Asia Bibi: Pakistan court overturns blasphemy death sentence
Rumours the People’s Bookshop shut its doors after pressure from the government, which is aligned with Beijing
By Adam Liptak
Christian woman to be freed after being sentenced in 2010, accused of insulting the prophet Muhammad
Pakistan’s supreme court has struck down the death sentence for blasphemy handed down to Christian woman Asia Bibi, in a long-delayed, landmark decision that has seen the judiciary praised for its bravery in the face of threats of violence and protest from the country’s Islamist groups.
The court, in a three-member bench led by chief justice Saqib Nisar, released the verdict on Wednesday morning in Islamabad, three weeks after they had reached a decision. The delay followed threats by blasphemy campaigners to hold large protests and kill the judges if they did not uphold the death sentence.
“Her conviction is set aside and she is to be relieved forthwith if not required in other charges,” said Nisar, reading out the judgment.
Migrant caravan: Second group of migrants arrive in Mexico as Pentagon prepares to deploy thousands of troops
Critics say president is stoking fears about the caravan for political reasons ahead of midterm elections
Andrew BuncombeWashington DC
Around 4,000 migrants from Central America are walking and hitchhiking northwards through Mexico, and Donald Trump has dispatched 5,000 troops southwards to help secure the US border amid what has has termed "an emergency".
In addition to this original group, more than 1,000 migrants in a second caravan that forced its way across the river from Guatemala have begun arriving in the southern Mexico city of Tapachula.
That is the latest, strange status quo in the saga of the migrant caravan, which set off 10,000-strong from Honduras two weeks ago. On the way, the caravan has been joined by people from El Salvador and Guatemala, seeking to enter the US and sure a better life. At the same time, thousands have dropped out because of the heat and exhaustion, and being offered transport home by the Mexican government.
How can Gaza's contaminated water catastrophe be solved?
Barely three percent of Gaza's drinking water wells is fit for human consumption, and the crisis is claiming lives.
by Sandy Tolan
When it comes to survival in Gaza, safe, clean drinking water is not at the top of Mousa Hillah's list of priorities.
Since the 2014 war, Hillah, known to neighbours and family as Abu Ali, has had far bigger worries, which are etched deeply into the exhausted face of the 48-year-old grandfather.
Dodging shell fire from Israeli tanks, he fled with his family from the destruction of his Shuja'iyya neighbourhood, flattened by Israel in an attack so devastating - 7,000 shells in barely an hour - that it astonished even US military officials. ("Holy bejeezus!" one retired general exclaimed.)
A chapter closes: last Hong Kong bookshop selling titles banned in China shuts
Rumours the People’s Bookshop shut its doors after pressure from the government, which is aligned with Beijing
The last bookshop in Hong Kong selling titles banned by the Communist Party on the mainland has closed, marking the last chapter of the city’s historic independent publishing scene.
Human rights activists and publishers have raised grave concerns over the closure of the People’s Bookstore, a tiny shop in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay district, known to be the last source of literary contraband in the city, in the latest example of China’s tightening pressure over the city.
The Guardian spoke to locals familiar with the matter who believe bookseller Paul Tang closed the shop under pressure from the government. A frequent visitor of the shop, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the city “was once the place where mainland readers came looking for the truth. But today, you’re afraid to even mention these forbidden topics.”
Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Proposal Is at Odds With Legal Consensus
By Adam Liptak
The words of the 14th Amendment are plain, and the scholarly and judicial consensus about what they mean is nearly uniform: Children born in the United States automatically become citizens of the United States.
In an interview released Tuesday, President Trump proposed a different reading of the amendment, one he said denies birthright citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants. Mr. Trump said he was preparing to issue an executive order to that end.
The statement sounded more like a political stunt than a reasoned legal argument, and its timing, coming a week before the midterm elections, was suspect. Nor was it clear what the executive order would say, or how it could change the meaning of the Constitution.
Veterans slam Trump for border 'stunt'
Updated 0144 GMT (0944 HKT) October 31, 2018
With his decision to deploy more than 5,000 troops to the US-Mexico border, President Donald Trump has ordered more military personnel to the US southwest than he has serving in some of the world's most contentious combat zones.
Senior military officers have defended the deployment on national security grounds but the mission -- dubbed Operation Faithful Patriot -- raises a slew of questions, with many veterans condemning it as a political stunt by a President eager to fire up his political base just days away from the midterm elections.
"Donald Trump thinks unarmed people who are fleeing horrors and are still 1,000 miles away are a national security threat a week before election day?" said Will Fischer, a former Marine who now works for the VoteVets, a progressive veteran's organization.
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