The mother of two Chechen dissidents who fled abroad was abducted in 2022 by the security forces whilst at her home in central Russia and taken to Grozny, where she remains in prison. Now her daughter Aliya has appealed to Ajšat Kadyrova, former Minister of Culture and Social Affairs, in a last-ditch effort to secure her release.
In China's Shandong province, controversy surrounds fencing installed to stop "wild hiking" on the sacred mountain, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The authorities claim it is a safety measure, but protesting residents and environmentalists argue that it distorts the spiritual significance and habitat of the place.
A ruling against the builder of a condominium that collapsed in the Mandalay earthquake put the spotlight back on the 2025 earthquake that also killed several Myanmar workers on the other side of the border in Thailand. An investigation shows that thousands of migrant workers continue to work for low wages on Thai construction sites without adequate protections.
For Khalil Sayegh, nothing suggests Hamas plans to lay down its arms. The visit of Patriarchs Pizzaballa and Theophilus is a positive sign for a population haunted by a humanitarian tragedy amid international silence. The situation is "bad” with "daily violations and killings" by the Israeli military.
The death toll from the unrest triggered by overcrowding has risen to at least 29 (including seven officers) with over a hundred injured. Prisoners were transferred and attacked. Mothers are demanding the return of the bodies and criticising the authorities for arresting their sons “on false charges”. Behind the prison crisis lies a system that rewards police officers and officials based on the number of arrests made.
In Chhattisgarh, the wave of intolerance in villages against those who refuse to renounce their Christian faith shows no sign of abating. The police are accused of collusion. Meanwhile, there have been further acts of intimidation in West Bengal too: four separate incidents took place last Sunday in the densely populated eastern Indian state, including an attack on a church under construction in Subhashgram.
