Bradford Kashmiris on India-Pakistan conflict
The majority of them trace their roots back to the Mirpur district of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
Andrew Misra has been to West Yorkshire to hear people's reflections on the tensions of recent days.
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump builds strong Republican legacy as Democrats flounder
Who can blame voters? Under President Joe Biden, inflation hit a 40-year high, Russia invaded Ukraine, Hamas brutally attacked Israel and Iran built a robust nuclear program. Then Americans learned, while he was running for reelection, that Biden suffered from serious cognitive decline, raising questions about what the Democratic Party knew and when. Americans lost trust that Democrats were transparent and honest. Nine months after Trump was reelected, Democrats still lack direction and competent leaders. Here are a few examples: The party's brightest star, failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris, announced she won't run for governor of California, where she previously served as attorney general. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, once seen as a rising star, regularly engages in bizarre political theater to make his points, from lengthy filibusters to clashes with members of his own party on the Senate floor. Booker recently told Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, not to question his motives after a heated exchange about impending legislation. California Rep. Eric Swalwell posted a video of himself bench-pressing weights at a gym while complaining about the Republican Party. Conservatives mocked him, including Fox News' Greg Gutfeld. In response, Swalwell challenged Gutfeld to a bench-pressing match. Are Democrats OK? They appear desperate, and increasingly are becoming a clown show without direction or purpose. Democratic Party's future looks grim The chaos and aimlessness at the national level also exists in Democratic-controlled states. In California and New York, progressive leaders ensure that residents are hurt by high tax rates and other policies that push businesses to relocate. Opinion: In-N-Out owner places order to go - out of California California and New York serve as cautionary tales for much of the country. As Democratic states lose population, Florida, Texas and other deep red states are growing rapidly. A Democrat hasn't won statewide office in Texas since 1994. And no Democrat currently holds statewide office in Florida. Developing new political talent in the second and third largest states in the nation - and in states like Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee - is now almost impossible for Democrats, a reality that is sure to hurt the party's future on the local, state and national levels. Reapportionment after the 2030 Census also is likely to be brutal for Democrats. The Brennan Center, a progressive think tank, reported that "California would lose 4 of its 52 congressional districts in reapportionment - only the second time the Golden State has ever lost representation. New York, meanwhile, would lose three seats, Illinois two, and Pennsylvania one, leaving all three states with congressional delegations half the size they were in 1940." Opinion newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter on conservative values, family and religion from columnist Nicole Russell. Get it delivered to your inbox. It's not just House seats that Democratic states will shed. Red states also stand to gain more Electoral College votes, which gives future Republican presidential candidates a stronger mathematical advantage. GOP is humming now and into the future Meanwhile, Trump has accomplished more in his first six months than Joe Biden did in four years. Trump is overhauling the federal bureaucracy, reworking the global economy on more favorable terms for Americans, persuading American allies to pay more for their own defense, forcing universities to better protect Jewish students and faculty and to finally respect conservatives on campus, safeguarding women's rights, promoting the U.S. energy sector and other industries to a remarkable degree around the world, and pushing for peace from India to Ukraine. Opinion: Trump wins again - Columbia's $200 million fine will reshape higher education Trump also is building a conservative political dynasty that is set to take his place after he leaves office in 2029. Vice President JD Vance is the GOP's most promising star. He has proved to be articulate and passionate on difficult issues, in the U.S. and while representing America overseas. Intelligent and media savvy, Vance has most, if not all, of the positive qualities a leader needs with few of Trump's less savory qualities. Vance is the heavy early favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination in 2028 and could very well lead Republicans to political dominance for years to come. It's not only Vance, however, with a promising future. New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik has made a name for herself standing against antisemitism, especially in institutions of higher education. She's sharp, bold and outspoken about her values. At just 31 years old, Texas Rep. Brandon Gill made headlines when he questioned NPR CEO Katherine Maher in a hearing about her leftist political bias. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is strongly and effectively representing U.S. interests around the globe. Only 54, Rubio, a former senator and presidential candidate from Florida, is a potential Republican presidential nominee for the next two decades. The Republican Party is in a strong position now and could be even more dominant after Trump leaves office. Democrats, in contrast, look aimless now, and their future appears even more grim. No wonder voters aren't attracted to them. Nicole Russell is a columnist at USA TODAY and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@ and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here.
The Independent
21 hours ago
- The Independent
Pakistan resumes forced expulsions of 1.4 million Afghan refugees despite UN concerns
Authorities in Pakistan have resumed the forced deportations of Afghan refugees after the federal government declined to extend a key deadline for their stay, officials said Monday. The decision affects approximately 1.4 million Afghans holding Proof of Registration cards, whose legal status expired at the end of June. Many had hoped for a one-year extension to settle personal affairs, such as selling property or concluding business, before returning to Afghanistan. In addition to PoR card holders, around 800,000 Afghans hold Afghan Citizen Cards. Police say they also are living in the country illegally and being detained prior to deportations in the eastern Punjab, southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh province. Monday's decision drew criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the U.N. refugee agency. At least 1.2 million Afghans have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year, according to a June UNHCR report. Repatriations on such a massive scale have the potential to destabilize the fragile situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban government came into power in 2021. A July 31 government notification seen by The Associated Press confirms Pakistan's decision to repatriate all Afghan nationals holding expired PoR cards. It states Afghans without valid passports and Pakistani visas are in the country illegally and must return to their homeland under Pakistani immigration laws. Police across Pakistan are detaining Afghans to transport them to border crossings, according to two government and security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. They said there are no mass arrests and police were told to go to house-to-house and make random checks to detain foreigners living in the country illegally. 'Yes, the Afghan refugees living in Pakistan illegally are being sent back in a dignified way,' said Shakeel Khan, commissioner for Afghan refugees in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The latest operation is the most significant step yet under orders from federal government in Islamabad, he said. Rehmat Ullah, 35, an Afghan, said his family migrated to Pakistan's northwestern Peshawar city decades ago and now is preparing to return home. 'I have five children and my concern is that they will miss their education,' he said. 'I was born here, my children were born here and now we are going back,' he said. Millions have fled to Pakistan over the past four decades to escape war, political unrest and economic hardship. The renewed deportation drive follows a nationwide crackdown launched in 2023 targeting foreigners living illegally in Pakistan. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the campaign, did not immediately comment. Qaiser Khan Afridi, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency, expressed deep concern over the government's recent actions. 'Sending people back in this manner is tantamount to refoulement and a breach of a state's international obligations,' Afridi said in a statement, urging Pakistan to adopt a 'humane approach to ensure voluntary, gradual, and dignified return of Afghans' and praised the country for hosting millions of Afghan refugees for more than 40 years. 'We call on the government to halt the forcible return and ensure a gradual, voluntary and dignified repatriation process,' Afridi said. 'Such massive and hasty return could jeopardize the lives and freedom of Afghan refugees, while also risking instability not only in Afghanistan but across the region.'
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
Alex Padilla backs California redistricting against Texas Republicans
"But they know they're in trouble," he continued. "And so they're trying to rig the system to hold on to power." The California senator was referencing Texas Republicans' proposed new map of their state's congressional districts, following President Donald Trump's urging that the GOP find a way to flip as many as five seats in next year's midterm elections. "Just a very simple redrawing, we pick up five seats," Trump told reporters on July 15. Padilla likened Trump's ask of Texas Republicans to his request during his first term in office that a top Georgia official "find 11,780 votes" to put him over the top in the Electoral College for the 2020 election. Redistricting in the middle of the decade, rather than every ten years after new census data is collected, is rare. And the pushback from Democrats across the country has been widespread. Blue state leaders have threatened tit-for-tat responses, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has suggested redrawing his state's map to counteract Texas' efforts. (Newsom faces the challenge of a bipartisan redistricting commission, which oversees California's maps, unlike Texas, where lawmakers dictate the boundaries.) Some California Democrats are wary, warning that a redistricting arms race could spiral and erode trust with voters. In response to those concerns, Padilla told NBC he believes it's appropriate for the Democrat-controlled state to evaluate its options. "The ideal scenario," he said, "is for Texas to stand down. They don't have to do this; they shouldn't do this. But if they were to go forward and deliver Trump his five additional Republicans ... the stakes are simply too high" for Democrats not to respond. Padilla also addressed recent comments from his fellow Democrats about the state of politics and American democracy, including Sen. Cory Booker's call for his party to "have a backbone." "It's time for us to fight. It's time for us to draw lines," Booker said from the Senate floor on July 29. Asked whether Booker's defiant approach was the appropriate stance for Democrats under the Trump administration, Padilla said, "Look, I think the extreme way in which this administration is conducting itself calls for higher and higher profile ways of pushing back." After announcing that she would not be running for California governor in 2026, former Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on CBS's "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert. In her interview on July 31, Harris told Colbert, "Recently, I made the decision that, for now, I don't want to go back into the system. I think it's broken." Padilla agreed, in part, with Harris' take, saying, "I think the system is under duress." "Democrats are doing our part to try to stand up and push back," he added.
