India's highest court to review colonial-era law criminalising gay sex

Supreme court to re-examine legislation activists say is used to blackmail LGBTI Indians and block HIV and Aids initiatives

The Guardian, Michael Safi , Mon 8 Jan 2018

Activists on a gay pride parade in Delhi in November. Section 377 of the
penal code bans homosexual intercourse. Photograph: AP

India may be on track for a major victory for gay rights after the supreme court agreed to re-examine a colonial-era law outlawing sex between men.

The court said on Monday that it would refer the question of the validity of section 377 of the Indian penal code to a larger bench for examination before October.

Section 377, modelled on a 16th-century British law, bans “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal”, and is punishable by life imprisonment.

About 1,347 cases were registered in 2015, most in regards to alleged sexual offences against children.

The supreme court observed in 2013 that fewer than 200 people had been convicted of homosexual acts under the legislation, but activists claim it is regularly used to blackmail and intimidate LBGTI Indians, and stymie HIV/Aids prevention efforts.

Harish Iyer, an activist, said he was “cautiously optimistic” that the court would scrap the 150-year-old law. Another LBGTI advocate, Aditya Bondyopadhyay, said the court had already signalled an intention to hear challenges to section 377, “but at least now we know when it is going to happen, we have a date”.

A three-judge bench of the court was responding to a case lodged by gay activists arguing that the ban had put them at constant risk of arrest. “A section of people or individuals who exercise their choice should never remain in a state of fear,” the justices said.

“Choice can’t be allowed to cross boundaries of law, but confines of law can’t trample or curtail the inherent right embedded in an individual under article 21 of [the] constitution.”

Article 21 of the Indian constitution says: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”

The ban on gay sex was overturned by the Delhi high court in 2009, but reinstated by the supreme court four years later in a judgment that drew widespread condemnation, including from the UN.

The law was thought to be vulnerable to legal challenge since a landmark judgment in September, which recognised that article 21 guaranteed a right to privacy. Several supreme court judges noted that sexual orientation fell under the privacy umbrella.

Anand Grover, a senior lawyer who argued the case that initially overturned the law, said the latest challenge had “no choice but to succeed”.

Bondyopadhyay said it was clear the court had been increasingly bothered by its earlier judgment upholding the ban and was looking for an opportunity to correct it.

“There has been so much criticism of the judgment, and mobilisation on the ground and acceptance levels have gone up by a lot, [despite] the conservative forces in the ruling party,” he said.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata party is seen as generally hostile to gay rights, while Congress, India’s main opposition party, placed the overturning of section 377 in its most recent election manifesto.

But with the exception of one MP, Shashi Tharoor, the party was unwilling to burn political capital on the issue, Bondyopadhyay said.

India remains a conservative society, but the visibility of LBGTI Indians has grown in the two decades since the first gay pride parade attracted a few dozen marchers in Kolkata in 1999.

LBGTI scenes quietly thrive across the country, though some gay dating apps still flash with warnings that users may be committing criminal acts punishable by a life sentence.

A comprehensive survey of young Indians by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies last year found 61% regarded homosexual “acts” as wrong. Respondents aged 15-17 were most accepting, while contrary to trends elsewhere, young Indians in villages were more accepting (29%) than their counterparts in big cities (21%).

Prominent Hindu spiritual gurus such as the retail and yoga magnate Baba Ramdev are vocal opponents of homosexuality, but Iyer said the majority religion in India had no official injunction against it.

Some scholars have argued that Hindu scriptures and epics repeatedly reference, though do not necessarily endorse, same-sex intercourse, and comfortably accommodate the idea of people transitioning gender.

“I think respect for homosexuality is part of Indian culture and homophobia is a western import,” Iyer said. “I am fighting for the right to be Indian, to love everyone.”

Saudi arrests 11 princes over anti-austerity protest: media

Yahoo – AFP, January 6, 2018

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has had more than 200 princes
arrested as part of his anti-corruption campaign (AFP Photo/BANDAR AL-JALOUD)

Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi authorities have arrested 11 princes who protested against the kingdom's austerity measures and who could face trial, a news website close to the government reported on Saturday.

Sabq said the princes, who were not named, were protesting at a historical Riyadh royal palace, Qasr al-Hokm, against a government's decision to stop paying the water and electricity bills of royals.

They were also demanding "financial compensation" after one of their cousins had been sentenced for an unspecified crime.

The princes were transferred to the high-security Ha'ir prison in the capital "ahead of their trial", Sabq said, citing unnamed sources.

It said the princes "were informed of the error of their demands but they refused to leave Qasr al-Hokm", prompting the royal guards to intervene and arrest them.

Saudi officials contacted by AFP Saturday were not immediately reachable for comment.

Saudi Arabia has introduced a string of austerity measures over the past two years to boost revenues and cut spending as the global slump in oil prices led to ballooning budget deficits.

The kingdom's push to diversify its oil-dependent economy has been linked to the arrest of more than 200 princes in November in an anti-corruption purge spearheaded by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king's son and heir to the throne.

Most of those detained were held at the palatial Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, which has turned into a luxury prison.

King Salman on Saturday announced a boost in stipends and tax relief for Saudi citizens, particularly those employed in the military or public sector.

The International Labour Organization estimates that unemployment among Saudis aged 15 to 25 stood at 36.2 percent last year.

Saudi public servants, military personnel and students get extra benefits to cushion the impact of economic reforms including the kingdom's first ever taxes after an oil price slump https://t.co/o0lJG9g5xu

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 6, 2018

Related Article:

"The Great Escape" - Mar 11, 2017 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

“… The Fall of Many - Seen It Yet?

You are going to see more and more personal secrets being revealed about persons in high places of popularity or government. It will seem like an epidemic of non-integrity! But what is happening is exactly what we have been teaching. The new energy has light that will expose the darkness of things that are not commensurate with integrity. They have always been there, and they were kept from being seen by many who keep secrets in the dark. Seen the change yet?

In order to get to a more stable future, you will have to go through gyrations of dark and light. What this means is that the dark is going to be revealed and push back at you. It will eventually lose. We told you this. That's what you're here for is to help those around you who don't see an escape from the past. They didn't get their nuclear war, but everything else is going into the dumper anyway. … “

S. Korea well prepared if N. Korea attends Olympics: organisers

Yahoo – AFP, Jan 3, 2018

Lee Hee-Beom says the South is well prepared should North Korea decide
to attend the Winter Olympics (AFP Photo/JUNG Yeon-Je)

Seoul (AFP) - Host South Korea is well prepared should North Korea decide to take part in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, with a cruise ship ready to transport and accommodate its athletes, organisers said Wednesday.

Lee Hee-Beom, head of the 2018 Olympic organising committee, said they had long been preparing for the North's attendance at what he described as the "largest-ever winter festival in history".

"We're making preparations in case North Korea sends not only its athletes but a cheering squad and support staff as well," Lee said.

"The International Olympic Committee has also said several times that it would support North Korea's participation," Lee added.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said in a new year speech that his country wished success for the Olympics, to be held from February 9-25, and would consider sending a delegation.

Kim also announced the reopening of a hotline with the South to discuss attending the Olympics, as a "significant first step" in improving ties.

Seoul and organisers have billed the Winter Games as a "peace Olympics" and have been keen for the North to take part.

But the main venues are just 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the heavily fortified border and the build-up to the event has been overshadowed by high tensions over the North's nuclear and missile tests.

Governor Choi Moon-Soon of Gangwon province, where the event is sited, has said the province is willing to send a cruise ship to the North to take its delegation to the South's port of Sokcho near the Olympic venues.

Choi said he had made the offer to a North Korean official, who reacted positively and promised to convey it to leader Kim.

"A cruise ship will be a convenient solution to the problems with security and lodging," the governor said.

When the North attended the 2002 Asian Games in the South's port city of Busan, its delegation arrived on a cruise ship and used it as a floating hotel during the event.

South Korea proposed high-level talks with Pyongyang on January 9, after the North's leader Kim Jong-Un called for better relations pic.twitter.com/FiaHVjXNYt

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 3, 2018

Timeline showing past hotlines between the two Koreas, and details of other international hotlines pic.twitter.com/MQh9oHH3o9

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 3, 2018

South Korea proposes high-level talks with North

Yahoo – AFP, Hwang Sunghee, January 2, 2018

Kim Jong-Un used his annual New Year address to warn he has a "nuclear button" on
his table, but sweetened his remarks by expressing an interest in dialogue (AFP Photo)

Seoul (AFP) - South Korea Tuesday proposed high-level talks with Pyongyang on January 9, after the North's leader Kim Jong-Un called for better relations and said his country might attend the Winter Olympics in the South.

Kim used his annual New Year address to warn he has a "nuclear button" on his table, but sweetened his remarks by expressing an interest in dialogue and taking part in the Pyeongchang Games next month.

South Korea's unification minister Cho Myoung-Gyon told a press conference that Seoul was "reiterating our willingness to hold talks with the North at any time and place in any form".

"The government proposes to hold high-level government talks with North Korea on January 9 at the Peace House in Panmunjom," Cho said, referring to a truce village on the border between the two Koreas.

"We hope that the South and North can sit face to face and discuss the participation of the North Korean delegation at the Pyeongchang Games as well as other issues of mutual interest for the improvement of inter-Korean ties."

The news comes after North Korea has rattled the international community in recent months with multiple missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test -- purportedly of a hydrogen bomb.

It has shrugged off a raft of new sanctions and heightened rhetoric from Washington as it drives forward with its weapons programme, which it says is for defence against US aggression.

South Korean unification minister Cho Myoung-Gyon proposed talks at Panmunjom

(AFP Photo)

But US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that sanctions and other pressure were beginning to have a "big impact" on the North, citing leader Kim Jong-Un's offer of talks with the South.

"Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not -- we will see!" he said on his Twitter account.

The Koreas, divided by a Demilitarised Zone since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, last held high-level talks in 2015 to try to ease tensions.

Those talks failed to reach an agreement.

"Just the fact that they are meeting will be meaningful because it signals an attempt on both sides to improve relations," said Koh Yu-Hwan, a political science professor at Dongguk University.

But once they sit down, the North could put Seoul in a difficult position by making unacceptable demands such as an end to its annual joint military drills with the United States, Koh added.

"What North Korea is trying to do is re-establish its relations as a nuclear state (with Seoul). The South's dilemma is whether we can accept that."

South Korean President Moon Jae-In, who has long favoured engagement to ease tensions with the North, earlier Tuesday welcomed Kim's suggestion of an opportunity for dialogue.

However, he indicated that improvements in ties must go hand in hand with steps towards denuclearisation of the North.

'Positive response'

Kim's comments on Monday were the first indication of North Korea's willingness to take part in the Winter Games from February 9-25.

The main venues for the Pyeongchang Games are just 80 kilometres (50 miles)

from the heavily fortified border with North Korea (AFP Photo/Ed JONES)

Moon called them a "positive response" to Seoul's hopes that the Pyeongchang Olympics would be a "groundbreaking opportunity for peace" and urged officials to come up with measures to realise the North's participation.

Beijing, Pyongyang's main ally, welcomed developments.

"We support the two sides in taking advantage of this opportunity to make concrete efforts to improve bilateral ties... and realise the denuclearisation of the peninsula," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

Washington considers China key to a resolution of the crisis and has asked Beijing to do more to rein in Pyongyang.

While China has supported UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, it has proposed a freeze-for-freeze approach under which the US would stop military drills in South Korea and the North would halt its weapons programmes.

But the idea has been rejected by Washington and Seoul, and Pyongyang insists it will continue its nuclear and missile projects.

'Same blood'

In his speech Monday the North's leader said the Olympics could provide a reason for officials from the neighbours "to meet in the near future".

"Since we are compatriots of the same blood as south Koreans, it is natural for us to share their pleasure over the auspicious event and help them," Kim said in his address.

The main venues for the Games are just 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the heavily fortified border with North Korea and the build-up to the event has been overshadowed by the nuclear weapons standoff.

But Seoul and the Games' organisers are keen for the North to take part, and analysts say its participation at Pyeongchang is likely given Kim's remarks about sending a delegation there.

China welcomes S. Korea's proposed high-level talks with Pyongyang pic.twitter.com/fBAWXc4R0J

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 2, 2018

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"The way FEAR works" – 18 Nov 2017 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

Israel finds 2,700-year-old 'governor of Jerusalem' seal

France24 – AFP, 1 January 2018

Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah, excavator of the Israel Antiquities Authority holds a
2,7000-year-old clay seal which she says belonged to the "governor of the city" of
Jerusalem uncovered near the Western Wall

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli archaeologists unveiled on Monday a 2,700-year-old clay seal imprinted with images and Hebrew words that may have belonged to a biblical governor of Jerusalem.

The round button-sized seal was found in a building in Jerusalem's Old City near the Western Wall and dates back to the 7th century BC, from the time of the First Jewish Temple, said the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The artefact bears an engraving showing two men wearing robes and facing each other in a mirror-like manner.

Below them is an inscription in ancient Hebrew that reads "to the governor of the city", or mayor.

"It's a very rare find," said Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah, excavator of the Western Wall plaza for the Israel Antiquities Authority.

"The find's great importance is that until now, we only know the expression of city governor (of Jerusalem) from the Bible," she told AFP.

"This is the first time we find it in the archaeological context, in an archaeological dig of a structure from the seventh century BC," she added.

The seal does not mention the name of the governor or the city of Jerusalem, but Weksler-Bdolah said she believed it referred to the Holy City.

She said a scientific examination of the seal would be conducted soon and was expected to corroborate its link to Jerusalem.

According to her, the seal was apparently attached to an object to be delivered to someone on behalf of the governor of the city.

News of the discovery comes as tensions swirl around Jerusalem after US President Donald Trump designated the city as Israel's capital.

Jerusalem's status is perhaps the most sensitive issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel sees the entire city as its capital, while the Palestinians want the eastern sector as the capital of their future state.

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Netanyahu looks to Belgium-Holland border for settlement solution

The border between Belgium and the Netherlands at Baarle-Nassau
(photo credit: Tos/Wikipedia)

"THE BRIDGE OF SWORDS"– Sep  29, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Let us talk about the swords: When you hear the word sword, the first thing that occurs to you is battle. The Bridge of Swords is a battle and we told you that as well. Swords are metaphoric and they mean many things, so let us describe the things we mean them to say to you.

Number one: They are indeed a weapon in a battle. There is a battle coming. "Kryon, does that mean there's going to be a war?" Potentially, yes. Right now we will tell you that the Middle East cooks itself. You've noticed, haven't you? What do you know about the Middle East, dear one? Let's start examining things for a moment. What energy did you grow up in? What was the energy of the Middle East? In the '40s, what was the energy? With the establishment of the state of Israel, you built a wall of hate, both sides. The wall was so thick that the children of both sides were taught to hate one another as soon as they were able to understand the language. They were told who their enemies were. Now, where were you then?

Some of you weren't here yet. By the time you arrived, in your youth, were you aware of the Middle East? Not particularly. "What's the hatred about?" you might ask. What if I told you it's about a family feud? Two sons of a Jewish master are involved. One founded the Arabs and one remained a Jew. They don't want to hear this, but they are all Jews. (Don't tell them this.)

If you look at the lineage, it's pretty obvious and yet it's a complete and total set-up for either solution or war. The set-up would have this world ending in a conflagration that would have been brought about by this hatred. That's in the prophecy of Nostradamus and your scripture, but it is no longer the prophecy of the planet. Yet the hatred still exists. The hatred is as great today as it was then, but where was all the terrorism 40 years ago? It was isolated.

Those in Israel and Palestine and surrounding areas took the brunt of it, but now it's seemingly everywhere - and you're worried. Why would this be? The answer is that the old energy was happy to have this hatred contained, for it would keep it going and never involve outsiders. Outsiders tend to bring unwanted light to the party. Suddenly, the whole earth is involved and can see the entire scenario before them. The old guard wants war, just like all the eons before them. The ones on the bridge are holding the light and showing the earth how to cross. Even many younger ones in Israel and Palestine and Iran are holding light! It's all around the old guard and they are furious, for they are losing the "battle of hatred." …”

Malaysian transgender conversion plan sparks alarm

Yahoo – AFP, 30 December 2017

Human Rights Watch has previously warned that discrimination against LGBT
people was "pervasive" in Malaysia

A Malaysian state plans to run a conversion therapy course aimed at transgender women, officials said Saturday, sparking alarm among LGBT activists in the conservative Muslim-majority country.

The course would run over several days next year after authorities had completed a survey of the transgender population, a Terengganu state official said.

Participation in the course would be voluntary, Ghazali said, adding that the programme would include medical, psychological and religious experts, as well as transgender women who have "returned to normal lives".

"Transgender women are part of our society.... They are our responsibility," Terengganu executive council member Ghazali Taib told AFP.

"At the end, it is up to them to make a choice. The government's concept is not (to) force. (We) give them a path to make the best choices for their lives," he said.

A Human Rights Watch report in 2017 wrote that discrimination against LGBT people was "pervasive" in Malaysia, where there are laws against sodomy, with offenders facing jail time and whipping.

LGBT activists condemned the government's plans.

"If you ask someone not to be themselves that will have an adverse impact on the health and-well being of the person," Thilaga Sulathireh, co-founder of transgender activist group Justice for Sisters, said.

Leading transgender activist Nisha Ayub said courses such as these would only deepen the community's isolation.

"They're looking more to... corrective therapy, which violates everyone's rights in so many ways," she said.

"If (transgenders)...feel that they cannot change themselves, they will feel like outcasts from society," she added.

There are no official figures on transgenders in Malaysia, though a health ministry document estimated that the country was home to about 24,000 transgender sex workers as of 2014.

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(Photo: Alexandria)

Nepal bans solo climbers from Everest

Yahoo – AFP, December 30, 2017

Thousands of mountaineers flock to Nepal each spring and autumn when clear
weather provides good climbing conditions (AFP Photo/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)

Kathmandu (AFP) - Nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in a bid to reduce accidents, an official said Saturday.

The cabinet late Thursday endorsed a revision to the Himalayan nation's mountaineering regulations, banning solo climbers from its mountains -- one of a string of measures being flagged ahead of the 2018 spring climbing season.

"The changes have barred solo expeditions, which were allowed before," Maheshwor Neupane, secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, told AFP.

Neupane said that the law was revised to make mountaineering safer and decrease deaths.

Experienced Swiss climber Ueli Steck lost his life in April this year when he slipped and fell from a steep ridge during a solo acclimatisation climb to Nuptse, a peak neighbouring Everest.

The ban is likely to anger elite solo mountaineers, who enjoy the challenge of climbing alone, even eschewing bottled oxygen, and who blame a huge influx of commercial expeditions for creating potentially deadly bottlenecks on the world's tallest peak.

The cabinet also endorsed a ban on double amputee and blind climbers, although Everest has drawn multitudes of mountaineers wanting to overcome their disabilities and achieve the formidable feat.

New Zealander Mark Inglis, who lost both his legs to frostbite, became the first double amputee to reach the top of the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) peak in 2006.

Blind American Erik Weihenmayer scaled Everest in May 2001 and later became the only visually-impaired person to summit the highest peaks on all seven continents.

Aspiring Everest climber Hari Budha Magar, a former Gurkha soldier who lost both his legs when he was deployed in Afghanistan, said the ban was discriminatory.

"If the cabinet passes, this is #Discrimination against disable people, breaking #HumanRights," Magar said in a Facebook post after the decision was proposed early this month.

Thousands of mountaineers flock to Nepal -- home to eight of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000 metres -- each spring and autumn when clear weather provides good climbing conditions.

Almost 450 climbers -- 190 foreigners and 259 Nepalis -- reached the summit of Everest from the south side in Nepal last year.

Australian gran escapes death in Malaysia drugs case

Yahoo – AFP, Patrick Lee, 27 December 2017

Exposto is escorted upon arrival in court before her acquittal

An Australian grandmother who said she was tricked into carrying drugs into Malaysia after falling for an online romance scam was Wednesday cleared of trafficking, a crime punishable by death.

Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto wept and hugged her son after being found not guilty of smuggling crystal methamphetamine, a rare outcome in a country where hundreds of people have been sentenced to death for drugs offences in recent years.

"I'm happy now that I'm free," said the 54-year-old, as she was ushered out of the courtroom after the verdict.

But prosecutors have indicated they want to appeal the acquittal, her lawyer said, meaning Exposto won't be able to go back home yet and there is still a chance she could be sentenced to death.

She was arrested in December 2014 while in transit at Kuala Lumpur airport with 1.1 kilos (2.4 pounds) of the drug stitched into the compartment of a backpack she was carrying.

The mother of four argued she did not know about the hidden stash of "ice". She said she had been fooled into carrying the bag after travelling to China to see someone she met online called "Captain Daniel Smith", who had claimed to be a US serviceman.

Anyone caught with at least 50 grams (1.75 ounces) of crystal meth is considered a trafficker in Muslim-majority Malaysia, and death by hanging is mandatory in the case of a conviction.

However handing down his verdict at the High Court in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Judge Ghazali Cha accepted the defence's argument that Exposto did not know the bag contained drugs and acquitted her.

"I agree with the defence lawyer that the accused did not have knowledge about the drugs," he said.

"I believe that at that time her (Exposto) feelings of love towards 'Captain Daniel Smith' overcame everything, including her own husband, her family and her future."

Hundreds on death row

Exposto's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah welcomed the verdict but said he was surprised at prosecutors' intention to appeal as the judge had sided firmly with the defence. Prosecutors have 14 days to lodge the challenge.

After engaging in a long online romance, Exposto had travelled to Shanghai to see "Smith".

But she did not succeed in meeting her supposed love interest while there and ended up being given a bag by a stranger, who asked her to take it to Melbourne.

When she arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to change flights, she mistakenly went through immigration as she was unfamiliar with the airport.

She voluntarily offered her bags for customs inspection and the drugs were discovered.

There are at least 900 people on death row in Malaysia, officials have said, but executions have been rare in recent years.

Malaysian lawmakers voted last year to amend legislation so that capital punishment is no longer mandatory in drug-trafficking cases.

But the changes have not yet come into force as they must be passed by the upper house, meaning that in the case of a conviction in Exposto's case, the judge would have had to impose the death penalty.

Two Australians were hanged in Malaysia in 1986 for heroin trafficking -- the first Westerners to be executed in the country -- in a case that strained relations.

In 2013 Dominic Bird, a former truck driver from Perth, was acquitted of drug trafficking charges after he was allegedly caught with 167 grams of crystal methamphetamine.

Australian grandma escapes death penalty in Malaysia drugs case: Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto, who said she was tricked into carrying drugs into Malaysia after falling for an online romance scam, has been cleared of trafficking, a crime punishable by death https://t.co/i0tFYnOqtx pic.twitter.com/U5l9fH2NPZ

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 27, 2017

'I feel less scared': Safety alarms help empower Rohingya women

Yahoo – AFP, Annie BANERJI, December 23, 2017

A local charity has distributed nearly 1,000 alarms to refugees (AFP Photo/Ed JONES)

Cox's Bazar (Bangladesh) (AFP) - A piercing wail emanates from the small device in the palm of a young Rohingya woman, drawing startled looks from other refugees crowded onto a hillside in a Bangladesh camp.

It has the desired effect -- the safety alarms are designed to attract attention and scare off anyone preying on vulnerable women and girls, who make up the majority of refugees in the sprawling Rohingya tent cities.

The colourful plastic sirens are being distributed to Rohingya women, girls and the infirm in Cox's Bazar district, where an estimated 655,000 of the Muslim minority have arrived since August.

They have escaped a systematic campaign of rape and violence in Myanmar described by the United Nations as ethnic cleansing -- but the squalid camps across the border are not without dangers.

Aid groups say women and girls, many of whom have arrived in Bangladesh alone, are at particular risk of exploitation by pimps and human traffickers active in the camps.

There have already been cases of minors lured away by promises of marriage or jobs in big cities that have ended in brothel work or forced labour, the International Organization for Migration says.

In the teeming camps there is little privacy and overcrowding forces women to share latrines with men or venture into the jungle at night.

Aid groups say women and girls, many of whom have arrived in Bangladesh

 alone, are at particular risk of exploitation by pimps and human traffickers (AFP 

Photo/Ed JONES)

The alarms, fitted with a torch and high-pitched siren, provide comfort for Rohingya women like 22-year-old Hazera Khatun, who frets constantly about the safety of her two daughters.

The trio arrived in Bangladesh in September without Khatun's husband, who she said was gunned down by Myanmar soldiers as they fled their village.

"I feel safer and less scared now after receiving this, because now I know that if I encounter any problem, I can call for help," Khatun told AFP, gesturing to the device in her hand.

The local charity behind the alarms, Moonlight Development Society, developed the idea after hearing about abduction attempts on young children in the camps.

Since then, they have distributed nearly 1,000 alarms to refugees -- mainly women and children, but also the elderly and others vulnerable to abuse.

"If someone is bedridden, or cannot call out for help, they can just press the alarm," the nonprofit's medical assistant Marufa Munni told AFP.

Apart from showing refugees how to use the alarms, staff train aid workers and other Rohingya on how to respond should one sound in the camps.

The charity hopes to expand the programme beyond its trial site to the district's mega-camps of Kutupalong and Balukhali -- the world's largest refugee settlement, housing around 550,000 people -- by January.

Safety alarms designed to scare off unwanted sexual advances are being distributed to vulnerable Rohingya women and girls, who make up the majority of refugees in the sprawling tent cities https://t.co/unvNkp6RkI pic.twitter.com/p0coi7XSSJ

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 23, 2017

'Kung fu nuns' on bikes swap maroon robes for lycra leggings

Yahoo – AFP, 23 December 2017

'Kung fu nuns' on bikes swap maroon robes for lycra leggings

Kathmandu (AFP) - About 200 "Kung fu nuns" kicked off a month-long journey from Nepal through India on Saturday, swapping their flowing maroon robes for lycra leggings to raise awareness about human trafficking and gender equality.

The Buddhist nuns are trained in martial arts and frequently organise pilgrimages and cycling trips to promote gender equality.

"We are starting our fifth cycle yatra (pilgrimage) today and our main mission is about increasing awareness about female empowerment, the environment and human trafficking," nun Yeshe Lhamo told AFP.

Each year thousands of women and children across South Asia are lured into cities and across borders with promises of lucrative jobs but are instead sold into modern-day slavery.

Nepal has seen an upswing in the number of cases of trafficking since a devastating earthquake in 2015 left thousands homeless.

The country's human rights commission estimated that there were about 23,200 cases of trafficking or attempted trafficking last year.

The nuns said they came across several cases of trafficking while volunteering in relief efforts for earthquake victims.

"That's how we had this idea of going on this cycle yatra to all the remote places and telling people we are all girls, girls are capable of doing everything. They are not useless, they are not things to sell," said 23-year-old nun Jigme Konchok Lhamo.

The nuns will cover a 3,000-kilometre route from the hills of Nepal's capital Kathmandu, peddling through south India to Delhi and then to Darjeeling.

"Kung fu nuns" kicked off a month-long journey from Nepal through India, swapping their flowing maroon robes for lycra leggings to raise awareness about human trafficking and gender equality https://t.co/NjMfRWSxkG pic.twitter.com/hAL3pyqAMW

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 23, 2017

First gay marriages take place in Australia

Yahoo – AFP, December 16, 2017

All but four members of Australia's lower House of Representatives voted
in support of marriage equality (AFP Photo/SAEED KHAN)

Australia's first gay weddings took place Saturday, ushering in a new era after the country's marriage equality law came into effect this month.

The historic reforms were given royal assent on December 8, the final step in a process that began with a national postal vote in September.

There was supposed to be a 30-day waiting period after couples registered to marry, with the first weddings expected on January 9.

But some sought an exemption due to their circumstances, and the first ceremonies went ahead on Saturday, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne.

"Australia's first legal same-sex marriage has just taken place. Congratulations Amy and Lauren," Equal Marriage Rights Australia announced on its Facebook page.

Fairfax Media said Lauren Price, 31, and Amy Laker, 29, solemnised their vows in Sydney, while Melbourne couple Amy and Elise McDonald -- who coincidentally have the same surname -- tied the knot two hours later.

A photo showed Price and Laker dressed in traditional white gowns and holding hands as they said "I do" on a glorious Sydney day.

Among hundreds of comments on the Facebook page, Paul Antoine said: "Now... has the country collapsed? NOOO!! Two women have just shown their love. Pretty simple, but nonetheless special in my view!"

Jason Chapman added: "Relentless dedication from so many over the last fifty years have led us to enjoy this beautiful moment of equality. Congratulations ladies."

All but four members of Australia's 150-seat lower House of Representatives voted in support of marriage equality, with the legislation passing without any religious freedom amendments that some were pushing for.

The bill was introduced in parliament by the conservative government after Australians in November endorsed the reforms in a contentious voluntary postal vote.

Nearly 80 percent of eligible voters took part in the poll, and almost 62 percent of those who voted chose "yes" on their ballots.

Fairfax said Price and Laker had originally intended to hold a commitment ceremony at the British consulate because Price was from Wales.

But when the new law was passed, they sought an exemption from the normal waiting period because Price's family had already travelled to Sydney for the celebrations.

Melbourne's Amy and Elise McDonald, aged 36 and 28, reportedly only got permission to marry on Saturday morning, gaining an exemption for similar reasons, according to the Herald Sun newspaper.

They were allowed to have a legal marriage on financial grounds and because their families had travelled from overseas.

Same-sex marriage is now recognised in more than 20 countries, of which 16 are in Europe.

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Australia MP proposes to gay partner in parliament

After more than a decade of debate, Australians emphatically endorsed gay marriage in a recent nationwide postal vote, with some 62% of the 12.7 million who took part voting 'yes' last month https://t.co/4BYlIi4Hux

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 4, 2017