Born into a Sino-Vietnamese family in Ho Chi Minh City, Truong My Lan started as a market stall vendor, selling cosmetics with her mother. She began buying land and property after the Communist Party introduced economic reform in 1986. By the 1990s, she owned a large portfolio of hotels and restaurants.

When she was convicted and sentenced in April, she was the chairwoman of a prominent real estate firm, Van Thinh Phat Group. It was a dramatic moment in the “Blazing Furnaces” anti-corruption campaign led by then-Communist Party Secretary-General, Nguyen Phu Trong.

All of the remaining 85 defendants were convicted. Four were sentenced to life in jail, while the rest were given prison terms ranging from 20 years to three years suspended. Truong My Lan’s husband and niece received jail terms of nine and 17 years respectively.

The State Bank of Vietnam is believed to have spent many billions of dollars recapitalising Saigon Commercial Bank to prevent a wider banking panic. The prosecutors argued that her crimes were “huge and without precedent” and did not justify leniency.

Truong My Lan’s lawyers say she is working as fast as she can to find the $9 billion needed. But cashing in her assets is proving difficult.

Some are luxury properties in the Vietnamese capital, Ho Chi Minh City, which could, in theory, be sold quite quickly. Others are in the form of shares or stakes in other businesses or property projects.

In all the state has identified more than a thousand different assets linked to the fraud. These have been frozen by the authorities for now. The BBC understands the tycoon has also reached out to friends to raise loans for her to help reach the target.

Her lawyers are arguing for leniency from the judges on financial grounds. They say that while she is under sentence of death it will be hard for her to negotiate the best price for selling her assets and investments, and so harder for her to raise $9 billion.

She can do much better if under a life sentence instead, they say.  “The total value of her holdings actually exceeds the required compensation amount,” lawyer Nguyen Huy Thiep told the BBC.

“However, these require time and effort to sell, as many of the assets are real estate and take time to liquidate. Truong My Lan hopes the court can create the most favourable conditions for her to continue making compensation.”

Few expect the judges to be moved by these arguments. If, as expected, they reject her appeal, Truong My Lan will in effect be in a race with the executioner to raise the funds she needs.

Vietnam treats the death penalty as a state secret. The government does not publish how many people are on death row, though human rights groups say there are more than 1,000 and that Vietnam is one of the world’s biggest executioners.

Typically there are long delays, often many years before sentences are carried out, although prisoners are given very little notice. If Truong My Lan can recover the $9 billion before that happens, her life will most likely be spared.

[BBC]

For nearly 300 years, a family’s ancestral house in India’s southern state of Kerala has been the stage for theyyam, an ancient folk ritual.

Rooted in ancient tribal traditions, theyyam predates Hinduism while weaving in Hindu mythology. Each performance is both a theatrical spectacle and an act of devotion, transforming the performer into a living incarnation of the divine.

The predominantly male performers in Kerala and parts of neighbouring Karnataka embody deities through elaborate costumes, face paint, and trance-like dances, mime and music.

Each year, nearly a thousand theyyam performances take place in family estates and venues near temples across Kerala, traditionally performed by men from marginalised castes and tribal communities.

It is often called ritual theatre for its electrifying drama, featuring daring acts like fire-walking, diving into burning embers, chanting occult verses, and prophesying.

Historian KK Gopalakrishnan has celebrated his family’s legacy in hosting theyyam and the ritual’s vibrant traditions in a new book, Theyyam: An Insider’s Vision.

The theyyams are performed in the courtyard of Mr Gopalakrishnan’s ancient joint family house (above) in Kasaragod district. Hundreds of people gather to witness the performances.[BBC]

The theyyam season in Kerala typically runs from October to April, aligning with the post-monsoon and winter months. During this time, numerous venues near temples and family estates, especially in northern Kerala districts like Kannur and Kasaragod, host performances.

The themes of performances at Mr Gopalakrishnan’s house include honouring a deified ancestor, venerating a warrior-hunter deity, and worshipping tiger spirits symbolising strength and protection.

Before the performance honouring a local goddess, a ritual is conducted in a nearby forest, revered as the deity’s earthly home. [BBC]

Following an elaborate ceremony (above), the “spirit of the goddess” is then transported to the house.

Mr Gopalakrishnan is a member of the Nambiar community, a matrilineal branch of the Nair caste, where the senior-most maternal uncle oversees the arrangements. If he is unable to fulfill this role due to age or illness, the next senior male member steps in.

Women in the family, especially the senior-most among them, play a crucial role in the rituals.[BBC]

They ensure traditions are upheld, prepare for the rituals, and oversee arrangements inside the house.

“They enjoy high respect and are integral to maintaining the family’s legacy,” says Mr Gopalakrishnan.

The spectacle is a blend of loud cries, fiery torches, and intense scenes from epics or dances. [BBC]

Performers sometimes bear the physical toll of these daring feats, with burn marks or even the loss of a limb.

“Fire plays a significant role in certain forms of theyyam, symbolising purification, divine energy, and the transformative power of the ritual. In some performances, the theyyam dancer interacts directly with fire, walking through flames or carrying burning torches, signifying the deity’s invincibility and supernatural abilities,” says Mr Gopalakrishnan.

“The use of fire adds a dramatic and intense visual element, further heightening the spiritual atmosphere of the performance and illustrating the deity’s power over natural forces.”

At least 54 bodies have now been recovered from Nigeria’s River Niger after a boat, that may have been carrying more than 200 passengers, capsized in the early hours of Friday, the authorities say.

Twenty-four of those on board were rescued, some of whom are still in hospital, but dozens of others may be missing.

Divers are still searching the waters but hope is fading on the possibility of finding more survivors.

This is just the latest in a long series of boat accidents on the country’s inland waterways. Despite safety recommendations being made, rules are rarely followed and few are held accountable.

The boat was travelling from Kogi state, central Nigeria, to a weekly market in neighbouring Niger state when it went down.

Market traders and farm labourers were thought to have been among the passengers.

The cause of the accident is not yet known but there are indications that many of the travellers may not have been wearing life jackets as required.

Getting accurate details about who exactly had boarded the boat is difficult because there was no record keeping, the local official in charge told the BBC.

“The problem is that there’s no passenger manifest and because of the time the accident occurred, giving an accurate account of persons, survivors and those missing, is very difficult,” Justin Uche, who is head of the Kogi state office of the National Emergency Management Agency said.

Meanwhile Kogi state’s governor Usman Ododo ordered all hospitals where survivors are receiving treatment to ensure that they get adequate care including food.

He also urged stricter enforcement of safety regulations to ensure that such incidents are avoided in future.

This is the third time a passenger boat has gone down in Nigeria in the last 60 days.

Last month, a wooden dugout canoe, packed with nearly 300 passengers, overturned and sank in the middle of the River Niger killing nearly 200 people.

Just last week, five people died when two boats collided in southern Nigeria’s Delta state.

[BBC]