Activist

Church director tells parliamentary inquiry reporting by Nine newspapers a ‘complete lie’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has denied it secretly paid far-right influencers to stage stunts targeting Anthony Albanese and other politicians during an appearance at a parliamentary inquiry into the 2025 election.The church also refuted claims it had coordinated hundreds of volunteers to support Liberal candidates, including at polling booths across the country. Continue reading...

Beto Coral held up banners in Florida warning fellow Colombians to not vote for Abelardo de la EspriellaIn the week before Colombia’s presidential election, Beto Coral, a well-known activist living in the United States, travelled to Florida to persuade fellow Colombians not to vote for the far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella.Coral held banners outside polling stations in Miami warning that the millionaire lawyer, whose candidacy was endorsed by Donald Trump, would “help deport all of you”. Continue reading...

• A political activist in Rawalakot raised concerns on Tuesday regarding elections held across various areas of Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PoJK) on Monday. • The activist alleged that election results in several regions were "adjusted and compromised," with specific reports still emerging from the Haveli area. • These claims highlight potential electoral fraud and instability within the region's democratic process.

Yinon Levi faces trial for reckless manslaughter related to the 2025 killing of Awdah Hathaleen Israeli prosecutors have charged a Jewish settler over the killing of a Palestinian community leader in the occupied West Bank last year- the ⁠first such indictment in nearly three years.In papers filed by the state attorney’s office, Yinon Levi is charged with reckless manslaughter in the death of Awdah Hathaleen, a prominent ⁠activist who was involved in the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. Continue reading...

Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who was convicted of harassing Jewish MP, says Badenoch has offered him advisory role instead• UK politics live – latest updatesA former neo-Nazi activist who was convicted of harassing a Jewish MP has withdrawn as a Conservative election candidate after his selection prompted an outcry from Jewish groups and others.Joshua Bonehill-Paine said on Wednesday he had withdrawn from next year’s local elections, and that Kemi Badenoch had instead offered him a role as an advisor to her party’s culture and integration commission, specifically focusing on how young men become radicalised. Continue reading...

Special rapporteurs say ‘transnational repression by Indian authorities’ has put Moninder Singh in dangerUN rights experts have urged Canada to take all feasible measures to protect the Sikh activist Moninder Singh, who has been repeatedly warned by the Canadian authorities of credible threats to his life.In a letter to the Canadian government, the five UN experts raised “concerning allegations of foreign intimidation and reprisals” against Singh, a Canadian national. Continue reading...

Luis Carlos Rúa revealed himself to be Elefante blanco just three days before election for ‘his own safety’. Now he is tackling graft from senate floorWhen 102 senators were sworn in for Colombia’s latest parliamentary session, they included 32 women, 69 men – and one cartoon elephant.He had some difficulty making his way down the narrow central aisle of Congress’s ceremonial chamber, weaving past fellow senators in sharply tailored suits and dresses, before taking the oath in his pot-bellied white plush costume. Continue reading...

Joshua Bonehill-Paine, creator of satirical Crewkerne Gazette, has convictions including harassment of a Jewish MPA former neo-Nazi activist with convictions including the harassment of a Jewish MP has been selected as a Conservative candidate for a local election in Somerset.Joshua Bonehill-Paine, the creator of the viral Crewkerne Gazette series of AI clips, is due to stand for election to Somerset council next year in a new Crewkerne South district. He told the Guardian he was an executive member of the Tories’ Yeovil branch, working as an events organiser. Continue reading...

Nationwide actions seek to counter view that talking about climate crisis distracts from affordability messagingThis summer, torrential rains have washed away Texas neighborhoods, dangerous heat has blanketed swaths of the country, and smoke from Canadian wildfires has choked communities as far south as Florida.Research makes clear that global warming is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe. Yet the climate crisis has largely disappeared from the political agenda, with many Democrats who once described it as an existential threat now shying away from talking about it. Continue reading...

• The Jammu and Kashmir Awareness Campaign (JAAC) reports that 14 activists were killed and dozens injured during clashes with security personnel in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). • The violence occurs amid a phased election cycle, with the first round of voting already completed in Mirpur on Monday. • Further polling is scheduled for Muzaffarabad on August 2 and the Poonch division on August 10.

Exclusive: Judge intends to consider ‘terrorist connection’ after convicting five for damage to Barclays in BurnleyFive Palestine Action activists face being sentenced as terrorists for breaking windows and throwing red paint at a branch of Barclays Bank in Lancashire.Brendon O’Hagan, 28; Amanda Kelly, 31; Humeera Atiqnisar, 31; Mohammed Malik, 28; and Alma Yaniv, 70, were found guilty of causing £212,000 of damage during a direct action protest in Burnley in August 2024. They targeted the bank because it held shares in the Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems. Continue reading...

• Activist Sonam Wangchuk has ended a 26-day hunger strike following appeals from lawmakers. • The strike served as a catalyst for the "Cockroach" protests, which have spread across India and grown into a significant challenge for the government. • These demonstrations highlight growing public unrest and a demand for systemic change or specific policy grievances led by Wangchuk.

Irish politicians concerned about Daniel Tatlow-Devally’s treatment in jail want Micheál Martin to send observers to Ulm 5 trialA cross-party delegation of Irish politicians has urged Dublin to send observers to a high-security trial of pro-Palestinian activists in Germany and to raise concerns about the Irish defendant’s detention when the German chancellor visits next week.Mairéad Farrell of Sinn Féin, a member of the seven-member delegation, said she and her colleagues had attended the hearing in Stuttgart on Wednesday of the so-called Ulm 5 activists, who are facing charges over an attack on an Israeli arms company. Continue reading...

Sonam Wangchuk halted strike amid concerns about ‘possible violence’ in India as protest movement urges demonstrations across country on Friday over police brutalityIndian “cockroach” activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike on Friday over an exam paper scandal that has spiralled into a wideranging youth-led protest against Narendra Modi’s government, with protesters continuing to call for the education minister to resign.Wangchuk said on social media that he ended the hunger strike in Delhi in the presence of two federal ministers at the urging of scores of members ⁠of parliament, and after “a long negotiation on various conditions and in view of possible violence in the country”. He did not elaborate on the talks but promised to lay out details in a video soon. Continue reading...

• A cross-party delegation of seven Irish politicians, including People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett, attended a high-profile court hearing in Stuttgart, Germany. • The politicians are supporting an Irish activist and others known as the “Ulm5,” who are currently on trial in the German legal system. • Richard Boyd Barrett condemned the proceedings as a “show trial,” alleging that the court process is being staged to make an example of political activists.

The second circuit overturned the previous decision, saying the judge overstepped authority by intervening before it moved through the immigration court systemA federal appeals panel has reversed a lower court decision ordering the release of pro-Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, opening the door to the re-arrest of a student protest organizer whom the Trump administration has spent more than a year trying to deport.Tuesday’s ruling from the second US circuit court of appeals in New York City overturns a previous decision by a federal judge in Vermont, which likened the government’s efforts to expel him and other activists to McCarthyist repression. Continue reading...

• Over 10,000 protesters marched toward the Indian parliament in a massive demonstration against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. • Police responded to the crowds with baton charges and tear gas to disperse the activists. • This event marks the largest direct challenge to the current administration's authority to date.

• Israeli government ministers, including Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, joined thousands of settler activists in a march through a closed military zone toward the Gaza border. • Minister Ben Gvir condemned judicial interventions as "trampling the will of the people," vowing that a future right-wing government will dismantle the "deep state" and overhaul the judicial system. • Finance Minister Smotrich highlighted a pattern of judicial freezes, specifically citing injunctions against legislation regarding the arrest of draft dodgers.

• Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk has been hospitalized after completing a 20-day hunger strike. • Wangchuk initiated the fast to demand the resignation of India’s education minister, citing alleged irregularities in medical examinations. • The protest highlights growing concerns over transparency and fairness within the national medical testing system.

• Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was shifted to VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital by Delhi Police after conducting an indefinite hunger strike for 21 days at Jantar Mantar. • The hospitalization occurred on medical advice and in compliance with Delhi High Court directions to ensure Wangchuk's health was regularly monitored. • Activist Anna Hazare has urged the Union government to initiate talks with Wangchuk, while the BJP accused the Opposition of attempting to turn the medical emergency into a "political spectacle."

• Activist Sonam Wangchuk was removed from his protest site at Delhi's Jantar Mantar and transported to a hospital after fasting for over 20 days. • Wangchuk had been conducting an indefinite hunger strike to draw attention to his cause, which recently attracted visits from several Opposition politicians. • The removal follows a period of growing political solidarity, with leaders urging the activist to end his fast for health reasons.

• New Delhi police have ordered activists, including Sonam Wangchuk and supporters of the Cockroach Janata Party, to vacate the Jantar Mantar site. • The group had been camping at the location to protest against the Indian education minister. • Following the police action, Wangchuk was moved to a hospital, marking a significant escalation in the authorities' response to the demonstration.

• The White House hosted a closed-door briefing for election denial activists, organized by Cleta Mitchell and requiring attendees to sign nondisclosure agreements. • The session featured materials reportedly recycled from conservative media, serving as a precursor to a primetime speech by Donald Trump. • Lauren Groh-Wargo of Fair Fight Action warned that the Election Integrity Network is linking debunked 2020 claims to potential government actions.

• Indian environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk has lost 9.1kg after conducting a hunger strike for 19 days. • A recipient of the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Award, Wangchuk is a prominent public figure in Ladakh advocating for regional environmental and political concerns. • The strike has left the activist visibly weakened, leading to urgent calls from supporters and observers for him to end the fast for his health.

Anna Liedtke files criminal complaint in Israel over alleged attack by female guards and says abuse was intended to silence campaignersThe third time Anna Liedtke was subjected to an illegal strip-search in Israeli detention, female prison guards forced her on to her knees, covered her mouth to stop her screaming and raped her, according to interviews and a criminal complaint filed in Israel.She described hearing male guards laughing during the attack, which she believes they watched and may have filmed. It took place in an area separated from the prison hallway by a partially drawn curtain that her attackers had left open. Continue reading...

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was in prison with Sepideh Kashani, who worked with husband Houman Jokar to save Asiatic cheetahNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has described the rearrest of two Iranian environmentalists, one of whom she met at Evin prison, as “unimaginably cruel and alarming”.Husband and wife Houman Jokar and Sepideh Kashani were arrested by the ministry of intelligence at their home on 1 July. No reason has been given and their whereabouts are unknown. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Party hoped to mount serious challenge in mayoral race but attention has been diverted to EssexUK politics live – latest updatesReform UK activists have been urged to divert from the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection to support Nigel Farage’s “fake” contest 250 miles away in Clacton.A WhatsApp message shared with party members in north-west England said: “The message could not be more clear. We now need all of our fantastic activists, branch officers and councillors to come and help us in Clacton.” Continue reading...

Lawrence Bishnoi, who is in prison in India, is accused of orchestrating the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023US authorities have announced charges against the leader of an Indian criminal group in connection with the political assassination of a prominent Sikh activist in Canada – a high-profile killing that strained diplomatic relations between Canada and India at the time.Lawrence Bishnoi – the imprisoned head of an Indian criminal gang - and his childhood friend Satinderjeet Singh, are accused of orchestrating the assassination of a well-known Sikh independence activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was fatally shot outside a temple where he served as president in 2023. Bishnoi is in custody, but Singh has not been apprehended. Continue reading...