Worldwide
Indonesia: volcanic eruption
08 Dec 2022
Mount Semeru on Java has erupted and sparked 2,500 evacuations, mostly on motorcycles. The volcano’s warning status escalated to the highest level on 4 December. The next day a giant cloud of grey ash engulfed the…
Haiti: city taken hostage by gangs
08 Dec 2022
In Port-au-Prince your life depends on knowing where the boundaries are. Competing gangs are claiming areas, kidnapping, raping, killing at will and demarcating territories in blood. Cross from one gang's turf to another, and you may…
Syria: time to rethink aid
08 Dec 2022
Contrary to the common perception (‘Syria’s situation has settled, so Syrians no longer need urgent humanitarian aid’) conditions especially in the rebel-held northwest have been worsening. The Assad regime and Russia continue to block access to…
Worldwide: Advent traditions
01 Dec 2022
China might not come to mind when considering Advent, but 5.1% of Chinese are Christians who light their homes with colourful paper lanterns and red paper pagodas placed in windows. 86% of Croatians are Roman Catholic,…
China: Covid policy tipping point
01 Dec 2022
On 27 November thousands protested in Shanghai against Covid restrictions, shouting slogans against the government. In Beijing, Tsinghua, and Nanjing, students were arrested. The unrest began when lockdown was blamed for ten deaths in a tower…
Uganda: Ebola quarantine extended
01 Dec 2022
Uganda has recorded 141 infections since the outbreak of Ebola was declared on 20 September. President Museveni has extended by 21 days a quarantine placed on Mubende and Kassanda districts, at the epicentre of the outbreak.…