5 h. ago Who, If Not Us? The Fight for Democracy in Belarus review – activists display their defiance

Collateral comedy spins out from underneath the repression and violence charted in this sobering documentary that follows three indefatigable womenThere are many symptoms of totalitarian sickness gripping Alexander Lukashenko’s Belarus. You risk being arrested for wearing red and white together, the colours of the outlawed flag of the country’s opposition movement. Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four has been banned, which seems rather on the nose. But these are just some of the more farcical elements, the collateral comedy spinning from the deep repression, violence and psychological wounds charted in this sobering film that follows a trio of Belarusian activists, starting from the pandemic through to the invasion of Ukraine.Director Juliane Tutein fashions a melancholic mood-piece which chronicles ineffectualness in the face of impregnable state machinery, and the meaning of resistance under such circumstances. Nina, who is 74, is a kind of Belarusian Batman; an indefatigable symbol of ...

Politics

41 h. ago Tower Of London CLOSES After Activists Hurl Custard At Crown Jewels Display | WATCH

Tower Of London CLOSES After Activists Hurl Custard At Crown Jewels Display | WATCH  Times of India

Politics

45 h. ago Activists target royal crown display in London to protest wealth inequality

Activists target royal crown display in London to protest wealth inequality  AzerNews

Events

47 h. ago Moment activists throw food at the crown jewels display case in the Tower of London – video

Moment activists throw food at the crown jewels display case in the Tower of London – video  The Guardian

Politics

5 d. ago A year after South Korea’s martial law crisis, the president urges unity, but the wounds are still raw

President Lee praised South Koreans for overcoming ‘an unprecedented democratic crisis in world history’ but some fears its society is becoming increasingly polarisedSouth Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has marked the anniversary of an attempt to impose martial law by declaring that those behind the bid to topple its democracy must face justice, while adding that the fight to secure the country remains unfinished.“Investigations and trials of those who participated are still ongoing,” Lee said in a televised address. He pledged that “righteous unity” would be possible only once accountability was delivered. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Macron and Merz must look at themselves if they want to stop Europe sliding to the far right | Shada Islam

Political elites in Europe’s ‘mature’ democracies warn of external threats – but at home they normalise racism and undermine the rule of lawEurope’s leaders cannot stop talking about democracy. President Emmanuel Macron says he wants to kickstart a democratic “resurgence”, and Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, has warned of an “axis” of autocratic states targeting liberal democracy in Europe. Having promised to “fight” for what she calls European “values”, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has just announced a new “democracy shield” and a Centre for Democratic Resilience to prevent foreign interference and deal with external threats. I keep hoping for similar scrutiny of democratic backsliding within the EU – but so far it has not happened.Foreign interference, disinformation and the creeping illiberalism of Hungary, Poland and Slovakia deserve attention. But lost in this fretting is a more inconvenient truth: within Europe’s “mature” democracies, ...

Politics