Families of the victims and survivors of the 1972 Bloody Sunday, in which British soldiers opened fire and killed 13 unarmed civil rights marchers and injured 15 others in Northern Ireland, have fought for justice for five decades without a single person being held accountable in court. That could change after Monday when a former British soldier goes on trial on charges of murder in the shooting of two men and the attempted murders of five others. The ex-paratrooper, identified only as a “Soldier F” and concealed from view in court behind blue floor-to-ceiling curtain to protect him from vengeance, is the lone...

The United States, South Korea and Japan opened an air and naval exercise off a South Korean island Monday in their latest joint drill condemned by North Korea as a “reckless show of strength.” The exercise called Freedom Edge is aimed at strengthening the countries’ combined operational capabilities in the sea, air and cyberspace and is necessary to counter North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the exercise will include U.S. Marine and Air Force aerial assets and feature enhanced ballistic-missile and air-defense drills, medical evacuations and maritime operations training,...

The Philippine president on Monday encouraged the public to express their outrage over massive corruption that has plagued flood-control projects in one of Asia’s most typhoon-prone countries but said street protests should be peaceful. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed that an investigation by an independent commission would not spare even his allies in the House of Representatives and the Senate, where several legislators have been identified and accused in televised congressional hearings of pocketing huge kickbacks, along with government engineers and construction companies. Marcos first spoke about the corruption scandal in July in his annual state of the nation speech....

 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he will be seeking answers from Israeli officials about how they see the way forward in Gaza following Israel’s attack on Hamas operatives in Qatar that has upended efforts to broker an end to the conflict. Rubio told reporters on Saturday before leaving for Israel that President Donald Trump remained unhappy with the Israeli strike but that it would not shake U.S. support for Israel. “We’re going to talk about what the future holds, and I’m going to get a much better understanding of what their plans are moving forward,” Rubio said. “Obviously we’re not happy about...

 Nepal’s new prime minister took office Sunday and “urged calm and cooperation to rebuild” the Himalayan nation after days of violent protests last week left at least 72 people dead and destroyed government buildings and politicians’ homes. Sushila Karki, the country’s first woman prime minister, told top officials gathered at her temporary office that each family of slain protesters will receive monetary compensation of 1 million rupees (about $ 11,330) and assured that those injured would be taken care of, state TV reported. “We all need to get together to rebuild the country,” Karki said, pledging to work to get the South Asian...

 Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday pushed back against a 50% tariff on Brazilian imported goods to the United States, arguing that it was “political” and “illogical.” Lula said in a New York Times op-ed that his government is open to negotiating anything that can bring mutual benefits. “But Brazil’s democracy and sovereignty are not on the table,” he said. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed the tariff on Brazil in July, citing what he called a “witch hunt” against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who at the time stood accused of trying to illegally hang onto power. The trial came to an end...

Many African families will never be together again. Not because they don’t want to be – but because they simply can never be together again. Firstborn is in Canada.The second born is in Dubai.The third born is in Australia.Fourth born is in New York.The last born is in the UK.Parents are in Africa, making trips once in a while to see them in different countries. They are all getting married and having children who will never really meet or know each other – virtual cousins!!. Their best shot is group video calls which will rarely happen because there’s no convenient...

This one is a practical way to tell the world that he was only using Islam as a smokescreen for his satanic political opportunism and strategic business deals without spiritual conviction. After all, Islam is a divine faith whose powerful presence is always active, untiringly compromisable as well as alert and permanently implanted in the mindset of all its serious practitioners from the past Prophets to all the people that are passionate about its relentless relevance in their own lives.Take it or leave it, most definitely those power blocks conscious political agitators from the North, who are aligned to former...