Tokyo CNN — The world’s longest-serving death row convict was on Monday granted a retrial by a Japanese court in the latest twist in a legal saga dating back to the 1960s.
CNN
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Here is a look at the life of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.
Birth date: March 28, 1945
Birth place: Maasin, Southern Leyte, Philippines
Birth name: Duterte Roy Rodrigo
Father: Vicente Duterte, lawyer and politician
Mother: Soledad (Roa) Duterte, Teacher
Marriage: Elizabeth Zimmerman (annulled in 2000)
Children: with Elizabeth Zimmerman: Paolo, Sebastian and Sara; with Honeylet Avanceña: Veronica
Education: Lyceum of the Philippines University, B.A.,1968; San Beda College, J.D.,1972
Religion: Roman Catholic
Duterte was mayor of Davao City for seven terms and 22 years, although not consecutively.
His father was the governor of unified Davao and a member of President Ferdinand Marcos’ cabinet.
Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte, was the mayor of Davao City.
Once compared himself to Adolf Hitler, saying he would kill millions of drug addicts.
Cursed Pope Francis for traffic problems caused by the pontiff’s visit to the Philippines.
For decades, he has allegedly been tied to “death squads” in Davao City.
Has declared that he will urge Congress to restore the death penalty by hanging in the Philippines.
1977-1986 – Special counsel, and then city prosecutor of Davao City.
1986-1988 – Vice-Mayor of Davao City.
1988-1998 – Mayor of Davao City.
1995 – After Flor Contemplacion, a Filipino domestic worker, is hanged in Singapore for murdering her co-worker in 1991, Duterte leads protestors in burning the Singapore flag.
1998-2001 – Becomes a congressman representing Davao City’s 1st District.
2001-2010 – Mayor of Davao City.
April 6, 2009 – Human Rights Watch publishes the findings of its “Davao Death Squad” investigation, scrutinizing more than two dozen killings that occurred in 2007 and 2008. Findings show no direct link to the killings and Duterte but do provide evidence of a complicit relationship between government officials and members of the DDS.
May 24, 2015 – He vows to execute 100,000 criminals and dump their bodies into Manila Bay.
April 2016 – Duterte comes under fire after making a controversial comment during a campaign rally about a 1989 prison riot that led to the rape and murder of a female missionary. According to a CNN Philippines translation of the video, he says, “they raped her, they lined up to her. I was angry she was raped, yes that was one thing. But she was so beautiful, I thought the mayor should have been first. What a waste.” His party issues an apology, but Duterte later disowns it.
May 30, 2016 – The Philippine Congress officially declares Duterte the winner of the May 9th presidential election after the official count is completed.
June 30, 2016 – Takes office as president.
August 5, 2016 – In a speech, he claims he told US Secretary of State John Kerry that US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg is a “gay son of a bitch.”
September 7, 2016 – Duterte and US President Barack Obama meet briefly in Laos while attending the yearly Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. The two were scheduled to meet prior for bilateral talks regarding the South China Sea, but Obama canceled their meeting as Duterte’s fiery rhetoric escalated.
September 15, 2016 – A witness, Edgar Matobato, testifies before a Philippine Senate committee, claiming he is a member of Duterte’s alleged “Davao Death Squad,” and that the Philippine president gave orders to kill drug dealers, rapists and thieves. The committee was set up to probe alleged extrajudicial killings in the three months since Duterte became president.
October 4, 2016 – The Philippines and the United States begin joint military exercises in Manila for what Duterte claims will be the final time under the decade-long landmark Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
October 20, 2016 – Duterte announces at the PH-China Trade & Investment Forum, “In this venue I announce my separation from the US; militarily, [but] not socially, [and] economically.”
November 29, 2016 – Nine members of Duterte’s security team are injured after their convoy is hit by an explosive device in advance of a planned visit by the president to Marawi City.
December 12, 2016 – Admits to killing suspected criminals during his time as mayor of Davao City.
November 9, 2017 – Ahead of APEC meetings with regional leaders, Duterte tells a group of Filipino expatriates, in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, that he stabbed someone to death when he was 16.
November 13, 2017 – US President Donald Trump and Duterte “briefly” discussed human rights and the Philippines’ bloody war on drugs during their closed-door conversation, the White House announces. However, the spokesman for Duterte tells reporters that “human rights did not arise” during the meeting.
February 8, 2018 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) says it is opening a preliminary examination of the situation in the Philippines regarding extrajudicial killings. The examination “will analyze crimes allegedly committed … in the context of the ‘war on drugs’ campaign,” specifically since July 1, 2016. Duterte’s spokesman tells reporters that the president “welcomes this preliminary examination because he is sick and tired of being accused of the commission of crimes against humanity.”
December 5, 2018 – The ICC reports that they have a “reasonable basis to proceed with the preliminary examination” into the alleged extra-judicial killings of thousands of people since July 1, 2016.
March 17, 2019 – The Philippines officially leaves the ICC. The action, taken after a 12-month waiting period required by ICC statute, follows an initial announcement made March 14, 2018.
October 5, 2020 – Duterte reveals he has a chronic neuromuscular disease. In a speech in Moscow, he tells a crowd of Filipinos living in the Russian capital he had myasthenia gravis, which he describes as a “nerve malfunction,” reports CNN Philippines.
March 12, 2020 – Duterte places Metro Manila under community quarantine from March 15 to April 14 to contain the COVID-19 spread in the metropolis.
March 23, 2020 – The Senate, in a 12-0 vote, approves a bill declaring the existence of a national emergency and granting Duterte additional powers to address the COVID-19 crisis. The additional powers will remain in effect for at least three months or until the state of calamity in the entire country is lifted.
November 15, 2021 – Files to run for senator in the 2022 election. Duterte is not eligible to run for president again, and his daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpiois running for vice president. He withdraws his bid on December 14.
June 30, 2022 – Duterte steps down as president.
October 7, 2024 – Duterte registers to run for mayor in Davao city. His son – incumbent Davao city Mayor Sebastian Duterte – would run as his vice-mayor in next year’s mid-term elections, officials said.
March 11, 2025 – Duterte is arrested by the Philippine government after it said it received an ICC warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity. He is placed on a flight and arrives in the Netherlandswhere the ICC is located, the next day. Shortly before landing in Rotterdam, Duterte had released a defiant video message on his Facebook page. “I was saying to the police and military that you do your job and I will take responsibility, so it has come to this,” he said. “This will be a long legal proceedings, but I say to you, I will continue to serve my country. And so be it, if that is my destiny,” he added.
March 14, 2025 – Makes his first appearance via video link at the ICC, where he faces murder charges qualified as a crime against humanity related to his “war on drugs.”
May 12, 2025 – Duterte is elected mayor of his home city of Davao by a landslide, unimpeded by his detention at the ICC on charges of murder as a crime against humanity.
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CNN
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Here is a look at North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and the history of its weapons program.
North Korea signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) demands that inspectors be given access to two nuclear waste storage sites. In response, North Korea threatens to quit the NPT but eventually opts to continue participating in the treaty.
North Korea and the United States sign an agreement. North Korea pledges to freeze and eventually dismantle its old, graphite-moderated nuclear reactors in exchange for international aid to build two new light-water nuclear reactors.
January 29 – US President George W. Bush labels North Korea, Iran and Iraq an “axis of evil” in his State of the Union address. “By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger,” he says.
October – The Bush Administration reveals that North Korea has admitted operating a secret nuclear weapons program in violation of the 1994 agreement.
January 10 – North Korea withdraws from the NPT.
February – The United States confirms North Korea has reactivated a five-megawatt nuclear reactor at its Yongbyon facility, capable of producing plutonium for weapons.
April – Declares it has nuclear weapons.
North Korea tentatively agrees to give up its entire nuclear program, including weapons. In exchange, the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea say they will provide energy assistance to North Korea, as well as promote economic cooperation.
July – After North Korea test fires long range missiles, the UN Security Council passes a resolution demanding that North Korea suspend the program.
October – North Korea claims to have successfully tested its first nuclear weapon. The test prompts the UN Security Council to impose a broad array of sanctions.
February 13 – North Korea agrees to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for an aid package worth $400 million.
September 30 – At six-party talks in Beijing, North Korea signs an agreement stating it will begin disabling its nuclear weapons facilities.
December 31 – North Korea misses the deadline to disable its weapons facilities.
June 27 – North Korea destroys a water cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear facility.
December – Six-party talks are held in Beijing. The talks break down over North Korea’s refusal to allow international inspectors unfettered access to suspected nuclear sites.
May 25 – North Korea announces it has conducted its second nuclear test.
June 12 – The UN Security Council condemns the nuclear test and imposes new sanctions.
November 20 – A Stanford University professor publishes a report that North Korea has a new nuclear enrichment facility.
October 24-25 – US officials meet with a North Korean delegation in Geneva, Switzerland, in an effort to restart the six-party nuclear arms talks that broke down in 2008.
January 24 – North Korea’s National Defense Commission says it will continue nuclear testing and long-range rocket launches in defiance of the United States. The tests and launches will feed into an “upcoming all-out action” targeting the United States, “the sworn enemy of the Korean people,” the commission says.
February 12 – Conducts third nuclear test. This is the first nuclear test carried out under Kim Jong Un. Three weeks later, the United Nations orders additional sanctions in protest.
March 30-31 – North Korea warns that it is prepping another nuclear test. The following day, the hostility escalates when the country fires hundreds of shells across the sea border with South Korea. In response, South Korea fires about 300 shells into North Korean waters and sends fighter jets to the border.
May 6 – In an exclusive interview with CNN, the deputy director of a North Korean think tank says the country has the missile capability to strike mainland United States and would do so if the United States “forced their hand.”
May 20 – North Korea says that it has the ability to miniaturize nuclear weapons, a key step toward building nuclear missiles. A US National Security Council spokesman responds that the United States does not think the North Koreans have that capability.
December 12 – North Korea state media says the country has added the hydrogen bomb to its arsenal.
January 6-7 – North Korea says it has successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test. A day after the alleged test, White House spokesman Josh Earnest says that the United States has not verified that the test was successful.
March 9 – North Korea announces that it has miniature nuclear warheads that can fit on ballistic missiles.
September 9 – North Korea claims to have detonated a nuclear warhead. According to South Korea’s Meteorological Administration, the blast is estimated to have the explosive power of 10 kilotons.
January 1 – In a televised address, Kim claims that North Korea could soon test an intercontinental ballistic missile.
January 8 – During an interview on “Meet the Press,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter says that the military will shoot down any North Korean missile fired at the United States or any of its allies.
July 4 – North Korea claims it has conducted its first successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, that can “reach anywhere in the world.”
July 25 – North Korea threatens a nuclear strike on “the heart of the US” if it attempts to remove Kim as Supreme Leader, according to Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
August 7 – North Korea accuses the United States of “trying to drive the situation of the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war” after the UN Security Council unanimously adopts new sanctions in response to Pyongyang’s long-range ballistic missile tests last month.
August 9 – North Korea’s military is “examining the operational plan” to strike areas around the US territory of Guam with medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic missiles, state-run news agency KCNA says. The North Korea comments are published one day after President Donald Trump warns Pyongyang that if it continues to threaten the United States, it would face “fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
September 3 – North Korea carries out its sixth test of a nuclear weapon, causing a 6.3 magnitude seismic event, as measured by the United States Geological Survey. Pyongyang claims the device is a hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on an intercontinental missile. A nuclear weapon monitoring group describes the weapon as up to eight times stronger than the bomb dropped in Hiroshima in 1945. In response to the test, Trump tweets that North Korea continues to be “very hostile and dangerous to the United States.” He goes on to criticize South Korea, claiming that the country is engaging in “talk of appeasement” with its neighbor to the north. He also says that North Korea is “an embarrassment to China,” claiming Beijing is having little success reining in the Kim regime.
January 2 – Trump ridicules Kim in a tweet. The president says that he has a larger and more functional nuclear button than the North Korean leader in a post on Twitter, responding to Kim’s claim that he has a nuclear button on his desk.
March 6 – South Korea’s national security chief Chung Eui-yong says that North Korea has agreed to refrain from nuclear and missile testing while engaging in peace talks. North Korea has also expressed an openness to talk to the United States about abandoning its nuclear program, according to Chung.
June 12 – The final outcome of a landmark summit, and nearly five hours of talks between Trump and Kim in Singapore, culminates with declarations of a new friendship but only vague pledges of nuclear disarmament.
December 5 – New satellite images obtained exclusively by CNN reveal North Korea has significantly expanded a key long-range missile base, offering a reminder that Kim is still pursuing his promise to mass produce and deploy the existing types of nuclear warheads in his arsenal.
January 18 – Trump meets with Kim Yong Chol, North Korea’s lead negotiator on nuclear talks, and they discuss denuclearization and the second summit scheduled for February.
February 27-28 – A second round of US-North Korean nuclear diplomacy talks ends abruptly with no joint agreement after Kim insists all US sanctions be lifted on his country. Trump states that Kim offered to take some steps toward dismantling his nuclear arsenal, but not enough to warrant ending sanctions imposed on the country.
March 8 – Analysts say that satellite images indicate possible activity at a launch facility, suggesting that the country may be preparing to shoot a missile or a rocket.
March 15 – North Korea’s foreign minister tells reporters that the country has no intention to “yield to the US demands.” In the wake of the comment, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insists that negotiations will continue.
May 4 – South Korea’s Defense Ministry states that North Korea test-fired 240 mm and 300 mm multiple rocket launchers, including a new model of a tactical guide weapon on May 3. According to the defense ministry’s assessment, the launchers’ range is about 70 to 240 kilometers (43 to 149 miles). The test is understood to be the first missile launch from North Korea since late 2017 – and the first since Trump began meeting with Kim.
October 2 – North Korea says it test fired a new type of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), a day after Pyongyang and Washington agreed to resume nuclear talks. The launch marks a departure from the tests of shorter range missiles North Korea has carried out in recent months.
December 3 – In a statement, Ri Thae Song, a first vice minister at the North Korean Foreign Ministry working on US affairs, warns the United States to prepare for a “Christmas gift,” which some interpret as the resumption of long-distance missile testing. December 25 passes without a “gift” from the North Korean regime, but US officials remain watchful.
October 10 – North Korea unveils what analysts believe to be one of the world’s largest ballistic missiles at a military parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Workers’ Party broadcast on state-run television.
August 27 – In an annual report on Pyongyang’s nuclear program, the IAEA says North Korea appears to have restarted operations at a power plant capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons. The IAEA says that clues, such as the discharge of cooling water, observed in early July, indicated the plant is active. No such evidence had been observed since December 2018.
September 13 – North Korea claims it successfully test-fired new long-range cruise missiles on September 11 and 12, according to the country’s state-run KCNA. According to KCNA, the missiles traveled for 7,580 seconds along oval and figure-eight flight orbits in the air above the territorial land and waters of North Korea and hit targets 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away. The US and neighboring South Korea are looking into the launch claims, officials in both countries tell CNN.
October 14 – An academic study finds that North Korea can get all the uranium it needs for nuclear weapons through its existing Pyongsan mill, and, based on satellite imagery, may be able to increase production above its current rate.
January 12 – The United States announces sanctions on eight North Korean and Russian individuals and entities for supporting North Korea’s ballistic missile programs.
January 20 – North Korea says it will reconsider its moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, according to state media.
March 24 – North Korea fires what is believed to be its first intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017. Analysts say the test could be the longest-range missile yet fired by North Korea, possibly representing a new type of ICBM.
September 9 – North Korean state media reports that North Korea has passed a new law declaring itself a nuclear weapons state. Leader Kim Jong Un vows the country will “never give up” its nuclear weapons and says there will be no negotiations on denuclearization.
October 4 – North Korea fires a ballistic missile without warning over Japan for the first time in five years, a highly provocative and reckless act that marks a significant escalation in its weapons testing program.
October 10 – North Korea performs a series of seven practice drills, intended to demonstrate its readiness to fire tactical nuclear warheads at potential targets in South Korea. Quoting leader Kim Jong Un, who oversaw the drills, KCNA says the tests, which coincided with nearby military drills between the United States, South Korea and Japan, showed Pyongyang was ready to respond to regional tensions by involving its “huge armed forces.”
January 1 – Pyongyang’s state media reports that Kim Jong Un is calling for an “exponential increase” in his country’s nuclear weapons arsenal in response to what he claims are threats from South Korea and the United States.
July 18 – South Korea’s Defense Ministry announces the presence of a nuclear capable US Navy ballistic missile submarine in the South Korean port city of Busan. The arrival of the submarine follows a period of heightened tensions on the peninsula, during which North Korea has both tested what it said was an advanced long range missile and threatened to shoot down US military reconnaissance aircraft.
September 28 – The state-run Korean Central News Agency reports North Korea has amended its constitution to bolster and expand its nuclear force, with leader Kim Jong Un pointing to the growing cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan. The law added into North Korea’s constitution reinforces North Korea’s view that it is a forever nuclear power and that the idea of denuclearizing or giving up its weapons is not up for discussion.
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By Norma V Hansen.
Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines have all retracted their tsunami alerts, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has indicated that the risk to the USA has “largely subsided.”
Tsunami waves were detected along the shores of Taiwan and the southwestern islands of Japan following the magnitude 7.4 quake that struck Taiwan on Wednesday morning.
Nevertheless, there have been no immediate reports of any substantial damage attributed to these waves.
In Taiwan: Tsunami heights reached nearly 0.5 meters, or 1.5 feet, in Chenggong, located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the earthquake’s epicenter.
Measured tsunami heights are determined over open waters and can be considerably greater upon reaching land.
In Japan: A 0.3-meter wave struck Okinawa Island, as confirmed by Naha airport spokesperson Hideaki Tsurodo to CNN, but no waves impacted the airport, which was promptly resumed operations.
In the Philippines: The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported “no significant sea level disturbances” following the earthquake.
“Thus, the impact of the tsunami alert has largely dissipated,” the institute noted.
In the US: The potential threat of a tsunami has “largely passed,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center stated. The update from its warning center in Honolulu mentioned that the assessment was “based on all available information.”
It also noted that minor sea level “variations” of up to 30 centimeters above and below normal tide levels might continue “over the next several hours.”
The US Tsunami Warning Center also recommended that agencies “monitor conditions along the coastline to determine if and when it is safe to resume ordinary activities.”
Tsunami waves under 0.3 meters may be observed along the coasts of Guam, Indonesia, the Northern Marianas, Palau, the Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam, and Yap, added the center.
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Rescuers in Taiwan scrambled to free dozens of people trapped in highway tunnels after the island was struck by its strongest earthquake in 25 years Wednesday, killing at least nine and injuring more than 900 others.
The powerful 7.4 magnitude tremor shook the island’s east coast, hitting at 7:58 a.m. local time 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of Hualien city and at a depth of 34.8 kilometers (21 miles), according to the US Geological Survey. It was followed by several strong aftershocks with tremors felt across the island.
Military personnel were dispatched to help with disaster relief, and schools and workplaces suspended operations, according to the Defense Ministry.
The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, with road and rail closures curtailing access to the quake’s epicenter in Hualien County.
More than 100 buildings were damaged across the island, the National Fire Agency said, with about half of those in Hualien.
Footage posted on social media showed several collapsed buildings in Hualien and residents helping trapped people escape through the window of a damaged apartment complex.
The quake struck during the morning rush hour, with videos showing vehicles bouncing on a vigorously shaking highway, an overpass swaying in Taipei, and commuters struggling to stand inside a juddering Taipei metro train.
“There was really strong shaking… We quickly turned off the gas and electricity and opened the door. It was really strong. It felt like the house would fall down,” Taipei resident Chang Yu-lin said on CNN affiliate Taiwan Plus.
Chen Nien-tzu, also in Taipei, said, “It was really wild.”
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had an earthquake so it felt really scary,” she said on Taiwan Plus.
Large boulders could be seen strewn across the eastern Suhua Highway, with several tunnels broken — including one split in half, TVBS footage showed. CNN affiliate SET News shows the front of a car smashed by fallen rocks.
Transport authorities recorded at least nine rockfalls and landslides on the highway, which was closed to traffic.
Another highway connecting the west coast with eastern Taiwan was also damaged by falling rocks, with at least 12 cars hit and nine people injured, TVBS reported.
Taiwan is regularly rocked by earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Firewhich runs around the edge of the Pacific Ocean and causes massive seismic and volcanic activity from Indonesia to Chile.
Wednesday’s quake is the strongest to hit Taiwan since 1999according to the Central Weather Administration. That year, a 7.7 magnitude quake hit south of Taipei, killing 2,400 people and injuring 10,000 others.
Hualien County, parts of which are mountainous and remote, is home to about 300,000 people on the island’s sparsely populated east coast. A magnitude 6.2 quake hit near the area in 2018killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 300 others.
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The aviation tracking site FlightRadar24 says, based on its data, that the turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 occurred over Myanmar at approximately 7:49 a.m. UTC (3:49 a.m. ET).
This lines up with a statement from the airline stating that the plane, “encountered sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin [a river in Myanmar] at 37,000 feet, about 10 hours after departure.”
FlightRadar24 said in a blog post that, according to its data, at that time, ”the flight encountered a rapid change in vertical rate, consistent with a sudden turbulence event.”
The data show the flight changing course about 14 minutes later. The airline says, “the pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok.”
The FlightRadar24 data show the flight, which was cruising at 37,000 feet, suddenly dipping then rapidly climbing a few hundred feet before dipping and climbing again and then finally settling back at its cruising altitude. The entire disruption took about 90 seconds, according to the data, but resulted in dozens of injuries, including a fatality.
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More than 40% of India’s 1.4 billion people are under 25: a tech-savvy and mostly English-speaking labor force. Like millions of migrants, many of them are drawn to the country’s financial capital Mumbai, full of aspiration and ambition. And it’s stories like these that inspire them.
The tech developer: Growing up in the slums of Mumbai, Javed Khatri never used a smartphone or computer.
But unlike many children in the slums, he completed 10th grade – the first person in four generations of his family to do so – then studied computer science at an engineering college.
He is now building an online platform to connect tech firms with engineers. He moved his family out of the slum, and supports his parents. Both his siblings went to college and pursued their own careers.
None of this would have been possible a generation ago, he says.
The influencer: Apoorva Mukhija hadn’t planned to be a content creator, so after graduation she took a job with a tech firm in Bangalore, the southern city known as “India’s Silicon Valley.”
“Then one day I just woke up, realized … (my job) just didn’t pay as well as content did, and I hated living in that city,” Mukhija, 22, tells CNN from a pastel-pink couch at her new apartment in Mumbai, which she says is her “dream city.”
Her career has thrived, winning her recognition from local media and amassing 1.3 million Instagram followers.
The internet holds a wealth of opportunities for young Indians. The country’s influencer marketing industry is expected to be worth more than $281 million in 2024, according to consultancy EY India. Smartphones and social media are fueling this growth.
The shoemaker: At age 13, Jameel Shah ran away from his village in Bihar, India’s poorest state, where his father wasn’t earning enough from farming to send the kids to school.
In Mumbai, he saw an opportunity in the expensive imported dance shoes required for dance classes.
He took two samples back to the narrow alleys of Dharavi, a hub for leather and textile manufacturers. With their expertise, and his own experience working in bag and wallet factories, Shah began experimenting.
The business grew, attracting stylists and choreographers who redistributed the shoes to dance studios. And they even made it onto the big screen.
Almost two decades later, Shah Shoes has helped support his family. He’s bought a house for his parents and started an education center in his home village teaching literacy to those who can’t afford school.
A key tool was the rise of social media, particularly Facebook, helping him find customers – which Shah credited to Prime Minister Modi’s push for a “digital India.”
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CNN
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Here’s a look at Kashmir, a region in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges. India, Pakistan and China all claim partial or complete ownership of Kashmir.
Kashmir is an 86,000-square mile region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent.
India and Pakistan have been fighting over Kashmir since both countries gained their independence in 1947.
Between 1989 and 2008, more than 47,000 people were killed in separatist violence, according to the Indian government. Some human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations say the death toll is higher.
Hundreds are still killed every year in separatist violence, according to human rights groups.
The Line of Control separates Indian and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir.
India-controlled: One state, called Jammu and Kashmir, makes up the southern and eastern portions of the region. Srinagar is the summer capital city. Jammu (city) is the winter capital.
Pakistan-controlled: Three areas called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan make up the northern and western portions of the region. The capital of Azad Kashmir is Muzaffarabad.
China-controlled: One area called Aksai Chin in the northernmost part of the region.
Kashmir: India and Pakistan’s bitter dispute
1947 – India and Pakistan gain independence from Great Britain. Kashmir initially decides to remain independent, choosing not to become a part of either Pakistan or India. After militants from Pakistan invade, the Maharaja of Kashmir signs a letter acceding to India. Pakistan does not recognize the letter as a legal document, sparking war.
January 1, 1949 – India and Pakistan agree to withdraw all troops behind a mutually agreed ceasefire line, later known as the Line of Control.
1965 – India and Pakistan go to war again over Kashmir.
1989 – Islamic militants begin an uprising in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
1999 – India and Pakistan fight a limited border conflict in Kashmir, after armed invaders cross the Line of Control in the town of Kargil.
July 25, 2000 – Hizbul Mujahedeen, a pro-Pakistan Kashmiri militant group, declares a unilateral ceasefire for three months in Jammu and Kashmir.
August 8, 2000 – Hizbul Mujahedeen calls off its ceasefire.
May 23, 2001 – India ends a six-month ceasefire while also inviting Pakistani military ruler, General Pervez Musharrafto peace talks aimed at ending five decades of hostilities between the two countries.
July 14-16, 2001 – Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee meet in Agra, India, for a three-day summit. The talks fail to produce a joint statement on Kashmir.
December 20, 2001 – The Indian army deploys troops on its border with Pakistan in the northern states of Kashmir and Punjab after an attack by militants on the Indian Parliament building. Pakistani troops also buildup across the frontier.
January 12, 2002 – Musharraf announces a ban on two Kashmiri militant groups.
October 2002 – Four rounds of polls to choose a new state administration conclude in Indian-controlled Kashmir. About 300-500 people are killed during the election campaign.
November 2003 – India agrees to a Pakistani offer of a ceasefire along their borders in the disputed region of Kashmir. The ceasefire goes into effect November 26 and is the first ceasefire in 14 years.
January 4, 2004 – Vajpayee meets with Musharraf in Islamabad. It is their first direct contact in two years.
March 28, 2008 – Human rights workers find nearly 1,000 unmarked graves near the Line of Control. Hundreds of protestors in Indian Kashmir later clash with police, demanding an investigation into the graves.
October 21, 2008 – India and Pakistan open a trade route for the first time in six decades on the Line of Control. Fruit, clothing and spices are among the items being transported.
January 14, 2011 – India’s home secretary announces that India will cut its security forces in Kashmir over the next 12 months.
February 10, 2011 – Pakistan and India agree to resume peace talks that halted after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
July 27, 2011 – Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar meets with Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna in New Delhi to discuss ways to improve travel and trade across Kashmir.
February 2015 – The Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP,) a regional party backed by the Muslim majority, announce the formation of a coalition government in Indian-controlled Kashmir. This follows five rounds of elections in 2014 without a clear winner and is the first time that the BJP will be part of the governing coalition in the state assembly. The coalition government is sworn in on March 1, 2015.
January 2016 – The death of the chief minister of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, creates tumult within the coalition government. The presumptive successor is Mehbooba Mufti, Sayeed’s daughter. She declines to take the oath of office, however, as relations fray between the PDP and the BJP. With the power-sharing alliance in crisis, Governor’s rule is imposed in accordance with the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.
April 4, 2016 – Mehbooba Mufti is sworn in as the first female chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
September 18, 2016 – Armed militants enter an Indian army base in the town of Uri and kill 18 soldiers. Several hours later, four militants are killed in a shootout with the Indian army.
September 29, 2016 – Two Pakistani soldiers are killed after clashes with Indian troops on the border.
October 2016 – India relocates more than 10,000 people from around the disputed border area as tensions continue to escalate with Pakistan.
November 15, 2016 – Raja Farooq Haider, the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, says the government has moved 8,000 people to safer places in the wake of ongoing “Indian shelling,” and plans are being made to move others. In response, Indian defense spokesman Lt. Col. Manish Mehta tells CNN, “We always respond appropriately and effectively whenever there is a ceasefire violation from the Pakistan side.”
August 1, 2017 – Violent protests erupt over the killing of Abu Dujana, the Pakistani commander of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
February 14, 2019 – At least 40 are killed when a bomb explodes near a convoy of Indian paramilitary personnel.
February 26, 2019 – Pakistan declares it will retaliate “at the time and place of its choosing” after India conducts airstrikes on an alleged terrorist training camp inside Pakistan territory, in the first such incursion by Indian air force planes since the war in 1971.
February 27, 2019 – Pakistan says its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets over Kashmir. India confirms the loss of one plane and says it shot down a Pakistani jet as it responded to the incident.
March 1, 2019 – Pakistan announces that it will release an Indian pilot who was being held in custody.
August 5, 2019 – Tensions between India and Pakistan increase after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces that India will revoke a constitutional provision giving the state of Jammu and Kashmir autonomy to set its own laws. In the wake of the announcement, widespread communications blackouts are reported in the Muslim majority region.
August 6, 2019 – India’s parliament votes to approve the status change for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The reorganization bill increases New Delhi’s authority over the region, changing it from an autonomous state into a union territory. Pakistan responds that the change is illegal. “If the world does not act now, if the so-called developed world does not uphold its own laws, then things will go to a place that will damage the whole world,” says Imran Khan, prime minister of Pakistan.
August 7, 2019 – Pakistan announces that diplomatic relations and bilateral trade with India are being suspended.
August 8, 2019 – Modi delivers a televised address in which he claims that revoking Kashmir’s autonomous status will promote stability, reduce corruption and boost the economy. Pakistan’s foreign minister says the country will remain vigilant but no military options are being considered. The United Nations issues a statement calling on both countries to resolve the issue peacefully while respecting human rights in the region.
October 31, 2019 – Jammu and Kashmir officially lose statehood status and become two union territories.
May 19, 2023 – According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, China will not attend a Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Jammu and Kashmir hosted by India, citing its opposition “to holding any kind of G20 meetings in disputed territory.”
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CNN
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Here’s a look at the Australian Open, one of four competitions that make up the “Grand Slam” in professional tennis. The other three are Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open.
January 13-28, 2024 – The 112th Australian Open takes place.
January 16-29, 2023 – The 111th Australian Open takes place.
The tournament is played at Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Australia.
The Australian Open is played on hard courts with a blue surface.
Jannik Sinner overcomes a two-set deficit to defeat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in a five-set final and claims the men’s Australian Open title, becoming the first Italian man to win a grand slam since 1976.
Aryna Sabalenka successfully defends her Australian Open women’s title, defeating China’s Zheng Qinwen in the final.
Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to win a 10th Australian Open title and a record-equaling 22nd grand slam.
Belarusian-born Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina in three sets, becoming the first player competing under a neutral flag to secure a grand slam.
Total prize money for 2024 was a record high $86.5 million AUD, a 13% increase from $76.5 million AUD in 2023.
Youngest winners – men’s singles – Ken Rosewall (18); women’s singles – Martina Hingis (16)
Oldest winners – men’s singles – Rosewall (37); women’s singles – Thelma Long (35)
Most consecutive singles wins – men’s – Roy Emerson (five) 1963-1967; women’s – Margaret Court (seven) 1960-1966
Most singles titles overall – men’s – Djokovic (10); women’s – Margaret Court (11)
1905 – The Australasian Championships are played in Melbourne.
1927 – The name is changed to the Australian Championships.
1954 – Thelma Long wins the Women’s Singles Championship at 35 years and eight months, becoming the oldest female to do so.
1969 – The name is changed to the Australian Open.
1972 – Ken Rosewall wins the Men’s Singles Championship at age 37, becoming the oldest male player to win the Australian Open. Rosewall also holds the record for youngest champion, winning at age 18 in 1953.
2001 – Begins paying men and women equal prize money.
January 15-16, 2022 – World No. 1 and 2021 men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic is detained and deported from Australia over a visa and Covid-19 vaccination dispute, missing the tournament.
November 15, 2022 – Australia’s Immigration Ministry announces the repeal of Djokovic’s three-year ban from entering the country, paving the way for the nine-time singles champion to enter the 2023 Australian Open.
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The death toll from the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan’s west coast on Monday has risen to 57, according to Japan public broadcaster NHK, citing officials from Ishikawa prefecture.
The quake shook the Noto Peninsula in the central prefecture of Ishikawa on Monday afternoon, collapsing buildings, sparking fires and triggering tsunami alerts as far away as eastern Russia.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency lifted all tsunami advisories along portions of the country’s western coast Tuesday, but more than 24 hours after the quake struck, there has been limited access to the northern part of the secluded Noto Peninsula.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters after a disaster emergency meeting Tuesday that a destroyed road had cut access to the area.
Officials in helicopters had flown over the peninsula, known for its coastal scenery and rural landscapes, and reported seeing damaged roads, landslides and large fires, he said.
“To secure the route there, we are to mobilize all the means of transport, not only on the ground but also by aerial and marine transport. We have been making an effort to transfer goods, supplies and personnel there since the last night,” Kishida said.
CNN’s Helen Regan, Sahar Akbarzai, Chie Kobayashi and Mayumi Maruyama contributed reporting to this post.
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She told CNN that her biology teacher in her home village in the southern Indian state of Kerala had spoken to the class about sexual intercourse just once and she didn’t recall learning much from that. So, when she found herself uncomfortable with her sexual encounters with her husband, she struggled to explain why or name what had been happening to her.
”I didn’t know about marital rape back then. I didn’t know even the term existed,” the now 32-year-old said, explaining that her husband never sought consent, nor did she realize at the time how much it might have changed her experience if he had.
Still, Manomi — whose name has been changed due to possible backlash for speaking out — was so unhappy that she says her mother “took the initiative” to help her daughter file for divorce, just three months after her wedding.
The young woman moved to the state capital and became an urban designer, but it would be years before she learned, through the social media posts of online sexual health educator Leeza Mangaldas, that sex should be “consensual, safe and pleasurable.” These “three things Leeza repeats everywhere,” Manomi said.
For Leeza Mangaldas’s 2.5 million followers across Instagram, YouTube and Facebook, she is a source of accessible and empowering information on sexual health and wellbeing — a subject that remains largely taboo across India and most of the Asia-Pacific region. According to the educator’s own analytics, 65% of her followers on Instagram are men and women between the ages of 18 and 34.
But Mangaldas’ ability to share information that her audiences tell her is useful, and which they say they are unable get elsewhere, is being hampered by changes to how social media platforms are moderated, she told CNN.
Mangaldas told CNN she earns her living from paid partnerships with corporations and international non-profit organizations on her social media platforms, as well as from a recently founded sexual wellbeing brand. She began posting on YouTube in 2017, just as India’s #Metoo movement was starting and ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision the following year to decriminalize homosexuality, she said.
”I feel like I was one of several people at that time who were frustrated by this state of affairs when it comes to sexual and reproductive health and rights. And what I was doing on social media connected with a lot of people,” Mangaldas said. “There was definitely a desire for change.”
Today the 33-year-old, who lives in Goa, is one of swathes of digital creators, educators and health service providers across the Asia-Pacific. Through social media, they are working to reach the one billion young people in the region with information that various United Nations agencies call “digital sexuality education”: content focusing on safe sex (and safe online) practices, sexuality, relationships and gender.
The UN Population Fund, UNFPA, has for years made the connection between the quality of the information women receive and their ability to make their own decisions about sex, contraception, and their overall health. Recent evidence shows that “young people are extensively using the digital environment as a key source of information about sexuality” which does not replace but complements classroom sexuality education, according to a UNESCO report.
However, CNN spoke to nine content creators and sexual health experts in South and Southeast Asia who are raising the alarm, warning that their educational content is being increasingly censored.
Among the creators CNN spoke to, eight shared multiple examples of content being restricted or taken down and of being unable to run ads on some sex-ed posts.
Caught in the crosshairs of the platforms’ attempts to address the proliferation of harmful content around sex, educators’ posts are being pushed behind sensitivity filters and inaccurately considered to be pornographic material, according to the content creators. CNN spoke with six young people across the region who are largely deprived of formal sex education, who told CNN that they are afraid of making ill-informed decisions about their sexuality, sexual practices or how to protect themselves in abusive sexual situations because of this censorship.
Mangaldas and other digital sex educators are calling for improved content moderation, transparency, and more direct communication from the social media platforms on how they are applying their policies. “We can work together instead of against each other,” she said.
Pressured to change ‘sensitive content’
The sex-ed influencers, experts from social change organizations and non-profits CNN spoke to accused social media platforms of arbitrary and inconsistent crackdowns which have pressured them into self-censoring, resulting in them deleting posts and, for example, avoiding references to human genitals.
Across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok — where digital creators and organizations told CNN they suffered the most censorship — sexual activities and services are banned, and content that depicts sexual pleasure or gratification, including sex toys or fetishes, are either denied advertisements or banned. These policies come at odds with sex educators who are trying to explain to their followers about safe usage of sex toys or about female orgasms, the content creators explained.
Mangaldas believes the regulatory processes used by platforms are unable to distinguish accurately between nudity, sexual solicitation, pornography, art, and educational content. “So even when you are not actually violating their guidelines, often content gets wrongly flagged,” she told CNN.
Mangaldas said she started to notice more censorship in content moderation on Instagram, where she is the most active, when the platform introduced Sensitive Content Control in 2021.
The sensitivity feature is an embedded function which allows users to filter potentially upsetting content such as posts that may be “sexually suggestive or violent” in their Explore tab which shows recommendations from accounts users do not follow. Users over the age of 18 are able to manually tailor and broaden the amount of ”sensitive content” they wish to see.
In late July, Mangaldas received a notification from Instagram saying her account couldn’t “be shown to non-followers”, leading her to delete nine posts that had been flagged to be ”eligible for recommendation” again. Being restricted from reaching non-followers is also known as a shadow ban. The deleted posts include a video in which she talks about using lubricant and another explaining why some people cry after sex.
She told CNN that after this experience, she began to censor herself more, for example spelling the word ”porn” using a mix of Hindi and English when talking about false expectations about sex and noticed a huge uptick in reach to followers and non-followers.
She also gave the example of a cropped image from a piece of 19th century French art showing a nude bottom that she originally posted in 2020 but reused this year. The new post was blocked, Mangaldas said, though Meta’s policy states that nudity in photos of “paintings, sculptures, and other art that depicts nude figures” is acceptable. The older post is still visible.
Online healthcare network Women First Digital (WFD)’s director, Tisha Gopalakrishnan, also spoke of ”rampant” censorship on her organization’s Facebook pages over the past two years. “It’s affecting operations, it’s affecting visibility, it’s affecting impact to a much greater extent than what we can deal with,” she told CNN.
Her organization runs three digital platforms to provide information and resources about safe abortion and pleasure-based contraception practices not only in the US but around the world, with the highest traffic coming from India. A combined total of 3.7 million visits came from the South Asian country between 2015 and 2022 — more than three times higher than the 1.3 million visits from the US, according to WFD data.
In June, the non-profit submitted a public comment to Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) to appeal several takedowns, one of which is the takedown of their entire ‘How to Use‘ page on Facebook, which provides advice on self-managed abortion pills.
The page was reinstated following direct intervention by global human rights organization Amnesty International who advocated on their behalf, Gopalakrishnan said. She added that Amnesty also helped WFD get their associated YouTube channel and Facebook page back online after being suspended in May for ”violating community guidelines,” with no specifics about what had been violated.
Gopalakrishnan believes censorship of abortion information stems from US domestic political affairs, even when operating in other regions.
”Abortion content has historically always been censored on Meta platforms globally, and the overturning of Roe v Wade just made things go from bad to worse,” Gopalakrishnan said. “In general, it is our experience that Meta policies are more reflective of current US political affairs than the local legislative and cultural contexts of the countries they serve.”
When asked for comment, Meta shared information on its policies, which state that the company allows posts and ads promoting health care services like abortion, as well as discussion and debate around them. But content about abortion, regardless of political perspective, must follow the rules, including those on prescription drugs, according to Meta, with content that attempts to sell, buy or trade prescription drugs (such as medication abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol) not allowed on any of its platforms.
After getting posts removed on Facebook and Instagram in 2018 and 2020 respectively, the founder of India-based sex-ed foundation Pratisandhi, Niyati Sharma, said her organization had to shift to a more creative approach to content that moved away from ”graphic diagrams or explicit imagery related to sexuality” to ones that are more educational, and focused more on prevention and protection, she said.
”For instance, we have a lesser focus on things like sex toys but more on hygiene or myths. Changing how we phrased the same content made a difference and also made it easier to appeal in case posts were restricted. We also changed our graphics to be a little more abstract since flagging algorithms don’t categorize those as nudity,” Sharma told CNN.
Getting content unblocked is hit or miss, multiple content creators told CNN, adding they rarely got a human response to their appeals.
“There’s a sense of acceptance, right?” Mangaldas said. “Like, OK, I need to use this platform. If no human being can fix this for me and I’m reliant on automated solutions, then my best bet is to just delete [content].”
The risk of miscategorizing content has been known for some time, and is, in part, explained by a lack of awareness among content moderators.
A 2020 UNESCO paper stated that “educational initiatives are not always distinguished from pornography,” and identified the tens of thousands of subcontracted content moderators who might reject ”sexuality education as pornography” due to ”lack of awareness or lack of time.”
Platforms say it’s hard to get moderation right
When CNN asked to speak with them about content restrictions, and the challenges facing sex-ed content creators, none of the major social media platforms agreed to be interviewed. Most did not speak on the record, but did provide information on background and talked about the difficulty they face with moderation, as large corporations, serving multiple markets.
Systems Error
How do I…
Meta’s policies on Facebook state that the platform restricts the display of nudity and sexual activity because some audiences within their global community may be sensitive to this type of content, which may be because of a person’s cultural background or age, highlighting that users can be as young as 13, according to Meta. The company further claims that its policies are applied globally in a uniform manner, and acknowledged that as a result, their execution can sometimes be less nuanced and restrict content shared for legitimate purposes. Its policies further state that photos in the context of breastfeeding, birth giving and after-birth moments, health-related situations (for example, post-mastectomy, breast cancer awareness or gender confirmation surgery) or acts of protest are allowed.
YouTube informed CNN that health professionals can apply to become an ”authoritative health source” on the platform, with a number of sexual health-focused creators and channels already available.
Elena Hernandez, a spokesperson for YouTube said: “YouTube Health’s mission is to increase equitable access to high-quality health content, and that includes sexual health. YouTube creators help make public health and sexual education resonate with people around the world, and we’re always working on new ways to elevate and prominently feature credible health sources on the platform.”
As for TikTok, according to the company’s spokesperson, its rules allow reproductive health and sex education content, such as content on the use of birth control and abortion, discussed in medical language. But they also said that moderating at scale means mistakes are sometimes made, and as such, explained the company will continue to invest in improving its systems, in training teams, and making it easy for creators to appeal moderation decisions.
‘How would people like me know about sex?’
India is among the fastest-growing populations worldwide, with almost 40% of the population under 24 years old. A quarter of the total population is under the age of 14 and adolescents and young adults (10 -24 years old) make up 27% of the population, according to a May 2023 paper on comprehensive sexuality education in India. Its writer pointed out that the country’s young people face multiple health and social issues that are easily preventable, adding that knowledge around sexuality and sexual health are limited.
The paper highlights how poor knowledge and attitudes are linked to high-risk sexual behaviors and practices, listing examples of the prevalence of intimate partner violence and teenage pregnancy being associated with poor awareness of sexually transmitted infections and of HIV and AIDS.
These findings are supported by earlier research. Scholars in 2018 wrote that “India has one of the world’s poorest sexual and reproductive health records among adolescents.” But they also found “widespread support” for sex ed among the population surveyed, which “counter[s] politicized efforts to ban sex education by state leaders.”
Indeed, efforts by the central government to introduce a national sex education curriculum in 2005, 2007 and 2016 were met with opposition from several states who said it undermined Indian culture and values.
It is against the backdrop of this charged political atmosphere, coupled with high social media use — albeit less for women — that social media platforms have become relatively safe, and effective, sites to access sexual and reproductive health information.
A 2022 study among teenage girls in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh found that those using social media had better awareness of topics such as sex, pregnancy, birth control, and HIV/AIDS, compared to non-users. But content moderation policies are now censoring and limiting access to vital information that can help young people make more informed choices and reduce harmful behavior.
As such, social media platforms have in effect become what one United Nations agency called “gatekeepers of crucial SRH (sexual and reproductive health) information,” who “withhold important educational content that is arbitrarily classified as sexually explicit”, to the detriment of the young people.
For 30-year-old Natasha Vijayalaxmi in Chennai, online educators and organizations have been a huge source of mental and physical support.
She told CNN about the dysphoria she felt, when she was younger, towards certain parts of her body, and towards the gender assigned to her at birth. As a transgender woman and survivor of childhood sexual abuse, she said her body had often been fetishized. As a result of these experiences, she developed negative perceptions about sex. But online, she said, she found people like her she could relate to and enable her to learn more about herself and how to think of sex in more positive ways.
“The sense that their vision of the world is something that is resonating with you…you find a lot of meaning in that,” Vijayalaxmi said, referring to Mangaldas’ work, before adding: “It’s really important (to have) greater awareness of sex positivity in this country in general because there’s so much stigma around it.”
Learning about the restrictions sex-ed content creators have faced, urban designer Manomi was indignant: “How would people like me know about sex if these people don’t put up content?,” she asked. ”I strongly oppose it.”
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Read other stories on sexual education from around the world
This article is part of The Talk, a series of stories, each produced by a different newsroom or team, painting a picture of the state of sex education around the world. During the month of October 2023, stories will be published by CNN As Equals, Kontinentalist, the Impact Newsletter, Unbias the News, Nadja Media, Suno India and BehanBox.
This story was edited by Meera Senthilingam and Eliza Anyangwe. Illustration by Alberto Mier.
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