Kadambari Raghukumar

Cuba has been under US trade sanctions since 1962 and the past few months have further challenged the Caribbean nation, with tightened economic blockades by America. University of Canterbury lecturer Josephine Varghese and Ambassador Luis Morejon Rodriguez talk to Kadambari Raghukumar in this Here Now episode. Last December Josephine Vargehese found herself in the rare position of a being a speaker at a conference in Cuba. It was a chance she'd long been waiting for.

On 28 February, Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed by joint US and Israel attacks on his residence. A further week of strikes on Iran have targeted nuclear and military sites, including airfields, radar, and naval facilities. The Red Crescent estimates the death toll has topped 1000 people across Iran, including at least 165 girls killed when their school was bombed in the city of Minab.

Kadambari Raghukumar produces and presents Here Now, RNZ's weekly series on people from various global backgrounds living in Aotearoa. Her work in media has taken her from Kenya, to Sudan and across Asia. Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a brutal civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). What began as a power struggle between two generals has devolved into a horrific humanitarian crisis.