Troubled Indian hospital says 217 children died in August

Death continues to haunt a government hospital in north India that came under fire earlier this month after dozens of babies died within two days.

Dr. P.K. Singh, the head of the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur city, said Wednesday that at least 217 children died there in August alone due to a variety of reasons including an annual encephalitis outbreak. Singh added that 42 children have died in the last 48 hours. Seven of the deaths were from encephalitis while the others were attributed to other medical complications.

India plans surrogacy ban for foreigners, unmarried couples

The Indian government plans to ban foreigners, single parents and gay couples from using India's surrogacy services under a proposed law intended to protect poor women from exploitation.

Only infertile couples who have been married for at least five years could seek a surrogate, who must be a close relative, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said Wednesday.

Russian police arrest woman seen waving child's head

Russian police on Monday arrested a woman who was seen waving the severed head of a small child outside a Moscow subway station. She is suspected of killing the child when it was in her care, officials said.

Videos posted on Russian news websites show a woman dressed all in black, holding the severed head and shouting "I am a terrorist" in Russian, although most of what she says is incomprehensible. In some of the videos the woman is tackled by men who appear to be police.

Police arrest 2 teens in rape of toddler in Indian capital

Police arrested two teenagers Sunday for allegedly raping a toddler in New Delhi, in the latest incident of sexual violence against a young child in the Indian capital.

Police said they questioned more than 250 residents of the western Delhi neighborhood where the 2 1/2-year-old girl was raped and left bleeding in a park Friday evening.

The two 17-year-old boys were arrested late Saturday, said Dependra Pathak, a top police officer.

Image of dead child on beach haunts and frustrates the world

The photo of the dead 3-year-old Syrian boy on a Turkish beach is haunting.

It captures everything we don't want to see when we tap our phones or open our newspapers: a vicious civil war, a surge of refugees, the death of an innocent.

The image of little Aylan Kurdi is hammering home the Syrian migrant crisis to the world, largely through social media. Aylan died along with his 5-year-old brother and their mother when their small rubber boat capsized as it headed for Greece. The Associated Press distributed the photos to its subscribers. The photos were from the Turkish news agency DHA.