Elbahran.net Thick, toxic smog has once again enveloped northern India and eastern Pakistan just days before the start of Diwali, a Hindu festival typically celebrated with fireworks that each year sends air quality plummeting.

The air quality index in the Indian capital of Delhi was roughly 250 on Monday morning, after days in the “very unhealthy” zone above 200, according to IQAir, which tracks global air quality.

In the Pakistani city of Lahore, roughly 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Indian border, air quality surpassed a “hazardous” 500 on Monday – almost 65 times the World Health Organization’s guidelines for healthy air – making it the most polluted city in the world at the time of the ranking, according to IQAir.

Air quality across the region is set to worsen as winter smog season approaches, when an ominous yellow haze blankets the skies due to farmers burning agricultural waste, coal-fired power plants, traffic and windless winter days.

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is set to begin Thursday – a five day celebration during which people gather with their families, feast and set off firecrackers, in some cases in defiance of local bans, further exacerbating air pollution.

Dystopian scenes of orange haze and buildings enveloped by fog emerge each year as smog season dominates the news, raising alarm as doctors warn of the risk of respiratory diseases and impacts on life expectancy. India’s air pollution has been found to be so bad, that experts have warned smog could take years off the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

Residents and experts have long questioned why India has failed to curb air pollution, as Delhi and its neighboring states butt heads over who is really to blame.

Delhi had banned the use and sale of firecrackers ahead of Diwali, but the policy has been difficult to implement.

Last week, India’s Supreme Court condemned governments of the Punjab and Haryana states for failing to crack down on illegal stubble burning, the practice whereby farmers set crop waste on fire to clear fields. Local officials claim they have reduced the practice significantly in recent years.

The Indian government also launched its nationwide Clean Air Programme in 2019, ushering in strategies across 24 states and union territories to reduce particulate matter concentration, a term for air pollutants, by 40% by 2026. The measures include cracking down on coal-based power plants, setting up air monitoring systems and banning burning of biomass.

Officials have also begun sprinkling water on roads and even inducing artificial rainfall to combat air pollution in the Indian capital, though experts say these are band-aid solutions that fail to address the underlying issues.

Some Indian cities have seen improvements in their air quality, according to government data, but progress has been slow.

Between 2018 and 2022, New Delhi’s average PM2.5 concentration (a measure of pollutants in the air) for the month of November, when the pollution season typically begins, more or less stayed the same, according to IQAir.

Experts in the past have questioned whether India has the political will to combat pollution.

“There is not one party that has put its head down and said, ‘we are sickening the entire country and let’s fix it,’” Jyoti Pande Lavakare, founder of clean air non-profit Care for Air told CNN last year.

Elbahrain.net Donald Trump anchored his bid to win a second White House term next week on searing anti-migrant fear at a rally at Madison Square Garden, doubling down on his promise for a massive deportation program on Day 1 to reverse an “immigrant invasion.”

The huge rally was billed as the launch of the final stage of Trump’s bid to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in American political history after trying to overturn the result of the last election and leaving office in disgrace in 2021. Before he spoke, some of the ex-president’s top supporters flung race-based and vulgar rhetoric. Former congressional candidate David Rem called Harris the “antichrist” and “the devil,” while others lashed out at Hillary Clinton, “illegals” and homeless people. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”

The Trump campaign later disavowed the line, with spokesperson Danielle Alvarez saying in a statement to CNN, “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Much of Trump’s speech brimmed with falsehoods and exaggerations. It was exactly the kind of rhetoric that the Harris campaign believes could prompt moderate voters and disaffected Republicans to choose the vice president. But it also represents a bet from the Republican nominee that he can drive out a huge base turnout and activate voters who don’t normally cast ballots but who agree with his hardline politics.

If nothing else, it clarified the choice that voters face in the coming days, as Harris promises Americans they can move on from Trump’s extreme behavior that tested the rule of law and constitutional constraints on presidents during his first term.

The ex-president’s blistering anti-migrant rhetoric ranks alongside the most flagrant demagoguery by a major figure in any Western nation since World War II. But it was also complemented by a sharp economic argument that represented the second leg of Trump’s closing pitch and targeted the frustration of many Americans who are struggling with high grocery prices despite cooling inflation.

“If Kamala Harris gets four more years, our economy can never recover. If I win, we will quickly build the greatest economy in the history of world,” he said.

The former president rooted his first presidential campaign in 2016 on inflammatory rhetoric about Mexican migrants. Eight years later, he is suggesting that migrants are directly to blame for citizens’ economic frustrations, in a conceit that has been used by far-right leaders throughout history.

A nation on edge
Trump’s dark appearance cranked up the palpable sense of tension blanketing the country a week before an election that may represent a national turning point. Supporters of each candidate harbor a sense of dread about what happens if their nominee loses, in a showdown that has highlighted two irreconcilable visions of the future — and what it means to be an American. The warnings from Trump that he envisages a presidency of all but unchecked power dedicated to “retribution” are bolstering a sense that a fateful moment is at hand.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz drew an allusion between Trump’s downtown Manhattan rally and a notorious 1939 pro-Nazi gathering at the previous arena on the same site, as Democrats now openly brand the ex-president as a “fascist.” The Minnesota governor said: “There’s a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the mid-1930s at Madison Square Garden … and don’t think that he doesn’t know for one second exactly what they’re doing there.”

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 27, 2024.

Both candidates are plunging into the final week of the campaign with polls showing a tied-up race in the swing states and nationally. The election is already underway, with 40 million Americans having voted early in person or by mail. The CNN Poll of Polls shows no clear leader nationally with Harris at 48% and Trump at 47%. The race will be decided across battlegrounds including the “blue wall” states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as the Sun Belt states of North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. The result could hinge on mere tens of thousands of votes, potentially setting the stage for tense counts over several days that will only fuel fears of a disputed election.

Harris plans her own closing argument — for a symbolic spot on Tuesday
Early voting explains why Harris will make her closing argument a full week ahead of Election Day, with a rally Tuesday evening on the Ellipse in Washington. The symbolism will be acute since it’s the site of Trump’s infamous gathering on January 6, 2021, when he told his crowd to “fight like hell” or they wouldn’t have a country before his mob smashed into the US Capitol to try to subvert the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. Harris’ rally will provide an emphatic exclamation point for an increasingly important theme of her campaign — that Trump represents an existential threat to American democracy.

That message was at the center of Biden’s campaign until he folded his reelection bid in July. Harris didn’t prioritize the same theme initially, but she’s increasingly warming to it. But some Democrats worry that the American people are more interested in how she can quickly improve their economic circumstances. “How effective is attacking Trump for being a fascist? This topic is not as persuasive as contrast messages featuring Harris’s economic plans, and her promise to protect reproductive rights,” read an October 25 email from Future Forward, the top super PAC supporting the Harris campaign, sent to Democrats that was first reported by The New York Times and obtained by CNN on Sunday.

Trump has in recent days played into claims by Democrats and Kelly that he is an aspiring authoritarian.

That left GOP vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, seeking to cherry-pick and redefine the ex-president’s on-the-record comments and blaming the media for reporting exactly what his boss has said. Vance insisted in a fiery interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday that ex-president had not been referring to political opponents when he openly considered turning the military and the National Guard on the “enemy from within.” Trump, however, had however previously clarified he was talking about people such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Rep. Adam Schiff.

Jake Tapper and JD Vance have fiery exchange over Trump’s ‘enemy within’ remarks

“We’re going to do it — victory runs through Philly and it runs through Pennsylvania,” Harris said.

The vice president is also targeting another constituency that could help her to the White House — women voters, as she tries to harness the already significant gender gap to her advantage. She appeared in Michigan on Saturday with Michelle Obama — a reluctant political figure who nevertheless is hugely popular among Democrats. In a powerful speech, the former first lady did not just appeal to women, but to the “the men who love us” — warning that Trump’s history of building the conservative Supreme Court that overturned the federal right to an abortion would have grave implications for women’s health.

“Please, please do not hand our fates over to the likes of Trump, who knows nothing about us, who has shown deep contempt for us,” Obama said. “Because a vote for him is a vote against us, against our health, against our worth.”

Palmer promises to remain

Palmer promises to remain grounded despite the statement, “A reason why people pay.”

Football fans, with the possible exception of purists, do not attend games to see low defensive blocks or zonal marking.

They travel to see goals, be amused, and experience magical moments. They travel to see Cole Palmer and other players.

“It is the reason why people pay,”.

Stated Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca following Palmer’s dazzling performance in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle.

“We are thrilled to have him here, and they want to see that kind of talent.”

The England attacker continued his stellar play this season by scoring the game-winning goal.

Despite the fact that this was his seventh goal in nine Premier League games.

The 22-year-old received further recognition for more than just his excellent finish.

Rather, Pedro Neto was sent away down the flank to assist Nicolas Jackson’s.

First-half goal with a spectacular 60-yard ball from within his own half.

Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool defender, exclaimed.

“This pass of nearly 60 yards is one of the best passes I have seen, never mind this season, but in the Premier League.”

“Just on a plate for Neto after removing two or three Newcastle players.”

Roy Keane, a former midfielder for Manchester United, continued: “I enjoy seeing this youngster.

“Even when he gets the ball, he is fully aware of what is going on.

Yet he executes the pass flawlessly—you just run, and he will pick you out.”

Palmer on the Zola comparison: “He is an icon on Fifa.”
Chelsea icon Gianfranco Zola attended Palmer’s performance at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

In a pregame interview, the former Italy forward mentioned that he appreciated the current Blues hero’s remarkable game awareness.

“The first thing I notice is that he is already looking to do what is next when he gets the ball,” Zola stated.

“Only a select few players has such quality.”

This observation was strongly supported by Palmer’s outstanding ball to Neto.

Sometimes it is easy to forget how young he is.

Palmer, 22, would have only been a few months old when Zola was playing for Chelsea, so it is understandable that he could not have been too aware with the Italian’s skill. For example, he claimed he “did not really watch” Dennis Bergkamp after being compared to the legendary Arsenal player.

Palmer remarked of Zola, “I know he is an icon on [the video game] Fifa so he must have been good.”

Sincerely, I did not pay much attention to him play. He was a fantastic player, according to everyone, so thank you.”

“I try not to put myself under strain.”

Palmer receives accolades for his goals or a display of amazing skill almost every week.

There are a lot of expectations placed on a player who would surely have slumps in his play throughout his career.

He recorded an amazing 22 goals and 11 assists in his first Premier League season with Chelsea last season.

Palmer took a little while to get going, though, scoring three goals in his first nine Premier League appearances as opposed to seven this time. Nevertheless, he is committed to maintaining perspective despite the potential.

He remarked, “I always try to enjoy my football game by game,” “I make an effort not to put myself under strain.

“There is a lot of external pressure on me to duplicate my performance from the previous season in terms of numbers. I have only been playing football for two seasons, and I am still really young.

Palmer is more concerned with giving Chelsea his best effort because their most recent victory puts them just one point behind Aston Villa and Arsenal in the top four.

“We simply attempt to ignore the outside noise and play our own game. We have no problem proving others incorrect,” he continued.

“Even though we have a great coach and are all young, we can still do better.”