Pope to visit Hungary, meet Orban in April

POPE Francis will visit Hungary from April 28 to 30, where he will meet Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the Vatican said today.   Francis, who regularly champions the rights of refugees, will sit down in Budapest with the far-right Orban, who portrays himself as the defender of Christian Europe against migrants.  

Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party elects first woman leader

ITALY’S Democratic Party (PD) elected its first woman leader at the weekend, charged with re-energizing the centre-left party to counter a recent surge in popularity of the right.   Parliamentarian Elly Schlein, 37, defeated frontrunner Stefano Bonaccini, president of the Emilia-Romagna region, by 53.8% to 46.2% yesterday, in an election that saw most left-leaning voters stay […]

Deviant teachings: Negri religious dept detains 18 women

SEREMBAN: The Negri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs Department has detained 18 women for alleged involvement in a deviant religious group known as “Kumpulan Zikir Asmaul Husna” during a raid on a house in Johol, Kuala Pilah. Read full story

IRB expects some 50,000 participants in tax disclosure programme

SOME 50,000 new and existing taxpayers with a total assessment value of RM1 billion are expected to participate in the Inland Revenue Board’s (IRB) Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme beginning June 1 until May 2024. Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan said the programme, which was first implemented in 2019, will be reintroduced to encourage taxpayers to voluntarily […]

Greta Thunberg and Sami activists protest ‘illegal’ wind turbines in Norway

CLIMATE activist Greta Thunberg and dozens of Sami activists blocked the entrance to Norway’s energy ministry today to protest against wind turbines still in place on reindeer herding land despite a court ruling.   “We can’t use the so-called climate transition as a cover for colonialism,” Thunberg told broadcaster TV2 as she blocked the doors of […]

Umno Ulama Council to focus on elevating the dignity of Muslims

KUALA LUMPUR: The Umno Ulama Council (MUU) will function as a party wing with the role of elevating the dignity of Islam and Muslims, and is not aimed at re-establishing any form of political alliance, says its chairman Datuk Dusuki Ahmad. Read full story