Not Your Casual News Week 23: Pakistan's Imran Khan acquitted in “cipher case” but remains in jail
Also about India's elections, testimonies from Russian soldiers and water on Mars
Imran Khan partially acquitted
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been cleared of leaking state secrets in what has become known as the “Cipher Case.”
Khan was accused of leaking a diplomatic cable in 2022 that he claimed showed a US plot against him, an allegation both the US and Pakistani officials deny.
While the Islamabad High Court overturned his 10-year sentence in that case, Khan will remain in prison on a separate conviction related to his 2018 marriage, which a court ruled was illegal.
Khan, ousted from office in 2022, claims that all the charges against him are politically motivated attempts to keep him out of the upcoming elections.
Despite his legal battles, Khan’s party remains a powerful force in Pakistani politics, securing the most seats in February’s elections.
India’s political chessboard has been shaken
After six weeks and 642 million votes, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a second term in office, but his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of a parliamentary majority.
The result marks a significant shift in Indian politics, ending the BJP’s decade-long single-party dominance.
While exit polls predicted a landslide victory for the BJP, the party secured only 239 seats, well short of the 272 needed to form a government. The opposition, led by the Indian National Congress, won 235 seats.
Modi will remain prime minister by forming a coalition government, but his power will be significantly reduced.
Nevertheless, the prime minister declared the elections a “celebration of democracy” — which they are, given that many thought India was sliding towards dictatorship.
What Else Happened?
Rare testominies from Russians soldiers. The Moscow Times boarded a train full of soldiers in southern Russia, some going to the front, some coming back for short leaves. What they report is a rare insight into Russian opinion. “I can’t tell the men, otherwise they wouldn’t fight with the hope of winning,” explained one soldier in charge of planning Russian suicide attacks, part of the so-called “meat grinder”, a tactic designed to distract the defence from the main attack elsewhere. Another soldier compared fighting Ukrainians to fighting “some of our own”, the same soldier then declaring Ukraine was never a sovereign nation and he fights to “reclaim our historic lands.” One of the soldiers, however, found the war “pointless,” quickly nuanced by others who are convinced Russia will eventually win. In the end, it is a pretty good piece demonstrating one more time that the narrative of “Putin’s war” is false. It is the war of the Russian people.
Myanmar junta accused of massacring civilians. The Arakan Army (AA) claims that the Myanmar military junta is responsible for the deaths of at least 76 civilians in Byian Phyu village, Rakhine State. The AA claims that junta troops detained villagers, accusing them of links to the armed group. Over the course of two days, the detainees were reportedly tortured, denied food and water, and eventually killed. Witnesses reported that most of the victims were men whose bodies were found with burn marks. At least three women were reportedly raped and two killed. The junta has denied the allegations, claiming that only three men were shot after attempting to seize a firearm from an officer. The AA has vowed to retaliate against those involved, while the National Unity Government has condemned the violence and called for justice for the victims.
UK immigration crackdown backfires on Ireland. Ireland is facing a surge in asylum seekers crossing the border from Northern Ireland as a direct result of the UK’s tough new immigration policies, with one minister declaring that “80% of asylum seekers” are coming across the border. The influx has overwhelmed Ireland’s already strained housing and social services, pushing the country to the brink. Dublin is struggling to cope with the rising numbers, with tent cities springing up and being quickly dismantled by the authorities. The situation is fuelling anti-immigrant sentiment and benefiting far-right groups who blame migrants for the housing crisis. Caught between a strained system and mounting public pressure, the Irish government is facing criticism for its handling of the crisis, including cutting financial support for Ukrainian refugees.
You can read my latest piece here for more details.
Climate News
Fires rage in Brazilian wetlands amid extreme drought. The Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland in Brazil, is experiencing a worrying increase in fires. And when I say worrying, I mean a 980% increase. This staggering figure has been revealed by satellite data from Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research (INPE), which shows the number of fires in the Pantanal wetlands up to 5 June compared to the same period last year. The alarming trend is being driven by the severe drought conditions gripping the region, with experts predicting that the drought will reach extreme levels by 2024. The Pantanal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a biodiversity hotspot, home to jaguars, giant river otters and hyacinth macaws. The fires pose a serious threat to this fragile ecosystem, endangering both wildlife and local communities. The current drought is linked to the El Niño climate pattern, which is known to bring drier conditions to the region.
Death Valley nears highest temperature ever recorded. California’s Death Valley, already notorious for its scorching temperatures, approached the highest temperature ever recorded this week, reaching 121 degrees Fahrenheit or 49.4 degrees Celsius. It comes amid a brutal heat wave sweeping across the southwestern United States, with experts warning that climate change is exacerbating these extreme weather events. Death Valley holds the record for the hottest air temperature ever recorded on Earth — a sweltering 134 degrees Fahrenheit (56.7 degrees Celsius) in 1913. The area’s unique geography, characterised by a deep and narrow valley below sea level, traps heat and contributes to the extreme conditions. As global temperatures continue to rise, scientists predict that heat waves will become more frequent and intense, posing significant risks to human health and ecosystems.
Image of the Week
At the top of this 29.9 kilometre (18.6 mile) Martian mountain, almost three times the height of Everest, the blue stain in the crater is… frost water!
Frost water has been discovered for the first time at Mars’ equator, a region previously thought to be too warm for frost to exist. This groundbreaking discovery, made by the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Mars Express spacecraft, could have a major impact on our understanding of water on Mars.
The frost was found in the Tharsis region, home to the largest volcanic area on Mars, including Olympus Mons, the highest peak in the solar system. This finding challenges previous assumptions, as it was thought that the combination of sunlight and a thin atmosphere would prevent frost from forming in this equatorial zone.
Adomas Valantinas, who discovered the frost as a PhD student at the University of Bern and is now a researcher at Brown University, stresses the significance of the discovery. “We thought it was impossible for frost to form around the Martian equator,” Valantinas said, noting that unique processes must allow it to form.