Schoolboy protester dies in Iran after reportedly being shot at close range

Weronika Strzyżyńska A 17-year-old schoolboy has died in Iran’s second largest city, Mashhad, after reportedly being shot at close range by state forces during anti-government protests. Abolfazl Adinezadeh’s death certificate showed that he died of liver and kidney damage caused by birdshot, according to a BBC Persian report. A doctor was cited as estimating the distance… Read More Schoolboy protester dies in Iran after reportedly being shot at close range

Dilip

India criticised over arbitrary travel bans after photojournalist blocked from Pulitzer trip

Aakash Hassan in New Delhi Indian authorities have been criticised after a Kashmiri photojournalist said she was barred from taking a flight to New York where she was scheduled to receive the 2022 Pulitzer prize. Sanna Irshad Mattoo, 27, was in a team of Reuters photographers who had won a Pulitzer for feature photography for their… Read More India criticised over arbitrary travel bans after photojournalist blocked from Pulitzer trip

Dilip

Market fundamentalism bites the dust in Britain. But the lunatics will soldier on..

Truss is gone. The ideological hobgoblins she brought in and others of her fraternity turned on her. It’s not been “take back control” but out of control. Even two more years of this Tory disaster is unthinkable. Whether it’s tax cuts splurging on the rich, or the return by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to thumb-screw austerity,… Read More Market fundamentalism bites the dust in Britain. But the lunatics will soldier on..

Dilip

Mahua Moitra asks why convicted rapists and murderers in the Bilkis Bano case were granted parole prior to remission of their sentences

NB: This is justice under the BJP/RSS Modi regime, brutal, shameless, and blatantly partisan. If you complain, you will be labelled anti-national. The impunity enjoyed by criminals is the most glaring example of the approach that might is right. It was said of the Sophists of ancient Greece that they ‘taught, rather publicly, the view… Read More Mahua Moitra asks why convicted rapists and murderers in the Bilkis Bano case were granted parole prior to remission of their sentences

Dilip

Her rapists were sentenced to life in prison. Now they’re free, and she’s in hiding

Standing in a row outside the gates of Godhra remand center in Gujarat, western India, the 11 middle-aged men could have been mistaken for visiting dignitaries receiving sweets and blessings from local admirers. In reality, they were part of a 2002 Hindu mob who had just been released after serving 14 years of life sentences for one… Read More Her rapists were sentenced to life in prison. Now they’re free, and she’s in hiding

Dilip

Russia’s genocidal propaganda must not be passed off as freedom of speech

Peter Pomerantsev I was in gorgeous, courageous Kyiv on Monday when the latest Russian missile shower hit Ukraine, murdering civilians and knocking out heat and light on the cusp of winter. Kyivans took it calmly. My meeting smoothly transferred from a cafe to the metro, where we chain-drank coffee and carried on under the sirens… Read More Russia’s genocidal propaganda must not be passed off as freedom of speech

Dilip

Press mute for Indian Muslims: Gujarat flogging shows up ‘secular’ silence of Indian politics

SHEKHAR GUPTA Who speaks for India’s Muslims now? Who can, or is even trying to fill the Mulayam Singh Yadav-sized hole there? The answer is none. The BJP’s rivals want the votes of Muslims, but are frightened of being seen as their leaders. For clarity, this week’s National Interest isn’t yet another obituary, tribute or… Read More Press mute for Indian Muslims: Gujarat flogging shows up ‘secular’ silence of Indian politics

Dilip