A group of Republican senators, led by Marco Rubio, have written to President Joe Biden, calling for a ban on travel between the United States and China until more is known about a respiratory illness that has been rapidly spreading in the Asian country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has requested that China furnish comprehensive information concerning a recent spike in respiratory illnesses and pneumonia clusters among children.

“Dear Mr President, in light of an unknown respiratory illness spreading throughout the People’s Republic of China (PRC), we call on you to immediately restrict travel between the United States and the PRC. As you know, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a long history of lying about public health crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CCP’s obfuscation of the truth, and lack of transparency, robbed the United States of vital knowledge about the disease and its origin,” the letter from Senators Rubio, JD Vance, Rick Scott, Tommy Tuberville, and Mike Braun.

We asked Biden to ban travel to and from China until we know more about this “mystery pneumonia” outbreak https://t.co/eeufkufVII

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 1, 2023

Throughout the Covid pandemic, the WHO repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of openness and collaboration demonstrated by Chinese authorities in their handling of the pandemic.

“We should not wait for the WHO to take action given its track record of slavish deference to the CCP. We must take the necessary steps to protect the health of Americans, and our economy. That means we should immediately restrict travel between the United States and China until we know more about the dangers posed by this new illness. A ban on travel now could save our country from death, lockdowns, mandates, and further outbreaks later,” the letter added.

The senators defended former US President Donald Trump’s decision to restrict travel from China to the United States in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel ban, which was implemented on January 31 2020, was met with criticism from many, who accused Trump of “xenophobia” and “discrimination”, the letter claims.

However, the Senators argued that the travel ban was the right decision.

“History and common sense show his decision was the right one,” the letter reads.

What China Says 

Addressing concerns surrounding a recent rise in respiratory illnesses in China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi asserted that it is a prevalent global issue and that Chinese authorities are effectively managing the situation.

“Recently we have seen some clusters of flu cases among children in certain parts of China. In fact, that is a very common phenomenon in many countries, and in China that has been put under effective control,” Mr Wang said as quoted by news agency AFP. “China’s interactions with the international community will not be affected by any factors, and we welcome more visits from friends from across the world.”
 

Just hours before Telangana went to polls, Andhra Pradesh took charge of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and began releasing water, leading to tensions between the two states. At around 2 am on Thursday, when most Telangana officials were busy with the polls, nearly 700 Andhra cops stormed into the project and opened the right canal to release 500 cusecs of Krishna water per hour.

“We are releasing water from Nagarjunasagar right canal on Krishna river for the drinking water purposes,” Andhra Pradesh state irrigation minister Ambati Rambabu posted a cryptic message on X on Thursday morning.

But the minister then clarified that they have only taken water that belongs to the state according to the treaty between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

“We have not flouted any treaty. 66% of Krishna water belongs to Andhra Pradesh and 34% to Telangana. We have not used even a single drop of water that does not belong to us. We tried to open our canal in our territory. This water is rightfully ours,” Mr Rambabu told the media.

With tensions flaring, the Centre has stepped in and urged both states to revert to the release of Nagarjuna Sagar waters as of November 28. The proposal was made by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla during a video conference with Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Both states have agreed to the plan.

To avoid further conflict, the dam will be supervised by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) which will also oversee that both sides are getting water as per the deal.

The incident came to light on Thursday when Telangana Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari alleged that about 500 armed policemen from Andhra Pradesh came to Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and damaged the CCTV cameras and released about 5,000 cusecs of water by opening the head regulators located at gate number 5 and 7.

The move by Andhra Pradesh created “law and order issues” in Telangana subsequently, when polling for the state assembly elections was going on, she said, expressing concern that it would seriously disrupt the drinking water supply of two crore people of Hyderabad and surrounding areas.

Two cases were registered against Andhra Police in Nalgonda district of Telangana.

In 2015, the Andhra Police had made a similar effort to barge into the dam, but Telangana security forces rushed to the spot and prevented the attempt.

Three Khalistan extremists have been sentenced for the attempted murder of popular Auckland-based radio host Harnek Singh, who has been vocal against the ideology of Khalistan, The Australia Today reported.

Sarvjeet Sidhu, aged 27, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, while Sukhpreet Singh, aged 44, was found guilty of being an accessory. The third individual, a 48-year-old Auckland resident with interim name suppression, planned the attack, harbouring resentment against Harnek Singh for his vocal opposition to the separatist movement, The Australia Today reported, citing NZ Herald.

During the hearing, Judge Mark Woolford emphasised the need for community protection and a strong deterrence against religious fanaticism.

The attack occurred on December 23, 2020, when Harnek Singh was ambushed by a group of religious extremists in his driveway. He suffered over 40 stab wounds and required more than 350 stitches and multiple surgeries to recover.

Judge Woolford remarked, “It bears all the hallmarks of religious fanaticism. … Sentencing in this context requires a different approach. The emphasis must be placed on protecting the community from further violence and it is essential to send a strong message of deterrence to others.”

Harnek Singh, also known as Nekki, had been followed by three cars full of men before the attackers stabbed him “within an inch of his life.” He managed to lock the door of his vehicle and attract neighbours’ attention by sounding the horn, preventing potential bleeding to death from the extensive stab wounds, according to The Australia Today.

Earlier, Avtar Singh, a former bodybuilder, told the court he used to be friends with the man with name suppression, however, he soon stopped associating with the man whom he labelled a “thug” and “mafia” in 2018. “He has a way around people, especially broken people,” Singh said.

Avtar’s friend Baljinder told the court he’d been asked to kill Harnek, but declined. He added that on December 23, Jaspal Singh rang him, “Job is done, he’s no longer going to be on the radio.”

According to the report, there is a 48-year-old defendant (with interim name suppression) who was not present at the time of the attack. This man, the court was told, harboured a years-long resentment against Hranek Singh as the popular Kiwi radio host was vocal against the Khalistan.

“Harnek Singh told the courtroom that his opinions regarding Sikhism probably fall more along the liberal end of the spectrum while the majority of his critics were more on the fundamentalist or conservative side,” as reported by The Australia Today.

In a victim impact statement read aloud by prosecutors, Harnek Singh described the ongoing fear his family faces, “My family faces fear each day when the sun goes down.” He expressed gratitude to the New Zealand justice system for ensuring that “no one is above the law, not even religion.”

Harnek Singh addressed the defendants directly, stating, “You came to kill me. You tried to silence me. You wanted to send a chilling message to all those who express their disagreement with your unorthodox religious views. But you failed.”

He continued, “I will continue to express my opinions and beliefs as I always have. The only chilling message you have managed to send is to people with the same views and opinion as yours that actions have consequences and that in a country like New Zealand, the law does not bend for you if your wrongful acts are in the name of God.”

Harnek Singh’s words resonated with the judge and he repeated them as he sentenced the defendant, The Australia Today reported, citing NZ Herald.

The 48-year-old mastermind behind the attack received a sentence of 13-and-a-half years, with a minimum period of imprisonment of nine years before parole eligibility. Sarvjeet Sidhu was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years’ imprisonment, while Sukhpreet Singh received six months of home detention.

Notably, two men, Jagraj Singh and Gurbinder Singh, were acquitted due to insufficient evidence, while two others, Jobanpreet Singh and Hardeep Singh Sandhu, await sentencing early next year for their involvement in the attempted murder of Harnek Singh.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)