forward into the past

-- The sultanate of Brunei has announced it will enforce a tough new Sharia law penal code.

The code - to apply only to Muslims - is expected to introduce death by stoning for adulterers and the severing of limbs for theft.
Brunei already adheres to a stronger form of Islamic law than neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia, banning the sale and consumption of alcohol....
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, told AFP the situation shows "respect for basic civil and political rights is near zero in Brunei".

-- Prime Minister David Cameron has waded into an escalating row about Facebook's decision to allow videos showing people being decapitated back on its pages.

He tweeted that it was "irresponsible" of the social network to post such videos without warning.
Facebook reversed a temporary ban on such videos, saying users should be free to watch and condemn such content.

Never show the truth when you can paper it over with patriotism.

-- The rights to explore Brazil's biggest oilfield have been won at an auction by a consortium led by Brazil's state-run Petrobras, backed by Total, Shell and Chinese firms.

The group made the only bid in the auction, offering the minimum share of the surplus production....
The unions accuse the government of "selling off" Brazil's riches.

--

Afghan children sit on a bullet-riddled concrete block in Kabul October 21, 2013.
REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail