Current World Issues (Hov.)

Kashmir Journalist Kamran Yusuf faces life imprisonment Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir - On the morning of September 4 last year, Kamran Yusuf left his home in Kashmir's Pulwama for work, carrying his backpacks and cameras, but the photojournalist never returned, his family says. The following day, his family came to know through news channels that Yusuf, who has been working as a photographer in the small town known for its apple orchards, was arrested by Indian security forces and sent to New Delhi, the Indian capital. The 22-year-old freelance photojournalist, who has been documenting the conflict in Indian-administered Kashmir, has been slapped with charges of "stone throwing" and "waging war against India". He has been in jail since then. Irshad Ahmad Ganaie, Yusuf's uncle, says the family is still in shock. "His mother was divorced when he was two years old. Since then, they are living with us. He was just working hard a...

UN: 'Senseless human suffering' must end in East Ghouta UN warns bombardment must stop as more than 100 civilians killed in regime attacks on rebel-held area east of Damascus. The United Nations says it is alarmed by "the extreme escalation in hostilities" in Syria's Eastern Ghouta and called for "immediate" end to the bombardment of the rebel-held area that has left more than 100 people dead since Sunday. "The recent escalation of violence compounds an already precarious humanitarian situation," Panos Moumtzis, the UN's regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, said in a statement on Tuesday. "It's imperative to end this senseless human suffering now. Such targeting of innocent civilians and infrastructure must stop now." At least 20 children are among those killed in the incessant air raids and artillery fired by Syrian government forces on the Damascus suburb home to some 400,000 people, according...

Israel kills Palestinian after month-long manhunt by Linah Alsaafin After a manhunt that lasted almost a month, Israeli forces have announced that they assassinated a Palestinian man suspected of being behind the killing of a Jewish settler last January. Ahmad Jarrar, 22, went into hiding after Raziel Shevah was killed in a drive-by shooting near an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. Before dawn on Tuesday, Ahmad was found by Israeli forces, which included the Shabak intelligence and elite units, in the village of Yamoun, some nine kilometres from his hometown of Jenin. According to Israeli sources, security forces ordered Ahmad to come out of a building at around 3am (01:00 GMT). He allegedly emerged armed with an M-16 rifle and hand grenades, and was immediately hit with a barrage of bullets which resulted in his death. His death was confirmed by the governor of Jenin on Tuesday morning. "We received the news from Palestinian of...