Syria conflict: Key opposition group arrive for Geneva talks
- 31 January 2016
- Middle East
The main Syrian opposition group has arrived in Geneva, a day after backing down from their threat to boycott the UN-sponsored peace talks.
But a spokesman said they stood by their demand for an end to air strikes and blockades before they will negotiate with the Syrian government.
Their delegation is due to meet UN envoy Staffan de Mistura on Sunday.
More than 250,000 people have died and 11 million have fled their homes in almost five years of war in Syria.
The Syrian civil war has also been the biggest driver behind Europe's migration crisis.
On Saturday, at least 39 migrants, among them children, drowned in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos.
German Interior Minister on Refugee Crisis: 'We Want Clarity on the Refugee Crisis by Spring'
Interview Conducted by Ralf Neukirch and René PfisterIn an interview, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, 62, warns that the government in Berlin only has a few weeks left to solve the refugee problem. He fears that Europe's open-border policies may soon end if a solution isn't found.
SPIEGEL: Interior Minister de Maizière, the state of Bavaria has written to Chancellor Merkel demanding that she change her refugee policies, there is protest among German conservatives and now the deputy chair of her own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has come up with her own plan to stymie the flow of refugees to Germany. Is it time to concede that the chancellor's Plan A has failed?
SPIEGEL: Isn't the real illusion the idea that Europe is going to help bail Germany out of the refugee crisis? Austria has announced a cap on the number of refugees it is willing to take, Denmark has tightened its asylum laws and Sweden is no longer allowing refugees without papers into the country.
De Maizière: On Monday, I sat together with my European counterparts in Amsterdam and the degree of responsibility they felt was indeed very divergent. However, it is a mistake if some partners believe they can avoid the problem. Should the Schengen system of open borders face additional pressure or its long-term viability continue to be questioned, they will realize that the refugee crisis than just a German issue, because all in Europe would be hurt.
Zika cases in pregnant women double in Colombia
Health officials say the number of pregnant women with the Zika virus has doubled in a week. The virus has been linked to babies being born with smaller than normal brains and is spreading through the Americas.
Health officials in Colombia announced Saturday that more than 2,000 pregnant women have now been infected with the mosquito-born Zika virus, making Colombia the second hardest-hit country after Brazil, the epicenter of the outbreak.
The virus has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect which prevents fetus' brains from developing properly. The disease has no known cure and is said to be untreatable, and can cause permanent damage to a child's motor and cognitive development. The virus is said to be carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
Kill a child for honor, but how heinous!
India is a cauldron of conflicting content. While womanhood is revered and celebrated, a woman is often tortured, maimed and murdered.
Female foetuses are aborted and baby girls smothered out of existence soon after they are born, even as a woman carries the cross of her family’s honor. Which can mean that she has little or no right to marry a man of her choice — a man who may belong to another race, community or caste. And if she dares this, she is killed by members of her own family — often the mother, the father or an uncle. The boy is not allowed to go as well. His life has to end too.
A 2011 film by Avantika Hari, Land, Gold Women, takes a hard look at a small British Asian family in modern Birmingham, where the daughter commits the unpardonable crime of falling in love with a white boy. Her uncle, who arrives from India, pressures the parents of the girl to view this affair as a blot on the family’s honor and to get rid of her!
Homeless Gazans struggle during harsh winter
By Adel Zaanoun2 hours ago
Azza al-Najjar struggles in vain to keep her two-year-old warm by wrapping him in blankets in her prefabricated metal home as a winter storm lashes the Gaza Strip.
"The cold increases the suffering of people here," the 24-year-old mother says.
"My son has breathing problems and with the weather his condition has worsened."
The family have been staying in the temporary home in the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza since theirs was destroyed in the 2014 war between Israel and Palestinian militants in the enclave.
But recent rains battering the besieged Strip have seen schools and roads closed, while families like Najjar's have watched water and mud seep through the doorway into their homes.'Visit my mosque' day in UK bids to tackle Islamophobia
Next Sunday, some 80 mosques will invite the public in to counter negative stereotypes about Britain's Muslim minority.
Anealla Safdar
Mosques across Britain are planning to open their doors to the public in a bid to counter negative stereotypes about Muslims next week, against a backdrop of rising Islamophobia.
Organised by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), more than 80 mosques will participate in the "Visit my Mosque" day on February 7 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
"It's an opportunity for Muslims in the UK to put themselves out there and reach out to their local neighbours," an MCB spokesman told Al Jazeera.
"The day will allow for people to meet face-to-face, get to know each other and tackle misconceptions."
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