Asia
Nepal terrorized by aftershocks, hampering relief efforts
KATMANDU, Nepal — A growing sense of despair spread through Katmandu on Sunday as the devastated Nepali capital was convulsed by aftershocks that sent residents screaming into the streets, where they were pelted by heavy rain....
Farmer’s public suicide in India opens debate over compassion and climate
Indian farmer Gajendra Singh stands on a tree before committing suicide during an Aam Aadmi Party rally in New Delhi. Singh hanged himself in front of hundreds of protesters gathered to rally against the government's contentious reform of land purchasing laws....
Eritrea and North Korea are the world’s most censored countries, advocacy group says
The impoverished African nation of Eritrea has the lowest rate of cellphone ownership in the world, less than 1 percent of its people can go online, and its journalists are so terrified of offending the president that even reporters for the state-run news media live in perpetual fear of arrest....
Christians who use the language of Jesus being uprooted by Islamic State
BEIRUT — Suhail Gabriel was in bed when Islamic State militants stormed his village in eastern Syria, firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Gabriel rushed his wife and daughter onto his motorcycle and sped through the early-morning darkness, he later recalled....
In China’s Inner Mongolia, mining spells misery for traditional herders
A few years after the smelter, seen in the background, opened, herders in the area said that their sheep began falling sick, with jaws so painful that they could not eat. Soon, thousands of their animals had died. When they complained, the government simply arrested five of their leaders and forced...
In rural India, farmers will not sell their land for others to develop, so Indian government wants to force them to sell
A worker holds onions grown on a plot of land sought by India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation. It hasn't been able to acquire the land because the owners won't sell. Dhaneshwar Prasad, a farmer whose land is sought, said "Why wouuld I sell this land to the government? This land gi...
Chinese riot police crush grasslands protest over chemical pollution
See report...
Photo feature: Yemeni civilians in the crossfire
Twelve days ago, a Saudi-led coalition of 10 nations began bombing Yemen to displace Houthi rebels who seized the capital Sana'a last September. The attacks, which have been questioned under international law, have already killed many civilians....
Fighting in Yemen is creating a humanitarian crisis
BEIRUT — The fighting in Yemen threatens to cause widespread hunger and thirst and displace huge numbers of people, creating another humanitarian disaster in a region already reeling from the crisis in Syria, according to analysts and aid workers...
UNICEF warns lack of toilets in Pakistan tied to stunting
ISLAMABAD (AP) — More than 40 million people in Pakistan do not have access to a toilet, forcing them to defecate in the open, which in turn is a major contributor to stunting in the country, a top UNICEF official said."There are 41 million people who do not have access to a toilet in Pakistan and...