Turkish singer appears in court over religious schools joke on October 21, 2022A Turkish pop singer accused of “inciting hatred and enmity” with a joke about Turkey’s religious schools rejected the charge Friday during her first court appearance. Singer-songwriter Gulsen was charged and briefly jailed over the joke she made during a concert in April, when she quipped that the “perversion” of one of her musicians came […]
World Bank estimates floods caused $40B in damages in Pakistan on October 19, 2022World Bank estimates floods caused $40B in damages in Pakistan. Pakistan said Wednesday that the World Bank estimates this summer’s record-breaking floods have caused $40 billion in damages in this impoverished South Asian nation. The figure is $10 billion more than an earlier estimate by the Pakistani government. Cash-strapped Pakistan was already facing a serious […]
Turkey’s opposition seeks stay of ‘disinformation’ law on October 18, 2022Turkey’s opposition seeks stay of ‘disinformation’ law. Turkey’s main opposition party applied to the country’s supreme court on Tuesday seeking a suspension of the enforcement of a newly-approved media law that mandates prison terms for people deemed to be spreading “disinformation.” Last week, parliament approved a 40-article legislation that amends press and social media laws […]
Small town in southern Mexico hosts thousands of migrants on October 18, 2022As migrants, especially Venezuelans, struggle to come to terms with a new U.S. policy discouraging border crossings, one small town in southern Mexico is unexpectedly playing host to thousands of migrants camped far from the U.S. border. San Pedro Tapanatepec had 7,000 migrants, about 75% Venezuelans, when The Associated Press visited at the beginning of […]
Worry grows for Iran woman athlete who climbed without hijab on October 18, 2022Worry grows for Iran woman athlete who climbed without hijab. An Iranian female competitive climber left South Korea on Tuesday after competing at an event in which she climbed without her nation’s mandatory headscarf covering, authorities said. Farsi-language media outside of Iran warned she may have been forced to leave early by Iranian officials and […]
Taliban killed captives in restive Afghan province on October 18, 2022The Taliban captured, bound and shot to death 27 men in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley last month during an offensive against resistance fighters in the area, according to a report published Tuesday, refuting the group’s earlier claims that the men were killed in battle. One video of the killings verified by the report shows five men, […]
Pregnant women struggle to find care after Pakistan’s floods on October 17, 2022Rajanpur: The first five months of Shakeela Bibi’s pregnancy were smooth. She picked out a name, Uthman, made him clothes and furniture. She had regular checkups at home and access to medicine. Then an ultrasound revealed the baby was upside down. The doctor told Bibi to take extra care and rest. And then came this […]
Virginia AG punts investigation of child abuse allegations on October 14, 2022Earlier this year, the office of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares handed off its jurisdiction in a long-running investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and other abuses at a hospital that serves vulnerable children. The move leaves any further charging decisions up to a local prosecutor with a tiny staff. Miyares’ office offered a procedural […]
Woman held captive for a month, repeatedly raped on October 14, 2022A Missouri woman was held captive in a basement room for about a month and was raped repeatedly before she was able to escape, according to charging documents filed Tuesday. The suspect, 39-year-old Timothy M. Haslett of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, was arrested Friday and appeared in court by video Tuesday from the Clay County jail. […]
Flood warnings as southeast Australia lashed by heavy rain on October 13, 2022Flood warnings were issued, hundreds of homes were evacuated, thousands more lost power and a man was missing as heavy rain lashed southeast Australia on Thursday. Rivers across Australia’s most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, and the island state of Tasmania were rising dangerously with catchments soaked by months of above-average rainfall. Around […]