South Asia

Pakistan: sectarian strife mars Ashura

Celebrations of Muharram, the Shi’ite holy month highlighted by the Ashura festival, saw sectarian violence that left several dead across Pakistan.

North Africa

Mauritania: polls boycotted, slavery condemned

Mauritania's opposition parties will boycott upcoming elections, seen as legitimizing a dictatorship, while a "Global Slavery Index" names the country as the world's worst offender.

Iran

Iran hangs 16 after Baluch border clash

Sixteen accused militants were hanged in Iran’s Baluchistan province—in apparent retaliation for the deaths of at least 14 border guards in an ambush just the night before.

Afghanistan

Malala Yousafzai: still a hero!

Malala Yousafzai has not been co-opted by international accolades, as evidenced by her protests against US drone strikes—to President Obama’s very face.

Afghanistan

Pakistan stock market soars on terror wave

Over the past year of growing violence and chaos in Pakistan, the Karachi Stock Exchange surged more than 44%, placing it among the world’s top-performing stock markets.

Afghanistan

Will ‘peace’ mean betrayal of Afghan women?

The Taliban have opened a "political office" in Qatar preparatory to talks with Kabul and the US—after years of propaganda about the US defending women's rights in Afghanistan.