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East Asia
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West Asia
Red Cross seeking permission to work in ISIS territory
The International Committee of the Red Cross has said it is trying to establish relations with ISIS in hopes of delivering aid to the 10 million people living under its control as ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord told AFP in an interview. “We have a very clear humanitarian vision. First, what we…
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South East Asia
Another former sex slave dies; 46 victims remain
Choi Gap-sun, 96, a victim of the Japanese military’s sexual enslavement of women from Korea and other Asian nations, died on Saturday, according to a civic group. With Choi’s death, the number of Korean survivors of sexual slavery during World War II has dropped to 46. Including Choi, nine have…
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West Asia
Draft law fails to ensure disability rights in Morocco
A draft law on rights for disabled people that has gone before the Moroccan parliament has been criticized by civil society groups. Moroccan disability associations are being supported by Human Rights Watch, which recently wrote to the Moroccan parliament calling on lawmakers to ensure that the draft law accords full…
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Society
Remembering Edie Sedgwick
What urged me to write about Edie Sedgwick was first, her timeless beauty, and then her tragic life story but most of all, it was her sensitive soul that remained mostly hidden behind the mask of her beauty, trendsetting fashion statements that influenced the 1960s America and, her popularity as…
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East Asia
China turning hostile toward North Korean defectors
The Chinese government regards North Korean defectors as illegal immigrants, and said on Thursday that they should be forcibly repatriated. Its hostile approach came despite the United Nations’ growing criticism of Beijing’s forced repatriation of asylum seekers from the Kim Jong-un regime; and possibly reflects an improvement in relations between…
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South East Asia
Geoje International Photo Festival: Photographers community gathers in Geoje Island
November 27 marked my first visit to Geoje Island, the second largest island in Korea. The reason was quite simple and interesting. My photographs had been selected as part of the first Geoje International Photo Festival and I was also on assignment to cover the festival. The two-day journey to…
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South East Asia
Sex slavery talks between Korean, Japan likely to continue into 2016
Negotiations between Korea and Japan over Tokyo’s sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II are likely to drag on into next year. Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said he was skeptical about striking a deal with Korea over the issue by the end of this year, Japan’s Nihon…
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South Asia
Indian newspaper not published for the first time in 137 years due to floods
The Hindu, one of the oldest newspapers in India, was not published on Wednesday for the first time in 137 years due to heavy downpour and flooding in Chennai. The paper, famous for its history of objective journalism has been published daily since 1878 but on Wednesday, it could not get…
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West Asia
Iran’s famous orchestra barred from performance over female musicians
A high-profile performance in Iran by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra was cancelled at the last minute because it was due to feature female musicians. The orchestra conductor Ali Rahbari said on Sunday he was told 15 minutes before the orchestra was scheduled to play at a major sporting event that…
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