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West Asia
Jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi wins PEN Pinter prize
Saudi blogger Raif Badawi who was jailed, fined and publicly lashed after being convicted of charges including “violating Islamic values and propagating liberal thought” has been named co-winner of the 2015 PEN Pinter prize. Badawi was convicted of insulting Islam in 2012, and fined £175,000, and is currently serving a 10-year sentence in…
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West Asia
China prepares to join the fight against ISIS
Al-Masdar Al-Arabi reported that Chinese military advisers are expected to join with their Russian counterparts in weeks. It comes after China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that Chinese and Iraqi foreign ministers agreed to offer intelligence and personal training in September 2014. As China breaks it’s long history of non-interference, due…
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West Asia
Yazidi women and their struggle against ISIS
After their husbands and families were killed, Yazidi women started taking it upon themselves to defend themselves and their territories from ISIS forces. Whether they were fighting women or refugees in one of the camps or women who were tortured by ISIS and managed to escape them, they all have…
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West Asia
Disocvering new rooms in Tutankhamun’s tomb
The Egyptian pharaoh queen Nefertiti could be buried in two newly-discovered rooms in King Tutankhamun’s tomb, according to a British archaeologist. Nicholas Reeves said on Egyptian TV that two extra rooms had been found hidden in the walls of the tomb. Egyptian officials say they hope to give the go-ahead to…
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West Asia
France investigates Asaad’s crimes against humanity
France has launched a probe into Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime for alleged crimes against humanity, a judicial source said Wednesday, after world powers sparred at the United Nations over the embattled leader’s fate. Paris prosecutors opened a preliminary inquiry on September 15 into alleged crimes committed by the Syrian…
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West Asia
Bahrain unveils huge weapons and explosives haul
Bahrain says it has uncovered one of the biggest finds of explosives and weapons since violence erupted there in 2011. Police say 1.4 tonnes of high-grade explosives were found in an underground vault south of the capital Manama along with rifles and hand grenades. Bahrain has been coping with low-level…
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East Asia
AJA donates to Tongil Nanum Fund
On 26th September, Chosun Ilbo, one of the major newspapers in Korea, reported that 36 journalists from 27 countries at Asia Journalist Association (AJA) have agreed to a contract with the Tongil Nanum fund, a monthly donor fund. They already dispatched 70 dollars to the fund for the first donation.…
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West Asia
‘Muhammad’ represents Iran at the Oscars
The epic film “Muhammad” by director Majid Majidi, which portrays the childhood of the Muslim prophet, will represent Iran in next year’s competition for an Oscar for best foreign film, media reported Saturday. With a budget of nearly $40 million (€34 million), partly funded by the state, “Muhammad”, is the…
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West Asia
EU leaders duck responsibilities on refugees
European Union leaders meeting on September 23, 2015, focused on how to stem the flow of asylum seekers instead of strategies for a responsible, humane response to the crisis at its borders, Human Rights Watch said today. “Listening to EU leaders, you could almost be forgiven for thinking there is…
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West Asia
Tunisian student gets a year in jail for homosexuality
A Tunisian court has sentenced a student to a year behind bars on charges of homosexuality, in a judgement condemned by local rights groups, AFP reports. The youth had been detained on September 6 in the Mediterranean resort area of Sousse for questioning in connection with a murder after his telephone…
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