Latest deaths, including an Irish climber, come as others report ‘insane’ delays at the peak
Four more deaths have been reported on Everest as concerns grow about the risks posed by the severe overcrowding on the world’s highest mountain this year.
Kevin Hynes, 56, from Ireland, died in his tent at 7,000 metres early on Friday, having turned back before reaching the summit. The father of two was part of a group from the UK-based 360 Expeditions.
Continue reading...British specialist among those aiming to develop ‘next generation’ treatment that could help millions of victims each year
Scientists in five countries, including the UK, hope to find a universal cure for snakebite using the same technology that discovered HIV antibodies.
A new consortium of venom specialists in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Britain and the US will locate and develop antibodies to treat critical illness from snakebites, which harm nearly 3 million people worldwide each year.
Continue reading...India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has claimed a landslide victory in national elections that cements the Hindu nationalist leader as the country’s most formidable politician in decades. The emphatic victory has been greeted with dismay among some members of religious minority groups, who have voiced fears that a returned Bharatiya Janata party government would be further emboldened to prosecute its Hindu nationalist agenda
Continue reading...Party leader’s north Indian constituency was bastion of support for his famous family
As India’s opposition Congress party went down to a landslide defeat on Thursday, its leader, Rahul Gandhi, was also convincingly beaten in his own parliamentary seat – a north Indian constituency that had sent three of his family members to parliament in the past half-century.
The loss of the family bastion seat of Amethi underscored the dwindling relevance of south Asia’s most famous political dynasty in Narendra Modi’s “new India”, alongside the decline of the pluralistic vision of India that has been synonymous with the Nehru-Gandhi family for the past seven decades.
Continue reading...The hugely popular BJP Hindu nationalist leader brushes aside economic woes to claim another term
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, is on track for a historic landslide election victory that would cement the Hindu nationalist leader as the country’s most formidable politician in decades.
Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) had been expected to easily win a majority in coalition with smaller parties, but official results after nearly three hours of counting showed the party ahead in at least 290 seats, enough to claim an outright victory. Its main national opponent, Congress, was leading in just over 50 seats.
Continue reading...In a country where dirty water and poor sanitation jeopardise the lives of millions, moves are afoot to improve health facilities
It was midnight when Kalpana and Rohit Agri had to take their three-day-old daughter, Kritima, to Bardiya hospital in western Nepal. She was listless and, despite the antibiotics she’d been prescribed, had developed a high fever. Hearing her struggling to breathe, they woke a neighbour to take them.
Kritima was admitted with life-threatening neonatal sepsis, probably an infection she had picked up in the hospital where she was born.
Continue reading...Voting has officially ended in country’s marathon six-week ballot
India’s prime minister and his allies are on track to decisively win a second term, according to exit polls released after voting officially ended on Sunday night in the country’s marathon six-week elections.
Sampling by six pollsters showed Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and its coalition winning between 287 and 336 seats. The final tally each survey predicted varied but were uniformly well above the 272 seats needed to form government in India’s lower house. Two surveys showed the ruling coalition falling short – by between five and 30 seats.
Continue reading...PM admonishes candidates who lauded Mahatma Gandhi killer as a ‘patriot’
Campaigning in the most acrimonious election in recent Indian history has ended with an admonishment by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, of some of his hardline candidates for praising Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin.
A six-week campaign dominated by national security issues and increasingly brazen rhetoric came to a head this week after a candidate for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh state said she believed Gandhi’s killer, Nathuram Godse, was “a patriot”. She later apologised. Three other BJP members also weighed in on Gandhi’s murder.
Continue reading...Legislation passed following murder of Qandeel Baloch in 2016 proves ineffective as authorities fail to pursue cases
The killer was unrepentant.
“I killed my sister because she brought [a] bad name for the family,” he told neighbours in the Kachi district of Balochistan, Pakistan.
Continue reading...Authorities investigating if Muzaffar Ghangharo, who has Aids, knowingly spread virus
A doctor has been arrested in Pakistan after more than 400 children and 100 adults tested positive for HIV, with authorities investigating whether he intentionally infected them.
Authorities say the outbreak in Larkana, southern Pakistan, apparently began when Muzaffar Ghangharo, who has Aids, infected patients in early April. He was arrested this month and police are trying to determine whether Ghangharo knowingly spread the disease.
Continue reading...Five million sex workers vow to vote en bloc in national elections in effort to have rights acknowledged
Sex workers across India are lobbying candidates in the country’s general election to support their demands for better health and welfare services in return for votes.
“We wanted to see which party accepts sex workers as part of the community,” said Kusum (who goes by only one name), president of the All India Network of Sex Workers (AINSW), which is coordinating efforts. “Some express support for us behind closed doors, but never in public.”
Continue reading...Pakistani Christian man and wife sentenced to death for text messages sent to Muslim
The case of a Christian couple on death row in Pakistan after being convicted of blasphemy has reportedly been taken up by the lawyer who defended Asia Bibi.
Shagufta Kousar and Shafqat Masih were accused of sending blasphemous text messages to a Muslim man. They were sentenced to death, but have appealed to the high court in Lahore.
Continue reading...World must ‘cut off money supply’ to commanders accused of war crimes and genocide against Rohingya, say investigators
The international community must cut off all support to Myanmar’s military as part of efforts to hold army commanders to account for crimes against humanity and genocide, UN investigators have said following a fact-finding mission in the country.
In a statement, the UN said there had been no progress in protecting the Rohingya minority, more than a million of whom have fled military “clearance operations” in the Rakhine region.
Continue reading...A hoax video showing children falling ill after polio vaccinations underlines the obstacles facing health workers for whom danger has become a way of life
It began with a rumour, a breathless video circulating on Facebook saying children in Peshawar had been taken ill after being vaccinated for polio.
Within hours, a second video emerged showing the same children being instructed to lie down and feign illness. But it was too late. The latest attempt to derail Pakistan’s formidable drive to eradicate polio had already taken hold, leaving thousands of parents panic-stricken and a government health facility partially burned down.
Continue reading...Six months after a wave of accusations against some of the country’s most powerful men, many women are now embroiled in litigation
Onlookers crowded against the walls of the Delhi courtroom for the testimony of Mobashar Jawed Akbar, India’s former junior foreign minister, and the highest-profile man to quit his job after Indian women started sharing their #MeToo stories last year.
Akbar, 68, has denied accusations by more than 10 women of sexual misconduct. Over two hours in court, an antagonistic audience hissed and tittered as he answered questions on the stand.
Continue reading...Australian expert worries Queensland coal may help fund armed forces accused of genocide
The Adani Group has signed a US$290m commercial deal with a holding company controlled by the Myanmar armed forces, who have been accused by UN investigators of committing genocide and crimes against humanity.
The Indian conglomerate behind the controversial Carmichael coal project in north Queensland was granted permission in April to develop a container port in Yangon, on land owned by the Myanmar Economic Corporation. The MEC generates significant revenue for the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw.
Continue reading...Action taken following days of attacks on places of worship and Muslim-owned businesses
Sri Lanka has imposed a country-wide curfew after successive days of mob attacks on mosques and Muslim-owned shops in three districts.
Facebook and WhatsApp have also been banned as the government seeks to quell unrest in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings at churches and luxury hotels last month, which killed more than 250 people.
Continue reading...A plane in Myanmar with 89 people onboard landed on the runway without its front wheels. The pilot has been praised for saving the day after the landing gear failed to launch. The touchdown – in which no one was hurt – was the second instance of a malfunctioning flight in the country in less than a week
Continue reading...Afghanistan rebuilds the old town and creates register of dwellings to promote peace and help residents feel safer
Amir Gol first arrived in Kabul after fleeing his home – a Taliban stronghold – in Nangahar. He had no idea where to settle, so he rented a small mud house and started collecting and selling used plastic to make a living. Almost a decade later, little has changed for the 60-year old father of eleven. He sits cross-legged on a cushion outside the house he rents for 600 Afghani (£5) a month. Occasionally, he says, members of insurgent groups come to his neighbourhood, a settlement specked with poorly constructed mud houses and plastic tents in the city’s outskirts.
Continue reading...Pilot praised after touching down successfully at Mandalay despite failure of landing gear
A Myanmar pilot saved the day after his aircraft’s landing gear failed, safely putting the jet on the runway with no front wheels on Sunday, an official said.
The touchdown – in which no one was hurt – was the second instance of a malfunctioning flight in Myanmar in less than a week.
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