Syrian troops launch major ground assault for Aleppo
After massive aerial bombardment, Syrian forces mobilise for ground operation to "wipe out" rebels and retake key city.
Syrian forces launched a major ground offensive on a rebel-held district of Aleppo, the biggest assault yet in a new campaign aimed at wiping out rebel forces and retaking a city that's key to ending the five-year war.
Syrian state TV said on Tuesday that troops captured Farafra district, near Aleppo's famous citadel, and fighting was under way near the historic core of the northern city.
A military official told AFP news agency that government forces "retook control of all of the Farafra district" and were now "demining the area".
Amnesty calls off launch of Thai torture report after police warning
Rights group was told staff could be arrested over visas if public launch of report accusing soldiers and police went ahead
Amnesty International has cancelled the public launch of a report on torture inThailand after police in Bangkok warned the rights group that its representatives might be arrested and prosecuted for visa violations.
The report accuses Thai soldiers and police of torture, including of suspected insurgents, government opponents, alleged drug users and members of ethnic minorities.
The London-based advocacy group had flown in members of its UK team for the event, which was to be held at a hotel in central Bangkok and attended by diplomats, journalists and local human rights activists. Members of Thailand’s police special branch and the department of employment had also turned up.
Russian journalist arrested for 'illegal' voting after exposing fraud in Duma elections
Mr Korotkov reported being ferried around St Petersburg with other voters to cast multiple ballots
An award-winning journalist who exposed voting fraud duringRussia’s parliamentary elections has himself been arrested for alleged fraud.
Denis Korotkov, a correspondent for the independent news website Fontanka, was scheduled to appear in court in St Petersburg on Wednesday on charges of “illegally obtaining a ballot”.
But campaigners say Mr Korotkov was working undercover to expose vote rigging in the Duma elections, which have provoked international concern, and is now being harassed for his work.
'Enticing' video chats with American YouTuber land Saudi teen in jail
For months, a Saudi Internet user called Abu Sin had the Arabic-speaking web in stitches over videos of him chatting with an American video blogger. With his sideways cap, toothless smile, and over-the-top flirting, he quickly gained a large following. This did not, however, amuse Saudi authorities, who arrested the 19-year-old on Sunday. They accuse him of “unethical behaviour”.
Abu Sin – a nickname that translates to “toothless” – rose to online fame for videos in which he chats with video blogger Christina Crockett. These chats were broadcast on the livestreaming site YouNow. In broken English, the young man regularly tried to flirt with the amused Californian, while thousands of viewers watched.
Are India and Pakistan on the verge of a water war?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said earlier this week that his nation may speed the construction of new hydropower plants along three rivers that flow into Pakistan – a move that would certainly be harmful for Pakistan.
Rising tensions between India and Pakistan could spike into a “water war” if India fails to follow through on a treaty that regulates a river that flows between the two countries, a Pakistani official said Tuesday.
The divisions between the two nations have again mounted despite attempts to create pace. Many had hoped that 2016 would be a year of unity after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi late last year, but old tensions have dashed some of those hopes.
The strain between the two nations spiked again earlier this month after 17 Indian soldiers died in the disputed Kashmir region. India alleges that Pakistan is responsible, and Mr. Modi is weighing retaliation through manipulating water flow on three rivers that connect the two countries to favor India.
Meet the nuclear cattle of Fukushima
Updated 0426 GMT (1226 HKT) September 28, 2016
Some families have at least one relative who's either odd or eccentric. Others boast family members of a more unusual kind.
That's what one filmmaker discovered in 2011 when he heard of a group of former farmers in Fukushima's nuclear exclusion zone, fighting to keep their radiation-affected cows alive, though they brought them no profit.
"The farmers think of these cows as family. They know that these cows can't be sold, but they don't want to kill them just because they're not worth anything," Tamotsu Matsubara, who made a film called 'Nuclear Cattle' (Hibaku Ushi) on their plight, told CNN.
No comments:
Post a Comment