International report - Discrimination in one of India's biggest Hindu temples
The temple of Lord Jagannath in Puri, located in eastern India, has likely garnered more controversies than any other deity in India. The gigantic 12th century edifice has been the scene of several...
View ArticleInternational report - Nasa prepares historic probe 'to touch the sun'
Early August, NASA will launch a mission to touch the sun’s atmosphere. The main objective of the Parker Solar Probe is to reveal the mysteries of corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere. A number of...
View ArticleInternational report - Senegalese beach sellers in Spain
As this year's summer holiday season swings into full gear, Spain's southern coasts are as busy as ever. But the same thing can't be said for the many undocumented migrants from Africa that ply the...
View ArticleInternational report - How India’s new Hajj policies affect Muslim women
For the first time in India, Muslim women over the age of 45 can make the Hajj pilgrimage without a male guardian. As a result, over 1,300 women this year applied to travel alone on the annual...
View ArticleInternational report - Logistical challenges for Kenya’s Hajj travel agents
Kenyan Muslims have joined millions from around the world in performing the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the holy Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith. In Kenya, many...
View ArticleInternational report - Controversy over financial donation to Gambian pilgrims
In The Gambia, this year’s Hajj or the annual pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslims has been overshadowed by controversy over a financial donation to Gambian pilgrims. In the third of a five-part series on...
View ArticleInternational report - How Mozambique is combatting high child marriage and...
As the African continent faces a demographic explosion, governments are realising the urgency of sustainable family planning policies. But applying such policies is a slow process, especially in rural...
View ArticleInternational report - Clearing landmines in eastern Ukraine, Part 1
According to demining NGOs operating in eastern Ukraine, the conflict zone is one of the five most mined regions in the world. With the war entering its fifth year, between 600,000 and a million...
View ArticleInternational report - Clearing landmines in eastern Ukraine, Part 2
After four years of conflict, Ukraine remains one of the world’s most mine-affected countries. International demining operators, such as the Halo Trust and the Danish Demining Group, encourage local...
View ArticleInternational report - What to do if you want to go to the beach in Dakar
In Senegal at least 40 people drowned at beaches in Dakar and its suburbs this summer. The capital is surrounded by water but most of the beaches are prohibited due to strong currents and lack of...
View ArticleInternational report - Afghan women entrepreneurs defy tradition
Women in Afghanistan are increasingly launching their own businesses, despite the violent conflict and a weak economy that has crippled the country for decades. They are defying the conservative...
View ArticleInternational report - Interfaith marriage in Tunisia
Tunisia has been at the forefront of the debate on women's rights across the Arabic-speaking world since the adoption of the 1956 Personal Status Code that is considered one of the most progressive in...
View ArticleInternational report - Palestinian musicians play from new Jerusalem pit
East Jerusalem has its first orchestra pit. Twenty five Palestinian classical musicians serenaded an audience from the new pit inside the Yabous Cultural Centre at a recent concert. Correspondent...
View ArticleInternational report - Israel's Arab Druze demand equality before the law
Military service in Israel is compulsory, but there are exemptions for Arab citizens and ultra-orthodox Jews. However, secular Israelis and Arab Druze serve in the army upon reaching the age of 18....
View ArticleInternational report - Booming cafe culture emerges in Kabul despite the risks
In Afghanistan, a booming café culture has emerged in recent years and many successful entrepreneurs have emerged by establishing western-like cafes in the big cities across the country. In the...
View ArticleInternational report - Raqqa reaps the fruit of three years under Islamic...
For nearly three years the Syrian city of Raqqa served as the de facto capital of the Islamic State Armed Group. Last year IS fighters were ousted by a US-led coalition air campaign. Now in the hands...
View ArticleInternational report - Healing the traumatised children of Raqqa after three...
Last year tens of thousands of internally displaced people, or IDPs, fled from areas controlled by the Islamic State Armed Group. Many of those families with children escaped from Raqqa and the Deir...
View ArticleInternational report - How Islamic State armed group ran Raqqa
Syrian city of Raqqa was hardly known internationally before Islamic State (IS) armed group claimed it as their capital in 2014. The sixth largest Syrian city was one where people of different...
View ArticleInternational report - Raqqa’s underground caliphate
In October of last year the rebel Syrian Democratic Forces with support of the US led coalition entered Raqqa, the former capital of the Islamic State armed group. Civilians returning home not only...
View ArticleInternational report - Returning to Raqqa
In the Syrian city of Raqqa much of the infrastructure remains flattened. The four-month push in 2017 to oust the Islamic State armed group destroyed 90 percent of the city. Some 20,000 bombs, rockets...
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