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☆ Alleged Plot to Kill Sikh Separatist Highlights Thorn in India’s Side
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Sameer Yasir | More About Sameer Yasir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The federal indictment this week of an Indian citizen in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme targeting a Sikh separatist in New York threatens to damage ties between the United States and India just as the Biden administration has been courting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The charges are rooted in a decades-old dispute: the demand by some Sikhs for a sovereign state known as Khalistan carved out of northern India, which the Modi government opposes. In addition to directing the unsuccessful plot in New York, the federal indictment said, an Indian government official organized the killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada who was shot in June by masked gunmen outside a temple in Vancouver. The idea of Khalistan is rooted in Sikhism, a religion with 26 million followers around the world, of which about 23 million live in the state of Punjab in northern India. Sikhs make up less than 2 percent of India’s population of 1.4 billion.

Persons: Biden, Narendra Modi’s, Modi Locations: New York, United States, India, Canada, Vancouver, Punjab

☆ A Timeline of Plots Against Sikh Activists, According to Canada and the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Derek M. Norman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Federal prosecutors in the United States announced this week that they had charged an Indian national in a murder-for-hire scheme that targeted a Sikh activist in New York. The plot was foiled, they said, but it further complicated the delicate diplomatic relations between the United States, Canada and India. The U.S. prosecutors also linked the plot to a murder in Canada last June. Relations between India and Canada had soured this fall after Canadian officials accused Indian government agents of the killing. In or around May 2023American prosecutors said that, around this time, an unnamed Indian government employee recruited Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, to orchestrate the assassination of a U.S. citizen, according to the indictment.

Persons: Biden, Narendra Modi, Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Organizations: United States, Biden, The U.S, Indian, Justice Locations: New York, United States, Canada, India, China, Russia, The, Punjab

☆ Sikh Activist Named as Assassination Target Says India Wanted Him Dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Jesse Mckinley | More About Jesse Mckinley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“The conspiracy and plot to kill me comes from the government of India,” he said in an interview. Mr. Pannun is a Sikh separatist who envisions an independent Punjab, the northern Indian state where his minority religious group is dominant. Mr. Pannun is a 56-year-old dual American and Canadian citizen who has lived in New York City for nearly three decades. He was not named in the indictment, but American officials confirmed on Wednesday that he was the intended victim. Mr. Pannun, a general counsel for a New York-based group called Sikhs for Justice, which seeks independence for Punjab, said he was not surprised by the assassination plot against him.

Persons: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, ”, Pannun, Nikhil Gupta, Narendra Modi Organizations: Indian, Justice Locations: India, Punjab, New York City, New York

☆ Prosecutors Charge Indian Man With Trying to Kill Sikh Activist in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hindu nationalists at a recent rally in New Delhi held a banner depicting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the alleged target of an assassination plot. Photo: arun sankar/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesU.S. prosecutors charged an Indian man with trying to assassinate an American citizen on U.S. soil, a dramatic development that threatens to cause new rifts in the deepening relationship between allies Washington and New Delhi. In an indictment unsealed Wednesday, prosecutors said Nikhil Gupta paid someone he thought was a hit man $100,000 to murder the target, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an advocate for carving out an independent Sikh homeland from the north Indian state of Punjab.

Persons: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, arun sankar, Nikhil Gupta Organizations: Agence France, Getty Locations: New Delhi, American, U.S, Washington, Punjab

☆ Man charged in alleged plot by Indian government official to assassinate U.S. citizen
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced murder-for-hire charges against a man related to an alleged plot by an Indian government official to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City. Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian national, is charged in federal court in Manhattan with two criminal counts related to the ultimately foiled murder plot, a newly unsealed court filing shows. The Indian government official who allegedly directed the murder plot has called himself a "Senior Field Officer" with responsibilities in "Security Management" and "Intelligence," according to the DOJ. Gupta allegedly then helped broker a deal for the Indian government official to pay the purported hitman $100,000 for the assassination. The government official fed personal information about the victim to Gupta and asked for regular updates about the progress of the murder plot.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden's, Biden, Kevin Dietsch, Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Nijjar, William Burns, National Intelligence Avril Haines Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, The Justice Department, ., Department of Justice, New York City ., New York Times, Washington Post, Justice, DOJ, Indian, Intelligence, U.S, Sikh, New, Canadian, CIA, National Intelligence, Indian Embassy Locations: WASHINGTON, DC, Washington ,, U.S, New York City, Manhattan, Czech Republic, Punjab, India, British Columbia, Canada, New Delhi

☆ Indian gov't official directed Sikh separatist's assassination plot in US, DOJ says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - An Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, in announcing charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder. Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target. According to prosecutors, the official recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. The Indian government has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India, including in Canada and the United States. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Damian Williams, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nijjar, Luc Cohen, Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Indian, U.S . Justice, New York City, Prosecutors, Biden, Administration, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: U.S, Manhattan, New York, India, Czech, New York City, Washington, United States, New Delhi, Canada, India's Punjab, Vancouver, Air India

☆ The U.S. Charged an Indian Man in a Plot to Kill a Sikh Activist
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Federal prosecutors accused an Indian national today of attempting to kill a Sikh separatist in New York City. The hit in the U.S. was planned by an Indian government official who told the man tapped to carry it out, Nikhil Gupta, that there was a target in New York and another in California, according to prosecutors. “We have so many targets,” the official told him. Prosecutors said that Gupta hired a hit man to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. citizen and outspoken proponent of independence for the Indian state of Punjab. The supposed hit man, however, was an undercover officer, prosecutors said.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, “, Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Organizations: U.S ., Prosecutors Locations: New York City, Canada, Washington , Ottawa, New Delhi, U.S, New York, California, Punjab

☆ An Indian government official directed a plot to assassinate a Sikh US citizen on American soil, feds say — and more attempts were planned
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

AdvertisementA member of the Indian government directed a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen on American soil, according to a newly unsealed federal indictment. Students give final touches to paintings of US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at an art school in Mumbai on September 5, 2023, ahead of the two-day G20 summit in New Delhi. President Joe Biden personally raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in September, according to the Financial Times. In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India's government of being involved in the attack. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India welcomes US President Joe Biden for the 2023 G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi.

Persons: —, Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh, Gupta, Pannum, Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Giorgia Meloni, PUNIT PARANJPE, Getty Images Biden, William Burns, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Pannum's, Justin Trudeau, India's, Hardeep Singh, Trudeau, Dan Kitwood, Affairs didn't, GUPTA, Punnam Organizations: Justice Department, Service, Indian, Washington Post, Department, Prosecutors, Italian, Getty Images, Financial Times, CIA, National Intelligence, Justice, Financial, Canadian, of, India, White, India's Ministry, Affairs, Getty Locations: Canada, India, Manhattan, Punjab, New Delhi, New York City, California, Czech Republic, Mumbai, AFP, United States, China, Surrey, of India

The target in New York was identified by American officials as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is general counsel for the New York-based group Sikhs for Justice. Mr. Pannun is an outspoken proponent of independence for the northern Indian state of Punjab, which is home to a large number of Sikhs, a powerful but minority group in the nation. The indictment said that the supposed hit man hired to kill Mr. Pannun was in fact a federal agent. agents warned a number of Sikh leaders around the United States about potential threats against them. Mr. Biden himself raised the issue directly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when they met at the Group of 20 summit in September.

Persons: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Pannun, Adrienne Watson, Biden, Gupta, ”, ” Ms, Watson, William J, Burns, Narendra Modi Organizations: New, National Security Council, ”, Group Locations: New York, Punjab, Vancouver, F.B.I, United States, India

☆ 5 Takeaways From U.S. Charges of Failed Plot to Kill Sikh Activist
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Ed Shanahan | More About Ed Shanahan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged an Indian national in a murder-for-hire scheme targeting a Sikh separatist and activist in New York who is a U.S. citizen and has been outspoken in calling for a Sikh-majority homeland. The assassination plot was organized by an Indian government official and linked to the June killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada who was fatally shot by masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple, according to an indictment filed in federal court in New York. Here are five takeaways from the foiled plot, as described by prosecutors. The New York plot was focused on a prominent Sikh separatist. Mr. Pannun is a vocal proponent of independence for Punjab, a northern Indian state that is home to a large number of Sikhs.

Persons: Biden’s, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Pannun Organizations: The, New, Punjab Locations: New York, U.S, Canada, United States, India, China, Russia, York, Indian

☆ How an Indian startup hacked the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +41 min

The Indian company hacked on an industrial scale, stealing data from political leaders, international executives, prominent attorneys and more. Run by a pair of brothers, Rajat and Anuj Khare, the company began as a small Indian educational startup. The Indian company hacked on an industrial scale, stealing data from political leaders, international executives, sports figures and more. Back in 2012, Kristi Rogers was an executive at Aegis, a London-based security company. Canadian security company GardaWorld, which acquired Aegis in 2015, said it had no information on the incident.

Persons: Chuck Randall, Randall, “, ” Randall, ”, Randall’s inbox, Appin, Rajat, Anuj Khare, Rajat Khare’s, Clare Locke, Khare “, Khare, ” Clare Locke, Ted Kaczynski, Anuj, who’ve, SentinelOne, Tom Hegel, Appin “, Hegel, Mandiant, ” Hegel, Shane Huntley, ” Huntley, Google’s Huntley, ‘, Jochi Gómez, Gómez, Halevi, Tamir Mor, Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, Mohamed Azmin Ali, ” Mor, Berezovsky, Azmin, Mor, Roman Abramovich, Mark Hastings, Hastings, didn’t, Jim H, ” Jim H, Jim H’s, Kristi Rogers, Mike Rogers, he’s, Global’s, sully, Rogers, Damian Perl, – “, Steven Santarpia, ” Santarpia, Santarpia, Leonel Fernández, ” Fernández, Rajat Khare, “ Let’s, Ministry of Home Affairs didn’t, Peter Hargitay, Stevie, Billing, ” Stevie, ’, ” Peter Hargitay, Mookhey, Norman Shark, Jonathan Camp, Shark, Camp, Norman, Dominican Republic –, Dan Brady, Sandra Schweingruber, ” Schweingruber, Schweingruber, Brady, ” Gómez, –, ” –, Anna Carter, Mark Califano, ” Rajat Khare’s, India’s, Educomp, Karen Hunter, Hunter, Bryan, Rajat’s, Vijay Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Kumar, ACSG, Jay Solomon, Solomon, ” Rebsec’s, Vishavdeep Singh, Rebsec, CyberRoot, Sumit Gupta, Gupta, Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui, Christopher Bing, Ryan McNeill, Corinne Perkins, John Emerson, Marla Dickerson Organizations: Reuters, Google, Harvard University, U.S, Symantec, Appin, Caribbean, El, Israeli Defense Forces, Commando, Quillon Law, U.S . House Intelligence, The Michigan Republican, U.S . Senate, Aegis, Global Security, Security, Rogers, Army Corps of Engineers, Rotary, Aegis ’, Global, ” Reuters, Britain’s, Appin Software Security, Ltd, Appin Security, –, Research, Analysis, Intelligence Bureau, Indian, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, India’s Ministry of Defense, of Home Affairs, Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ministry of Home Affairs, Telenor, Broadcom, FBI, Dominican, Criminal Investigation Service, Appin Security Group, CERT, country’s, Bureau of Investigation, Educomp, State Bank of India, State Bank, The National Security Agency, NSA, U.S ., Swiss, Appin Technology, India’s Ministry, Corporate Affairs, Control Security Global, Technology, Kumar, Facebook, Meta, BellTroX, Services, Street, New, Rebsec, BellTroX’s, Hire Locations: Long, New Delhi, India, Yorker, Paris, Swiss, cybersecurity, Appin, Dominican, California, “, Dominican Republic, El Siglo, United States, Britain, Switzerland, New York, French, New Jersey, Israel, Russian, Malaysian, London, Rwandan, Virginia, Canadian, Chuck@shinnecock.org, Texas, Indian, India’s Punjab, Pakistan, Zurich, Australia, Norway, Oslo, Brady, Former, ”, U.S, Islip, Shinnecock, Washington, cyberespionage

☆ New Delhi air pollution: Why can’t India’s capital clean up its toxic air like Beijing?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“It’s an invisible killer,” said Jyoti Pande Lavakare, author of “Breathing Here is Injurious to Your Health: The Human Cost of Air Pollution” and co-founder of clean air non-profit Care for Air. China’s capital has since cleaned up its act, which begs the question: if Beijing can clean up its toxic air, why can’t India too? A key moment in China’s fightback came in 2013, when the government started to invest billions of dollars into a national air pollution action plan. Hundreds of thousands of lives savedChina’s raft of clean air policies have been so successful, they have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, research has shown. They say Kejriwal’s team has done little in terms of implementing effective policies to clean New Delhi’s air.

Persons: “, ”, Jyoti Pande Lavakare, Arun Sankar, China’s, –, Wang Zhao, China’s fightback, Frank Christian Hammes, IQAir, Sunil Dahiya, Dahiya, Stringer, Arvind Kejriwal, Kejriwal, Virendra Sachdeva, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sudhanshu Dhulia, Raj K Raj, “ You’re Organizations: CNN, Health, Pollution, Air, Getty, United, Global, Energy, Institute, University of Chicago, Centre for Research, Clean, Bloomberg, Beijing, Care for Air, Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, AAP, Ministry of Environment, Hindustan Times Locations: Delhi, Beijing, India, ”, AFP, United States, China, Swiss, New Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, New, Indonesia, Malaysia, Care, CREA, IQAir

☆ Explainer: Why is South Asia the global hotspot of pollution?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Sakshi Dayal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The worsening air pollution is an annual problem for South Asian nations as winter approaches and cold, heavy air traps pollution in a thick layer of smog. South Asia has become the global hotspot for air pollution, with studies finding four of the world's most polluted countries and nine of the 10 most polluted cities in the region. WHY IS POLLUTION IN SOUTH ASIA WORSE THAN OTHER PLACES? An increase in the number of vehicles on roads as the region has developed has also exacerbated the pollution problem. Countries across South Asia will have to coordinate efforts if the region's pollution problem is to be solved, collaborating to enhance monitoring and make policy decisions.

Persons: stubble, Anushree, Sakshi Dayal, Michael Perry Organizations: Swiss Group, REUTERS, ., Thomson Locations: DELHI, South Asia, Asia, New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh's

☆ Indian capital gets a breather as rain brings respite from smog
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

India's weather department has forecast intermittent rain over the city and adjoining areas till early noon on Friday. Meanwhile, air in the financial capital of Mumbai has markedly improved due to showers in nearby coastal areas. This year, attention on the worsening air quality has cast a shadow over the cricket World Cup hosted by India. Scientists and authorities were planning to seed clouds in New Delhi around Nov. 20 to trigger heavy rain, the first such attempt to clean the air. Friday's rain comes two days before the Diwali festival, when many people defy a ban on firecrackers, causing a spike in air pollution.

Persons: Anushree, Tanvi Mehta, Rajendra Jadhav, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, India, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Swiss, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Kolkata, India's, Mumbai

☆ Pakistan’s Lahore is the latest megacity to shut down as pollution chokes swathes of South Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Lahore has become the latest megacity to shut down as pollution chokes swathes of South Asia, where nearly 50 million people have been breathing toxic air for nearly a week. Commuters make their way through a busy street amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 7, 2023. The PM2.5 levels in all these cities far exceed the World Health Organization’s limit and illustrate a growing concern for South Asian countries as they experience rapid industrializations and population booms that are fueling pollution levels. Commuters make their way along the Signature Bridge amid heavy smog conditions in New Delhi on November 9, 2023. The study also found that every single one of India’s 1.4 billion residents endures annual average pollution levels that exceed guidelines set by the World Health Organization.

Persons: Mohsin Naqvi, Arif Ali, Arun Sankar Organizations: CNN, Authorities, Lahore –, Getty, Getty Images Dhaka, Energy, Institute, University of Chicago, World Health Organization, Doctors Locations: Lahore, South Asia, Swiss, Pakistan’s Punjab, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, AFP, Pakistan, India, New Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, India’s, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangladesh, Delhi

☆ Indian Capital Gets a Breather as Rain Brings Respite From Smog
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Overnight rain in New Delhi and its suburbs brought some relief to the Indian capital on Friday morning, where authorities were mulling seeding clouds to improve the toxic air gripping the city. India's weather department has forecast intermittent rain over the city and adjoining areas till early noon on Friday. Meanwhile, air in the financial capital of Mumbai has markedly improved due to showers in nearby coastal areas. This year, attention on the worsening air quality has cast a shadow over the cricket World Cup hosted by India. Friday's rain comes two days before the Diwali festival, when many people defy a ban on firecrackers, causing a spike in air pollution.

Persons: Tanvi Mehta, Rajendra Jadhav, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: India Locations: DELHI, New Delhi, Swiss, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Kolkata, India's, Mumbai

☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

Persons: Eduardo Quintela Gonzáles, ” Quintela, JAN, “, ”, Quintela, Victor, Edith Turner, Chaucer, ferne, sondry londes, Vaishno Devi, Lyra Skinner, Lyra, Victoria Preston’s, —, Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary, Bath, Naipaul, Augustus, Ryan, garret, Virgin, Monica Machicao, Nicholas Casey, ” Monica, Casey, Evo Morales, sloughing, Columbus, Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Monica, glitzy cholets, Peru —, Viracocha, it’s, Pablo Quisbert, Leandro Chitarroni, Eichmann, Father Chitarroni, Father Chitarroni’s, Conquistadores ”, Fernando Cervantes, Bernabé Cobo, Quisbert, Edgar Quispe, Tatiana Huayhua, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, Mary, Yupanqui’s, su, Yupanqui, Chitarroni, she’s, Friar Abelino Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori’s, Irene, Juana, hajji, Waka, Aracely Alcón, Santiago, Alcón, ‘, don’t, ” Alcón, Tito Yupanqui, Uma Marka, Pachamama, haggard, Amaru Fiorilo Barrios, he’d, ” Fiorilo, Fiorilo, who’d, Valeria Alcón, Laureano Jose Quisbert, Elena Ticona Flores, Eduardo Quintela’s, Ensamble, pang, padre, consolations, Sincrético, El, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Axel, amauta, strode, La, Aatish Taseer, Saint Helena —, Constantine I, La Paz, Orgilbaatar Tsolmon, Orgil, Genghis Khan, Edward Gibbon, ” Orgil, Araniko’s, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s, Kubla Khan, Coleridge, Kublai, Stalin, sybarite, Khamar, Dalai Lama, Lama, Christopher Kaplonski, ger, I’d, banshtai tsai, Prim, Egi, Munkhdul, Gandantegchinlen, Haidav, herder, “ Um sain, boltugai, Danzanravjaa, Zanabazar’s, Erdene, Mandakhtsog Monkhbaatar, Monkhbaatar’s, Dalai Lamas, prostrated, He’d, Zuu, she’d, Santiago de, L.K, Advani, Emperor Babur, Ram, kar sevaks, Ayodhya, Narendra Modi, Munkhbaatar Batchuluun, Henry Wallace, Franklin D, Potemkin, Munkhbaatar, Gerelmaa, Giimaa, She’d, Eduardo Quintela, Aracely, Santiago’s, Joseph Brodsky’s, Muhammad’s, Hussein, William Keo, ” Khuder, pillion, Labaik, Hussein ”, O Hussein, hearkened, Prophet, Ali —, Ali, Yazid, Imam, crackling, chickpeas, Imam Ali, Imam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Tusi, Qasim, Imam Hussein’s, Khuder, “ Will, Najaf, prestes, — I, Yasir Yaseen, Ashura, Ali Akbar, Abbas, Ali Asghar, “ We’re, Francisco Goya’s, Hussein’s, Groom, Joseph, ” Wissam, Turfi, Saddam —, Arbaeen, Saddam, “ Imam Hussein, WE, Muhammad, Barnaby Rogerson, Prophet Muhammad ”, ” Ali, Muhammad — Muhammad, formlessness, Muqtada al, Abrams, chiding, Abu Musab Al, Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, William, “ They’re, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, flagellants, ruddy, stylishly, Hussein — shahid —, Farman Ahsan, Syed Salman Raza —, Saddam’s, ” Raza, William “, Ali Zayn al, Abidin, Labaik ya Hussein, thrall —, Lloyd, Susanne Rudolph — Organizations: CITY LA, LA, LA PAZ, Virgin, Crusaders, Dolorosa, Sun, The New York Times, Bolivian, Spain, La, Cordillera, Universidad Mayor de, Catholic, Good, La Paz, Dominican, Pakistan, Caesars, Nissan, Coke, Communists, Communism, ardor, Communist, Hyundai, flails, sacra, Apache, Mahdi Army, Al, ISIS, Karachi —, Princeton Locations: Bolivia, Mongolia, Iraq, Aatish Taseer Bolivia Mongolia Iraq, CITY LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, NAJAF, IRAQ, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, LA PAZ, La Paz, Bolivian, Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, New York, Christian, British, sondry, India, Delhi, Varanasi, Europe, American, Mecca, Arabia, Long, Vino Tinto, Chile, Peru, Monica, Plurinational State, Bolivia —, Americas, Spain, Columbian, Aztec Mexico, Inca Peru, Calvary Hill, Virgen del Cerro, South America, Puerto Rico, Huatajata, ”, Argentine, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Mexican, revelry, Spanish, “, morena, La, “ India, multilayered, Potosí, Argentina, Warisata, Scotch, Santiago de Compostela, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nations, El Alto, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Tibet, Bolivia’s, Yamuna Rivers, United States, Buddhist Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian, Istanbul, Asia, Islam, China, Beijing, Dadu, Erdene Zuu, Soviet, Gobi, Los Angeles, gers, Qing China, Karnataka, Töv Province, Karakorum, Khamar, Erdene, Ukraine, Korea, Golden, Bayankhongor, Lhasa, Dalai, Inner Mongolia, Mongol, Nalaikh, Santiago, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, Bulgan Province, Somnath, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, ger, East German, Uvs Province, Pakistani, Indian, Tennessee, Najaf, Baghdad, Khuder, —, abayas, KARBALA, Kufa, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, Imam Ali, Bab, Kuwaiti, Bohras, South Asia, Tajikistan, Zaydis, Yemen, Alawites, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Sadr, U.S, Jordanian, Al Qaeda, Mesopotamia, Al, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Karachi, Doha, Qatar

☆ Indian scientists hope cloud seeding can clean Delhi's toxic air
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Shivam Patel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Air quality dips in Delhi ahead of winter every year, when cold air traps pollutants from a variety of sources including vehicles, industries, construction dust, and agricultural waste burning. The project, estimated to cost 10 million rupees ($120,000) for 100 square kilometres (38.6 square miles), would involve spraying into clouds a mix of salts that include silver iodine, Agrawal said. "We don't expect that big a cloud that will cover entire Delhi, but a few hundred kilometres would be good," he told Reuters. The air quality index in the city was 506 early on Thursday, which is categorised as "hazardous" by Swiss group IQAir. Several countries have used cloud seeding to produce rain, improve air quality and water crops in time of drought, including Mexico, the United States, China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Persons: Anushree, Manindra Agrawal, Agrawal, Gufran Beig, SAFAR, Beig, Shivam Patel, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Indian Institute of Technology, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Delhi, Kanpur, Punjab, Haryana, Mexico, United States, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Mexico

☆ Reeling under toxic air, India's capital shuts schools
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People and vehicles are seen on a road amidst the morning smog in New Delhi, India, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Reeling under hazardous air quality levels, India's capital New Delhi shut down all schools for an extended period on Wednesday, the latest in a series of measures to protect residents from growing air pollution. Air quality levels in the city were over 320 on the air quality index, a level categorised as 'hazardous' by Swiss group IQAir, although it was not as bad as the 400 range hit earlier this week. Schools in the capital city would remain closed from Thursday until Nov. 18 on a winter break, which was originally scheduled for January, the Delhi government said in a notification. Primary schools in the city had already been shut, as part of measures to protect young children against smog and growing air pollution.

Persons: Anushree, SAFAR, Shivam Patel, Manoj Kumar, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Swiss, Delhi, Farmers, Punjab, Haryana

☆ Pollution Forces City-Wide Closures of Businesses, Schools in Eastern Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Mubasher BukhariLAHORE (Reuters) - Heavy pollution-fuelled smog forced authorities to close schools and markets this week in Pakistan's most populous province, including the eastern city of Lahore which has risen to one of the world's worst cities for hazardous air quality. Schools, offices, restaurants and businesses, aside from priority services like pharmacies, hospitals and courts, would all close to limit residents' movement outside, according to a directive from the provincial government. Heavy smog blanketed Lahore this week, reducing visibility and leading residents to complain of a threat to their health. In neighbouring India, authorities in Delhi have announced they would restrict use of vehicles next week to curb rising pollution as air quality in the capital remained dangerously unsafe despite mitigation efforts. (Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Michael Perry)

Persons: Mubasher Bukhari, Amir Mir, Mohammad Salahuddin, Charlotte Greenfield, Michael Perry Organizations: Schools Locations: Mubasher, Mubasher Bukhari LAHORE, Pakistan's, Lahore, Punjab, Swiss, Delhi, Karachi, South Asia, India

☆ India's top court tells states to stop crop burning as New Delhi's air turns hazardous
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Shivam Patel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Air quality dips every year ahead of winter, when calm and cold winds trap pollutants from sources including vehicles, industries, construction dust, and agricultural waste burning. Delhi has stopped local construction, closed primary schools till Nov. 10 and will impose restrictions on use of vehicles next week to fight pollution, but it wants its neighbouring states to control crop residue burning. At 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the real time air quality index stood at 306, a level categorised as 'hazardous' by Swiss group IQAir. "We direct the state government of Punjab and adjacent states to Delhi - Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh - to ensure that crop (residue) burning is stopped forthwith," Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana usually burn crop stubble left behind after rice is harvested in late October or early November to quickly clear their fields before planting wheat crops.

Persons: Anushree, Boulton, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, SAFAR, Justice Kaul, Kaul, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, NEW, Farmers, Thomson Locations: Karnal district, Haryana, India, NEW DELHI, New Delhi, Delhi, Swiss, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh

Ajay Bisaria, India's ambassador to Canada from 2020 to 2022, said the relationship is in a "de-escalation phase" following "quiet diplomacy". "This is not a thaw," an Indian foreign ministry official told Reuters. 'MODEST DE-ESCALATION'Officials in India and Canada spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak on the subject. The Indian foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Canada's foreign ministry pointed to comments made by Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie on Oct. 30.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Justin Trudeau, Evan Vucci, Michael Kugelman, Ajay Bisaria, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India's, Ottawa’s, Melanie Jolie, Jolie, Modi, Kugelman, Michael Bociurkiw, Krishn Kaushik, Steve Scherer, YP Rajesh, William Mallard Organizations: Indian, Canada, Bharat, DELHI, Mutual, South Asia Institute, Wilson Center, Reuters, Canadian, Foreign, Atlantic Council, YP, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Canada, OTTAWA, Punjab, Delhi, Ottawa, Washington, China, Vancouver, Hardeep, Vienna

☆ Indian farmers carry on burning stubble despite cost to health
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But for him, the only alternative to burning crop residues is to join the queue to hire machines to clear his field, which would cost him about $100 for his four-acre farm. More than 85% of Indian farmers are categorised as small, meaning that, like Sharma, they own about four acres or fewer. Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana has typically accounted for 30% to 40% of Delhi's October-November pollution, according to government air-quality monitoring agency SAFAR. POLITICAL WILL LACKINGAjay Singh Rana, a Haryana farm official, said the number of farms burning stubble in Karnal had dropped to 96 so far this year from 270 last year. ($1 = 83.1750 Indian rupees)Reporting by Manoj Kumar, additional reporting by Anushree Fadnavis; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Anushree, Aashish Sharma, Sharma, SAFAR, Dharamvir Singh, Ajay Singh Rana, Sharma's, Mukhi Ram Sharma, Bajinder Pal Punia, Manoj Kumar, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Central Pollution Control, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Karnal district, Haryana, India, New Delhi, Sharma's, Karnal, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Samalkha

NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - India's capital New Delhi was wrapped in a thick layer of toxic haze on Friday and some schools were ordered closed as the air quality index (AQI) plummeted to the "severe" category. In India, the annual average concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the air is the highest in northern regions. Officials said they saw no immediate improvement in the air quality. Delhi hosts a World Cup match on Monday between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Poor air quality also caused respiratory problems, irritation in the eyes and restlessness in pet animals.

Persons: Aheed Khan, Ashwani Kumar, Prabhat Gangwar, Tanvi Mehta, Rajesh, Blassy Boben, Manoj Kumar, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: joggers, Residents, Officials, Control Committee, Farmers, Health, Friendicoes, Thomson Locations: DELHI, New Delhi, Swiss, Pakistani, Lahore, Delhi, India, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka

☆ Indians Are Entering the U.S. Illegally in Record Numbers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Tarini Parti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A group of migrants claiming to be from India receive snacks and water from a Samaritans Without Borders volunteer near Lukeville, Ariz., this summer. Photo: Matt York/Associated PressAfter the second time Arshdeep Singh, a supporter of a Sikh political party in Punjab, was threatened by men he believed were affiliated with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, his father made arrangements for him to leave the country. Singh’s 40-day journey this past summer from his village in Punjab, in northern India, to Fresno, Calif., was guided by voices of men he had never met on a cellphone. Every few days, they sent him digital boarding passes of his flights and instructions on where to meet the next local smuggler.

Persons: Matt York, Arshdeep Singh, India’s Organizations: Associated, Bharatiya Janata Party Locations: India, Lukeville, Punjab, Fresno, Calif

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