Fracking: Tory MPs set to defy Liz Truss in loyalty vote

IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA

Image caption,

The government lifted the ban on fracking in England last month

By Nick Eardley and Joshua Nevett

BBC Politics

Three Tory MPs look set to defy the government on fracking, after it declared a vote on banning shale gas extraction a "confidence motion".

Labour wants to use a vote in Parliament to force the introduction of a draft law to ban fracking.

The government has ordered Tory MPs to support its policy, or face expulsion from the parliamentary party.

Ahead of the showdown, three Tory MPs signalled they could not "vote tonight to support fracking".

Former ministers Chris Skidmore, Tracey Crouch, and backbencher Angela Richardson, suggested they would not support the government, meaning they could lose the whip.

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In his tweet, Mr Skidmore said he was "prepared to face the consequences of my decision", and Ms Crouch and Ms Richardson both shared his comments with the word "ditto".

However, no other Tory MPs have signalled they would rebel as the Commons debate progressed.

Earlier, Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said communities would have a "veto" on fracking in their area, as he attempted to quell the rebellion over fracking.

A number of Conservative MPs oppose fracking, but they have been told they must oppose the Labour motion or face expulsion from the parliamentary party.

Ms Truss's press secretary has said the prime minister would not resign even if the government loses Wednesday's vote.

That is because Labour's motion does not amount to a formal vote of no confidence in the government.

Fracking was halted in 2019 following opposition from environmentalists and local concerns over earth tremors linked to the practice.

But last month, the UK government ended the fracking ban in England as part of its plan to limit rising energy costs.

Now Labour says it wants to give MPs a chance to overturn the decision, which broke a 2019 Tory manifesto promise. It will be voted on at 19:00 BST in Parliament.

Some MPs for the Scottish National Party - which opposes fracking - have told the BBC they will take part in the vote.

If Labour's motion is approved, a bill to ban fracking would be given priority to be debated and voted on in Parliament.

In a message to Tory MPs, deputy chief whip Craig Whittaker said the government "cannot, under any circumstances, let the Labour Party take control of the order paper and put through their own legislation".

He said the party was voting "no" on Labour's motion, enforcing what's known as a three-line whip.

"I know this is difficult for some colleagues, but we simply cannot allow this. Please speak with your whip with any issues," the message from Mr Whittaker reads.

When lifting the ban on fracking last month, the government said the practice would resume only where there was local consent, but did not say how this would be sought.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Liz Truss said the government "will consult on the robust system of local consent" and "give clear advice on seismic limits" before any fracking goes ahead.

Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg set out more details during the debate on Labour's fracking motion.

Mr Rees-Mogg said local communities will have a "veto" on fracking after a consultation on community consent, and that national government would be unable to overrule communities objections, with one option under consideration involving local referendums.

"There's an absolute local consent lock," Mr Rees-Mogg said. "Any process to determine local consent must be run independently and this House will vote on any scheme that we bring forward."

The government hopes the Conservative MPs who oppose fracking will back down.

Meanwhile, Labour believes the government is walking into a trap. They want to make this a big dividing line, and have adverts ready attacking each MP who votes against a fracking ban.

One Conservative MP has told the BBC that many will be very unhappy about voting with the government on this issue.

Last week, some Tory MPs told the BBC they were talking to opposition parties about ways they could block the government's fracking plans.

Shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband said the motion gave Tory MPs a "simple choice" between banning fracking and allowing the government to "impose" the activity on communities.

The Liberal Democrats have urged Tory MPs to "show some backbone" by voting for a ban.

"Conservative MPs will not be forgiven if they give the go-ahead to fracking our countryside for more expensive gas instead of backing renewables," said the party's climate change spokesperson Wera Hobhouse.

A no-confidence vote is usually tabled by the opposition and if the government loses, the prime minister will be expected to resign or ask the King to dissolve Parliament, triggering a general election.

The Tory whips have described Wednesday's vote as "a confidence motion", but the government has the final say over how to respond to a defeat.

Nevertheless, defeat for the government would have political consequences. For example, Tory MPs who do not vote with the government on this motion have been warned they will no longer remain in the parliamentary party.

This could stir up discontent at a time when Ms Truss is trying to shore up her authority.

NO PASSARAN!

Families of victims of Franco regime welcome new Spanish law







Thu, October 20, 2022 
By Emma Pinedo

MADRID (Reuters) - Flor Baena has spent decades trying to clear the name of her brother Jose Humberto, who was one of the last five people executed under General Francisco Franco's fascist regime just two months before the dictator's death in 1975.

But on Thursday, the leftist government's Democratic Memory law tackling the legacy of the 1939-1975 dictatorship and the three-year civil war that preceded it was published in the official gazette. As of Friday it annuls all convictions for political, ideological, religious beliefs or sexual orientation.

"I want it to be all over the media saying that he was an innocent man who was executed by a firing squad...I want his honour to be restored and for him to go down in history as a murdered person, not as a murderer," she told Reuters.

A military court sentenced 24-year-old Baena, a member of the Revolutionary Anti-Fascist and Patriot Front (FRAP), a leftist underground movement, to death for allegedly killing a police officer. Baena denied involvement in the killing. Testimony said he did not look like the shooter but this was not admitted by the court.

The executions, which also included two members of Basque separatist group ETA, on Sept. 27, 1975, sparked outrage and protests in Spain and abroad.

Having unsuccessfully taken the case to Spanish courts and the European Court of Human Rights, Flor Baena, 69, welcomed the new law, but still lamented that their parents had died with her brother's name still marred by murder.

The sister of Jose Luis Sanchez Bravo, another FRAP member executed on the same day as Baena, remembered the pain her mother endured after his death, which she said deprived her of the will to live.

"If at least my brother's name is cleared, I'm satisfied," Victoria Sanchez Bravo said about the new law that aims to eliminate loopholes and cover a wider range of victims and crimes related to Francoism, 14 years after the first memory law was passed.

But memory associations say it still fails to address key issues, such as having legal rulings on the actual crimes or bringing perpetrators to justice.

"We are not going to have that legal truth as it happened in Argentina, for example," lamented Rosa Garcia of La Comuna association of Franco-era prisoners who, as a medicine student in 1975, was sentenced to two years for "unlawful propaganda and assembly".

In a bid to heal the wounds, left and right-wing parties agreed on a Pacto del Olvido (Pact of Forgetting) in 1977 to avoid confronting a painful past and to ease the transition into democracy. However, Franco's legacy remains a divisive issue in Spain, especially following the rise of the hard-right Vox party in the past few years.

MASS GRAVES

With the new bill, the state will also promote the search and exhumations of victims buried in mass graves, which until now were handled by memory associations. Government estimates point to 114,000 civilians who disappeared, presumably killed by Franco forces during the war and throughout the dictatorship.

Earlier this month, several families received the remains of their loved ones from a mass grave in the eastern city of Paterna, where volunteers have so far discovered a total of 154 such graves, exhuming 1,200 victims.

Up until July, the government has given the green light to 448 exhumation projects, including one in central Valladolid where associations hope to recover 160 victims.

Under the new law, studies of the legacy of Francoism will be part of the compulsory school programme and required for seekers of civil service jobs. Until now, Francoism was included in the school history programme but rarely addressed in detail.

Carles Vallejo, a former trade unionist who fled into exile in 1971 after being convicted of unlawful assembly and propaganda, hopes such teaching will raise awareness in younger generations.

"This could be the antidote to the rise of neo-fascism, post-fascism, or the extreme right in Europe," he said, lamenting that Spain had not provided such education earlier to explain the dangers of Francoism and other dictatorships and how they curtail rights and freedoms.

(Additional reporting by Juan Medina, editing by Andrei Khalip and Angus MacSwan)

Aeronautical Innovations

Conference:

2022 Aviation Innovation

Airship conference: Oct 20, 2022

Time is slipping away. Governments have agreed to a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035, but climate change is not waiting. Floods, droughts, heat waves and violent storms are increasing in frequency. Carbon emissions must be cut before the Arctic Ocean loses all its ice leading to a "Runaway Greenhouse Effect." Innovation is needed. Airplanes have the most difficulty adapting to a low carbon future because they require so much energy

No one disputes that jet engine emissions are large contributors to climate change. The aviation industry is working hard to reduce their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Electrically-powered airplanes are being tested with batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, but significant change in the carbon footprint of fixed-wing aviation is unlikely to be achieved for many years.

A sound economic case exists for continued jet passenger travel, because face-to-face meetings on a global scale are necessary. No similar justification exists for cargo jets, which is the most polluting form of freight transport. Air freight shippers can drastically reduce their carbon footprint by embracing a new aviation age of the electrically-powered airship.

Airships use less energy per tonne-kilometer because they are buoyant and require fuel only for propulsion. Hydrogen can be used as fuel because giant airships have room to store large fuel tanks, without compromising space for freight. Hydrogen fuel cell powered electric airships could meet the transport needs of air cargo shippers and help them meet their commit to green supply chains.


Northern Canada is an ideal place for electric airship cargo operations to begin. Climate change is making the ice roads unreliable. Even existing infrastructure is threatened as the permafrost melts below them.

Electric airships could transport truckload size loads across the wild terrain at about the same price. And unlike roads, have zero environmental impact on the wildlife below. This sparsely populated area would also be acceptable for the introduction of remotely piloted airships.

Year-round cargo airship service would bring prosperity to the Northern economy. Food insecurity, bad housing and poverty could be banished from the indigenous communities. The mining industry would be able to gain economic access to rich mineral deposits. Wind turbine blades could be moved to remote wind farms to power mines, Arctic homes and businesses. The Northern economy would become more resilience, richer and attractive to investment.

Innovations in transportation are transformational. Airships will unlock currently isolated regions from crippling logistical inconvenience to competitive access to economic opportunity. Canada can position itself as a pioneer in what promises to become a huge global industry. Already, FLYING WHALES, a French airship company, has opened an their office in Montreal, Quebec. Homegrown, Buoyant Aircraft Systems International (BASI) has airship research and development offices in Manitoba and Ontario. More airship companies are looking as coming to Canada, soon.

Airship projects are underway in Brazil, Israel, France, China, the U.K., the U.S. and Canada. Like Rip Van Winkle, after sleeping for many decades, the airship industry has awoken, teeming with new design ideas and opportunities. The 2022 Aviation Innovations Conference brings together representatives from all segments of the aerospace and aviation supply chains.

You should participate in these packed days because you are a stakeholder in this critical industry, either as an airship developer, an aviation parts manufacturer, fixed base operator, logistics provider, First Nations leader, government policymaker/regulator, academic, consultant, investor, student, or as an environmentalist.


Why wait?

Time is running out of hand. Governments have agreed to a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035, but climate change does not wait. Floods, droughts and severe storms are becoming more frequent, while the Arctic Ocean is losing its ice. Innovation is needed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and aviation is the most difficult mode of transportation to adapt. Fortunately, electric airships can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of air freight, if the world has the wisdom to invest to bring airship technology to maturity.

No one disputes that jet engine emissions are a major contributor to climate change. The aviation industry is working hard to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Electrically powered aircraft are being tested with hydrogen batteries and fuel cells, but it is unlikely that a significant change in the carbon footprint of fixed-wing aviation will be achieved for many years. Aerostatic flight, on the other hand, offers a simple and well-understood path to greener flights.

While there is a strong economic case for continued passenger air transport, which makes face-to-face meetings possible on a global scale, there is no similar justification for cargo aircraft. Air cargo could be transported by electric airships to meet shippers' needs, with zero greenhouse gas emissions. Electric airships consume less energy per tonne-kilometre because they float and only need fuel for propulsion, and they are so large that hydrogen tanks can be stored easily, without compromising space for passengers or cargo.

Northern Canada is an ideal place to begin cargo operations by electric airship. Northern latitudes are experiencing unreliable ice routes and melting permafrost. Electric airships could carry large loads over this wild terrain at a lower cost than airplanes and without any impact on the environment. This sparsely populated area would also be acceptable for the introduction of remotely controlled airships.

Year-round airship service would transform the northern economy and improve its resilience. Food insecurity, poor housing conditions and poverty could be banished from indigenous communities. The mining industry could have economic access to rich mineral deposits and wind energy. Wind turbine blades could be moved to remote wind farms to power Arctic mines, homes and businesses. In short, the northern economy would become more sustainable and wealthier. And Canada would position itself as a pioneer in what promises to become a huge global industry, as airships transform tourism, intercontinental transportation, forestry and other industries, and liberate many parts of the world, from islands and poor landlocked countries in Africa to Siberia, Patagonia and the Amazon. crippling logistical inconveniences.

Airship projects are underway in Brazil, Russia/Israel, France/China, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Like Rip Van Winkle, after sleeping for several decades, the airship industry woke up, full of new design ideas and opportunities. The 2022 Aviation Innovations Conference brings together representatives from all segments of the aerospace and aviation supply chains. You should participate in these busy days because you are a stakeholder in this critical industry, whether as an airship manufacturer, stationary base operator, logistics provider, First Nations leader, government policy-maker/regulator, academic, consultant, investor, student, or environmentalist.

BRAZIL ELECTION

Lula aide backs Argentina for BRICS, eyes role in Ukraine peace talks



Wed, October 19, 2022
By Flavia Marreiro and Brad Haynes

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's top foreign policy adviser supports the inclusion of Argentina in the BRICS group of developing nations, which could be a forum for negotiating peace in Ukraine, he told Reuters.

Celso Amorim, foreign minister during Lula's 2003-2010 presidency, had a hand in founding the BRICS group along with Russia, India and China. South Africa joined in 2011 and Argentina has been pushing to become the sixth member.

"It's good to have balance within the BRICS, to have a larger role for Latin America," Amorim said in an interview on Tuesday afternoon. "I think the eventual inclusion of Argentina would be positive."

Polls show Lula with a lead of roughly 5 percentage points ahead of an Oct. 30 runoff against President Jair Bolsonaro.

Amorim said he has not discussed any role in an eventual Lula government, but he continues to discuss policy matters regularly with the leftist former president.

Regarding the Ukraine war, he said Lula had the disposition and track record to contribute to peace talks.

"He has the conditions to take part in a negotiating effort, which needs to be led by the European Union and United States, but with the participation of China, obviously. Brazil can also be an important country, whose voice resonates in the developing world," Amorim said. "The BRICS as a group could help."

Amorim also said Lula would make Brazil a protagonist in global climate talks if elected, calling for a summit of Amazon rainforest nations in the first half of next year to discuss conservation efforts along with more developed nations.

A third Lula term would open the door for Brazil to re-engage diplomatically with neighboring Venezuela, Amorim said, adding that Bolsonaro and U.S. President Donald Trump achieved little by breaking off relations with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"Isolation, sanctions, blockades, threats of force don't help at all. They only make things difficult," he said.

Asked about reports of human rights violations in Venezuela and Nicaragua, Amorim said: "We will do whatever we can in favor of democracy in a way that is respectful, non-interventionist and not arrogant."

(Reporting by Flavia Marreiro and Brad Haynes; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

Brazil's Lula issues letter to evangelicals to allay concern





 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro embraces his wife, first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, during the annual Christian event March for Jesus, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 13, 2022. Bolsonaro is a Catholic, but his wife Michelle is a devout evangelical, and after avoiding the spotlight during most of her husband’s presidency, she emerged as the leading evangelical voice from Bolsonaro’s camp during the campaign. The presidential runoff election is set for Oct. 30. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado, File)More

MAURICIO SAVARESE
Wed, October 19, 2022 


SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva published an open letter to evangelicals on Wednesday aimed at countering claims he would persecute their faith and at winning votes among a large and growing part of the population.

The letter, read at a gathering with evangelical leaders at a Sao Paulo hotel, promised he would respect religious freedoms if elected — as he did during his 2003-2010 presidency.

“We are living at a time in which lies are used intensively with the objective of stoking fear in people of good faith, pushing them away from a candidacy that is defending them more,” the letter said. “That is why I felt a need to reaffirm my commitment to freedom of religion in our country.”

Polls have shown da Silva losing support from evangelicals this year as incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and his allies have warned that the former president supports leftist authoritiarians elsewhere who have persecuted Christians.

They have sometimes literally demonized da Silva and his Workers' Party, prompting him to issue a bizarre statement this month denying he has ever conversed or dealt with the devil.

Da Silva topped the first round of presidential voting, falling less than two percentage points shy of an outright victory. Most polls show da Silva retaining a lead ahead of the Oct. 30 runoff, but with Bolsonaro gaining some ground in recent weeks.

Da Silva’s letter to evangelicals is reminiscent of one he published as candidate in 2002 to assuage financial markets that he posed no threat. That calmed anxiety at the time and helped the leftist former union leader win the presidency.

In his first year in office, he signed into law a bill that allows the establishment of private religious organizations, with broad support from evangelicals. He has characterized that act as having enshrined the right to religious freedom.

Self-declared evangelicals make up almost a third of Brazil’s population, more than double their share two decades ago. Demographer José Eustáquio Diniz Alves, a former researcher at the National School of Statistical Sciences, projects they will approach 40% by 2032, surpassing Catholics.

Bolsonaro is a Catholic, but his wife Michelle is a devout evangelical. After avoiding the spotlight during most of her husband’s presidency, she emerged during the campaign as the leading evangelical voice from Bolsonaro’s camp. She has said that, before his presidency, the presidential palace had been consecrated to demons.

Bolsonaro’s campaign has insisted da Silva will promote gender-based politics and loosen abortion restrictions rejected by many evangelicals. Da Silva in April said women should have access to abortion, then backtracked somewhat to say he is personally opposed.

Some of Brazil’s most popular evangelical pastors have also campaigned for Bolsonaro, as they did four years ago when they help carry him to victory. Polls indicate that Catholics, meanwhile, largely support da Silva, who is Catholic himself.

Da Silva said in his letter that many evangelicals are confronted with what he calls Bolsonaro's “use of faith for electoral ends.”

“My administration will never use symbols of your faith for partisan political ends, respecting the laws and traditions that separate State and Church, so there's no political interference in the practice of faith,” the former president said. “The attempt to use faith politically to divide Brazilians doesn't help anyone.”

Former Environment Minister Marina Silva, an evangelical who recently reestablished support for da Silva after a public falling out years ago, said at the event that she would rather “belong to a church that is persecuted than one that persecutes.”

UNHOLY ALLIANCE OF THE RIGHT

Michelle Bolsonaro secretly meets with Venezuelan minors her husband called prostitutes

Brazil's First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro and former Minister of Women and Family Damares Alves have secretly met with community leaders of the social project that cares for Venezuelan minors whom the president, Jair Bolsonaro, called prostitutes.


Michelle Bolsonaro y Jair Bolsonaro. -

Daniel Stewart - Yesterday 

The meeting took place on Monday afternoon at a religious man's house in Lago Sul, in Brasília, after several days in which the first lady and former minister Alves insisted on meeting with the girls to try to qualify those words and mitigate the damage caused by them.

The girls were reportedly reluctant to receive the wife and ally of President Bolsonaro until pressure from Maria Teresa Belandria, the representative in Brasília of the Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, became effective.

During the meeting, as the newspaper 'O Globo' has learned, the community leaders with whom Michelle Bolsonaro, Alves and Belandria met, understood that there was a misunderstanding and that the Brazilian president did not mean to call prostitutes the 14 and 15 year old girls with whom he met.

Last Friday, while participating in a podcast, Bolsonaro used the Brazilian expression "pintar un clima" - which is intended to indicate that there is desire for something - while slipping that he was witnessing a case of sexual exploitation of Venezuelan minors in Brasilia.

While talking about one of the recurring topics in his campaign, that Brazil would become Venezuela if former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wins the elections, Bolsonaro told how after seeing a group of "beautiful girls, 14 or 15 years old", he asked to enter his house, where he came across about twenty of them "all very well groomed" to, he said, "make a living".

"I stopped the bike on a corner, took off my case and looked at some girls, three, four, pretty, 14, 15 years old, all dressed up on a Saturday and saw that they looked a bit alike. The opportunity came up, I went back, 'can I come in your house?' I went in. There were about 15, 20 girls, Saturday morning, getting dressed up, all Venezuelan," he said.

In those, Bolsonaro, after stressing again the age of the young women and their supposed beauty, told that he asked them why they were all getting dressed up on a Saturday. "To earn a living. Do you want that for your daughter?", said the Brazilian president while talking to the podcast director.

Since the excerpt of the interview began to spread through the networks, there was a small campaign crisis within Bolsonaro's team, which even had to launch a series of ads emphasizing that the Brazilian president is not a pedophile.

The occasion was used by the candidacy of former president Lula, who published a video that was finally ordered to be withdrawn as the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) considered that it was decontextualized. The decision was made by the president of the court, Judge Alexandre de Moraes, an unexpected ally for Bolsonaro, who on previous occasions has called him a "scoundrel", among other insults.

VOICE OF XI
Global Times editorial: 

Anti-corruption, the vital starting point from where the world understands CPC


BEIJING, Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping stressed in a report to the 20th CPC National Congress that the CPC must meet the overall requirements for Party building in the new era and improve the system for exercising full and rigorous self-governance. Among them is "winning tough, protracted battle against corruption." Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the country's discipline inspection and supervision authorities have filed more than 4.6 million cases, with formal criminal cases brought against 553 centrally administered officials, 25,000 officials of leading roles of departments or equivalents and 182,000 officials at the county level. The "battle against corruption on a scale unprecedented in history" has achieved overwhelming victory and been fully consolidated.

People have noticed that the topic of anti-corruption has become less popular compared with 10 years ago, which is the true manifestation of the overwhelming victory in the fight against corruption at the social level. Relevant social controversies have become less, which shows that they have more trust and confidence in the anti-corruption work of the Party and the country. The iron-clad facts convince people that anti-corruption can be carried out so thoroughly - no one can be exempted, no matter the region or field, no matter in-service or retirement. Corrupt officials are bound to be held accountable. Now, who would consider this "a campaign-style approach to anti-corruption"? Who dares not to be in awe of the Party's Eight-Point Regulation?

If we look back today, we can feel more of the weight of the anti-corruption pledge Xi made after the 18th CPC National Congress, "No matter who it is, or how senior their position, if they violate Party discipline or national law, they will be seriously dealt with and punished. This is not an empty sentence." Frankly speaking, 10 years ago, there were indeed many people who doubted the CPC could completely fight corruption, and they even thought it was unsustainable. Corruption is a chronic disease that has not been eradicated in human society for thousands of years. It is still a common problem faced by all countries, especially in the process of industrialization. How will the CPC solve it?

The deterrence of "don't dare to be corrupt" is fully demonstrated, the cage of "can't be corrupt" is getting firmer, and the consciousness of "don't want to be corrupt" has been significantly enhanced. The overwhelming victory in the fight against corruption profoundly shows that the CPC is a party that has the courage to reform itself and fighting corruption is the most thorough kind of self-reform there is. In reality, a large number of developing countries have fallen into political turmoil due to the difficulty in solving the problem of corruption, and their economic and social development has also stagnated, while Western political parties are generally inseparable from capital, and they even speak on behalf of capital. "Legalizing corruption" and "compromising to corruption" are what many people think of Western polities.

Against this background, the great achievement the CPC has made in fighting corruption by relying on its institutional and legal advantages in the new era is not only historic, but also of global significance.

In the decade of the new era, the people's satisfaction with the construction of a clean government and anti-corruption work has risen from 75 percent 10 years ago to 97.4 percent. In this process, many misunderstandings have been corrected. The fantasies of "getting rich and being promoted" have fallen flat, and the admonition that "being an official and getting rich must be separated" is awakening; a large number of stubborn and chronic diseases have also been eliminated. The corruption on the tip of the tongue, the corruption on the wheel, and the unruly customs in the clubhouse have been lambasted. A few years ago, when the world was paying attention to China's miracle, Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao reiterated that in addition to the story of economic growth, China has a story that may be "less eye-catching" - a story of restoring civilization.

The reason why the CPC dares to reform itself is not only courage, but also its nature - it represents the fundamental interests of the vast majority of the Chinese people, it has no special interests of its own, and it never represents the interests of any interest groups, any power groups, or any privileged class.

It is precisely in order to ensure that the Party "preserves its essence, color and character" that came the political courage of "offending a few thousand rather than fail 1.4 billion," and the various campaigns of "fighting tigers," "swatting flies" and "hunting foxes." This is not only a vivid reflection of the purpose and nature of the CPC, but also an important starting point for the outside world to observe and understand the CPC in the new era.

In his report to the 20th CPC National Congress, Xi said, "As long as the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption still exist, we must keep sounding the bugle and never rest, not even for a minute, in our fight against corruption. "In a sense, the fight against corruption is also credibility building. The political commitment of the CPC is by no means just a lip service. The political character of fitting its deeds to its words and the political ability to do what it says are also demonstrated through the fight against corruption. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC in the new era has united and led the people to achieve the set goals with its unswerving commitment, be it the fight against poverty, the protracted battles of preventing and resolving financial risks, or the battle to bring back blue skies.

"It takes 10 years to forge a perfect sword." Time will continue to prove that with the Party's self-reform leading the social reform, the CPC has not only a clear attitude, but also real actions. This kind of endowment and characteristics and this vision and responsibility are the development logic and victory code of the world's largest ruling party.

Global Times: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1277441.shtml

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-times-editorial-anti-corruption-the-vital-starting-point-from-where-the-world-understands-cpc-301653178.html

SOURCE Global Times

HINDUTVA IS FASCISM

Hindu nationalist surge in India creating fissures in diaspora
Yesterday 

In Edison, New Jersey, a bulldozer, which has become a symbol of the oppression of India’s Muslim minority, rolled down the street during a parade marking that country’s Independence Day.

At an event in Anaheim, California, a shouting match erupted between people celebrating the holiday and those who showed up to protest violence against Muslims in India.

Indian Americans from diverse faith backgrounds have peacefully co-existed stateside for several decades.

But these recent events in the United States – and violent confrontations between some Hindus and Muslims last month in Leicester, England – have heightened concerns that stark political and religious polarisation in India is seeping into diaspora communities.


A woman walks near the Hindu temple in the district of Southall in London

 [File: Kin Cheung/AP Photo]© Provided by Al Jazeera

In India, Hindu nationalism has surged under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, which rose to power in 2014 and won a landslide election in 20

The governing party has faced fierce criticism about rising attacks against Muslims in recent years, from the Muslim community and other religious minorities, as well as some Hindus who said Modi’s silence emboldens right-wing groups and threatens national unity.

Hindu nationalism has split the Indian expatriate community just as Donald Trump’s presidency polarised the US, said Varun Soni, dean of religious life at the University of Southern California. It has about 2,000 students from India, among the highest in the country.

Soni has not seen these tensions surface yet on campus. But he said USC received blowback for being one of more than 50 US universities that co-sponsored an online conference called, Dismantling Global Hindutva.

The 2021 event aimed to spread awareness of Hindutva, Sanskrit for the essence of being Hindu, a political ideology that claims India as a predominantly Hindu nation plus some minority faiths with roots in the country such as Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism.

Critics have said that excludes other minority religious groups such as Muslims and Christians. Hindutva is different from Hinduism, an ancient religion practised by about one billion people worldwide that emphasises the oneness and divine nature of all creation.

Soni said it is important that universities remain places where “we are able to talk about issues that are grounded in facts in a civil manner,” But, as USC’s head chaplain, Soni worried about how polarisation over Hindu nationalism will affect students’ spiritual health.

“If someone is being attacked for their identity, ridiculed or scapegoated because they are Hindu or Muslim, I’m most concerned about their wellbeing – not about who is right or wrong,” he said.

Anantanand Rambachan, a retired college religion professor and a practising Hindu who was born in Trinidad and Tobago to a family of Indian origin, said his opposition to Hindu nationalism and association with groups against the ideology sparked complaints from some at a Minnesota temple where he has taught religion classes.

He said opposing Hindu nationalism sometimes results in charges of being “anti-Hindu,” or “anti-India,” labels that he has rejected.

Accusations of Hindu nationalism

On the other hand, many Hindu Americans feel vilified and targeted for their views, said Samir Kalra, managing director of the Hindu American Foundation in Washington, DC.

“The space to freely express themselves is shrinking for Hindus,” he said, adding that even agreeing with the Indian government’s policies unrelated to religion can result in being branded a Hindu nationalist.

Pushpita Prasad, a spokesperson for the Coalition of Hindus of North America, said her group has been counselling young Hindu Americans who have lost friends because they refuse “to take sides on these battles emanating from India”. | 


Supporters of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi rally outside of the Consulate General of India in Houston [File: Go Nakamura/Reuters]© Provided by Al Jazeera

“If they don’t take sides or don’t have an opinion, it’s automatically assumed that they are Hindu nationalists,” she said. “Their country of origin and their religion is held against them.”

Both organisations opposed the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference, criticising it as “Hinduphobic” and failing to present diverse perspectives.

Conference supporters said they rejected equating calling out Hindutva with being anti-Hindu. They said proponents of Hindutva, including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the ideological mentor of Modi’s BJP – aimed to make India a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation) in which minorities will are second-class citizens.

Some Hindu Americans, such as 25-year-old Sravya Tadepalli, believed it is their duty to speak up. Tadepalli, a Massachusetts resident who is a board member of Hindus for Human Rights, said her activism against Hindu nationalism is informed by her faith.

“If that is the fundamental principle of Hinduism, that God is in everyone, that everyone is divine, then I think we have a moral obligation as Hindus to speak out for the equality of all human beings,” she said. “If any human is being treated less than or as having their rights infringed upon, then it is our duty to work to correct that.”

Tadepalli said her organisation also works to correct misinformation on social media that travels across continents, creating hate and polarisation.

Tensions in India hit a high in June after police in the city of Udaipur arrested two Muslim men accused of slitting a Hindu tailor’s throat and posting a video of it on social media. The slain man, 48-year-old Kanhaiya Lal, had reportedly shared an online post supporting a governing party official who was suspended for making offensive remarks against the Prophet Muhammad.

Hindu nationalist groups have attacked minority groups, particularly Muslims, over issues related to everything from food or wearing head scarves to interfaith marriage. Muslims’ homes have also been demolished using heavy machinery in some states, in what critics call a growing pattern of “bulldozer justice”, in disregard to “due process” and “rule of law”.

Such reports have Muslim Americans afraid for the safety of family members in India. Shakeel Syed, executive director of the South Asian Network, a social justice organisation based in Artesia, California, said he regularly hears from his sisters and senses a “pervasive fear, not knowing what tomorrow is going to be like”.

Syed grew up in the Indian city of Hyderabad in the 1960s and 1970s in “a more pluralistic, inclusive culture”.

“My Hindu friends would come to our Eid celebrations and we would go to their Diwali celebrations,” he said. “When my family went on summer vacation, we would leave our house keys with our Hindu neighbour, and they would do the same when they had to leave town.”

Syed believed violence against Muslims has now been mainstreamed in India. He has heard from girls in his family who are considering taking off their hijabs or headscarves out of fear.

‘Behind closed doors’

In the US, he sees his Hindu friends reluctant to engage publicly in a dialogue because they fear retaliation.

“A conversation is still happening, but it’s happening in pockets, behind closed doors, with people who are like-minded,” he said. “It’s certainly not happening between people who have opposing views.”

Rajiv Varma, a Houston-based Hindu activist, held a diametrically opposite view. Tensions between Hindus and Muslims in the West, he said, are not a reflection of events in India but rather stem from a deliberate attempt by “religious and ideological groups that are waging a war against Hindus”.



Counter-demonstrators protest during a ‘Howdy, Modi’ rally celebrating India”s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas

[File: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters]© Provided by Al Jazeera

Varma believes India is “a Hindu country” and the term “Hindu nationalism” merely refers to love for one’s country and religion. He views India as a country ravaged by conquerors and colonists, and Hindus as a religious group that does not seek to convert or colonise.

“We have a right to recover our civilisation,” he said.

Rasheed Ahmed, co-founder and executive director of the Washington, DC-based Indian American Muslim Council, said he is saddened “to see even educated Hindu Americans not taking Hindu nationalism seriously”. He believed Hindu Americans must make “a fundamental decision about how India and Hinduism should be seen in the US and the world over”.

“The decision about whether to take Hinduism back from whoever hijacked it is theirs.”

Zafar Siddiqui, a Minnesota resident, hoped to “reverse some of this mistrust, polarisation” and build understanding through education, personal connections and interfaith assemblies. Siddiqui, a Muslim, has helped bring together a group of Minnesotans of Indian origin – including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and atheists – who meet for monthly potlucks.

“When people sit down, say, over lunch or dinner or over coffee, and have a direct dialogue, instead of listening to all these leaders and spreading all this hate, it changes a lot of things,” Siddiqui said.

But during one recent gathering, some argued about a draft proposal to, at some point, seek dialogue with people who hold different views. Those who disagreed explained that they did not support reaching out to Hindu nationalists and feared harassment.

Siddiqui said that for now, future plans include focusing on education and interfaith events spotlighting India’s different traditions and religions.

“Just to keep silent is not an option,” Siddiqui said. “We needed a platform to bring people together who believe in peaceful co-existence of all communities.”

High Drama In Tamil Nadu Assembly, DMK Leaders Protest Against Hindi Imposition 

Oct 18, 2022
TIMES NOW

As per the latest news on Times Now, in Tamil Nadu, today resolution is expected to be passed. In Tamil Nadu Assembly, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders are protesting against the Hindi imposition. This comes after the Chief Minister had written to the Prime Minister against Hindi imposition based on the report submitted by the Committee of official languages. The DMK says that this is a move to impose Hindi and today Tamil Nadu Assembly is all set to pass a resolution against it. High drama is being witnessed in the Tamil Nadu assembly. Times Now 

END THE EMBARGO

Cuba thanks the United States for providing two million euros in aid for hurricane «Ian».

The Government of Cuba has thanked the United States on Tuesday for the humanitarian aid offered to the Latin American country to alleviate the consequences of the passage of Hurricane Ian through the island, which caused the displacement of more than 50,000 people in the west and center of the country.


Father and son next to the Cuban flag - 

"We are grateful for the offer of humanitarian aid from the United States. The material contribution valued at two million dollars (a similar figure in euros) via the International Federation of the Red Cross will contribute to our recovery efforts and support for those affected by the ravages of Hurricane Ian," Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said in a message on Twitt

Related video: All of Cuba without power after Hurricane Ian
Duration 1:39
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The Red Cross, an organization to which Cuba belongs, has channeled the humanitarian aid offered by the U.S. State Department to help Cubans affected by the meteorological phenomenon, according to the newspaper 'Granma'.

This contribution will contribute to the recovery and reconstruction efforts being carried out by Cuban authorities of the affected houses, which could exceed 100,000 homes.

In addition to the United States, the European Union has also offered aid worth one million euros to EU humanitarian partners present in the area to provide temporary emergency shelter, water and sanitary services.

Hurricane Ian claimed the lives of at least two people in the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio and displaced more than 50,000 people in the west and center of the island.

US will give $2m to Cuba in emergency relief funding for Hurricane Ian victims

$482M FOR WAR IN UKRAINE THIS WEEK

Julian Borger in Washington - THE GUARDIAN

The US will provide $2m in emergency relief funding for victims of Hurricane Ian in Cuba, in response to a call for help from the government in Havana, marking a rare example of cooperation between the two countries in recent years.


Photograph: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images© Provided by The Guardian

Ned Price, the state department spokesman, made it clear that the relief assistance would not go through the Cuban government but Washington would instead work with independent organizations like the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

Related: ‘We’re natural fighters’: Cubans brave sweeping power cuts in Hurricane Ian aftermath

“We stand with the Cuban people as they work to recover from this disaster,” Price said.

Related video: Recovery efforts in Cuba after Hurricane Ian

Duration 0:46

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The Cuban request for assistance and the positive US response marks a breakthrough in relations between Washington and Havana since the low point of the Trump administration.

In the past, when the US has offered humanitarian aid after a bad hurricane, Cuba has turned it down, but the government can no longer rely on Russia to contribute in Washington’s place – another sign of the negative impact the invasion of Ukraine has had on Russian influence around the world.

Hurricane Ian struck Cuba’s Pinar del Río province on the west side of the island, killing at least two people and flooding the tobacco fields, but it also smashed parts of the electricity grid, causing nationwide blackouts. Persistent power cuts have triggered scattered protests in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Much of the US aid is expected to go to humanitarian infrastructure such as hospitals and water pumping systems.

Donald Trump reversed a significant improvement in US-Cuban relations achieved under the Obama administration and, in the last days of his presidency, declared Havana to be a state sponsor of terrorism.

Joe Biden has signalled incremental steps to ease the sanctions imposed by Trump, saying his administration would remove the cap on dollar remittances Americans are allowed to send to Cuba and reopen limited air travel to the island, but he has sanctions introduced by his predecessor in place and not removed Havana from the terrorism watch list.

REIMAGINING MENA

Militant Hamas group back in Damascus after years of tension





In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, speaks with Khalil al-Hayeh, a senior figure in Hamas' political branch, center, with Ziad Nakhaleh, leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, right, in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. Al-Hayeh was one of two senior officials from the Palestinian militant Hamas group who visited Syria's capital on Wednesday for the first time since they were forced to leave the war-torn country a decade ago over backing armed opposition fighters. (SANA via AP)

ALBERT AJI and BASSEM MROUE
Wed, October 19, 2022 

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Two senior officials from the Palestinian militant Hamas group visited Syria's capital Wednesday in the first such visit since the faction was forced to leave the war-torn country a decade ago over backing armed opposition fighters.

The visit appears to be a first step toward full reconciliation between Hamas and the Syrian government and follows a monthslong mediation by Iran and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group — both key backers of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Over the years, Tehran and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have maintained their relations with Hamas, despite Assad's rift with the Palestinian militants.

Before the rift, Hamas had long kept a political base in Syria, receiving Damascus’ support in its campaign against Israel. Hamas’ powerful leadership-in-exile remained in Syria even after the group took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007.

But when Syria tipped into civil war, Hamas broke with Assad and sided with the rebels fighting to oust him. The rebels are largely Sunni Muslims, like Hamas, and scenes of Sunni civilian deaths raised an outcry across the region against Assad, who belongs to the Alawites, a minority Shiite sect in Syria.


Over the past few years, Syrian government forces have captured much of Syria with the help of Assad's main backers Russia and Iran. The 11-year conflict has killed hundreds of thousands, destroyed large parts of the country and displaced half of Syria's pre-war population of 23 million, including more than 5 million refugees outside the country.

“The new rapprochement is a belated recognition on the part of Hamas that all roads to continuing Iranian assistance lead to Damascus,” said Fawaz Gerges, professor of international relations and Middle Eastern politics at the London School of Economics. “Hamas bit the bullet. Assad’s political gain is Hamas’ moral loss.”

On Wednesday, Khalil al-Hayeh, a senior figure in Hamas’ political branch, and top Hamas official Osama Hamdan were among several officials representing different Palestinian factions who were received by Assad.

Al-Hayeh has regularly visited Beirut over the years, meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah; their last meeting was in August.

After Wednesday's meeting, al-Hayeh said Assad was “keen on Syria’s support to the Palestinian resistance” and called his visit a “glorious day.”

“God willing, we will turn the old page and look for the future,” al-Hayeh said, adding that Hamas is against any “Zionist or American aggression on Syria.”

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes around Syria over the past years, mainly targeting Iran-backed fighters.

Assad told the Palestinian delegation that “despite the war that Syria is being subjected to, it did not change its stance of backing resistance by all forms,” state news agency SANA reported. He added that the Syria “that everyone knew before and after the war will not change and will continue as a supporter of resistance” movements.

Hamas' re-establishing of a Damascus base would mark its rejoining the so-called Iran-led “axis of resistance” as Tehran works to gather allies at a time when talks with world powers over Iran's nuclear program are stalled.

The move by Hamas also comes after Turkey restored relations with Israel and after some Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, normalized relations with Hamas’ archenemy Israel.

“This is a marriage of convenience, a tactical alliance based on common interest,” said Gerges, adding that Hamas has become dependent on Iranian aid and has little support from Arab governments. Hezbollah has also provided Hamas with much-needed logistical support, he said.

The pro-government Al-Watan daily says Damascus will be reconciling with the “resistance branch” of Hamas and not the Muslim Brotherhood faction — an apparent reference to Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal who was once based in Damascus but is now in Qatar.

At the start of the Syrian conflict, Hamas’ leadership in exile remained largely silent. But tensions grew with the increased bloodshed, and finally in January 2012, Mashaal left Syria to Qatar, one of the main backers of fighters trying to remove Assad from power.

The following September, Mashaal gave a speech in Turkey, also a backer of the opposition, proclaiming, “we welcome the revolution of the Syrian people who are seeking freedom and independence” and that “the pure blood of these great people is being shed” because they seek democracy.

Within hours, Syrian authorities sealed up all Hamas offices in the country and expelled its members to Lebanon. They have not been allowed back since until Wednesday's visit.

Al-Hayeh said the decision to come to Damascus has the support of all Hamas leadership. In an apparent reference to Mashaal, al-Hayeh said that “unilateral behaviors by some Hamas members were not approved by the group.”

“We are here in Syria today representing the leadership that made this decision,” he said about reconciling with Damascus.

Meanwhile, Hamas announced that Saudi Arabia released a Hamas official after three years in custody.

Mohammed Al-Khoudary, a longtime Hamas official who had been based in the Saudi capital Riyadh, was on his way to Jordan, which agreed to host him, said another Hamas official, Izzat al-Reshq.

Al-Khoudary was among dozens of Palestinians and Jordanians the kingdom rounded up in 2019 in a massive crackdown on the Islamic group’s supporters. At the time, Hamas said the detainees were arrested for “collecting donations for Palestinian charities, not on security charges.”

In 2021, Al-Khoudary, 84, was sentenced to 15 years on terrorism charges that the kingdom never revealed. Other detainees received sentences of prison terms up to 22 years. Al-Khoudary’s sentence was reduced to six years.

___

Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Fares Akram contributed to this report from Hamilton, Ontario.