By Jon Allsop In early August, the government of Narendra Modi, India’s recently reelected Hindu-nationalist prime minister, moved troops into the Kashmir Valley, which is majority-Muslim, then cut the region off. The internet and landlines went down; TV channels were taken off the air. Prominent local politicians were detained. Without consultation, Modi revoked the special autonomy Kashmir has long enjoyed …
https://www.ted.com/talks/tshering_tobgay_an_urgent_call_to_protect_the_worlds_third_pole?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare The High Asia Herald/TV Special The Hindu Kush Himalaya region is the world’s third-largest repository of ice, after the North and South Poles — and if current melting rates continue, two-thirds of its glaciers could be gone by the end of this century. What will happen if we let them melt away? Environmentalist and former Prime Minister of Bhutan …
Paris-based Watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned of an “alarming decline” in the state of press freedom in Pakistan and called on Prime Minister Imran Khan to take urgent measures to address the situation. RSF took issue with Khan’s recent statement during a trip to Washington that talking about curbs on press freedom in Pakistan was a “joke,” outlining several …
In the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, thousands of young girls and women are kidnapped every year to be forced into marriage. Although the practice was outlawed in 2013, bride kidnapping continues to exist, with destructive consequences for society. By Iris Oppelaar With WILDNESS, Iris aims to de-sensationalize the practice of bride kidnapping and instead reveal the motives and societal …
Islamabad: The Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) has outrightly rejected the Government suggestion of establishing Media Courts, stated in a statement issued on Friday. According to the statement, PBA asked the Government to reveal the real purpose of the proposed media courts. An incomplete document was shared with PBA a day earlier which gave no real details, purpose, need or intent …
By Jon Allsop Yesterday, the president of the United States “fanned the flames of a racial fire.”According to a panoply of major news outlets, Trump “starkly injected” “racially infused” and “racially charged” words into a morning tweetstorm; the language he used was “widely established as a racist trope” and “usually considered an ugly racist taunt.” The remarks were “called racist and xenophobic”; “denounced as racist”; an “example of ‘racism’” (note the quote marks). What …
News Desk A joint report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Pakistani media watchdog Freedom Network has labeled Pakistan a “high-risk country” in terms of media ownership. The July 18 report says the ownership of more than half of all media in the South Asian country of 220 million people is concentrated in the hands of only a few. …
RSF, KUJ condemn ‘trumped-up charges’ against Shahzeb Jillani Herald Report A district court in Karachi on Wednesday extended by a week the interim pre-arrest bail granted to journalist Shahzeb Ali Shah Jillani in a case pertaining to alleged cyber terrorism, electronic forgery and defamatory remarks regarding state institutions. Last week, the journalist had been granted interim bail before arrest in …
Herald Report The University of Central Asia (UCA) organised the “Festival of Togetherness” on its campus in Khorog, Tajikistan, recently. Badakhshan TV produced a special news report in Tajiki language highlighting the salient features of the festival. The festival is one of UCA students’ initiatives and its objective is to showcase the cultures, traditions and values of different nations, and to encourage …
Herald Report Pakistani authorities are investigating five prominent journalists and a blogger for displaying the photo of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on social media during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Pakistan last month. A confidential letter by the Cybercrime Wing of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on March 13 said that the organization had launched inquiries …
