China, Russia and India spewing stuff into air: Donald Trump
Washington: US President Donald Trump has blamed countries like China, Russia and India for adding to the global air pollution and asserted that his country has the best environmental numbers.
Speaking to his cheering supporters at an elections rally in the key battleground State of North Carolina on Thursday, Trump said the US under his administration has achieved energy independence while protecting its pristine environment.
We have the best environmental numbers, ozone numbers, and so many other numbers. In the meantime, China, Russia, India all these countries they're spewing stuff into the air, he alleged during the rally.
He said the US has achieved energy independence while protecting its pristine environment.
Trump in June, 2017 announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris deal, saying the accord would have cost America trillions of dollars, killed jobs, and hindered the oil, gas, coal and manufacturing industries.
He has continuously argued that countries like China and India are benefiting the most from the Paris agreement and the agreement itself was unfair to the US, as it badly hit its businesses and jobs.
During Thursday's rally too, Trump said to the cheering crowd that it were a few nations that were contributing to global pollution.
I keep telling my people you know, I love clean air but Russia and China, you look at a map you have all these spots and India and many others are spewing it in. What do you suggest? he asked his thousands of supporters who had gathered at a city airport here to listen to his election speech.
Trump also mocked at those who call for replacing plastic with paper.
Well, we don't think you should sell straws anymore. Oh great ok. You ever hear that, the straw, right? I say ok the straw is good, what about the plastic plate? What about the carton? What about the glass that's out of plastic? Well we'll get to that later. These people are crazy, he said.
In his speech, Trump also talked about jobs for the Americans and mentioned that he recently fired the head of a semi-private company for replacing American workers with foreign workers.
The chairman of Tennessee Valley Authority was fired because he replaced American workforce with foreign workers. I told the board chairman, chairman, you're fired. Out. You're fired, chairman, he said.
And what happened is as soon as I said that they hired all the employees back from Tennessee and five other states, six other states. They're all back and they were great. They were great. So we do our little things, right? We did that one and it was great, he said.
Trump alleged that the immigration plan of his Democratic opponent Joe Biden is the most extreme in the history of the country.
Biden's plan would eliminate US borders by implementing nationwide catch and release that's catch, murderer comes over you catch him. What do you do? Well, not much. Most of them don't say they kill people right? You catch them. You take their name and you release them into our country. It was a big deal, it sounds easy, he said, adding that he ended catch and release.
One of the worst things. Now we release them. You know where we release them? We release them back into their country. We don't release them into our country anymore. We say congratulations we got them, he said.
Biden in one of his rally on Wednesday said that if voted to power he would give citizenship to 11 million illegal immigrants.
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Protests in several parts of India over killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei
Srinagar/Lucknow (PTI): From Kashmir to Karnataka, Shia mourners took to the streets in various parts of India to express outrage and grief over the death of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israel strike.
Khamenei was killed in an airstrike in Tehran on Saturday during a joint Israel-US attack on Iran. Iranian state media confirmed the same on Sunday, triggering a wave of protests and mourning across the world, including India.
Kashmir — which has about 15 lakh Shias — witnessed major protests at Lal Chowk, Saida Kadal, Budgam, Bandipora, Anantnag and Pulwama, an official said.
The protesters were seen beating their chests as they shouted anti-US and anti-Israel slogans.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed deep concern over the developments in Iran and appealed for calm amid widespread protests.
"Chief Minister has expressed deep concern over the unfolding developments in Iran, including reports of the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has appealed to all communities to remain calm, uphold peace, and avoid any actions that could lead to tension or unrest," the Office of Chief Minister said in a post on X.
Abdullah also said that his government is in close coordination with the Union Ministry of External Affairs to ensure the safety and well-being of J-K residents, including students, currently in Iran.
Expressing "profound anguish" over the assassination of Khamenei, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah urged the administration to handle the situation with sensitivity and discretion, ensuring that those who wish to mourn are able to do so respectfully.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chief priest of Kashmir, said he was deeply saddened and outraged at Khamenei's killing.
"Deeply saddened and outraged at the brutal killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei by the US and Israel that has shaken the Muslim world. The people of JK collectively condemn this brutality and the ongoing aggression against Iran, as well as the massacre of innocent girl students in Minab," the Mirwaiz said in a post on X.
Many Muslim bodies and organisations across the country announced a multiple-day mourning period and scheduled their protests on Monday as well in memory of the Iranian leader.
In Uttar Pradesh's capital, Lucknow, scores of people gathered near the Bara Imambara mosque and shouted slogans during the protest, with women mourners clinging to the Iranian leader's photo and weeping.
Maulana Yasoob Abbas, general secretary of All India Shia Personal Law Board, announced that effigies of US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be burnt during the protest on Monday.
The Shia community has declared a three-day mourning, during which people will wear black, hoist black flags at their homes and organise special prayers, Abbas added.
Punjab, which has a minuscule Muslim population, saw protests and effigies being burnt in Ludhiana.
Shahi Imam Maulana Mohammad Usman Rahmani Ludhianvi, who led the protest, demanded that the central government declare a week-long national mourning.
Rehmani urged Muslims worldwide to unite against such challenges, terming Khamenei a great martyr and condemning his killing in the strongest terms.
The Shia community in Ajmer also announced a three-day mourning over the killing of Khamenei.
The announcement was made by Syed Asif Ali, a community leader, who appealed to members of the Shia community to observe mourning and refrain from celebrations during the period.
Condolence meetings were also organised at Dargah in Dorai and Taragarh in Ajmer, where members of the community offered prayers and expressed grief over the incident.
Meanwhile, several devotees from Jodhpur are stranded in Dubai after their return flights were cancelled following attacks near Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Scenes of extreme distraught and slogannering were also witnessed in New Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Telangana, where protesters, holding Khamenei's posters, voiced their anger against the US and Israeli military actions.
However, in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district, where Khamenei once visited, observed silence, and shops and commercial establishments voluntarily closed.
Villagers announced a three-day mourning period as a mark of tribute to the Shia supreme leader.
All celebrations and public events have been suspended to maintain a peaceful environment in this village.
According to villagers, Ali Khamenei visited Alipura in 1986.
