At least 22 people have been killed and 63 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack at a church in Damascus, Syria's health ministry has said.
A man opened fire with a weapon at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Prophet Elias in the Dweila neighbourhood during a service on Sunday evening before detonating an explosive vest, according to the interior ministry.
It said the attacker was affiliated with the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). There was no immediate claim from the group itself.
Photos and video from inside the church showed a heavily damaged altar, pews covered in broken glass and blood spattered across the walls.
"Despite fierce opposition, later that day the bill banning child marriage in Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad, was passed. It will be signed into law by the president in the coming day"
The city of Islamabad has moved to ban child marriage which politicians say it is a mark of the country bucking global trends to stand behin
To these who oppose because of "it's un-islamic" - fuck off.
The need for women to be accompanied by a man in public is blocking access to healthcare and contributing to soaring mortality rates, say ex
"It was the middle of the night when Zarin Gul realised that her daughter Nasrin had to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Her daughter’s husband was away working in Iran and the two women were alone with Nasrin’s seven children when Nasrin, heavily pregnant with her eighth child, began experiencing severe pains.
Holding her daughter’s hand as the rickshaw jolted over the dirt road, Gul says she prayed they would not encounter a Taliban checkpoint.
Her prayers were not answered. The rickshaw’s small lamp was spotted by Taliban fighters.
As a frightened Gul explained that her daughter was sick and needed urgent medical attention, they asked why the women were travelling without a male escort, or mahram. Even though Gul explained that Nasrin’s husband was working abroad, the fighters refused to allow them to pass and continue their journey to the hospital.
“I begged them, telling them my daughter was dying. I pleaded for their permission,” says Gul. “But they still refused. In desperation, I lied and said the rickshaw driver was my nephew and our guardian. Only then did they let us pass.”
By the time they reached the hospital it was too late. Nasrin’s baby had already died in her womb, and her uterus had ruptured. The doctors said Nasrin needed to be transferred to another hospital and so Gul helped her daughter into another rickshaw and they set off again, towards a government hospital an hour away. On their way they were stopped at two more Taliban checkpoints, each time detained for long periods because they were travelling alone.
They did finally reach the hospital, but Nasrin had not survived the journey."
