Author: News Desk

Cradling her one-year-old daughter in a house in southern Myanmar, 22-year-old Nu Nu Aye recalled the reasons her husband gave for beating her. She hadn’t looked after his rooster. In a meeting brokered by a village elder, he said he would beat her when “necessary”. “His abuse got worse after that,” she said. Finally, he tried to strangle her while she was sleeping. In Myanmar, where the US-funded Demographic and Health Survey suggested at least one-fifth of women are abused by a partner – figure activists say is likely an underestimate because many cases are not reported there is no…

Brazil’s backsliding on Amazon conservation under right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and a likely Peronist return to power in Argentina could delay or even derail ratification of an EU-Mercosur trade agreement that took two decades to negotiate. Deforestation has surged since Bolsonaro’s election last year. His plans to develop the Amazon and moves to weaken rainforest protection have alarmed environmentalists and given ammunition to European opponents of the trade deal with the South American common market. Two former Brazilian environment ministers, Jose Sarney Filho, and Izabella Teixeira said Bolsonaro has rapidly undermined Brazil’s hard-won reputation as a responsible food producer and…

The death toll in five flood-affected states rose to 241 on Friday, with authorities retrieving seven more bodies in Kerala as floodwaters receded from several parts of the worst-hit state, while five casualties were reported from Rajasthan. Over 4,000 people have been moved to relief camps in Guntur and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh as the Krishna River is in spate, causing floods and affecting normal life, even as the weather improved in flood-hit western Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, allowing authorities to speed up rescue and relief operations. So far 111 people have died in rain-related incidents in Kerala, 70…

A 25-year-old married woman from Delhi allegedly killed herself by jumping in front of a metro train at a Yellow Line station on Friday, officials said. The incident, which delayed the services on the busy corridor for some time, took place at Adarsh Nagar metro station in the morning, according to a senior Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC)official. The woman, identified as Anita, got hit by the train that was going towards Vishwavidyalaya Station from Jahangirpuri station. “A Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) inquiry has been ordered,” a senior police official said. The Yellow Line connects Jahangirpuri station in northwest Delhi to Huda…

The White House has advanced a proposal to sell US$8 billion worth of advanced F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a move that would likely anger strategic rival Beijing, a senior US senator confirmed Friday (Aug 16). Marco Rubio, a Republican on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, called the administration’s decision to forward Taiwan’s request for 66 F-16s to Congress for approval “an important step in support of Taiwan’s self-defense efforts.” “As the Chinese government and Communist Party seeks to extend its authoritarian reach in the region, it is critical that the United States continue to enhance our strategic relationship with…

Greenland on Friday dismissed the notion that it might be up for sale after reports that U.S. President Donald Trump had privately discussed with his advisers the idea of buying the world’s biggest island. “We are open for business, but we’re not for sale,” Greenland’s foreign minister Ane Lone Bagger told Reuters. Trump is due to visit Copenhagen in September and the Arctic will be on the agenda during meetings with the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. ‘We’re not for sale’, says Greenland’s foreign minister Talk of a Greenland purchase was first reported by the…

A 15-year-old Nigerian boy has been arrested for demanding a ransom from his father after staging his own kidnap with his friends in the central city of Jos, police said Friday. The teenager and four accomplices aged between 15 and 22, were apprehended by police last week, after demanding a 500,000 naira (US$1,370) ransom from his distressed father. “It was staged perfectly”, Plateau State police chief Terna Tyopev told. “We are detaining them to ascertain why they did it and whether they have been behind other kidnaps that have been occurring in the area,” he said. When the boys were…

British police launched a murder investigation after an officer was killed in southeast England, the latest in a spate of violent crimes that have forced new Prime Minister Boris Johnson to pledge to do more to protect law and order. Police said on Friday (Aug 16) that constable Andrew Harper was killed while attending a reported burglary late on Thursday near a major road. Ten males aged between 13 and 30 have been arrested on suspicion of murder. “I am deeply shocked and appalled by the death of a brave officer on duty in Thames Valley last night,” Johnson said…

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday had a telephonic talk with US President Donald Trump on the Kashmir issue, according to Pakistan’s state media. Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Khan took the US President into confidence regarding the UN Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in which the Kashmir issue is being discussed, the Radio Pakistan reported. “Prime Minister Khan conveyed Pakistan’s concern on recent developments in Kashmir and the threat they pose to the regional peace,” Qureshi said. The foreign minister said the conversation between the two leaders was held in a cordial environment. They also agreed to remain in contact with the Kashmir issue.…

Founded in 2015, Sharechat is considered to be India’s “fastest-growing social media platform in local languages.” It currently reportedly has 60 million monthly users across 15 regional languages, according to TechCrunch.The round is notable in that it gives Twitter a foothold in one of the world’s largest countries and marks its first significant commitment to another region outside the U.S. Founder and CEO Jack Dorsey had firsthand involvement in securing the financing. By investing in Sharechat, Twitter will have the ability to “go deeper into India’s smaller towns at a time when its user growth has plateaued.” TrustBridge Partners, Shunwei Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SAIF…