Belief

Riot police check spectators' bags as they guard an area at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall prior to the concert of the rock group Picnic and the symphony orchestra Tavrichesky, in St. Petersburg, Russia, March 27, 2024.

Central Asians in Russia face increased scrutiny, discrimination after mass shooting 

Race

Russia has detained four suspected shooters in the Crocus City Hall mass shooting. The suspects are all from Tajikistan. Now, there are reports in cities across Russia that people from Central Asia are experiencing a rise in harassment, mistreatment and xenophobic behavior.

The sun rises over a Mosque on the Persian Gulf in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 9, 1990.

Saudi Arabia’s conservative clerics have a new relationship with the government under Mohammed bin Salman

Lifestyle & Belief
Striped red-and-white flags adorn a sacred grove in a quiet neighborhood in Ranchi in India. The ubiquitous flags are an assertion of tribal identity.

Adherents of Sarnaism try to preserve their identity and culture by pushing for more recognition of their faith in India

Sacred Nation
A main street on the edge of Mea She'arim, a Haredi (religious) neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Neturei Karta: an Orthodox Jewish sect that doesn’t believe in the concept of a Jewish state of Israel

Israel-Hamas war
A view of the process on a montior as lab staff use a microscope stand and articulated hand controls to extract cells from 1-7 day old embryos that are then checked for viability at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute in vitro fertilization lab in Hous

Why an international court struck down Costa Rica’s IVF ban

Reproductive rights
From left, students Shakked Klein, Nearodey Chhoem, Angelina Hadad, Nico Ben Jacob and Chidinma Okoli. About half the students at Givat Haviva come from abroad.

This school in Israel is opening dialogue among its Jewish, Arab and international students

Israel-Hamas war

In a country where most Arabs and Jews typically start going to separate schools starting at around kindergarten, one school in northern Israel is trying something different.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators fill Munich’s Ludwigstraße, one of the cities main boulevards, in protest against recent revelations about a meeting between members of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

‘I’m here to fight for democracy’: Tens of thousands protest against the far-right in Germany

Protest

The AfD, or Alternative for Germany, has been around for over a decade and has significant public support. But there’s been widespread protests against them since news broke that AfD members had met with neo-Nazis to discuss mass deportations from Germany.

A construction crew works on Ram Mandir, a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ram in Ayodhya, India, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.

‘Religious triumphalism’: A grand Hindu temple opens on a controversial site in India 

Sacred Nation

On Jan. 22, a temple of Lord Ram will open its doors in Ayodhya, in northern India. The temple stands where the Babri mosque once existed, before it was torn down by a Hindu mob. The occasion marks a victory for Hindus and a sorrowful reminder for Muslims of the ongoing tensions between the two groups in a Hindu-majority country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, and Russian Orthodox Archbishop of Odintsovo and Krasnogorsk Foma (Nikolay Mosolov), left, pose for a photo with the families of military personnel who died in combat.

Russia cites ‘traditional values’ as justification for war with Ukraine

Ukraine

In recent weeks Russia has intensified its bombardment of Ukraine. Since the full-scale invasion nearly two years ago, the Kremlin has justified the war with a list of dubious explanations, including the need to protect “traditional values” under assault from the West. 

In front of a floor-to-ceiling glass door in the living room of Najannguac Dalgård Christensen, necklaces with amulets carved out of bone and seal claws dangle from a coat hanger.

Healing old wounds: The revival of Greenlandic Inuit tattoos in Denmark

Lifestyle & Belief

Greenland’s Indigenous peoples once wore bold face tattoos that carried deep spiritual and cultural significance. But during the centuries of Denmark’s colonial rule, the Inuit tradition of getting face and hand tattoos disappeared. One Inuk tattoo artist is now reviving a piece of Inuit heritage for community members living in Denmark.