The Biden campaign, which launched the ‘Sikh Americans for Biden’, in a press release on Sunday said that Sikh-Americans experience bullying at rates twice the national average.

WASHINGTON:Asserting that Sikhs are safe under the Trump administration, a group of prominent Sikh-American leaders have alleged that the Biden campaign is trying to “demoralise and demotivate” the community.

It is because of President Donald Trump’s initiatives to ensure religious freedom and liberty that so many Sikh youths are serving in the US military today with their turbans and beard intact, said Harmeet Dhillon, a Sikh-American attorney and co-chair of Lawyers for Trump.

According to Jasdip Singh, co-chair of the Sikhs for Trump, the community members in the US have never been as safe as is under President Trump.

“We are a martial community, no one can bully us. By saying so (that the Sikh community is not safe in US), the Biden campaign is trying to demoralise and demotivate us,” he said.

The Biden campaign, which launched the ‘Sikh Americans for Biden’, in a press release on Sunday said that Sikh-Americans experience bullying at rates twice the national average and have reported a spike in these encounters since 2017.

The Biden campaign vowed to address the unique challenges, including xenophobia, being faced by the Sikh community in the US.

Singh claimed that a Biden-Harris administration would be “anti-Sikh”.

In the November 3 presidential election, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris will challenge incumbent Republican President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

Singh said Harris, during her tenure as California Attorney General, was against the employment of a Sikh man, Trilochan Singh Oberoi, who refused to shave off his beard.

“Harris asked him to shave his beard and choose between faith and livelihood. Despite being of Indian-origin, she is anti-Sikh,” he said.

“We cannot support Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. Those are not Sikh values,” Singh said.

In 2005, Oberoi cleared the written test, vision test, a physical abilities test, and every other test required by the state of California to get him a corrections officer job but was denied the position when he refused to shave his beard.

The department rejected him, saying the state-mandated wearing a gas-mask during jail emergencies and that keeping beard would be a hindrance.

Finally in 2011, after a six-year-long legal battle, Oberoi was appointed as a correctional officer in the prison and won USD 295,000 in damages.

Singh said, “I want to address all my Sikh brothers and sisters who are questioning me that how being a Sikh I am supporting Trump. I want to ask them a question. How they being Sikh are supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris who are supporting and promoting weed and drug culture, who support abortion, same-sex marriages.

“Are these Sikh values?” Singh, who is also a businessman, said as part of the 2020 election campaign he has been travelling to some of the remote parts of the US and his turban and beard have never posed any problem.

“Everywhere I go — from Pennsylvania to Ohio, even in the remote parts of the country — people welcome us. Trump supporters have given me so much love and affection like never before. I represent Sikh and India with my turban,” he said on Monday.

Singh, who had launched ‘Sikhs for Trump’ in 2016, claimed Trump has very strong support from the community.

“Sikh truckers in the US are now supporting President Trump. President Trump has personally acknowledged and thanked the support of the Sikh/Indian American community,” he said, claiming that this year more than 50 per cent of the community members are supporting Trump.

Trump’s policies and vision for America resonated with Indian and Sikh values, he said.

Kanwaljit Singh Rekhi, a Sikh leader, said all minority groups in US have benefited from Trump’s economic recovery plan.

“Small minority businesses mostly owned by South Asians survived during the pandemic due to President Trump’s aggressive economic recovery plan,” he said.

According to Baljinder Singh, another Sikh leader, Trump signed the Religious Freedom Act, which opened doors for Sikh members to serve in the US military and other law enforcement agencies, keeping their turbans and beard intact.

United Nations: The “only crowning glory” that Pakistan has to show to the world for the last seven decades is terrorism, ethnic cleansing, majoritarian fundamentalism and clandestine nuclear trade, India said in a scathing response on Friday, slamming Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “incessant rant” and “venom” in the UN General Assembly.

“This august forum witnessed a new low on its 75th anniversary. The leader of Pakistan today called for those who incite hate and violence to be outlawed. But as he went on, we were left wondering, was he referring to himself?” First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Mijito Vinito said, making India’s Right of Reply.

The strong rebuttal came after Khan spoke about India’s internal affairs, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, during his pre-recorded video statement at the high-level General Debate. Vinito, who was sitting at India’s seat in the UN General Assembly hall for the General Debate, walked out when Khan started his usual “diatribe” about India.

“This hall heard the incessant rant of someone who had nothing to show for himself, who had no achievements to speak of and no reasonable suggestion to offer to the world. Instead, we saw lies, misinformation, war mongering and malice spread through this Assembly,” the young Indian diplomat said.

Slamming Pakistan for its record as a nation, Vinito said, “The only crowning glory that this country has to show to the world for the last 70 years is terrorism, ethnic cleansing, majoritarian fundamentalism and clandestine nuclear trade.”

Alluding to the “stellar record” of Pakistan, he said this is the country that has the “dubious distinction” of hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the United Nations, a reference to terror masterminds such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) head Masood Azhar.

“This is the same country that provides pensions for dreaded and listed terrorists out of State funds. The leader whom we heard today is the same person who referred to terrorist Osama Bin Laden as a ‘martyr'” in the Pakistani Parliament in July, Vinito said.

He added that it is Pakistan that brought genocide to South Asia 39 years ago when it killed its own people and it is also the country that is “shameless enough” not to offer a sincere apology for the horrors it perpetrated even after so many years.

India asserted in its Right of Reply that Khan, “who spewed venom today”, admitted in 2019 in public in the US that his country still has about 30,000-40,000 terrorists, who have been trained by Pakistan and have fought in Afghanistan and in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

“This is the country that has systematically cleansed its minorities, including Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and others, through the abuse of its blasphemy laws and through forced religious conversions,” Vinito said, adding that “for someone who professes to be a champion of Islam, this is also a country that has encouraged killing of fellow Muslims merely because they belonged to a different sect or to a different region in Pakistan and through sponsoring terrorist attacks against its neighbours”.

Pakistan has consistently used UN platforms, including the high-level General Assembly sessions, to rake up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, but has repeatedly found no resonance with the international community for its “diatribe”.

India strongly asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is its “integral and inalienable part” and the rules and legislations brought in the Union Territory are strictly its internal affairs.

“The only dispute left in Kashmir relates to that part of Kashmir that is still under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. We call upon Pakistan to vacate all those areas that it is in illegal occupation of,” Vinito said, adding that what should instead be on the agenda of the UN is Pakistan’s “deep state and its unrelenting political and financial support to terrorist organisations and mercenaries, which are a threat to global peace and security”.

“The only way for Pakistan to become a normal country is to abjure its moral, financial and material support to terrorism, turn its attention to the problems faced by its own population, including its minorities, and stop misusing UN platforms to further its nefarious agenda,” India said.

The words used in the General Assembly by Khan “demean” the very essence of the United Nations, Vinito said, adding that “for a nation that is deeply buried in medievalism, it is understandable that the tenets of a modern civilised society such as peace, dialogue and diplomacy are farfetched”.

Pakistan’s delegate then made a response to India’s Right of Reply.

Ukraine: At least 22 people including military cadets were killed and two others were seriously injured on Friday when a Ukrainian air force plane crashed near Kharkiv in the east of the country, the interior ministry said.

Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko confirmed the death toll to AFP, describing the incident as a “shock”, and saying that the cause of the crash was being investigated.

Footage of the crash released by officials on social media showed the smouldering remains of the Antonov-26 transport plane.

“Most of [the dead] were students” of the Kharkiv National Air Force University, the air force said in a statement.

There were 27 people on board, 20 cadets and seven crew, it added.  Twenty-two have been confirmed dead, two are injured and “the search for three more people continues”, the emergency services said.

The injured are in a “critical” condition, regional governor Oleksiy Kucher said on Facebook.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the crash as a “terrible tragedy” and said he would travel to the Kharkiv region on Saturday. 

“We are urgently creating a commission to investigate all the circumstances and causes of the tragedy,” he wrote on Facebook.

In photos released by the emergency services, firefighters in helmets and reflective clothing sprayed aircraft debris with jets of water.

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman made a rare address to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, using the moment to highlight the foundational notions of his regime his steadfast commitment to the Palestinians, his stature as custodian of Islam’s holiest sites and his assertion that Iran is responsible for much of the region’s instability.

The prerecorded speech to world leaders suggested that the 84-year-old king, who delivers only a handful of public remarks each year, retains oversight of high-level policies despite the immense powers amassed by his son, the crown prince.

In delivering his remarks, he became only the second Saudi king to deliver a speech to the world assembly. The first was his late brother, King Saud, in 1957 at UN headquarters in New York. And like his brother’s speech 63 years prior, King Salman noted the sacred role of Islam in Saudi Arabia and the importance that entails.

We in the kingdom, due to our position in the Muslim world, bear a special and historic responsibility to protect our tolerant Islamic faith from attempts by terrorist organisations and extremist groups to pervert it, Salman said.

He emphasised at the top of his speech that he was speaking from the birthplace of Islam, the home of its revelation a reference to the Muslim belief that the word of God was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad some 1,400 years ago in the mountainous caves of Mecca.

Those words carry political undertones as well. Saudi rivals Turkey and Iran also profess to champion Muslim causes worldwide as part of a broader struggle for leadership of Muslims globally.

The king oversees a nation that is the Arab world’s biggest economy and the planet’s most prolific oil producer. Saudi Arabia has long been a close US ally in the region and a strategic partner, though some in American politics worry where the relationship will go in coming years given the unpredictability of the brash Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Reading from a piece of paper and seated at a desk under a large portrait of his father, King Abdulaziz, the current monarch reiterated his support for Palestinian statehood as a prerequisite for recognition of Israel.

He said the Arab Peace Initiative, which offers Israel full ties with Arab states in exchange for concessions that lead to a Palestinian state, provides a basis for resolving the region’s longest-running conflict.

That 2002 initiative stands in stark contrast to the White House’s Middle East Peace plan, which has been rejected outright by the Palestinians as one-sided in favour of Israel.

The king made no mention of recent deals struck by neighbouring United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to formalise ties with Israel. The agreements were brokered by the Trump administration and branded by the Palestinians as acts of betrayal.

Despite the appearance Wednesday that Salman was in control of major policies, there are indications that change is already underway with Israel under the guidance of the crown prince. The divergent messages on the possibility of Saudi ties with Israel reflect what analysts call a generational divide between the world views of the prince and the king.

Salman hails from an era of leadership that holds with high regard the ideals of pan-Arab and pan-Islamic multilateralism. He was born just four years after his father founded the country by unifying tribes and establishing control over the western Hijaz region, where Mecca is located.

He also witnessed the country’s oil-fueled transformation, and as the governor of Riyadh helped to turn the desert capital into a city teeming with skyscrapers, highways, universities and malls. His reign marks the final chapter of power being passed from brother to brother from among the sons of King Abdelaziz as a new generation prepares for the throne.

The crown prince, on the other hand, reflects a cohort of younger Gulf Arab rulers whose policies prioritize national interests and greater self-reliance. He’s pushed for localising the production of defense equipment, transforming the economy to be less dependent on oil exports and overseen efforts to supplant a religiously conservative Saudi identity with one rooted in hyper-nationalism.

King Salman has backed his son by elevating him from near obscurity and handing him day-to-day decision making powers. He’s stood by him amid the protracted Yemen war, international fallout from the killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and as Prince Mohammed moved to crackdown on dissidents, businessmen and sideline more experienced and senior royals in the line of succession.

It’s unclear how much the king knows about controversies, such as the November 2017 debacle with then-Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, whom top Lebanese officials at the time said had been forced to resign and was being held in Saudi Arabia against his will before France’s president personally intervened.

What was clear as Salman spoke Wednesday, though, was that his nation’s views on nearby Iran remained unwavering. He blamed Iran for targeting Saudi oil facilities with missiles and drones last year, saying: It demonstrated that this regime has total disregard for the stability of the global economy or stability of oil supplies to international markets.

The activists chanted slogans such as ‘Return Nepal’s land’ and ‘stop Chinese expansionism’ it said.

KATHMANDU: A civil society group in Nepal has launched protests against China for allegedly constructing buildings on the country’s territory in Humla district, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The activists chanted slogans such as “Return Nepal’s land” and “stop Chinese expansionism,” it said.

According to media reports here, China has allegedly constructed 11 buildings on the Nepalese territory in the Humla district bordering Tibet.

The disputed area lies in Lampcha village of Namkha Rural Municipality in Humla district.

Beijing has maintained that the constructions were carried out on the Chinese side of the border.

The reports also said that Pillar Number 11 that defined the Nepal-China boundary was missing from the area.

“There was just a hut in the area in 2005,” Dattaraj Hamal, assistant chief district officer of Humla who visited the disputed area recently, was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post. “I talked to the people there and reported to the chief district officer,” Hamal said.

“e in turn reported to the Home Ministry.

He now has gone to the area as per the Home Ministry’s instructions.

” Chakka Bahadur Lama, a Member of Parliament from Humla, said that as long as both sides do not ascertain the location of the missing pillar, the dispute will continue.

On Tuesday, a Nepalese delegation led by Chief District Officer of Humla had reached the area to talk to Chinese officials, My Republica reported.

However, the Chinese security personnel had returned them saying that the land falls on the Chinese side of the border, the paper added.

During a meeting between the two sides in 2015, Nepal and China had agreed to ascertain the location of the missing pillar, but no steps were taken on the matter, the paper said, citing Paljor Tamang, chair of Ward No 6 of the rural municipality where the disputed area lies.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu refuted the allegations and said the buildings were constructed on the Chinese side of the border.

“The government of China has conducted necessary investigation into the matter and the Nepal government can also do so if needed,” said a statement issued by the embassy.

“China and Nepal have no territorial disputes.

The two sides have always maintained close communication on border affairs,” the statement said.

“China and Nepal are friendly neighbours. China has always respected Nepal’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.