India Passes Contentious Bill Increasing Oversight of Muslim Land Trusts

The Indian Parliament passed a controversial bill on Friday that increases government oversight of properties held by Muslim trusts, despite vocal protests that the religious minority was being singled out for interference. The bill would allow the appointment of non-Muslims to panels administering the trusts, called Waqf boards, and empower state officials to be adjudicators … Read more

Protesters in Gaza Call on Hamas to Step Aside

In a rare and perilous public show of anger against Hamas, hundreds of Palestinians marched through Beit Lahia in northern Gaza this week, demanding that the militant group relinquish control of the territory and end the war with Israel, according to four witnesses. The march on Wednesday appeared to be the latest of a handful … Read more

Dublin Acts to Protect Molly Malone Statue

In song, and then in bronze, she has become an emblem of Irish culture and an enduring symbol of working-class Dublin. But to the familiar folklore of Molly Malone represented in her statue on Suffolk Street in central Dublin — a pretty young face, a hawker’s cart of cockles and mussels, a low-cut frilly dress … Read more