The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsized off the southwestern coast of the peninsula on the morning of April 16, 2014. Sewol’s departure from the port of Incheon the night before had been delayed by nearly two-and-a-half hours, due to a thick, persistent fog. Sewol commenced its journey shortly after the low visibility warning was … Read more
On April 15, two weeks after Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signed the “foreign representatives” bill into law, the Open Society Foundations cited the law in its announcement that it would close its Kyrgyzstan foundation after 31 years. The Open Society Foundations, formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded by George Soros. According … Read more
“With God’s help, we will lift Shanghai up and up, ever up, until it is just like Kansas City,” Kenneth Wherry, then the mayor of a small town in Nebraska, proudly proclaimed in 1940. It was a glaring display of race-driven paternalistic attitudes of the 19th and 20th centuries. Nearing a century later, the United … Read more
The debate on which refugees qualify for Indian citizenship has intensified with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government enacting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 and notifying the rules in March this year. The CAA 2019 amended the Citizenship Act of 1955. It uses religion to determine whose citizenship can be fast-tracked. The legislation provides … Read more
As Myanmar grapples with ongoing political turmoil, recent directives have exacerbated the challenges faced by its citizens. The enforcement of conscription laws and the imposition of new taxation and remittance regulations have intensified pressures on the people of Myanmar, and will potentially drive more toward irregular migration. This article delves into the far-reaching consequences of … Read more
“My children go to school just for the sake of it,” said Saodat, a 42-year-old mother of three from Tashkent who prefers to go by her first name only. “We paid for private tutoring for four years before my eldest could enroll at a university. My second child is in the same situation – besides … Read more
For two years Chinese authorities secretly detained the newborn baby, her siblings, and their parents. Their whereabouts and wellbeing remained unknown to family members or lawyers until word began to trickle out in July 2022: the baby and her sister, then 6 years old, had been kept in a psychiatric hospital since October 2020. Their … Read more
Anti-regime militias have captured Myawaddy – a strategically important border city and home to about 200,000 people – from Myanmar’s ruling junta. The Karen National Union (KNU) is now in control of most of Karen state and is urging direct talks with the Thais across the frontier. The KNU is one of about 20 ethnic … Read more
On April 6, investigative journalist Bolot Temirov claimed in a Telegram post that his wife, Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, had been beaten alongside other detainees by prison guards in Kyrgyzstan. Prison authorities offered a weak denial, stating that pre-trial detention employees do not have the right to beat prisoners. The Kyrgyz Ombudsman Institute visited the pre-trial … Read more
On January 29, three foreign-born Japanese residents filed a lawsuit against the Japanese, Tokyo, and Aichi governments, alleging racial profiling. They sought 3.3 million yen (around $22,000) in compensation and government measures to combat racism. The plaintiffs, Maurice, Syed Zain, and Matthew, who are permanent residents of Japan, hail from African-American, Pakistani, and Indian backgrounds, … Read more