Indian celebrities fiercely criticised for silence on Cockroach protests
Stars accused of ‘cowardice’ as hundreds of thousands of young Indians take to the streets to challenge governmentBollywood stars and other Indian celebrities have faced fierce criticism this week for staying silent in the face of some of the biggest protests India has seen in years.Hundreds of thousands of young Indians took to the streets this week as part of a new youth movement that calls itself the Cockroach Janata party (CJP), demanding accountability over exam paper leaks in an unprecedented challenge to prime minister Narendra Modi’s government. Many vented their anger against what they saw as “cowardice” from India’s biggest celebrities. Continue reading...
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Iran Update Special Report, July 24, 2026
• Iran reportedly rejected a U.S. ceasefire proposal on July 23, 2026, signaling a refusal to halt current hostilities. • The decision suggests that Iranian leadership believes it currently holds a strategic advantage over the United States in this phase of the war.
Read original · understandingwar.org
Institute for the Study of WarThe U.S. Is Subtly Shifting Its Iran Strategy - The Atlantic
• The United States is subtly shifting its strategy toward Iran, moving away from the goal of regime collapse, which is now viewed as unlikely. • This revised approach aims to degrade Iran's strategic position while managing regional stability to avoid catastrophic economic fallout.
Read original · theatlantic.comHow Chinese tech and Russian tactics are aiding Iran’s bombing of US bases | Iran
• Iran is utilizing Chinese technology and Russian tactics to launch increasingly accurate and lethal bombing campaigns against US bases in the Gulf. • US intelligence estimates reveal that Iran's ballistic missile program remains roughly 70% intact, contradicting previous Washington claims that Tehran's military capabilities had been obliterated.
Read original · theguardian.comDiplomacy may not succeed in preventing conflicts but holds power to stop them: Guterres at UNSC debate - The Tribune
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the UN Security Council on Thursday, July 24, emphasizing the critical role of diplomacy in resolving global crises. • Guterres acknowledged that while diplomatic efforts may have failed to prevent current military confrontations and border tensions, they remain the most effective tool for ending them.
Read original · tribuneindia.comFourth firefighter dies from burns received in June during Colorado wildfire operation
Nathan Matthews, 43, died a month after deadly burnover enveloped his fire crew near the Colorado-Utah borderA fourth firefighter has died from burns after he and several colleagues were overcome by a fast-moving wildfire near the Colorado-Utah border last month, officials said on Saturday.Nathan Matthews, 43, died on Friday, the US interior department said in a release. He was from Lincoln, Nebraska. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comMore than 250,000 people flee wildfires in France and Spain
Hundreds of firefighters battle blazes as strong winds drive fires towards Bordeaux and smoke prompts health warnings in MadridUnrestrained wildfires in Spain and France have forced more than 250,000 people to flee, authorities from both countries have said, as they struggle to contain the blazes.About 70,000 people were evacuated from central Spain, while 197,000 people fled in France, including tens of thousands from the wine region city of Bordeaux. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comFormer top US food safety official says Trump’s handling of cyclospora is ‘catastrophic’
Frank Yiannas, formerly of the FDA, calls for an independent review of federal response to illness causing explosive diarrheaDonald Trump’s former top food safety official has accused the administration of a near “catastrophic” mismanagement of the cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands of people in the US.There should be an independent review of the federal government’s response to the rash of illnesses caused by the spread of a parasite found on raw produce, according to Frank Yiannas, who was deputy commissioner for food policy at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) across the presidencies of both Trump and Joe Biden from 2018 to 2023. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comLou Keller, frontman of New York hardcore band Sick of It All, dies aged 59
Keller, who co-founded the celebrated band in 1986, had been battling cancer of the esophagusLou Koller, the singer and co-founder of New York hardcore band Sick of It All, has died after a battle with cancer, his bandmates announced. Koller was 59.In a social media post on the band’s Instagram page, a statement paid tribute to Koller and his work and said: “The level of loss that we feel at this time is overwhelming.” Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.com‘Really inappropriate’: teachers decry plan for humanoid robot in New York high school
Robot from company that acquired sex doll maker to be introduced in school with large Native American populationA humanoid robot is being introduced as part of a pilot program, along with an AI teaching assistant, at Salamanca high school in Salamanca, New York, located on the Allegany territory of the Seneca nation.Teachers have criticized the program, deeming it “inappropriate” and claiming it dehumanizes the profession with the introduction of human-like robots. Some local Native American residents have also criticized the pilot program, citing its implementation as “culturally tone deaf”. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comTroy Jackson: the Maine lumberjack Democrats believe can beat Susan Collins
Jackson, set to replace Graham Platner, is prominent workers’ rights advocate and a leading progressive voiceAs cinemagoers flock to The Odyssey, Democrats in Maine are hoping that their long and perilous quest for a political hero ends in Troy.They are set to nominate lumberjack Troy Jackson this weekend as their candidate to challenge Susan Collins, a veteran Republican in the US Senate, after the implosion of the party’s original candidate left them scrambling for a replacement less than four months before the midterm elections. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.com‘I’m over the moon’: New York’s small business owners rejoice as Mamdani cuts red tape
Initiatives including cutting permits just to serve ice-cream amount to a sweeping program of deregulationRed Scare? The democratic socialist mayor of New York City spent this week talking about red tape.On Tuesday, Zohran Mamdani – the politician at the center of a revived rightwing panic about socialists and purported communists winning elections across America - posted a video on X of himself putting a sheet of paper with the phrase “RED TAPE” into a paper shredder. Other pieces of paper, with phrases like “cumbersome fees and fines” and “a permit you need just to serve ice-cream”, were shredded too. The video, set to Wu Tang Clan’s If Time Is Money, shows Mamdani joining a handful of city officials and small business owners throwing the resulting paper shreds into the air like confetti. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.com