When searching for items on Kashmir in her local library, Zainab Daniju got more results for a song by Led Zeppellin than for the region itself. Yet this country, under continuous brutal oppression since 1989, is virtually absent from mainstream media coverage. In her piece, Daniju explores the roots of the conflict, as well as the reasons why the world should start caring.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is the ruling dictator of a former Soviet republic, a multimillionaire businessman, and a self-declared alien-abductee. He is also the chess world's biggest patron. This week, after a fraught and bitterly contested campaign, he was re-elected as president of the World Chess Federation. Paul Lam examines the dark, surreal saga of Kirsan's rule.
A few days ago, an obscure 27-year old was announced as the soon-to-be leader of North Korea, the country with the fourth largest army in the world. A succession process shrouded in mystery and speculation has left many asking whether the regime will be able to survive. In an exclusive special report, Peter Ward, Ceasefire's Korea correspondent, shows that however decried and derided the regime might be publicly, Western governments are tacitly hoping for its survival.
What does it really mean to be an "activist"? Are activists deluding themselves about being agents of radical change? In an impassioned polemic, Mikhail Goldman argues that today's activist movements, far from being the creative, truly revolutionary wave they purport to be, risk becoming, themselves, agents of bigotry, sexism, and elitism.
You might not have realised it, but the world is at war. Not a war of tanks and guns, but one of espionage and government-sponsored, carefully buried paper trails. From computer viruses targeting Iran's nuclear sites, to cyber attacks against the banking systems of entire nations, Corin Faife examines, in this week's Modern Times column, a crackling, effervescent yet invisible frontline.
In the news this week in Latin America: Correa fights back in Ecuador, Presidential elections in Brazil, Chavez retains a majority, and US crimes in Guatemala exposed. Ceasefire correspondent Tom Kavanagh delivers his weekly round up of what's been going on south of the border.
From the “Muslim plot against the pope" that never was to “Red Ed” Miliband’s victory, Musab Younis shows, in this week's CounterSpin column, how the media industry systemically enforces conformity within its ranks. Indeed, a journalist’s route to success, Younis argues, is not merely a readiness to obey orders, but the hard-earned discipline not to need them at all.
In 2007, the police installed a network of cameras around specific Birmingham areas. This was, they claimed, in order to fight against crimes such as drug-dealing. As the publication of a governmental report confirmed yesterday, they lied. The cameras were used to spy on an entire community. In this week's On Security column, Rizwaan Sabir examines an extraordinary story of cynicism and incompetence.