New Delhi (TIP)- India and Singapore on Thursday elevated their ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” and inked four MoUs, including one on cooperation in the semiconductor industry, as the prosperous city-state’s companies pledged to invest about USD 60 billion in the next few years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived here from Brunei on a two-day visit, touted Singapore as a model for developing nations and said India wanted to create “several Singapores” of its own during his talks with Premier Lawrence Wong.
“Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @LawrenceWongST held productive talks today. They deliberated on ways to further deepen India-Singapore partnership across key sectors including technology, healthcare, trade, skilling, and more,” the prime minister’s office said in a post on X.
Later, PM Modi held a roundtable with top business leaders and CEOs in Singapore, where he talked about ways to deepen economic linkages. Highlighting the reforms underway in India, which will encourage investment and innovation, PM Modi invited Singaporean business leaders to look at investment opportunities in India in sectors like aviation, energy, and skill development.
At the roundtable with business leaders, Singapore companies committed an investment of around USD 60 billion (over Es 5 lakh crore) in the next few years, officials said. “Collaborative initiatives have been identified in areas such as skilling, digitalisation, mobility, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and AI, healthcare, sustainability and cybersecurity,” PM Modi said during his meeting with Lawrence Wong.
Describing Singapore as an “important facilitator” of India’s Act East policy, PM Modi said, “Our strategic partnership is completing a decade. Over the past 10 years, our trade has more than doubled. Mutual investment has increased almost threefold to cross USD 150 billion. Singapore was the first country with which we launched the UPI Person-to-Person payment facility.” Noting that in the past ten years, 17 satellites of Singapore have been launched from Indian soil, PM Modi said bilateral cooperation has gained momentum from skilling to the defence sector.
“I am pleased that today, we are together elevating our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” he said. Both leaders witnessed the exchange of MoUs for cooperation in semiconductors, digital technologies, skill development and healthcare. These are the outcomes of the deliberations during the two rounds of India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtables held so far. Prime Minister Modi also announced the setting up of an Invest India office in Singapore, which will be a handholding office for investors in Singapore in various areas identified in the six pillars.
Month: September 2024
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India, Singapore elevate ties, ink 4 pacts during Modi’s visit
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NIA chargesheets key accused for Indian High Commission attack in London
In a major step in the probe into the 2023 attack at the Indian High Commission in London, the NIA on Thursday charge-sheeted a key accused in the incident, an official statement said.
The chargesheet was filed in a special NIA court in Delhi.Inderpal Singh Gaba, a UK national residing in Hounslow and originally hailing from New Delhi, was chargesheeted as one of the agitators who actively participated in the anti-India protest on March 22, 2023, in front of the Indian High Commission in London, as part of the Khalistani secessionist agenda, it said. The accused was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on April 25 after exhaustive investigations that established his role in the secessionist activity. He was detained in December 2023 by immigration authorities at the Attari border upon his arrival from London via Pakistan, based on a lookout circular against him. Investigations were then initiated against Gaba and he was asked not to leave the country while the probe continued, said the NIA statement.During the months-long investigation, the NIA seized his mobile phone and scrutinised the data, including several incriminating videos/photos of the incident, and eventually established his involvement in the incident, it said. NIA investigations have so far revealed that the attack in London was conspired and perpetrated in retaliation to the action taken by the Punjab Police against Amritpal Singh, chief of Waris Punjab De, with the objective of influencing the crackdown on the outfit and its leader, the statement said. -
Interpol issued 100 red notices on India’s request in 2023, says CBI chief
CBI Director Praveen Sood on Sept 5 said Interpol issued 100 red corner notices to nab fugitives on India’s request in 2023, highest ever in a year. Addressing the 10th Interpol Liasion Officers’ Conference at the agency’s headquarters, he said the global operation centre of the CBI handled 17,368 international assistance requests in 2023.
He said as many as 29 wanted criminals were brought back to India in 2023 and 19 this year so far with the help of Interpol. Emphasising the need for international cooperation in the light of technology, Sood said: “Criminal are no longer constrained by borders, and neither should our efforts to combat them.”
Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, who inaugurated the conference, called for real-time international police cooperation in the age of digitally driven crimes.
“The world today faces a multitude of grave and globalised poly crimes and threats such as terrorism, online radicalisation, cyber-enabled financial crimes, online child sexual exploitation, corruption, drug trafficking, terror financing and organised crime. The police in India have been at the forefront of addressing these challenges through a combination of robust legal framework, innovative initiatives, leveraging technology and proactive international cooperation,” Sood said. -
Rahul, Kharge slam PM Modi over Shivaji’s statue collapse
New Delhi (TIP)- Kicking off the party’s campaign for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge on Sept 5 launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the collapse of Maratha Shivaji’s statue last month. They alleged that the statue collapsed because of corruption.
Prime Minister Modi, during his visit to Maharashtra on August 30, apologised to the 17th century Maratha king and his admirers over the statue collapse and said Shivaji was more like a god to him rather than a king or a great human being.
Addressing a rally at Sangli in Maharashtra, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said Modi should not only apologise to Shivaji but also to all Maharashtrians over the statue collapse within eight months of its inauguration at Rajkort Fort in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, on the occasion of Navy Day.
“Modi should say sorry to each and every citizen of Maharashtra for the insult caused to the legendary king when the statue at Rajkot fort collapsed on August 26,” said Rahul.
“I want to ask the Prime Minister what he is sorry for, is it because the contract to make the Shivaji statue was given to an RSS person who had no merit, or for the corruption in the process of its construction,” Gandhi said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the statue collapse was yet another instance of shoddy job done by the government in a hurry to impress people before elections. Kharge recalled that a bridge inaugurated by PM Modi in Ahmedabad also collapsed soon after it was thrown open for public. He said the Ram Temple in Ayodhya inaugurated by Modi with much fanfare also reported seepage after the monsoon rain. The two Congress heavyweights were speaking at a public meeting after inaugurating a life-size statue of late local party leader Patangrao Kadam. They said Kadam’s statue, inaugurated today, had been built by the well-known sculptor Sutar and it was going to last for a long time.
Rahul Gandhi said Modi resorted to demonetisation to wipe out small and medium industries and enable big corporate houses like Adani and Ambani to amass wealth. -
ED raids former RG Kar principal’s house in financial irregularities case
Kolkata (TIP)- Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers on Friday conducted simultaneous search operations at the houses of Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and three of his associates in connection with alleged financial irregularities at the institute, an officer said.
The raids were carried out at Ghosh’s residence in Beliaghata and at two locations in Howrah and Subhasgram. All four are already in CBI custody.
“We reached these places around 6.15 am and started our raids,” the officer told PTI. The ED has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Ghosh.
On August 23, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the investigation into the alleged financial irregularities at the hospital from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the CBI.
The decision followed a petition by Dr Akhtar Ali, the former deputy superintendent of the facility, who sought an investigation by the ED into multiple allegations of financial misconduct during Ghosh’s tenure.
Ghosh served as principal from February 2021 to September 2023. He was briefly transferred from RG Kar in October 2023 but was reinstated within a month. Dr Ali had raised concerns that the corruption at RG Kar hospital might be linked to the doctor’s death, suggesting that the victim was aware of the misconduct and might have threatened to expose it.
Twist in Kolkata doctor rape-murder case, parents claim ‘police tried to bribe us’
The family members of the trainee doctor, who was allegedly raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last month, on Wednesday alleged that the police tried to suppress the case by hurriedly cremating the body of their daughter. The victim’s father also alleged that the Kolkata Police also tried to bribe them with money.
“The police, from the very beginning, tried to hush up the case. We were not allowed to see the body and had to wait at the police station while the body was taken for post-mortem examinations. Later, when the body was handed over to us, a senior police official offered us money, which we immediately declined,” news agency PTI quoted the victim’s father as saying.
The victim’s parents further demanded justice for their daughter while participating in a protest at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital along with junior doctors.
On August 9, the body of the 31-year-old trainee woman doctor was found in a semi-naked state in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. A day after the incident, the Kolkata Police arrested the main accused, Sanjay Roy, after he was seen entering the building around the estimated time of the crime in a CCTV camera footage, and his bluetooth headphones were found near the crime scene.
The probe revealed that after severely hurting and sexually assaulting the doctor, Sanjay Roy killed the victim by throttling and smothering her.
A week after the incident, the Calcutta High Court handed over the probe to the CBI. Days after the incident came to light, massive protests erupted across the country, with people, including doctors, demanding justice for the victim. On Sept 3, a delegation of junior doctors in Kolkata presented a hand-made artificial spine to city police commissioner Vineet Goyal and demanded his resignation over the alleged lapses in the case. The action was a way to ask the police to “grow a backbone”. -
9/11: The deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil
The 11th of September 2024 marks the 23rd anniversary of 9/11 attacks on the US.
On Tuesday, 11 September 2001, suicide attackers seized US passenger jets and crashed them into two New York skyscrapers, killing thousands of people.
The attack remains one of the most traumatic events of the century, not only for Americans but also for the world.On the morning of 11 September 2001, 19 terrorists from the Islamist extreme group al Qaeda hijacked four commercial aircraft and crashed two of them into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. After learning about the other attacks, passengers on the fourth hijacked plane, Flight 93, fought back, and the plane was crashed into an empty field in western Pennsylvania about 20 minutes by air from Washington, D.C. The Twin Towers ultimately collapsed, due to the damage from the impacts and subsequent fires. Nearly 3,000 people were killed from 93 different countries. Most of the fatalities were from the attacks on the World Trade Center. The Pentagon lost 184 civilians and servicemembers and 40 people were killed on Flight 93. It was the worst attack on American soil since the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.
After the Taliban refused to turn over the mastermind of the attacks, Osama Bin Laden, Operation Enduring Freedom officially began 7 October 2001 with American and British bombing strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Initially, the Taliban was removed from power and al Qaeda was seriously crippled, but allied forces continually dealt with a stubborn Taliban insurgency, infrastructure rebuilding, and corruption among the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, and Afghan Border Police. Bin Laden would go into hiding for nearly 10 years.
On 2 May 2011, U.S. Navy SEALs launched a nighttime raid on Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, killing the al Qaeda leader. Operation Enduring Freedom officially ended 28 December 2014, although coalition forces remained on the ground to assist with training Afghan security forces. American troops departed Afghanistan in August 2021.
The key operational planner of the September 11 attacks was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (often referred to simply as “KSM” in the later 9/11 Commission Report and in the media), who had spent his youth in Kuwait. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed became active in the Muslim Brotherhood, which he joined at age 16, and then went to the United States to attend college, receiving a degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 1986. Afterward he traveled to Pakistan and then Afghanistan to wage jihad against the Soviet Union, which had launched an invasion against Afghanistan in 1979.
According to Yosri Fouda, a journalist at the Arabic-language cable television channel Al Jazeera who interviewed him in 2002, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed planned to blow up some dozen American planes in Asia during the mid-1990s, a plot (known as “Bojinka”) that failed, “but the dream of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed never faded. And I think by putting his hand in the hands of bin Laden, he realized that now he stood a chance of bringing about his long awaited dream.”
In 1996 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed met bin Laden in Tora Bora, Afghanistan. The 9-11 Commission (formally the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States), set up in 2002 by U.S. Pres. George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress to investigate the attacks of 2001, explained that it was then that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed “presented a proposal for an operation that would involve training pilots who would crash planes into buildings in the United States.” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed dreamed up the tactical innovation of using hijacked planes to attack the United States, al-Qaeda provided the personnel, money, and logistical support to execute the operation, and bin Laden wove the attacks on New York and Washington into a larger strategic framework of attacking the “far enemy”—the United States—in order to bring about regime change across the Middle East.
The September 11 plot demonstrated that al-Qaeda was an organization of global reach. The plot played out across the globe with planning meetings in Malaysia, operatives taking flight lessons in the United States, coordination by plot leaders based in Hamburg, Germany, money transfers from Dubai, and recruitment of suicide operatives from countries around the Middle East—all activities that were ultimately overseen by al-Qaeda’s leaders in Afghanistan.
Key parts of the September 11 plot took shape in Hamburg. Four of the key pilots and planners in the “Hamburg cell” who would take operational control of the September 11 attacks, including the lead hijacker Mohammed Atta, had a chance meeting on a train in Germany in 1999 with an Islamist militant who struck up a conversation with them about fighting jihad in the Russian republic of Chechnya. The militant put the Hamburg cell in touch with an al-Qaeda operative living in Germany who explained that it was difficult to get to Chechnya at that time, because many travelers were being detained in Georgia. He recommended they go to Afghanistan instead.
Although Afghanistan was critical to the rise of al-Qaeda, it was the experience that some of the plotters acquired in the West that made them simultaneously more zealous and better equipped to carry out the attacks. Three of the four plotters who would pilot the hijacked planes on September 11 and one of the key planners, Ramzi Binalshibh, became more radical while living in Hamburg. Some combination of perceived or real discrimination, alienation, and homesickness seems to have turned them all in a more militant direction. Increasingly cutting themselves off from the outside world, they gradually radicalized each other, and eventually the friends decided to wage battle in bin Laden’s global jihad, setting off for Afghanistan in 1999 in search of al-Qaeda.
Atta and the other members of the Hamburg group arrived in Afghanistan in 1999 right at the moment that the September 11 plot was beginning to take shape. Bin Laden and his military commander Muhammad Atef realized that Atta and his fellow Western-educated jihadists were far better suited to lead the attacks on Washington and New York than the men they had already recruited, leading bin Laden to appoint Atta to head the operation.
The hijackers, most of whom were from Saudi Arabia, established themselves in the United States, many well in advance of the attacks. They traveled in small groups, and some of them received commercial flight training.
Throughout his stay in the United States, Atta kept Binalshibh updated on the plot’s progress via e-mail. To cloak his activities, Atta wrote the messages as if he were writing to his girlfriend “Jenny,” using innocuous code to inform Binalshibh that they were almost complete in their training and readiness for the attacks. Atta wrote in one message, “The first semester commences in three weeks…Nineteen certificates for private education and four exams.” The referenced 19 “certificates” were code that identified the 19 al-Qaeda hijackers, while the four “exams” identified the targets of the attacks.
In the early morning of August 29, 2001, Atta called Binalshibh and said he had a riddle that he was trying to solve: “Two sticks, a dash and a cake with a stick down—what is it?” After considering the question, Binalshibh realized that Atta was telling him that the attacks would occur in two weeks—the two sticks being the number 11 and the cake with a stick down a 9. Putting it together, it meant that the attacks would occur on 11-9, or 11 September (in most countries the day precedes the month in numeric dates, but in the United States the month precedes the day; hence, it was 9-11 in the United States). On September 5 Binalshibh left Germany for Pakistan. Once there he sent a messenger to Afghanistan to inform bin Laden about both the day of the attack and its scope.
One World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum
The physical and symbolic void left by the destruction of the Twin Towers was filled on November 3, 2014, with the opening of One World Trade Center, a 1,776-foot (541.3-metre) skyscraper, which instantly became a dramatic new landmark on the Manhattan skyline. Adjacent to One World Trade Center are the National September 11 Memorial and Museum (completed in 2011 and 2014, respectively). Within the 8-acre (3.2-hectare) memorial plaza, twin 1-acre (0.4-hectare) reflecting pools occupy the footprints of the Twin Towers. The pools feature the largest man-made waterfalls in North America and are edged by bronze panels inscribed with the names of the victims of the September 11 attacks as well as the names of the six people who died as a result of the truck bombing of the World Trade Center in February 1993. Among more than 400 trees in the grove that surrounds the pools is the “Survivor Tree,” a Callery pear tree that was discovered badly damaged at Ground Zero, removed and nursed back to health, and then returned to the site in 2010. The memorial and plaza were designed by architects Michael Arad and Peter Walker, winners of a design competition that featured 5,201 submissions from 63 countries.
The museum includes a glass-encased pavilion with an atrium that features two 80-foot (24-metre) trident-shaped steel columns that were part of the facade of the North Tower. The museum’s Memorial Hall is adorned with 2,983 tiles (representing the victims of the September 2001 and February 1993 attacks), each one a blue watercolour with which artist Spencer Finch attempted to capture the colour of the sky on the day of the September 11 attacks. At the centre of the tiles is a quote from Virgil’s Aeneid:
No day shall erase you from the memory of time
The museum’s Foundation Hall is a high-ceilinged, nearly 15,000-square-foot (1,400-square-metre) room that encompasses part of a surviving retaining wall of the World Trade Center and displays the “Last Column,” a 36-foot (11-metre) steel beam to which workers and others attached messages and posters during Ground Zero cleanup operations. The international impact of the September 11 attacks is demonstrated along the ramp that descends into the museum by a multimedia exhibit featuring recorded reminiscences by people from 43 countries in 28 languages.
The hunt for bin Laden
In September 2001 President Bush announced that he wanted Osama bin Laden captured—dead or alive—and a $25 million bounty was eventually issued for information leading to the killing or capture of bin Laden. Bin Laden evaded capture, however, including in December 2001, when he was tracked by U.S. forces to the mountains of Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan. Bin Laden’s trail subsequently went cold, and he was thought to be living somewhere in the Afghanistan-Pakistan tribal regions.
U.S. intelligence eventually located him in Pakistan, living in the garrison city of Abbottabad, and in the early morning hours of May 2, 2011, on orders from U.S. Pres. Barack Obama, a small team of U.S. Navy SEALs assaulted his compound and shot and killed the al-Qaeda leader. -
79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
The 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 79) will open on Tuesday, 10 September 2024. The first day of the high-level General Debate will be Tuesday, 24 September 2024, continue through Saturday, 28 September, and conclude on Monday, 30 September 2024.
Provisional Schedule
– Opening of the 79th session: 10 September 2024
– General debate: from Tuesday, 24 September, to Saturday, 28 September, and on Monday, 30 September 2024
– Summit of the Future: Sunday, 22 September, and Monday, 23 September 2024
– High-level plenary meeting on addressing the existential threats posed by sea level rise: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
– High-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: Thursday, 26 September 2024
– High-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance: Thursday, 26 September 2024
The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly marks a crucial milestone in the global effort to accelerate progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The highly anticipated Summit of the Future, held during UNGA, underscores the urgent need for enhanced international cooperation to address pressing challenges such as climate change, poverty and inequality, while also tackling the impacts of ongoing conflicts and global health crises. The UN Department of Global Communications will hold its flagship SDG Media Zone during the high-level week 23-27 September, with impactful in-depth interviews and dialogues on global issues that matter to people everywhere.
22-23 September: Summit of the Future
Heads of State and Government will gather at UN Headquarters in New York on 22-23 September 2024 to address the critical challenges and gaps in global governance exposed by recent global shocks. This Summit aims to reaffirm commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Charter while enhancing cooperation and laying the foundations for a reinvigorated multilateral system. The Summit will result in a negotiated Pact for the Future, an action-oriented document aimed to bolster global cooperation and adapt to current challenges effectively for the benefit of all and for future generations. In addition, the Secretary-General of the United Nations is convening the Summit of the Future Action Days on 20 and 21 September 2024 to generate additional opportunities for the engagement of all actors.
24-28 September, 30 September: General Debate
World leaders will gather to engage in the annual high-level General Debate under the theme, “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”. Heads of State and Government and ministers will explore solutions to intertwined global challenges to advance peace, security, and sustainable development.
25 September: High-level plenary meeting on addressing the existential threats posed by sea level rise
The High-Level Meeting on Sea-Level Rise will convene global leaders, experts, and stakeholders to address the urgent and escalating threat of rising sea levels. This meeting will focus on building common understanding, mobilizing political leadership, and promoting multisectoral and multi-stakeholder collaboration and international cooperation towards the objective of “addressing the threats posed by sea-level rise”. Participants will work towards developing comprehensive solutions and actionable commitments to combat sea-level rise, ensuring a resilient and sustainable future including for small island developing states and low-lying coastal areas.
26 September: High-level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
The High-level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) presents an opportunity for countries and stakeholders to renew efforts and accelerate progress in combating the growing threat of AMR. This meeting will serve as the foundation for executing policies and ensuring accountability for strengthening health systems against AMR. Building on the momentum of previous declarations and commitments, participants will focus on enhancing international cooperation, promoting the responsible use of antimicrobials, and advancing the development of new treatments to safeguard global health.
26 September: High-level Meeting: International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
Achieving global nuclear disarmament is the highest disarmament priority of the United Nations. It was the subject of the General Assembly’s first resolution in 1946, which established the Atomic Energy Commission (dissolved in 1952), with a mandate to make specific proposals for the control of nuclear energy and the elimination of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction. This annual High-level plenary meeting commemorates and promotes the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
Theme
The theme for the general debate of the 79th session of the General Assembly is “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”.
The theme and additional information about the general debate can be found in “Arrangements for the high-level meetings and the general debate of the seventy-ninth session of the General Assembly United Nations Headquarters, 22 to 30 September 2024: Information note for delegations”
Issues
The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will address a range of issues, including:
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The 79th session is a key milestone in the global effort to accelerate progress towards the 17 SDGs.
Summit of the Future
This first-of-its-kind summit will bring together leaders, advocates, and activists to determine how to better meet the needs of current and future generations. The summit will take place on September 22 and 23, 2024.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
The UNGA will include high-level meetings on AMR to enhance international cooperation, promote responsible use of antimicrobials, and develop new treatments.
Sea-level rise
The UNGA will include high-level meetings on the global threat of sea-level rise.
Water and food nexus
The Special Rapporteur on the rights to safe drinking water and sanitation will present a thematic report on “Water and food nexus: a human rights approach to water management in food systems”.
General debate
The theme for the general debate is “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”.
Some speakers at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) include:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
India’s “Head of Government” is scheduled to address the UNGA 79 on September 26, 2024.
Jamila Ibrahim
Nigeria’s Minister of Youth Development is scheduled to speak at the UNGA 79.
Bosun Tijani
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy is scheduled to speak at the UNGA 79.
Ambassador Philemon Yang
The President-elect of the UNGA 79 is a seasoned diplomat who served as Prime Minister and Head of Government from 2009 to 2019.
The high-level general debate of the UNGA 79 is scheduled to take place from September 24–30, 2024.
President
– The UN General Assembly elected Philemon Yang, former Prime Minister of Cameroon, as president for its 79th session which gets underway in September.
– President-elect Yang has served as the chairperson of the Panel of Eminent Africans of the African Union. This Panel is responsible for examining candidacies for important positions within the African Union, such as those of African Union Commissioners.– Yang was chairperson of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
– The 79th session of the General Assembly will convene on September 10, with the body’s high-level general debate starting on September 24, 2024.
UN General Assembly (UNGA)
– The General Assembly is the UN’s most representative body, comprising all 193 Member States.
– Established in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly is the main policy-making organ of the Organisation.
– It provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter.
– It also plays a central role in the process of standard-setting and the codification of international law.
– The Assembly meets from September to December each year (main part), and thereafter, from January to September (resumed part), as required.
– In addition to its regular sessions, the Assembly may meet in special and emergency special sessions.
– Each of the 193 Member States in the Assembly has one vote. Votes taken on designated important issues – such as recommendations on peace and security, the election of Security Council and Economic and Social Council members, and budgetary questions – require a two-thirds majority of Member States, but other questions are decided by a simple majority.
Functions and powers of the
General Assembly:
According to the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly may:
– Consider and approve the United Nations budget and establish the financial assessments of Member States.
– Elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council and the members of other United Nations councils and organs and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, appoint the Secretary-General.
– Consider and make recommendations on the general principles of cooperation for maintaining international peace and security, including disarmament.
– Discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a dispute or situation is currently being discussed by the Security Council, make recommendations on it.
– Discuss, with the same exception, and make recommendations on any questions within the scope of the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United Nations.
– Initiate studies and make recommendations to promote international political cooperation, the development and codification of international law, the realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and international collaboration in the economic, social, humanitarian, cultural, educational and health fields.
– Make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation that might impair friendly relations among countries.
– Consider reports from the Security Council and other United Nations organs.
The role of UNGA president
– The General Assembly elects a president and 21 vice-presidents at least three months before the opening of the session over which they are to preside.
– The president and vice-presidents will assume their functions only at the beginning of the session for which they are elected and shall hold office until the close of that session.
– The vice-presidents are elected according to a pattern that ensures equitable geographical representation.
– The president shall declare the opening and closing of each plenary meeting of the session, direct the discussions in plenary meeting, ensure observance of rules of procedure, accord the right to speak, put questions and announce decisions. He/she shall rule on points of order and, subject to these rules, shall have complete control of the proceedings at any meeting and over the maintenance of order.
– The president may, in the course of the discussion of an item, propose to the General Assembly the limitation of the time to be allowed to speakers, the limitation of the number of times each representative may speak, the closure of the list of speakers or the closure of the debate.
– He/she may also propose the suspension or the adjournment of the meeting or the adjournment of the debate on the item under discussion.
– If the president finds it necessary to be absent during a meeting or any part thereof, he/she shall designate one of the vice-presidents to take his place. A vice-president acting as president shall have the same powers and duties as the president. -
UN Women at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly
NEW YORK CITY (TIP): The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) marks a crucial opportunity to put gender equality at the center of the global discussions towards Sustainable Development.
UNGA79 will take place from 10th to 30th September 2024, under the theme, “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”.
Heads of State and Government will explore solutions to intertwined global challenges at the Summit of the Future, to advance peace, security, and sustainable development. World leaders are expected to adopt the Pact for the Future, which will include a Global Digital Compact where the importance of gender equality will be front and center.
As the 30th anniversary of the visionary Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action approaches, UN Women will convene partners at UNGA 79 to strengthen and deliver on the commitments made to advance equal rights for women and girls. UN Women will also present The Gender Snapshot 2024 report, with the latest data on gender equality across all SDGs.
Key events
As some details are still being confirmed and there may be last-minute changes on location/timing for the events we advise you to look at the online version of this media advisory, which we will update regularly.
Media Launch of Gender Snapshot 2024
When: Monday, 16 September 2024, 12.30 pm
Where: UN headquarters’ press room, New York, and UN Web TV
UN Women and UN DESA will launch the 2024 edition of Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot to the media. This year’s report points out the latest trends and challenges on the achievement of gender equality across all the Sustainable Development Goals. It also points out the urgency of accelerating progress on gender equality to achieve the SDGs. UN accredited media are welcome to attend the briefing in person, or online, and the video will also be available post-launch on UN Web TV. The official launch event for Members States and other stakeholders will take place on September 21 at 6 pm, by invitation only.
Inclusion = Income: The Business Case for Progressive Advertising
When: Tuesday, 17 September 2024, 8.30 am to 10 am
The Business Case for Inclusive Advertising is an industry-first, global study which proves that inclusive advertising content drives both shot and long-term sales. The study, to be launched at this event, was conducted by Oxford University’s Saïd Business School academics Dr Felipe Thomaz and Prof Andrew Stephen and is based on data from Unstereotype Alliance members Bayer Consumer Healthcare, Diageo, Geena Davis Institute, Kantar, Mars, Mondelez International, and Unilever. Please visit Unstereotype Alliance’s website to see the report findings.
Pay of the Future: Achieving Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value
When: Wednesday, 18 September 2024, 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm
To celebrate International Equal Pay Day, this high-level event and reception seeks to energize and accelerate collective action around policies, initiatives and tools that are reducing the gender pay gap. The event will highlight multi-stakeholder and whole-of-society approaches that are effecting change, in line with the reinvigoration of multilateralism seen at the Summit of the Future. The reception will provide an open, inclusive and informal space to engage and encourage discussion, giving participants the opportunity to strengthen avenues of exchange, collaboration and mutual support and action around achieving equal pay for work of equal value.
Beijing+30: Towards a Gender Equal World
When: Saturday, 21 September 2024, 2.30 pm to 3.45 pm
As we come closer to the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2025, UN Women is taking stock on the implementation so far of this blueprint on women’s rights. The event will bring together governments, civil society organisations and youth groups, the UN system, the private sector, philanthropy and all other multi-stakeholder actors, to share, inspire commit, and act. It will be co-hosted by Mexico, Kenya, and Denmark and others. Registration for in-person attendance: For those who do not have a valid UN ground pass to enter the UN premises, registration for a special event pass is open until 6 September 2024 through this link. The event will take place in Conference Room 2, UN Headquarters, New York.
Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action (ACT) to End Violence Against Women Programme Launch
When: Tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, 24 September 2024
The EU and UN Women will launch the Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action (ACT) to End Violence Against Women Programme, a new groundbreaking initiative designed to strengthen global and regional advocacy, coalition building, and transformative feminist action to end violence against women and girls. The launch event will emphasize the critical role of women’s rights movements in ending violence against women and girls, call for increased and sustainable funding for these efforts, address the rising challenges posed by anti-rights movements, and discuss strategies to combat technology-facilitated violence against women human rights defenders. Find out more about ACT here.
Annual meeting of the UNGA Platform of Women Leaders
When: Tuesday, 24 September 2024, 1.15 pm to 2.30 pm
More than ever, women’s leadership is critical to addressing existing and emerging crises. It has been proven that women’s participation and leadership in political processes fosters inclusive decision-making and amplifies diverse voices ultimately leading to a more sustainable and resilient world for us and future generations to come. The Platform of Women Leaders event will explore the importance of women’s equal participation in decision-making in ensuring peace, socio-economic opportunities, sustainable development and human dignity. The meeting will also offer an opportunity for women leaders to amplify their messages on issues of global concern.
Generation Equality during the Summit of the Future: mobilizing, catalyzing and accelerating multi-stakeholder partnerships
Three years into implementation and following the 2023 Midpoint, Generation Equality’s engagement will center on the launch of the 2024 Accountability Report on 19 September and substantive dialogues – held in-person and online between 22 September and 3 October 2024 – leveraging the latest evidence and data to chart a way forward for Generation Equality by connecting and amplifying voices from across the Generation Equality stakeholders across the globe. Please see the report findings here.
10th Anniversary of the HeForShe Initiative
When: Tuesday, 24 September 2024, 7 pm to 9 pm
The HeForShe Summit will take place in conjunction with the high-level week of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79) which will centralize the discussions around multilateral solutions for a better tomorrow, namely the Summit of the Future. The HeForShe Summit will aim to contribute to this context through positive role modeling for masculinities supporting gender equality across all SDGs as a key accelerator for the achievement of a shared vision by 2030. The Summit will also serve as a pivotal moment leading up to the global review of gender equality progress, culminating in the Beijing+30 review in 2025. The event will be a private, in-person Gala Dinner, featuring speakers like Goodwill Ambassador Anne Hathaway, President of Spain H.E. Mr. Pedro Sanchez, CEO and Founder of Global Citizen, Hugh Evans as well as prominent private sector leaders. A public event video will be released afterward. By invitation only. Find out more about the HeForShe Initiative here.
Further to the flagship side events, UN Women will also co-organize 12-15 side events that align with the Beijing Platform’s critical areas and mobilize constituencies looking ahead to Beijing+30.
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“HOMETOWN HEROES!” SUOZZI HONORS 10 LOCAL POLICE OFFICERS WHO HAVE DISPLAYED EXEMPLARY HEROISM
- Recognizes, honors, and thanks police officers from Glen Cove, Nassau County, and New York City Police Departments;
- Since first elected to public office, Suozzi has vigorously worked to support and honor local police departments and our men and women in blue.
GLEN COVE, NY (TIP): On Tuesday, September 3, outside the Glen Cove Police Department, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D – Long Island, Queens) hosted his annual “Hometown Heroes” event, where he honored and thanked 10 law enforcement officers from across New York’s 3rd Congressional District who displayed exemplary heroism in the line of duty in service to our communities. During the ceremony, Suozzi shared how the exceptional work of each officer saved the lives of New Yorkers.
“Every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, members of our local police departments are protecting us, and serving us. Police have some of the hardest jobs in the country. These are tough times for them. We must support them and understand they are protecting our communities. We cannot allow the ‘defund the police’ or any anti-police rhetoric to discourage them,” said Suozzi. “Today, we are highlighting just a few police officers who represent the good work done by members of our local police departments every day, and we say, ‘thank you.’”
The officers Suozzi honored were from the Nassau County Police Department, Glen Cove Police Department, and three precincts in the New York City Police Department (105th, 109th, and 111th). Each officer was presented with a flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol, as well as a Congressional citation.
The following officers were honored by Suozzi at Tuesday’s ceremony:
Police Officer Joseph T. Ragolia
Second Precinct
Nassau County Police Department
On May 26, 2024, Police Officer Joseph Ragolia was on his way to work when he came upon an auto accident involving two cars overturned on the side of the road. PO Ragolia stopped and checked everyone for injuries. One male had severe lacerations to his arm and was bleeding excessively. PO Ragolia retrieved a tourniquet and applied it to the injured person’s arm, tightening it until the bleeding stopped. He remained with the injured parties until the Nassau County Police Ambulance arrived.
PO Ragolia then continued on his way to work, calling the desk officer to let him know he would be a few minutes late, but not telling him why. Later that day, one of the Police Medic Supervisors called the precinct to leave a message letting PO Ragolia know that his quick action saved the injured person’s life – that he would have bled out in a few minutes. PO Ragolia was not looking for praise or acknowledgement for going above and beyond on the morning of May 26, but his actions saved a life.
Police Officers Quincy Caton and Joseph Tomlinson
105th Precinct
New York City Police Department
On January 5, 2024, Police Officers Quincy Caton and Joseph Tomlinson were assigned to Field Unit Training. While conducting a routine patrol at 7:15 pm, they were approached by a female holding an infant who was suffering seizures. PO Caton immediately began rendering aid to the infant, noting that the pulse was weak and becoming fainter until it could no longer be detected. PO Canton immediately began CPR and was able to get the infant’s heart rate back. At the same time, PO Tomlinson contacted the authorities over the radio to request EMS assistance. He also set up a route to get the infant to the hospital as quickly as possible.
Due to the police officers training and composure under pressure, the infant made a full recovery.
Police Officer Kasey Koerner and Detective Anthony Cutaia
109th Precinct
New York City Police Department
On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, at approximately 1:30 am, Detective Anthony Cutaia and Police Officer Kasey Koerner began pursuing two subjects on an unregistered moped. The subjects were masked and driving in a reckless manner. The officers attempted to conduct a lawful stop but the moped operator fled. The officers followed and saw the moped operator discard a fanny pack onto a pedestrian bridge. The officers kept in touch with the precinct via central radio. A coordinated effort involving several Crime Reduction posts and the 109th Public Safety Team resulted in reduced traffic flow and congestion at the intersection of 126th Street and Roosevelt Avenue where the two subjects were apprehended. The police recovered the discarded bag. It contained a loaded HR .22 caliber revolver with a defaced serial number.
The coordinated action and keen observation of Detective Cutaia and Police Officer Koerner resulted in the apprehension of two suspects in possession of a loaded firearm.
Police Officers Christopher Padro and Brian Gallart
111th Precinct
New York City Police Department
Police Officers Padro and Gallart were working the overnight shift when they got a call at 4:20 am that a 3-day old baby was unconscious and not breathing. They were the first on the scene and found the father performing CPR on the newborn with the aid of a 911 operator. Officer Padro took over performing CPR until the FDNY and EMS arrived. The police officers then rushed to Flushing Hospital to alert them that the infant was on his way. When the officers checked back with the family a month later, they learned that the infant did not suffer brain damage or any other infirmity due to lack of oxygen. Due to the officers quick thinking and CPR skills, the life of this infant was saved.
Police Officers Owen Valance and Peter Michaleas, Detective Gregory Denk
Glen Cove Police Department
On February 27, 2024, the Glen Cove Police Department received a call that smoke was billowing from the second floor of a home and that there was a man inside. GCPD Chief Whitton, Deputy Chief Ortiz, Detective Gregory Denk, Police Officers Owen Valance and Peter Michaleas arrived at the home at about the same time. Chief Whitton knocked on the door and could see a man and dog inside the house. After the man repeatedly refused to open the door, the police broke it down. The officers were confronted with thick clouds of smoke and could see flames. The man was in distress, acting erratically and screaming at the officers. He grabbed a large piece of wood containing nails and started swinging and stabbing it toward the officers. The man lunged at the officers and Officer Valance deployed his taser. The man fell to the floor and the officers were able to control him, handcuff him, and remove him from the burning home. The scene was then rendered safe for the fire department to extinguish the fire. It was later determined that the man suffered from dementia and had set the fire himself.
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Breaking barriers: Hindu woman makes mark in Pakistan’s police force
Karachi (TIP): Pakistani actress Nimra Khan suffered a near abduction ordeal last month while waiting for her car outside a hotel in Karachi’s posh Defence Housing area. “Initially there were fingers pointed at me as well and many trivialised my incident in the media and social media platforms but the fact that DSP Manisha Ropeta handled my case helped me calm down and deal with the situation better,” she recalled.
Nimra said speaking with an educated female police officer made her realise she was right in speaking about the incident in public. Nimra just didn’t speak with a female police officer; her case was handled by the first Hindu female officer in Sindh police, Ropeta, who has now spent two years on the force and become a name to reckon with.
Given the fact that there are very few educated female officers in Pakistani police, Ropeta stationed as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the Defence area has already made a big difference to the image of the police force in Sindh province. “It keeps me inspired and motivated that the reasons I joined the police force have turned out to be correct,” DSP Ropeta said.
“I have got respect and admiration from my fellow officers and those who I supervise purely on the basis of my work. In the end, there might be some gender issues but I don’t feel out of place nor does it count for anything that I am a Hindu woman. Even today when I put on my police uniform, it is a matter of pride for me and I hope girls in our community are inspired by my story to follow in my path,” she said. In Pakistan police, there are two types of officer categories: the rankers who come through to higher positions on the basis of their experience, and those who get posted and promoted after clearing the Central Superior Services (CSS) examinations. (PTI) -
Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh not communal, issue ‘exaggerated’: Yunus
DHAKA (TIP): Chief Adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, has said the issue of attacks on minority Hindus in his country is “exaggerated” and questioned the manner in which India projected it.
In an interview with PTI at his official residence here, Yunus said the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are more political than communal.
He suggested that the attacks were not communal, but a fallout of a political upheaval as there is a perception that most Hindus supported the now-deposed Awami League regime.
“I have said this to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi also that this is exaggerated. This issue has several dimensions. When the country went through an upheaval following the atrocities by (Sheikh) Hasina and the Awami League, those who were with them also faced attacks,” the Nobel laureate told PTI.
The minority Hindu population faced vandalism of their businesses and properties, as well as the destruction of Hindu temples, during the student-led violence that erupted following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
After unprecedented anti-government protests that peaked on August 5, Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India.
“Now, while beating up Awami League cadres, they had beaten up Hindus as there is a perception that Hindus in Bangladesh mean Awami League supporters. I am not saying that what has happened is right, but some people are using it as an excuse to seize property. So, there is no clear distinction between Awami League supporters and Hindus,” he said.
In his first direct contact with New Delhi last month, shortly after becoming the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Yunus conveyed to Prime Minister Modi that Dhaka would prioritise the protection and safety of Hindus and all other minority groups.
During the conversation, Modi reaffirmed India’s support for a democratic, stable, peaceful, and progressive Bangladesh and emphasised the importance of ensuring the safety of Hindus and other minority communities in the violence-hit country.
Hindus, who made up 22 per cent of Bangladesh’s population at the time of the 1971 Liberation War, now constitute about 8 per cent of 170 million and have predominantly supported the Awami League, known for its secular stance.
Describing the attacks as more political than communal, Yunus questioned the manner in which India is “propagating” them.
“These attacks are political in nature and not communal. And India is propagating these incidents in a big way. We have not said that we can’t do anything; we have said that we are doing everything,” the Chief Adviser said.
Prime Minister Modi, in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort on August 15, expressed hope that the situation in violence-hit Bangladesh would return to normal soon and said 1.4 billion Indians are concerned about the safety of Hindus and minorities in the neighbouring country.
Discussing the future of India-Bangladesh relations, Yunus expressed a desire for good ties with India but insisted that New Delhi must abandon the narrative that Bangladesh will turn into another Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina at the helm.
“The way forward is for India to come out of the narrative. The narrative is that everybody is Islamist, BNP is Islamist, and everyone else is Islamist and will make this country into Afghanistan. And Bangladesh is in safe hands with Sheikh Hasina at the helm only.
“India is captivated by this narrative. India needs to come out of this narrative. Bangladesh, like any other nation, is just another neighbour,” he said.
The noted economist added, “The issue of trying to portray the conditions of minorities in such a big way is just an excuse.” (PTI) -
Islamic State claims responsibility for suicide bombing in Kabul
KABUL (TIP): Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on september 3 claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Kabul that resulted in six people losing their lives, Al Jazeera reported.
Notably, an explosion in Kabul on Monday killed at least six people, and injured 13 others, the Kabul police and Ministry of Interior Affairs said.
Sharing a post on X on Monday, Khalid Zadran, Kabul police spokesman had said, “An explosion occurred in the 6th security zone of Kabul this afternoon in the area of Qala-e-Bakhtiar, which was caused by explosives carried by a person. Unfortunately, six people, including a woman, were killed and 13 others were injured in the blast. The injured were taken to hospital and investigations are underway.”
In a Telegram post on Tuesday, ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) said one of its members detonated an explosive vest in the Afghan capital the previous day (Monday), targeting the Taliban government’s prosecution service.
The bomber waited until government employees finished their shifts and then detonated the explosive in the middle of a crowd, the post said, according to Al Jazeera. ISIL claimed that the attack resulted in the deaths of more than 45 people and was revenge for “Muslims held in Taliban prisons.” Notably, the most notorious attack linked to ISIL since the Taliban takeover was in 2022 when at least 53 people, including 46 girls and young women, were slain in the suicide bombing at an education centre in a Shia neighbourhood of Kabul. For which, the Taliban officials blamed ISIL for the attack.
A United Nations Security Council report released in January stated that there had been a decrease in ISIL attacks in Afghanistan because of “counter-terrorism efforts by the Taliban”. But the report also said that ISIL still had “substantial” recruitment in the country and that the armed group had “the ability to project a threat into the region and beyond”. While violence has decreased in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover, ISIL’s affiliate in the Khorasan region – Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) – still remains active. The ISIL’s chapter spanning Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia had also claimed responsibility for the March attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow, where over 140 people were killed, marking the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades, Al Jazeera had reported. (ANI) -
Putin says India, China, Brazil could mediate Russia-Ukraine peace talks
Istanbul (TIP): Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 5 said that he was ready for talks with Ukraine, on the basis of an aborted deal between Moscow’s and Kyiv’s negotiators reached in Istanbul in 2022.
Speaking at a question and answer session at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum in the city of Vladivostok, Putin said Russia was ready for talks but based on an aborted deal between Moscow’s and Kyiv’s negotiators reached in Istanbul in 2022, the terms of which were never made public.
“Are we ready to negotiate with them? We have never refused to do so, but not on the basis of some ephemeral demands, but on the basis of those documents that were agreed and actually initialled in Istanbul,” Putin said at a forum in Vladivostok. Russia has previously said that Kyiv’s incursion into the Kursk region made talks impossible.
The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of a deal in the spring of 2022, shortly after Moscow launched its offensive in Ukraine.
“We managed to reach an agreement, that is the whole point. The signature of the head of the Ukrainian delegation who initialled this document testifies to this, which means that the Ukrainian side was generally satisfied with the agreements reached,” Putin said.
“It did not come into force only because they were given a command not to do so, because the elites of the United States, Europe – some European countries – wanted to achieve a strategic defeat of Russia,” Putin added.
Russian President also added that China, India and Brazil could act as mediators in the potential peace talks between Russia and Ukraine according to a report by Reuters. According to the report, the Russian president stated that a preliminary agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine in the first weeks of the war in Istanbul, which was never implemented could act as the basis for the talks. (Agencies) -
Macron names EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s new prime minister
PARIS (TIP): President Emmanuel Macron named the EU’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, as France’s new prime minister on September 5 after more than 50 days of caretaker government.
The appointment of the 73-year-old Barnier follows weeks of intense efforts by Macron and his aides to find a candidate who might be able to build loose groupings of backers in parliament and survive possible attempts by Macron’s opponents to quickly topple the new government that Barnier will now put together and lead.
A statement from Macron’s office announcing Barnier’s appointment said he’d been tasked “with forming a unifying government to serve the country and the French people.”
“This appointment comes after an unprecedented cycle of consultations during which, in accordance with his constitutional duty, the president ensured that the prime minister and the future government would meet the conditions to be as stable as possible and give themselves the chances of uniting as broadly as possible,” the statement said.
Barnier, a career politician proud of his humble roots in France’s Alpine region of Haute-Savoie, is no stranger to complex and difficult tasks: He was the European Union’s chief negotiator in the difficult talks with Britain over its Brexit departure from the bloc.
Barnier replaces Gabriel Attal, who resigned on July 16 following quick-fire legislative elections that produced a divided and hung parliament, plunging France into political turmoil.
But Macron kept Attal and his ministers on in a caretaker capacity, handling day-to-day affairs, so political instability wouldn’t overshadow the July 26-Aug. 11 Paris Olympics, when France was in the global spotlight.
In political career over more than 50 years, Barnier has served as French foreign, European affairs, environment and agriculture minister — and twice as a European commissioner.
Influential far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon immediately came out against Barnier’s appointment and predicted the new prime minister would not get a majority backing in the bitterly divided National Assembly.
Melenchon said the appointment flew in the face of the July 7 legislative election results that left parliament’s lower house split between three main blocs — the left, including Melenchon’s party; the center where Macron has based his support, and the far right, converging around anti-immigration leader Marine Le Pen.
“The election has been stolen,” Melenchon asserted. (AP) -
Israel military launches retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon
TEL AVIV (TIP): In response to the barrage of rockets fired at Israel, the country’s military launched attacks against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on September 4.
The military said that the retaliatory strikes came after dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanese territory.
The military further said that Israeli air defences intercepted about 65 rockets. Sharing a post on X, Israel Defence Forces said, “Approx. 65 projectiles were fired from Lebanese territory crossing into northern Israel.”
“In response, the IDF is currently striking Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon,” the post on X further said. Earlier on August 25, the IDF said that the Iran-backed group Hezbollah had fired more than 200 rockets and drones at Israel’s northern border claiming retaliation for the assassination of its senior commander, Fuad Shukr, in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. This had prompted retaliation from Israel, which bombed sites across South Lebanon.
Israel said it took out some 1,000 Hezbollah rocket launchers in a coordinated sortie of 100 Israeli fighter jets early Sunday to thwart much of the planned assault, Times of Israel had reported.
Meanwhile, not just on Lebanon, Israel also launched strikes on Northern Gaza. At least six people were killed when Israeli forces shelled a group of Palestinian civilians in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reported, citing a medical source.
The witnesses said that an artillery shell hit a group of people in the Sheikh Zayed Towers area in northern Gaza as they gathered to get an internet signal.
“The bodies of six people were transferred to the Indonesian and Kemal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza,” the medical source said, according to Anadolu Agency. (ANI) -
A French woman whose husband is accused of inviting over 50 men to rape her testifies in court
AVIGNON (TIP): A woman who was allegedly drugged by her now ex-husband so that she could be raped while unconscious by other men testified on September 5 that her world collapsed when police uncovered the years of alleged abuse.
Speaking in a calm and clear voice, Gisèle Pélicot detailed to the court in the southern French city of Avignon the horror of discovering that her former spouse systematically filmed the suspected rapes by dozens of men — storing thousands of images that police investigators later found. “It’s unbearable,” she testified. “I have so much to say that I don’t always know where to start.”
Dominique Pélicot, now 71, and 50 other men are standing trial on charges of rape and face up to 20 years in prison. The trial started on Monday and is expected to run until December. Thursday marked the first time that Gisèle Pélicot had testified.
The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify victims of sexual crimes. But Gisèle Pélicot’s lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau, said she accepted that her name be published in the same way that she insisted that the trial be held in public.
She told the court that she hopes her testimony might help spare other women from similar ordeals. She said she pushed for the trial in open court in solidarity with other women who go unrecognized as victims of sexual crimes.
She and her husband of 50 years were living in their family home in a small town in Provence with their three children before her world was torn apart in late 2020.
But a security agent caught her husband taking photos of women’s crotches in a supermarket, leading investigators to search Dominique Pélicot’s phone and computer. They found thousands of photographs and videos of men appearing to rape Gisèle in their home while she appears to be unconscious.
Shocked, she left her husband after police showed her some of the images.
“For me, everything collapses,” she testified. “These are scenes of barbarity, of rape.”
She left with two suitcases, “all that was left for me of 50 years of life together.” Since then, she said, “I no longer have an identity. … I don’t know if I’ll ever rebuild myself.
Police investigators found communications Dominique Pélicot allegedly sent on a messaging website commonly used by criminals, in which he invited men to sexually abuse his wife. The website has been shut down.
Crude details of the alleged abuses, which investigators said began in 2011, and of the elaborate system Pélicot put into place over 10 years have emerged during the trial.
Men invited to the couple’s home had to follow certain rules — they could not talk loudly, had to remove their clothes in the kitchen, could not wear perfume nor smell of tobacco, French media reported.
They sometimes had to wait up to an hour and a half on a nearby parking lot for the drug to take full effect and render Gisèle Pélicot unconscious.
“I was sacrificed on the altar of vice,” she testified. “They regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.” (AP) -
Hamas urges US pressure on Israel as Netanyahu says ‘no deal in the making’
Hamas (TIP): Hamas called on the United States on Sept 5 to “exert real pressure” on Israel to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there is no deal in the making.
The two sides have traded blame over stalling talks for a ceasefire and hostage exchange as Netanyahu faces pressure to seal a deal that would free remaining captives, after Israeli authorities announced on Sunday the deaths of six whose bodies were recovered from a Gaza tunnel.
“If the US administration and its President (Joe) Biden really want to reach a ceasefire and complete a prisoner exchange deal, they must abandon their blind bias towards the Zionist occupation,” Hamas’s Qatar-based lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said, calling on the US to “exert real pressure on Netanyahu and his government”.
But Netanyahu told US talk show Fox & Friends: “There is not a deal in the making… Unfortunately, it’s not close but we will do everything we can to get them to the point where they do make a deal and at the same time we prevent Iran from resupplying Gaza as this great terror enclave.” Netanyahu insists that Israel must retain control over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas, whose October 7 attack on Israel started the war. Hamas is demanding complete Israeli withdrawal from the area and on Thursday said Netanyahu’s position “aims to thwart reaching an agreement”.
The Palestinian militant group says a new deal is unnecessary because they agreed months ago to a truce outlined by Biden.
“We do not need new proposals,” Hamas said in a statement.
“We warn against falling into the trap of Netanyahu.. who uses negotiations to prolong the aggression against our people,” the group said. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby nonetheless said that Washington believes a ceasefire deal is 90 percent agreed. But he added that “nothing is negotiated until everything is negotiated, and the things that are still in play right now are very, very detailed… issues, and that’s when things get difficult.”
Louise Wateridge, spokeswoman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), warned, however, that “in the southern area it’s going to be more difficult to reach a lot of the population”, because not all children are in the designated humanitarian zones — where Israel has agreed not to strike. (AFP) -
China’s Xi promises $50 billion for Africa over next three years
BEIJING (TIP): Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged on September 5 more than $50 billion in financing for Africa over the next three years, promising to deepen cooperation in infrastructure and trade with the continent as he addressed Beijing’s biggest summit since the Covid pandemic.
More than 50 African leaders and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are attending the China-Africa forum, according to state media.
African leaders already secured a plethora of deals this week for greater cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, mining, trade and energy.
Xi hailed ties with Africa as their “best period in history” as he addressed the leaders at the forum’s opening ceremony in Beijing’s ornate Great Hall of the People on Thursday.
“China is ready to deepen cooperation with African countries in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment,” he said.
“Over the next three years, the Chinese government is willing to provide financial support amounting to 360 billion yuan ($50.7 billion),” Xi said.
More than half of that will be in credit, he said, with $11 billion “in various types of assistance” as well as $10 billion through encouraging Chinese firms to invest.
He also promised to help “create at least one million jobs for Africa”.
Xi pledged $141 million in grants for military assistance, saying Beijing would “provide training for 6,000 military personnel and 1,000 police and law enforcement officers from Africa”.
Guterres told the forum that growing ties between China and Africa could “drive the renewable energy revolution”.
“China’s remarkable record of development — including on eradicating poverty -– provides a wealth of experience and expertise,” he said.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi hailed the summit as a “complete success” at a joint news conference with his Senegalese and Congolese counterparts later on Thursday.
“When China stands shoulder to shoulder alongside (its) African strategic partners, we will inevitably play a greater role in promoting prosperity for the peoples of China and Africa, and in upholding global peace and stability,” Wang said.
Congo’s Jean-Claude Gakosso described China-Africa relations as “exceptional”.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa lauded China’s $50 billion pledge as a “great boon” for Africa.
– Deals and pledges –
China, the world’s number two economy, is Africa’s largest trading partner and has sought to tap the continent’s vast troves of natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals.
It has also furnished African countries with billions in loans that have helped build much-needed infrastructure but have sometimes stoked controversy by saddling governments with huge debts.
Analysts say that Beijing’s largesse towards Africa is being recalibrated in the face of economic trouble at home and that geopolitical concerns over a growing tussle with the United States may increasingly be driving policy.
Bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the summit delivered a slew of pledges on greater cooperation in projects from railways to solar panels and avocados. (AFP) -
The Debashish Bhattacharya Trio – The Legacy Tour 2024
NEW YORK (TIP): The Debashish Bhattacharya Legacy Trio: Debashish Bhattacharya (Chaturangui, Pushpa Veena), Anandi Bhattacharya (Vocals, Swarmandal), and Subashis Bhattacharya (Tabla) presents a unique tribute to the pioneering Indian recording artists of the early 1900s. In those days, small shellac discs captured succinct renditions of Hindustani classical ragas and popular songs, creating a sensation among the wider populace. This golden era saw the rise of the first celebrity musicians; household names of the time.
The Trio will recreate the spirit and character of these early recordings. Dressed in the fashion of the period, they will transport us to those early days, where a family might have huddled around a radio to hear their favorite stars in, say, 1915.
With lilting, elegant vocal lines, labyrinthine slide guitar, driving complex rhythms of tabla, and the luminous sparkle of the Swarmandal (small harp), the evening will feature various combinations of members and instruments: the full ensemble, duets, and solo pieces. On full display in each work will be the combination of virtuosity, finely filigreed ornamentation, and emotional expression that makes Hindustani music so appealing.
Another major highlight will be the ornate stringed instruments of Debashish’s own design. These include the Chaturangui (Chat = 4, ang = color,“gui” from guitar), a 26-string slide guitar; Pushpa Veena (Pushpa = “flower” Veena = “stringed instrument”), a 25-string hybrid of the sarod and slide guitar; and the delicate Anandi, a 4-string slide ukulele.
Rounding out the Ensemble are Debashish’s daughter Anandi, a gifted vocalist and a rising star in her own right, and Debashish’s younger brother Subhasish, recognized as one of the greatest Indian classical percussionists of his generation.
About Debashish Bhattacharya:
Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya is arguably the greatest slide guitarist in the world. He is an undisputed master of the demanding technique and discipline of both Hindustani classical music and modern world fusion. A “virtuoso’s virtuoso,” he has revolutionized a number of technical aspects of performance on the instrument.
Debashish Bhattacharya He also has designed and patented four types of guitar for performing raga music, which he has named Chaturangui, Ghandharvi, Anandi, and Pushpa Veena. These guitars are played lap style, with a small steel bar and finger picks.
Debashish has played extensively around the globe, logging in over 3000 live performances and 27 albums. He has performed both live and on recordings with musical icons such as Ustad Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, Jerry Douglas, Derek Trucks, and many other world-renowned musicians. In India, he has performed for Pandit Ravi Shankar and also appeared in countless Indian music festivals.
His large body of work has garnered extensive recognition, including two Grammy nominations, the Billboard top 10, Songlines Magazine top 10, Central Asia and Asia pacific world music top 10, Amazon top 100 albums, 2016 Songlines Music Award, 2007 BBC Planet Award, 2005 Asiatic society Gold medal, the 1984 President of India Gold Medal, 2022 World Music Hall of Fame, and is an Empaneled Artist of the Indian government’s Indian Council of Cultural Relations.
NYC dates:
Sunday, October 20 4:00pm
Ragas Live
Pioneer Works
159 Pioneer St. Brooklyn
$59.00– $200.00
Subashish Bhattacharya (Tabla) will also be featured in a tribute to Badal Roy at 1:00PM
Thursday, October 24 7:00pm
Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette St. NYC
https://publictheater.org/productions/joes-pub/2024/d/the-debashish-bhattacharya-trio
$30.00
In addition to the above, the Debashish Bhattacharya Trio will appear on WNYC Soundcheck on Tuesday, October 22.
For more information please contact:
Mark Gorney
Worldisc
(510) 665-4211
worldisc@gmail.com
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US presidential election: ‘Indian Americans for Harris’ grassroots campaign launched
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): A group of eminent Indian-Americans has launched a grassroots campaign in support of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in key battleground states.
Vice President Harris, 59, who is of mixed parentage, her mother immigrated to the US from Chennai and her father moved to the country from Jamaica, is up against Republican candidate and former president Donald Trump, 78.
The “Indian Americans for Harris” campaign — launched on Tuesday, September 3, — aims at ensuring that the presidential elections make history by electing Harris as the first person of Indian heritage to lead the US, according to the group’s members. “This is the first time we have someone whose mother is from India. She has got Indian heritage and culture. What she has learned, I felt that we Indian Americans should support her beyond the party line,” North Carolina-based businessman Swadesh Chatterjee told PTI.
It has never happened in the history of the US “to have somebody named Kamala running for the highest office in this country”, said Chatterjee, who received India’s third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2001 for his contribution to strengthening India-US relationship.
Listing North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia as key battleground states, Chatterjee said the “grassroots” campaign plans to mobilize Indian Americans in such states to come out and vote for Harris to make her the first person of Indian origin as the president of the US.
The campaign’s website stated Harris’s biracial heritage is a perfect example of America as a melting pot. The US has been a refuge for people from all over the world, and Kamala’s background resonates with many in the country, where at least 12.5 per cent of the population identifies as biracial.
It stated the Indian-American community is now nearing the five million mark in the US, with one-third of them born in the country. Harris is proud to have been raised by an Indian mother, with a deep connection to Indian culture and heritage. Members of the group said the time has come to celebrate that Indian-Americans, one of the most successful immigrant groups in the US, will have one of their own in the highest office, as a leader of the free world. It is a proud moment, both globally and for America, they said.
The group said, “We urge you to support Kamala Harris as she is the right choice for the right time. As the world grapples with inequities and disharmony, we need her to lead the US and the free world.”
“As the first woman of Indian descent to serve as Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris represents a significant milestone in our community’s history. Her leadership and values resonate with our collective aspirations for a more just, equitable, and inclusive America,” it said.
Harris was thrusted into the presidential election cycle juts 100 days before the November 5 poll after President Joe Biden announced to drop out of the race.
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India-US partnership to grow regardless of who wins presidential election: Mukesh Aghi
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): The India-US relationship would continue its upward trajectory regardless of who wins the presidential elections, USISPF president and CEO Mukesh Aghi said, underlining that the contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump was “too close to call”.
The geopolitical alignment between the two countries is very strong, Aghi said in an interview with PTI on Thursday, September 5.
“What are the implications, regardless of who comes in? I think India stays critical to US geopolitical ambitions. That is trying to contain the rise of aggressive China. It also serves India’s interest. That it has a partner to deal with a neighbor who will never accept India as an equal partner.
“The alignment geopolitically is very, very strong between the two countries. So, regardless of who comes in, either Trump or Kamala Harris, the partnership will continue to go in that direction,” he said.
The US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) chief said the elections are “very, very close” at the moment. Even though the momentum has “shifted in favor of” Harris, “it is too close to call, especially when you have an electoral college and we expect around 40,000 votes to make a difference among the swing states itself”.
Amidst tension between the US and China, the American corporate sector is looking at de-risking that supply chain, Aghi said. “Yes, you have countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand providing but nothing can provide the scale India can provide. So, India becomes critical in the de-risking of the supply chain. But more importantly, India also becomes a market for a lot of these companies,” he said.
“Then you have what we call the Indian-American diaspora here, which is roughly 1 per cent of the population, producing almost 6 per cent of the GDP. They will play a very pivotal role between the two countries. So, regardless of who comes in, the relationship will continue to grow deeper, broader and much more robust,” Aghi said.
The foreign policy and the India-US relationship would definitely have an impact on the leadership of Trump and Harris, he noted.
“You have to understand the style. Trump’s is a very transactional style, whereas Biden and Kamala Harris have been very structural,” he added. “While Biden and Harris have been able to build a coalition of partners to help them take this relationship forward, Trump has focused on transactions. What we see is the transaction(al) approach will continue under Trump. There’s a strong relationship between Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and (former) President Trump,” Aghi said. The USISPF chief also applauded the role played by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in driving the India-US relationship.
“You have a prime minister who was refused visa to the United States. But I think he kept his personal affront aside and looked to the broader interests of India.
“He felt that the United States is critical to the economic growth. The United States is critical for investment. The United States is critical for technology transfer. And he focused on building those relationships, worked very hard with President (Barack) Obama, and then worked with Trump and then with Biden,” Aghi said.
“I believe that the process will continue when he comes to New York for the UNGA week later this month,” he said.
(Source: PTI) -
Indian-American named Distinguished Visiting Fellow to Hoover Institution
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Renowned Indian-American aerospace scientist Dr Vivek Lall has been named as a distinguished visiting fellow to the prestigious Hoover Institution of Stanford University.
One of the world’s most influential think-tanks, the Hoover Institution is the preeminent research center dedicated to generating policy ideas that promote economic prosperity, national security and democratic governance.
Distinguished Visiting Fellow Lall is chief executive of General Atomics Global Corporation, a media release said.
In 2018, Lall was appointed in a key advisory role to the US secretary of transportation.
He previously served as vice president of aeronautics strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense company, and held numerous marketing and engineering leadership roles within the Boeing Company, the Hoover Institution said. As a special advisor to the United Nations in New York, Lall steered policy and implementation in the area of broadband and associated cybersecurity issues. He was also the founding co-chair of the US-India Aviation Cooperation Program, launched in 2005, it said.
Notable Hoover fellows and alumni include Nobel laureates Henry Kissinger, Milton Friedman and Gary Becker; and scholars Niall Ferguson and Richard Epstein. Condoleezza Rice, the 66th US Secretary of State, is the current Director of the Hoover Institution.
(Source: PTI) -
AAPI’s Global Health Summit 2024 Planned to be Held in New Delhi, India
GHS will focus on: Prevention Strategies for Cancer and Heart Attacks, Role of Lifestyle Changes, and the Integration of Technology into Healthcare
CHICAGO, IL (TIP): The growing influence of physicians of Indian heritage is evident, as they are increasingly recognized and hold critical positions in healthcare, academic, research, and administrative positions across the United States. Their hard work, dedication, compassion, and skills have carved out an enviable niche in the American medical community.
Not satisfied with their professional growth and the service they provide to their patients around the world, they are at the forefront, sharing their knowledge and expertise with others, especially those physicians and leaders in the medical field from India.
The 18th edition of the annual Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) 2024, organized by the Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) in New Delhi India from October 18-20, 2024, offers a unique forum for them to come together, share their knowledge and expertise in their respective medical fields with their fellow physicians from around the world, and to learn from one another.
“GHS 2024 will focus on Prevention Strategies for Cancer and Heart Attacks, Role of Lifestyle Changes, and Integration of Technology in Healthcare,” said Dr. Satheesh Kathula, President of AAPI. “AAPI has been engaged in harnessing the power of Indian Diaspora to bring the most innovative, efficient, cost-effective healthcare and preventable solutions to India. This international health care summit is a progressive transformation from the first Indo-US Healthcare Summit launched by AAPI USA in 2007.”
Honorable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi has been invited to deliver the Keynote Address at the Inaugural Ceremony on October 19th. Honorable Health Minister of India, Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda is expected to be the Chief Guest at the GHS and deliver an address on national prevention strategies.
For the first time ever, visits to the new Parliament House in New Delhi, visits to the offices and meetings with the Prime Minister and Health Minister as well as a visit to the Rashtra Pati Bhavan are also planned for the AAPI delegates, who will be part of this historic event in the nation’s Capital.
GHS will have the highest caliber of internationally acclaimed faculty and will develop a very robust agenda in collaboration with leading experts from India. CME sessions with academicians from India and the US will offer unique opportunities for local medical staff and healthcare professionals to advance leanings and provide the best possible care for the people of India.
The scientific program and workshops of GHS are being developed by leading experts with contributions by the Scientific Advisory Board and the International Scientific Committee. The workshops will be led by world famous physicians on topics relevant to the needs of the time.
According to Dr. Sunil Kaza, Chairman of AAPI’s Borad of Trustees, “AAPI will work collaboratively with leading academic medical colleges in New Delhi benefiting Medical Students, Residents, Fellows and Junior Doctors. With the objective of enabling people in India to access high quality, affordable, and cost-effective world class health services, the Summit being organized in collaboration with the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the Ministry of Health, and several prominent Medical Colleges in India, will have participation from some of the world’s most well-known physicians and industry leaders.”
Describing the message and theme for the Summit, Dr. Amit Chakrabarty, President-Elect of AAPI says, “AAPI has a mandate to help disseminate our medical knowledge, our expertise and technological advances to the rest of the world, and to India in particular. Headquartered in Chicago, AAPI has come to be recognized as a strong voice in the healthcare legislation and policy arena.”
“With the changing trends and statistics in healthcare, both in India and US, we are refocusing our mission and vision of GHS 2024, AAPI would like to make a positive meaningful impact on the healthcare in India,” Dr. Kathula says. “In our quest to fulfill the mission of AAPI, we are proud to share best practice and experiences from leading experts in the world and develop actionable plans for launching demonstration projects that enable access to affordable and quality healthcare for all people. To help accomplish this mission, join us at the GHS 2024 in New Delhi.” For more information on Global Health Summit 2024, please visit https://aapisummit.org -
Manipur situation difficult: RSS chief Bhagwat
NAGPUR (TIP): RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday, September 5, said the situation prevailing in Manipur was difficult and challenging and there was no guarantee of safety.
“Locals have doubts about their security. For those who have gone to Manipur for business or social work, the situation is even more challenging. Even in such trying conditions, RSS volunteers are stationed in Manipur in an urge to bring peace and normalcy. Sangh volunteers are serving both feuding factions of the state”.
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Feds Raid Homes of Top Eric Adams Deputies, Seize Police Commissioner’s Phones
Bureau agents showed up at the homes of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice Philip Banks III and took devices from NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.
NEW YORK (TIP): Federal authorities have raided the homes of some of the highest-ranking members of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, including two deputy mayors and the schools chancellor, and seized the electronic devices of New York City’s police commissioner, sources familiar with the situation told THE CITY.
This extraordinary effort in the last two days to obtain evidence from some of the highest-ranking members of Adams’ team — all of whom have longtime and close ties to the mayor — follows other federal raids and seizures that have swept up the mayor and other top aides in what appears to be a broadening investigation of City Hall.
On Wednesday, September 4, agents showed up around 5 a.m. at the Hamilton Heights townhouse of Sheena Wright, who also happens to be the fiancé of Chancellor Banks. The chancellor was seen by THE CITY entering and leaving the townhouse twice on Thursday, September 5. Asked about the raid, David Banks declined to comment, saying, “Today is the first day of school, and I am thrilled,” he said, jumping into a SUV to head to a scheduled appearance at a school in Queens.
At the same time agents raided Wright’s townhouse, they simultaneously descended upon Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III’s brick and clapboard single family in Hollis, the sources said. A neighbor of Phil Banks’ home told THE CITY they woke up to a disturbance Wednesday, September 4 morning and about 15 agents were on the street.
Then on Thursday, September 5, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office issued search warrants seizing the cell phones of Police Commissioner Edward Caban, a development first reported by Spectrum News NY1. Asked about this, the department’s press office responded, “The Department is aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York involving members of service. The Department is fully cooperating in the investigation.”
A spokesperson for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams declined to comment.
The New York Times reported that the FBI raided the home of a third Banks brother, Terrence, and seized electronic devices from Tim Pearson, one of another senior advisors to the mayor and one of Adams’ closest associates. In a lawsuit filed recently against Pearson alleging workplace retaliation, the plaintiff stated an FBI agent recently knocked on his door and asked about Pearson.
Adams spoke briefly with reporters as he left City Hall on Thursday, September 5 afternoon.
“The goal is to follow the law and that is what this administration always stood for and what we’re going to continue to stand for,” he said. When asked if he thought his staff followed the law, given multiple investigations, Adams said: “I think I answered the question, and that I’m going to continue to say as I’ve lived my entire life and I have confidence in the team, the team here. We’re going to follow the rules and comply with any questions that are asked of us.”
The purpose of the raids and seizures of devices is not yet clear, but one source said the cell phones and laptop of Wright and Phil Banks were taken. Another City Hall source said that inquiry appears to be unrelated to existing federal probes into Adams’ 2021 campaign fundraising.
Early Thursday an FBI spokesperson declined to comment but did not deny that the bureau showed up at Wright’s and Phil Banks’ home addresses.
A half hour after THE CITY revealed the raids, City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg issued a statement: “Investigators have not indicated to us [that] the mayor or his staff are targets of any investigation. As a former member of law enforcement, the mayor has repeatedly made clear that all members of the team need to follow the law.”
Last November, the FBI seized Adams’ cell phones and laptop and raided the home of his campaign treasurer, Briana Suggs, in a probe by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney into whether the campaign conspired to obtain illegal foreign donations from entities tied to the Turkish government.
The same day, agents raided the home of Rana Abbasova, the director of protocol for the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, who reportedly has knowledge of Adams’s interactions with Turkey. Abbasova is reportedly now cooperating with federal investigators.
Records document fundraisers bundled by entities with ties to Turkey — Bay Atlantic University, which raised $10,000 via five donations of $2,000 each, and KSK Construction Group, which raised $12,700 from multiple donors. Both were referenced in a search warrant seeking campaign records from Suggs, according to the New York Times.
And in February the FBI raided two Bronx homes owned by a top Adams aide, Winnie Greco, and the New World Mall in Flushing, Queens, as part of a probe by the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney. Greco had hosted multiple fundraisers for Adams and holds a position in the mayor’s office as an advisor. The Campaign Finance Board in a recently released draft audit of Adams’ 2021 campaign labeled the entity tied to the mall, J Mart Group, as a suspected intermediary that raised nearly $12,700 for the mayor’s campaign.
Wright was a former top executive of the United Way when Adams made her one of his first appointments in January 2022. Phil Banks is a former cop and close ally of the mayor, appointed by Adams despite his being named as an unindicted co-conspirator in an NYPD bribery scandal.
(Source: The City)