Two Chinese academics have proposed a controversial idea to encourage childbirth as their country faces an aging population: Make people with no or fewer than two children pay into a "maternity fund." The suggestion sparked a furious social media debate in a country whose population has faced drastic family planning policies ...
Brief Korean reunions bring tears for war-separated families after decades apart
The 92-year-old South Korean woman wept and stroked the wrinkled cheeks of her 71-year-old North Korean son on Monday, their ...
Dozens of elderly South Koreans crossed the heavily fortified border into North Korea on Monday for heart-wrenching meetings with relatives ...
Myanmar-appointed panel probing Rohingya crisis pledges independence
Members of a commission established by Myanmar's government to investigate human rights violations in western Rakhine state, where 700,000 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority fled brutal army operations, addressed critics Thursday with a pledge to be impartial. The Independent Commission of Enquiry held its ...
Chinese women create WeChat group in wake of wave of sex harassment cases
Battling censorship and stereotypes, Chinese women are organizing online to harness the momentum of the country's nascent #MeToo movement in a push for authorities and businesses to end sexual misconduct. The latest wave of claims of sexual misconduct emerged last month after Lei Chuang, the ...
Myanmar not addressing concerns of over 1 million displaced Rohingya, Bangladesh tells UNSC
Bangladesh is accusing Myanmar of failing to tackle the concerns of over 1 million Rohingya Muslims who fled the country and is urging the U.N. Security Council to take action to ensure their safe return home. Bangladesh's U.N. ambassador, Masud Bin Momen, said in a ...
South Korean women hold mass protests in battle against spycam porn
Even a record heat wave wasn't going to keep Claire Lee from joining tens of thousands of South Korean women at a mass protest against spycam pornography on Saturday as anger over the issue swells, prompting national soul-searching. Since May, the monthly demonstration in Seoul ...
One of China's highest-ranking Buddhist monks is facing a government investigation after he was accused of demanding sexual favors from nuns. Longquan Monastery abbot Shi Xuecheng is accused of harassing and demanding sexual favors from numerous female nuns in a 95-page statement compiled by two ...
Who's my father? Australia law ID's once-secret sperm donors
For Peter Peacock, fate arrived in the form of a registered letter. The letter looked to be a bit of a letdown. Peacock had gone to the post office expecting an aviator jacket he had ordered online. The Australian grandfather tore the envelope open as ...
India scraps tax on sanitary pads in boost for girls' education
India scrapped a controversial tax on sanitary pads Saturday, a move hailed by campaigners who say it will help more girls to go to school during their periods and boost their job prospects. Activists say removing the tax on pads tackles one of the biggest ...
U.N. readies to send teams to Myanmar's Rakhine after Rohingya return deal: official
The United Nations is preparing to send teams of experts into Myanmar's Rakhine state to begin work aimed at eventually repatriating Rohingya Muslims who fled violence last year, the regional head of the U.N. development agency said on Thursday. The U.N. agencies for development and ...
Vigilante-style slayings sow fear inside Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is deploying thousands of extra police to Rohingya refugee camps in the south, officials said, after several mostly unexplained killings have sown fear among hundreds of thousands of people who have fled from neighboring Myanmar. Since August, when a military crackdown in Myanmar forced ...
Myanmar not ready to take back over 700,000 Rohingya, Red Cross chief says
Conditions in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state are not ready yet for the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled a military crackdown, the head of the International Committee of Red Cross said on Sunday after visit to the region. Myanmar has said ...
The suicide of a teenager in China whose sexual harassment case was dismissed has triggered nationwide soul-searching over her treatment, and anger at onlookers who encouraged her to jump off a building. Li Yiyi, 19, died last week after throwing herself from the eighth floor ...
An artist has emerged from three days entombed in a steel box under a busy Australian road in a performance billed as a tribute to victims of totalitarian violence. Mike Parr, 73, fasted during his time underground, with oxygen pumped into the 1.7-meter (5.5-foot) by ...
