Punjab

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India Cuts Internet to Entire State
India Cuts Internet
to Entire State
Mar 21, 2023 5:28 PM CDT

India Cuts Internet to Entire State

Punjab loses service amid manhunt for Sikh preacher

(Newser) - India has cut off internet and SMS service to the entire state of Punjab, affecting almot 30 million people, as authorities search for a radical Sikh preacher. The shutdown imposed Saturday was supposed to expire Monday but it was extended for at least 24 hours, paralyzing businesses, colleges, and digital...

Offered Water From Polluted River, He Drank It 'Without Hesitation'

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann ends up in hospital, though party denies it was from the water

(Newser) - In this week's "Regrets, I've Had a Few" files, an Indian politician trying to show how clean the waters of a local river were ended up in the hospital, though his party insists the two events aren't related. On Sunday, Bhagwant Mann, the chief minister of...

Punjabi Rapper Shot Dead After Security Curtailed
India Rapper Was Shot 24 Times 
May 31, 2022 7:27 AM CDT

India Rapper Was Shot 24 Times

Sidhu Moose Wala was killed in India's Punjab state after his security was curtailed

(Newser) - Popular Indian rapper Sidhu Moose Wala was fatally shot 24 times in Punjab on Sunday, one day after the state lifted security for hundreds of celebrities. Thousands of fans of the rapper, who was born Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, have now descended on his home village of Moosa, not far from...

Amid Lockdown, Residents Gasp at Unexpected Sight

People in India say they can see Himalayas for first time in decades

(Newser) - On a clear day you can see forever—or, suddenly, the Himalayas, if you're a resident of northern India. The world's biggest lockdown due to the coronavirus started in India at the end of March, and everyone staying home in the nation of 1.3 billion people seems...

Child Bride's Wrongful Conviction Suit Could Alter a Nation

Rani Bibi urging Pakistan to compensate victims of miscarriages of justice, like herself

(Newser) - A child bride wrongfully convicted of killing her husband—a crime for which she spent 19 years behind bars—is suing the Pakistani authorities she says are responsible for "ruining" her youth. Rani Babi was only 14 when she was sentenced to life for the murder of her husband,...

Migrant on Hunger Strike: I'm Being Force-Fed

Man says he's tied down and force-fed through tubes

(Newser) - Nine men—up from six earlier this week—are being force-fed under court order in a detention center in El Paso, Texas, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. One of the hunger strikers, a 22-year-old man from Indian who called the AP on Friday, described how he is dragged from...

After Boy Mishears Imam, a Severed Hand, an Arrest

15-year-old Pakistani boy cuts off own hand after being called 'blasphemer'

(Newser) - It was a simple misunderstanding of a question asked by a holy man, but it cost a 15-year-old Pakistani boy his hand, and landed an imam under arrest. Imam Shabbir Ahmed was giving a sermon at a mosque in Punjab province, reports al Jazeera , when he asked his congregation who...

Charity's Free Eye Surgery Leaves 24 Blind

Indian police open investigation after cataract operations

(Newser) - Authorities ordered an investigation today after at least 24 poor and elderly people went blind following cataract surgeries performed at a free medical camp run by a charity in northern India. The operations were performed in early November on 130 patients who were all older than 50 and living in...

Scared Dad Seeks Asylum Over Moustache

Pakistani man: Extremists are threatening my life

(Newser) - Now that's a stache: Pakistani businessman Malik Amir Mohammad Khan Afridi sports a 30-inch moustache that he calls his pride and joy—but admits could get him killed, the Independent reports. "People give me a lot of respect," says Afridi, who spends $150 monthly to treat the...

Pakistani Governor Killed by Own Guard

Assassination likely to deepen country's turmoil

(Newser) - A key Pakistani governor was gunned down by his own bodyguard today in Islamabad, in the biggest assassination the violence-wracked country has endured since Benazir Bhutto's slaying three years ago. Salman Taseer, Punjab province's governor and a key ally of President Asif Ali Zardari, was gunned down as he got...

Pakistan Blasts Kill 42 at Sufi Shrine

Many blame attack on government support for US

(Newser) - Twin suicide blasts killed at least 42 people at a Sufi shrine in Lahore, Pakistan, late yesterday. At least 175 people were injured. Thousands were visiting the shrine, which holds the remains of a saint revered by followers of Islam's mystical tradition, the BBC reports. Many blamed the attack on...

India Riots Bust Out After Austria Temple Killing

Punjab erupts in violence after Sikh guru's murder

(Newser) - Riots have broken out in dozens of cities across the Indian state of Punjab after a Sikh guru was killed in a temple in Austria yesterday. Thousands of protesters have damaged public property and set trains on fire, and in one city four people were injured when police fired on...

Islamic Schools Fill Pakistani Gaps—and Breed Militants

(Newser) - Pakistan’s education system is so dysfunctional that for many rural children, Islamic schools are the only option, the New York Times reports. The growth of madrasas, which teach little besides Koran memorization, is especially pronounced in places like southern Punjab, home to half of the country's at least 12,...

Insurgents Join Forces in Pakistani Heartland

Country's fate tied to stability of Punjab, officials say

(Newser) - The Taliban is joining forces with local militant groups in the key province of Punjab, where more than half of Pakistanis live, the New York Times reports. Officials say the alliance is a major threat to national and regional stability, and was responsible for last month’s cricket-team attack, among...

Obama Sorry for Hillary Memo
Obama Sorry for Hillary Memo
Jun 19, 2007 6:02 AM CDT

Obama Sorry for Hillary Memo

Ripping Hillary "dumb mistake"

(Newser) - Barack Obama has apologized for a campaign memo that vilified Hillary Clinton for her financial ties to India and her campaign efforts among Indian Americans. Particularly offensive was a reference to Clinton's affiliation as "(D-Punjab)"; aimed to link her to the sore subject of outsourcing. Obama called it a...

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