As massacres go, it was not monumental; it hardly bears comparison with, for instance, the mass murder at Jallianwala Bagh 100 years later.

Our indifference to voting would be an outrage for the agitators of the past

Other intellectuals, meanwhile, were positively radicalised by the rulers’ reaction.

22 Aug 2019 1:40 AM

Riley represents Robert Plant and the Shape Shifters, one of the bands contracted to perform at this year’s reincarnation of Woodstock attempted by Michael Lang, one of the organisers of the original festival. (Photo: Representational/Pixabay)

Woodstock encapsulated the vision of idealism and hope of the 1960s

Even though Woodstock wasn’t an overtly political event, they received plenty of sustenance from the stage.

15 Aug 2019 5:48 AM

People gather around a makeshift memorial at the scene of a mass shooting at a shopping complex in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday. (Photo: AP)

Shootings in US: Will immigration eliminate whites?

There can be little doubt, though, that the ideological underpinnings of such ideologies precede Trump and his soulmates by several decades at least.

08 Aug 2019 12:46 AM

Protesters use umbrellas to shield themselves from teargas fired by policemen as they face off on a street in Hong Kong. (Photo: AP)

HK: A thorn in the flesh for China’s czars

It was sparked early last month by a proposed piece of legislation intended to decree routine extradition to China for those accused of crimes.

01 Aug 2019 12:05 AM

Boris as PM can turn into an argument for socialism in the UK

Boris Johnson has taken over as Prime Minister from Theresa May.

25 Jul 2019 12:31 AM

The nation that mesmerised the world by putting men on the moon was not only riven by economic and racial disparities at home.

Space race notwithstanding, moonwalk a feat of mankind

f the Soviets were reaching for the moon, the Americans were determined to beat them to it.

18 Jul 2019 2:42 AM

Long after her appearances at Woodstock and Live Aid and on an Amnesty International tour, even her lesser-known albums continued to bear testimony to her political engagement.

The Arc of Joan who lent her voice to human rights

That landmark moment transformed the trajectory of Joan Baez’s life and career. By 1963, she already had four albums to her credit.

11 Jul 2019 7:03 AM

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner (Photo: AP)

How credible is Kushner’s Middle East peace plan?

As things stand, Israel’s likely aim is to annex all it wants of the West Bank, and eventually throw the scraps to Jordan

04 Jul 2019 12:15 AM

US must climb down to talk peace with Iran

Neither Rouhani nor Khamenei bears any resemblance to Kim Jong-un — the Iranian leaders won’t be penning any love letters to Trump.

20 Jun 2019 2:51 AM

The Islamic scholar Hassan al-Turabi was instrumental in the success of Bashir’s 1989 coup; the latter’s coalition subsequently thrived on shifting alliances, but the Islamists retained a stake — and, lest we forget, Sudan happily hosted Osama bin Laden for several years in the 1990s. (Photo: AFP)

As Sudanese make their demand for democracy, there’s blood in the Nile

In both instances, what proved crucial was the reluctance or refusal of younger military officers to go on the rampage against fellow citizens.

13 Jun 2019 3:25 AM

Chinese President Xi Jinping (Photo: AP/File)

Will China one day erect a memorial to Tiananmen martyrs?

The students in Tiananmen Square were joined by many other Beijing residents, and it is estimated that their numbers swelled to a million.

06 Jun 2019 12:05 AM

Young, female, articulate: The tribe taking up the Left baton

That remains extremely unlikely, but no one can seriously claim that they haven’t made a difference.

16 May 2019 2:53 AM

It seems Guaido and his Washington-based sponsors had been expecting Maduro’s defence minister, military intelligence chief and head of the supreme court to announce their defection. (Photo: AFP)

US-sponsored coup a flop, Venezuela will chart its course

The transmitted images were framed in such a way as to disguise the paucity of the personnel.

09 May 2019 12:05 AM

Seeger’s legacy of song and struggle is now a century old

The Torn Flag isn’t among Pete Seeger’s particularly memorable tracks.

02 May 2019 1:24 AM

Sri Lanka had nothing to do with this, but looking for logic in the motivations of fanatics, Islamist or otherwise, can be futile. (Photo: AP)

Lanka had no Christchurch linkage, so why was it targeted?

Sri Lanka has requested, and been offered, international help in investigating the atrocities.

25 Apr 2019 12:14 AM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo: AP)

After elections in Israel, future seems bleaker for Palestinians

It is often said that the ability to indict a sitting PM elevates Israel above other semi-democracies in West Asia, such as Egypt or Turkey.

18 Apr 2019 12:17 AM

Can Mexico’s Amlo deliver what Zapata had died for?

The movement took its name from a key figure in the revolutionary tumult that consumed Mexico in the second decade of the 20th century.

11 Apr 2019 5:22 AM

Zulfikar had left behind a legacy of lost opportunities

There can be little doubt that the manner in which the PPP approached the 1977 election was profoundly problematic.

04 Apr 2019 12:05 AM

British Prime Minister Theresa May (Photo: AFP)

Every putative Brexit solution has problems attached to it

May hesitated to put her deal to a parliamentary vote, and when she did it went down to the largest defeat for a govt motion in more than a century.

28 Mar 2019 12:16 AM

Christchurch wasn’t the first manifestation of its inevitable consequences, and it won’t be the last, with retaliatory violence (as possibly seen in Utrecht) helping to keep the ugliest of flames alive. (Photo: File)

Islamophobic terror as vile as jihad, don’t underplay it

In Australia, though, efforts are already afoot to preserve the scope for Islamophobia, which is an even bigger trend across Europe and in the US.

21 Mar 2019 1:50 AM

Mahir Ali