Today, an Iraqi interior ministry official said, "The city of Mosul is outside the control of the state and at the mercy of the militants."

The recent rape and murder of two teenage girls from Katra Saadatganj, Budaun district in north India has sparked shock and outrage across the country and triggered a wave of international attention and scrutiny. The two slain girls, both cousins, were gang raped and then hung by their attackers after they sought to relieve themselves in a field near their homes.

Originally published in Africa.Redux.