Syria 'chemical attack': US weighs up military response
The US says "all options are on the table" in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, as Western leaders continue to weigh up military action.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters that a final decision on military strikes had not been taken.
But she said the US holds Russia and Syria responsible for the incident.
The US National Security Council is to meet on Thursday, while UK PM Theresa May has called a cabinet meeting.
Activists, rescue workers and medics say dozens of people died in the formerly rebel-held town of Douma on Saturday.
'My hair turned white': report lifts lid on China's forced confessions
Those coerced into confessing are dressed by police, handed a script and given directions on how to deliver lines
China must stop airing forced confessions from human rights activists, a campaign group has said in a report that details how detainees are coerced into delivering scripted remarks.
There have been at least 45 forced televised confessions in China since 2013, according to the report from Safeguard Defenders, a human rights NGO in Asia. The group called on the international community to put pressure on the Chinese government to end the practice and recommended imposing sanctions on executives at China’s state broadcaster, including asset freezes and travel bans.
Those coerced into confessing describe being dressed by police and handed a script they are required to memorise, and even being given directions on how to deliver certain lines or cry on cue, the report says. One person described enduring seven hours of recording for a television piece that ultimately amounted to several minutes. Others reported police ordering retakes of confessions they were unhappy with.
Top EU court strengthens family reunifications for young refugees
The ECJ has ruled that refugee minors have a right to family reunifications, even if they turn 18 during the application process. The case could have a major impact on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Thursday that unaccompanied refugee minors retain the right to family reunification even if they come of age during the asylum application process.
The ruling from the European Union's top court could impact tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors who applied for asylum within the bloc, while shaking up immigration hardliners in Germany who want to curb family reunifications.
Advocate General Yves Bot issued an opinion prior to Thursday's decision, saying that the court should retroactively grant family reunifications to those affected in cases where they come of age during the asylum process.
'Anti-Muslim bigotry has been normalised under Modi'
Al Jazeera speaks to Neyaz Farooquee on his book, An Ordinary Man's Guide to Radicalism: Growing up Muslim in India.by Nehal Ahmed
New Delhi, India - India is home to roughly 172 million Muslims - the third-largest Muslim population in the world.
Since 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, tensions between Muslims and Hindus have increased in large parts of the country.
Muslims, who make up about 170 million of India's 1.3 billion population, have faced attacks after being accused of eating beef or killing cows, an animal considered sacred in Hinduism.
Amnesty accuses Japan of breaching int'l rules on death penalty
Amnesty International accused the Japanese government of flouting international norms Thursday by executing death row inmates who were seeking retrials.
The human rights organization noted that for the first time since 1999, Japan last year executed people who had their appeals for retrial pending before the courts. This was the case in three of the four executions in the country in 2017.
Speaking at the release of the group's annual death penalty report, Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International's adviser on the death penalty, told Kyodo News, "What was noticeable last year was that the government breached some of its own practices as we saw people who were applying for a retrial being executed."
"We also saw someone executed in December even though he qualified under Japanese law as a minor at the time of the crime.
DETAINED, THEN VIOLATED
1,224 Complaints Reveal a Staggering Pattern of Sexual Abuse in Immigration Detention. Half of Those Accused Worked for ICE.
A woman held at an immigration detention center in Washington state said she was raped by a medical worker and a private facility contractor as she sought help in the center’s medical unit. Another woman said officers cuffed and maced her following an argument with a fellow detainee at an immigration detention center in Florida. Then, as she lay on the ground, an officer sat on her “like a person would sit on a horse,” his “erect penis on her butt.” Officers then filmed her as she showered to wash off the mace, according to documents obtained by The Intercept.
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