Constitutional amendment proposal for Indigenous Voice defeated in Australian Referendum
By Mike Head The scale and social content of last Saturday’s overwhelming rejection of the Australian Labor government’s referendum to entrench an indigenous advisory body called the Voice into the country’s constitution is becoming clearer. Overall, the referendum was defeated by about 61 percent to 39 percent, with postal votes still being
Indian Supreme Court bows down to the far-right, rejects same-sex marriage rights
By Staff Writer The Supreme Court in India today (17) refused to grant legal recognition for queer marriages, in a landmark judgement, denying equal rights to tens of millions of people. A five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, ruled that the court could not “be re-drafting
Arundhati Roy and Kashmiri activist targeted by Modi government for criminal prosecution over 2010 remarks
By Kranti Kumara India’s Narendra Modi-led, far-right government is targeting internationally acclaimed author Arundhati Roy and former Central University of Kashmir international law professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain for criminal prosecution for remarks that they made at a conference held 13 years ago. This flagrant attack on free speech is part of
Indian court accuses Haryana’s BJP state government of “ethnic cleansing” after it targets Muslims in bulldozer rampage
By Martina Inessa, Kranti Kumara The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the north Indian state of Haryana went on a rampage from August 3 to 6, ordering the bulldozing of more than 1,200 Muslim homes and shops. While the demolitions occurred in many of the state’s towns and villages, they were
Leaked inquiry report into aborted Australian #MeToo trial deepens legal crisis
By Cheryl Crisp The leaking of the report from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Board of Inquiry into the Criminal Justice System held to investigate the conduct of one of the most highly publicised #MeToo rape trials in Australia has intensified, rather than ameliorated, the crisis surrounding the case. The trial
Supreme Court sanctions survey of 400 yr old Mosque to find a Hindu Temple underneath
By Staff Writer A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, on Friday (4), upheld an Allahabad high court order allowing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct an investigation of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, which had been permitted by the local district court. The bench, including Chief