treatment.

At the church service on Thursday, fellow anti-apartheid campaigner Alan Boesak is to speak. There will also be an online seminar about Tutu's life and values to be addressed by the Dalai Lama; the widow of Nelson Mandela, Graca Machel; former Irish Prime Minister Mary Robinson; and South African governance advocate Thuli Madonsela.

Why Climate Change Is Making It Harder To Chase Fall Foliage

 

If climate change is going to mean significant drought, that means trees are going to shut down, and many trees are just going to drop their leaves

Droughts that cause leaves to turn brown and wither before they can reach peak colour. Heat waves prompting leaves to fall before autumn even arrives. Extreme weather events like hurricanes that strip trees of their leaves altogether.

For a cheery autumnal activity, leaf peeping is facing some serious threats from the era of climate change.

Leaf peeping, the practice of travelling to watch nature display its fall colours, is a beloved annual activity in many corners of the US, especially New England and New York. But recent seasons have been disrupted by weather conditions there and elsewhere, and the trend is likely to continue as the planet warms, said arborists, conservationists and ecologists.

Typically, by the end of September, leaves cascade into warmer hues throughout the US. This year, many areas have yet to even pivot from their summer green shades. In northern Maine, where peak conditions typically arrive in late September, forest rangers had reported less than 70 per cent colour change and moderate leaf drop on Wednesday.

Across the country in Denver, high temperatures have left dead, dry edges of leaves early in the season, said Michael Sundberg, a certified arborist in the area.

Instead of trees doing this gradual change, they get thrown these wacky weather events. They change all of a sudden, or they drop leaves early, Sundberg said. 

"Its been a few years since we've had a really good leaf year where you just drive around town and see really good colour. "

The reason climate change can be bad for fall foliage has a bit to do with plant biology. When fall arrives, and day length and temperature drop, the chlorophyll in a leaf breaks down, and that causes it to lose its green colour. The green gives way to the yellows, reds and oranges that make for dramatic autumn displays.

Achieving those peak colours is a delicate balance, and one jeopardized by changes in the environment, said Paul Schaberg, a research plant physiologist with the US Forest Service based in Burlington, Vermont. Warm fall temperatures can cause leaves to remain green longer and delay the onset of what leaf peepers look for in terms of fall colour, he said.

Worse, dry summers can stress trees and cause their leaves to miss the fall colour turn altogether, Schaberg said. A 2003 study in the journal Tree Physiology that Schaberg co-wrote stated that environmental stress can accelerate leaf deterioration.

If climate change is going to mean significant drought, that means trees are going to shut down, and many trees are just going to drop their leaves, he said.

It's happening already. This summer's heat-wave in the Pacific Northwest brought temperatures of over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius) to Oregon, and that led to a condition called foliage scorch, in which leaves prematurely browned, said Chris Still, a professor at the Forest Ecosystems Society department at Oregon State University.

The leaves' pigment was degraded and they fell shortly thereafter, Still said. That will lead to a less scenic fall season in parts of Oregon.

"That's a really big example of colour change just due to heat-wave shock," Still said.

Climate change also poses longer-term threats that could disrupt leaf peeping. The spread of diseases and invasive pests and the northward creep of tree species are all factors tied to warming temperatures that could make for less vibrant fall colours, said Andrew Richardson, a professor of ecosystem science at Northern Arizona University.

The onset of fall colours, which has been drifting later into the fall, could also continue to arrive later, said Jim Salge, foliage expert for Yankee magazine.

"My observations in the last decade have had more years that were later than what we would consider historical averages," he said.

Retired HC Judge To Probe UP Violence

 

A vehicle set ablaze after violence broke out when agitating farmers were allegedly run over by a vehicle in the convoy of a union minister, in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh (PTI)

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday announced that a retired High Court judge will probe the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and that the families of the four farmers killed in the incident will be given Rs 45 lakh compensation.

The government will also give Rs 10 lakh to those injured in the violence, said Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi.

"An agreement has been reached with the farmers. The government will give Rs 45 lakh to the family members of the four farmers who were killed in the violence on Sunday. Besides, one member from their families will be given a government job at the local level," he said.

"The government will give Rs 10 lakh to the injured and get the incident probed by a retired High Court judge," he said.

Two FIRs have been registered in connection with Sunday's violence that broke out after two SUVs allegedly ran over a group of anti-farm law protesters who were demonstrating against a visit of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Eight people were killed in the violence. While four of the deceased were farmers, the remaining were in a convoy of BJP workers who were lynched.

Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, is among those booked by police.

Additional Director General (Law and Order) of Uttar Pradesh Police Prashant Kumar, who is in Lakhimpur Kheri, announced the state government's decision regarding the probe and compensation in the presence of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait.

"The officials will be in touch with a committee of farmers to address other issues, if any," Kumar said.

The entire incident will be thoroughly probed and stringent action will be taken against those found guilty, he said.

"Now, the post-mortem examination of the bodies will be conducted after the 'panchnama' as per the due legal process ahead of their last rites," he said.

Additional Chief Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi said, "The incident was unfortunate and a thorough probe will be conducted."

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farm unions, has written to President Ram Nath Kovind, demanding that Ajay Mishra be sacked and a murder case filed against his son.

Sunday's violence was the bloodiest yet in the prolonged farmers' protest against the Centre's new agri laws that began last year. Angry farmers also set on fire two SUVs during the clash near Banbirpur.

Those Glorifying Godse Should Be Named, Shamed Publicly: Varun Gandhi

 

The "lunatic fringe" must not be allowed to enter the mainstream, he added.

BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Saturday lashed out at those who glorified Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse on the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, saying they are irresponsibly shaming the country and should be named and shamed publicly.

"India has always been a spiritual superpower, but it is the Mahatma who articulated our nation's spiritual underpinnings through his being and gave us a moral authority that remains our greatest strength even today. Those tweeting 'Godse Zindabad' are irresponsibly shaming the nation," Varun Gandhi, who is not related to Mahatma Gandhi, said. 

The "lunatic fringe" must not be allowed to enter the mainstream, he added.

"We must not forget the respect that India has internationally is because of Mahatma Gandhi and the ideals that he represented. The people who are tweeting 'Godse Zindabad' should be named and shamed publicly. The lunatic fringe must not be allowed to enter the mainstream," he said.

The Lok Sabha member's comments came amid "Nathuram Godse Zindabad" (long live Nathuram Godse) being among the top Twitter trends on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. 

A section of right wingers has often posted comments eulogising the man who shot dead Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948, especially on the days linked to India's most famous freedom fighter.

Police Halt 4-Person National Day Protest In Hong Kong

Four pro-democracy protesters march beside a police officer during a protest against the Chinese government in Hong Kong on Friday, Oct.1 (AP)

 

Police in Hong Kong halted a four-person pro-democracy protest on China's National Day amid an expanding crackdown on free speech and opposition politics.

Carrying a placard calling for the release of Hong Kongers arrested in the crackdown and chanting pro-democracy slogans, the four members of the opposition League of Social Democrats party had attempted to march to the harbour-side Convention Center where the official celebration was being held.

Dozens of officers, part of a massive police presence deployed to prevent any disruptions on the day, surrounded them and kept them out of sight and earshot of officials attending a flag-raising ceremony.

"I think Hong Kong is now the only place in China where diverse opinions are allowed," Chan Po-ying, the party's chairperson, told reporters.

Chan noted the extensive security measures deployed, but added that, "Even under such pressure, we still need to hang on to our most basic civil rights, which is the freedom of speech and assembly."

Restrictions have made such protests a rare occurrence and Hong Kong's government has arrested three leaders of the group that organized an annual candlelight vigil commemorating victims of the military's crushing of 1989 pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The vigil has been the only large-scale public commemoration of the crackdown on Chinese soil, but it has not been allowed for two years.

The leaders have been charged with subversion under a national security law imposed on the city by Beijing, following months of anti-government protests; the law criminalises subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign collusion to interfere in the city's affairs.

Such measures have led to the US imposing sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials, saying the new law rolls back freedoms promised to the former British colony when it was handed over to China in 1997.

Over the past year, dozens of pro-democracy activists have been arrested and others have left for self-imposed exile abroad, while electoral laws have been amended to increase the number of seats for pro-Beijing legislators while reducing those that are directly elected.

At the National Day celebrations, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam presided over a flag-raising ceremony attended by Hong Kong and Chinese officials who sang China's national anthem while helicopters displaying the Chinese flag passed overhead.

In remarks at a reception that followed, Lam praised the central government's support for the economy, the stabilizing effects of the security law and the improved electoral system, while sounding defiant toward the US and other critics.

"A recent Chinese Foreign Ministry report enumerating what it described as US political interference in Hong Kong shows that despite a plethora of smearing and defamatory remarks made by foreign politicians and some Western media outlets, Hong Kong's inherent strengths remain intact," Lam said in her address.

On mainland China, huge crowds gathered to watch flag raising ceremonies in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and in cities across the country. This year marks the ruling Communist Party's centenary, adding to the scale and lavishness of the celebrations. Friday marks the beginning of a week-long national holiday.

And despite heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a congratulatory message.

"As the United States seeks to work cooperatively to solve the challenges we all face, we wish the people of the PRC peace, happiness, and prosperity over the coming year," the message said.