Displacement

​​​The economic crisis crippling Cuba is causing shortages of everything, from gas to food to medical supplies. Filmmaker Armando Guerra, who lives in Valencia, Spain, recently returned to his home city of Camaguey in central Cuba, where he found that things are worse than he expected.

Ji produces paintings using traditional Chinese methods, such as calligraphy and ink painting, to address serious contemporary topics such as migration, the environment and social issues. 

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into how the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 not only dismantled the government but destroyed an entire nation, forcing a mass exodus of certain ethnic and religious minorities.

Many migrant farmworkers in Spain say they can't afford housing, so they live in makeshift plastic housing near the farms where they work. Local governments have tried to remove these informal settlements and relocate people to shelters far from the farms — but they keep building back.

By and large, many African countries have stayed on the sidelines of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As major importers of wheat and fertilizers from the two warring nations, they are reluctant to jeopardize those vital supplies by taking sides, observed Olayinka Ajala, a lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in Britain.

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into how states determine citizenship, with a spotlight on Assam, India, as the case study.  

Poland has taken in more Ukrainian refugees than any other European nation. But from March 1, the Polish government has ruled that Ukrainians living in state-funded accommodation will have to start contributing toward their housing and food costs. 

During a rehearsal at the Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Odesa, it’s easy to forget that Ukraine is a country at war. Despite attacks on the busy port city and cultural hub, the opera house remains open.

In parts of northern Ukraine, near the border with Belarus, Russian troops were firmly in control for several weeks early last year. One village occupied by Russian soldiers and later retaken by Ukrainian forces is in the middle of trying to rebuild.