NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s capital is set for a “deadly cocktail” of pollution in coming weeks, a senior government official said, as air quality in the New Delhi area plummeted on Wednesday, alarming doctors and environmentalists. The federal government official blamed the deterioration in air quality to a “very poor” level across much of the city on a fall… Read more »
KATHMANDU, April 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – When Nepali labourer Om Bahadur Purja sprained his leg in his remote village he would have faced a four-hour trek to the nearest medical centre – but for a pioneering scheme to bring healthcare to the Himalayas. Instead, the 60-year-old father of three received the treatment he needed in his home village thanks… Read more »
Crowds of angry Hindu devotees have prevented women from entering one of Hinduism’s holiest temples despite a historic Supreme Court ruling. Crowds of agitated protesters in Kerala attacked female devotees, many of whom turned back as a result. Several people including an old woman were injured as crowds threw stones at vehicles and attacked police officers.The Sabarimala temple has historically… Read more »
Since August 2017, nearly a million Rohingya Muslims have fled a brutal crackdown by the Burmese army. Today, they live in the world’s largest refugee camp in neighbouring Bangladesh, a stone’s throw from the land they have inhabited for generations. Across the barbed wire are their persecutors, who have always considered them illegal immigrants. Will the Rohingya ever be able… Read more »
Crowds of angry Hindu devotees have prevented women from entering one of Hinduism’s holiest temples despite a historic Supreme Court ruling. Crowds of agitated protesters in Kerala attacked female devotees, many of whom turned back as a result. Several people including an old woman were injured as crowds threw stones at vehicles and attacked police officers. The Sabarimala temple has… Read more »
Nine days of protests have seen tens of thousands of teenagers and students paralyse traffic in the capital Dhaka and beyond, with around 150 people were injured in clashes with riot police and pro-government thugs wielding iron bars. Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets while allegedly pro-government mobs attacked demonstrators, photographers and even the US ambassador’s car. Students said on Tuesday that… Read more »
Flash floods in Kerala have killed 37 people and displaced around 36,000, Indian officials said Saturday, after heavy monsoons led to landslides and overflowing reservoirs across the southern state. Kerala, famed for its pristine palm-lined beaches and tea plantations, is battered by the monsoon every year but the rains have been particularly severe this season. Those forced from their homes “have moved… Read more »
It all started in 2004 at an anti-terrorism rally ran by the Awami League in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The attack occurred at the end of Sheikh Hasina’s speech. The attack killed 24 and injured 300 people including Hasina. What makes this attack standout against the rest of Bangladesh’s violent history, is the political magnitude. It was an attack on the democracy… Read more »
In Afghanistan, the upcoming elections have been a source of extreme violence and controversy. Suicide attacks and explosions have killed many civilians at election rallies leading up to the October 20th election. On October 2nd, explosives were placed inside a motorcycle at a rally for a female candidate. The explosion was meant to hurt the candidate, Nazifa Yousufi Bek, who… Read more »
Following an attack on over 140 schoolchildren in Pakistan in 2014, Pakistan reversed its anti-execution laws and has quickly become one of the leading executioners in the world. Since the reversal of the moratorium, 496 people have been executed and at least 4,668 people are currently awaiting execution in Pakistan. There are many problems with the criminal justice system in… Read more »