India hedges pledge to expel Rohingya Muslims amid outcry
Source: Associated Press By ASHOK SHARMA NEW DELHI (AP) — A day after the U.N. chief voiced concern about Indian plans to potentially deport tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingya […]
UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM Annual Report 2017
extract: PAKISTAN TIER 1 | USCIRF-RECOMMENDED COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN (CPC) • Designate Pakistan as a CPC under IRFA; • Negotiate a binding agreement with the government of Pakistan, under section 405(c) of IRFA, to achieve specific and meaningful reforms, with benchmarks that include major legal reforms and releasing […]
India opens 1st Partition museum 70 years after bloody event
Source: Associated Press By RISHABH R. JAIN AMRITSAR, India (AP) — In the 70 years since India and Pakistan were created from the former British Empire, there has never been […]
‘They use money to promote Christianity’: Nepal’s battle for souls
Source: The Guardian Ram Maya Sunar had two miscarriages. Then she had a daughter, who died of pneumonia when she was one. “My second child died from tuberculosis at just […]
In pictures: Pakistan marks Independence Day
Source: BBC News There have been celebrations and ceremonies in Pakistan as it marks the 70th anniversary of its creation as a sovereign state. Image copyrightEPAImage captionThere were fireworks at […]
Indian woman ‘boycotted’ over support for Dalit farmer
Source: BBC An Indian woman in the southern state of Telangana says she is being “socially ostracised” because she supported a farmer from the Dalit (formerly untouchable) community. Sama Indira, […]
The specificity of the North Korean threat
Source Stratfor The specificity of the North Korean threat has raised concerns, and it follows a statement by the Strategic Force a day earlier by that they were “carefully examining the operational plan for making an enveloping fire at the areas around Guam” as a response to the frequent flights […]
Repeal Blasphemy Laws as Ahmadiyya and other suffer!
Source: The Daily Caller “The Ahmadiyya Muslim community and other religious minorities, including Shia Muslims, Christians and Hindus, suffer a denial of religious freedom at the hands of the state, compounded by harassment, violence and persecution from extremists,” McDonagh said. McDonagh claimed that Pakistan’s current hostile stance toward religious minorities contrasted with […]
Saudi Arabia: new details of dissident princes’ abductions emerge
Documentary broadcasting this week asserts three princes were victims of government scheme to kidnap defectors Prince Sultan bin Turki (centre) was kidnapped in 2016. Members of his entourage describe him […]
‘I won’t do toilets’: the unvarnished reality of life as a maid in India
Domestic service can extract a family from extreme poverty – but it can also be a path to near-enslavement. Tripti Lahiri investigates the uneasy, and sometimes abusive, relationship between India’s modern-day ‘madams’ and maids A woman returns home after a day’s work as a domestic help in New Delhi. […]
Indian woman ‘boycotted’ over support to Dalit farmer
Source: BBC An Indian woman in the southern state of Telangana says she is being “socially ostracised” because she supported a farmer from the Dalit (formerly untouchable) community.Sama Indira, 50, from the upper caste Reddys, says her community association has imposed a fine of 5,000 rupees ($78; £60) on anyone […]
N Korea leader ‘briefed’ on Guam plan but opts to wait
Source: BBC News North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reviewed plans to fire missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam but will hold off, state media said. Although prepared for […]
70 years after Pakistan-India split, Sikhs search for home
Source: Associated Press By KATHY GANNON PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Radesh Singh’s grandfather was just 11 years old when he left his village in India’s Punjab province to move to […]
Hindu Today, Muslim Tomorrow
Source: The Atlantic BY SABA IMTIAZ For the first 16 years of her life, Ravita Meghwar was a Hindu girl living in a village in Pakistan. But today her name […]
Indian Independence Day: everything you need to know about Partition between India and Pakistan 70 years on
Source: Telegraph By Barney Henderson, and agencies 70 years ago, Partition came into effect, dividing British India into two new, independent countries: India and Pakistan. At midnight on August 14 […]
India says to deport all Rohingya regardless of U.N. registration
FILE PHOTO: People belonging to Rohingya Muslim community sit outside their makeshift houses on the outskirts of Jammu, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta/File photo (reuters_tickers) By Krishna N. Das and Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) – All of an estimated 40,000 Rohingya Muslims living in India are illegal immigrants, even […]
Modi urges India to reject violence in name of religion
Reuters International THIS CONTENT WAS PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 15, 2017 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses the nation from the historic Red Fort during Independence Day celebrations in Delhi, India August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (reuters_tickers) By Tommy Wilkes and Rahul Bhatia NEW DELHI (Reuters) – […]
Over 600,000 displaced Syrians returned home in 2017, majority to Aleppo: UN
Source: ABNA Findings by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and partners indicate that 84 per cent of the people returning had been displaced within Syria, and the rest returned from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Refugees returning from Turkey and Jordan reportedly returned mainly to Aleppo and Al Hasakeh […]
Yemen cholera epidemic: Cases exceed 500,000 in four months
The number of suspected cases of cholera resulting from an epidemic in war-torn Yemen has reached 500,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. At least 1,975 people have died since the waterborne disease began to spread rapidly at the end of April. The WHO said the overall caseload had declined […]
Pakistan marks 70 years of independence amid political turmoil, border tensions
COMPILED FROM WIRE SERVICES ISTANBUL Pakistani girls attend a ceremony at the mausoleum of founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as national celebrates the Independence Day, in Karachi, Pakistan, Aug. […]