Watchdog

A woman who said she had been the victim of a gang rape in Pakistan has died after setting herself on fire.

Amina Bibi succumbed to her injuries on March 14 after setting herself alight with petrol outside a police station in Punjab Province the previous day.

Bibi, who was believed to be 17 or 18, said she had been assaulted by a gang of men, including a family member, in January.

A court dropped the case on March 13 following the issuance of a police report that said she had not been raped.

Bibi's brother said the decision had been too much for Bibi to cope with.

The Punjab police chief's spokeswoman said an investigation team had been sent to the area to investigate.

The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanded the government take steps to ensure rapists are brought to justice.

Sexual assault and domestic violence are widespread in deeply conservative Pakistan.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters

DUSHANBE -- The license of an independent newspaper has been withdrawn in Tajikistan.

The chief editor of "Hafta" (The Week) weekly, Hikmatyor Hikmatzoda, told RFE/RL on February 17 that the Culture Ministry had withdrawn the license because the newspaper has covered issues that were not outlined in the periodical's charter.

According to the ministry, the newspaper was registered last autumn as a new media outlet focusing on culture and education topics, while its first issue in mid-January carried articles with different content.

The newspaper published several articles and interviews on issues related to the social, economic, and political situation in the country.