Pakistani Islamist party calls for death of judges who freed Christian woman sentenced for blasphemy

A hard-line Islamist party in Pakistan on Wednesday called for the death of the chief justice of the Supreme Court and two other judges who overturned the death sentence of a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy.

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Public opinion, legal hurdles cloud outlook for Japan-South Korea forced labor row

Japan and South Korea will try to keep a row over World War Two forced laborers from spiraling into a crisis, after a court ruling forced the U.S. allies to confront hardening public opinion and divergent views of history.

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RBI autonomy essential, says finmin amid rift with central bank

Tensions between the RBI and the government have spilled into the public domain after deputy governor Viral Acharya said last week that undermining central bank independence could be “potentially catastrophic”.

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Afghan army helicopter crash kills 25, including a top commander

An army helicopter crashed in southwestern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 25 people on board, including a top commander and the head of the provincial council key in fighting off a Taliban attack in May, officials said.

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India placed 14th on CPJ's Global Impunity Index

India has once again featured on the list of countries with the worst record of punishing the killers of journalists, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This is the 11th year India has been placed on the list. The report claimed that the situation in India, which occupied 14th spot, has worsened with a total of 18 unresolved cases.

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#MeToo: Akbar appears record his statement

Former Union minister M J Akbar on Wednesday appeared before a Delhi court to record his statement in a criminal defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani. Multiple women have come out with accounts of alleged sexual harassment by Akbar when he was a journalist.

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Saudi prosecutor discusses Khashoggi case with Turkish intelligence: Demiroren agency

Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor held talks overnight with Turkish intelligence officials over the investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Demiroren news agency said.

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PM Modi unveils 'Statue of Unity'

The imposing monument is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US and is built on an islet, Sadhu Bet, near the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat's Narmada district. It has been built using over 70,000 tonnes of cement, 18,500 tonnes of reinforcement steel, 6,000 tonnes of structural steel and 1,700 metric tonnes of bronze, which was used for the outer cladding of the structure.

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Uzbek bloggers test - and hit - the limits of new-found freedom

When Uzbek authorities detained several online activists in September, blogger Davronbek Tojialiyev packed some clothes in a bag and waited for the knock on his door.

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Austria says will not sign global migration pact

Austria will follow the United States and Hungary in backing out of a United Nations pact on migration over concerns that it will blur the line between legal and illegal migration, the right-wing government told media on Wednesday.

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Pakistan frees Christian woman facing death in blasphemy case

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the conviction of a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy against Islam and ordered her freed, a ruling that set off protests by hardline Islamists but was welcomed by human rights advocates.

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South Sudan rebel leader Machar arrives in capital, first time since 2016

South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar returned to the capital Juba on Wednesday, according to a Reuters witness, more than two years after he fled the country after the collapse of a 2016 peace deal.

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Afghan army helicopter crashes, killing 25 on board: officials

An Afghan army helicopter crashed in southwestern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 25 crew and passengers, provincial officials said.

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Austria to withdraw from U.N. migration agreement: APA

Austria will follow the United States and Hungary in withdrawing from a United Nations agreement on migration, APA news agency said on Wednesday, citing Austrian concerns about its sovereignty and potential restrictions on its freedom to act.

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Indonesian rescue workers believe fuselage of crashed plane found

Indonesian search and rescue workers believe they have found the fuselage of a Lion Air passenger jet that crashed with 189 people on board, and are also trying to confirm the origin of an underwater "ping" signal, officials said on Wednesday.

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Indonesia removes Lion Air director after plane crash: Antara news agency

Indonesia's transport minister removed on Wednesday the technical director of the Lion Air airline and several of its technicians after the crash of one of its jets with 189 people on board, the Antara news agency reported on Wednesday.

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Indonesia search team finds 22-meter object in hunt for plane

Indonesian search and rescue workers have detected a 22-metre long object underwater in area where a Lion Air passenger jet with 189 people on board crashed, a navy official said on Wednesday.

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