Nalati grassland in Xinjiang offers stunning late summer scenery /Video

Nalati grassland in Xinjiang offers stunning late summer scenery The Nalati Grassland in northwest China�s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has been providing some breathtaking scenery since June, with its vast expanse of lush grasslands dotted with colorful wildflowers offering a stunning spectacle...

Tropical Storm Beta moving towards Texas coast with up to 15 inches of rain possible

An aerial view from a drone shows boats and vehicles along the side of route 46 as people try to put them on higher ground before the possible arrival of Hurricane Sally on September 14, 2020 in Shell Beach, Louisiana. The storm is threatening to bring heavy rain, high winds and a dangerous storm surge...

Afghans, suspected of causing Moria camp fire, remanded in custody

Six Afghan nationals were remanded in custody by order of a prosecutor on the island of Lesvos on Monday after being charged with arson and participation in a criminal group. The six are suspected of having set fire to the Moria refugee camp in Greece earlier this month - which left almost 13,000...

HWPL Hosts Peace Education Webinar by Connecting South Asian Countries during the COVID-19 Crisis

The Department of Peace Education in Western Busan branch, HWPL held the peace education webinar (web-based seminar) with about 30 people including education classes in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries in South Asia on September 19 (local time). In spite of the global panic...

French MPs under fire for protesting Muslim woman�s hijab at parliament

Maryam Pougetoux, the spokesperson of the National Union of Students in France (AFP file photo) A lawmaker from the ruling party of French President Emmanuel Macron has been accused of racism after she led a walkout at the country�s national assembly in protest at the presence of a Muslim student union...

Hurricane Sally swamps US Gulf Coast with massive floods, �unreal� rain

A man surveys a damaged marina caused by Hurricane Sally in Pensacola, Florida, US, September 16, 2020. (Photo by Reuters) Hurricane Sally has uprooted trees, flooded streets and cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses on Wednesday as it brought what the US National Hurricane Center...

Germany to take in 1,500 more Lesbos island migrants

On the Island of Lesbos, crowds of hungry people waiting for food to be delivered by aid-workers has become part of life in Lesbos. Since the Moria camp burned down migrants have been camping out on the streets. They return to the roadside for a simple but desperately needed meal. And soon it’ll...

India coronavirus cases cross 5 million in �worse-than-sci-fi� pandemic

Commuters wearing facemasks as a preventive measure against the coronavirus walk past an Indian national flag in New Delhi on September 16, 2020. (Photo by AFP) Coronavirus infections in India soared past five million on Wednesday, as a WHO envoy warned the pandemic was ‘still at the beginning.� Global...

Russia to sell 100mn doses of COVID-19 vaccine to India

Russia reportedly reaches a deal to sell its coronavirus vaccine to India. (File photo) Russia�s sovereign wealth fund has reportedly reached a deal to sell 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, called Sputnik-V, to a major pharmaceutical company in India. Clinical trials of the Russian vaccine...

13 detained after fire near second Greek refugee camp

A young refugee drags a box carrying his belongings as he walks along a road near the Kara Tepe camp on the Greek island of Lesbos on September 15, 2020. (Photo by AFP ) Thirteen people have been detained on the Greek island of Samos after a fire threatened the local migrant camp, police said Wednesday,...

Thousands of Oregon evacuees shelter from wildfires as US disaster declared

The remains of a fire damaged hotel sit, in the aftermath of the Beachie Creek fire in Gates, Oregon, US, September 14, 2020. (Reuters photo) Thousands of evacuees displaced by deadly wildfires in Oregon settled into a second week of life in shelters and car camping on Tuesday as fire crews battled...

Six Afghan refugees suspected of having set fire to Moria camp

Six young Afghan men including two minors were expected to face a prosecutor on Greece�s Lesvos island Wednesday on suspicion of setting fires to the Moria refugee camp last week. The fire destroyed what was Europe�s largest migrant camp, leaving close to 13,000 people without shelter. The suspects,...

40 New COVID-19 Cases Reported in Afghanistan: Ministry

The Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday reported 40 new cases of COVID-19 out of 161 samples tested over the last 24 hours. So far, 107,593 samples have been tested in government centers and there are 4,916 known active COVID-19 cases in the country, according to data from the Ministry of Public...

Drone shows sprawling new tent camp for Lesbos migrants

A woman from the destroyed camp of Moria is seen at the new temporary camp, on the island of Lesbos, Greece, September 13, 2020. (Photo by Reuters) Drone views showed a sprawling tent camp on the island of Lesbos that has been set up by authorities to house thousands of migrants that became homeless...

COVID-19 hits Afghan children hard, deprives millions of an education

COVID-19 lockdown in Afghanistan has had a devastating impact on children with eight out of ten saying they learned little or nothing during the pandemic, a Save the Children survey found. The survey found that two-thirds (64 percent) of the children surveyed had no contact with teachers at all during...

World wildlife plummets more than two-thirds in 50 years: Index

This file photo, taken on February 25, 2020, shows giraffes in Kouré, Niger. (By AFP) Global animal, bird and fish populations have plummeted more than two-thirds in less than 50 years due to rampant over-consumption, experts said Thursday in a stark warning to save nature in order to save ourselves. Human...

Fire breaks out at Greece refugee camp, forcing thousands to flee

Refugees stand outside the Moria camp, on the island of Lesbos, Greece, during a major fire on September 9, 2020. (Photo by AFP) Thousands of migrants fled fires on Wednesday that tore through a camp under coronavirus lockdown on Greece�s island of Lesbos, while the prime minister called an emergency...

COVID-19 Latest: 96 of 478 Cases Test Positive in Afghanistan

The Ministry of Public Health on Monday reported 96 new cases of the coronavirus out of 478 samples tested over the last 24 hours. So far, 105,053 samples have been tested in government centers and there are 6,522 known active COVID-19 cases in the country, according to data from the Ministry of Public...

Animal rights group sues to stop Connecticut aquarium from getting beluga whales

A beluga whale and a trainer perform during the dolphin show at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise theme park, which was reopened on June 1 after about two months, in Yokohama on June 2, 2020 amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (AFP photo) An animals rights group is suing the US government...

UN inaugurates skills development project for Afghan refugee women in Pakistan

The UNHCR Representative in Pakistan, Noriko Yoshida Thursday inaugurated a skills development project aimed at improving their skills and income-generating capacity for local and Afghan refugee women in Quetta city of Balochistan. "UNHCR Pakistan had signed its first-ever agreement with NAMA Women...

Michigan school settles suit over suicide for $500,000

A Michigan school district accused of failing to stop a teenager from being bullied settled a lawsuit over his suicide for $500,000, a newspaper reported. Michael Martin, a 13-year-old student at Lansing Everett High School, took his own life in 2019. A lawsuit filed by his family was settled last...

French magazine reprints anti-Islamic cartoons on eve of terror trial

A woman walks with crutches as she arrives at the courthouse for the opening hearing of the trial of 14 suspected accomplices in the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack, in Paris, France, on September 2, 2020. (Photo by AFP) The French magazine Charlie Hebdo has republished offensive cartoons of Prophet...

US refuses to join global effort to develop COVID-19 vaccine

Scientists are seen working at Cobra Biologics, they are working on a potential vaccine for COVID-19, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Keele, Britain, April 30, 2020. (Reuters photo) The administration of President Donald Trump has announced the United States would not...

India leads global rise in new weekly COVID-19 cases, while deaths down: WHO

A worker cleans a temple�s premises as the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Chennai, India, on September 1, 2020. (Photo by AFP) India reported the most new COVID-19 cases of any country in the past week, its nearly half...

Male suicides in England and Wales at record high

British men in the 45 to 49 age group are more likely than others to commit suicide Males in England and Wales are committing suicide at an alarming rate, thus raising fresh concerns about socio-economic stability in the UK. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), male suicides in England...

Afghanistan Flood Death Toll Rises to 190

Death toll from the recent flooding in Afghanistan reached to 190 and wounded further 172 civilians, including women and children, according to Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority. Ghulam Bahauddin Jilani, Minister of the ANDMA, said in a press conference Tuesday that at least 190 people...

South Korea: Plasma Donation by Shincheonji Church Facilitates Development of the Vaccine for COVID-19

On August 27 th , over 1,000 members of religious organization called Shincheonji Churchof Jesus participated in donating plasma for the cure of COVID-19. This is carried out under the invitation of the health authorities in South Korea back on24 th , asking Shincheonji Church to cooperate for donating...

Black man dies after being shot 11 times by Louisiana police

Trayford Pellerin was fatally shot by Louisiana police on Friday night. (File photo) Another Black man in the US has become a victim of police brutality after being tased and fatally shot by law enforcement in Louisiana. According to Louisiana State Police, Trayford Pellerin, 31, of Lafayette died...

Police shooting death of African American sparks protests in California

The Pasadena Police Department releases footage of an officer-involved shooting that occurred on August 15, 2020. The fatal shooting of an African American has sparked demonstrations against police violence in the US city of Pasadena, California, with protesters calling on the city�s officials to hold...

WHO chief hopes coronavirus can be over in two years

Health officials wearing protective gear guide a visitor at a COVID-19 coronavirus testing station in Seoul, South Korea, on August 18, 2020. (Photo by AFP) The World Health Organization hopes the coronavirus crisis can be over in less than two years, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The...