In a supremely embarrassing moment for North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, he appeared not to be practicing what his government is preaching as he was caught smoking in the middle of a anti-smoking drive.   According to CNN, the country’s state media published a photograph this week of Kim holding a cigarette in his hand during the drive.   The photo was snapped while Kim…

A huge monument has been discovered buried under the sands at the Petra World Heritage site in southern Jordan. Archaeologists used satellite images, drone photography and ground surveys to locate the find, according to the study published in the American Schools of Oriental Research. The large platform is about as long as an Olympic swimming pool and twice as wide. Researchers say it is unlike any…

An Afghan official said four civilians have been killed and around 40 were left wounded by a bomb blast on Friday inside a mosque in the restive eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan.   Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial Nangarhar governor, said the blast occurred during Friday prayers in the Rodat district, near the provincial capital of Jalalabad.  …

NAIROBI: Kenyan police on Friday warned citizens to be extra vigilant as Somalia-based Islamist group Al-Shabaab threatened to stage attacks in the country during the month of Ramadan.   Inspector General of Police, Joseph Boinnet, said the areas along the Somali border were particularly at higher risk of attacks which could be carried out by Al-Shabaab militants of Kenyan origin, Xinhua reported.…

Muslim-Americans are not regarded as an influential voting bloc in the U.S., and the community must step up its engagement efforts to be better represented in the political process, two Muslim Congressmen told a National Press Club Newsmaker crowd on May 24. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., said Muslims must be the ones to stand up to anti-Muslim legislation proposed in…

Islamabad:  China will invest about USD 8.5 billion to upgrade Pakistan's rail network and to build a key gas pipeline with Iran to meet the country's energy needs, a media report said today. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), a Pakistan body to authorise major projects, yesterday approved USD 10 billion worth two projects. China will provide loans equivalent to 85 per cent…

Islamabad:  Pakistan will raise in the United Nations the issue of US drone attacks as they are against the country's sovereignty, top Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz said on Thursday. Mr Aziz was speaking at a news conference weeks after an American drone strike killed the Afghan Taliban chief, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, near Quetta capital city in Balochistan province.   The attack…

MEXICO CITY: In a special gesture, Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday drove Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a restaurant for dinner, a Mexican vegetarian fare.   “In a very special gesture, President @EPN personally drives @narendramodi to a restaurant for Mexican vegetarian fare,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted along with a photo that…

President Obama has officially endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party presidential nominee.   His endorsement came after meeting Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who has been battling Hillary Clinton for the nomination.   Speaking in a video tweeted out by Hillary Clinton, Obama said she may be the most qualified person "ever" for the role of president.   The two are…

Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabab says it has killed 60 Ethiopian soldiers in an attack on an African Union base in central Somalia.   The AU mission (Amisom) says it repulsed the attack, killing 110 militants.   Residents in Halgan told the BBC they had heard a huge bang followed by a heavy exchange of gunfire.   Amisom supports the government as it fights to regain control…

Students and civil servants in China’s Muslim northwest, where Beijing is enforcing a security crackdown, have been ordered to avoid taking part in traditional fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Statements posted in the past several days on websites of schools, government agencies and local party organizations in the Xinjiang region said the ban was aimed at protecting students’…

Beijing:  Strategic consideration were the reasons behind frequent meetings between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese state-run media today said and cautioned India that it cannot rise by "containing" China or picking one side against the other. "For Obama, improving US-India ties will help consolidate his diplomatic legacy as seven months are…

Beijing:  Chinese children are much taller and stronger than four decades ago, with the height gap standing at eight cm, according to a government survey. The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) surveyed 161,774 healthy children under seven years old from nine cities and their suburbs in 2015. Health authorities have conducted the survey once every 10 years since 1975. Taking…