Free Republic

KABUL - An Afghan father was on a quest for justice Monday after saying that his pregnant 14-year-old daughter was burned to death by her in-laws, the latest reported case of violence against women in the country. Afghanistan faces serious human rights issues, including physical and sexual violence against women and so-called honour killings that often involve immolation. The 45-year-old father, Mohammad Azam, said that he came to the capital, Kabul, to seek justice for his daughter Zarah. He told The Associated Press that she was tortured and set on fire by her husband's family last week. She died in...

TWO B-52 bombers flew 44 hours non-stop from Louisiana to the Northern Territory on a simulated bombing run last month — all to deliver a message to China. The lumbering, 1950s vintage dinosaurs lifted off from the Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, United States, on July 1. Their mission: to be BAAD. That’s military speak for yet more military speak: “bomber assurance and deterrence”. Translated, it means sending a message to Australia and the nations of South East Asia that the United States is willing and capable of assisting its allies. It was also a demonstration — to China...