ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Supreme Court will on Tuesday begin a review of its acquittal of a Christian woman charged with blasphemy, a verdict that sparked days of Islamist protests over a case that has divided society and incited killings. Asia Bibi, who spent eight years on death row, has been in hiding since the Supreme Court freed her in… Read more »
KABUL (Reuters) – A senior U.S. government official, speaking after six days of U.S. peace talks with Afghan Taliban militants, said on Monday that Washington was committed to withdrawing foreign forces from Afghanistan to end more than 17 years of war. The official, who declined to be identified, described “significant progress” in talks last week with the Taliban in Qatar… Read more »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, promised on Monday to provide the poor with a minimum income if Congress wins an upcoming general election, a pledge the ruling party dismissed as an unaffordable gimmick. Congress officials said the proposal would help eliminate poverty and could be fulfilled with funds now spent on… Read more »
At least 40 people have died and more than 1,000 have tested positive for swine flu since the beginning of the year in a western Indian state popular with foreigners, according to authorities. The highly contagious H1N1 virus that spreads from human-to-human killed around 1,100 people and infected 15,000 across the country last year. “Total deaths are 40 and positive cases are… Read more »
Agartala, India – Police in India’s northeastern state of Tripura have arrested 31 Muslim Rohingya who were fleeing a recent crackdown by India’s Hindu nationalist government. The group, which included 16 children and six women, was arrested on Tuesday after it was denied entry into Bangladesh and border officials from the two nations failed to agree on what to do with them. India regards the Muslim-majority Rohingya as illegal aliens and… Read more »
Beijing (CNN)China’s universities have always been a breeding ground for political activism, from the May Fourth Movement which helped lead to the Communist revolution, to the 1989 pro-democracy protests which sought to reform it.Today, however, China’s leaders have no intention of allowing students to challenge them, as a months-long crackdown against a Marxist university group demonstrates.This week, footage reportedly emerged… Read more »
Until very recently, it was against the law for women between the ages of 10 and 50 to enter The Sabarimala temple, due to its dedication to the Lord Ayyappa. Followers of the religion believe that this lord is celibate, and so by women of a “fertile age” entering the temple, they are tempting him and disrupting worship. On September 28,… Read more »
The second headline that has recently dominated international news about India is the ban on the entry of women from the ages of 10 – 50 from entering the Sabarimala Hindu Temple in the southern state of Kerala. In September of 2018, a five-judge panel struck down an allegedly centuries-old, custom-based law. This action led to widespread, violent protests by… Read more »
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no expert on Indian media, art, cultural values, or cultural foundations, beyond knowing that “Indian” is far too general a category for serious analysis. Like many Americans, I’m familiar with what Bollywood is, and occasionally see headlines about the most high-level legal changes in the subcontinent. However, I can recognize general trends… Read more »
With countries that are heavily populated, there needs to be more laws or fines of some sort that help support the climate in these countries. With countries that have a high number of population, there needs to be more laws because with no environmental laws in countries like this, there is going to be and there is already a risk… Read more »