India’s health survey shrouded in mystery
Good health data is rare in India. The last time the country published a comprehensive, state-wide survey was back in 2007. So why hasn’t a vast survey of women and children carried out by the Indian government with the UN agency for children, Unicef, been released? India’s so-called Rapid Survey of Children was a huge […]
North Korean scientist flees to Finland with gigabytes of data on inhumane experiments with biochemical weapons
A North Korean scientist with expertise in biochemical weaponry defected from his home country in June and has been spending his time in Finland. The 47-year-old left with 15 gigabytes worth of data and information regarding human experimentation, which he felt may have crossed ethical boundaries according to Yonhap News Agency. The researcher plans to […]
Malaysia pushes for criminal tribunal for MH17 disaster
Malaysia has said that it wants to set up an international tribunal to prosecute those suspected of having shot down flight MH17. The Malaysia Airlines passenger plane crashed in July 2014, with the loss of all 298 people on board. It had been flying over territory held by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine when it […]
Afghan court spares Farkhunda mob killer
An Afghan appeals court has quashed death sentences imposed on four men for their part in the mob killing of a young woman in Kabul in March. The woman, Farkhunda, was attacked at an Islamic shrine after being falsely accused of burning a copy of the Koran. She was stoned to death, her body was […]
Catholic Church Opens Parking For Ramadan Bazaar In Malaysia
The decision by a Catholic Church in Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu, Church of St Mary Immaculate in Bukit Padang, to open its car park to visitors frequenting a nearby Ramadan bazaar, has gone viral in the social media in the peninsula. A Facebook posting by a Daniel Doughty on the Church drew thousands of likes. “I […]
Chinese dog torture festival causes a major stir
Activists around the world have voiced their outrage and launched campaigns against a food festival in China where hundreds of thousands of dogs are reportedly slaughtered for meat. In the past few weeks, there has been a growing number of reports focusing on the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival which took place in Yulin, China […]
Video: Plane crashes in Indonesia leaving 113 dead
At least 113 people aboard an Indonesian air force C-130 have been killed, when the plane crashed in a residential neighbourhood in the city of Medan on the northern island of Sumatra, according to military officials. The plane came down on Tuesday hitting empty residential buildings after bursting into flames shortly after takeoff. There were […]
Global Leadership Criticized – Refugee crises ‘reflect world in chaos’
Political will to stop conflicts missing, with old ones festering and new ones constantly erupting, UN official says. The UN refugee agency has said that the record number of refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people globally is “a reflection of a world in chaos”. On the eve of World Refugee Day, the UN released […]
China bans Ramadan fasting
China has banned civil servants, students and teachers in its mainly Muslim Xinjiang region from fasting during Ramadan and ordered restaurants to stay open. Most Muslims are required to fast from dawn to dusk during the holy month, which began on Thursday, but China’s ruling Communist party is officially atheist and for years has restricted […]
Indian Rape Victim Faces Humiliating ‘Purification Ritual’
A woman who was gang raped for eight months in Gujarat, western India, is now not only pregnant as a result, but has been ordered to face “purification tests” by her community’s local courts. The BBC’s Ankur Jain reports on what this gruelling ritual will entail and why it is still endured. The shy, softly […]
