The interim government of Muhammad Yunus is sinking under the weight of its own contradictions. Once hailed by foreign observers as a corrective to Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian drift, Yunus has embraced the very tactics of repression he claimed to abhor. The arrests of former minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Dhaka University Professor Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon,
Something historic took place in the heart of Rome in late July. In the Italian Parliament, before an audience of prominent political figures and lawmakers, Iran’s democratic opposition laid out its case: the people of Iran are ready to reclaim their country – and they already have the framework to make it happen. Maryam Rajavi,
On the surface, the July Declaration launched in Dhaka reads like a triumphant statement. It celebrates the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government and the symbolic end of a long cycle of repression and democratic backsliding. Yet beneath the rhetoric of liberation, the document offers little in the way of stability, unity, or justice. It is
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a nation blessed with unparalleled natural wealth, remains trapped in a vortex of violence, exploitation, and despair. At present, the eastern provinces continue to bleed from conflicts that have displaced millions and claimed countless lives. The recent US-brokered peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda, signed on 27th June
Secularism didn’t just arrive, gift-wrapped, on the doorstep of modern society. To get why it took root, we’ve got to step back into the world of George Jacob Holyoake, the father of Western secularism. Imagine living in a place where the church decided what you learned, how you lived, even how you thought. Holyoake, a
By Heidi Kingstone Genocide was once a term reserved for the darkest chapters of history. But as urban warfare ravages cities from Mosul to Aleppo to Rafah, and mass atrocities go unpunished in Africa and beyond, Heidi Kingstone explores what it means to confront ‘the crime of crimes’ — and why, despite all we’ve learned,
Since their violent partition in 1947, driven by the British policy of divide and rule, India has carried the deeper scars of division, not just in terms of human tragedy, but in the lasting cost to its strategic environment. The creation of Pakistan wasn’t just a cartographic exercise. It was a rupture built on a
In Persian, there is a saying: “History is the light that guides the future.” This is precisely why dictatorships thrive on censorship and the distortion of history. Yet in the age of technology and social media, Iran’s youth are rediscovering their history, culture, and long legacy of struggles for freedom. They now use every tool
The Indian subcontinent is more than just a collection of states separated by borders and histories—it is a crucible where the world’s next great experiment in peace and prosperity could unfold, or where old rivalries could once again plunge millions into uncertainty. In this special series, we explore the pivotal roles of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and
In late 2021, not long after Kabul fell, I received a message from a young woman I had once mentored during my time in Afghanistan’s parliament. She was smart, sharp-tongued, and obsessed with becoming a judge. I still remember her saying, “I want to be the one who tells old men they’re wrong.” When the