Nitish Kumar is commander of secular forces: Ajmer dargah chief

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar, who is looking for expansion of his Muslim vote bank after split in NDA, got a shot in his arm when the religious head of Ajmer Sharif dargah, one of the most important Muslim shrines in the country, praised the CM and called him 'commander' of secular forces.

Islamist extremists attack ‘kissing protesters' in Turkey

London: Islamist extremists attacked a group of kissing protestors at a metro station who were protesting against a morality campaign by Ankara.

The protest was primarily against the Ankara municipality run by Turkey''s ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), which admonished a young couple for kissing in public.

News.com reported that 200 people were staging the kissing protest against the officials when Islamists chanting ''Allah Akbar'' and carrying knives attacked the demonstrators and stabbed one person.

Hamas cracking down on 'inappropriate' hairstyles, says rights group

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) - Hamas security forces in Gaza have been rounding up young men and forcing them to get haircuts on grounds of inappropriate hairstyles, a rights group has charged.

Some of the youths have even been beaten for styling their hair in a way deemed unacceptable to Gaza's ruling Islamist movement, or wearing low-hung trousers, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said on Sunday.

Buddhists-Muslims violence spreads in Myanmar

Sectarian clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar spread to at least two other towns in the country’s heartland over the weekend, undermining government efforts to quash an eruption of violence that has killed dozens of people and displaced 10,000 more.

President Thein Sein declared a state of emergency in the region on Friday and deployed army troops to the worst hit city, Meikhtila. But even as soldiers were able to impose order there after several days of anarchy that saw armed Buddhists torch the city’s Muslim quarters, unrest was reported in two other towns to the south.