CELEBRATION OR BURDEN? KASHMIRIS WEIGH THE COSTS OF ‘WASTEFUL’ WEDDINGS

Mon 23 December 2024: A Kashmiri wedding is measured in quintals, a historical unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms, or about 220 pounds. And this, some argue, is its undoing. If you have been to a Kashmiri wedding recently and your friend were to inquire about it, the most common query would be, “How […]

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MOZAMBIQUE’S DEADLY PROTESTS: HOW THE COUNTRY GOT HERE

Mon 23 December 2024: The protests that followed Mozambique’s contested October elections have been the most protracted and deadliest since multiparty democracy in 1990. Police have reportedly killed at least 50 since Daniel Chapo, from the ruling Frelimo, was declared winner by a fanciful 70%. The party has been in power since independence in 1975. A parallel count by the […]

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GOVERNMENTS AND BANKS ONCE MOCKED BITCOIN. NOW THEY WANT IN ON IT

Sun 22 December 2024: After topping $100,000, Bitcoin supporters see the cryptocurrency soaring even higher. Bitcoin has proven to be one of the best-performing assets in modern history. The value of the cryptocurrency has increased some 1,000 times over the past decade, far outpacing US stocks and real estate. Buoyed by United States President-elect Donald […]

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THE OUSTER OF TYRANT ASSAD PAVES THE WAY FOR PALESTINE, NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND

Fri 20 December 2024: Last Friday was memorable for millions of Syrians all over the world who celebrated the liberation of their land from the Assad dynasty. Many raised the original flag used in Syria after it was liberated from French occupation. The revolutionaries chose to use it 13 years ago and removed the flag […]

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AFRICA’S WORSENING FOOD CRISIS – IT’S TIME FOR AN AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

Tue 17 December 2024: Rates of hunger in Africa are unacceptably high and getting worse. The UN State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 report reveals that food insecurity in Africa is the highest of any world region. The prevalence of undernourishment is 20.4% (some 298.4 million Africans) – over twice the global average. […]

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ASSAD’S FALL IN SYRIA WILL FURTHER WEAKEN HEZBOLLAH AND CURTAILS TEHRAN’S ‘IRANIZATION’ OF REGION

A worker tears down the pictures of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Lebanon’s late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a gas station in Nubl, a Shi’ite village seized by rebels, in rural Aleppo, Syria, December 11, 2024. | Photo Credit: Reuters Mon 16 December […]

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‘NEWS INFLUENCERS’ ARE RACKING UP BILLIONS OF VIEWS – AND NOT CHECKING THEIR FACTS

Sat 14 December 2024: The way many people get their news today would be unrecognisable to broadsheet devotees of decades past. You may read email newsletters, scroll headlines on social media, or go directly to the BBC’s own TikTok account to find out what’s happening in the world. Recent data from the nonpartisan American thinktank Pew […]

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IS FRANCE BEING CHASED OUT OF AFRICA FOR GOOD OR COULD IT LAUNCH A COMEBACK?

Thu 12 December 2024: Landlocked Chad, a West African country, announced that it is breaking off its military and security ties with its former colonial master, France. Chad’s Foreign Minister, Abderaman Koulamallah, in  making the surprise announcement on 28 November, declared that France should consider that “Chad has grown up, matured and is a sovereign state” and […]

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