Slum tourism: Visitors see the ‘real’ Jakarta

Hidden in the alleyways behind Jakarta’s fancy malls and in between the high-rise apartment buildings is what Ronny Poluan, a former film maker, calls the "real Jakarta." It is not far from the glitz and glam that dominates the capital’s skyline, yet it is a side of the city that few foreigners ever see. “I want them to (have an) authentic view,” Poluan, who runs “Jakarta Hidden Tours,” said as he took a group of Australians through the winding maze of a central Jakarta slum.

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Why the Uighurs Aren’t Part of China’s Boom

On the streets of the cities and towns of China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang you can hear complaints from the Uighur minority group about restrictions on the Islamic religion they practice, their Turkic language or their culture, which is most closely linked to the lands of Central Asia. But in interviews in Urumqi, the regional capital that exploded with ethnic rioting last week that left 184 dead, the single most common complaint of Uighur residents is that they feel excluded from economic opportunity

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Cemetery with missing grave sites declared crime scene

A Cook County cemetery where hundreds of graves were dug up and allegedly resold has been declared a crime scene, meaning that relatives of people believed buried there will not be allowed to visit for several days, an official said Friday. “It would be the height of irresponsibility for me to invite people in, to raise expectations and then crash them,” Cook County Sheriff Thomas J

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In Egypt, Invoking Islam to Combat Sexual Harassment

Doaa Kassem, like most Egyptian women, is used to being catcalled and grabbed at by men in the crowded streets of Cairo. The 24-year-old executive secretary is well versed in women’s rights, having studied the subject in Sweden, and she is bolder than most when it comes to dealing with her harassers

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British Army builds mock Afghan village in English countryside

The aroma of freshly baking flatbread wafts through the air as a unit of British soldiers position themselves for a quick patrol around the village of Sindh Kalay. Market vendors hawk grapes and melons, as a group of village elders sit smoking water pipes and suspicious-looking men lurk beside battered motorcycles

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Reformists question legitimacy of Iran’s government

Three leading Iranian reformists who have rejected the results of last month’s election questioned the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government Wednesday. This comes as Ahmadinejad is set to take office at the end of the month. Presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi wrote a letter in his party’s newspaper, saying he would not recognize the government and vowing to “stand by the people and the revolution, until the end of my life.” His statement prompted Iran’s government to block publication of the newspaper

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French PM issues apology over Bastareau

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has apologized to his opposite number in New Zealand, John Key, over the recent "unacceptable behavior" of France rugby center Mathieu Bastareaud. The 20-year-old Stade Francais player, who is the cousin of Arsenal defender William Gallas, has been hospitalized with psychiatric problems after lying over an alleged assault outside the team hotel in Wellington — following France’s 14-10 defeat against the All Blacks on June 20.

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South Africa fights rape crisis

Alexandra township, north of Johannesburg, is a densely populated melting pot with some of South Africa’s worst social ills. Poverty, unemployment, HIV/Aids and crime. One of the most common crimes in Alexandra Township — and throughout the country — is rape

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