Author: Our Newsroom

Compulsory Arabic can lead to more conflicts in Pakistan
1Mar By Our NewsroomNo Comments
Asia, Conflict, World

Compulsory Arabic can lead to more conflicts in Pakistan

The Imran Khan government’s decision to make Arabic compulsory subject in primary schools is yet another step in Pakistan’s march towards becoming a theological Sunni state, contrary to what its founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had envisioned. Jinnah’s Pakistan was for all hues of Muslims and minorities who had the courage to adopt the land of their birth as their nation. But that is not the Pakistan what the mullahs and military wanted—they wanted a Sunni state where other sects and religion had no place. The process of making this happen began within years of Jinnah’s demise. First the Ahmadis and then the Bengali speaking Muslims from east Pakistan became the `other`. The state actively discouraged and marginalised countless dialects in a bid to create a uniform linguistic i
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NOW MYANMAR FACES CHINESE BORDER ENCROACHMENT
2Jan By Our NewsroomNo Comments
Asia, Business, China, Conflict, World

NOW MYANMAR FACES CHINESE BORDER ENCROACHMENT

It is now known that Chinese authorities constructed fences during November, 2020 near the China-Myanmar border in Laukkai Township in the Kokang Self Administered Zone in northern Shan State of Myanmar. The construction was carried out by China near border post BP-125 and between posts BP-121 and BP-122.  While the Myanmar military objected to this development, the Chinese went ahead with the works on the pretext of a crackdown on illegal border crossings from Myanmar in the wake of the rapid rise in Covid-19 cases. In fact, Major General Zaw Min Tun sent a protest letter to his Chinese counterpart quoting the 1961 treaty on the China-Myanmar boundary. The treaty, as such prohibits building any structure within ten meters of the demarcation line on either side. On sensing the objection f
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400 years on, Mayflower’s legacy includes pride, prejudice
16Nov By Our NewsroomNo Comments
World

400 years on, Mayflower’s legacy includes pride, prejudice

PLYMOUTH, Mass. - Four centuries after white Europeans stepped off the Mayflower and onto America’s shores, some descendants of the colonists are wrestling with the complicated legacy of their ancestors amid a global racial reckoning. There is immense pride among those who can trace their families back to the passengers who boarded the ship in Plymouth, England, in 1620 to flee religious persecution and realize a better life. Yet for some, the devastating impact that the Pilgrims’ landing in New England had on Native Americans weighs heavily in this moment of unrest over systemic racism. In interviews with The Associated Press, Americans and Britons who can trace their ancestry either to the Pilgrims or the indigenous people who helped them survive talked openly about the need in 2020 to
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Archbishop performs exorcism to cleanse protest site
16Nov By Our NewsroomNo Comments
World

Archbishop performs exorcism to cleanse protest site

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - The archbishop of San Francisco performed a short exorcism ceremony Saturday outside a Catholic church where protesters had earlier toppled a statue of Father Junipero Serra, saying the ceremony was intended to drive out evil and defend the image of Serra. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone performed the ritual before some 150 supporters before holding a special Mass inside St. Raphael Catholic Church and an expected march to a Planned Parenthood clinic, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Serra was an 18th-century Spanish missionary priest and the father of the California mission system. The Franciscan priest has long been praised by the church for bringing Roman Catholicism to what is now the western United States, but critics highlight a darker side to his legacy. ...
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Covid-19 tests Thai-Myanmar ties
16Nov By Our NewsroomNo Comments
Business, World

Covid-19 tests Thai-Myanmar ties

Covid-19 tests Thai-Myanmar ties The surging numbers of Covid-19 infections in Yangon and northern Myanmar over the past few weeks is putting the excellent Thai-Myanmar relations under great stress. At this point, the 2,401-kilometre border between both countries is more heavily guarded than ever before. Concerns about imported infections reached frenzied proportions when reports about workers from Myanmar sneaking through the porous border into Thailand emerged -- along with photos of alleged Covid-19 victims on the streets of Myawaddy, right across from Tak province. The news from the western border doesn't augur well for plans to jumpstart the economy, especially as the Thai government is now mulling whether to allow foreigners to enter the country with fewer restrictions. At present...
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Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh goes on despite US mediation
16Nov By Our NewsroomNo Comments
Conflict, World

Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh goes on despite US mediation

Rocket and artillery barrage hit residential areas in Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday hours after the United States hosted top diplomats from Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks on settling their decades-long conflict over the region. The heavy shelling forced residents of Stepanakert, the regional capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, into shelters, as emergency teams rushed to extinguish fires. Local officials said the city was struck with Azerbaijan’s Smerch long-range multiple rocket systems, a devastating Soviet-designed weapon intended to ravage wide areas with explosives and cluster munitions. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said other towns in the region were also targeted by Azerbaijani artillery fire. There was no immediate information about casualties. Officials in Azerbaijan claimed that the
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Indian troops kill top rebel commander in Kashmir fighting
16Nov By Our NewsroomNo Comments
Conflict, World

Indian troops kill top rebel commander in Kashmir fighting

SRINAGAR, India - Indian government forces killed a top rebel commander in Kashmir during a gunbattle Sunday in the disputed region’s main city, police said, calling it a major success against the rebels’ long fight against Indian rule. The dead commander, Saifullah Mir, was the chief of operations of the region’s largest rebel group, Hizbul Mujahideen, which has spearheaded an armed rebellion against Indian rule for decades. Inspector-General Vijay Kumar said police and paramilitary soldiers launched an operation Sunday in Srinagar in a neighbourhood in the city’s outskirts based on a tip that Saifullah was sheltering there. He said a gunfight ensued in which the militant commander was killed and his suspected associate was nabbed. Kumar said the killing was a major victory for India’s
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November marks eighth annual Wrapped in Courage campaign
16Nov By Our NewsroomNo Comments
Business, World

November marks eighth annual Wrapped in Courage campaign

November is Woman Abuse Awareness and Prevention month in Ontario, a time when women’s shelters use all the tools in their toolbox to increase awareness around abuse against women, how it affects us all and what we can do as a society to end it. In Kincardine, Women’s House Serving Bruce and Grey is using social media and partnering with many local businesses to help raise awareness, foster prevention, and raise funds to help them provide the support that the women and children that reach out to them need to rebuild their lives. In place of the purple scarves traditionally sold during November, shelters have opted to offer a “Stay Safe” mask to the public. The masks will be sent out for a $20 donation, to “help you Stay Safe while you are joining us to work towards eliminating violence a
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Brexit talks set to miss deadline and continue in Brussels
14Nov By Our NewsroomNo Comments
Business, Politics, World

Brexit talks set to miss deadline and continue in Brussels

Trade talks between the U.K. and European Union are set to be extended beyond this weekend’s informal deadline and continue in Brussels next week, according to two people familiar with the matter. Negotiators have been working round the clock in London since Monday, with both sides pinpointing the end of this week as the last moment they could strike a deal while still allowing enough time for parliamentary ratification before the U.K leaves the bloc’s single market on Dec. 31. While the talks haven’t reached a conclusion, officials think there’s enough progress to warrant carrying on. They will probably resume in Brussels, the people said, speaking on condition on anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. “We can get a deal done,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told a D
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Suu Kyi forecast to triumph in virus-hit Myanmar election
14Nov By Our NewsroomNo Comments
Asia, Conflict, World

Suu Kyi forecast to triumph in virus-hit Myanmar election

Suu Kyi forecast to triumph in virus-hit Myanmar election The election will be just the second since Myanmar nation emerged from nearly half a century of junta rule in 2011. YANGON: Polls opened in Myanmar on Sunday morning for a vote expected to return to power the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains a hero at home in spite of a reputation abroad shattered by the Rohingya crisis. The election will be just the second since the Southeast Asian nation emerged from nearly half a century of junta rule in 2011. Five years ago Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory, but was forced by the constitution into an uneasy power-sharing agreement with the still-mighty military. This time the civilian leader -- in a bid to maintain an absolute majority -- has i...
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