05-05-2023 BEIJING/ TAIPEI: Chinese authorities monitor the phones of ethnic minority Uighurs for the presence of 50,000 known multimedia files that are used to flag what Beijing views as extremism with possession of the Quran enough to trigger a police interrogation, according to a forensic investigation by Human Rights Watch …
Read More »South Africans ask UK to return world’s largest diamonds
05-05-2023 PRETORIA: Some South Africans are calling for the United Kingdom to return the world’s largest diamond, known as the Star of Africa, which is set in the royal sceptre that King Charles III will hold at his coronation on Saturday. The diamond, which weighs 530 carats, was discovered in …
Read More »Film on alleged Indian ISIL recruits gets pushback
05-05-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ KOZHIKODE, KERALA: A cash reward of 10 million rupees ($122,280) has been announced by a Muslim group in India’s Kerala state for providing evidence of claims made in an Indian film that thousands of Hindu and Christian women from the state were recruited …
Read More »Ukraine shoots down 18 out of 24 Russian drones overnight
05-05-2023 KYIV: Ukrainian air defences said they downed 18 out of 24 kamikaze drones that Russia launched in a pre-dawn attack on Thursday. In a statement, Kyiv city administration said that all missiles and drones targeting the Ukrainian capital for the third time in four days, have been destroyed. “The …
Read More »Trump criticizes Biden for skipping Charles’ coronation ceremony
05-05-2023 LONDON/ WASHINGTON: In an interview on Wednesday, Donald Trump criticized Joe Biden for not attending King Charles III’s coronation, describing it as “disrespectful.” Biden was invited to a state visit to the UK by the new monarch, who will be coroneted this week. Although the President won’t be attending, …
Read More »Body of missing Australian fisherman found inside crocodile
05-05-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies QUEENSLAND/ SYDNEY: The body of Australian fisherman Kevin Darmody was found inside a crocodile after he went missing on Saturday during a fishing trip in a remote part of northern Queensland. The 65-year-old was last seen in a saltwater crocodile habitat at Kennedy’s Bend. Two …
Read More »India, Brazil among most dangerous places for activists
04-05-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ LONDON: India, Cambodia and the Philippines are among the most dangerous places in the world for human rights and labour activists with protests against corporate abuses often met with state-backed violence, according to a new report. Brazil topped the list of the most …
Read More »Biden administration sending more soldiers to Mexico border
04-05-2023 WASHINGTON: The administration of US President Joe Biden is sending 1,500 additional soldiers to the United States border with Mexico as the country prepares for the lifting of contentious, pandemic-era restrictions later this month. In a statement on Tuesday, the Pentagon said it had approved a request from the …
Read More »Israel bombs Gaza as tensions rise over death of Adnan
04-05-2023 JERUSALEM/ GAZA: Israeli jets carried out airstrikes in Gaza late on Tuesday, with loud explosions heard in the besieged coastal enclave as tension escalated over the death of a prominent Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody following an 87-day hunger strike. The Israeli bombing comes after rockets were fired from …
Read More »US woman’s wedding dress ‘held hostage’ over unsettled debts
04-05-2023 NEW HAMPSHIRE: Wedding dresses are close to brides as they hold many memories of their big day and many women keep their gowns safe instead of selling them after the event. According to media, Jesse Moltenbrey bought a kit from Bed Bath & Beyond and sent her dress to …
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