Swedish defense chief says actions against Philippines in South China Sea threaten global security

Sweden’s defense chief has expressed alarm over Beijing’s repeated dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, saying such actions threaten global security, undermine stability and underscore the need to invest “for our security and freedom.”

The problem with Nigel Farage

Farage may have led a political party — two, actually, twice — but he has never held executive office. He has never been Minister for anything. And so he has never been accountable for anything.

Corona researchers: Western governments knew that SARS-CoV-2 could come from a laboratory

Several Western governments may have known in the early stages of the Corona crisis that the “novel coronavirus” SARS-CoV-2 may have come from a research laboratory. According to Corona researchers such as physics professor Roland Wiesendanger from the University of Hamburg, this is suggested by the security policy reactions of many Western governments from spring 2020 and information that subsequently became known from US committees of inquiry. A “close connection has now become apparent between the origin of the corona pandemic in autumn 2019 and the political measures taken from March 2020,” writes Wiesendanger in an article for the magazine “Cicero”. (May 27) “The response was that of a military threat.” 

Ex-reporter explains how New York Times weaponised "fake news"

When Nellie Bowles got her dream job as a reporter for the New York Times, she thought she'd never leave her the legacy paper. But what she witnessed behind the scenes gave her a very personal insight into the political capture of the American newsroom. She tells UnHerd's Freddie Sayers about how the disinformation movement, mainstream media bias and finding herself outside the tribe.

Russia co-opts far-right politicians in Europe with cash, officials say

Internal Kremlin documents obtained by one of the European intelligence services and reviewed by The Post show for the first time that Voice of Europe was part of an influence campaign established by the Kremlin in close coordination with Viktor Medvedchuk, the Putin ally who until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led a pro-Moscow opposition party in Kyiv.

The organization was being used to funnel hundreds of thousands of euros — up to 1 million a month — to dozens of far-right politicians in more than five countries to plant Kremlin propaganda in Western media that would sow division in Europe and bolster the position of pro-Russian candidates in this week’s European Parliament elections,according to interviews with a dozen European intelligence officials from five countries.

Péter Magyar, the man who could be dangerous to Orbán

Péter Magyar comes from the Fidesz system and is now challenging Viktor Orbán in the European elections. How someone who knows all the tricks of the ruling party uses them to his own advantage.

To read the above-linked article in your preferred language, please save the webpage as a pdf document and upload it for translation here. 

India’s low-caste voters humbled its powerful prime minister

Modi’s stunning setback in elections this week reflected the power of low-caste Hindus who rebelled against his ruling BJP.

[Not the victory Modi hoped] Indian election results closer than expected and Kapil Komireddi saw it coming - "If Modi receives a blow, either in the form of a defeat or a diminished margin of victory, he will owe it to the civic revival incubated by his own reign"

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is claiming victory in the Indian election, though his alliance is far short of the 400 seats he set out to win.

This is unexpected, but Indian author Kapil Komireddi saw it coming. Reacting to the results, he writes: "The redeeming power of democracy I wrote about in the @NewYorker is on shimmering display today."

German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck and Nordstream 2: "This is of course a political bomb"

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is considered one of the great mistakes of the Angela Merkel era. Now documents show how Robert Habeck stopped the pipeline shortly after taking office.

Chickpeace!: Out of boredom, women in a Harburg refugee shelter began cooking. Today they supply large events with their company

Most of them came to Germany in 2015, and in the same year the first women began cooking in an accommodation for refugees in Harburg, together with the social worker Manuela Maurer. First of all, because there wasn't much more than a kitchen to occupy yourself with. And because they couldn't talk to Maurer. But it soon became more, Maurer mediated, and the women delivered supplies to a club's summer party in Harburg for 70 people.

To read the above linked article in your preferred language, please save it as a pdf document and upload it for translation here. 

"Now I have to be aware of where I am and what I say"- Being Muslim in India

Ever since Narendra Modi's BJP swept to power in 2014, India's Muslims have had a turbulent time, often targeted in attacks or hate speech. As the 2024 Lok Sabha election results draw near, we spoke to some Muslims to get their perspectives on what has changed.