Fukushima five years on: survivors try to rebuild lives in ghost town
| Syrian Civil War, Humanitarian crises, Middle East, Syria
on in
The rhinoceros is arguably one of the ugliest mammals on earth. But it is worth millions of dollars and is chased and killed by men, hunting it down most cruelly for its horn. Said to weigh anywhere from 500 grams to a kilogram and a half, each horn can fetch between $480,000 and $800,000 in the international market.
By Vladimir Hernandez
Up to 100,000 Mexicans are kidnapped every year - and it's not just the rich who are at risk.
Plumbers, hairdressers, street-sweepers - anyone can be a target of capture, torture and even murder.
Millionaire ransoms are demanded - but with kidnappers accepting sums as low as US$500, it means no-one is safe.
This story about one kidnap contains strong language and upsetting scenes.
Victims' names have been changed.
Japan marks 5 years since the devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people and triggered a nuclear disaster in Fukushima. The fallout forced residents to flee their homes, leaving ghost towns behind them. Five years on, a few cities are still off limits to civilians. Our correspondents meet the Wada family as they explain why they still want to rebuild their hometown, Odaka, which is now only accessible during the day.
Fifth year of Syria's war the worst yet, aid groups say
Thirty aid agencies believe UN Security Council members have undermined their own commitments on Syria. They say the past 12 months has seen a "horrendous escalation in violence" and civilian displacement.
In a new report entitled "Fueling the Fire," which was released on Friday, a group of non-government organizations (NGOs) described the fifth year of Syria's civil war as the worst yet, with at least 50,000 deaths and almost a million civilians forced to flee their homes.
The report by charities including CARE International, Oxfam, Action Aid, Save The Children and several Syrian groups, said some 200,000 homes had been partly or completely destroyed, an increase of 20 percent from 2014.
Around 1.5 million more people were in need of humanitarian aid and an additional 400,000 children were no longer in school due to the violence, the paper said.
Saved by a rat: Rodents the new heroes in land mine clearing
March 11, 2016 - 4:27PMLindsay Murdoch
South-East Asia correspondent for Fairfax Media
Phnom Penh: They are one of the most loathsome creatures, responsible for the deaths of millions of people during the Black Death and plagues of past centuries.
But rats have begun eliminating a scourge that has killed and maimed tens of thousands of people in Cambodia: land mines.
Huge, cat-sized rodents with bad vision but an extraordinary sense of smell are sniffing out TNT explosives in mine fields laid by the murderous Khmer Rouge in north-western Cambodia in the 1980s.
And Paul McCarthy, a 10-year veteran of the war in Iraq who is managing the so-called "HeroRat" program, says rats could be used to detect improvised explosive devices that have been used with devastating impact against military and civilian targets, including Australian forces, in Afghanistan and Iraq.Syria's besieged Darayya residents send 'SOS' to world
Women and children in rebel-held town outside Damascus stage rare protest, urging the UN to deliver humanitarian aid.
Dozens of residents in a besieged town outside the Syrian capital have staged a demonstration urging the United Nations to allow humanitarian aid into the area.
The protesters, mostly women and children, took to the streets on Wednesday in rebel-held Darayya, which has been encircled by President Bashar al-Assad's troops for more than three years.
The children in the protest lined-up to form the letters "SOS", while banners called on UN officials to help.
"[UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria] Mr Yacoub El Hillo, what are you doing to help us," one banner read.
"If you can stop the shelling, you can break the siege," another read.
No aid has entered Darayya since the beginning of its siege.
Saving the rhino: India must involve Karbi tribes to stop poachers
on in
The rhinoceros is arguably one of the ugliest mammals on earth. But it is worth millions of dollars and is chased and killed by men, hunting it down most cruelly for its horn. Said to weigh anywhere from 500 grams to a kilogram and a half, each horn can fetch between $480,000 and $800,000 in the international market.
The horn is used for making medicines to cure cancer and impotency, and is widely sought after in countries like China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Much like tiger parts that are also used for similar purposes, the rhino horn has no scientifically proven curative values.
Yet, man — often driven to despair by debilitating diseases or a penis that refuses to perform — seeks out the illogical and the irrational in the faintest of hope that he would be cured. Some rich Vietnamese keep a horn at home believing that it will bring them peace of mind.
Ransom
By Vladimir Hernandez
Up to 100,000 Mexicans are kidnapped every year - and it's not just the rich who are at risk.
Plumbers, hairdressers, street-sweepers - anyone can be a target of capture, torture and even murder.
Millionaire ransoms are demanded - but with kidnappers accepting sums as low as US$500, it means no-one is safe.
This story about one kidnap contains strong language and upsetting scenes.
Victims' names have been changed.
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