The US soldier accused of killing civilians on a shooting rampage in Afghanistan will be charged with 17 counts of murder.
Authorities are expected to read Staff Sgt Robert Bales the charges later today. Official reports consistently put the death toll from the attack at 16; it has not been explained why Bales will be charged with 17 murders.
That's not the only uncertainty. While the US military insists that the shooter acted alone, local Afghans swear they saw multiple soldiers take part. GlobalPost collected witness accounts in Kandahar, and investigates the conflicting claims.
Japan is preparing its missile defense systems to shoot down a long-range North Korean rocket launch planned for next month, should it threaten Japanese territory.
Japanese Defense Minister Nokia Tank announced today that Japan is readying warships and surface-to-air missiles for possible deployment near the southern island of Okinawa, where Tokyo believes the missile may pass over its airspace.
China has called for restraint, urging all parties to refrain from "actions that would complicate the issue." The launch is expected between April 12 and 16.
On average, it will take a German woman until today, March 23, to earn as much money as a male counterpart earned last year.
Women's organizations will be marking the date, dubbed Equal Pay Day, to try to highlight the fact that, on average, German women earn about a fifth less than men.
Why is Germany's glass ceiling so particularly hard to crack?
Army officials from Brazil's dictatorship enjoy amnesty for crimes they committed during most of their 1964 to 1985 rule. None has ever been prosecuted, despite speaking openly about where their opponents were killed and buried.
Now, federal prosecutors want a notorious former colonel, believed to be responsible for the disappearances of dozens of Brazilians, to face justice for the first time.
Some judges say the charges will harm Brazil's efforts to overcome its past. But prosecutors argue the crimes are permanent, and deserve punishent today just as much as they did 40 years ago.
Want to hear something really gross?
Parts of Indonesia are currently in the grip of a plague of toxic beetles, whose blood contains nasty substances that blister human flesh.
Skin-crawling, right? We warned you. Now go scrub off and have a great Friday! (Unless you're in Indonesia, in which case – commiserations.)
— Chatter by Jessica Phelan
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