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☆ India election: Modi’s Muslim remarks spark ‘hate speech’ accusations as mammoth vote deepens divides
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accused of delivering Islamophobic remarks during an election rally Sunday, triggering widespread anger from prominent Muslims and members of the opposition. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking during a rally in Sydney, Australia, on May 23, 2023. Kalpit Bhachech/Getty Images Narendra Modi, then BJP secretary is welcomed at Ahmedabad Railway Station by the party's followers on January 31, 1992. Kalpit Bhachech/Dipam Bhachech/Getty Images Narendra Modi pictured in India on January 23, 1998. Brent Lewin/Bloomberg/Getty Images India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2023.

Persons: CNN —, Narendra Modi, Islamophobic, Modi’s, Modi, ”, ” Modi, Matthew Abbott, Hiraben, Damodardas, Dipam Bhachech, Lal Krishna Advani, Subhas Chandra Bose, Kalpit Bhachech, Kalpit, Negi Yasbant, Amit Dave, Ajit Solanki, Kevin Frayer, Saurabh Das, AP Modi, Manish Swarup, Lucas Jackson, Barack Obama, Adrien Helou, Reuters Modi, Adnan Abidi, Stringer, Mark Zuckerberg, David Paul Morris, Marco Longari, Angela Merkel, Tobias Schwarz, Emmanuel Macron, Charles Platiau, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, India's, Jair Bolsonaro, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Amit Shah, Money Sharma, Boris Johnson, Phil Noble, Anthony Albanese, Brent Lewin, Pedro Ugarte, Joe Biden, Doug Mills, Paul Mashatile, Jacoline, Imtiyaz Khan, Amr Alfiky, Rana Ayyub, Asaduddin Owaisi, “ Modi, Mallikarjun Kharge Organizations: CNN, CNN — India’s, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, of India, India's, New York Times, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Getty, Modi, Hospital, Narendra, India Today, AP, Madison, Garden, Reuters, Washington , D.C, French National Space Agency, of Yoga, Meta, Facebook, Bloomberg, European, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kyodo, British, Summit, Qudos Bank, White, Anadolu Agency, Anadolu, United, United Arab Emirates, Sangh, Hindu, “, Hate Locations: Rajasthan, Sydney, Australia, Gujarat, India, Ahmedabad, Ahmadabad, Varanasi, New Delhi, United States, Washington, Washington ,, Toulouse, France, Xian, AFP, Menlo Park , California, U.S, Pretoria, South Africa, China, Berlin, Paris, Rashtrapati, Russian, Brasilia, Glasgow, Red, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, Abu Dhabi, United Arab, BJP, “

☆ Terry Anderson, Reporter Held Hostage for Six Years, Dies at 76
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Sam Roberts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Terry Anderson, the American journalist who had been the longest-held Western hostage in Lebanon when he was finally released in 1991 by Islamic militants after more than six years in captivity, died Saturday at his home in Greenwood Lake, N.Y., in the Hudson Valley. The cause was apparently complications of recent heart surgery, said his daughter, Sulome Anderson. Mr. Anderson, the Beirut bureau chief for The Associated Press, had just dropped his tennis partner, an A.P. The same car had tried to cut him off the day before as he returned to work from lunch at his seaside apartment. The militants, supported by Iran, were retaliating against Israel’s use of American weapons in earlier strikes against Muslim and Druze targets in Lebanon.

Persons: Terry Anderson, Sulome Anderson, Anderson, Reagan Organizations: Islamic, Associated Press, Benz, Islamic Jihad Organization Locations: American, Lebanon, Greenwood Lake, N.Y, Hudson, Beirut, South Lebanon, Iran, Nicaragua

☆ Time Is Running Out for Rahul Gandhi’s Vision for India
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Samanth Subramanian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The crush of people at the rally was suffocating, although in India a crowd is no index of popularity. At 53, with a well-salted beard and serious eyes, he’s too old to be called Congress’s “scion,” but he still wears the sheen of dynasty. Then, on the heels of several corruption scandals, the mighty party — 140 years old next year — came unstuck. One of Modi’s successes has been not just to trounce the Congress Party but also to persuade people that the party has weakened India and emasculated its Hindus. (Amnesty itself halted its work in India in 2020, in the midst of what it later called an “incessant witch hunt” by the government.)

Persons: —, Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira, Rajiv, Sonia, Modi, ” Organizations: Congress, Party, Amnesty, World Press Locations: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Russia

Their friendship was tested in 2017 when then President Trump supported a blockade of Qatar led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Before the Oct. 7 attack, the Saudis were in serious talks, led by the United States, to recognize Israel. 8 of 12 Israel has a major incentive to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, for its part, would benefit from direct access to the Israeli military and technology sector. In March 2023, China brokered a breakthrough, re-establishing ties between two of the region’s heavyweights, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, brandished, Jake Sullivan, —, frenemies, Israel, Netanyahu’s, Trump, Biden, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin, Prince Mohammed, Bashar al, Assad, Saddam Hussein, Jordan —, hesitantly, Abraham Organizations: of Friends, General Assembly, U.S, America, Hamas, United, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Crown, Arab League, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea, Iranian, Abraham Accords, United Arab, Palestine Liberation Organization, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, The, Trump, Biden, Israel Defense Forces, United Nations, New York, Facebook Locations: India, Persian, Israel, Europe, Iran, United States, U.S, East, China, Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Turkey Syria Lebanon Afghanistan Israel Iraq Iran Pakistan Egypt India Qatar Saudi Arabia Sudan Oman, Israel Yemen Turkey Syria Lebanon Afghanistan Israel Iraq Iran Pakistan Egypt India Qatar Saudi Arabia Arabian, Sudan, Sea Oman, Israel Yemen Ethiopia Turkey Syria Lebanon Afghanistan Israel Iraq Iran Pakistan Egypt India Qatar Saudi Arabia Arabian, Sudan Oman, Israel Yemen Ethiopia, Gaza, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab, Saudi, Tehran, Iraq, Assad, Lebanon, Lebanese, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Fatah, Israeli, Turkey, America

☆ Rishi Sunak: Everything seems to be going wrong for British PM
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Life must seem bleak for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak these days. Sunak has said that he will hold a general election this year, but has yet to confirm its date. It was only voted through by MPs because it has the support of the opposition Labour Party. Anderson is a working-class former miner who is from a part of the country that traditionally votes for the opposition Labour Party. However, Anderson was suspended from the Conservative Party after making comments about the Muslim mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, that Sunak clearly believed were beyond the pale.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, –, Boris Johnson, Winston Churchill, It’s, ” Rishi Sunak, Dan Kitwood, Liz Truss, Lee Anderson, Anderson, Elon Musk, Tesla, Kirsty Wigglesworth, doesn’t, Sadiq Khan, Suella Braverman, Braverman, Johnson, Rishi, ” Sunak Organizations: CNN, British, Conservative Party, Labour Party, ”, Conservatives, Allies, Labour, Sunak's, SpaceX, Reuters, Conservative, “, Adidas Samba Locations: Quebec, London, Rwanda

☆ What’s Happening In Myanmar’s Civil War?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Hannah Beech | Weiyi Cai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +16 min

RUSSIA CHINA INDIA Pacific Ocean MYANMAR INDONESIA Indian Ocean AUSTRALIA RUSSIA CHINA INDIA Pacific Ocean MYANMAR INDONESIA Indian Ocean AUSTRALIAWhat’s Happening In Myanmar’s Civil War? Parliamentary rule 1962 Military coup 1988 Nearly five decades of military rule Widespread pro-democracy protests followed by bloody military crackdown. National civil unrest 2021 Military coup ended power sharing with civilian government. Parliamentary rule Nearly five decades of military rule National civil unrest British colonial rule 1948 1988 1990 2007 2011 2021 1962 2015 Widespread pro-democracy protests followed by bloody military crackdown. National civil unrest 2021 Military coup ended power sharing with civilian government.

Persons: Adam Ferguson, Min Aung, Daw Aung, Suu Kyi, Aung, —, Tom Andrews, Chin, Rakhine Karen Mon Bamar, Kayan, Karen, Ms, hideouts Organizations: MYANMAR INDONESIA Indian Ocean, Insurgent, Council, Myanmar, 8th Battalion, Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, The New York Times, Senior, National Unity Government, People’s Defense Forces, Rebels, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, Myanmar Peace Monitor, United Nations, General Administration Department, Union of, United, National Liberation Army Locations: RUSSIA CHINA, MYANMAR INDONESIA Indian Ocean AUSTRALIA RUSSIA CHINA, MYANMAR INDONESIA Indian, MYANMAR INDONESIA Indian Ocean AUSTRALIA, INDIA CHINA BANGLADESH Mandalay MYANMAR LAOS Naypyidaw Bay, Bengal Yangon THAILAND, INDIA CHINA Mandalay MYANMAR, Yangon THAILAND Bay, Bengal, Myanmar, Ukraine, Gaza, India, China, Karenni State, country’s, Suu, Myanmar’s, British, Sagaing Region, MYANMAR, Naypyidaw, Burma, United States, Rakhine, Thailand, Union, Union of Burma, Afghanistan

☆ Opinion: India is on the climate crisis frontline. So why isn’t that an election issue?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Opinion Aditya Valiathan Pillai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

This is because climate politics looks different in the developing world; it will shape Indian elections in definitive but under-the-radar ways. Similarly, stump speeches throughout this campaign season have not featured climate change as a central issue. The headwinds of climate change are absorbed by the electoral machine and emerge as end-of-tailpipe policies rather than grand climate strategy. This pattern of climate politics is reinforced by seemingly low recognition in India of climate change as a problem. The climate impacts buffeting the most populous nation on earth aren’t just a domestic issue — they’re an international one.

Persons: Aditya Valiathan Pillai Nadeem Z, Aditya Valiathan Pillai, Read, New Delhi CNN —, Amarjeet Kumar Singh, Kabir Jhangiani, Narendra Modi, Stump, Pawan Sharma, Tamanna Dalal Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP Locations: New Delhi, India, Bangalore, Silicon, Karnataka, Mumbai, Delhi, sunburnt, Uttar Pradesh, China, Australia, Agra, Maharashtra, North Bengal, Bengal

☆ How a store manager from India ended up killed on the battlefields of Ukraine fighting for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Vedika Sud | Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“I saw holes on the back of his shoulder, his ribs right down till his lower back,” Imran told CNN. “He was going to work as a taxi driver or delivery boy in Russia – that process was on,” Imran said. Meanwhile, India, which has no law preventing its citizens from serving in a foreign state’s military, has acknowledged that a number of its nationals have been fighting for Russia in Ukraine. In early March, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said it had busted major human trafficking networks that were duping men into Russian military jobs, with 35 such cases identified. Asfran Mohammed, right, and his brother Imran are pictured with Asran's children before Asfran left for Russia.

Persons: New Delhi CNN —, Asfan Mohammed, he’d, Imran Mohammad, Vladimir Putin’s, “, ” Imran, Imran, ”, Asfan, Putin, Allen, He’d, Asfran, Mohammed Imran, Inna Varenytsia, Bimala Rai Paudyal, I’d, who’d, Asfran Mohammed, Mohammed Imran “, I’ve Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, CNN, Russian, ”, United Arab Emirates, Reuters Foreign, Kremlin, Indian Ministry, External Affairs, India’s, Bureau of Investigation, Indian Nationals, CBI, Asfan, Indian, Indian Embassy Locations: New Delhi, India, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Hyderabad, “, Australia, Moscow, Ukrainian, Kreminna, South Asia, Nepal

☆ RFK Jr. qualifies for battleground Michigan’s ballot
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Aaron Pellish | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. officially qualified for the ballot in Michigan, a key battleground state that could prove pivotal in deciding the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Natural Law Party of Michigan chair Doug Dern told CNN the party nominated Kennedy in a convention on Wednesday. The Michigan Secretary of State’s office confirmed to CNN the party’s nomination has been approved and Kennedy will appear on the state’s ballot. In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup between Trump and Biden, Trump earned 48% support from Michigan voters, while Biden earned 45% support. Michigan is the second state where Kennedy has officially qualified for the ballot.

Persons: Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kennedy, Nicole Shanahan, Doug Dern, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Trump, Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, Timothy Mellon Organizations: CNN, Independent, Natural Law Party, Natural Law Party of Michigan, Michigan, Trump, Biden, Democratic, Libertarian, Green Party, Democratic National Committee, Kennedy’s, GOP, Kennedy, Muslim, Committee, Federal, Commission, PAC Locations: Michigan, Grand Rapids , Michigan, Gaza, Utah, New Hampshire, Hawaii , Nebraska , Idaho, North Carolina , Iowa, Nevada

☆ Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Daughter Suspended for Involvement in Columbia Protest
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Sharon Otterman | Anna Betts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, is among several Barnard students who have been suspended for participating in a pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University. The camp, which includes dozens of tents pitched on the campus’s South Lawn in protest against Israeli actions in Gaza, has created a standoff between administrators and students on the Ivy League campus. Ms. Hirsi posted on social media around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday that she was one of three students suspended so far for participating in the protest, which began on Wednesday, the day the university’s president, Nemat Shafik, appeared before Congress to discuss antisemitism on campus. At the congressional hearing, Dr. Shafik told lawmakers that she would enforce rules about unauthorized protests and antisemitism. Ms. Omar, who is on the committee that held the hearing and who did not mention that her daughter was among the pro-Palestinian protesters, was one of several Democrats who questioned Ms. Shafik about her actions toward Palestinian and Muslim students.

Persons: Isra Hirsi, Ilhan Omar, Barnard, Hirsi, Nemat Shafik, Shafik, Omar Organizations: Columbia University, Ivy League Locations: Minnesota, Gaza

☆ Sydney: Stabbed bishop delivers first message from hospital as malicious disinformation spreads
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The rapid spread of disinformation fomented an already volatile situation and days later authorities, faith groups and the bishop are still trying to calm community tension. But regulators are finding it much harder to act against social media platforms for the disinformation that spread online after the attacks – especially after the mass stabbing in the eastern suburb of Bondi. After the church attack, unconfirmed speculation also swirled about the faith of the alleged attacker and his motive. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with terrorism over the alleged stabbing of the bishop, police said Thursday. Video Ad Feedback Police: Australia church stabbing was 'terrorist incident' 04:31 - Source: CNNSystem of self-regulationBut stamping out some of the hateful comments that spread online has not been so easy.

Persons: Australia CNN —, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, Jesus, ” Emmanuel, –, ”, Chris Minns, “ I’m, Steven Saphore, Australia’s, Meta, Facebook –, Marc Owen Jones, Russia influencer, Seven, Bondi, Jones, Hamad, won’t, he’s “, who’s, “, Elon Musk, That’s, Michelle Rowland, that’s, ” Rowland, Terry Flew Organizations: Australia CNN, Good Shepherd, State, Reuters, Facebook, NSW Police, West, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Police, CNN, Digital Industry Group Inc, Elon, Twitter, ABC Radio Thursday, Digital Communication, University of Sydney, European, Thursday NSW Police Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, NSW, Westfield, Bondi, Russia, Australian, Queensland, Gaza, Qatar, European Union

☆ Google fires 28 employees for protesting Israel cloud deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Google has fired more than two dozen employees who protested this week against the company’s cloud computing contract with the Israeli government. The workers were dismissed after an investigation found that they had staged protests inside Google’s offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California. In Sunnyvale, they entered the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, according to a post on X by the group that organized the demonstration, No Tech For Apartheid. Physically impeding other employees’ work and preventing them from accessing our facilities is a clear violation of our policies, and completely unacceptable behavior. After refusing multiple requests to leave the premises, law enforcement was engaged to remove them to ensure office safety,” the spokesperson added.

Persons: Thomas Kurian, ”, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Google, Apartheid, CNN, Tech Locations: New York, Sunnyvale , California, Sunnyvale

☆ Google terminates 28 employees after multi-city protests: Read the full memo
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Google workers have the right to peacefully protest about terms and conditions of our labor. Last month, Google Cloud engineer Eddie Hatfield interrupted a keynote speech from the managing director of Google's Israel business stating, "I refuse to build technology that powers genocide." That same week, an internal Google employee message board was shut down after staffers posted comments about the company's Israeli military contracts. The Israeli Ministry of Defense reportedly sought consulting services from Google to expand its access to Google Cloud services. "A small number of employee protesters entered and disrupted a few of our locations," a Google spokesperson told CNBC Wednesday evening.

Persons: Thomas Kurian's, Chris Rackow, Googlers, Cheyne Anderson, Anderson, Eddie Hatfield, Hatfield, Israel, Ariel Koren, It's, Hasan Ibraheem, Ibraheem Organizations: Google, CNBC, Google Cloud, Apartheid, Protesters, Hamas, enclave's Health Ministry, Israeli Ministry of Defense, The New York Times, Security, New Locations: New York, Sunnyvale , California, Sunnyvale, Seattle, Washington, Israel, Gaza, South Africa, York, New York City

☆ Modi’s Hindu Utopia Is a Tawdry Mirage - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Siddhartha Deb | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sleepy pilgrimage city of Ayodhya in northern India was once home to a grand 16th-century mosque, until it was illegally demolished by a howling mob of Hindu militants in 1992. The site has since been reinvented as the centerpiece of the Hindu-chauvinist “new India” promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I traveled to Ayodhya a year later and watched as the temple was hurriedly being built. Mr. Modi’s Hindu nationalism has fed distrust and hostility toward anything foreign, and the receptionists at my hotel were sullenly suspicious of outsiders. There was no hotel bar — a sign of Hindu virtue — and the food served was pure vegetarian, a phrase implying both Hindu caste purity and anti-Muslim prejudice.

Persons: India ”, Narendra Modi, Modi, Ram Locations: Ayodhya, India

☆ Google workers arrested after nine-hour protest in cloud chief's office
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Nine Google workers were arrested on trespassing charges Tuesday night after staging a sit-in at the company's offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California, including a protest in Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian's office. Anderson had flown to Sunnyvale for the protest in Kurian's office and was one of the workers arrested Tuesday. Last month, Google Cloud engineer Eddie Hatfield interrupted a keynote speech from the managing director of Google's Israel business stating, "I refuse to build technology that powers genocide." The Israeli Ministry of Defense reportedly sought consulting services from Google to expand its access to Google Cloud services. "A small number of employee protesters entered and disrupted a couple of our locations," a Google spokesperson told CNBC.

Persons: Thomas Kurian's, Cheyne Anderson, Anderson, Eddie Hatfield, Hatfield, Israel, Ariel Koren, It's, Hasan Ibraheem, Ibraheem, Googlers Organizations: Google Cloud, Apartheid, Google, CNBC, Hamas, enclave's Health Ministry, Israeli Ministry of Defense, The New York Times, Security, New, Sunnyvale Locations: New York, Sunnyvale , California, Sunnyvale, Seattle, Washington, Israel, Gaza, South Africa, York, New York City

☆ What Can ‘Green Islam’ Achieve in the World’s Largest Muslim Country?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Sui-Lee Wee | Ulet Ifansasti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The faithful gathered in an imposing modernist building, thousands of men in skullcaps and women in veils sitting shoulder to shoulder. “Our fatal shortcomings as human beings have been that we treat the earth as just an object,” Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar said. Like fasting during Ramadan, it is every Muslim’s Fard al-Ayn, or obligation, to be a guardian of the earth. Like giving alms, his congregants should give waqf, a kind of religious donation, to renewable energy. Dismayed by the trash sullying the river that the mosque sits on, he ordered a cleanup.

Persons: Nasaruddin Umar, Nasaruddin Organizations: World Bank Locations: skullcaps, Istiqlal, Jakarta, Indonesia

☆ This Ramadan, queer and transgender Muslims made their own community
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Shahamat Uddin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Queer and transgender Muslims came together to break their Ramadan fasts. But for queer and transgender Muslims, this practice of ummah, or the connectedness Muslims feel while exercising their faith together, has often made them feel excluded from traditional Ramadan celebrations. Courtesy of Dinean RobinsonThe iftar — which included prayers led by a queer Muslim community member named Shiffa, and joyful drag-queen performances — was just one of many ways queer and transgender Muslims fostered community this Ramadan. Dena Igusti celebrated this Ramadan with fellow queer Muslims, saying it helped them get back in touch with their faith. In New York City, queer Muslims joined in song and dance at the LGBT Community Center's iftar to celebrate their layered identities.

Persons: —, affirmations, I've, Armana Khan, Dinean Robinson, Khan, Islam, Reimagining, they'd, Kahani, Dinean Robinson Sophia Uppal, Uppal, wouldn't, Dena Igusti, Ramie Ahmed, Ramadan, Igusti, Imam Daayiee Abdullah, We're, MASGD, Shiffa, Center's iftar, Yaffa Organizations: Service, LGBT Community, The, New York, LGBT Community Center, BI, Mecca Institute, Muslim Alliance, Sexual, Diversity, Queer, Shia, LGBT Locations: New York, queerness, Queens , New York, New, Hajj, Mecca, Palestinian, New York City

☆ Deepening US divide over Israel tests the limits of free speech
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Separately, on Monday, the University of Southern California canceled the commencement speech of its valedictorian – biomedical engineering major Asna Tabassum, who is Muslim – after her social media posts were targeted by pro-Israel activists, raising questions about the existence of free speech. “Tradition must give way to safety,” USC Provost Andrew Guzman wrote in an online, campuswide letter announcing his decision to axe Tabassum’s speech. In her Instagram profile, she links to a website that calls for the abolishment of the state of Israel. The content of the commencement speech was not mentioned in Guzman’s letter announcing the cancellation, and he argued it was not about speech but about security. When Fisk tried to grab the microphone from Afaneh, the mixer turned into a social media moment.

Persons: ”, Tabassum, –, Andrew Guzman, Jon Chu, Rich Asians ”, Asna Tabassum, CNN’s Nick Watt, ” Tabassum, “, Guzman, ” Guzman, there’s, Tom Cotton of, ” Cotton, Cotton, George Floyd, Sen, John Fetterman, Erwin Chemerinsky, Catherine Fisk –, Fisk, Malak Afaneh, Chemerinsky, Jake Tapper, Defamation League “ Organizations: CNN — Pro, Israel, University of Southern, USC, Rich Asians, Bay, Republican, Fox News, The New York Times, Pennsylvania Democrat, Starbucks, University of California, Berkeley Law, Justice, CNN, Islamic Relations, CAIR, Defamation League Locations: Gaza, Bakersfield , California, University of Southern California, USC, Los Angeles, Israel, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Ann Arbor , Michigan, Berkeley, Oakland , California, Palestine, United States

☆ U.S.C. Cancels Valedictorian’s Speech After Claims of Antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The University of Southern California said it has canceled plans for a graduation speech by this year’s valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, who is Muslim. The school said the decision stemmed from security concerns, after several pro-Israeli groups objected to her social media posts supporting Palestinians. The decision drew immediate criticism from the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as well as from Ms. Tabassum, a biomedical engineering major. “I am both shocked by this decision and profoundly disappointed that the university is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice,” Ms. Tabassum wrote in a statement. University officials have had to handle vociferous debates over pro-Palestinian student protests, which many Jewish students and alumni say often veer into antisemitism.

Persons: Asna Tabassum, Tabassum, “, Ms Organizations: University of Southern, Islamic, Hamas, University Locations: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Israel

☆ Narendra Modi: India’s popular but controversial leader seeking a transformative third term
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +26 min

Varanasi and New Delhi CNN —Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi once famously made a simple election promise: “good days are coming”. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar on April 6, 2024. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking during a rally in Sydney, Australia, on May 23, 2023. Kalpit Bhachech/Getty Images Narendra Modi, then BJP secretary is welcomed at Ahmedabad Railway Station by the party's followers on January 31, 1992. Brent Lewin/Bloomberg/Getty Images India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2023.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Himanshu Sharma, Getty Images Modi, –, ”, Saba Naqvi, “, Vajpayee, Naqvi, Dileep Patel, John Mees, Akash Jaiswal, “ We’ve, ” Jaiswal, isn’t, Matthew Abbott, Hiraben, Damodardas, Dipam Bhachech, Lal Krishna Advani, Subhas Chandra Bose, Kalpit Bhachech, Kalpit, Negi Yasbant, Amit Dave, Ajit Solanki, Kevin Frayer, Saurabh Das, AP Modi, Manish Swarup, Lucas Jackson, Barack Obama, Adrien Helou, Reuters Modi, Adnan Abidi, Stringer, Mark Zuckerberg, David Paul Morris, Marco Longari, Angela Merkel, Tobias Schwarz, Emmanuel Macron, Charles Platiau, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, India's, Jair Bolsonaro, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Amit Shah, Money Sharma, Boris Johnson, Phil Noble, Anthony Albanese, Brent Lewin, Pedro Ugarte, Joe Biden, Doug Mills, Paul Mashatile, Jacoline, Imtiyaz Khan, Amr Alfiky, Patel, India’s, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv, Rahul Gandhi, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, “ Narendra Modi, ” Mukhopadhyay, Mukhopadhyay, ” Modi, Keshav Baliram, “ Modi, BJP Modi, Lord Ram, ” Naqvi, Critics, Christophe Jaffrelot, Karan Thapar, ” Jaffrelot, Modi’s, it’s, —, Raj, India Narendra Modi, Kenny Hoston, Ram, ” Raniva, That’s Organizations: New Delhi CNN, Indian, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, India's, Getty Images, Pew, CNN, World Health Organization, New York Times, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Getty, Modi, Hospital, Narendra, India Today, Indian National Congress, AP, Madison, Garden, Reuters, Washington , D.C, French National Space Agency, of Yoga, Meta, Facebook, Bloomberg, European, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kyodo, British, Summit, Qudos Bank, White, Anadolu Agency, Anadolu, United, United Arab Emirates, Cambridge, today’s Congress Party, Harvard, The Times, Muslim, Australia Locations: Varanasi, New Delhi, Gujarat, Pushkar, India, “ India, United States, Brazil, “, Sydney, Australia, Ahmedabad, Ahmadabad, Washington, Washington ,, Toulouse, France, Xian, AFP, Menlo Park , California, U.S, Pretoria, South Africa, China, Berlin, Paris, Rashtrapati, Russian, Brasilia, Glasgow, Red, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, Abu Dhabi, United Arab, Oxford, Vadnagar, Babri, Kadi, Kashmir, United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Jama

☆ Sydney, Australia, stabbing: Mall attacker may have targeted women, police say, as more details emerge of his six victims
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Helen Regan | Sandi Sidhu | Mall Attacker Was Known To Authorities | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The community is devastated in the knowledge of their loss.”Police said Monday they had concluded their examinations of the shopping mall and the crime scene was being handed back to Westfield. More than 100 pieces of evidence were removed and will be forensically examined as part of the investigation, said Yasmin Catley, New South Wales Minister for Police. A woman cries as she comes out of the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping mall after a stabbing incident in Sydney on April 13, 2024. People react outside the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping mall after a stabbing incident in Sydney on April 13, 2024. The number of women killed by violence in Australia has ranged between 43 and 84 each year since Counting Dead Women began tallying deaths in 2012.

Persons: Joel Cauchi, Health Ryan, Cauchi, Karen Webb, ”, ” Webb, “, Lisa Maree Williams, Chris Minns, ” Minn, Yasmin Catley, David Gray, Baby, ‘, Ashlee Good, Good, Health Park, Ashlee, Faraz Tahir, ” Tahir, Adnan Qadir, Tahir, Anthony Albanese, KIIS, Yixuan Cheng, ’, undoubtably, Amy Scott, Scott, Webb, Amy, she’s, Roger Lowe, David GRAY, Lowe, New South Wales Premier Minns, Arthur Organizations: CNN, New South Wales ’, Health, New South Wales Police, ABC, ” Police, Getty, Police, Westfield, New South Wales Minister, “, “ Staff, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Australia, Australian, Embassy, Australia’s, Queensland Police, New South Wales Police Force, Queensland Police Service, New South Wales Premier, Minn Locations: Sydney’s, Bondi, Westfield, New South, New, Bondi Junction, Australia, Queensland, Sydney, AFP, Pakistan

☆ 'Our community has never had this much power': How Dearborn became the epicenter of Biden's 2024 headaches over Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"It might be the driving force behind the movement, but it's much bigger than Palestine," said Lexis Zeidan, another Uncommitted movement leader. Bryan MetzgerBut while the Arab American community is particularly concentrated in the Detroit area, with implications for 2024 in a closely-watched swing state, there are plenty of Arab American voters scattered in competitive states around the country. But the key to the movement's ongoing success has been coalition-building with other communities, including African American voters, young voters, and progressive Jewish voters. Organizers with the Listen to Michigan campaign following election results during a watch party in Dearborn, Michigan on February 27, 2024. After founding the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC in 1985, he and others worked in the intervening decades to build up Arab American power.

Persons: —, Abdullah Hammoud, Dearborn, it's, Joe Biden's, Bryan Metzger Layla Elabed, Abbas Alawieh, Ann Arbor, Layla, Alawieh, Biden, Nikki Haley, Donald Trump's, Trump, Rashida Tlaib, We've, Bryan Metzger, James Zogby, Andy Levin, who's, Jesse Jackson's, Jackson, Jeff Kowalsky, Hammoud, there's, – Organizations: Service, Business, Democratic, Israel . Movement, Israel, Dearborn, Muslim, Palestinian American, Arab American Institute, African American, Jewish, Arab, Getty, Arab American Institute in, what's, Michigan Muslim Locations: Dearborn , Michigan, United States, Gaza, Dearborn Heights, Hamtramck, Dearborn, Michigan, Ann, Palestine, America, Yemenis, Arab, Detroit, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, AFP, Arab American Institute in Washington , DC

☆ India general election 2024: What to know about the world’s biggest vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Helen Regan | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Under Modi, India has become the world’s fastest growing major economy, pushing the country of 1.4 billion people to near-superpower status. Here’s what you need to know about the largest election in human history:How does India vote? Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar on April 6, 2024. Congress senior party leader Rahul Gandhi during the release of the party manifesto on April 5, 2024 in New Delhi. The ruling BJP’s symbol is a lotus, while the Congress party is a raised, open-palmed hand.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Noah Seelam, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Congress ’ Mamata Banerjee, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, Himanshu Sharma, Modi’s, Kejriwal, Sanjeev Verma, Nasir Kachroo, Biju Boro Organizations: CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, European Union, Getty, Indian National Congress, Congress, Developmental Inclusive Alliance, Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi, West, All India, Modi, Hindustan Times, Minorities, Analysts, Bahujan Samaj Party, Farmers, for Media Studies Locations: India, United States, Russia, Lok, Hyderabad, AFP, INDIA, West Bengal, Tamil, Pushkar, Delhi, New Delhi, Ayodhya, Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh, China, Lohore Sapori, Assam

☆ Ukraine isn't the only country Russia is trying to topple
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Even as Russian bombs pound Ukraine, Moscow's mercenaries and spies are busy trying to set much of the rest of the world afire. To Russia, the conventional warfare waged in Ukraine, and unconventional "gray zone" warfare waged around the world, are two sides of the same coin. Human intelligence operations are used to attempt elite capture through the offer of assistance to politicians who support Russian interests. "As the war in Ukraine protracts, Russia has an interest in creating crises further afield," said RUSI. "As a lot of Russia's unconventional operations are self-defeating, countering Russian unconventional warfare must be premised on careful, selective, and intelligence- driven targeting," the study emphasized.

Persons: —, RUSI, Vladimir Putin, Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk, Nick Reynolds, Britain —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Business, Kremlin, Soviet Union, NATO, Directorate, Staff of, Armed Forces, Getty, Russian, Central African, Wagner, GRU Expeditionary Corps, Convoy, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Africa, Central Asia, Soviet, Montenegro, Moscow, Moldova, Russian, Britain, Ukraine protracts, Balkans, Russia's, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Central African Republic, Chechnya, Forbes

With the ongoing war and suffering in Gaza, this year’s holy month of Ramadan has also been a painful one for Muslims around the world. In this audio essay, Times Opinion staff editor Meher Ahmad reflects on the support she has found during Ramadan in her Muslim community, and why she hopes other Muslims also reach out beyond that world of safety and understanding. (A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)

Persons: Ramadan, Meher Ahmad Locations: Gaza

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