Several separatist leaders are under house arrest in India-controlled Kashmir, as a complete general strike has paralyzed Srinagar for four days following the death of a protesting youth in the city Aug. 5. Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz… Read moreKashmir on edge; Srinagar paralyzed
Ahmedabad, capital of the Indian state of Gujarat, was hit by 17 blasts in a space of 70 minutes July 26, killing at least 45 and leaving some 150 injured—one day after eight near-simultaneous explosions rocked the southern city of… Read more“Indian Mujahedeen” claim Ahmedabad blasts
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein condemned the government of Bangladesh for the killing of suspected drug offenders by security forces. The High Commissioner responded to reports that 130 individuals had been killed in three weeks and thousands arrested after the government proclaimed a "zero-tolerance" policy on illegal drugs. He especially expressed concern over the government's public message claiming that the individuals killed were not innocent and that "mistakes can occur in an anti-narcotics drive." He also raised concerns that "already vulnerable communities living in slums were particularly being targeted," and that drug users may fear being arrested or killed for seeking treatment or just accessing health services. Zeid called on the government to review the incidents and hold human rights violators accountable. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Sikh protesters blocked a rail line through Amristar in protests across India’s Punjab this week to demand the arrest of Ram Rahim Singh, leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, which combines spirituality with social work—but which orthodox Sikhs accuse… Read moreIndia: Sikh killed in sectarian violence; Punjab rail line blocked
One is reported killed and over 80 people, including at least 30 police, injured in clashes when protests over the transfer of forest land to the Amarnath shrine trust exploded into street-fighting in Srinagar and Ganderbal district, Kashmir, June 23…. Read moreOne dead in Kashmir riots over Amarnath shrine lands
Sri Lanka’s air force launched helicopter attacks on rebel-held territory in the island’s north June 21, as ground troops killed at least four guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Mannar district. “Sri Lanka air force MI-24… Read moreAir attacks in Sri Lanka
A little-known organization called the Indian Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for serial terror blasts in Jaipur (Rajasthan state), which killed 63 and wounded more than 150 on May 13. Indian Mujahideen is the same group that had sent an e-mail to… Read more“Indian Mujahedeen” claim Jaipur blasts
Nepal’s Maoist leader, known as Prachanda—whose party won the most seats in last month’s Constituent Assembly elections on an anti-monarchist platform—says he has received indications from the royal palace that King Gyanendra is willing to meet him to discuss the… Read moreNepal: Maoists to meet with king?
Doesn’t this say it all: capitalism provides the raw material of social rage, but reactionary fundamentalism—not any analysis that correctly identifies the enemy—provides a political outlet, allowing the legitimately angry to vent at a very wrong target. April 12 saw… Read moreBangladesh: protests against food prices —and women’s rights
Sri Lankan cabinet minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was among 12 people killed outside Colombo April 6 in a blast blamed on a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber. At least 90 people were wounded in the explosion minutes before the start of a… Read moreSri Lanka: insurgent terror makes headlines; state terror forgotten
Police in Kathmandu clashed with hundreds of Tibetan refugees during a protest March 15 over the repression in Lhasa. The protesters tried to march on the Chinese embassy, but the police barred their way. The previous day, dozens were injured… Read moreTibet crisis militarizes Nepal
Pakistan's army high command approved the death penalty for 10 condemned jihadists who were convicted by a military tribunal of attacks that claimed over 60 lives—including the assassination of Amjad Sabri, one of the country's most revered singers of qawwalii, traditional Sufi devotional music. Sabri was on his way to a televised Ramadan performance in Karachi when his car was attacked by gunmen, and his many followers hailed justice in the case. But in the two years since Sabri's death, attacks on Sufis in Pakistan have continued, with suicide blasts and horrific massacres at shrines and mosques. (Photo via PTI)
