Thursday, November 5, 2026

Weeks before expiry of Ganga Water Treaty, MEA says ‘structured mechanism’ remains in place for pact

 Weeks before the expiry of the Ganga Water Treaty in December, the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday (November 3, 2026) reiterated that India and Bangladesh have a “structured mechanism” to deal with the treaty’s requirements. Addressing the bi-weekly media briefing, MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated that India has invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to visit New Delhi but that there is neither any “update” on the treaty’s renewal nor on the dates for the trip.

“Between India and Bangladesh, we have a Joint Rivers Commission which is the structured mechanism for discussion on all cross-boundary rivers, including the Ganga,” said Mr. Jaiswal, adding that India wishes to have a “positive relationship” with Bangladesh.

Three-decade old arrangement

The bilateral Ganga Water Treaty is set to expire on December 12. The treaty was signed in 1996 between India and Bangladesh when Sheikh Hasina of Awami League became Bangladesh’s Prime Minister for the first time. The three-decade old agreement for river water sharing requires expert-level and political consultations for renewing the pact.

It is understood that since the treaty was signed at the level of Prime Ministers (Ms. Hasina and then Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda), a renewal of the agreement would happen at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. However, Mr. Rahman who has visited China, Japan, Malaysia and the United States so far, has not yet responded to the invites from India though he was invited to both bilateral and multilateral events during the BRICS Summit in New Delhi in September.

“As far as India-Bangladesh relationship is concerned we want to work towards a positive, forward looking and constructive relation,” said Mr. Jaiswal reiterating India’s invites to Prime Minister Rahman. Diplomatic sources from the Bangladeshi side had informed earlier that they are expecting an automatic short-term renewal of the treaty after the expiry on December 12, though the Indian officials have not indicated at that till now.

Mr. Jaiswal also took note of the protests by the readymade garment industry workers in Bangladesh who have been hitting the streets demanding fair wages as the country faces high inflation and electricity crisis. “Yes, we have been following the situation in Bangladesh. There have been developments there and we will continue to follow the developments,” he said in response to a question on the protests by the workers in the garments sector.

Message from Maung Zarni

 We have all experienced a sigh of relief worldwide - that there is a resounding popular rebuke by the American voters against Donald Trump’s dictatorial presidency and maniacal, incompetent AND criminal policies, both at home and globally.

Trump’s predicament is similar to a cornered, bruised animal that found itself in a hole. Trump’s apparent mental incapacity to reflect on the instrumental role he has put himself - and his own self-inflicted wounds makes him unpredictably dangerous.

US President Donald J. Trump is a certifiably mentally ill man, surrounded by equally sociopathic deputies who talk about intentionally destroying the lives of millions of fellow humans, be they Iranians, Cubans, Yemenese, Russians, or what have you.

Americans, liberals, conservatives and middle-roaders, travel the world lecturing non-Americans, including Europeans, about their (presumed) institutional superiority - “representative” and “constitutional” regimes endowed with their absolutist Free Speech (all but Palestine)

In essence - and in fact - the United States is a democratic monarchy - an oxymoron, I know - with the increasingly powerful President, dictating war and peace in global affairs.

The two other institutions, theoretically speaking, envisaged as part of the “checks and balances” against the singular domination of one branch of power, are also fundamentally DEFECTIVE.

The US Supreme Court, that for over a century considered the enslavement of Africans (and their descendents) “lawful” (and in sync with Christian moral sentiments) has always been stacked invariably with ideologues in black robes, operating under the venerated legalese and an elaborate - and often mindless - system of logics.

The highest bench in US judicial system is also plagued by four further cancers: first, the so-called “legal originalism” that shares similarly anachronistic characteristics with the much-derided Sharia Laws of Islam; second, the presidentially hand-picked black-robed ideologues who more or less vote or rule along party or ideological lines; third, the Pavlovian American faith in the absolutist legalism; and fourth and finally, these ideological men (and now women) in black robes are appointed for life, a scenario far more concerning and nefarious than how former Soviet polit-bureaus functioned.

[Soviets with revolutionary minds proved far more peaceful, wise and institutionally wise than American democrat. They let go of their declining Empire of the Left without threatening to nuke half-the-world, despite that USSR had the world’s largest quantity of nuclear warheads.]

Now on the other check, namely the US federal legislature.

The direct representatives seated in the bicameral Congress is nothing more than the manifestation of “One Dollar, One Vote” system while its world class educational institutions brainwash generations of elite American students that voting to change their regimes (federal and state levels) is more desirable and effective than a proper and essential revolution.

Even Thomas Jefferson recognised the periodic needs for revolutions, really a variation of Mao’s “permanent revolution.”

That Elon Musk alone spent over $470 million to put the Right Wing (read Fascist) politicians in office at both federal and state levels speaks volumes about America as the best democracy money can buy. That the vile S. African tech-oligarch failed in his last round of procurement of politicians as the moneyed class’s pimps in no way negates the underlying ugly facts about “democracy in America”.

To compound the existing structural defects of the American system of government is the following: early Americans of Jeffersonian generation did not have to contend with the excessive moneyed-power of the “military-industrial” complex and its institutional twin, the so-called Deep State. Even ex-General and President Eisenhower, who coined the above-memorable phrase, in the mid-1950’s did not foresee the phenomenal rise of the Silicon Valley oligarchs with coterminously Fascistic and Zionist leanings.

Generally speaking, the kingly presidents of the United States at best resent the Constitutional constraints placed on him - no, her in the 250-years of its republican history and at worst strive to work around the institutional checks and balances.

While the legislature in Washington is vested with the authority to declare wars Presidents have resorted to the linguistic manipulations whenever these monarchical men decide to wage foreign wars of aggression, typically sold as “self-defence”, pre-emptive or preventative. Vietnam and Iran are most conspicuous cases of American war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Amongst the less evil deeds by US Presidents are missile strikes (that is, a war crime) against civilian infrastructure, say, in Yemen, or killing scores of wedding goers or funeral attendees in pursuit of “a terrorist suspect”, usually in Muslim communities around the world. And it is not uncommon for US monarchical presidents using wars, organised violence, special operations on other peoples’ soils in order to bolster their sagging approval ratings or divert American public attention from sex or corruption scandals. Even the “Black Messiah” (Barack Obama) reportedly went over the “kill list” routinely over his daily White House breakfast. All you need to be deemed a subject worthy of CIA assassination or the Pentagon’s missile or drone strike is to simply be “suspected” of being a terrorist. The much-touted legal principle of “presumed innocent, until proven guilty” is not something that American presidents extend to human beings as a universal category.

I for one do NOT pop my champagne last night over the Blue Tsunami. For the Old Congress, now manned and woman-ed by a significant % of electoral losers, can still press on with their Neanderthal legislative agenda, for the next 2 months, until January 2027.

As for the lame-duck President who found himself in the deep hole of Israel-led US war of choice against Iran, well, he has two more years to continue to wreck the global economy, singularly reliant on fossil fuel. Trump has no bright future in office where his wings are already clipped by the American voters, including those amongst angry and destitute MAGA base. Whether he acknowledges it or not, Trump is going down in US Presidential history as the worst POTUS.

Anything Trump (like Bush or Clinton) is now toxic and pathogenic. Even his senior sycophantic deputies will get their knives out, to stab him openly. For in power politics (as opposed to politics as public service), no human is indispensable. Of all the people, Trump KNOWS this immutable fact.

I am not getting my hopes up - that the democracy in America is being revived - simply because Trump has been rebuked.

The institutional defects, coupled with the two combined forces of the Deep State and the Military-Industrial-Zionist Complex, will hamper severely any attempt by the newly elected American politicians to make America democratic and republican - not again, but for the first time in its 250-years of history.

Have a great day!

Zarni

Hong Kong Court Sentences Pro-Democracy Activist Joshua Wong to 10 Years in Prison in National Security Law Case

 (LONDON, November 5, 2026)—Hong Kong authorities should immediately and unconditionally release pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, 30, following his sentencing today to an additional 10 years in prison, Fortify Rights said. The sentence is yet another grave injustice that demands widespread condemnation by the international community.

“Joshua Wong has already spent much of his youth in prison, and now he faces much of his future unjustly imprisoned,” said Benedict Rogers, Senior Director at Fortify Rights. “In this politically-motivated case, he is the only Hong Kong pro-democracy activist to be prosecuted twice under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law, simply for leading peaceful protests and exercising his basic right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly to urge the Chinese Communist Party to uphold its promises to respect human rights and allow greater democratic participation in Hong Kong. This sentence is a travesty of justice.”
Mr. Wong, who began his activism as a teenager at the age of 14 as the co-founder of a student movement against the introduction of pro-Beijing propaganda in Hong Kong’s schools, became one of the most internationally-respected leaders of Hong Kong’s democracy movement during protests in 2014 and 2019. In 2016 he helped to found the pro-democracy Demosistō party, which was forced to disband after the introduction of the National Security Law in 2020.

He has already served over 2,100 days in prison on multiple charges, and marked his 30th birthday in prison last month. He is already serving a prison sentence of four years and eight months for “conspiracy to commit subversion” and was originally due for release in January 2027, but was charged for a second time in June 2025 under the National Security Law with the crime of “conspiring to collude with foreign forces”. He pleaded guilty to this charge in September.
 
Before his arrest and imprisonment, Mr. Wong travelled internationally and met political leaders in Washington, DC, London, and other capitals, including the current United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he served in the Senate, and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. He appeared on the front cover of TIME magazine, spoke to international media, and was the subject of a major award-winning Netflix documentary, Joshua: Teenager vs Superpower, first released in 2017.
 
Mr. Wong’s prosecution and sentencing is the latest in a series of violations by China of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, an international treaty registered at the United Nations and signed in 1984 to pave the way for the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom and China in 1997. In the Joint Declaration, China promised to uphold basic human rights and freedoms, the rule of law and a high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong for at least fifty years from the handover, therefore until 2047. In recent years, and particularly since the introduction of the National Security Law in 2020, China has repeatedly breached the Joint Declaration and dismantled Hong Kong’s basic human rights, imprisoning hundreds of peaceful political activists, including media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, sentenced to 20 years in prison earlier this year, barrister Chow Hang-tung, trade unionist Lee Cheuk-yan, solicitor Albert Ho, and other elected legislators, lawyers, journalists, students, academics, civil society representatives and human rights defenders.
 
This unjust sentence is also a violation of Hong Kong’s own mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, which protects the right to freedom of expression and assembly.
 
Article 27 of the Basic Law states that: “Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration; and the right and freedom to form and join trade unions, and to strike.”
 
Article 39 of the Basic Law incorporates the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and states that these “shall remain in force and shall be implemented through the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”.
 
Furthermore, Articles 45 and 68 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law offer the prospect of universal suffrage in elections for the legislature and the Chief Executive.
 
Mr. Wong has been prosecuted and imprisoned simply for exercising his freedom of speech, association, assembly, procession and demonstration, in pursuit of calls for the establishment of universal suffrage.
 
Fortify Rights urges the international community to condemn the severe sentence imposed on Mr. Wong today, and to demand his immediate and unconditional release.
“Joshua Wong has committed no crime. On the contrary, he is a courageous, peaceful and inspiring young man who has sacrificed so much of his youth in pursuit of the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights,” said Benedict Rogers. “He has merely called on Beijing to uphold its promises set out in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law, and exercised his right to meet foreign political leaders in order to brief them on the threats to human rights in Hong Kong. That deserves respect, not imprisonment, and he should be freed without delay.”

Message from Electronic Intifada

 The Electronic Intifada is hosting a livestream today, 5 November 2026.

1700 UTC / 1900 Palestine time / 2000 Amman / 1700 UK / 1800 CET / 12 pm ET / 11 am CT / 9 am PT

Israel is bringing its “Gaza strategy” of mass destruction and forced displacement to the occupied West Bank, most recently in a 10-day assault on Hebron that drove thousands of Palestinians from their homes.

On today’s show, we speak with journalist Zena Al Tahhan, who has been reporting from Hebron, about the devastation left behind and what displaced families face as they return.

We’ll also discuss Israeli settler terror against Palestinian olive harvesters, whether Israel’s election results offer Palestinians any prospect of change and escalating Israeli attacks on journalists and diplomats.

Jon Elmer reports on the latest developments in the Strait of Hormuz, where oil tankers are being targeted daily and Iranian air defenses have shot down multiple US MQ–9 Reaper drones.

Nora Barrows-Friedman brings the latest news from Palestine, including Israel’s attacks on displaced families and schools in Gaza and escalating settler violence in the West Bank, as well as international dockworkers’ strikes and divestment victories in the US.

Roqayah Chamseddine reports from Lebanon on Israel’s continuing attacks in the south.

Join Jon, Nora, Ali Abunimah and Tamara Nassar for all this and more.

Thank you for reading, listening to and sharing all our original news and analysis at The Electronic Intifada.

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

US's first Muslim senator is Karnataka's (formerly Mysore) son-in-law

 

  • First Muslim Senator: Democrat Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate seat, making history in the November 3 midterms.
  • Karnataka Connection: His wife, Dr. Sarah Jukaku, is the granddaughter of JH Shamsuddin Jukaku, a former Mysore State deputy finance minister from Bhatkal, Karnataka.
  • Family Legacy & Migration: Shamsuddin's family contributed to local infrastructure and education; his descendants moved to the US, where Sarah met El-Sayed at the University of Michigan, linking US politics with Indian heritage.

The US has elected its first-ever Muslim Senator. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has made history by winning the Michigan Senate seat as part of the November 3 midterms, which saw a blue wave sweep across the nation. What is not that well known, though, is his connection to Karnataka. His wife, Dr Sarah Jukaku, is the granddaughter of a former minister in the erstwhile Mysore State Government.

Sarah's family traces its roots to Bhatkal, a coastal town in Karnataka's Uttara Kannada district, around 140 km north of Mangaluru. Her grandfather, JH Shamsuddin Jukaku, was a prominent lawyer, educator and politician who served as deputy finance minister in the erstwhile Mysore State government in the 1950s.

For context, the Mysore State was formed when the Kingdom Of Mysore was incorporated into the Republic of India in 1950. It was enlarged as part of the States Reorganisation Act on November 1, 1956, and was officially renamed Karnataka in November 1973.

WHO WAS JH SHAMSUDDIN JUKAKU?

JH Shamsuddin Jukaku was a prominent lawyer and public figure from Bhatkal, belonging to the Nawayath Muslim community. They are an ancient Muslim merchant community, mostly from the Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq, which settled in the coastal towns of southern India over the last 600 years.

According to a report in The Indian Express, Shamsuddin was the first person to qualify as a lawyer and later be elected as a minister from his community.

He was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1946 and later represented the Honnavar constituency in the Mysore Legislative Assembly, winning elections in 1957 and 1962. In 1958, he became deputy minister for finance in the government led by Chief Minister BD Jatti. He subsequently served as deputy minister for electricity under Chief Minister S Nijalingappa.

In an American Bazaar report published on October 10, residents of Shamsuddin's hometown, Bhatkal, credited him with helping bring electricity and other essential infrastructure to Bhatkal and surrounding areas. He was also closely associated with Anjuman Hami-e-Muslimeen, a charitable trust that runs educational institutions in the town.

Mohammed Tanveer Kasarkod, a Bhatkal-based engineer familiar with the family's history, told The American Bazaar that Shamsuddin became a lawyer at a time when access to education was limited.

For decades, a prominent intersection in Bhatkal was known as Shamsuddin Circle, named after him. Although the structure at the junction was later demolished during road development, its name continues to be associated with the former minister.

Shamsuddin died at the age of 52, leaving behind six daughters and four sons. His family subsequently moved to different parts of India, with several members settling in Bengaluru.

FROM BHATKAL TO THE US

One of Shamsuddin's sons, Dr Jukaku S Tayeb, was among those who moved out of Bhatkal for better opportunities.

A nephrologist, Tayeb graduated from Bangalore Medical College in 1976. According to The American Bazaar, he worked in Saudi Arabia before moving to the US in the 1980s.

He completed his residency in internal medicine at Bon Secours Hospital in Michigan between 1984 and 1987, followed by a nephrology fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital from 1987 to 1989. He subsequently established a medical practice in the Detroit area.

Sarah was born and raised in Michigan in an Indian immigrant family. Although she grew up in the US, her father made conscious efforts to keep his children connected to their ancestral roots, ensuring they visited Bengaluru and Bhatkal.

According to The American Bazaar, the family also maintained connections with Coorg, while several members of the extended family eventually settled in Bengaluru.

HOW SARAH JUKAKU MET ABDUL EL-SAYED

Sarah attended the University of Michigan, where she met El-Sayed. The two were associated with the university's Muslim Students' Association and married in May 2006.

According to The American Bazaar, Sarah was 19 and El-Sayed was 21 when they married.

Sarah went on to pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford before earning her medical degree from Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2015. She subsequently built a career in psychiatry and also held a leadership position in psychiatry at University of Michigan Health, according to the publication.

El-Sayed has spoken publicly about his connection to his wife's Indian heritage.

At a gathering marking Pakistan's Independence Day on August 23, he described Sarah as desi, a term commonly used for people of South Asian heritage, and said she was from the other side of the Partition line, reported The American Bazaar.

In another interview, he spoke humorously about his familiarity with South Indian culture after nearly two decades of marriage.

"Listen, I've been married in a South Indian family for 20 years, like... I am well inducted now. You know, I might be more Indian than I am Arab," he said.

In another remark, he described himself as being surrounded by desi women, referring to his wife and their two daughters.

For Bhatkal, El-Sayed's election has brought renewed attention to a family whose roots run deep in the coastal town. While the new senator's political career has been built in the US, his marriage to Sarah Jukaku connects him to a family that produced a MLA and a minister in post-Independence India.

Vance says the ‘real reason’ for GOP rout was anger over Iran war

 Hours after Democrats routed Republicans in the midterm elections, Vice President JD Vance blamed his party’s losses on Americans’ frustration over the U.S. war with Iran, which has driven up oil prices at a time when costs are already high.

“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance said in a lengthy post on X.

“If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so,” Vance wrote. “Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest,” Vance added. “But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”

The vice president, a potential GOP 2028 presidential contender, cited an unnamed pollster whom he called “one of the smartest people I know in politics” who told Vance on Tuesday that in his polling, voters identified four top issues that they said Republicans would need to address to win back their support.

Follow live updates on the midterm elections

Vance said they included ending the war on Iran, focusing on the cost of living and inflation, putting America first, and changing the U.S. relationship with Israel.

“Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats,” Vance said. “This is according to a pollster who nailed the results.”

Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that the war was a factor in Republicans losing seats.

“Iran was a piece of it,” Trump said, defending the decision to launch the conflict. “I don’t think about it. I did the right thing. I would have done it again.”

The president had spent the final weeks on the campaign trail highlighting the Iran war, claiming that the U.S. would make a deal soon with Tehran and that gas prices would come down quickly. In an interview on Fox News on Monday, Trump said, “When was the last time we fired anything? This isn’t a war. This is a very soft war.”

“We’re knocking the hell out of them. As soon as the war ends, fuel prices are going to drop like a rock,” he also said in an interview on a Kansas City radio show in late October.

The U.S. attack on Iran first began with strikes on the country, in collaboration with Israel, in late February. The president has said for months since that the war would end soon. He said over the last week that he had no immediate plans to strike Iran after the election.

Trump had reiterated in the numerous rallies leading up to the election that the president’s party has historically suffered during midterm elections.

While Trump partially blamed Tuesday’s outcome on the war, he suggested that most of all, it was because he himself was not on the ballot, despite telling voters to “pretend” he was. NBC News’ exit polling, however, showed deep dissatisfaction with Trump’s policies among voters.

“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday night. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Letter from Bethlehem: Mazin Qumsiyeh

 Posted at  https://popular-resistance.blogspot.com/2026/11/the-agenda-after-elections.html


A major election victory for democrats in the US and a rebuke for the policies of the genocidal Epstein class of Trump and company. Big loss for the Zionist lobby. But the Democratic Party leadership which is in congress had supported the AIPAC candidates who lost like the nutty woman from Michigan. The new progressives in Congress must insist to either get rid of Chuck Schumer (Senate - Zionist bought) and Hakim Jeffries (House – Zionist bought) or that these “leaders” adopt a real progressive agenda as demanded by people like Bernie Sanders and the newly elected dozens of progressives in Congress. Now Congress must act to reflect the will of voters (and Congress does have powers to impeach, power of the purse, power of legislation). I am a US citizen who supported progressive candidates who put US interests first. All who voted for the change must not rest now. They must INUNDATE ALL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS (democrats, Republicans, others) demanding the following:

-Cut military spending by at least 30% which would sufficient to begin to reduce the unsustainable $40+ trillion national debt, would support an economic rejuvenation in the US, universal health care (see Scandinavian countries for models), repairing ailing pubic infrastructure, have affordable higher education and much more

-Seriously address climate change that is getting us to the brink of a global catastrophe now (and reverse Trump’s policies that called climate change a hoax and caused so much health impact)

-Stop extortion of other states with Tariffs that increase cost of living and build US businesses to be competitive (e.g, Green technologies)

-Impeach officials starting with Hegseth and Robert G Kennedy Jr (hundreds of thousands of lives lost on their hands).

-Dismantle the militia known as ICE

-Support a wealth tax. Billionaires (and musk is a trillionaire) did not get this way by their work but by money making money that is not taxed. Capital gain tax should be at least 50% for those who have a net worth of over $10 million

-Release all Epstein files without any redactions! Then hold the pedophiles including Trump and Bill Clinton to account!

-FBI should create a task force to find all the other ‘Epsteins’ out there especially when they work for foreign governments like Israel.

-The Leahy law that says we must not support human rights violators (like ‘Saudi Arabia’ and Egyptian governments) must be enforced

-AIPAC and other similar entities serving foreign interests must be investigated for meddling in US elections and if allowed to continue to operate must register as a foreign lobby

-Stope the ongoing genocide and investigate and prosecute US officials who were partners in the genocide in Palestine, in the illegal wars on Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Nigeria etc.

-End the illegal blockade on Cuba and Iran

-Release the illegally abducted president of Venezuela and his wife and expose the extortion racket that enriched Trump’s family and friends from the oil of Venezuela.

- Hold accountable those responsible for the murder of boaters in the Caribbean (extrajudicial executions).

-End the persecution and harassment of human rights defenders opposing genocide on college campuses and in US cities (and punish the perpetrators).

-Repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force and the Patriot Act to restore people’s rights.

European, Gulf and other Governments that thought that gaining favor in Washington comes through Tel Aviv now got a big wake-up call from these elections (case study Abdul in Michigan). We must now accelerate boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (bdsmovement.net) like we did with South Africa. The public should also hold the complicit corporate media for hiding information and lying about all these things.

Mazin Qumsiyeh

Weeks before expiry of Ganga Water Treaty, MEA says ‘structured mechanism’ remains in place for pact

  Weeks before the expiry of the Ganga Water Treaty in December, the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday (November 3, 2026) reiterated t...