IT has been one of the biggest crises to hit the region since the exodus of Vietnamese boat people in the 1970's. The sight of helpless Rohingya refugees packed in rickety boats floating on the high seas with nowhere to go has finally grabbed the attention of the international community. In the first fortnight of May, hundreds of Rohingya refugees were found abandoned in the waters off the coast of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Thousands more remain unaccounted for.

IT has been one of the biggest crises to hit the region since the exodus of Vietnamese boat people in the 1970's. The sight of helpless Rohingya refugees packed in rickety boats floating on the high seas with nowhere to go has finally grabbed the attention of the international community. In the first fortnight of May, hundreds of Rohingya refugees were found abandoned in the waters off the coast of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Thousands more remain unaccounted for.

THE centennial commemoration to mark the mass killings of Armenians was observed in many parts of the world on April 24. In Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, there was a solemn ceremony attended by world leaders, including the Russian and French presidents. Armenians all over the world remember the killings and mass deportations of Armenians from Turkey a hundred years ago as “the great calamity”. The Armenian government as well as the Armenian diaspora  have been working tirelessly to make the international community recognise the terrible fate that had befallen their people.

THE Indo Canadian Workers Association of Canada held a public meeting in Surrey, Canada on June 21. This public meeting was to remember and pay tributes to the Victims of 1985 Air India flight no 182 bombing and two baggage handlers at Tokyo Airport.

Surinder Sangha, the president of ICWA and Jinny Sims, MP were the main speakers. It was a full hall meeting. Several members from the victims family came to attend and shared their emotional feelings who have been waiting for justice even after 30 years.

ON July 10, Friends of Latin America – India, organised a seminar at State Youth Centre, Moulali in Kolkata titled “Celebrating the Life and Philosophy of Commandante Che Guevara” on the occasion of Che Guevara’s 87th birth anniversary. Secretary of Friends of America – India, Suman Putatunda, started the programme by mentioning the prominent thinker and intellectual Jean-Paul Satre’s famous comment on Che that he is not only a great revolutionary but also the most complete human being.