The WHO and Unicef campaign will restart after three years, and the hardliners say they will assist and allow frontline female staff
Afghanistan will restart nationwide polio vaccinations after more than three years, as the new Taliban government agreed to assist the campaign and to allow women to participate as frontline workers, the UN said on Monday.
The World Health Organization and Unicef said the vaccination drive would begin on 8 November with Taliban support.
Continue reading...Social media footage shows floodwaters sweeping a house away in Kerala after heavy rains that began to intensify on Friday. At least 25 people have died in floods and landslides triggered by the rains in south-west India, officials said on Sunday, as rescuers searched for survivors and the military flew in emergency supplies
Continue reading...Rescuers search for survivors after days of rain bring devastation to south-eastern state
At least 25 people have died in landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains in south-western India, officials said on Sunday, as rescuers scoured muddy debris for survivors and the military flew in emergency supplies.
Residents were cut off in parts of the coastal state of Kerala as the rains, which started to intensify from late on Friday, swelled rivers and flooded roads.
Continue reading...Dozens of temples attacked over claims a Qur’an was desecrated
Deadly communal violence has broken out in Bangladesh after allegations of the desecration of an Islamic holy book led to dozens of Hindu temples being attacked and police opening fire on a crowd, leaving at least six people dead.
The government deployed paramilitary troops to 22 districts after religious tensions and violence broke out in the city of Cumilla on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of four Hindus. On Friday, further communal violence erupted in the capital, Dhaka, as well as the southern town of Begumganj, with two more Hindus killed in the unrest.
Continue reading...Exclusion of junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ‘necessary decision to uphold Asean’s credibility’
South-east Asian countries will invite a non-political representative from Myanmar to a regional summit this month, delivering an unprecedented snub to the military leader who led a coup against an elected civilian government in February.
The decision taken by foreign ministers from the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), at an emergency meeting on Friday night, marks a rare bold step for the consensus-driven bloc, which has traditionally favoured a policy of engagement and non-interference.
Continue reading...More than 80 injured in explosions at building in southern city of Kandahar after Friday prayers
A suicide bombing at a mosque in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar has killed at least 47 people and injured more than 80, in the second major attack on Shia worshippers in Afghanistan in a week.
The Imam Bargah mosque was particularly crowded when the attackers struck, because the community had been holding memorial prayers for the victims of the previous bombing, in northern Kunduz province.
Continue reading...A gift of a camera inspired Belmaya Nepali to rise above poverty and abuse to make documentaries
Belmaya Nepali’s life changed for ever when, at 14, she was given a camera.
The British film-maker Sue Carpenter had come to Pokhara, a tourist city in central Nepal, to run a photography project with disadvantaged girls living in an institution. One of those girls was Belmaya.
Continue reading...Rights groups raise concerns over deal to provide services on Bhasan Char, as Bangladesh plans to increase camp’s population by 80,000
The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) is facing questions over whether it is helping to detain Rohingya refugees in prison-like conditions by providing services on a controversial island camp.
Over the past year, Bangladesh has relocated almost 20,000 refugees to Bhasan Char, an island formed of silt deposits in the Bay of Bengal thought to be vulnerable to cyclones, which the refugees are unable to leave.
Continue reading...Activists highlight the poverty, stigma and abuse faced by women deserted by spouses living abroad
Kamala Reddy*, 33, a software engineer from Andhra Pradesh, married Vijay Kumar* in a traditional Hindu wedding in 2012. Kumar, who was working in the UK, was chosen by Reddy’s family. “But he didn’t take me to the UK after our marriage. He made excuses such as problems with the visa and so on,” says Reddy.
In 2016, Reddy became pregnant. Under pressure from the family, Kumar brought her to England. On arrival, she was shocked to discover Kumar’s secret. He had a British partner, two children and a stepchild. Neither Kumar’s nor Reddy’s families knew about the other family. Kumar threatened to leave Reddy if she told anyone.
Continue reading...Migrants, many fleeing the Taliban regime, claim they are being beaten, harassed and turned back by Turkish border forces
As the sun sets over a dusty ravine on the outskirts of Van city in eastern Turkey, Muhammdullah Sangeen and dozens of other Afghans are preparing for another night sleeping rough.
The 22-year-old, who has a bruised left eye and fresh cuts all over his arms, arrived from Iran a few days earlier with the help of smugglers. “I am not OK,” said Sangeen, his legs trembling. “I’m not feeling human.”
Continue reading...India, Egypt and Cuba among first states to develop and make their own vaccines as Covax falls behind
Developing countries are increasingly turning to homegrown Covid vaccinations as the UN-backed Covax programme falls behind.
While western countries roll out booster jabs to their own populations, Covax, which was set up by UN agencies, governments and donors to ensure fair access to Covid-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries, has said it will miss its target to distribute 2bn doses globally by the end of this year.
Continue reading...Shortage of specialised doctors in Afghanistan means patients seek lifesaving care in Pakistan, but conventions have changed
Fareed Ullah has crossed Afghanistan’s border to Pakistan 10 times for treatment for his three-year-old son, Taha, who has thalassaemia major, an inherited blood disorder. Up until the Taliban takeover in August he had never experienced a problem, but when he tried to transit via the Torkham crossing late last month, he was stopped by the Taliban from entering.
Doctors and family members of patients say conventions at the border have changed since the Taliban takeover, which has made it more difficult for Afghan patients to seek lifesaving care in Pakistan. “There is no system, still,” said Ijaz Ali Khan, the founder and chairman of Hamza Foundation, a charity organisation in Peshawar that provides treatment for thalassaemia and other blood disorders.
Continue reading...Leaders will discuss UN proposal to channel funds to Afghanistan to ease growing humanitarian catastrophe
G20 leaders and ministers will meet by video conference on Tuesday to discuss a United Nations proposal to channel funds to Afghanistan to ease its worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
It will be the first time the world’s richest nations have met to discuss the consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover on 15 August. Afghanistan was 75%-dependent on foreign aid before the takeover, and funds held overseas have been frozen by the US.
Continue reading...Dowries, illegal since 1961, still cause 20 deaths a day in India. But Babawayil has had no divorces or violence against women since it banned them
Babawayil, in the foothills of the Zabarwan mountains by the Sind River, is a typical village in Indian-administered Kashmir. Groups of men and women sit on their lawns breaking open green husks of walnuts, freshly gathered from the giant trees shading the sleepy hamlet. Other villagers are busy in the paddy fields bringing in the harvest. Harud, the harvest season, is usually busy.
Most of the 150 households make their living from farming and weaving pashmina shawls.
Continue reading...Eight in 10 thermal power stations within days of running out as state blackouts spark protests
India is facing a looming power crisis, as stocks of coal in power plants have fallen to unprecedentedly low levels and states are warning of power blackouts.
States across India have issued panicked warnings that coal supplies to thermal power plants, which convert heat from coal to electricity, are running perilously low.
Continue reading...The comedian and her dad recreate a childhood photo and talk about early days in India, agoraphobia and swapping banking for comedy
Born in New Delhi in 1969, Sindhu Vee spent her childhood in India and the Philippines, before throwing herself into academia, getting degrees from Oxford, Montreal and Chicago universities. In her early 40s, she traded the world of investment banking for standup comedy. Her career quickly ascended, with appearances on QI, Have I Got News for You, Radio 4 and Netflix’s forthcoming adaptation of Matilda. She lives in London with her husband and three children; she is currently touring her new show Alphabet.
Continue reading...Focus of talks in Qatar will be allowing foreigners and at-risk Afghans to leave Afghanistan, says US official
US officials will meet senior Taliban figures this weekend for talks aimed at easing the evacuation of foreign citizens and at-risk Afghans from Afghanistan, a US official has said.
The focus of talks on Saturday and Sunday in Doha, Qatar, would be holding Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders to commitments that they would allow Americans and other foreign nationals to leave, along with Afghans who once worked for the US military or government and other Afghan allies, the official said.
Continue reading...Large number of worshippers killed or wounded in blast during Friday prayers
At least 100 worshippers have been killed or injured in a suicide bombing that targeted a packed Shia mosque in Afghanistan during Friday prayers.
The blast took place in Kunduz, the capital city of Kunduz province in the north-east of the country. There was speculation that the attack was carried out by Islamic State (IS), which has a long history of attacking Afghanistan’s Shia minority.
Continue reading...Whistleblower Frances Haugen adds to long-held concerns that social media site is fuelling violence and instability
Whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony to US senators on Tuesday shone a light on violence and instability in Myanmar and Ethiopia in recent years and long-held concerns about links with activity on Facebook.
“What we saw in Myanmar and are now seeing in Ethiopia are only the opening chapters of a story so terrifying, no one wants to read the end of it,” Haugen said in her striking testimony. Haugen warned that Facebook was “literally fanning ethnic violence” in places such as Ethiopia because it was not policing its service adequately outside the US.
Continue reading...Homes collapsed after the quake struck 100km east of Quetta in Balochistan, and officials fear the death toll could rise
A 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit southern Pakistan in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 200, government officials said.
The quake struck Balochistan at 3am local time and at a depth of around 20km (12 miles), the US Geological Survey said.
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