Global Pulse

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  • Fears grow for Sahrawi prisoner entering sixth week of hunger strike in Morocco

    Fears grow for Sahrawi prisoner entering sixth week of hunger strike in Morocco

    As a long-imprisoned Sahrawi independence activist enters his sixth week without food behind bars in Morocco, global and regional human rights organizations are sounding the alarm and demanding his immediate release.

    Naama Asfari launched an indefinite hunger strike on June 8 while being held at Kenitra Prison, located north of Morocco’s capital Rabat. His protest targets Moroccan authorities, demanding they comply with multiple United Nations rulings that have ordered his freedom after more than 14 years in detention.

    Asfari’s incarceration traces back to his participation in the 2010 Gdeim Izik protest camp, a mass gathering of native Sahrawi in Morocco-occupied Western Sahara. The camp was organized to draw international attention to systemic human rights violations, widespread poverty, and systemic discrimination that Sahrawi communities have endured under Moroccan rule.

    Erected in October 2010 on the outskirts of Laayoune, Western Sahara’s largest city, the protest camp was violently dismantled by Moroccan security forces in November that same year. Official and independent reports differ on casualty counts: rights groups estimate up to 36 civilian protesters were killed during the operation, while roughly 3,000 additional Sahrawi were arrested. Moroccan authorities confirm that 11 police officers also died in the unrest.

    The violent crackdown drew broad international condemnation, and many regional analysts now point to the Gdeim Izik incident as an important precursor to the wave of pro-democracy Arab Spring uprisings that swept across North Africa and the Middle East just weeks after the camp was cleared.

    Following the crackdown, Asfari and dozens of other Sahrawi protest organizers were convicted of charges tied to the deaths of the Moroccan police officers. But United Nations bodies have repeatedly challenged the validity of these convictions. The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) has confirmed that the statements used to convict Asfari and his co-defendants were obtained through torture and coercion, and has formally called on Morocco to overturn all convictions in the case. In 2023, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention also issued an official opinion ordering Asfari’s immediate release.

    As his hunger strike enters its sixth week, Asfari’s family has shared alarming updates on his declining health. The activist has lost roughly 9 kilograms (nearly 20 pounds) since starting the strike, and he has refused to be examined by prison medical staff and halted his daily out-of-cell exercise.

    The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), an independent global rights watchdog, has become one of the most prominent voices calling for action. The organization reiterated its demand that Morocco implement both the CAT ruling and the 2023 UN Working Group order. In a formal statement, ISHR said, “ISHR is gravely concerned by the risks posed to Asfari’s health and calls on the Moroccan authorities to take urgent steps to safeguard his life and physical integrity.”

    The case unfolds against a decades-long unresolved dispute over the status of Western Sahara. Morocco has occupied most of the territory since 1975, following the withdrawal of colonial power Spain. The indigenous Sahrawi people claim full sovereignty over the territory, and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front has waged a campaign for independence, including an armed struggle that spanned decades. Today, hundreds of thousands of Sahrawi refugees reside in camps in southwestern Algeria, while Sahrawi independence activists remaining in occupied Western Sahara face consistent political repression from Moroccan authorities, a pattern widely documented by international human rights groups.

  • Israeli parliament passes law enshrining gender segregation in universities

    Israeli parliament passes law enshrining gender segregation in universities

    In a contentious vote held on Thursday, Israel’s national parliament, the Knesset, has given final approval to a divisive new law that legalizes gender segregation across postgraduate higher education programs across the country. The legislation cleared the legislative body with a narrow margin, recording 52 votes in favor compared to 43 votes cast against the measure.

    Under the terms of the new law, accredited Israeli universities will gain legal permission to establish separate, gender-specific study tracks for students enrolled in master’s and doctoral degree programs. The law also formally codifies a 2021 ruling issued by the Israeli High Court of Justice, which had previously approved gender-segregated bachelor’s degree pathways when paired with a set of specific regulatory restrictions.

    The bill was spearheaded by Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech, a representative of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir. In remarks following the vote, Son Har-Melech framed the legislation as a tool to advance educational access for women from demographic sectors that she claimed have historically been denied equal educational opportunities.

    Proponents of the new rule have echoed this framing, arguing that the policy will expand access to higher education for religious women, who often hold gender-separated learning as a core personal and religious requirement. Zvi Sukkot, a Knesset member from the far-right Religious Zionism party led by Bezalel Smotrich, added that the law serves to expand personal freedom of choice for students with differing religious needs.

    However, the legislation has drawn fierce condemnation from opposition political figures and progressive lawmakers, who have decried the policy as a dangerous rollback of gender equality in Israeli public life. During the parliamentary vote, several opposition legislators held up protest signs emblazoned with the slogan “Segregation is exclusion” to demonstrate their opposition.

    Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party, issued a sharp rebuke of the government, accusing the ruling coalition of seeking to transform Israel into a repressive “Ayatollah state.” Drawing a parallel to existing gender segregation practices in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, where men and women often walk on separate sidewalks, Lieberman called on university and academic leadership across the country to refuse to implement what he labeled “this madness.”

    Merav Michaeli, a senior Labour Party lawmaker, also criticized the new law, rejecting the argument that segregated education can ever be equal. “There is no such thing as segregated but equal,” Michaeli said, noting that the policy comes as part of a broader pattern of rollbacks to gender equality pushed by the current right-wing ruling coalition.

  • Yunnan’s terraced rice fields burst with summer greenery in Guangnan

    Yunnan’s terraced rice fields burst with summer greenery in Guangnan

    As the peak of summer settles over southwest China’s Yunnan province, the centuries-old terraced rice fields of Tangdaxin village, Guangnan county, have burst into a vibrant tapestry of green that draws the eye and calms the spirit. This layered agricultural landscape, a cultural staple of the local Zhuang ethnic community, has transformed rolling hillsides into a picture-perfect display of rural harmony between people and nature.

    Freshly transplanted rice seedlings spread across the stepped slopes in overlapping swathes of bright lime and deep forest green, with light filtering through the summer sky to cast shifting shades across the water-filled paddies. When soft mountain winds drift down from the surrounding peaks, gentle ripples cascade from the valley floor all the way up to the village edge, and the soft rustle of rice leaves sways in the breeze, echoing across the quiet hills.

    Unlike static scenic vistas, this landscape is alive with the quiet work of local farmers, who move between the paddies to tend to young seedlings and clear silt-clogged irrigation channels, their daily labor adding a warm, lively energy to the otherwise tranquil setting. In the distance, mist-dusted mountain ridges cluster behind scattered traditional village homes, all blending seamlessly into the rolling tiers of green to create an idyllic snapshot of sustainable rural life that has endured for generations in this corner of Yunnan.

  • Suzhou to add red light wait times to delivery schedules to reduce unsafe driving

    Suzhou to add red light wait times to delivery schedules to reduce unsafe driving

    Starting this August, two districts in Suzhou, a major city in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, will roll out a trailblazing traffic safety reform for food delivery riders that reworks how delivery deadlines are calculated. The new initiative, which has not been tested at this scale before in China, will add mandatory red light waiting time to official delivery route schedules, addressing a long-standing flaw that has pushed thousands of riders to prioritize speed over road safety.

    For years, delivery platform algorithms have calculated estimated delivery times based only on travel distance and average moving speed, completely ignoring the unpredictable minutes riders inevitably spend stopped at red traffic lights. This systemic gap created an impossible choice for gig delivery workers: either run red lights, drive against oncoming traffic, or cut other safety corners to meet their deadlines and avoid penalty fees for late deliveries, or accept lost income and customer complaints for arriving on time but after the algorithm’s inaccurate deadline. Suzhou traffic officials note that this pressure has been a leading cause of traffic accidents involving delivery riders across Chinese cities for years.

    The new pilot program solves this dilemma by connecting real-time municipal traffic signal data directly to major food delivery platforms, so that waiting time at red lights is automatically added to a rider’s allocated delivery window. Beyond the core scheduling change, the reform introduces a suite of additional measures designed to reduce fatigue-related unsafe driving: all platforms will be required to force riders to take a mandatory break after four consecutive hours of working, and automatically log riders out of the delivery system after 12 hours of continuous work to prevent overwork and impaired reaction times.

    To further encourage long-term safe riding habits, Suzhou authorities have also partnered with local delivery platforms to launch a monthly incentive scheme. The program uses a point-based system: riders receive penalty points for confirmed traffic violations, while earning bonus points for consistent compliance with road rules. Accumulated positive points can be redeemed for a range of tangible benefits, including direct cash rewards, mobile phone bill subsidies, and discounted or subsidized housing privileges for local riders.

    Local transportation experts say if the pilot proves successful in reducing traffic violations and accidents among delivery riders, the policy is likely to be expanded to all of Suzhou and replicated by other major Chinese cities grappling with the same gig delivery road safety challenge.

  • Dialogue remains key to Sino-US ties

    Dialogue remains key to Sino-US ties

    On a Thursday in New York, over 100 senior business executives, policymakers and academic scholars gathered for a landmark forum focused on resetting the trajectory of US-China economic relations, hosted by the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA (CGCC) and the CGCC Foundation. Titled “The Path Forward 2026: Mutual Benefit, Uncovering New Opportunities for US-China Economic and Trade Relations”, the event brought together cross-sector stakeholders to explore collaborative pathways for the world’s two largest economies, at a time of rising global geopolitical turbulence.

    Against a backdrop of growing strategic competition between Washington and Beijing, participants universally highlighted sustained dialogue as an irreplaceable foundation for productive bilateral relations. Susan Elliott, CEO of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, argued that calls for full economic decoupling between the two nations are neither practical nor beneficial for either side. “We have to figure out how to rebalance our economic ties in a way that supports sustainable growth, systemic resilience and long-term shared prosperity,” Elliott explained. “These adjustments will not be easy; they demand open, honest difficult conversations across all sectors. A healthier, more sustainable bilateral economic relationship will ultimately benefit not just our two countries, but the entire global economy.”

    Elliott emphasized that competition between the two powers does not erase the urgent need for consistent communication, nor should ideological or policy disagreements block progress in areas where both sides stand to gain. “Moving forward requires patience, pragmatic problem-solving, and an unwavering commitment to keep talking,” she added.

    Chen Li, China’s Consul General in New York, outlined the deep, mutually beneficial interconnectedness that still defines the bilateral economic relationship, noting vast untapped potential for both subnational and broad-based commercial collaboration. “US companies have long recognized the immense value of China’s massive consumer market and robust, comprehensive industrial supply chain support,” Chen said. “On the other side of the equation, Chinese firms seek to grow their operations in the United States within a stable, predictable regulatory environment, while simultaneously contributing to local communities and delivering better services to American consumers.”

    Chen called on both governments to uphold the core principle of mutual benefit, ensuring cooperation delivers shared gains rather than one-sided advantages. He urged both sides to approach each other’s concerns with open minds and good-faith judgment, and to maintain momentum for ongoing dialogue and practical collaboration. “Going forward, China will continue to streamline processes for foreign trade and investment, protect the legitimate rights and interests of international businesses operating within our borders, and cultivate a world-class business environment,” he said. “We hope US companies will seize these opportunities and achieve stronger growth by tapping into the momentum of China’s ongoing development.”

    Beyond national-level cooperation, participants highlighted that subnational engagement between cities, states and local business communities delivers tangible, immediate benefits for local economies on both sides. Steven Fulop, president of Partnership for NYC and former mayor of Jersey City, pointed to the decades-long contributions of Chinese international students to New York City’s economic growth. Student demand for housing has sustained local real estate development, while their everyday consumer spending has provided a steady boost to local small businesses and the city’s broader economy, he noted.

    Glori Norwitt, Connecticut’s international engagement envoy at AdvanceCT, added that her state has already built deep people-to-people and commercial ties with China, with enormous room for further expansion. Connecticut is currently home to roughly 80,000 Chinese residents and nearly 2,000 Chinese-owned businesses, ranging from small local startups to large multinational corporations. “We have been actively building these connections, and we strongly encourage these relationships to continue and deepen moving forward,” Norwitt said.

    New data from the latest CGCC Annual Business Survey underscored the resilience of Chinese firms operating in the United States, even amid a generally cautious broader business outlook. The survey found that around one-third of responding Chinese companies reported year-over-year revenue growth in 2025, while 81 percent remained profitable. Most notably, 79 percent of respondents said they plan to reinvest their profits back into their US operations — the highest share recorded in the history of the survey, a clear signal of Chinese businesses’ long-term commitment to the US market.

  • Substandard work and evasion of oversight helped fuel deadly Hong Kong fire, investigators told

    Substandard work and evasion of oversight helped fuel deadly Hong Kong fire, investigators told

    As an independent public inquiry into Hong Kong’s worst fire disaster in decades wrapped up its evidentiary hearings Friday, closing arguments laid bare how a cascade of regulatory gaps, industry malpractice and irresponsible corner-cutting turned a small blaze into a catastrophe that claimed hundreds of lives and upended thousands of lives.

    The tragedy unfolded last November at Wang Fuk Court, a sprawling residential complex in Hong Kong’s suburban Tai Po district. When the fire ignited, the site was mid-way through a large-scale building renovation project. It rapidly raged across seven connected apartment blocks, leaving 168 residents dead and forcing thousands more to flee their homes permanently. Many of those displaced remain in temporary government housing months after the disaster.

    In his closing address to the inquiry committee led by High Court Justice David Lok, lead investigating counsel Victor Dawes outlined the core failures that turned a contained fire into an inferno. Dawes argued that the use of unapproved, non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting, a cost-cutting choice by the project’s contractors, was almost certainly the primary factor enabling the fire’s explosive spread across the building’s exterior. Compounding this danger, he added, was the decision to board up staircase ventilation windows with untreated wooden planks, which turned escape routes into toxic smoke traps that trapped residents and blocked emergency responders.

    Dawes pulled no punches in assigning blame to the project’s key industry players: lead consultant Will Power Architects Company and general contractor Prestige Construction & Engineering Co. According to his arguments, the two firms intentionally cut corners on both workmanship and material quality, while deliberately misleading regulatory bodies and the Wang Fuk Court homeowners’ association that hired them. The inquiry heard evidence of widespread falsified inspection compliance documents, with mandated professional inspectors signing off on substandard work as a meaningless “rubber stamp” rather than conducting proper oversight.

    Dawes also levied criticism at Hong Kong’s government regulatory framework, noting that authorities relied entirely on a voluntary honor-based system to oversee renovation works. This approach, he argued, created a fatal gap that collapsed completely when confronted with bad-faith actors cutting corners for profit. “When faced with dishonest bad actors, the entire system collapsed,” he told the hearing.

    Representatives of Hong Kong’s government pushed back against these claims on Thursday, during the earlier phase of closing arguments. Government counsel Jenkin Suen acknowledged that the existing oversight system has clear structural vulnerabilities, but argued it would be inaccurate and unfair to frame government departments as the direct cause of the tragedy. He instead placed the blame on industry professionals and contractors, who exploited a public safety-focused mechanism to cut corners and betrayed the public trust placed in them.

    Emotions ran high during Friday’s concluding hearing, with multiple affected residents breaking down in tears as the details of the tragedy were rehashed. Jeffrey Tam, a legal representative for nine affected Wang Fuk Court residents, told reporters after the hearing that many survivors and family members of victims had chosen to give evidence despite the deep emotional trauma the process triggered. Tam added that many residents had grown angry watching witnesses attempt to deflect blame for the disaster onto other parties. “Deflecting responsibility like this would not help the city find out the truth,” Tam stressed.

    The independent inquiry committee, which was convened to unpack the fire’s root causes, identify systemic regulatory gaps, and assess whether existing fire safety regulations and penalties are sufficient, is expected to publish a final report with policy and regulatory recommendations once all deliberations are complete. No firm timeline has been announced for the release of the committee’s findings. Critically, the inquiry’s mandate does not extend to determining legal liability for the tragedy; that process is already underway via separate criminal investigations led by Hong Kong law enforcement agencies.

    Back in June, Hong Kong authorities laid formal charges against seven individuals and both Will Power Architects and Prestige Construction & Engineering Co. The charges include severe offenses ranging from manslaughter to conspiracy to defraud, marking one of the largest criminal cases linked to a building safety disaster in the city’s recent history.

  • Parents of Australian teens killed by tainted liquor in Laos are angry at expected charges

    Parents of Australian teens killed by tainted liquor in Laos are angry at expected charges

    In the wake of a fatal methanol poisoning incident that killed six foreign tourists including two 19-year-old Australian women last November, the Australian government and the victims’ families have publicly condemned Laos’ planned legal action as shockingly insufficient. The tragedy unfolded at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, a popular party and adventure destination for backpackers in landlocked, Southeast Asian Laos. After consuming reportedly free shots of adulterated Laotian vodka at the hostel, the Australian teenagers — Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles — fell severely ill and were evacuated to hospitals in neighboring Thailand, where they later died. They were joined in death by an American man, a British woman, and two Danish women, all claimed by the tainted alcohol.

    On the eve of Laos’ expected announcement of charges against the accused suppliers of the methanol-laced drinks, families gathered in Melbourne to share their outrage. According to information shared with the families through Australian officials, who have kept them updated on the investigation since the incident, convicts in the case would face a maximum penalty of just one year in prison and a fine of roughly 1,600 Australian dollars, equivalent to $1,117 U.S. currency.

    Mark Jones, father of Bianca Jones, called the proposed penalties and legal outcome completely unacceptable. His wife Michelle echoed the grief and anger, saying “It’s like their lives didn’t even matter. We’re just really appalled by it all. You know, they were just going over to have a bit of fun and just doing the rite of passage that every, you know, child or teenager does. So for that outcome, it was just devastating.” Shaun Bowles, father of Holly Morton-Bowles, called the anticipated charges mind-boggling, noting that Laos draws thousands of young travelers from Australia and across the globe annually. He went so far as to urge prospective tourists to reconsider visiting the country, saying Laos has shown a blatant disregard for the lives of visitors and attempted to cover up the severity of the incident.

    Methanol-tainted alcohol is not a problem limited to Southeast Asia; it is a global public safety hazard that disproportionately impacts local populations in low- and middle-income countries where affordable legal alcohol is hard to access, and illicit, unregulated liquor markets thrive. Data collected by medical humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders on suspected poisoning incidents identifies Indonesia, India, and Russia as the three nations with the highest number of reported cases. Illicit distributors often add the cheaper methanol as a replacement for food-grade ethanol to cut production costs, while it can also end up in homemade liquor as an accidental byproduct of poor distillation practices. Even small amounts of the chemical can cause life-threatening poisoning, permanent organ damage, or death.

    Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong released a statement Friday echoing the families’ anger, saying she was “deeply frustrated and bitterly disappointed” that Lao authorities were not pursuing the most severe charges possible in connection with the deaths. Wong’s office declined to immediately share additional details on the number of people to be charged or the specific counts anticipated. In response to the insufficient proposed charges, Wong and Australian Prime Minister announced that a special envoy had been dispatched to Vientiane on Friday to formally deliver the Australian government’s objections, and push for a full, transparent investigation that delivers meaningful justice for all six victims. Australian diplomatic officials also summoned the Lao ambassador to Canberra for formal discussions over the case. As of Friday, the Lao Embassy in Canberra had not issued any response to requests for comment on the families’ and Australian government’s criticisms. The report was filed by Graham-McLay from Auckland, New Zealand.

  • India launches first hydrogen-powered train built in the country to expand clean energy on railways

    India launches first hydrogen-powered train built in the country to expand clean energy on railways

    NEW DELHI – In a landmark step toward decarbonizing one of the world’s largest rail networks and advancing domestic clean energy manufacturing, India debuted its first indigenously developed hydrogen-powered train this Friday. The inaugural service, named “NaMo Green Rail” in a nod to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was officially inaugurated by Modi at Jind Railway Station in the northern state of Haryana, where it will begin regular operations.

    The new train consists of two hydrogen-fueled driving units paired with eight passenger coaches. According to Indian Railway officials, it boasts a top operating speed of 75 kilometers per hour (roughly 47 miles per hour) and can accommodate up to 2,600 passengers per trip. Unlike traditional diesel locomotives that spew greenhouse gases and local air pollutants, hydrogen fuel cell-powered trains produce no harmful direct emissions—their only byproduct from energy generation is water vapor, making them a zero-emission alternative for non-electrified rail routes.

    This launch is not just a one-off demonstration; it forms the core of a pilot project designed to test the real-world feasibility of hydrogen technology for Indian Railways. The initiative includes purpose-built hydrogen storage and refueling infrastructure built alongside the route, allowing engineers and policymakers to gather operational data ahead of potential wider rollouts across the country’s vast 68,000-kilometer rail network.

    In a social media post on X following the inauguration, Modi emphasized the milestone’s dual importance for India’s national development. He framed the rollout as a critical leap forward for both the country’s goal of building a self-reliant industrial economy and its global commitment to sustainable, low-carbon development.

    Globally, hydrogen trains have emerged as a leading solution for rail networks aiming to phase out polluting diesel locomotives on routes where full electrification is not economically or logistically practical. A number of other countries have already begun deploying hydrogen-powered passenger services in recent years, creating a growing global market for the technology.

    For India, this launch aligns with much broader national climate and energy strategies. The country has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, and Indian Railways has identified green hydrogen as a key alternative to diesel for its non-electrified routes. The government has also prioritized scaling up domestic green hydrogen production as part of its national clean energy transition, positioning the country as a growing player in the global hydrogen economy.

  • Japan enacts law to punish national flag vandals. Opponents say it’s a threat to free speech

    Japan enacts law to punish national flag vandals. Opponents say it’s a threat to free speech

    TOKYO – In a landmark victory for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s right-wing policy platform, Japan has formally enacted a divisive new law that criminalizes the desecration of the country’s national hinomaru flag, triggering fierce pushback from opposition lawmakers, legal scholars, and free speech advocates who warn the legislation threatens core constitutional protections.

    The new law, enacted Friday, imposes harsh penalties for any public act that damages, removes, or defaces the national flag in a manner deemed to cause “extreme discomfort or sense of disgust” to others. Violators can face up to two years in prison or a fine of 200,000 Japanese yen, equivalent to roughly $1,230. The legislation explicitly includes footage of desecration shared via livestream or social media uploads, even when the act itself occurs in a private space, while carving out narrow exceptions for non-tangible flag depictions in art, AI-generated content, anime, and small decorative flags used for food garnishes.

    For Takaichi and her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the legislation fills a longstanding gap in Japanese law. Japan already has statutes in place that penalize vandalism of foreign national flags displayed at diplomatic facilities, designed to prevent international diplomatic disputes. Takaichi has argued that the absence of similar protections for Japan’s own flag was inherently wrong.

    Today, the hinomaru – a simple red sun disc set against a white field – is a ubiquitous sight across Japan, flown at government offices, featured prominently at international summits and athletic competitions, and waved by imperial well-wishers at public events hosted by the Imperial Palace. A second variant, the 16-rayed kyokujitsuki, remains a source of intense regional controversy: it was the official flag of Japan’s pre-WWII imperial navy, used during the country’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula and military occupation of parts of China and other East Asian nations, drawing consistent vehement protest from neighboring countries.

    Despite the LDP’s framing of the law as a measure to protect public respect for national symbols, critics have roundly condemned it for its intentionally vague language. Opponents argue the broadly worded statute is designed to intimidate citizens and suppress political dissent against Takaichi’s administration, risking violations of Japan’s constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. They warn the ambiguous wording could chill legitimate use of flag imagery in protest art, political demonstration, and critical speech.

    Many top legal experts share these concerns. Motohiro Hashimoto, a constitutional law professor at Tokyo’s Chuo University, told a recent parliamentary hearing that criminalizing flag desecration effectively equates criticism of the government with a criminal offense. Lawmakers from opposition parties have also highlighted the lack of clear guidelines to define punishable conduct. During parliamentary debate, Ayaka Shiomura, a lawmaker from the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, repeatedly pressed ruling party officials on whether crossing out a flag during a political rally would qualify as an offense. LDP lawmaker Akihisa Shiozaki acknowledged the ambiguity, responding that no clear standards can be set ahead of an actual incident.

    Legal analysts note that while other developed nations including the United States and multiple European countries have flag desecration laws on their books, those regulations typically include far clearer eligibility criteria and stronger guardrails to protect free speech.

    Controversy over Japan’s national flag is not a new issue. The design traces its roots to ancient Japanese sun worship, and was formally adopted as the flag for Japanese commercial vessels in 1870. During World War II, it was a common patriotic symbol carried by soldiers deploying to the front lines. However, it was not formally recognized as Japan’s official national flag until 1999, due to decades of public division over its ties to the country’s wartime imperial past.

    From the 1980s onward, Japanese government efforts to promote the hinomaru and the national anthem Kimigayo in public schools sparked sustained protest from teachers who opposed their use for compulsory patriotic education. The tension reached a tragic head in 1999, when a Hiroshima school principal died by suicide on the eve of a graduation ceremony, caught between conflicting demands from protesting teachers and local education officials who ordered mandatory display of the flag.

    The enactment of the new law marks a clear political win for Takaichi and her right-wing base, as the prime minister continues to advance a nationalist policy agenda that has reshaped Japanese domestic politics in recent months.

  • Indian activist on fast for 20 days refuses to end hunger strike

    Indian activist on fast for 20 days refuses to end hunger strike

    A 20-day-long indefinite hunger strike by prominent Indian education reform activist Sonam Wangchuk has emerged as a flashpoint of political tension in New Delhi, with the Delhi High Court stepping in this week to mandate round-the-clock health monitoring for the 59-year-old protester, who has already lost more than 9 kilograms after surviving on only salt and water since the protest began.

    Despite growing appeals from across India’s political and civil society spectrum to end his fast, Wangchuk has remained unyielding in his commitment to the protest, which he launched in solidarity with the online satirical activist movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The movement has organized nationwide demonstrations to demand sweeping changes to India’s education system and the resignation of federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the wake of a high-profile medical entrance exam cancellation earlier this year.

    The exam, a key entrance test for aspiring medical students across the country, was called off in early May after widespread reports of a major question paper leak. Protesters argue that repeated leaks and systemic failures in India’s examination system have ruined the career prospects of millions of young students, and Pradhan must take ultimate moral responsibility for the scandal and step down from his post.

    Speaking from his protest site at New Delhi’s iconic Jantar Mantar, where crowds have gathered daily to support his action, Wangchuk acknowledged his declining physical condition but reaffirmed his unshaken resolve. “I’ve grown weak from the outside but I’m strong from within,” he told supporters, whose response filled the square with cheers and applause. Though his voice was noticeably frail in video footage shared Friday on the CJP’s official X account, Wangchuk used his address to urge supporters to join a planned peaceful march to India’s Parliament on Monday.

    “Together, we will march peacefully to the parliament and put forward our petitions at the altar of democracy,” he said, adding a dark joke that if he did not survive long enough to join the march, “my ghost would join the march.”

    To date, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling government has refused to open any dialogue with the protesters, with Pradhan dismissing the CJP and its backers as “the B-team of disruptive elements.” But mounting pressure from opposition parties and civil society leaders has forced the issue into the public spotlight, with high-profile politicians openly backing Wangchuk’s demands.

    On Thursday, former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national leader Arvind Kejriwal visited the protest site to meet Wangchuk, greeting the activist with a traditional folded-hand welcome before echoing calls for the government to negotiate with demonstrators. “Every year, exam papers get leaked and youth pay the price,” Kejriwal said, calling on the administration to listen to the grievances of students and Wangchuk, and even suggesting that Pradhan be replaced by the activist himself.

    Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, leader of the National Conference party, also spoke out in support of Wangchuk this week, noting that past governments had opened dialogue with hunger-striking activists when public grievances were legitimate. Abdullah recalled that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government sent senior ministers to negotiate with iconic anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare during his 2011 hunger strike in New Delhi, a landmark moment for Indian grassroots protest. “Politics has its place, but there must also be a room for humanity and compassion,” Abdullah said, adding that “no attempt has been made so far to initiate a dialogue with Mr Wangchuk” despite his “legitimate” demands.

    The legal intervention came Thursday during a court hearing on a public petition regarding Wangchuk’s deteriorating health. The Delhi High Court ordered the federal government to immediately intervene to protect the activist’s health, mandating regular monitoring and access to urgent medical care if required. Following the court order, The Times of India reported that India’s federal Ministry of Health has directed three top New Delhi government hospitals to conduct comprehensive health checks on Wangchuk twice every day to track his declining condition.

    As the country waits for Monday’s planned parliamentary march, the standoff between grassroots protestors and the ruling government continues to intensify, with Wangchuk’s declining health adding a urgent time pressure to the unfolding political crisis.