Remote and landlocked, Kyrgyzstan is framed by the Tian Shan mountains that take up nearly 90 percent of the country’s territory and form its border with China’s northwestern province of Xinjiang. Xinjiang province is home to several Muslim Turkic ethnic groups, the largest being the Uighur, making up 46 percent of the area’s population.
Clashes between protesters and government supporters have erupted in southern Sri Lanka during a rally against a port deal with China. The clashes took place as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was attending an opening ceremony for an industrial zone near the port city of Hambantota, about 240km southeast of the capital, Colombo.
Dozens of people have been killed in a series of militant attacks on Tuesday throughout Afghanistan. Up to 30 people were killed and 80 wounded in twin bombings near the parliament in the capital, Kabul. Blasts at the governor’s guesthouse in Kandahar killed at least 11 and injured 14 including the UAE ambassador.
Ten years ago, India was gripped by serial murders in Noida, a wealthy suburb of the capital Delhi, where at least 19 children and women were raped and killed. Businessman Moninder Singh Pandher, in whose house the murders took place, and his manservant, Surinder Koli, were arrested for the crimes. Koli has since been convicted and sentenced to death in… Read more »
Activists accuse Pakistani security forces of extra-judicial killings on a massive scale Nearly 1,000 dead bodies of political activists and suspected armed separatists have been found in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province over the past six years. Activists say the figures, obtained from the human rights ministry by BBC Urdu, point to large-scale extrajudicial killings. Relatives say most victims had been… Read more »
Pakistani human rights activists hold images of bloggers who have gone missing during a protest in Islamabad on January 10, 2017. Hundreds of people have held protests across Pakistan to demand the authorities trace four activists who have gone missing in the past week. No group has said it is holding them. All four aired views critical of the military… Read more »
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India – The complete 32-volume set of Encyclopedia Britannica lay strewn over the book counter at Dhananjay Pandey’s stall at the Vijayawada Book Festival. Pandey, owner of the Pratik Book Centre in Mumbai, notes that the printing of this enormous collection was suspended in 2010. One can get a digital version these days. As customers browse through his collection,… Read more »
India’s top court has banned the use of religion and caste in political activities in the run-up to state polls, where such affiliations often determine the fate of campaigns. Most political parties select candidates in various districts based on caste and religious considerations. Monday’s Supreme Court ruling warned politicians who disqualify election candidates based on these two factors.
India’s human rights watchdog said more than a dozen tribal women were raped by police in restive Chhattisgarh state with the victims’ lawyer slamming authorities over delays in arresting the accused. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on Sunday at least 16 women were “victims of rape, sexual and physical assault” after it concluded an investigation into reports that… Read more »
Rajasthan, India – In the early morning hours outside a hospital in the city of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, a newborn baby girl – still with her umbilical cord attached – was found abandoned and in critical health. Underweight and wet after hours of intermittent rainfall throughout the night, the baby’s condition deteriorated. The infant was rushed by hospital staff to… Read more »