AMMAN: Islamic State claimed responsibility for suicide and car bomb blasts that struck a Damascus suburb on Saturday near Syria’s holiest Muslim shrine, and a monitoring group said at least 20 people were killed. State television showed debris, mangled cars and wrecked shops in a main commercial thoroughfare near the Sayeda Zeinab (SA) shrine, in […]
Region
Protest to continue until India halts its anti-Kashmir developments: Hurriyat leaders
Srinagar: In occupied Kashmir, many eminent Hurriyet leaders including Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, have said that peaceful protests will continue until India gives up its anti-Kashmir plans in the territory. The leaders, in their joint statement issued in Srinagar, gave a joint call for protests against the construction […]
Death penalty sought for 24 Hindus linked to Gujarat massacre
AHMEDABAD: Indian prosecutors sought death penalty on Monday for 24 Hindus convicted of massacre during religious riots in 2002 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister of the state where it happened. Judge P.B Desai heard submissions from the prosecution as well as lawyers representing the 24 convicted over the killings, before adjourning final […]
Seven killed as Taliban raid Afghan courthouse
PULI ALAM: Taliban gunmen stormed a court complex in a city south of Kabul on Sunday, killing at least seven people in the insurgents’ third so-called “revenge” attack for last month’s execution of Taliban-linked prisoners. The attack in Pul-i-Alam, capital of volatile Logar province, also left 23 prosecutors wounded as they were meeting to decide […]
Indian court convicts 24 over Gujarat riots massacre
NEW DELHI: An Indian court convicted two dozen people on Thursday over a massacre during religious riots 14 years ago when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat state. Judge P B Desai acquitted 36 others for a lack of evidence over the killing of 69 Muslims sheltering in a residential complex in […]
North Koreas missile launch bid fails, South Korea claims
SEOUL: North Korea attempted to fire a missile from its east coast on Tuesday but the launch appears to have failed, South Korean officials said, in what would be the latest in a string of unsuccessful ballistic missile tests by the isolated country. The launch attempt took place at around 5:20 a.m. Seoul time (2020 […]
With the most slaves globally, India improves response to the scourge
NEW DELHI: India has the most slaves in the world with over 18 million people trapped in debt bondage, forced into marriage, sold to brothels or born into servitude, according to a global slavery index, which noted an improved government response to the issue. Forty percent of the world’s estimated 45.8 million slaves are in […]
Philippines’ Duterte names cabinet, calls them men of integrity and honesty
DAVAO CITY: Philippines President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday named the members of his cabinet, a day after a joint session of Congress declared him the winner of the May 9 presidential elections. The 71 year-old, tough-talking Duterte won by more than six million votes over closest rival Manuel Roxas, who was backed by President Benigno […]
Savchenko hailed in Ukraine parliament, berates lazy schoolchildren lawmakers
KIEV: Ukrainian servicewoman Nadiya Savchenko, whose resistance to her imprisonment in Russia has made her a national hero and a potentially disruptive force in Ukrainian politics, received a standing ovation in her first address to parliament on Tuesday. A helicopter navigator captured while fighting pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region, Savchenko’s bold defiance at Russian […]
Puerto Rico’s tourist industry feels economic sting of Zika
SAN JUAN: It was the wedding of one of her best friends, and Natalie Kao was going to be a bridesmaid in a fun, tropical setting on a small island just off the east coast of Puerto Rico. But the prevalence of the Zika virus across the U.S. territory gave her pause. Kao, pregnant with […]