BHUBANESWAR, India, Jun 29 (IPS) – Madhuri Roy left the famous Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, Assam. She had sought the goddess’s blessings for the safe delivery of her youngest daughter’s baby, which was due in a few weeks. Shanty shops lined the temple outside and Roy’s eyes fell on a stack of black rice packets. All through her daughter’s pregnancy she had craved her childhood favourite black rice pudding. But during the country’s COVID-19 lockdown Roy could not procure it even though Meghalaya, her Himalayan home state, grew it.
Meth trafficking across Middle East becoming more advanced, UNODC warns 
An attack on healthcare every six hours, and no one held to account 
Sudan: The harrowing reality of giving birth in a war zone 
Colombia quake: In Cali’s ruins, an ‘overwhelming sense of humanity’ 
Türkiye’s changes to child detention ‘raise serious human rights concerns’ 
Ukraine: Civilian casualties hit highest level since March 2022 
How a brutal drought may have helped unleash yellow fever in Brazil