Similarly, Fr Vladimir Saviisky was priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate’s (UOC) St Nicholas Church in Primorsk, a town on the Sea of Azov in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Region. Russian occupation forces seized the area in late February 2022. Fr Vladimir continued to lead prayers in church for Ukraine, and

“Incidents of enforced disappearances and attacks on clergy in the occupied territories are widespread,” the three Special Rapporteurs noted. They expressed their “serious concern” over the reports of “enforced disappearances and torture or ill-treatment of clergy in the occupied territories in violation of international human rights law�

During the 2020 Karabakh War, Azerbaijani media accused Iran of supporting Armenia with arms and fuel. Recently, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has criticized Iran for fuel transfers to the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan’s suspicion of Iran was only further enforced when in July 2024, it was reported that Iran and Armenia had signed a se

Parliament’s inability to legislate effectively created policy gridlock, while judicial overreach undermined executive authority. Media sensationalism fuelled social unrest and bureaucratic inefficiency stalled reforms. Economic transformation must be predicated upon systemic reform. Pakistan needs to transition from a fragmented and crisis-drive

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has forced Moscow to cut back and even cancel plans to build railways and highways in the Russian North (see EDM, February 22, 2023). At present, the region severely lacks sufficient road and rail infrastructure. Communities living in the North have instead traditionally relied on “ice roads,” which are