Millions were participating in the colorful celebration of Holi, the Hindu festival which marks the beginning of spring, on Wednesday across India and Nepal, according to BBC News. The ancient festival dates back to a poem from the fourth-century and is also described in detail in a seventh-century Sanskrit play "Ratnavali," written by the Indian emperor Harsha. "Witness the beauty of the great cupid festival which excites curiosity as the townsfolk are dancing at the touch of brownish water thrown ... Everything is colored yellowish red and rendered dusty by the heaps of scented powder blown all over," wrote Harsha. The Hindu festival has attracted millions since everyone gathered in the...

Mainly celebrated in India and Nepal, Holi marks the beginning of spring.

Khursheed Alam's nephew also died in the shootings in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

A nephew of Sophie Pétronin, a Frenchwoman taken hostage in Mali in late 2016, has appealed to Emmanuel Macron “not to let [my] aunt die over there” and to meet with the family of the “last French hostage held in the world” at the Élysée Palace.