Birthday wishes have poured in from all corners of the country for Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi who turned 70 today.
BJP held a Seva Saptah, from September 14 to 20, coinciding with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, where it distributed ration amongst the needy, organised blood donation camps and eye-check up camps. One of these 70 programmes included insurance coverage for the people.
Narendra Damodardas Modi became prime minister of the country for the second time in a row when BJP won the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament for Varanasi. Modi is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister outside of the Indian National Congress to win two consecutive terms with a full majority and the second to complete more than five years in office after Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Born to a Gujarati family in Vadnagar, Modi helped his father sell tea as a child and has said he later ran his own stall. He was introduced to the RSS at the age of eight, beginning a long association with the organisation. Modi left home after finishing high-school in part due to child marriage to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, which he abandoned and publicly acknowledged only many decades later.
After nearly 2000 years since Hindus first arrived, Bali is now the last Hindu stronghold of Indonesia. Hindu temples and Hindu practice are different in Bali and India. This video looks at how the Balinese temples are organised and also the main theological difference of Indonesia Hinduism.
The second half of the video is concerned with the Sendratari Ramayana and shows it performed with Kechak at sunset at the Uluwatu temple in Southern Bali. The ballet depicts the ancient Indian epic of Lord Rama who, with heroic Hanuman the monkey, wages war on the Rakshasas of Lanka in order to rescue Sita. It is a very Indo-European myth, and I loved seeing it depicted in dance!
Balinese Hinduism is the form of Hinduism practiced by the majority of the population of Bali. This is particularly associated with the Balinese people residing on the island, and represents a distinct form of Hindu worship incorporating local animism, ancestor worship or Pitru Paksha, and reverence for Buddhist saints or Bodhisattava.
The population of Indonesian islands is predominantly Muslim (87%). The island of Bali is an exception where 83% of its people identify as Hindu. Upon independence from the Dutch colonial rule, the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia guaranteed freedom of religion to all citizens. In 1952, states Michel Picard – an anthropologist and scholar of Balinese history and religion, the Indonesian Ministry of Religion came under the control of Islamists who severely constrained an acceptable definition of a "religion". To be acceptable as an official Indonesian religion, the ministry defined "religion" as one that is monotheistic, has codified religious law and added a number of requirements. Further, Indonesia denied rights of citizenship (such as the right to vote) to anyone not belonging to an officially recognized monotheistic religion. The minority Balinese Hindus adapted and declared their form of Hinduism to be monotheistic, and presented it in a form to be politically eligible for the status of "agama". Balinese Hinduism has been formally recognized by the Indonesian government as one of the official religions practiced in Bali.
A group of 20 women army and air force officers from Afghanistan will be trained at the Officers' Training Academy in Chennai. Watch the video to know more about the story.
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central and South Asia. Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south; Iran to the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north; and China to the northeast. Occupying 652,000 square kilometers (252,000 sq mi), it is a mountainous country with plains in the north and southwest. Kabul is the capital and largest city. The population is around 32 million, mostly composed of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks.
Settled life emerged in present-day Afghanistan and adjoining areas 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilization of the third millennium BCE. Indus civilization's archaeological sites were discovered on the Amu Darya at Shortugai and in Kandahar Province at Mundigak; the latter flourished during the Bronze Age Helmand culture. Indo-Aryans migrated through Bactria-Margiana area to Gandhara, followed by the rise of the Iron Age Yaz I culture (ca. 1500–1100 BCE), hich has been closely associated with the culture depicted in the Avesta, the ancient religious texts of Zoroastrianism. The region, then known as "Ariana", fell to Achaemenid Persians in the 6th century BCE, followed by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE, who married Roxana in Bactria before his Kabul Valley campaign, where he faced resistance from Aspasioi and Assakan tribes. The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom became the eastern end of the Hellenistic world. Following the conquest by Mauryan Indians, Buddhism and Hinduism flourished in the region for centuries. The Kushan emperor Kanishka, who ruled from his twin capitals of Kapiśi and Puruṣapura, played an important role in the spread of Mahayana Buddhism to China and Central Asia. Various other Buddhist and Hindu dynasties also ruled the region, including the Saka, Kidarite, Hephthalite, Alkhon, Nezak, Zunbil, Turk Shahi, and Hindu Shahi.
Muslims brought Islam to Sassanian-held Herat and Zaranj in the mid-7th century, while fuller Islamization was achieved between the 9th and 12th centuries under the Saffarid, Samanid, Ghaznavid, and Ghurid dynasties. In the 13th century, the Khwarazmian-held region was ravaged by Mongols. Parts of the region were later ruled by the Khalji, Timurid, Lodi, Sur, Mughal, and Safavid empires. The political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak dynasty, whose founder Mirwais Hotak declared southern Afghanistan independent in 1709. In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, who is considered as the founder of the state, established the Durrani Empire with its capital at Kandahar. In 1776, the Durrani capital was moved to Kabul while Peshawar became the winter capital; the latter was lost to Sikhs in 1823 followed by an unsuccessful attempt to recover it in 1837. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the "Great Game" between British India and the Russian Empire. In the First Anglo-Afghan War, the British East India Company seized control of Afghanistan briefly, but following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919 the country was free of foreign influence, eventually becoming a monarchy under Amanullah Khan, until almost 50 years later when Zahir Shah was overthrown and a republic was established. In 1978, after a second coup, Afghanistan first became a socialist state and then a Soviet protectorate, evoking the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s against mujahideen rebels. By 1996, most of the country was captured by the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban, who ruled as a totalitarian regime for over five years; they were removed from power after the US invasion in 2001 but still control a significant portion of the country. The ongoing war between the government and the Taliban has contributed to the perpetuation of Afghanistan's problematic human rights record including complications of women's rights, with numerous abuses committed by both sides, such as the killing of civilians.
Afghanistan is a unitary presidential Islamic republic. The country has high levels of terrorism, poverty, child malnutrition, and corruption. It is a member of the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Group of 77, the Economic Cooperation Organization, and the Non-Aligned Movement. Afghanistan's economy is the world's 96th largest, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $72.9 billion by purchasing power parity; the country fares much worse in terms of per-capita GDP (PPP), ranking 169th out of 186 countries as of 2018.
J. Sai Deepak, the legal mentor of the Indic Collective Trust, makes a fervent appeal for the autonomy of Hindu temples that have been taken over by the Indian State.
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A Hindu temple is a symbolic house, seat and body of divinity. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together, using symbolism to express the ideas and beliefs of Hinduism. The symbolism and structure of a Hindu temple are rooted in Vedic traditions, deploying circles and squares. It also represents recursion and equivalence of the macrocosm and the microcosm by astronomical numbers, and by "specific alignments related to the geography of the place and the presumed linkages of the deity and the patron". A temple incorporates all elements of Hindu cosmos—presenting the good, the evil and the human, as well as the elements of Hindu sense of cyclic time and the essence of life—symbolically presenting dharma, kama, artha, moksa, and karma.
The spiritual principles symbolically represented in Hindu temples are given in the ancient Sanskrit texts of India (for example, Vedas and Upanishads), while their structural rules are described in various ancient Sanskrit treatises on architecture (Brhat Samhita, Vastu Sastras). The layout, the motifs, the plan and the building process recite ancient rituals, geometric symbolisms, and reflect beliefs and values innate within various schools of Hinduism. A Hindu temple is a spiritual destination for many Hindus, as well as landmarks around which ancient arts, community celebrations and economy have flourished.
Hindu temples come in many styles, are situated in diverse locations, deploy different construction methods and are adapted to different deities and regional beliefs, yet almost all of them share certain core ideas, symbolism and themes. They are found in South Asia particularly India and Nepal, Pakistan, in southeast Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Vietnam, and islands of Indonesia and Malaysia, and countries such as Canada, Fiji, France, Guyana, Kenya, Mauritius, the Netherlands, South Africa, Suriname, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries with a significant Hindu population. The current state and outer appearance of Hindu temples reflect arts, materials and designs as they evolved over two millennia; they also reflect the effect of conflicts between Hinduism and Islam since the 12th century. The Swaminarayanan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, United States, between the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, was inaugurated in 2014 as one of the world's largest Hindu temples.
At a time where the entire country is debating on the concept of Hindu Rashtra, BJP MP and former Minister Subramanian Swamy says that India is already a Hindu Rashtra and that the Indian constitution preaches Hinduism. Swamy was a speaker at the 8th edition of TNIE's ThinkEdu Conclave which was held in Chennai on January 9, 2020.
Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. Defenders of Hindu nationalism have tried to avoid the label "nationalism" by arguing that the use of the term "Hindu nationalism" to refer to Hindū rāṣṭravāda is a simplistic translation and is better described by the term "Hindu polity".
The native thought streams became highly relevant in Indian history when they helped form a distinctive identity in relation to the Indian polity and provided a basis for questioning colonialism. They inspired the independence movements against the British Raj based on armed struggle, coercive politics, and non-violent protests. They also influenced social reform movements and economic thinking in India.
Hindutva (meaning "Hinduness"), a term popularised by Hindu nationalist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923, is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. Hindutva is championed by right-wing Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), widely regarded as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's parent organisation, along with its affiliate organisations, notably the Vishva Hindu Parishad.
Hindutva (transl. Hinduness) is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was popularised by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is championed by the Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other organisations, collectively called the Sangh Parivar. The Hindutva movement has been described as a variant of "right-wing extremism" and as "almost fascist in the classical sense", adhering to a disputed concept of homogenised majority and cultural hegemony. Some dispute the fascist label, and suggest Hindutva is an extreme form of "conservatism" or "ethnic absolutism".
There's a lot we can tell about an ancient building through archaeology and scientific research. We can tell when it was built, and usually how it was built, too. We might even be able to get an idea of what it was used for, but we can't always get all of the answers. Every structure you're about to see in this list is an outstanding feat of ancient construction, and although we know a little about all of them, we're still left with more questions than answers.
The Ayutthaya Kingdom also spelled "Ayudhya" or "Ayodhya" was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 centered on the city of Ayutthaya. The Kingdom of Ayutthaya is considered to be the precursor of modern Thailand and its developments become the main part of the History of Thailand.
Ayutthaya kingdom emerged from the mandala of city-states on the Lower Chao Phraya Valley in the late fourteenth century during the decline of the Khmer Empire. After a century of territorial expansions, Ayutthaya was centralized and rose as a major power in Southeast Asia. Ayutthaya faced Burmese invasions resulting in the First Fall of Ayutthaya in 1569. However, King Naresuan (r. 1590 - 1605) freed Ayutthaya from brief Burmese rule and expanded Ayutthaya militarily. By 1600, the kingdom's vassals included some city-states in the Malay Peninsula, Sukhothai, Lan Na, parts of Burma and Cambodia, though the extent of Ayutthaya's control over its neighbors varied over time. In the seventeenth century, Ayutthaya emerged as en entrepôt of international trade and its cultures flourished. The reign of King Narai (r. 1656 - 1688) was described as the "Golden Age" of Siamese culture and was known for historic contact between the Siamese court and the court of King Louis XIV of France. In the eighteenth century, however, Ayutthaya succumbed to civil wars and renewed Burmese invasions. The Ayutthaya Kingdom ended in 1767 with Burmese invasion and the city of Ayutthaya, after 417 years of existence, was destroyed. The seat of Siamese authority was moved to Thonburi and later Bangkok.
In foreign accounts, Ayutthaya was called "Siam", but many sources say the people of Ayutthaya called themselves Tai, and their kingdom Krung Tai. It was also referred to as Iudea in a painting requested by the Dutch East India Company.
Exploding real estate prices, zero interest rate and a rising stock market – the rich are getting richer. What danger lies in wait for average citizens?
For years, the world’s central banks have been pursuing a policy of cheap money. The first and foremost is the ECB (European Central Bank), which buys bad stocks and bonds to save banks, tries to fuel economic growth and props up states that are in debt. But what relieves state budgets to the tune of hundreds of billions annoys savers: interest rates are close to zero.
The fiscal policies of the central banks are causing an uncontrolled global deluge of money. Experts are warning of new bubbles. In real estate, for example: it’s not just in German cities that prices are shooting up. In London, a one-bed apartment can easily cost more than a million Euro. More and more money is moving away from the real economy and into the speculative field. Highly complex financial bets are taking place in the global casino - gambling without checks and balances. The winners are set from the start: in Germany and around the world, the rich just get richer. Professor Max Otte says: "This flood of money has caused a dangerous redistribution. Those who have, get more." But with low-interest rates, any money in savings accounts just melts away. Those with debts can be happy. But big companies that want to swallow up others are also happy: they can borrow cheap money for their acquisitions. Coupled with the liberalization of the financial markets, money deals have become detached from the real economy. But it’s not just the banks that need a constant source of new, cheap money today. So do states. They need it to keep a grip on their mountains of debt. It’s a kind of snowball system. What happens to our money? Is a new crisis looming? The film 'The Money Deluge' casts a new and surprising light on our money in these times of zero interest rates.
When we first moved Off Grid and began this wilderness living adventure many of the comments wanted to know how we shower off the grid. At first we were rain water harvesting, putting that water in a camping bladder shower and trying to warm the water in the sun or taking freezing cold showers. Now we are working on heating our shower water in a copper pipe which runs through our wood stove. Currently our Off Grid Showering uses a Ecco L5 Tankless water heater, well water, a motor for water pressure, a solar panel charged 12v lead acid battery, and a propane tank. Here's a video we made about how we shower off the grid while living in a yurt in the wilderness! We also are using two Renogy 100 Watt Solar Panels to charge our Bluetti 1500wh battery. This Bluetti 1500 battery is our favorite so far and can charge our computers, phones, camera, and kitchen appliances. We also love our Jackery 500w Battery and Jackery 100w foldable solar panel. You will see our solar panels and off grid battery bank and batteries in this video! Enjoy.
Even though Nicole and Jake are living in the wilderness off the grid in a yurt we still like to stay up to date on current events including the pandemic and acute human societal changes currently occurring worldwide. Are you like us? Are you re-thinking your place in the world and re-thinking what your life or LIFE in general is/should be about? In my opinion we have all been born into a life and into a system which is not one I want to live in! I love eating in restaurants, going to movies, going to shows, watching videos like the ones on YouTube, and traveling to rare places worldwide. That being said, I think the following activities and skills should be fundamental and engrained in every living human: Growing your own food, getting your own electricity cleanly (solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, friction), learning 5 skills you attempt to master, building your own shelter, love, family, friends, and letting activities you need and love be your job. I like making YouTube videos and love growing food (herbs, veggies), using solar panel or wind turbines to power my phone/computer, walk/run/bike for my transportation, and OWNING my own shelter 100% (no debt/no mortgage). I no longer give 12 hours a day to traffic and a job/boss and instead I give 24 hours a day to myself and planet EARTH.
Internal documents obtained by NTD reveal China was preparing for a coronavirus outbreak long before admitting there was even human to human transmission.
In one of Beijing’s districts, a video shows a family being taken away by medical staff. This district is designated as ‘high risk’.
China’s foreign ministry responding to global calls of accountability for the pandemic. But many point out his claims ring false.
Thousands of Chinese investors suffered huge losses over the oil collapse this Monday. At the same time, it shed some light on the lack of transparency in parts of China’s financial sector.
And U.S. stock regulators are warning investors about the risks of Chinese company stocks. This comes after a blowout of China’s biggest coffee chain and a growing list of scandals around Chinese companies.
NTD refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party's coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
Saudi Cleric Dr. Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Mutlaq recently told Muslim women that they can refuse sex to their husbands if they are concerned about Coronavirus.
"A woman’s orgasm comes down from her head whereas a man’s orgasm comes down from his back… She was asked which finds greater pleasure in the sexual union: a man or a woman? And she answered: We, women, find such pleasure…"
— The Encyclopedia of Pleasure, Ali ibn Nasr al-Katib
"Praise be given to God, who has placed man’s greatest pleasure in the natural parts of woman, and has destined the natural parts of man to afford the greatest enjoyment to a woman."
— The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight, Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Nafzawi
"The female orgasm isn’t a unicorn, it’s a misunderstood breed of purebred hound: common, frequently feared, occasionally in fashion throughout history, and giving great happiness if well-trained."
— “A Brief History of the Female Orgasm, From Medieval to Modern Times” by JR Thorpe
People have lived in Australia for over 65,000 years. The first people who arrived in Australia were the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. They lived in all parts of Australia. They lived by hunting, fishing and gathering.
Aborigines invented tools like the boomerang and spear. There is also evidence that the Aboriginal people used farming methods. The tradition was very important in their lives. Their religion is called the Dreamtime, which has lots of stories about the creation of the world by spirits. Aboriginal art started at least 30,000 years ago and there are lots of Dreaming stories painted on walls and cut in rocks all around Australia. Aboriginal music has songs about the Dreamtime, sometimes with special instruments like the didgeridoo.
In 1606 the first European, Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon (1571–1639), visited the west. Luis Vaez de Torres sailed through the water between Australia and New Guinea later that year. Only after Dirk Hartog chanced upon the west coast in 1616 did other European vessels visit and map the coast. After sixty more ships visited the coast, enough was known for a map to be published in 1811. The land was dry because of not much rain; some were a desert. The explorers thought no crops could be grown and so it would be difficult for people to live there. They decided there would be no economic reasons to stay.
In 1642, Dutchman Abel Tasman, working for the Dutch East Indies Company reached Tasmania, which he called Antony van Diemenslandt. He then called the continent he charted the north coast of on his second visit in 1644 New Holland. In 1688, William Dampier became the first Englishman to reach Australia. But in 1770 a British sailor, Captain James Cook, found the fertile east coast of Australia. He called it New South Wales and claimed it for Britain. Englishman Matthew Flinders published his map of the coast in 1814, calling it Australia for the first time, a name later formally adopted by the authorities.
Benjamin Netanyahu born 21 October 1949 is an Israeli politician who has been Prime Minister of Israel since 2009, having previously held the position from 1996 to 1999. Netanyahu is also the Chairman of the Likud – National Liberal Movement. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Israeli history and the first to be born in Israel after the establishment of the state.
Born in Tel Aviv to secular Jewish parents, Netanyahu was raised in both Jerusalem and the Philadelphia area of the United States. He returned to Israel immediately upon graduating high school in 1967 to join the Israel Defense Forces shortly after the Six-Day War. Netanyahu became a team leader in the Sayeret Matkal special forces unit and took part in many missions, including Operation Inferno (1968), Operation Gift (1968) and Operation Isotope (1972), during which he was shot in the shoulder. Netanyahu fought on the front lines in the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War in 1973, taking part in special forces raids along the Suez Canal and then leading a commando assault deep into Syrian territory. Netanyahu achieved the rank of captain before being discharged. After graduating from MIT with a Bachelor of Science (SB) and a Master of Science (SM), Netanyahu became an economic consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. He moved back to Israel in 1978 to found the Yonatan Netanyahu Anti-Terror Institute, named after his brother Yonatan Netanyahu, who died leading Operation Entebbe.
In 1984, Netanyahu was appointed the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, a role he held until 1988. He was subsequently elected to the Knesset before becoming the leader of Likud in 1993; he then led the party to victory at the 1996 election, becoming Israel's youngest-ever prime minister. After being defeated in the 1999 election, Netanyahu left politics, returning to the private sector. He later served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance in the government of Ariel Sharon, but eventually resigned over disagreements regarding the Gaza disengagement plan. As Finance Minister, Netanyahu initiated major reforms of the Israeli economy that were credited by commentators as having significantly improved Israel's subsequent economic performance.
Netanyahu returned to the leadership of Likud in December 2005 after Sharon stepped down to form a new party, Kadima. Although Likud finished second in the 2009 election to Kadima, Netanyahu was able to form a coalition government with other right-wing parties and was sworn in as Prime Minister for a second time. He went on to lead Likud to victory in the 2013 and 2015 elections. After the April 2019 election resulted in no party being able to form a government, a second election took place in September 2019; in that election, the centrist Blue and White party emerged slightly ahead of Netanyahu's Likud. However, neither Netanyahu nor Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Party was able to form a government, and Gantz returned the mandate to the president.
Since December 2016, Netanyahu has been under investigation for corruption by Israeli police and prosecutors. On 21 November 2019, he was indicted on charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud. Due to the indictment, Netanyahu is legally required to relinquish all of his ministry posts other than the prime minister position.
Israel, formally known as the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's economic and technological center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, although the state's sovereignty over Jerusalem has only partial recognition.
Israel has evidence of the earliest migration of hominids out of Africa. Canaanite tribes are archaeologically attested since the Middle Bronze Age, while the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged during the Iron Age. The Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed Israel around 720 BCE. Judah was later conquered by the Babylonian, Persian and Hellenistic empires and had existed as Jewish autonomous provinces. The successful Maccabean Revolt led to an independent Hasmonean kingdom by 110 BCE, which in 63 BCE however became a client state of the Roman Republic that subsequently installed the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE, and in 6 CE created the Roman province of Judea. Judea lasted as a Roman province until the failed Jewish revolts resulted in widespread destruction, the expulsion of the Jewish population and the renaming of the region from Iudaea to Syria Palaestina. The Jewish presence in the region has persisted to a certain extent over the centuries. In the 7th century CE, the Levant was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Arabs and remained in Muslim control until the First Crusade of 1099, followed by the Ayyubid conquest of 1187. The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt extended its control over the Levant in the 13th century until its defeat by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. During the 19th century, national awakening among Jews led to the establishment of the Zionist movement in the diaspora followed by waves of immigration to Ottoman Syria and later Mandatory Palestine.
In 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Palestine recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency and rejected by Arab leaders. The following year, the Jewish Agency declared the independence of the State of Israel, and the subsequent 1948 Arab–Israeli War saw Israel's establishment over most of the former Mandate territory, while the West Bank and Gaza were held by neighboring Arab states. Israel has since fought several wars with Arab countries, and since the Six-Day War in June 1967 held occupied territories including the West Bank, Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip (still considered occupied after the 2005 disengagement, although some legal experts dispute this claim). It extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories is the world's longest military occupation in modern times. Efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in a final peace agreement. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have been signed.
In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state and the nation-state of the Jewish people. The country has a liberal democracy (one of only two in the Middle East and North Africa region, the other being Tunisia), with a parliamentary system, proportional representation, and universal suffrage. The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is the legislature. With a population of around 9 million as of 2019, Israel is a developed country and an OECD member. It has the world's 31st-largest economy by nominal GDP and is the most developed country currently in conflict. It has the highest standard of living in the Middle East, and ranks among the world's top countries by percentage of citizens with military training, percentage of citizens holding a tertiary education degree, research and development spending by GDP percentage, women's safety, life expectancy, innovativeness, and happiness.
Wuhan is the capital city of Hubei province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over 11 million, the ninth most populous Chinese city, and one of the nine National Central Cities of China.
The name "Wuhan" came from the city's historical origin from the conglomeration of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang, which are collectively known as the "Three Towns of Wuhan" (武汉三镇). It lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain, at the confluence of the Yangtze river and its largest tributary, the Han River, and is known as "Nine Provinces' Thoroughfare".
Wuhan is considered by some to be one of the potential sites of the pivotal Battle of the Red Cliffs, which stopped warlord Cao Cao's incursion into southern China at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Other historical events taking place in Wuhan include the Wuchang Uprising of 1911, which led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China. Wuhan was briefly the capital of China in 1927 under the left-wing of the Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Wang Jingwei. The city later served as the wartime capital of China for ten months in 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Coronavirus pandemic was first identified in Wuhan in December 2019.
Wuhan is considered the political, economic, financial, commercial, cultural, and educational center of Central China. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city and connecting to other major cities. Because of its key role in domestic transportation, Wuhan is sometimes referred to as "the Chicago of China" by foreign sources. The "Golden Waterway" of the Yangtze River and the Han River traverse the urban area and divide Wuhan into the three districts of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang. The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge crosses the Yangtze in the city. The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity, is located nearby. Historically, Wuhan has suffered risks of flooding, prompting the government to alleviate the situation by introducing ecologically friendly absorption mechanisms.
While Wuhan has been a traditional manufacturing hub for decades, it is also one of the areas promoting modern industrial changes in China. Wuhan consists of three national development zones, four scientific and technological development parks, over 350 research institutes, 1,656 high tech enterprises, numerous enterprise incubators, and investments from 230 Fortune Global 500 firms. It produced GDP of US$22.4 billion in 2018. The Dongfeng Motor Corporation, an automobile manufacturer, is headquartered in Wuhan. The city is home to multiple notable institutes of higher education, including Wuhan University, which was ranked third nationwide in 2017, and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology. In 2017, Wuhan was designated as a Creative City by UNESCO, in the field of design. Wuhan is classified as a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
The country that wants to reconcile democracy and Islam appears to be finding it harder and harder to strike a balance between the two. Bangladesh was born in blood. The Bangladeshi government claims some three million people were killed during the 1971 war of liberation, though independent figures vary greatly. While Pakistan has remained an Islamic republic, Bangladesh made secularism a founding principle in the republic’s constitution. But conflict between Islamist and secular forces has plagued the country since its formation - and has a major impact on how it is perceived abroad. Annual economic growth has been at well over five percent for a decade; inward investment is flowing. Bangladesh is one of the world’s leading producers of garments and textiles. The government in Dhaka is keen to attract foreign cash. That fixation with inward investment also helps explain the refusal on the part of the political elite to recognize the growth of violent Islamism in the country. In 2016, Bangladesh experienced its worst terrorist attack to date. In Dhaka in the heart of the capital’s diplomatic quarter, terrorists murdered 20 people they’d taken hostage in a popular café, among them 18 foreigners. So-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in Dhaka, but the Bangladeshi government continues to deny that there are IS or Al-Qaeda cells in the country. The political landscape of the country is currently shaped by the personal animosity between the two most powerful women in Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina, who heads the Awami League, and Khaleda Zia from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. When one of them holds the reins of power, the other regularly does all she can to bring government grinding to a halt by having the opposition dig in its heels. In a further twist to this tale Khaleda Zia was sentenced to five years in jail early February 2018, charged with misusing charitable funds. Khaleda Zia is also currently barred from taking part in parliamentary polls. The daughter of the country’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Hasina has led the Bangladeshi government since 2009. She views herself as a mediator between secular and Islamist forces. But the brutal murder of bloggers critical of religion and the continuing restriction of democratic freedoms show how this balancing act is teetering - and could soon tip into disaster.
Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Bangladesh, covering about 8.7% of the population, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics for 2011 Bangladesh census. In terms of population, Bangladesh is the third largest Hindu state in the world after India and Nepal. According to an estimate from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), there were 17 million Hindus in Bangladesh as of 2015.
In nature, Bangladeshi Hinduism closely resembles the forms and customs of Hinduism practised in the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal, with which Bangladesh (at one time known as East Bengal) was united until the partition of India in 1947. The vast majority of Hindus in Bangladesh are Bengali Hindus.
The Goddess (Devi) – usually venerated as Durga or Kali – is widely revered, often alongside her consort Shiva. The worship of Shiva has generally found adherents among the higher castes in Bangladesh. Worship of Vishnu (typically in the form of his Avatars or incarnation Rama or Krishna) more explicitly cuts across caste lines by teaching the fundamental oneness of humankind in spirit. Vishnu worship in Bengal expresses the union of the male and female principles in a tradition of love and devotion. This form of Hindu belief and the Sufi tradition of Islam have influenced and interacted with each other in Bengal. Both were popular mystical movements emphasizing the personal relationship of religious leader and disciple instead of the dry stereotypes of the brahmins or the ulama. As in Bengali Islamic practice, worship of Vishnu frequently occurs in a small devotional society (shomaj). Both use the language of earthly love to express communion with the divine. In both traditions, the Bengali language is the vehicle of a large corpus of mystical literature of great beauty and emotional impact.
In Bangladeshi Hinduism ritual bathing, vows, and pilgrimages to sacred rivers, mountains, and shrines are common practice. An ordinary Hindu will worship at the shrines of Muslim pirs, without being concerned with the religion to which that place is supposed to be affiliated. Hindus revere many holy men and ascetics conspicuous for their bodily mortifications. Some believe that they attain spiritual benefit merely by looking at a great holy man. Durga Puja, held in September–October, is the most important festival of Bangladeshi Hindus and it is widely celebrated across Bangladesh. Thousands of pandals (mandaps) are set up in various cities, towns and villages to mark the festival. Other festivals are Kali Puja, Janmashtami, Holi, Saraswati Puja, Shivratri and Rathayatra, the most popular being the century-old Dhamrai Rathayatra.
The principle of ahimsa is expressed in almost universally observed rules against eating beef. By no means are all Bangladeshi Hindus vegetarians, but abstinence from all kinds of meat is regarded as a "higher" virtue. Brahmin (Brahmon) or "Upper-caste" Bangladeshi Hindus, unlike their counterparts elsewhere in South Asia, ordinarily eat fish and chicken. This is similar to the Indian state of West Bengal which has a similar climate to that of Bangladesh, where Hindus also consume fish, egg, chicken and mutton.There are also non-Bengali Hindus in Bangladesh,majority of the Hajong, Rajbongshi people and Tripuris in Bangladesh are Hindus.
Russia - a global power, confident and strong. That’s the image projected by President Vladimir Putin. Decades after the Soviet Union’s collapse, Putin is relying on Russian traditions and values from the tsarist past to kindle patriotism.
Many Russians see Vladimir Putin as the man who has returned pride, glory and honor to their nation. The Cossacks, an ultra-conservative group, are key to Putin's grip on power. They are honored as guardians of traditional Russian values and serve Putin as nationalist paramilitaries. Tens of thousands of Russians identify as Cossacks. They trace their origins to horsemen who formed mounted bands in the Russian steppes during the 15th Century. Over the course of time, they served many masters - including the tsars. After the Communist revolution, they faced oppression and persecution. During World War II, some were active in Hitler's armies. Now, President Putin is capitalizing on their nationalistic priorities. This documentary looks at the role Cossacks play in supporting police in Moscow, including during demonstrations by regime opponents. Another pillar of support for Putin is the Russian Orthodox Church. It has resurged under Putin, and exercises considerable political influence - an alliance that benefits both sides. Article 14, paragraph 2 of the Russian constitution defines the separation of church and state. But the Russian Orthodox Church sees itself as a bulwark against outside influence and supports the Kremlin, for example in its annexation of Crimea. It sees itself as the protector of Russian values, and views homosexuality as a sign of an impending apocalypse. The filmmakers show how nostalgia for "Glorious Russia" and the values of the tsarist period are playing out in modern day Russian politics.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2), a virus closely related to the SARS virus. The disease was discovered and named during the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak. Those affected may develop a fever, dry cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath. A sore throat, runny nose or sneezing is less common. Cases can progress to pneumonia and multi-organ failure.
The infection is spread from one person to others via respiratory droplets produced from the airways, often during coughing or sneezing. Time from exposure to onset of symptoms is generally between 2 and 14 days, with an average of 5 days. The standard method of diagnosis is by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) from a nasopharyngeal swab or sputum sample, with results within a few hours to 2 days. Antibody assays can also be used, using a blood serum sample, with results within a few days. The infection can also be diagnosed from a combination of symptoms, risk factors, and a chest CT scan showing features of pneumonia.
Hand washing, maintaining distance from people who are coughing and not touching one's face with unwashed hands are measures recommended to prevent the disease. It is recommended to cover one's nose and mouth with a tissue or a bent elbow when coughing. Those who suspect they carry the virus are recommended to wear a surgical face mask and seek medical advice by calling a doctor rather than visiting a clinic in person. Masks are also recommended for those who are taking care of someone with a suspected infection but not for the general public. There is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment, with management involving treatment of symptoms, supportive care, and experimental measures. The case fatality rate is estimated at between 1% and 3%.
The WHO has declared the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). As of 29 February 2020, China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States are areas having evidence of community transmission of the disease.
The Kölnbrein Dam is an arch dam in the Hohe Tauern range within Carinthia, Austria. It was constructed between 1971 and 1979 and at 200 metres (660 ft) high, it is the tallest dam in Austria. The dam's reservoir serves as the primary storage in a three-stage pumped-storage power system that consists of nine dams, four hydroelectric power plants and a series of pipeline and penstocks. The complex is owned by Verbund power company and is referred to as the Malta-Reisseck Power Plant Group. The installed capacity of the group is 1,028.5 MW and its annual generation is 1,216 gigawatt-hours (4,380 TJ).
While the dam's reservoir was filling, several cracks appeared in the dam and it took more than a decade of repairs before the reservoir could operate at maximum levels. Currently, the Reisseck II pumped-storage power plant is under construction and will effectively connect both the Malta and Reisseck groups and add an additional 430 MW of production capacity.
Construction
Plans for the dam were already drafted in the late 1930s by the German AEG engineering company, when the Kaprun power plant was built north of the Alpine divide. The project was resumed by the Austrian authorities after World War II with extended exploratory drilling from 1957 onwards, nevertheless the construction of the Kölnbrein Dam did not begin until 1971.
Before cement and other construction materials could be moved on site, an access road had to be constructed. This proved difficult as the steep Malta Valley rises over 300 metres (980 ft) along a 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) stretch and at times has 13 percent gradients. To complete the road, six tunnels were excavated. In 1973, as superstructure construction progressed, cement was transported on site and mixed with aggregate from local sources. To reduce thermal expansion, concrete was poured 30 cubic metres (39 cu yd) at a time and pipes with circulating water were placed throughout the mass. The structure consisted of 30 columns with each joint grouted. Construction conditions high in the valley were not ideal as workers coped with snow and rain along with wind speeds of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph; 43 kn).
Tourism
The Kölnbrein Dam is the terminus of a 14.3 kilometres (8.9 mi) long scenic route through the Maltatal, the former construction site road, including a restaurant, a hotel and an exhibition on hydroelectricity. Verbund also offers tours of the power plant group and the dam. Tours on the dam are conducted daily while the road is open between 9 May and 26 October each year.
In 2010 a "skywalk", a horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge, was installed on top of the dam for visitors which is also a popular bungee jumping venue. The dam lies within the High Tauern National Park and is a destination for mountaineers as well. Moreover, the reservoir is used by rowers for altitude training.
Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of Lord Shiva, and in particular, marks the night of the heavenly marriage and consummation between Shiva and Parvati. It is also referred to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance. There is a Shivaratri in every luni-solar month of the Hindu calendar, on the month's 13th night/14th day, but once a year in late winter (February/March, or phalgun) and before the arrival of Summer, marks Maha Shivaratri which means "the Great Night of Shiva".
It is a major festival in Hinduism, and this festival is solemn and marks a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world. It is observed by remembering Shiva and chanting prayers, fasting, and meditating on ethics and virtues such as honesty, non-injury to others, charity, forgiveness, and the discovery of Shiva. The ardent devotees keep awake all night. Others visit one of the Shiva temples or go on pilgrimage to Jyotirlingams. This is an ancient Hindu festival whose origin date is unknown.
In Kashmir Shaivism, the festival is called Har-ratri or phonetically simpler Haerath or Herath by Shiva faithfuls of the Kashmir region. Cannabis is also smoked to mark this festival, especially in countries like Nepal and India.
After months of negotiations, Nine News correspondent Tom Steinfort was given rare permission to travel to North Korea. There he worryingly discovered a country whose people are ready for conflict, and bizarrely, almost gleeful that a consequence of it could be the end of the world. North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, with Pyongyang as its capital and the largest city in the country. To the north and northwest, the country is bordered by China and by Russia along the Amnok (known as the Yalu in Chinese) and Tumen rivers, and to the south, it is bordered by South Korea, with the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two. Nevertheless, North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands.
In 1910, Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan. At the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, Korea was divided into two zones, with the north occupied by the Soviet Union and the south occupied by the United States. Negotiations on reunification failed, and in 1948, separate governments were formed: the socialist Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, and the capitalist Republic of Korea in the south. An invasion initiated by North Korea led to the Korean War (1950–1953). The Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire, but no peace treaty was signed.
North Korea officially describes itself as a "self-reliant" socialist state, and formally holds elections, though they have been described by outside observers as sham elections. Outside observers also generally view North Korea as a Stalinist dictatorship, particularly noting the elaborate cult of personality around the Kim dynasty. The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), led by a member of the ruling family, holds absolute power in the state and leads the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland of which all political officers are required to be members. Juche, an ideology of national self-reliance, was introduced into the constitution in 1972. The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises and collectivized farms. Most service—such as healthcare, education, housing and food production—are subsidized or state-funded. From 1994 to 1998, North Korea suffered a famine that resulted in the deaths of between 240,000 and 420,000 people, and the population continues to suffer malnutrition. North Korea follows Songun, or "military-first" policy. It is the country with the highest number of military and paramilitary personnel, with a total of 9,495,000 active, reserve and paramilitary personnel, or approximately 37% of its population. Its active duty army of 1.21 million is the fourth largest in the world, after China, the United States and India, consisting of 4.7% of its population. It possesses nuclear weapons. In addition to being a member of the United Nations since 1991, North Korea is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, G77 and the ASEAN Regional Forum.
A 2014 UN inquiry into human rights in North Korea concluded that "the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world". The North Korean regime denies these allegations.
The Citarum River in Indonesia is the world’s most polluted river. One of the main polluters is the fashion industry: 500 textile factories throw their wastewater directly into the river.
The filmmakers teamed up with international scientists to investigate the causes and consequences of this pollution. With the help of concerned citizens, the ‘Green Warriors’ team analyzed water samples, rice, children’s hair, etc. and discovered that toxic chemicals are endangering the lives of the 14 million Indonesians who use the Citarum water. What was once considered paradise is now a brown sludge of human waste and dangerous substances like nonylphenol, antimony and tributylphosphate. These findings prompted the Indonesian government to change its wastewater regulations. Recently, President Joko Widodo announced a new plan to clean up the Citarum. The fashion brands questioned in this documentary promised to better monitor their Indonesian suppliers.
The Citarum River is the longest and largest river in West Java, Indonesia. It is the third longest river in Java, after Bengawan Solo and Brantas. It has an important role in the life of the people of West Java, as it supports agriculture, water supply, fishery, industry, sewerage, and electricity. It is listed as one of the most polluted rivers in the world.
In Indonesian history the Citarum is linked with the 4th-century Tarumanagara kingdom, as the kingdom and the river shared the same etymology, derived from the word "tarum" (Sundanese for indigo plant). The earlier 4th-century BCE prehistoric Buni clay pottery-making culture flourished near the river's mouth. Stone inscriptions, Chinese sources, and archaeological sites such as Batujaya and Cibuaya suggest that the human habitation and civilization flourished in and around the river estuaries and river valley as early as the 4th century and even earlier.
The river flows in the northwest area of Java with a predominantly tropical monsoon climate. The annual average temperature in the area is 24 °C. The warmest month is May, when the average temperature is around 26 °C, and the coldest is January, at 22 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2646 mm. The wettest month is January, with an average of 668 mm rainfall, and the driest month is September, with 14 mm rainfall.
The river is heavily polluted by human activity; about five million people live in its basin. Textile factories in Bandung and Cimahi were major toxic waste contributors. More than 2,000 industries contaminate 5,020 sq miles of the river with lead, mercury, arsenic, and other toxins. According to the documentary "Green Warriors Indonesia" by Martin Boudot, some of the other toxins include sulphites, nonylphenol, phtalates, PCB 180, paranitrophenol, tributylphosphate. The documentary also mentions that the most dangerous pollution comes from the Indonesian textile industry (with many textile factories being part of Asosiasi Pertekstilan Indonesia). It is also mentioned that the textile factory effluents are only tested on a very select number of parameters. It was thus also proposed in the documentary that a revisal on the textile industry guidelines could include more parameters such as sulphites and heavy metals.
On December 5, 2008, the Asian Development Bank approved a $500 million loan for cleaning up the river, calling it the world's dirtiest.
What is CAA ?
The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 by providing a path to Indian citizenship for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religious minorities that had fled persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 2014. Muslims were not given such eligibility. The act was the first time religion had been overtly used as a criterion for citizenship under Indian law.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the Indian government, had promised in previous election manifestos to offer Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from neighboring countries. Under the 2019 amendment, migrants who had entered India by 31 December 2014, and had suffered "religious persecution or fear of religious persecution" in their country of origin were made eligible for citizenship. The amendment also relaxed the residence requirement for naturalization of these migrants from eleven years to five. Immediate beneficiaries of the Bill, according to the Intelligence Bureau of India, will be 31,313 refugees: 25,447 Hindus, 5,807 Sikhs, 55 Christians, 2 Buddhists and 2 Parsis.
The amendment has been widely criticised as discriminating on the basis of religion, in particular for excluding Muslims. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called it "fundamentally discriminatory", adding that while India's "goal of protecting persecuted groups is welcome", this should be accomplished through a non-discriminatory "robust national asylum system". Critics express concerns that the bill would be used, along with the National Register of Citizens, to render many Muslim citizens stateless, as they may be unable to meet stringent birth or identity proof requirements. Commentators also question the exclusion of persecuted religious minorities from other regions such as Tibet, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The Indian government says that Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are Muslim-majority countries therefore Muslims are "unlikely to face religious persecution" there. However, certain Muslim groups, such as Hazaras and Ahmadis, have historically faced persecution in these countries.
The passage of the legislation caused large-scale protests in India. Assam and other northeastern states have seen violent demonstrations against the bill over fears that granting Indian citizenship to refugees and immigrants will cause a loss of their "political rights, culture and land rights" and motivate further migration from Bangladesh. In other parts of India, protesters said the bill discriminated against Muslims and demanded that Indian citizenship be granted to Muslim refugees and immigrants. Major protests against the Act were held at universities in India. Students at Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia alleged brutal suppression by the police. The protests have led to the deaths of several protesters, injuries to protesters and police personnel, damage to public and private property, the detention of hundreds of people, and suspensions of local internet mobile phone connectivity in certain areas. Some states have announced they will not implement the Act. The Union Home Ministry has said that states lack the legal power to stop the implementation of the CAA. What is NRC ?
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register of all Indian citizens whose creation is mandated by The Citizenship Act 1955 as amended in 2003. It has been implemented for the state of Assam between 2013–2014. The government plans to implement it for the rest of India in 2021. According to the Citizenship Rules, 2003, the centre can issue an order to prepare the NPR and create the NRC based on the data gathered in the National Population Register (NPR). The 2003 further states that the local officials would then decide if the person's name will be added to the NRC or not, thereby deciding his citizenship status. No new rules or laws are needed to conduct this exercise in the whole of India.
Assam, being a border state with unique problems of illegal immigration, an NRC for the state was created in 1951 based on the 1951 census data. But it was not maintained afterwards. In 1983, the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act was passed by the Parliament creating a separate tribunal process for identifying illegal migrants in Assam. The Supreme Court of India struck it down as unconstitutional in 2005, after which the Government of India agreed to update the Assam NRC.
Following unsatisfactory progress on the update process over a decade, the Supreme Court started directing and monitoring the process in 2013. The final updated NRC for Assam, published 31 August 2019, contained 31 million names out of 33 million population, leaving out 1.9 million applicants. The 1.9 million residents who were not on the list, and were in danger of losing their citizenship. Many of those affected were Bengali Hindus, who constitute a major voter base for the BJP. After the completion of the Assam NRC exercise, BJP did not find the results, meeting its expectations. BJP believed that several legitimate citizens were excluded while illegal migrants were included. The register was created because "illegal migration from Bangladesh has long been a concern" in Assam. The Amendment of the 1955 Citizenship Act, in part, helps protect non-Muslims who are not in the register and face arrest or deportation.
The ruling government of Bharatiya Janata Party has promised to implement the NRC for all of India in its election manifesto and during its speeches while campaigning for the 2019 General Election. On 19 November 2019, Home minister Amit Shah, declared in the Rajya Sabha of the Indian parliament that the NRC will be implemented throughout the country.
Is Muhammad mentioned in the Bible? Muslim apologist Dr. Zakir Naik claims that Isaiah 29:12 is a prophecy about Muhammad. However, Isaiah 29:12 is about spiritually blind people who rebel against God and make excuses for rejecting his revelations. The passage goes on to say that God will punish these spiritually blind people by taking away their wisdom and intelligence. Hence, if Isaiah 29:12 is about Muhammad (as Zakir Naik claims), then Muhammad was a spiritually blind moron! Once again, Dr. Naik proves the opposite of what he intends to prove.
In the Islamic hadith collection "Kanz al-Ummal," we read a disturbing story about Muhammad sleeping with a dead woman to ensure her a place in paradise as his bride:
"Narrated by Ibn Abbas: 'I (Muhammad) put on her my shirt that she may wear the clothes of heaven, and I slept with her in her coffin (grave) that I may lessen the pressure of the grave. She was the best of Allah’s creatures to me after Abu Talib' . . . The prophet was referring to Fatima , the mother of Ali."
Since the word "slept" here can refer to sexual intercourse (as in the English sentence, "He slept with her"), some critics of Islam have suggested that Muhammad had sex with a dead woman.
Whether or not that's true, Muslim apologist Dr. Zakir Naik claims that Muhammad was a homosexual and a necrophile (someone who is sexually attracted to dead people). He makes this claim by arguing that Muhammad is mentioned by name in Song of Solomon 5:16 and that the Hebrew word "machmad" is the name "Muhammad." In this video, David Wood points out the obvious implications of Naik's assertions.
In the Islamic hadith collection "Kanz al-Ummal," we read a disturbing story about Muhammad sleeping with a dead woman to ensure her a place in paradise as his bride:
"Narrated by Ibn Abbas: 'I (Muhammad) put on her my shirt that she may wear the clothes of heaven, and I slept with her in her coffin (grave) that I may lessen the pressure of the grave. She was the best of Allah’s creatures to me after Abu Talib' . . . The prophet was referring to Fatima , the mother of Ali."
Since the word "slept" here can refer to sexual intercourse (as in the English sentence, "He slept with her"), some critics of Islam have suggested that Muhammad had sex with a dead woman.
Whether or not that's true, Muslim apologist Dr. Zakir Naik claims that Muhammad was a homosexual and a necrophile (someone who is sexually attracted to dead people). He makes this claim by arguing that Muhammad is mentioned by name in Song of Solomon 5:16 and that the Hebrew word "machmad" is the name "Muhammad." In this video, David Wood points out the obvious implications of Naik's assertions.
