Ukrainian prisoners of war say they were tortured at Russian prison
Former Ukrainian captives say they were subjected to torture, including frequent beatings and electric shocks, while in custody at a detention facility in south-western Russia, in what would be serious violations of international humanitarian law.
In interviews with the BBC, a dozen ex-detainees released in prisoner exchanges alleged physical and psychological abuse by Russian officers and guards at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility Number Two, in the city of Taganrog.
The testimonies, gathered during a weeks-long investigation, describe a consistent pattern of extreme violence and ill-treatment at the facility, one of the locations where Ukrainian prisoners of war have been held in Russia.
Niger coup backers call for mass mobilisation amid military threat from regional bloc
As Ecowas chiefs prepare to meet to discuss possible action against junta, civic group says ‘we need to be ready’
Supporters of the Nigerien junta are calling for the mass mobilisation of citizens against the threat of military action by a west African regional bloc that is calling for the restoration of the country’s deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum.
With a delayed meeting of military chiefs of staff of the Ecowas bloc scheduled to take place later this week, regional tensions over the July coup against Bazoum appeared to be deepening, despite the junta’s efforts to suggest they were open to talks.
Following the expiry of an Ecowas ultimatum after the coup against Bazoum, led by members of his presidential guard, the group activated a “standby force” to restore democracy in Niger but has yet to deploy it.
Pakistan: Mob attacks churches over alleged blasphemy
A crowd has attacked a Christian district in eastern Pakistan, vandalizing churches and setting fire to scores of houses. The mob accused two members of the community of desecrating the Quran.
A rampaging mob set alight several churches and scores of homes on Wednesday in a predominantly Christian area of the Pakistani city of Faisalabad.
Officials said the attack, in Jaranwala town, was triggered by a group of Muslim religious extremists who accused a local Christian family of desecrating the Quran.
What we know so far
Christian leader Akmal Bhatti said the crowd set fire to at least five churches and looted valuables from abandoned houses after clerics made announcements in mosques to incite them.
Hundreds of people armed with sticks and rocks stormed churches belonging to various denominations.
Provincial police chief Usman Anwar told the online media outlet Dawn that officers cordoned off the area as police tried to negotiate with the crowd. Police also said they were registering cases against those who desecrated the Quran.
Thousands of Haitians flee gang violence in Port-au-Prince district
Crammed into cars, on motorcycles or on foot, thousands of residents on Tuesday fled a gang-ridden district of the Haitian capital, an AFP reporter observed.
"We're living in an extremely difficult situation," said Elie Derisca, a resident of the Carrefour-Feuilles district in southern Port-au-Prince.
"I don't even know where to go. I had to flee my house," he told AFP.
At least 3,120 people have fled the district, according to an estimate by the Haitian Civil Protection Department and officials say more are likely to follow.
The neighborhood is regularly attacked by a gang led by Renel Destina, known by his alias Ti Lapli, who is wanted by US authorities for kidnapping American citizens.
VOX POPULI: Typhoon No. 7 blows out to sea after ruining Bon holiday
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of The Asahi Shimbun.
August 16, 2023 at 13:21 JST
The Kii Mountains are known for their precipitous slopes. But in the village of Totsukawa in Nara Prefecture, at the center of the range, the valley was much deeper in the past.
Back then, a joke went that if you dropped a stone from a winding trail along the mountainside, you could smoke a whole cigarette before you heard it splash into the river way below.
But the terrain was completely transformed in August 1889, when a typhoon caused massive landslides that filled the valleys and washed away homes, creating multiple landslide dams.
“Almost an entire village was washed away, together with its natural features,” wrote author Ryotaro Shiba (1923-1996) in “Kaido wo Yuku,” a multivolume series of essays about his travels in Japan and abroad.
Jakarta is the world’s most polluted city. And Indonesia’s leader may have the cough to prove it
Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is the world’s most polluted city, according to a new study, and the country’s president may have the cough to prove it.
Ministers in the Southeast Asian country confirmed this week that President Joko Widodo had been battling a cough for weeks and suggested it could be related to worsening air pollution in the city of 10 million.
The news came just days after the Swiss company IQAir released data showing that Jakarta’s air quality had deteriorated in recent weeks to become the worst in the world.
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