Over 400 soon-to-be-weds, migrant workers in various countries across the region, are unable to return home and tie the knot due to the suspension of flights. Families are in despair, having completed their preparations yet facing an uncertain future. Some are considering video calls for an ‘alternative’ ceremony, but weddings are not merely a personal choice but community events woven into the social and economic fabric.
Since 8 March, the Russian capital has also been hit by mobile network blocks “for security reasons”, causing serious disruption in a metropolis that, until recently, presented itself as a digital capital. There are also glitches in the “whitelists” of apps promoted by the regulatory bodies. And there are neighbourhoods where even home Wi-Fi is not working.
Father Aloysius Pieris died in Sri Lanka at the age of 92. He was the first non-Buddhist to earn a doctorate from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. A scholar of Eastern religions, he founded the Tulana Research Centre in 1974, also very active in social work. He was the first Asian member of the editorial board of the magazine Concilium.
Even before war broke out again in the Gulf, UN agencies were reporting that more than 20 million Yemenis were experiencing severe food insecurity in the country divided by the conflict with the Houthis that has been raging since 2014. Many families have been forced to eat only one meal a day, mostly watered-down food, while vaccination campaigns are in crisis because of aid cuts. For humanitarian workers, this is the most dangerous phase in recent years.
He was convicted for "inciting subversion of state power" after a trial marked by serious procedural breaches of Chinese and international law. Xie, who has handled several sensitive cases, including religious persecution cases, and has been imprisoned and tortured in the past for his work. The human rights community is calling for his immediate release.
Recently, the state government led by Yumnam Khemchand Singh met with the Kuki-Zo Council for the first time, issuing an appeal to "forgive and forget". The meeting marks a first step towards reconciliation, but tensions and deep mistrust remain between the communities.
