But notably absent from Abbott’s call for legislation that would prevent gun violence in his state were demands for stricter gun control laws. The shooting Saturday at Allen Premium Outlets was the second recent mass shooting in the state, after a gunman shot and killed five people at a house in Cleveland, Texas, on April 28.
“People want a quick solution. The long-term solution here is to address the mental health issue,” Abbott said, noting that there have been mass shootings in states with varying levels of gun control.
Critics of the idea of treating gun violence largely as a public health issue have noted that the nation doesn’t have enough mental health professionals, mental health facilities or funding for either mass screening or treatment. Abbott said his state had added “almost $25 billion to address mental health” in recent years and will look to add more for Texas’ rural communities and for schoolchildren.
Meanwhile Sunday, Democratic State Sen. Roland Gutierrez slammed Abbott and other state leaders for their response to the shooting, particularly for the time it is taking for information about the shooting to be made public. Official information on the Allen shooting was still scarce Sunday morning.
“We are in a situation in this state where we’re — as if you’re living in communist Russia. The governor, the lieutenant governor, and people like them and their law enforcement agencies refuse to tell us the truth as to what’s going on here,” Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, Texas, the site of a school shooting last year, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“It’s just a sad state of affairs that we’re living in. This is not the Texas miracle that Greg Abbott likes to call it,” he added.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
The cracks on the walls started to appear two days earlier. But despite the warning signs, Moushumi Begum still came to work on 24 April 2013. Moments later, she was buried under heavy rubble. “It all happened so quickly. I vividly remember every detail about that day, even though it was 10 years ago,” says Begum, who spent three hours trapped under Rana Plaza, the eight-storey building on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, that came crashing down.
That morning, garment workers and some factory managers had argued in the dusty courtyard outside the building, many reluctant to enter as they feared it was unsafe. Workers had been evacuated the day before because of those fears. Some say they were told they would not be paid that month’s wages if they did not go to work; others say that an internal gate was closed behind them.
In the 90 seconds it took to collapse, Rana Plaza became a symbol of global inequality. The final death toll was 1,134 people, with 2,500 injured. There were harrowing stories of survival, of people having their limbs amputated without anaesthetic to prise them from the rubble.
A new report by ActionAid Bangladesh has shed light on the devastating toll the disaster has taken on survivors a decade on, revealing that more than half (54.5%) of the survivors are still unemployed. The key reason is health conditions such as breathing difficulties, vision impairment and physical challenges, including not being able to stand or walk properly.
The report also assessed the safety of 200 current garment workers, with more than half feeling that initiatives taken by factory management were inadequate. Almost 20% of those interviewed reported that their factories lacked firefighting equipment, while 23% said emergency fire exits were not available.
Moushumi Begum, now 24, has been given a sewing machine by ActionAid Bangladesh to ease her path back to work. But she still does not dare enter a tall building.
Begum was just 14 years old. Now married with two small children, she has tried to move on, but her health continues to affect her daily activities. She suffers from acute respiratory distress syndrome, a life-threatening lung injury that makes it difficult for her to breathe. She takes regular pauses as she speaks.
Since the disaster, Begum has been too scared to step foot in another factory. “The memories of that day continue to haunt me,” she says. “I feel immense anxiety just standing near a tall building.”
Acute health conditions caused by the Rana Plaza disaster have left survivors dependent on medication.
“It has not been easy for anyone affected by Rana Plaza to return to a normal life,” says Begum, who receives counselling and financial support from ActionAid Bangladesh. The charity operates a workers’ cafe for garment workers through which Begum has acquired a free sewing machine to motivate her in returning to work. She remains reluctant: “I don’t think I’ll ever find the courage to work in one of those buildings again.”
‘How disposable we garment workers are’ … Husnara Akhtar lay for five hours under the rubble. After she was rescued, she learned her husband had died.
Husnara Akhtar, 30, remembers having breakfast with her husband, Abu Sufyan, before they went to work that day. Both worked in the Rana Plaza building, but in different factories.
As Akhtar went to her floor, she could tell something was wrong. “People were anxious; some of the workers were standing around, refusing to sit down. Someone said it wasn’t safe, but I saw the look on my manager’s face and quickly took my place on the denim line. The lights began to flicker and the floor beneath my feet shook. Within seconds, we were plunged into darkness.”
When Akhtar regained consciousness, she found herself wedged between two dead bodies. “I lay there for five whole hours unable to move,” she recalls. “It felt like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. There was so much dust and so many dead bodies.”
Akhtar was eventually found by rescue workers and taken to a nearby hospital, where she discovered the extent of her injuries: concussion, cracked ribs and fractured arms that would make it impossible for her to work again.
Sufyan’s body was found a week later, crushed under a concrete pillar. “My husband was just one of the hundreds of workers that died that day,” says Akhtar tearfully. “I remember looking at his crumpled body and thinking how disposable we garment workers are.”
Safiya Khatun searched for 15 days for her son. On day 16, she found out he was dead.
Safiya Khatun cries whenever she thinks about what happened that day. She was in the Savar district of Dhaka when she heard a deafening sound. “It felt like the world was ending,” recalls the 66-year-old, who watched as people began to panic. “Someone said a bomb had exploded. Another said a building had collapsed. Then I heard the words Rana Plaza and my heart sank.”
Khatun rushed to the scene, where her 18-year-old son, Lal Miah, worked as a seamster on the third floor. She spent the next 15 days desperately searching for him. She carried a passport-sized photo of him and asked rescue workers at the site if they had seen him. On the 16th day, one recognised him.
A mother’s last hope: the photo of 18-year-old garment worker Lal Miah.
When Khatun saw her son’s body, she could barely breathe. “How could something like this happen to my precious son? The collapse of Rana Plaza left thousands of mothers like me empty-handed. It was a tragedy that could have been avoided if only the owners had listened to the workers’ concerns.”
The family now live in poverty because her son was the earner. Khatun lives in a small hut made from bamboo and metal scraps. “I was given land as compensation for the loss of my dear boy but nothing can compensate us for what we have gone through.” Many of the victims’ families were given land, but most cannot afford to build homes on it.
In Savar today, garment workers walk past an enormous pair of granite fists grasping a hammer and sickle – a monument erected in memory of Rana Plaza victims. Around the monument, on the land where Rana Plaza once stood, only weeds and litter mark the spot.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
LONDON — Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss will take a not-so-subtle swipe at Emmanuel Macron over his attempt to build bridges with Beijing.
In a Wednesday morning speech to the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, D.C. Truss will argue that too many in the West have “appeased and accommodated” authoritarian regimes in China and Russia.
And she will say it is a “sign of weakness” for Western leaders to visit China and ask premier Xi Jinping for his support in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — just days after Macron’s own high-profile trip there.
While Truss — who left office after just six weeks as crisis-hit U.K. prime minister — will not mention Macron by name, her comments follow an interview with POLITICO in which the French president said Europe should resist pressure to become “America’s followers.”
Macron said: “The question Europeans need to answer … is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction.”
Macron has already been criticized for those comments by the IPAC group of China-skeptic lawmakers, which said Monday his remarks were “ill-judged.”
And Truss — who had a frosty relationship with Macron during her brief stint in office last year — will use her speech to urge a more aggressive stance toward both China and Russia.
“We’ve seen Vladimir Putin launching an unprovoked attack on a free and democratic neighbor, we see the Chinese building up their armaments and their arsenal and menacing the free and democratic Taiwan,” Truss will say according to pre-released remarks. “Too many in the West have appeased and accommodated these regimes.”
She will add: “Western leaders visiting President Xi to ask for his support in ending the war is a mistake — and it is a sign of weakness. Instead our energies should go into taking more measures to support Taiwan. We need to make sure Taiwan is able to defend itself.”
Relations between Macron and Truss’ successor Rishi Sunak have been notably warmer. The pair hailed a “new chapter” in U.K.-France ties in March, after concluding a deal on cross-Channel migration.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
Hyderabad: The tomb of Mah Laqa Bai Chanda, a courtesan, poet and a philanthropist who lived between 1768 and 1824, has once again become victim of vagaries of time.
A young Mah Laqa Bai Chanda had shifted to Hyderabad from Aurangabad. She was brought to Hyderabad by her mother Raj Kanwar Bai during the times of the Second Nizam, Nizam Ali Khan also known as Sikander Jah. Chanda was a baby with a ‘moon like face’ grew into multi-talented woman. She became a singer, dancer, courtesan and poet. She was also well versed in art of warfare and accompanied the Nizam on a few expeditions. Because of her beautiful looks and talents she had sway over the Nizam and at least three of his highest ranking nobles, all at the same time. She was granted large tracts of land that stretched from Maula Ali up to Vidya Nagar. The Arts College building of the Osmania University is said to have been built over her jagir.
The tomb complex after remaining neglected for decades was restored between 2010 and 2011 through the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. This was the first constructive intervention of the US embassy and subsequently by the US Consulate General in Hyderabad. The fund was small—only Rs 40 lakh–as compared to the magnitude of the project and had no follow up provision when it was given.
Its renovated version was opened for public. The renovation was so good that the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage acknowledged it by a citation.
Soon after the renovation the then AP Government decided to declare it a protected monument and the Department of State Archeology was appointed a caretaker.
But for some unknown reasons the government stopped paying for the monthly salary to the caretaker. A few months later it cancelled his appointment altogether.
A recent visit to the tomb complex revealed that it has fallen on bad times one more time. There is no maintenance of the complex. After this writer went around looking at the condition of complex a person in civilian clothes came in. In an informal chat he said that he is the watchman and looks after the upkeep of the garden areas within the complex. He also does the cleaning of the floor around the graves of Chanda and her mother.
That chowkidar had nothing to do with the worsening condition of the complex which is not visited by any government officials in long years.
Asked why the building on the southern side is locked out he said he has no idea about it. But some visitors to the mosque that is located within the complex revealed that some Shia community leaders had laid claim to complex and had occupied that area. The police intervened, cleared the place of those persons and locked it up. It happened a few years ago and since then that portion of the complex remains out of public reach.
“Under the US Ambassador’s Fund, we received about Rs 40 lakh for the restoration work. As it did not cover the garden and mosque, we are trying to rope in other interested organisations for the same,” said Sajjad Shahid, secretary, Centre for Deccan Studies (CDS) that has spearheaded this restoration project had told this writer at that time.
“CDS decided to take it up because we were drawn by the historicity and poetry of Mah Laqa Bai and the brilliant architecture of the structure,” had said Scott Kugle, an American historian who was also associated with the restoration project. Kugle had added, “The tomb should be promoted by the state tourism department as a must-see destination of Hyderabad.
Shahid who is associated with several restoration projects in the city including the Seven Tombs in the vicinity of Golconda Fort said since the government of Telangana is trying to work on many historical projects it should devise means to keep the structures intact. “Since Mah Luqa Bai Chanda complex is one of the distinct projects, it should be revived and open for public,” he said.
Chennai: The Kalakshetra, an iconic institution here, has announced closure of its college till April 6, in the wake of protests by students against alleged sexual harassment and misconduct on the campus.
Students of the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, being run by the Kalakshetra on its campus, resorted to the protest at the “tapovan”, the prayer space at the entrance of the college on Thursday demanding justice. They alleged harassment by a senior faculty and sought appropriate action against him.
As the allegations surfaced a few days ago, chairperson of National Commission of Women (NCW) Rekha Sharma, visited Kalakshetra on Wednesday to enquire about the allegations.
The principal announced that the college will be closed till April 6 from Thursday evening.
“Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts will remain closed from 5.15 pm today to April 6. All inmates are requested to vacate the hostel within two days with immediate effect,” he said in a circular.
Exams scheduled on the above days have been postponed and new dates would be announced in due course, the Principal added.
Meanwhile, Kalakshetra in a statement said the Chairman and the Governing Board is fully appraised of protests and grievances and all steps would be taken to ensure that no person who is involved in any unsavory activity in the Foundation will be spared.
“There have been some allegations which we are considering. Some of the students of the Foundation have been protesting in our campus. The Director and the Deputy director from administration have spoken to the students taking into consideration the sentiments and grievances of the students.
“On 29.03.2023, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) had also visited our campus and made enquiries about the allegations. The Foundation had already sought explanation from the persons against whom some allegations have been made and on receipt of their explanation, the Chairman and the Governing Board will consider the appropriate action that has to be taken in accordance with its Rules and Regulations and in conformity with law.”
“The Chairman and the Governing Board is fully appraised of protests and grievances and all steps will be taken to ensure that no person who is involved in any unsavory activity in the Foundation will be spared,” the statement said.
Carnatic musician and writer T M Krishna called upon the Kalakshetra management to take necessary action to address the “very serious complaints.”
“I am writing to you regarding the complaints of sexual harassment and toxicity in the Kalakshetra environment that has been raised over the past few months,” he said in an open letter to the college principal requesting for action.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s tweet is part of a broader push by Democrats nationwide to pass gun safety legislation. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn on Twitter Monday night for voting against gun safety laws and accepting over $1 million in donations from the NRA over her career after the senator tweeted she was “ready to assist” in the wake of the deadly elementary school shooting in Nashville.
Blackburn, a Republican, tweeted on Monday, “Chuck & I are heartbroken to hear about the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. My office is in contact with federal, state, & local officials, & we stand ready to assist. Thank you to the first responders working on site. Please join us in prayer for those affected.”
Later that night, Newsom responded with, “You received $1,306,130 in donations from the NRA. You voted against the most recent bipartisan gun package in June. If you’re so ‘ready to assist’ — start by doing your job and passing commonsense gun laws that will help prevent tragedies like the one today.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
“I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream,” Biden said. His speech quickly shifted to calling on Congress to ban assault weapons in the wake of the shooting.
Three adults and three children were confirmed dead following a mass shooting Monday morning at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville.
The 28-year-old female suspect, who has not been identified, was killed in an altercation with police. The woman had at least two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, police said.
Biden called the shooting “heartbreaking” and a “family’s worst nightmare.”
“We have to do more to stop gun violence; it’s ripping our communities apart — ripping the soul of this nation,” Biden said. “And we have to do more to protect our schools, so they aren’t turned into prisons.”
Biden has focused on reinstating the assault weapons ban that he helped pass in 1994 as senator, but which lapsed in 2004. The president doesn’t appear to have the votes for an assault weapons ban in Congress.
“How many more children have to be murdered before Republicans in Congress will step up and act to pass the assault weapons ban,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.
At an event in Washington on Monday, first lady Jill Biden also spoke about the shooting.
“I am truly without words. Our children deserve better. We stand, all of us, we stand with Nashville in prayer,” Jill Biden said.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
