An Indian woman carries stones on her head at a rock processing area in Assam © Anuwar Hazarika/AFP/Getty Images

The belief in witchcraft, sorcery and the occult often times causes people to be wrongly accused of being a witch. In the last couple of months this has led to several killings in India’s eastern state of Assam. Read this story and other news about women here!

Witch-hunting villagers behead woman in India

A 63-year-old has been beheaded in India’s eastern state of Assam after she was accused of being a witch. Over 2,000 people have been killed in the last two years for allegedly being involved with the occult and sorcery. Read more here.

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Why India struggles to tackle ‘witch-hunting’

The recent beheading of a woman highlights how common the practice of branding people as witches and killing them remains in parts of India. DW speaks to legal expert Indira Jaising about the reasons behind the killings. Read more here.

http://dw.com/p/1G3be

Nepal’s quake survivors face increased risk of trafficking

Many women and children affected by the devastating Nepal quakes have also been subject to sexual and domestic violence. Post-disaster, the nation has become a breeding ground for traffickers, as Murali Krishnan reports. Read more here.

http://dw.com/p/1G2YA

Japan’s ‘maid cafes’ – A cover for the child sex industry

An activist who escaped the ‘joshi kosei’ (JK) business says thousands of high-school girls in Tokyo alone have been lured into selling themselves for easy money. DW’s Tokyo correspondent Julian Ryall reports. Read more here.

http://dw.com/p/1G0db

Pakistan court stays execution of Asia Bibi in blasphemy case

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has stayed the execution of Asia Bibi, who had been convicted of blasphemy. The court also granted the Christian woman leave to appeal. Read more here.

http://dw.com/p/1G2Yj

Merkel defends gesture to comfort crying Palestinian teen

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her reaction to a crying teenage Palestinian refugee. In the calm after a social media storm, she said her response and gesture of stroking the girl’s head was “really OK.” Read more here.

http://dw.com/p/1G1Me

Merkel lookalike causes a stir in lesbian magazine advert

A new magazine, aimed at gay women, has roused the German press with an advert in which a dead ringer for Chancellor Angela Merkel appears to be in a lesbian relationship. Merkel staunchly opposes same-sex marriage. Read more here.

http://dw.com/p/1G3Lh

Newspaper shows Queen Elizabeth give ‘Nazi salute’ as child

Buckingham Palace has voiced disappointment after a newspaper printed a photo that shows a six-year-old Queen Elizabeth appearing to give a Nazi salute. Mass-circulation tabloid “The Sun” defended its action. Read more here.

http://dw.com/p/1G0rv

Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo: ‘I like to write from the bone’

Writing about Zimbabwe while living in the US has changed her language and her identity, says NoViolet Bulawayo, the author of “We Need New Names.” DW met up with the young African writer on her first visit to Germany. Read more here.

http://dw.com/p/1FvZ9