ri Lanka needs a platform for genuine and objective discussion in the hope of moving forward and achieving reconciliation. In Sri Lanka, the start of February was about celebration for the past 70 years of independence, but its end was about reflective contemplation over an uncertain future. Following a wave of anti-Muslim violence in the central district of Kandy, a nationwide state of emergency was declared on March… Read more »
fghanistan has seen a spate of terror attacks over the past two weeks, with some 130 people killed. Both major militant groups, the Taliban and ISIS, have been blamed for the carnage. The Taliban has a long history in Afghanistan, while ISIS militants, who are equally assertive, are newcomers. While the Taliban operates exclusively within the country’s borders, ISIS also focuses on… Read more »
The Indian government has scrapped a plan to blacklist journalists judged to be writing “fake news” less than a day after it was announced to widespread criticism. India’s information and broadcasting ministry said late on Monday that journalists or agencies accused of creating or spreading fake news would be referred to the Press Council of India and another statutory body for broadcast… Read more »
DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh has begun relocating 100,000 Rohingya refugees to safer ground before the monsoon season for fear of deadly landslides and floods in the congested camps, an official said Sunday, April 1. The United Nations says about 150,000 refugees in Bangladesh’s southeast – where nearly one million Rohingya in total live in shanties on hillsides – are extremely vulnerable… Read more »
In countries not as developed as the United States, laws against slavery aren’t enforced or just don’t exist. Women and children are still being trafficked for profit and used as slaves. For some, this industry is a huge portion of the economy. Without steady jobs most people will look to a shady way to make money whether it be human… Read more »
The suicide bomb attack happened near a compound where Afghanistan’s political and tribal elites are due to gather next week to debate a security pact with the United States. Officials in the capital say the bomber crashed a vehicle filled with explosives into an Afghan army vehicle. One man fleeing the bombing described seeing a white Totoya Corolla vehicle speed… Read more »
Along the Great Silk Road the shadows of predator and prey chase each other across the wide grassland still today. Like other partnerships that have remained unchanged for centuries, today’s Eagle Hunters care for their birds from the moment they hatch. The bond between eagle and owner is clear as they “kiss” in a gentle touch between beak and nose. It is… Read more »
DHAKA, Bangladesh – A hardline Islamic school in Bangladesh said Tuesday it had confiscated hundreds of mobile phones and torched them in a bonfire because they were distracting students from their learning. Pupils at the seminary in southeast Bangladesh were ordered to hand over their cellphones Sunday to school administrators who then tossed the devices en masse into a fire in a nearby field…. Read more »
Sri Lanka has imposed a nationwide state of emergency for the first time since the civil war era in response to days of violent unrest between Sinhalese and Muslim communities. The special measures permitting soldiers to be deployed in civilian areas will initially apply for 10 days, at which point the deployment would need to be ratified by parliament, said Mano… Read more »
This week was the first time that the 6000 Rohingya muslims were settled towards Myanmar and Bangladesh. For the past few weeks these people had been stranded between the no mans land of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Over the past few months the Rohingya people have been ‘ethnically cleansed’ from their own countries and have been forced to leave. Myanmars government… Read more »