October 2022

Farmers in a small town perched on a northern Lebanese mountain have long refused to accept defeat even as the government abandoned them to a life off the grid. Harf Beit Hasna receives almost no basic services. No water or sewage system, no streetlight or garbage collection. The only public school is closed. The nearest pharmacy is a long drive down a winding mountain road. “We live on another planet,” said Nazih Sabra, a local farmer. “The state has completely forgotten us, and so have the politicians and municipalities.” Its around 2,500 residents have gotten by because of an ingenious

The nearly 400-year-old-year Passion play performed by the people of the German alpine village of Oberammergau comes to a close after a nearly five-month run, with viewers saying this year was especially meaningful as the play was delayed by two years by the COVID-19 pandemic. Villagers kept their vow to perform the play every 10 years, made in 1633 to avert the ravages of the plague. Oberammergau native Christian Stückl has directed the Passion Play for more than 30 years, several times reworking the 100-year-old script, modernizing it, and removing antisemitic references. “As a spectator you don’t really have to

While European Union nations are still mulling a cap on gas prices, some businesses are more in a hurry for solutions to the continent’s energy crisis. In Brussels, the epicenter of the EU, restaurant owners have imagined how a future without gas and electricity would look like for gourmets. The guests at the dinner served at the Brasserie Surrealiste and cooked by Racines employees this week were the first to experience it: No ovens, no stoves, no hot plates, no coffee machines and no light bulbs. Still, great food. Just cold entrees, or slightly grilled over the flaming charcoal grill

The Indian capital of New Delhi will enforce a 15-step action plan to curb pollution ahead of the arrival of winter, when a haze of toxic smog envelops the world’s most polluted city. High pollution is an annual sore point for Delhi, especially in October and November. Authorities urge people to stay indoors as burning of crop waste ahead of a new sowing season and lower temperatures trap pollutants in the air for longer, often forcing the closure of schools, with curbs placed on use of private vehicles. “We are announcing a 15-point winter action plan,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind

Speaker of the House of Representatives Dr Anġlu Farrugia, President of the Vietnamese Association in Malta Mr Nguyen Hoai Nam, and First Secretary at the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Ms Hoang Oanh took part in the opening of a photo exhibition organised by the Embassy of Vietnam in cooperation with the Vietnamese Association in Malta. The exhibition formed part of a cultural event to commemorate the 77th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day. In his address, Speaker Farrugia referred to the objective the exhibition, titled ‘Rendes-vous with Vietnam in Malta’, was trying to reach, which was the promotion