Stories from Quick Reads from January, 2024
Uzbekistan’s repression survivors tell their harrowing stories in a new documentary
This is one of the first attempts to tell the story of more than 18,000 people who were jailed on trumped-up charges and labelled “extremists” by Uzbekistan's Karimov government.
British journalist Myriam Francois hits back on Houthi bombings and Red Sea conflict
British journalist, filmmaker, and writer Myriam Francois strongly challenges the "insane" suggestion that bombing the Houthis in Yemen should have occurred earlier for economic reasons, in her interview on Sky News.
Uzbekistan is finally starting to address its air pollution problem
In December 2023, Tashkent recorded the second-highest air pollution levels, coming behind only India’s Delhi.
Belarusians returning home from immigration receive criminal charges
Human rights defenders say that despite the "agreements," criminal cases were initiated against people who believed the authorities and returned to Belarus.
Moldova chose finalists of the national selection for the Eurovision 2024
Among them, there are nine women and only two men, two songs called "Fever," and 10 out of 11 compositions are in English.
Kyrgyzstan’s self-proclaimed ‘new God’ and former presidential candidate found dead in prison
Abdyldaev’s death is another incident of the alarming trend that has been unfolding under the rule of the current president Sadyr Japarov.
In Georgia, controversy over a Stalin icon makes headlines at home and abroad
Georgia was thrown into controversy when worshipers found a painting of Saint Matrona of Moscow, a 20th-century Russian Orthodox Church saint, with a man who appears to be Joseph Stalin.
Between four walls: The suppressed voices of peace in Azerbaijan
It’s a landscape where the very act of speaking out often comes at a steep cost, both in terms of personal sacrifice and the relentless pressure they face.
