Riyadh, May 14 (IANS) In a significant moment under Indian government’s progressive ‘Lady Without Mehram’ (LWM) policy, the Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia Suhel Khan and his wife on Wednesday received an all women Haj pilgrim group from Kerala at the Jeddah Haj Terminal in Saudi Arabia.”Ambassador Suhel Khan, along with his spouse Rifat Khan welcomed an all-women group of pilgrims from Kerala at the Jeddah Haj Terminal today. Women are benefitting from Government of India’s progressive policy of allowing Haj without a male companion under the Lady Without Mehram’ category,” the Embassy of India in Riyadh posted on X.”Indian Ladies Without Mehram (LWM) Hajis arrive in Jeddah for Haj under India’s progressive Haj Policy. We hope their journey is filled with blessings and peace,” the Ministry of Minority Affairs also posted.A total of 4558 female pilgrims undertook the pilgrimage without a Mehram (male companion) in 2024 which was an all time high since the introduction of the Ladies without Mehram category during Haj-2018.According to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, traditionally, a major deterrent for increased participation of Muslim women was their dependence on an accompanying male haji, that is Mehram, for performing this sacred religious pilgrimage. This restriction was done away by Government of India by allowing ladies of 45 years of age or above to apply without Mehram for Haj in 2018 wherein provision was made for eligible women to perform pilgrimage under LWM category in groups of four.”In Haj-2023, for the first time, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi allowed single eligible women also to apply for Haj under the LWM category. This step resulted in an all-time high participation with more than 4000 successful women applicants in Haj 2023, leading to greater confidence, personal freedom and increased social mobility. These initiatives have also acted as positive enablers for gender inclusivity and women empowerment,” the ministry stated.With the Indian government committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless Haj pilgrimage for all, Ambassador Suhel Khan on Wednesday also reviewed the arrival arrangements of Indian pilgrims during his visit to the Jeddah Haj Terminal. Accompanied by Indian Consul General in Jeddah Mohammed Hashim, the Indian diplomat met all the staff and the community volunteers.The first batch of Indian Haj pilgrims had arrived in the country on April 29. With the government according highest priority for Indian Muslims to undertake the annual pilgrimage, the country allocation for India has gradually increased to 175,025 in 2025 from 136,020 in 2014.For Haj 2025, the Indian Haj Mission is ensuring dedicated support for elderly pilgrims and persons with special needs, the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) which through the Haj Committee of India manages arrangements for the bulk of the quota allotted to India, said on Wednesday.All the necessary arrangements including flight schedules, transportation, Mina camps, accommodation, and additional services have been taken up and completed as per the Saudi requirements, within the given timelines.–IANSint/scor/as

Tripoli, May 14 (IANS) Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) declared a ceasefire on…

Moscow, May 14 (IANS) Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said on Wednesday that the Russian delegation is expected to address political and technical issues during the upcoming talks with Ukraine in Turkey on Thursday.
“The delegation needs to address both political and, I’d say, a billion of technical issues. So the composition of the delegation will be determined based on that,” the official said, addressing a reporter of a Russian Television network.Ushakov further mentioned that Moscow’s proposal is to resume the 2022 talks that were suspended by the Ukrainian side at the urging of Western colleagues and partners. He however, did not answer whether he himself is a part of the Russian delegation.Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin in the early hours of May 11, Putin proposed to the Kyiv authorities to resume direct talks suspended in 2022, without preconditions.Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other US officials will be present at Thursday’s Istanbul talks on Ukraine.“Marco [Rubio] is going to be going there, others are going to be going, and we’ll see if we can get it done,” he said while addressing a bilateral investment forum in Saudi Arabia.“Very importantly, talks are being held in Turkey later this week, probably on Thursday, and they could produce some pretty good results,” the US leader said, without elaborating.A White House spokesperson also told reporters that Rubio will be accompanied by the US President’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Tuesday said that Russia and the United States continue to maintain contact on Ukraine, but are not coordinating on the upcoming Istanbul talks.“The Americans are well aware of our position. We remain in contact. However, this is not the word (coordination) to use in this particular case,” Russian state-run news agency TASS quoted the minister as saying.President Putin proposed to launch the dialogue with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul. He further recalled that Russia had declared ceasefires more than once, but all of them, including the latest three-day truce on account of the Victory Day celebration were violated by the Kyiv regime.On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday expressed willingness to hold discussions with his Russian counterpart Putin, to end the ongoing conflict between both nations. The statement came shortly after President Trump called on Ukraine to immediately agree to the negotiations proposed by the Russian leader. Before that, Zelensky conditioned talks with Moscow on a 30-day ceasefire.–IANSint/scor/as

Ottawa, May 14 (IANS) Canada’s Foreign Minister Indira Anita Anand, who will be charting Canada’s course through its reset with India and the brittle ties with the United States, is an academic-turned-politician. Anand had a fast rise in politics since her election to parliament in 2019, cycling through the ministries of procurement, defence, internal trade, transport, and industry before assuming the foreign affairs portfolio earlier today, India time.When the Labour Party’s fortune seemed low earlier this year and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he was quitting, Anita also said she was leaving politics and returning to academia.“Now that the Prime Minister has made his decision to move to his next chapter, I have determined the time is right for me to do the same, and to return to my prior professional life of teaching, research, and public policy analysis,” she said in January.But as the party made a remarkable comeback under Prime Minister Mark Carney, she decided to run for re-election.Carney also persuaded her to stay on in government.The first Hindu woman elected to Canada’s parliament and the first Hindu to become a minister, she took her oath of office with the Bhagavad Gita.Her father, S V Anand was the son of a freedom-fighter from Tamil Nadu, V A Sundaram, and her mother Saroj Ram was from Punjab, and both were doctors who immigrated to Canada.About her entry into politics, she said, “During my first campaign, many people told me that a woman of Indian descent would not get elected in Oakville, Ontario. Yet, Oakville rallied behind me not once but twice since 2019, an honour that I will hold in my heart forever”.And her constituents repeated it for the third time in April.On her quick rise in government, she wrote, “Back in 2019, I could never have imagined that such work would mean navigating supply chains to overcome a global pandemic, addressing sexual assault in the Canadian Armed Forces, ensuring military aid reached Ukraine, overseeing the Treasury Board Secretariat or reinforcing Canada’s Transportation systems.”In her first assignment as the public services and procurement minister in Trudeau’s cabinet, she made her mark during the Covid pandemic ensuring Canada had enough medical equipment and vaccines, some of which were imported from India.That was her steppingstone to become the high-profile defence minister in 2021.During her tenure, Russia invaded Ukraine, and she mobilised Canadian support for Kyiv.Next in 2023, she was made the president of the Treasury Board, a ministerial level post with broad oversight of government operations and responsibility for annual federal expenditures of $450 billion and about 300,000 federal workers.And along the way, she simultaneously picked up the internal trade and transport portfolios.An expert in business and finance law, she was a tenured law professor at the University of Toronto and did stints as a visiting lecturer at Yale University.–IANSint/al/as

Quetta, May 14 (IANS) As several individuals continue to be forcibly disappeared across multiple districts…

Islamabad, May 14 (IANS) Alarmed by reports of illegal eviction of Christians and occupation of their land in Kot Addu district, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has issued an urgent appeal to the government of Pakistan and provincial government of Punjab, calling for an immediate action against culprits who are involved in the ongoing injustice and deliberate neglect of the minority community.

The HRCP has highlighted that there is an ongoing illegal eviction of Christian families from Kot Addu in Punjab’s Derekabad district initiated by locals and land mafias. Local Christians of the area say that land grabbers were attempting to deprive the Christian community of land to which the latter had a legitimate claim, terming this as a faith-based discrimination.”The mission has found an alarming rise in land grabbing by local land mafias and a consistent failure by the state to uphold court rulings that protect these vulnerable farmers. These include a 1983 directive from the Punjab Board of Revenue, which recognises the community’s right to the agricultural land they farm,” read a statement issued by the HRCP.“Farmers who spoke to the HRCP mission said they were still awaiting land allotment letters, following judgments in their favour. HRCP is concerned that in the absence of such documentation, these farmers will lose the little land they currently cultivate. This would leave them vulnerable to forced displacement and without a source of income, increasing their risk of falling deeper into poverty”, it added.People from the local Christian community say that they have been facing continuous threats from the land grabbers who have now forcibly evicted them.”Multiple orders from the Lahore High Court to DC Muzaffargarh and DC Kot Addu have gone ignored. Promises of the Board of Revenue Punjab and even the Governor remain unfulfilled. The land grabbers here keep threatening us,” said Father Maqsood, a Christian leader of Derekabad.”We demand legal land rights and immediate protection for the poor Christian farmers, who have been left vulnerable and voiceless. They have all the paperwork done but not the muscle to attain legal rights in a corrupt environment,” he added.HRCP has called on the Punjab government to probe the matter immediately and issue land allotment letters to the eligible farmers in Derekabad.”The government must also take decisive legal action against land mafias and individuals involved in unlawful evictions and provide urgent protection to the affected families to ensure that they can live and work without fear of reprisal. As Christians, this community is doubly vulnerable and deserves recognition, legal protection and restitution for decades of state neglect,” the HRCP urged.–IANSint/hamza/as

Seoul, May 14 (IANS) The South Korean People Power Party (PPP) showed signs of distancing itself from ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday, as the conservative party struggles to catch up with Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung with less than three weeks to go before the presidential election.The June 3 presidential vote is being held to pick a successor to Yoon, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid, and the PPP has remained divided about Yoon’s ouster.Asked about Yoon’s possible expulsion from the party, PPP presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo told reporters, “I believe former President Yoon will make his own decision. It is right to respect his judgment.”The remarks by Kim contrasted with his comment Tuesday, when he said he was not considering expelling Yoon from the PPP, Yonhap news agency reported.Some PPP lawmakers also said a voluntary exit by Yoon from the party would help Kim woo centrist voters.”I hope Yoon remains silent at least while undergoing trials, and that he voluntarily leaves the party,” Yang Hyang-ja, a co-chair of the PPP’s election committee, told KBS radio, saying “compulsory measures” could follow if he does not.Han Dong-hoon, a former PPP leader who trailed Kim in the primary, reiterated his calls for the party to expel Yoon to overcome his martial law debacle.In response, Kim Yong-tae, the party’s interim leader nominee, said he will clarify the PPP’s stance on its relationship with Yoon once officially appointed on Thursday.Earlier in the day, South Korean Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung called on the PPP to immediately expel former President Yoon Suk Yeol from the party, criticising him as a “military coup leader.”Lee’s call came a day after the PPP’s candidate Kim Moon-soo said he was not considering expelling Yoon, who was ousted over his short-lived martial law imposition in December and now faces criminal charges of leading an insurrection.”The People Power Party must immediately expel military coup leader Yoon Suk Yeol now,” Lee said during a campaign rally in Busan, about 320 kilometres southeast of Seoul.–IANSint/jk/dan

Hanoi, May 14 (IANS) Vietnam’s Hanoi came to a standstill as a large crowd thronged the capital city from across the country gathered outside the Buddhist temple Quan Su Pagoda on Wednesday to pay their obeisance to the Holy Buddhist Relics sent from India.”The mood of festivity and the excitement in the air is something people of Hanoi have not seen in a long time, as the crowd chanted — ‘the Buddha has arrived’,” said the International Buddhist ConfederationAround 5 lakh people had gathered on the streets to welcome the sacred relics as it entered the Vietnamese capital on Tuesday. People were high on emotions, with many weeping and praying while others chanted aloud.The sacred relics of Lord Buddha from India were enshrined in the Buddhist temple Quan Su Pagoda in Hanoi on Tuesday with ceremonial ritual and prayers conducted by monks from India and Vietnam. The relics will be displayed in the Buddhist temple till May 16.”Holy Buddha Relics from Sarnath, India, arrived in Hanoi today and enshrined at Quan Su Pagoda till May 16, 2025, with due ceremonies and prayers by monks from India and Vietnam,” the Embassy of India in Hanoi posted on X.Earlier on Monday, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar extended wishes on the Vesak Day, also known as Buddha Purnima, highlighting shared cultural ties with Vietnam, where over one million people prayed at the sacred Buddha relics sent from India.”On this Vesak Day, also deeply moved to see over one million people in Vietnam pay respects to and pray at the Buddhist Holy Relics, which travelled from India. Indeed, a clear reflection of our age-old connect, shared culture and special ties,” said EAM Jaishankar.India’s sending of the holy relics to Vietnam has been appreciated by Vietnamese President Luong Cuong as a gesture that has further strengthened the strong spiritual and cultural ties between both countries.The holy relics were brought from India on May 2 by a Union Minister of Parliamentary and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju-led Indian delegation, which also included Andhra Pradesh Minister Kandula Durgesh and senior monks and officials.The holy relics will remain in Vietnam until May 21 as part of the UN Day of Vesak celebrations. The relics were earlier displayed at Thanh Tam Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, and then in Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh province and are currently in Hanoi.Recently, the Consulate General of India in Ho Chi Minh City attended the enshrining ceremony of the Holy Relic of Lord Buddha held at Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh province on May 8.The ceremony was witnessed by most venerable monks from India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and several other countries as well. Provincial leadership of Tay Ninh also graced the occasion.–IANSint/scor/sd/

Quetta, May 14 (IANS) Bodies of at least four labourers, hailing from different parts of Pakistan’s Punjab province were found in Balochistan’s Nushki district on Wednesday, raising alarms over the ongoing targetted killings of Punjab origin citizens in different parts of the province. Officials confirmed the targetted killing of four people, stating that gunmen opened fire on the victims killing them on the spot.

Details revealed that the incident happened in Gulangoor area of Nushki district in Balochistan. The bodies of the victims were shifted to Teaching Hospital in Noshki for medico-legal procedures. Investigation revealed the identities of the victims, confirming that they hailed from different parts of the Punjab province.“Two of the men were from Pakpattan – Moeen, son of Ghulam Mustafa, and Huzaifa, son of Muhammad Latif. The remaining two, identified as Imran Ali and Irfan Ali, both sons of Maqsood Ahmed, were from Rahim Yar Khan”, said an official from the Teaching Hospital Noshki.Police authorities have initiated an investigation into the murder. It is suspected that the victims were targetted on the basis of their ethnicity for being from Punjab. The authorities are working to determine if the victims were targetted to broader violence in the region.Labourers, workers, and government officials from the Punjab province have been targetted by separatist Baloch groups in the recent months in major attacks where identities of the citizens were checked before killing them.Baloch separatists have in the past blocked the main highway, stopped a passenger bus and checked the identity cards of the passengers, separated the ones hailing from Punjab and killed them. During the recent terror attack on Jaffar Express train, passengers from Punjab were separated from the others and were reportedly killed by the separatists belonging to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).The latest incident has raised serious concerns over the worsening security situation in Balochistan, with authorities struggling to ensure security of people from the Punjab province, who come to Balochistan for work.“We strongly condemn the killings, and offer our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. We want to assure that the Balochistan provincial government is committed to safeguarding the lives and property of its citizens”, said Shahid Rind, spokesperson of Chief Minister Balochistan Sarfaraz Bugti.“Those responsible for this act of terrorism would be brought to justice. The government will not tolerate attacks on innocent labourers and will take firm action against the perpetrators”, he added.–IANSint/hamza/as

Riyadh, May 14 (IANS) US President Donald Trump met Syria’s interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in…