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Memories of a bitter past ignite Indian book controversy

The wounds of partition festered again this week in India, resulting in the banning of a book and the expulsion of a respected politician. The home state of the father of Indian independence, Mahatma Gandhi, forbade the sale and circulation of a new book it says spews revisionist history about the birth of secular but predominantly Hindu India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Written by Jaswant Singh, a former federal minister and senior member of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the book calls Mohammed Ali Jinnah, considered by Indians the architect of the partition, a great man who is wrongly demonized.

Solar cell phones take off in developing nations

Peter Gathungu walks more than a mile to a shopping center, where he pays a sizable sum to charge his cell phone. That’s because electricity is nonexistent in Gathungu’s hometown of Njoro, in northwest Kenya. Landlines and other forms of communication are not as efficient, so Gathungu and millions of others in emerging nations rely on mobile phones.

Mexico City bans stores from distributing plastic bags

Mexico City’s thousands of stores went green Wednesday, as amended ordinances on solid waste now outlaw businesses from giving out thin plastic bags that are not biodegradable. The law affects all stores, production facilities and service providers within the Federal District, which encompasses the city limits. Nearly 9 million people live inside the district and another 10 million reside in surrounding communities that make up greater Mexico City

‘Sin Nombre’ unmasks Mexican gang culture

If riding on top of a Mexican freight train while bandits lie in wait, or inviting real-life gang members to improvise street battles doesn’t sound like the wisest approach to making your first feature film, try telling Cary Fukunaga. Because those are exactly the scrapes the 32-year-old writer-director got into during production of his highly-acclaimed debut “Sin Nombre.” Set in Mexico against the backdrop of the country’s ballooning people trafficking problem, Fukunaga’s social-political thriller shows one boy’s struggle to escape Mexican gang culture after meeting a Honduran immigrant girl.

Brain-swelling disease kills dozens in India

Doctors say an encephalitis outbreak has killed 130 people — mostly children — in northern India since January.

Nigeria agency pushes marriage to control HIV spread

The young man’s call echoed throughout the remote village in northern Nigeria — the marriage ceremony was about to begin. Under the dusty sun, the fathers of the bride and groom agreed to the marriage and this ancient Muslim tradition proceeded as it has for hundreds of years. But unknown to the gathered villagers, the couple is hiding a modern secret.

Spielberg gets movie cash with India partnership

Financing for Steven Spielberg’s partnership with one of India’s richest men was finalized Monday, giving the legendary Hollywood director money to resume making movies. The deal with Anil Ambani, chairman of India’s Reliance BIG Entertainment, provides Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios with $875 million, coming from Ambani, the Walt Disney Co

Muslim Women Demand an End to Oppressive Family Laws

While Western governments have been worrying about bearded men with bombs in caves, a new jihad has quietly gained strength in the Muslim world: Islamic feminism. Earlier this week, 350 women and men gathered in Malaysia to launch Musawah — “Equality” in Arabic — a movement for justice in the Muslim family. Organized by the Malaysian Muslim feminist group Sisters in Islam, the conference, two years in the planning, is a kick-off to a campaign to enshrine Muslim women’s rights within an Islamic framework.

Trying to Keep Cell Phones Out of Prison

Prison authorities used to have almost complete control over an inmate’s ability to communicate with the outside world. By checking their mail and parceling out telephone access — at scheduled times on easily and legally tapped landlines — communication for inmates was difficult and often expensive .

Less sex, more TV idea aired in India

On World Population Day this year India’s new health and welfare minister came out with an idea on how to tackle the population issue: Bring electricity to every Indian village so that people would watch television until late at night and therefore be too tired to make babies. That statement raised eyebrows across this vast country — but what are the realities and reactions from families who make up the second largest population in the world At 80-plus years old Omar Mohammed has never heard of population control. He lives in India’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh and has certainly done his part in contributing to India’s burgeoning population