Indian Sub-continent

SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, Sept 7 (NNN-ANAL) – A total of 12 items of antiquities found in Faizabad district of Jawzjan province, were handed over to the National Museum of Afghanistan by the department of information and culture of Jawzjan, Saifuddin Moatasim, the department’s director, said today.

These items were obtained by local people of Mozian village of Faizabad district, through illegal excavation, Moatasim said.

Moatasim said that, the items include small and large pieces of pottery, two columns, and some objects related to the Bronze Age.

NEW DELHI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Invites sent by Indian President Droupadi Murmu calling herself "President of Bharat" for a dinner on the sidelines of the G20 summit have stirred speculation that the government may be about to change the country's name.

WHAT IS THE CONTROVERSY ABOUT INDIA'S NAME?

By convention, invitations issued by Indian constitutional bodies have always mentioned the name India when the text is in English, and the name Bharat when the text is in Hindi.

NEW DELHI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Indian President Droupadi Murmu's reference to herself as the "President of Bharat" in a dinner invitation, instead of "President of India", sparked controversy on Tuesday, with critics saying the name of the country is being distorted.

Murmu is hosting a reception for G20 leaders during the group's summit on Saturday and invitations were sent from her office.

India is also called Bharat, Bharata, Hindustan - its pre-colonial names - in Indian languages and these are used interchangeably by the public and officially.

KABUL, Sept 4 (NNN-ANA) – A delegation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), recently visited Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, with attendance of scholars from the Islamic countries, local media reported.

According to TOLOnews, the delegation had discussions with Afghan authorities, on essential issues such as moderation in Islam, women’s education, and women’s participation in different jobs.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister claimed on Monday that U.S. military equipment left behind during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan has fallen into militant hands and ultimately made its way to the Pakistani Taliban.

The equipment — which includes a wide variety of items, from night vision goggles to firearms — is now “emerging as a new challenge” for Islamabad as it has enhanced the fighting capabilities of the Pakistani Taliban, Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said.

ISLAMABAD, September 03 (APP): Iranian Ambassador Reza Amiri-Moghaddam, in a recent gathering of religious scholars and leaders from various faiths and sects, raised concerns about the increasing incidents of disrespect towards religious symbols, particularly the Holy Quran, in European nations.

The event, titled ‘Honoring the Holy Quran from the Perspective of Religions and Sects,’ witnessed a unified call for safeguarding religious sanctity and promoting mutual coexistence.

NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (NNN-PTI) – Two people were killed, and five others injured, early today after a two-story building collapsed in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, officials said.

The building collapsed on Darga Road in Bhiwandi area of Thane district, about 37 km north-east of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra.

NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (NNN-Bernama) — Chinese petroleum company Sinopec will submit a request for proposal (RFP) document to set up a new refinery in Sri Lanka’s south, said Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera on Sunday.

The Sri Lankan minister said this after a meeting with Sinopec officials in Colombo.

“Sinopec Refinery officials assured their commitment to establish a new refinery in Hambantota and that they will submit the RFP before the deadline next week,” Wijesekera said.

NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (Reuters) - India switched off its moon rover, the first craft to reach the lunar south pole, after it completed its two-week assignment conducting experiments, the country's space agency said.

The Pragyan rover from the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was "set into Sleep mode" but with batteries charged and receiver on, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, late on Saturday.

03 September 2023; MEMO: The Afghan Taliban, on Friday, rejected Amnesty International’s concerns over the installation of cameras in the capital, Kabul, and other areas, saying these cameras are installed to maintain security, Anadolu Agency reports.