KANDAHAR Monday, August 31, 2009 (IRIN) – At the end of a long Ramadan day on 25 August surgeons and nurses in Mirwais Hospital, Kandahar city, in southern Afghanistan, had just broken their fast when a huge explosion rocked the building.
BANDARAGAMA Monday, August 31, 2009 (IRIN) – Years ago, the loft above Kulasena Perera’s bedroom was a storeroom for rice. Now, huge wicker baskets that once held the harvests are abandoned, testament to the years the fields have not been farmed.
Timor-Leste is in festive mode this week. Hundreds of cyclists have criss-crossed the country's rugged and beautiful scenery in the inaugural Tour de Timor. Peace festivals and concerts have been staged in towns and villages. Feasts have been organized. But behind all the celebrations across the tiny nation are darker memories as well.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the latest steps to improve inter-Korean relations, including an agreement to resume cross-border reunions next month for hundreds of families separated since the Korean War.
A United Nations human rights expert today called for the immediate establishment of an independent inquiry into the authenticity of a video which purportedly depicts the extrajudicial execution of two naked and helpless men by the Sri Lankan military and the presumed prior executions of others.