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KYIV  — Russia was poised Wednesday to formally annex parts of Ukraine where occupied areas held a Kremlin-orchestrated “referendum” — denounced by Kyiv and the West as illegal and rigged — on living under Moscow’s rule. Armed troops had gone door-to-door with election officials to collect ballots in five days of voting. The results were widely ridiculed as implausible and characterized as a land grab by an increasingly cornered Russian leadership following embarrassing military losses in Ukraine. Moscow-installed administrations in the four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine claimed Tuesday…

Following months of advocacy led by Senator Anna M. Kaplan and Assemblywoman Gina L. Sillitti that engaged thousands of north shore residents to make their voices heard, LIRR officials today announced they were abandoning plans to eliminate express train service for the Port Washington LIRR line Kaplan and Sillitti joined Interim LIRR President Catherine Rinaldi to announce the continuation of express train service at a media event at the Port Washington Train Station where much of the community outreach took place over the months of June, July and August Kaplan…

Bergen County (New Jersey) —  This fall, a range of public art programming will be featured at SACKtoberfest in Hackensack, New Jersey.  This fun-filled festival of art, food, brew, and live music returns to Hackensack, on October 15 from 1 to 8 p.m. at Atlantic Street Park.  The festivities, organized by The Sack Business Alliance and the City of Hackensack, are free and open to the public. ArtsBergen, an initiative of the Northern NJ Community Foundation, will present these three public art programs around the theme of storytelling: 1. Community…

Hindus seem to be okay with the idea of monthly prayers in Kenya State House in Nairobi as long as these include the prayers of diverse religions and denominations practiced in Kenya and the expression of non-believers. Talking about prayer; distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that a reverent petition for help or expression of devotion-love-praise-thanks addressed to an object of worship was important, intensely valuable, significant and uplifting to many of us. Sometimes described as pilgrimage of the spirit, heartfelt communication or…

In a remarkable interfaith gesture, Luther James DuPree Junior, Bishop of Rehoboth Holy Temple (Church of God in Christ), presented a testimonial to distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed. This testimonial; handed to Zed by Bishop DuPree in a public ceremony held in the briefing room of Reno Police Headquarters; was titled as “Rajan Zed, Global Religious Statesman”. Speaking on the occasion, Bishop DuPree said: I would like to commend Rajan for all the good things that he has done in this community. Global religious statesman Rajan Zed has taken-up interfaith,…

In a remarkable interfaith gesture, Nevada Metherd, on behalf of Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Reno, presented appreciation testimonial to Hindu statesman Rajan Zed. This appreciation testimonial; handed to Zed by Metherd in a public ceremony held in the briefing room of Reno Police Headquarters; described Zed as “Ambassador to All Faiths in the World & Especially in Northern Nevada”. Global religious statesman Rajan Zed has taken-up interfaith, religion, European Roma (Gypsies), and other causes all over the world. He has read opening prayers in the United States Senate…

In a remarkable interfaith gesture, Senior Pastor of historical Epworth United Methodist Church in Fallon (Nevada) presented distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed with a “Certificate of Appreciation”. Citation of the Certificate; given to Zed publicly in a ceremony held in the briefing room of Reno Police Headquarters by Senior Pastor Reverend Dawn M. Blundell, who is also leader of Fallon Community Interfaith Group, stated: Certificate of Appreciation presented with gratitude to Rajan Zed for leadership and commitment to interfaith work in rural Nevada communities. Global religious statesman Rajan Zed has…

Two weeks ago, Senator Anna M. Kaplan and Assemblywoman Gina L. Sillitti uncovered the results of their investigation into local abortion restrictions, and called for their urgent repeal by local governments Today, Kaplan & Sillitti were joined by legislative colleagues and advocates from Planned Parenthood to announce the success of their calls for repeal, as the Town of Hempstead and Town of Oyster Bay have heeded their demands and repealed their local abortion restrictions The group applauded the action by Oyster Bay and Hempstead, and urged the remaining communities with…