India’s new citizenship law excludes Muslims By: Agencies on March 13, 2024India has implemented a controversial citizenship law that has been widely criticized for excluding Muslims, a minority community whose concerns have heightened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi´s Hindu nationalist government. The rules for the law were announced Monday. It establishes a religious test for migrants from every major South Asian faith other than Islam. Critics […]
Four astronauts from four countries return to Earth after six months in orbit By: Agencies on March 13, 2024Four astronauts from four countries caught a lift back to Earth with SpaceX on Tuesday to end a half-year mission at the International Space Station. Their capsule streaked across the U.S. in the predawn darkness and splashed into the Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Panhandle. NASA´s Jasmin Moghbeli, a Marine helicopter pilot, led the […]
Azerbaijan celebrates Wind Tuesday on March 12, 2024Today in Azerbaijan, the third pre-holiday Tuesday is being celebrated on the eve of the Novruz holiday, known as Yel Chershenbesi (Wind Tuesday). This day celebrates the arrival of the first calendar month of spring, with only a few days left before the Novruz spring feast Wind Tuesday holds importance as a symbol of the […]
India to enact divisive citizenship law By: Agencies on March 12, 2024India’s interior ministry said Monday it was enacting a citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, just weeks before the world’s most populous country heads into a general election. While the law was passed in December 2019, its implementation was delayed after widespread protests and deadly violence erupted in which more than 100 people […]
Crescent moon spotted in Saudi Arabia marking start of Ramazan By: AP on March 11, 2024Officials saw the crescent moon on Sunday night in Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, marking the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan for many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims. The sacred month, which sees those observing abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset, marks a period […]
UN chief, in Ramazan message, voices solidarity with besieged Gazans suffering ‘horrors’ By: APP on March 11, 2024United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Sunday released a video message marking the beginning of the holy month of Ramazan in which he expressed “solidarity and support” to the people of Gaza who are undergoing extreme suffering under relentless Israeli bombardments for the past five months. “I wish to express a special message of solidarity […]
Nikki Haley suspends White House bid, clearing path for a Trump-Biden rematch By: Agencies on March 7, 2024Nikki Haley ended her long-shot challenge to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump on Wednesday, ensuring the former president will be the party’s candidate in a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in November’s election. Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations when he was president, made the announcement in […]
China, Iran felicitate Shehbaz on becoming PM By: Agencies on March 4, 2024Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang have congratulated Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on his election as Prime Minister of Pakistan. President Xi Jinping in his message expressed the confidence that under the leadership of Shehbaz Sharif Pakistan would be able to make new and greater achievements in the cause of national development and progress. […]
Iran counts ballots in vote seen favouring conservatives By: AFP on March 3, 2024Iranian women fill out their ballots in the election for which local Fars news agency estimated turnout at ‘more than 40 percent’ Iran began counting ballots on Saturday after a vote for parliament and a key clerical body, with local media estimating a low turnout and conservatives expected to dominate. Friday’s elections were the first […]
US military begins air-dropping aid to Gaza By: AFP on March 3, 2024American cargo planes air-dropped 38,000 meals into the besieged Gaza Strip on Saturday, part of a series of drops planned by Washington to help curb a growing humanitarian crisis in the war-racked territory. The United Nations has warned of famine in Gaza, and more than 100 people were left dead earlier this week in a […]