Amidst The Chaos
Get caught up on what's happening around the world with these curated news bites, to bring the world a bit closer to our own.
The news never stops and if you were tuned into your feeds this past week as I was, trying to put together compelling stories and news bites for you, calling it an eventful week is an understatement. As someone who wanted to pursue journalism, instead went in the direction of computer science and engineering, I tip my cap to all the reporters, editors, and the news people who find, compile and publish stories 24/7. It’s hard work, and as readers, we mustn’t take it for granted.
For most of us, the week kicked off with news from Moscow, where ISIS-K terrorized concert-goers, killing 140+ innocent lives. Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks since then. Poland warmed up their F-16s when Russian missiles came too close for comfort. If Ukraine’s targeting of Russian oil refineries were not enough to keep Joe Biden’s reelection campaign working overtime, the Baltimore mishap mounted tons of wreckage and a supply chain nightmare to deal with. Needless to say, the first half of the week had the world on edge.
The Marinade mid-week special report has all the flavorful details you need.
Amidst the chaos…
For Muslims around the world, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar began on March 10 and goes until April 9th. During the time, they practice self-restraint by fasting from dawn to dusk, only to end the day with a modest meal after the final prayer. No food, no liquids and not even water. For the devoutest of them all, even swallowing of saliva is prohibited. At the end of Ramadan, on the final evening, families and friends get together to celebrate Eid al-Fitr with a grand feast.
Meanwhile, in India, Muslims joined Hindus to celebrate Holi. This traditional Indian festival of colors is a celebration for joy and happiness, a day when communities come together regardless of culture, caste, or creed, indistinguishably untied in colors of harmony.
But for some, Holi is also synonymous with hooliganism. Brats who throw eggs and grease bombs also come out to play on this day. I once had the back of my shirt sliced with a blade as I was riding pillion on a bike, as we were passing through a crowded street. Last week, reports from a town in Uttar Pradesh, India, saw racism displayed in the pretense of celebrating Holi when two muslim women were aggressively smeared with color by a mob of men despite their protest. The perpetrators were arrested on charges of harassment, but we can’t lock them all away, can we?
Not according to the Irish, where prisons are reaching maximum capacity. They will run out of space soon as they get close to hitting their threshold of 5000 prisoners. With warm weather approaching, inmates will have to deal with ventilation issues in addition to already rising tensions between violent and psychotic cellmates.
Meanwhile, on the outside, a criminal underworld seems to be thriving. Ireland is seeing a rise in demand and sale of fake botox, weight-loss, and erectile dysfunction drugs. The culprits identified in a televised investigation expose a vast network of black market suppliers who bring large volumes of fake anabolic steroids through Ireland’s borders, then picked up by beauticians. “Seizures of illegal Botox products by the Health Products Regulatory Authority increased 400 per cent last year compared to the previous year.” reported The Irish Times earlier this month.
This week also marks the end of March, and in the war-torn Gaza Strip that means the end of a 57-year-old tradition of harvesting strawberries. For the farmers of Gaza, growing strawberries is a matter of pride even through it came with irrigation challenges due to contaminated water, and export restrictions imposed by Israel.
In pictures: Gaza’s strawberry harvest: Gaza’s farmers compare the giant and vibrant strawberries to gold and say that they are proud of their harvests — despite the challenges they face due to the Israeli occupation.
But now, as the people of Gaza enter their 7th month of devastation, only the memory of a once fertile “red gold” fields is all that remains. Their flattened farming lands and bloodshed fields paint the leftover strawberries a new share of red.
That’s all the bites we have for your Easter Sunday reading. Weekend Bites is a series of curated news stories from around the world for your weekend consumption. These bites are sharable.
It’s been a crazy week Raj!