3+ week, 5+ day ago (423+ words) WAGAH: Pakistan on Tuesday (Nov 4) welcomed dozens of Sikh pilgrims from India, AFP journalists saw, in the first major crossing since deadly clashes in May closed the land border between the nuclear-armed neighbours. More than 2,100 pilgrims were granted visas to attend a 10-day festival marking 556th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh faith, Pakistan's High Commission (embassy) in New Delhi said last week. Tensions remain high between Islamabad and New Delhi after the worst fighting since 1999 took place in May, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery exchanges. The Wagah-Attari border - the only active land crossing between the two countries - was closed to general traffic following the violence. Pilgrims queued up on the Indian side of the border on Tuesday morning, some carrying their luggage on their heads, as the Indian Border Security Force looked…...

4+ day, 22+ hour ago (385+ words) BETHLEHEM: The popemobile used by the late Pope Francis during his 2014 visit to Bethlehem re-emerged on Tuesday (Nov 25) as a mobile children's clinic that will be deployed in Gaza, in line with the late pontiff's wishes. The pristine white vehicle, still instantly recognisable with its raised canopy, has been rebranded as the "Vehicle of Hope. It will no longer carry the leader of the world's Roman Catholics but instead provide medical care in the war-battered Gaza Strip. Unveiled in Bethlehem near the Church of the Nativity, the clinic was blessed by Cardinal Anders Arborelius, the Bishop of Stockholm. He said the vehicle was intended to send a message that "the world has not forgotten the children of Gaza. Staffed by medical professionals, the mobile unit can conduct examinations, diagnosis and treatment, including vaccines, stitches and infection tests. It is designed…...

2+ week, 7+ hour ago (261+ words) Authorities in China's central Henan province, where the Shaolin Temple is, approved Shi Yongxin's arrest on "suspicion of embezzlement, misappropriating funds and accepting bribes as a non-state employee, a statement read. BEIJING: The former head of the Chinese temple known as the birthplace of gongfu has been arrested over suspicion of embezzlement, the local authorities said on Sunday (Nov 16). Shi Yongxin, former abbot of the Shaolin Temple, was removed in July for "extremely bad behaviour. Allegations of misappropriating project funds and temple assets saw him placed under investigation and disrobed. The authorities in central Henan province, where the Shaolin Temple is, approved Shi's arrest on "suspicion of embezzlement, misappropriating funds and accepting bribes as a non-state employee, the Xinxiang Procuratorate said in a statement. Shi, 60, took office as abbot in 1999 and in the following decades, expanded Shaolin studies and cultural…...