Islamic republic of

President Donald Trump has said he held off on imposing sanctions on Chinese officials over the mass incarceration of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang to protect US-China trade negotiations, according to an interview published on Sunday. Activists say China has rounded up at least one million Uighurs and other Turkic peoples and is trying to forcibly assimilate them by wiping out their culture and punishing basic Islamic practices. Beijing counters that it is running vocational educational centers that offer an alternative to Islamic extremism, but the issue has further shaken US-China ties, which were already troubled by a bitter trade dispute. When asked by news site Axios why he has held off on imposing direct US Treasury sanctions on Chinese officials linked to Xinjiang, Trump said: "Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal." "And I made a great deal, $250 billion potentially worth of purchases," the president added. "And by the way, they're buying a lot, you probably … [Read more...] about Trump says held off on Xinjiang sanctions over China trade deal: Interview

The first alert came on December 5, the day of the Lashkar-e-Taiba attack on an Army camp in Uri, but was not specific to Jammu and Kashmir. Sources told The Hindu that the U.S. intelligence agencies warned of a fidayeen or suicide attack in Delhi or Hyderabad. … [Read more...] about Terror alert for Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad

Brands looking to break stereotypes by showcasing divorced women, dark-skinned women, women in their forties, and transgender mothers, should cast pregnant models too. Arnab Goswami can break through the news clutter by having a visibly pregnant woman anchor a prime time show on Republic TV. Anurag Kashyap can break the mould by casting his next leading lady as an actually pregnant one. Ultimately, what must change are not our bodies or our choices, but the rules that aim to suppress them. … [Read more...] about A pregnant pause: Author Meghna Pant on why we rarely see baby bumps on camera

The petitioners had asked the court to annul the construction of the temple and allotment of a piece of land by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for it in Islamabad, pleading that there was no provision for the same in the master plan of the national capital. … [Read more...] about Pak court rejects petition against temple construction

ISTANBUL: A Turkish court on Friday annulled a 1934 government decree that had turned Istanbul`s Hagia Sophia into a museum, opening the way for the sixth-century building to be converted back into a mosque. President Tayyip Erdogan, whose ruling AK Party sprung from political Islam, has said the cavernous domed building should revert to being a place of Muslim worship. … [Read more...] about Fifteen centuries, two faiths and a contested fate for Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia