Tag: current affairs – international

With thousands dead, the Iranian regime may survive these protests – but not in its current form

NB: The Iranian theocracy is a brutal tyranny; and all those who stood up for the Palestinian people should support the long struggle of the people of Iran for democracy and freedom. Left wing acrtivists may recall that this regime has been punishing and executing leftists for decades. DS With fear, surveillance and brute force… Read More With thousands dead, the Iranian regime may survive these protests – but not in its current form

Dilip

Homeland Empire

From Venezuela to Minnesota, Trump is trying to create a borderless American power, collapsing the foreign and the domestic into a single domain of impunity… The good news is that the US is a large, diverse, energetic country, filled with people who do not like to be bullied and coerced, who still possess significant degrees… Read More Homeland Empire

Dilip

Pro-Palestinian activists are carrying out one of the UK’s longest ever hunger strikes

London, UK —  Heba Muraisi knows exactly what is happening to her body.“My organs are slowly but surely shutting down,” she said late Monday via phone call from HMP New Hall, a prison in northern England. The 31-year-old Londoner and pro-Palestinian activist is refusing food as part of a coordinated hunger strike – the longest the… Read More Pro-Palestinian activists are carrying out one of the UK’s longest ever hunger strikes

Dilip

Trump’s territorial ambition: new imperialism or a case of the emperor’s new clothes?

Julian Borger The attack on Venezuela and the seizure of its president was a shocking enough start to 2026, but it was only the next day, when the smoke had dispersed and Donald Trump was flying from Florida to Washington DC in triumph, that it became clear the world had entered a new era. The US president… Read More Trump’s territorial ambition: new imperialism or a case of the emperor’s new clothes?

Dilip

Iran’s supreme leader sets stage for harsher crackdown as protest movement swells

Iran’s supreme leader has vowed that authorities will not back down in the face of a rapidly growing protest movement, setting the stage for an intensified violent crackdown as demonstrations and a nationwide internet shutdown continued on Friday. Protests have raged in cities and towns across the country in recent days, posing a threat to… Read More Iran’s supreme leader sets stage for harsher crackdown as protest movement swells

Dilip

Muted on Venezuela, patronised by Trump, dependent on lobbyists: Modi’s global image takes a hit

The image Narendra Modi sought as a world leader who is principled and autonomous has been broken. Indian diplomats rely on lobbying firm not once, but routinely for access. Records show a pattern of dependency on the lobbying firm even for routine telephone calls and meetings — paying upfront for access — rather than through… Read More Muted on Venezuela, patronised by Trump, dependent on lobbyists: Modi’s global image takes a hit

Dilip

Trump’s assault on the Smithsonian: ‘The goal is to reframe the entire culture of the US’

The president has vowed to kill off ‘woke’ in his second term in office, and the venerable cultural institution a few blocks from the White House is in his sights By Charlotte Higgins On 30 May last year, Kim Sajet was working in her office in the grandly porticoed National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. The gallery… Read More Trump’s assault on the Smithsonian: ‘The goal is to reframe the entire culture of the US’

Dilip

Venezuela: Private Wounds, Loud Audiences

Carlos Padrón Venezuelan psychoanalyst As Venezuelans, we share embodied knowledge formed by living through violence, terror, collapse, authoritarianism, migration, fear, absurdity, trauma, and survival. But we also share a layered archive of extraordinary stories: the struggles and resilience of our people; our complex and fascinating history; our literature, art, and music; our relentless and often… Read More Venezuela: Private Wounds, Loud Audiences

Dilip