Spain's central authorities moved Thursday to crush plans by the northeastern region of Catalonia to hold an independence referendum and took steps to prosecute regional lawmakers backing the ballot. A long-running campaign for independence by a group of Catalan politicians, who hold a majority in ...
Spain is facing its deepest political crisis in decades after Catalonia's regional parliament on Wednesday passed a law paving the way for an independence referendum on Oct. 1. Madrid will seek any means possible to block it. The looming showdown comes three weeks after jihadi ...
The rape of a teenage girl in revenge for a crime committed by her brother has left residents of Raja Ram in central Pakistan shaken and questioning a deeply entrenched system of village justice. Last month, a council of village elders ordered the rape of ...
For Jisi Lazuo, the torch festival in her village in southwest China should be a celebration involving colorful ethnic clothes and eating freshly slaughtered pig. Instead, it's a time of stress. "In my heart I always get worried when the torch festival comes along," said Jisi, ...
The hills around the revered Larung Gar Tibetan Buddhist academy were once a seamless carpet of vibrant red, dominated by the homes of thousands of monks, nuns and devotees who crowded the remote valley in southwest China to explore their faith. Today, the landscape is ...
UNESCO on Friday declared the Old City of Hebron a Palestinian World Heritage site in danger, sparking outrage from Israel, which said the decision denied a Jewish claim to an ancient burial cave that is also sacred to Muslims. The Tomb of the Patriarchs, known ...
India's sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers cannot be considered "living entities," the country's top court ruled Friday, suspending an earlier order that granted them the same legal rights as humans. The Supreme Court stayed a March order by a lower body that recognized the Ganges ...
No modern navigation instrumentation guided a Polynesian voyaging canoe as it followed the horizon during a three-year journey around the globe. About a dozen crew members for each leg of the voyage relied only on their understanding of nature's cues — ocean swells, stars, wind, ...
Dressed in the bright silk garments of a woman and dancing with candles between his fingers, Nguyen Duy Nam leads a temple of worshippers in a ceremony honoring mystical goddesses of forest, water and heaven. Nam, 24, is one of a growing number of spirit ...
Muslim women dressed as superheroes, and princesses and mighty sword-wielding warriors took part in a hijab cosplay event in Malaysia on Saturday, where the role-playing craze continues to grow. Around 20 women showcased their love for anime with elaborate make-up and costumes while still wearing ...
An Indian court has recognized Himalayan glaciers, lakes and forests as "legal persons" in an effort to curb environmental destruction, weeks after it granted similar status to the country's two most sacred rivers. In a decision that aims to widen environmental protections in the mountainous ...
A New Zealand river revered by Maori has been recognized by parliament as a "legal person," in a move believed to be a world first. Under legislation passed Wednesday that combines Western legal precedent with Maori mysticism, the Whanganui River has been formally declared a ...
