SRINAGAR, India, August 4 (IPS) – Every summer, before dawn breaks over the Himalayas, Bashir Ahmad leads his horses onto the narrow mountain trail that winds toward the Amarnath cave shrine. For decades, the annual Hindu pilgrimage has been the most important season of the year for his family. The money earned over two months pays for food, school fees, winter supplies, and the upkeep of his animals through the long snowbound months.
Singapore: Independent rights experts urge immediate end to ‘unlawful use’ of death penalty 
Gaza: Only three per cent of cropland available to grow food 
Colombia earthquake: UN ramps up aid for 100,000 people 
Lebanon: 860,000 displaced people have returned home, but humanitarian crisis remains ‘immense’ 
What’s journalism worth in disasters and emergencies? A lot, says a new UN report 
Remembering Fidel Castro, a Hero of the World’s Oppressed People