In Ashgabat, Turkmenistan the streets are white marble, Guinness Book of World Record holder, yet the people have frowns on their faces. When Turkmenistan gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the birth of a new era began. The new president, Saparmurat Niyazov wanted to rebuild the country and make it brand new. He began to tear down… Read more »
When I was child, Ashgabat was known as the “garden city”. It drowned in greenery, canals gurgled with mountain water and trees cast a shady cool even in July and August. In the evenings, neighbours would gather around gazebos and drink tea.
A US drone strike has killed 14 Islamic State militants, Afghan officials say. The strike took place in a remote area of Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province on Thursday afternoon. Abdul Ghani Musamim, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told the Associated Press that the drone had targeted a meeting of Isis commanders who were planning a terrorist attack. The government has no… Read more »
Iraqi federal forces seized the contested city of Kirkuk from Kurdish forces almost unopposed on Monday in a stunning reversal of fortunes for Iraq’s Kurds.
Anara had never been in love before. Pacing nervously outside the house of the girl she’d just started seeing, overwhelmed by emotions, she forgot the need for caution.
An Indian court has overturned the seven year prison sentence against film director Mahmood Farooqui. In 2016, he was sentenced for sexually assaulting American postgraduate student, who is unnamed. Farooqui was supposedly drunk and forced himself upon the woman even when she repeatedly said no. Farooqui’s lawyers said that he insists that the encounter never happened and even if it… Read more »
An Indian court has overturned a rape conviction against a film director, ruling that a “feeble no” can signal consent, especially in cases where the alleged victim is well-educated. Women’s rights activists said the decision “muddies the water” around consent in a country struggling to curb high levels of sexual violence, rampant street harassment and deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes towards… Read more »
Afghan militants have unsuccessfully attempted to shoot a plane carrying the US defence secretary, James Mattis, during an attack on Kabul airport. The south end of Camp Sullivan, a US embassy compound near the international airport, was hit by what appeared to be rocket-propelled grenades or mortars. Mattis, who was visiting Kabul with the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, had… Read more »
The UN commissioned and then “suppressed” a report that criticised its strategy in Myanmar and warned it was ill-prepared to deal with the impending Rohingyacrisis, sources have told the Guardian. The review, written by a consultant and submitted in May, offered a highly critical analysis of the UN’s approach and said there should be “no silence on human rights”. The report,… Read more »
Britain and other European countries have been accused of breaching international law, as it emerged that the number of asylum seekers forced to return to Afghanistan has tripled at a time when civilian casualties in the country are at a record high. According to a report by Amnesty International, unaccompanied children and Christian converts at risk of persecution, torture and death – a… Read more »