Women Banned From Using Mobile Phones In Indian Village Over Fears Of Affairs

A village in Northern Indian has banned women from using mobile phones amid fears they encourage affairs and cause women to elope, local media has reported. If women in the Bihar village of Sunderbari do use mobiles, they face heavy fines, The Hindustan Times reports, listing the penalties as Rs.10,000 (£114) for an unmarried woman or Rs.2,000 (£22) for a married woman. The top end of the fine is a fifth of the average income in the capital of New Delhi, let alone the rural village, where 60% are already living below the poverty line.

The move has been imposed by the village council, under a local government system known as a panchayat. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, who led the council meeting, told Indian news wire IANS: "The mobile phone is the cause of all evils in our society, including increasing love affairs and the incidents of elopement". He told Reuters: "Even married women were deserting their husbands to elope with lovers. That was shameful for us," Alam said. "So, we decided to tackle it firmly. Mobile phones are debasing the social atmosphere."

Huffington Post

Two Tibetan cousins set themselves on fire in China

Two Tibetan cousins set fire to themselves in their village to protest Chinese rule, bringing the total number of self-immolations this week to seven, the highest since the protests began last year, a rights group said on Saturday.

The London-based group Free Tibet said cousins Tsepo, 20, and Tenzin, 25, called for independence for Tibet as they set themselves on fire on Thursday in front of a government building in their village in Biru county north of Lhasa, Tibet's main city.

Tsepo reportedly died and Tenzin's condition was unknown after he was taken away by authorities, Free Tibet said.

Dozens of ethnic Tibetans have set themselves on fire in heavily Tibetan regions since March 2011 to protest what activists say is Beijing's heavy-handed rule in the region. Many have called for the return of the Dalai Lama, their exiled spiritual leader.

The Guardian

Balochistan: Pakistan's other war

The ongoing conflict in the remote province of Balochistan is often called Pakistan's "dirty war". Ethnic Balochi politicians and leaders share their vision of self-determination and freedom from Pakistani rule. Al Jazeera World