INDIA: CIVILIANS KILLED IN THE AFTERMATH OF POONCH TERROR ATTACK WERE TORTURED TO DEATH, ALLEGE FAMILIES

Sat 23 December 2023: New Delhi: The families of three tribal men from Poonch have alleged that they were tortured to death by the Army after the attack in which five soldiers lost their lives earlier this week. The alleged custodial killing of the three civilians identified as Safeer Hussain, 37, Mohammed Showkat, 26 and Shabir […]

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UNLAWFUL KILLINGS: AMNESTY URGES MYANMAR MILITARY WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATION

  A woman looks through the debris after the Myanmar military bombed a camp for displaced people in the country’s north in October [File: AFP] Sat 23 December 2023: Amnesty International has said the Myanmar military should be investigated for war crimes over a new offensive by an alliance of ethnic armed groups and anti-coup […]

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‘INDIA OUT’: MALDIVES PRESIDENT EYES MIDDLE EAST PARTNERS WITH EARLY TRIPS

Fri 22 December 2023: When the new Maldives president, Mohamed Muizzu, stepped on a plane in late November for his first overseas visit since being sworn in barely a week earlier, he was breaking with a longstanding tradition in his country’s diplomatic practices. Across party lines, Maldivian presidents have long made India their first port of […]

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AFGHANISTAN NEEDS $185 MILLION TO PREVENT FOOD INSECURITY-RELATED DEATHS: WHO

Thu 21 December 2023: On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that $185 million is required by the UN organization to stop food insecurity-related deaths in Afghanistan. “WHO needs $185 million to continue providing medicines and supporting hospitals to prevent more Afghan children and women dying of malnutrition and the consequences of food insecurity,” […]

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MALAYSIA BANS ISRAELI-FLAGGED SHIPS OVER GAZA ONSLAUGHT

Wed 20 December 2023: Malaysia barred Israeli-flagged cargo ships from docking at its ports on Wednesday in protest to Israel’s operations in Gaza, which it said violated “basic humanitarian principles.” Ships bound for Israel will also be prevented from loading cargo at any port in the predominantly Muslim Southeast Asian nation, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim […]

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MORE THAN 100 KILLED IN CHINA’S DEADLIEST QUAKE IN 13 YEARS

Tue 19 December 2023: At least 118 people have been killed and hundreds injured after an earthquake hit northwestern China in a remote and mountainous region while many were asleep. While the authorities quickly mobilised several emergency responses, their work was complicated as the earthquake wrecked roads and infrastructure, triggered landslides, and half buried a […]

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INTERNET ACCESS IS RESTRICTED IN PAKISTAN AHEAD OF A VIRTUAL RALLY FOR IMRAN KHAN

Mon 18 December 2023: Pakistani authorities are accused of temporarily slowing down internet services yesterday and blocking access to major social media platforms, coinciding with a planned “virtual jalsa (meeting)” organised by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Several Pakistani netizens took to social media to complain about problems accessing X […]

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HONG KONG PRO-DEMOCRACY MEDIA TYCOON JIMMY LAI’S COURT TRIAL BEGINS

Mon 18 December 2023: On Monday, a national security trial for Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying began in West Kowloon, public broadcaster RTHK reported. The now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper’s 76-year-old founder is charged of “colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring to print seditious publications.” The trial should last at […]

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USCIRF ALARMED BY INDIA’S ‘INCREASED TRANSNATIONAL TARGETING’ OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

Sat 16 December 2023: New Delhi: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has issued a detailed statement and again called upon the Joe Biden administration to designate India a Country of Particular Concern, or CPC. It said it is “alarmed by India’s increased transnational targeting of religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf. Recent […]

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PAKISTAN USES ARTIFICIAL RAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME TO FIGHT POLLUTION

  Artificial rain has been used for the first time in Pakistan in a bid to combat hazardous levels of pollution in the megacity of Lahore, says the provincial government. Planes equipped with cloud-seeding equipment flew on Saturday over the eastern city, often ranked one of the worst places globally for air pollution. “It drizzled in at least […]

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