Nowruz – No-Ruz or Farsi for “new day” – is an ancient festival celebrating the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. More than 300 million people celebrate the Persian New Year, which has been observed for more than 3,000 years in different regions, including the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and others. Here is what to know about the festivity. What is Nowruz? Nowruz is a celebration that marks the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical…
Author: National Tone
Sweden needs to cut emissions by at least 6.5 to 9.4 million tonnes of CO2 per year starting from 2019, lawsuit says.A Swedish court has given Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other climate activists the go-ahead to proceed with a class action lawsuit against the Swedish government for “insufficient climate policy”. Thunberg and 600 other young activists in a group called Aurora sued the Swedish state in November, claiming it had to do more to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) in order to live up to the European Convention on Human Rights. On Tuesday, Nacka District…
The amendment could see Israelis resettle four outposts in the northern occupied West Bank evacuated in 2005.The Israeli government has greenlighted an amendment that would allow Israelis to resettle four illegal settlements in the northern occupied West Bank that were evacuated in 2005. The second and third readings of the legislation were passed late on Monday night in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, with a majority of 31 votes in support and 18 who voted against. The development could see Israelis resettle in the evacuated settlements of Homesh, Sa-Nur, Kadim and Ganim, all of which are located around the Palestinian…
Finch, de Kock, Chand named by franchise teams for the US T20 cricket tournament scheduled to take place in July.Former Australia captain Aaron Finch will lead the San Francisco Unicorns in the inaugural edition of the United States’ new Twenty20 cricket tournament while South Africa’s Quinton de Kock will play for the Seattle Orcas. Finch and de Kock were among six overseas signings announced during Major League Cricket’s (MLC) Domestic Player Draft on Sunday, in which each of the six teams picked nine US-based players. MLC will be played from July 13 to 30. It will become the latest T20…
Tennis great Martina Navratilova said she is cancer-free nearly four months after announcing she had been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer.The former No 1 will undergo further preventative radiation treatment after the diagnosis had left her fearing she “may not see next Christmas”. The 66-year-old told Piers Morgan on Talk TV in an interview to be aired on Tuesday: “As far as they know I’m cancer free.”Speaking about her reaction to the diagnosis, which she revealed in January, she was quoted in The Sun: “I was in a total panic for three days thinking I may not see next…
Japanese prime minister to show ‘solidarity’ with Ukraine in visit that coincides with Chinese leader’s Moscow trip.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is on his way by train to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a trip that coincides with a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow. Kishida will “show respect to the courage and patience of the Ukrainian people who are standing up to defend their homeland under President Zelenskyy’s leadership, and show solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine as head of Japan and chairman of G-7,” during his visit to Ukraine, the Japanese Foreign…
Thirteen pucks went in the net Monday night in Edmonton, but only nine of them counted. That’s right, the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks had four different goals overturned by replay review. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; The bizarre night was especially detrimental for San Jose, as three out of the four overturned were scored by San Jose, costing them a win in what ended up being a 5-4 overtime victory for the Oilers. The first overturned goal came early in the game when Tomas Hertl ripped one by Jack Campbell in the first period. But the…
Australian climate campaigner Deanna ‘Violet’ CoCo found herself facing a 15-month prison sentence after she and three other activists drove a truck onto Sydney Harbour Bridge last April and blocked one of its lanes during the morning rush hour. The group lit orange flares and livestreamed their protest leading to gridlock in Australia’s largest city. After about 25 minutes, the police arrived and arrested them. CoCo and her fellow activists were charged under the Roads and Crimes Amendment Act, passed only days before in response to similar previous protests and created new criminal penalties for any damage or disruption to…
More than 340 plaintiffs were awarded $9.25m over police violence during 2020 George Floyd protests.The United States city of Philadelphia has agreed to pay $9.25m to settle a class-action lawsuit by protesters who said that the city’s police force responded with excessive force when demonstrations broke out over the 2020 killing of George Floyd. On Monday, the city government released a written statement saying the funds would be distributed among 343 plaintiffs. The city will also offer a $500,000 grant to the Bread and Roses Community Fund to offer mental health services for those who have suffered from police violence.…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warmly welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a state visit to the Kremlin, sending a message to Western leaders that their efforts to isolate Moscow over its war in Ukraine have fallen short. Xi’s trip – his first abroad since his re-election earlier this month – began on Monday, and showed off Beijing’s new diplomatic swagger. It also gave a political lift to Putin just days after an international arrest warrant was issued for the Kremlin leader on war crimes charges related to Ukraine. The Chinese leader has been trying to portray Beijing as a…