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A simple test could have alerted officials that the drinking water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated, long before authorities determined that as many as a million Marines and their families were exposed to a witch's brew of cancer-causing chemicals.

The pale, young Christian woman sat handcuffed in the courtroom, accused of insulting Islam while teaching history of religions to fourth-graders. A team of Islamist lawyers with long beards sang in unison, "All except the Prophet Muhammad."

MP Fawzia Koofi hoped parliamentary vote would prevent law's reversal, but conservatives claimed it violated Islamic principlesAn Afghan MP has accused her conservative opponents of blocking a law to protect women's rights saying parts of it violate Islamic principles.The law was enacted in 2009 by presidential decree but Fawzia Koofi wanted to cement it with a parliamentary vote to prevent its future reversal.The law bans child marriage and the practice of selling and buying women to settle disputes. Kofi said the law was introduced in parliament on Saturday, but met such fierce opposition that it was withdrawn.Supporters of the law feared that seeking parliamentary approval could allow conservatives to amend it and weaken protection for women or throw it out completely.Farkhunda Zahra Naderi told the BBC after Saturday's events in parliament that her fears had been proved right.During the debate, mullahs and other traditionalist MPs accused President Karzai of acting against Sharia law by signing the decree in the first place. They also demanded a change to the law so that men cannot be prosecuted for rape within marriage."There is a lack of assurance that any president of Afghanistan will have any commitment to women's issues and in particular towards this decree," Koofi told the BBC.Karzai has come under fire for frequently changing his position on women's rights. In 2012, he endorsed a "code of conduct" issued by an influential council of clerics, which allows husbands to beat wives under certain circumstances.AfghanistanIslamReligionguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds    

Cheznye Emmons, 23, has life support machine turned off after drinking methanol from a bottle labelled as ginA British backpacker has died after drinking poisoned alcohol in the Indonesian jungle.Cheznye Emmons, 23, had bought a bottle labelled "gin" from a shop, which turned out to be deadly methanol. The beauty therapist from Essex had been trekking with her boyfriend and another man they met while travelling.All three suffered health problems after drinking the methanol, which can cause kidney failure, blindness, seizures and death. Emmons lost her sight and was taken through the jungle to the nearest eye clinic. She was referred to hospital where she was placed in an induced coma.Her parents flew to Indonesia where they eventually decided to turn off her life support machine.A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We can confirm the death of a British national in Indonesia and we are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."Her brother, Michael Emmons, said: "We're all just in shock. From what we understand, the shop poured the gin out of the original bottle and then replaced it with methanol. It was in the original bottle with the gin label on it. As far as we're aware, the shop has been shut and there's a police investigation."Home-brewed spirits are common in Indonesia because of an alcohol tax of more than 200%, but methanol is a by-product of poor distillation techniques.IndonesiaAsia PacificMartin Williamsguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds