Pope Francis will head to the northern city of Mosul, which was heavily damaged in the war against IS, to pray for Iraq’s war victims Pope Francis arrived in northern Iraq on March 7, where he planned to pray in the ruins of churches damaged or destroyed by Islamic State extremists and celebrate an open-air Mass on the last day of the first-ever papal visit to the country.The Vatican hopes that the landmark visit will rally the country’s Christian communities and encourage them to stay despite decades of war and instability. Francis has also delivered a message of interreligious tolerance…
Author: Mike Harrison
At least a hundred people gathered at the front of the Idaho Capitol on Saturday to burn masks in a protest against measures taken to limit infections and deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic.Some groups say mask mandates are a restriction of their freedoms. Health experts say they help slow the spread of the disease.Also read: Texas becomes biggest US state to lift COVID-19 mask mandateVideos posted on social media showed adults encouraging children to toss masks into a fire.Republican Gov. Brad Little has never issued a statewide mask mandate, but seven counties and 11 cities have such mandates in…
A witness told police that the shot was fired after two cars tried to occupy the same lane A shooting on Interstate 85 in suburban Atlanta has claimed the life of a rising Texas rap artist, one of two interstate shootings in the metro area within an hour, authorities said Saturday. Rapper Corey Detiege, who performed under the stage name Chucky Trill, died at an area hospital after Friday’s predawn shooting, police in suburban Gwinnett County said.Police Corporal Collin Flynn, a department spokesman, said someone pulled up beside Detiege’s car and opened fire around 3 a.m. Friday, WSB TV reported.…
Assam Congress chief Ripun Bora, a former BJP MP Ram Prasad Sarma and son of former union minister Pawan Singh Ghatowar were among the first list of 40 Congress candidates released by the party late on Saturday.While Mr. Bora, a sitting Rajya Sabha member, will be contesting from the Gohpur constituency, Mr Sarma, who had joined the Congress after representing the Tezpur Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket, is the party candidate from Barchalla.Leader of the Opposition and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, Debabrata Saikia has also been named from his constituency of Nazira while the Deputy CLP leader…
Passed by 50 votes to 49 in a party line vote, the sweeping legislation now heads back to the Democratic-majority House of Representatives The U.S. Senate on Saturday voted to approve a $1.9 trillion relief package that President Joe Biden vows will revive the country’s pandemic-stricken economy, capping hours of debate, frenzied negotiations and a marathon overnight voting session.Also read: Joe Biden makes COVID test, quarantine mandatory for people entering U.S.Passed by 50 votes to 49 in a party line vote, the sweeping legislation now heads back to the Democratic-majority House of Representatives, where it is expected to be adopted…
The Congress on Saturday released the names of 13 candidates who will be contesting in the first two phases of the Assembly polls in West Bengal. The party is in alliance with the Left parties and the Indian Secular Front. The Left parties had on Friday issued a list of 37 candidates leaving 13 seats for the Congress and five for the ISF. The alliance is yet to decide nominees for the five remaining seats.Also read: West Bengal Assembly elections | Suvendu Adhikari to take on Mamata Banerjee in NandigramThe Congress list includes five candidates for the first phase and…
Conveying his strong appreciation for the “resolute dedication” shown by the armed forces over the past year, in the context of the COVID pandemic and the challenging situation on the northern border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday advised the services to “rid themselves of legacy systems and practices that have outlived their utility and relevance.”Mr Modi was addressing the valedictory session of the three-day Combined Commanders Conference (CCC) at Kevadia in Gujarat.“Prime Minister stressed the importance of enhancing indigenisation in the national security system, not just in sourcing equipment and weapons but also in the doctrines, procedures and customs…
New Delhi has indicated that it was not directly apprised of negotiations with the private investor Days after the Sri Lankan cabinet decided to allocate Colombo’s West Container Terminal (WCT) to an Adani Group consortium to compensate for cancelling the East Container Terminal (ECT) agreement, previously signed by India and Japan, both New Delhi and Tokyo have signaled their distancing from the decision.“Our High Commission in Colombo has already conveyed to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) that their media release, in so far as their reference to the approval of the (Indian) High Commission, is factually incorrect,” Ministry of…
‘The passenger began to act up soon after take-off, quarrelling with other passengers, assaulting a flight attendant and pummelling the cockpit’s door’ An Air France flight enroute from Paris to New Delhi made an emergency landing at Sofia Airport in Bulgaria on Friday at about 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) because of a disruptive passenger, Bulgarian officials said on Saturday.The passenger, an Indian citizen, began to act up soon after take-off, quarrelling with other passengers, assaulting a flight attendant and pummelling the cockpit’s door, said Ivailo Angelov, an official at the National Investigation Agency.His aggressive behaviour prompted the flight’s commander to…
Pro-govt. forces clash with Houthis to retain the province Fierce fighting between Yemeni pro-government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels has killed at least 90 combatants on both sides in the past 24 hours, military sources said on Saturday.The Shia rebels launched an offensive last month to seize Marib, the last stronghold in northern Yemen of pro-government forces who are backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.The clashes in the oil-rich province left 32 dead among government forces and loyalist tribes, while 58 Houthi rebels were killed in coalition air strikes, the sources said.They said heavy clashes broke out on six fronts…