4 d. ago If India and Pakistan’s ceasefire holds, the coming weeks will see a new battle: of narratives

As both countries step back from the brink, the animosity generated by decades of dispute still enduresKashmir crisis live – latest updatesJust over 26 years ago, thousands of Pakistani soldiers quietly made their way on to high, rocky ridges on the Indian side of the de facto border that divides the former princely state of Kashmir. The war that this rash operation triggered lasted much of the summer of 1999.Reporting on the conflict was a bizarre experience. In high mountain valleys, at altitudes more suited to mountaineers than soldiers, howitzers hurled massive shells across icy, rocky peaks and infantry readied for bayonet assaults. A Pakistani artillery officer read memoirs of English cricket stars and the Qur’an in his bunker. As spent shrapnel and rock splinters thrown up by incoming Indian shells rattled against the walls of the canvas mess tent, his commander spoke of Pakistan’s “historic national and religious duty” to free Kashmir, partitioned 50 years before, and waited...

Events

5 d. ago Trump administration mulling end to habeas corpus, legal right to challenge one’s detention

Presidential adviser Stephen Miller announces potential move, which US has made only four times in historyThe Trump administration is considering suspending the writ of habeas corpus, the legal right to challenge one’s detention, Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser, said on Friday.“The constitution is clear, and that of course is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus could be suspended in time of invasion. So that’s an option we’re actively looking at. A lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not,” Miller said to a group of reporters at the White House. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump 100 days: Trump’s whirlwind start to his second presidency

The president has begun his second term at a whirlwind pace, slashing the government, upending international alliances, challenging the rule of law and ordering mass deportationsLaw-abiding migrants sent to foreign prisons. Sweeping tariffs disrupting global markets. Students detained for protest. Violent insurrectionists pardoned. Tens of thousands of federal workers fired. The supreme court ignored.The first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second term have shocked the United States and the world. On the eve of his inauguration, Trump promised the “most extraordinary first 100 days of any presidency in American history”, and what followed has been a whirlwind pace of extreme policies and actions that have reshaped the federal government and the US’s role in the world. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago $50 million prize funded by Musk foundation goes to Indian carbon

An Indian company that spreads crushed rock on farmers’ fields to draw climate-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has won the $50 million grand prize in a global competition funded by Elon Musk’s foundation

Economics

3 w. ago New rules for public bodies expected ‘by summer’ after UK gender ruling

Equalities watchdog chair says code of practice will give clarity and adds trans people’s rights ‘must be respected’Updated guidance for public bodies after the UK supreme court’s ruling that a woman is defined in law by biological sex is expected to be issued by the summer, the head of the equalities regulator said on Thursday.Lady Kishwer Falkner, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, described the ruling as “enormously consequential”, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We are going to have a new statutory code of practice, statutory meaning it will be the law of the land, it will be interpreted by courts as the law of the land. We’re hoping we’re going to have that by the summer.” Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago What is the controversial Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 and why has it sparked violent protests?

India’s parliament passed the controversial bill moved by Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government to amend laws governing Muslim land endowments

Events

4 w. ago Violent protests rock Indian state over controversial Muslim land law

Violence continues to spread in Indian states of West Bengal and Assam over controversial Waqf law

Events