Intercepted in international waters and searched on suspicion of drug trafficking. Two boats returned on 1 February with 12 fishermen, four of whom were injured. Family members are calling for a formal investigation, while Colombo's fisheries minister condemns the action.
Today's headlines: Nuclear talks Friday in Turkey between US envoy Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi; Record snowfall in Japan: over 30 deaths in the last two weeks; Record number of millionaires fleeing South Korea; China inaugurates air hospital for ophthalmological and ENT care in peripheral areas; Concern over prison conditions in Russia for historian who chronicled Stalinist repression.
China is the main foreign investor in Uzbekistan, with large capital inflows for new projects, but the growing Chinese presence is causing great concern among farmers. Data from the Uzbekistan National Institute of Statistics last year counted 17,900 farms with foreign participation, of which almost 7,000 with Chinese capital
The country is still embroiled in a civil war that has devastated the economy, displaced millions, and fragmented territorial control. Despite a show of strength in the recent elections, the military junta controls just 40 per cent of the territory. More than 20,000 opponents remain in prison, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Divisions among ethnic militias are rife. Disillusioned, the civilian population is paying the highest price.
In 1985, she was the first in Bangladesh to embrace this vocation, reintroduced after the Second Vatican Council and now practised by eleven women in the country. For more than 40 years, Dora has served in providing spiritual direction, offering family guidance, and translating Church documents into Bengali. In her testimony on today's World Day for Consecrated Life, she said: “when we give everything to others, we receive everything in return”.
In an already tense situation, a series of attacks claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has resulted in scores of deaths among civilians and security forces, while ethnic tensions rise again in Iran. The Taliban in Afghanistan backed the operation. The violence stems from tensions over mineral resources, while local hostility toward Islamabad has fuelled the escalation.
