ANKARA (AA) – The U.S. has rejected Australia’s request for the release of Julian Assange. Australia is demanding that the case be brought to a close. The U.S., on the other hand, is demanding the extradition of Assange and charge him with espionage. The differences on this issue became clear during a meeting between U.S. […...
NIAMEY, Niger – A group of soldiers in the West African country of Niger has claimed to have overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum. The soldiers said they had taken control of the country’s borders and imposed a nationwide curfew. They also said they had suspended all institutions of government. Appearing on the local TV Colonel Amad...
JAKARTA Indonesia – Indonesia has blocked Elon Musk’s social media site X.com as part of its efforts to curb online pornography and gambling. Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology clarified that the domain had previously hosted content that violated Indonesian laws against “negative” ma...
ANKARA (AA) – Forest fires have destroyed about 82 million hectares of forest worldwide in the last 10 years. According to Global Forest Watch (GFW), the worst forest fires occurred in Australia, Russia, Canada, and the U.S. In Australia, the 2019-2020 bushfires were the largest in the last 10 years, destroying more than 24 million […]...
AMMAN, Jordan (AA) – In the ancient Jordanian city of Umm Qais, north of the capital Amman, basalt rocks are taking shape in the hands of Tarik Milkawi, 41, who turns them into works of art. He brings the basalt rocks from his hometown of Umm Qais to his workshop in Amman by car and […]
NEW DELHI, India – The Hindu nationalist government in India has proposed a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for all citizens, regardless of religious affiliation. Muslims, Sikhs, and others fear that the government could impose Hindu upper-caste beliefs on the entire population in the name of the uniform code Activists say the introduction of a unifo...
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan’s parliament on Tuesday approved new anti-narcotics legislation, removing capital punishment for drug trafficking convicts. The maximum punishment for a convict of a drug-related crime will be life imprisonment, whereas the minimum will be a six-month jail term. “Anti-narcotics bill passed, removing capital pu...
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Hong Kong is seeking to diversify its financial markets to be more accommodating to Islamic finance. This includes amending laws to create a tax structure for sukuk comparable to that for conventional bonds. Hong Kong is making several efforts to attract Islamic finance and strengthen its ties with Indonesia and othe...
SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) – Rights groups and activists have called on the Indian government to launch an investigation into the death of a five-month-old Rohingya girl in custody. Videos that went viral on social media last week showed Rohingya detainees, both men and women, being tear gassed at a detention center in Jammu [&hell...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Far-right Jewish settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday in occupied East Jerusalem. According to an official from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, more than 340 fanatical Jews entered the Haram al-Sharif area under Israeli police protection. After the noon prayer, 86 Jewish settlers raided Masjid al-Aqsa. They perfo...