What You Need To Know Today

Shaker Aamer: Guantanamo is a stain on Obama's legacy

Shaker Aamer says he endured torture by US authorities during his 14 years jailed in Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

Doha, Qatar - Barack Obama's failure to shutter Guantanamo Bay was a stain on his legacy as US president, according to Shaker Aamer, a Saudi-born UK resident held at the infamous US detention centre for nearly 14 years without trial.

Aamer was arrested in Afghanistan in 2001, but was never charged with a crime. He was released from the Cuba-based prison in October 2015 and has since lived with his wife and four children in Britain.

Three years of conflict takes its psychological toll on the people of Ukraine

Those who have suffered the traumas of war are suffering from extreme stress and a sense of utter helplessness – but little can be done to reach them

The village’s last remaining civilians shuffle into an abandoned nursery, now commandeered by aid workers as a weekly, frontline clinic. Colourful cars and cartoon animals beam from cheerful wallpaper; rows of tiny, empty beds – once used for nap time before war broke out – line the adjacent room of this immaculate, lovingly-decorated nursery.

Kashmiris have lost their fear of India: report

JAWED NAQVI 

A report from October and December visits to Jammu and Kashmir made available to Dawn on Saturday involves important individuals from different institutions and political parties, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The group was facilitated by Rajmohan Gandhi’s Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation and has specifically hinted at what lies ahead if New Delhi doesn’t curb its callousness in Kashmir Valley. Young Kashmiris have lost their fear of Indian forces, and they are ever more eager to die resisting routine high-handedness than submit to a life of discrimination and humiliation, it points out.

Coast Guard to set up body to promote maritime safety in Southeast Asia

The Japan Coast Guard plans to establish an organization dedicated to helping Southeast Asian countries improve maritime safety capabilities, apparently as part of Japan’s moves to deal with China’s assertiveness at sea, JCG officials said.

The coast guard aims to build stronger ties with counterparts in the region as part of Japan’s drive to enshrine the rule of law in coping with disputes in the South China Sea, where surrounding countries including China have competing territorial claims, they said.