Every design choice that social media platforms make nudges users toward certain actions, values and emotional states.

It is a design choice to offer a news feed that combines verified news sources with conspiracy blogs – interspersed with photos of a family picnic – with no distinction between these very different types of information. It is a design choice to use algorithms that find the most emotional or outrageous content to show users, hoping it keeps them online. And it is a design choice to send bright red notifications, keeping people in a state of expectation for the next photo or juicy piece of gossip.

Platform design is a silent pilot steering human behavior.

Social media platforms are bringing massive changes to how people get their news and how they communicate and behave. For example, the “endless scroll” is a design feature that aims to keep users scrolling and never reaching the bottom of a page where they might decide to pause.

I’m a political scientist who researches aspects of technology that support democracy and social cohesion, and I’ve observed how the design of social media platforms affects them.

Democracy is in crisis globally, and technology is playing a role. Most large platforms optimize their designs for profit, not community or democracy. Increasingly, Big Tech is siding with autocrats, and the platforms’ designs help keep society under control.

There are alternatives, however. Some companies design online platforms to defend democratic values.

Optimized for profit

A handful of tech billionaires dominate the global information ecosystem. Without public accountability or oversight, they determine what news shows up on your feed and what data they collect and share.

Social media companies say they are in the business of connecting people, but they make most of their money as data brokers and advertising firms. Time spent on platforms translates to profit. The more time you spend online, the more ads you see and the more data they can collect from you.

This ad-based business model demands designs that encourage endless scrolling, social comparison and emotional engagement. Platforms routinely claim they merely reflect user behavior, yet internal documents and whistleblower accounts have shown that toxic content often gets a boost because it captures people’s attention.

Tech companies design platforms based on extensive psychological research. Examples include flashing notifications that make your phone jump and squeak, colorful rewards when others like your posts, and algorithms that push out the most emotional content to stimulate your most base emotions of anger, shame or glee.

Optimizing designs for user engagement undermines mental health and society. Social media sites favor hype and scandal over factual accuracy, and public manipulation over designing for safety, privacy and user agency. The resulting prevalence of polarizing false and deceptive information is corrosive to democracy.

Many analysts identified these problems nearly a decade ago. But now there is a new threat: Some tech executives are looking to capture political power to advance a new era of techno-autocracy.

Optimized for political power

A techno-autocracy is a political system where an authoritarian government uses technology to control its population. Techno-autocrats spread disinformation and propaganda, using fear tactics to demonize others and distract from corruption. They leverage massive amounts of data, artificial intelligence and surveillance to censor opponents.

For example, China uses technology to monitor and surveil its population with public cameras. Chinese platforms like WeChat and Weibo automatically scan, block or delete messages and posts for sensitive words like “freedom of speech.” Russia promotes domestic platforms like VK that are closely monitored and partly owned by state-linked entities that use it to promote political propaganda.

Over a decade ago, tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and now Vice President JD Vance, began aligning with far-right political philosophers like Curtis Yarvin. They argue that democracy impedes innovation, favoring concentrated decision-making in corporate-controlled mini-states governed through surveillance. Embracing this philosophy of techno-autocracy, they moved from funding and designing the internet to reshaping government.

Techno-autocrats weaponize social media platforms as part of their plan to dismantle democratic institutions.

The political capture of both X and Meta also have consequences for global security. At Meta, Mark Zuckerberg removed barriers to right-wing propaganda and openly endorsed President Donald Trump’s agenda. Musk changed X’s algorithm to highlight right-wing content, including Russian propaganda.

Designing tech for democracy

Recognizing the power that platform design has on society, some companies are designing new civic participation platforms that support rather than undermine society’s access to verified information and places for public deliberation. These platforms offer design features that big tech companies could adopt for improving democratic engagement that can help counter techno-autocracy.

In 2014, a group of technologists founded Pol.is, an open-source technology for hosting public deliberation that leverages data science. Pol.is enables participants to propose and vote on policy ideas using what they call “computational democracy.” The Pol.is design avoids personal attacks by having no “reply” button. It offers no flashy newsfeed, and it uses algorithms that identify areas of agreement and disagreement to help people make sense of a diversity of opinions. A prompt question asks for people to offer ideas and vote up or down on other ideas. People participate anonymously, helping to keep the focus on the issues and not the people.

Taiwan used the Pol.is platform to enable mass civic engagement in the 2014 democracy movement. The U.K. government’s Collective Intelligence Lab used the platform to generate public discussion and generate new policy proposals on climate and health care policies. In Finland, a public foundation called Sitra uses Pol.is in its “What do you think, Finland?” public dialogues.

Barcelona, Spain, designed a new participatory democracy platform called Decidim in 2017. Now used throughout Spain and Europe, Decidim enables citizens to collaboratively propose, debate and decide on public policies and budgets through transparent digital processes.

Nobel Peace Laureate Maria Ressa founded Rappler Communities in 2023, a social network in the Philippines that combines journalism, community and technology. It aims to restore trust in institutions by providing safe spaces for exchanging ideas and connecting with neighbors, journalists and civil society groups. Rappler Communities offers the public data privacy and portability, meaning you can take your information – like photos, contacts or messages – from one app or platform and transfer it to another. These design features are not available on the major social media platforms.

Tech designed for improving public dialogue is possible – and can even work in the middle of a war zone. In 2024, the Alliance for Middle East Peace began using Remesh.ai, an AI-based platform, to find areas of common ground between Israelis and Palestinians in order to advance the idea of a public peace process and identify elements of a ceasefire agreement.

Platform designs are a form of social engineering to achieve some sort of goal – because they shape how people behave, think and interact – often invisibly. Designing more and better platforms to support democracy can be an antidote to the wave of global autocracy that is increasingly bolstered by tech platforms that tighten public control.

Lisa Schirch, Professor of the Practice of Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The people had indeed spoken—and they had rejected everything Cuomo represented. The former New York governor, married into the Kennedy dynasty through his union with Kerry Kennedy, had tried to buy his way back to relevance with billionaire money and the weight of two of America’s most storied political families. The political titan who had resigned in disgrace had just been crushed by a nobody. A housing counsellor from Queens. A 33-year-old democratic socialist whom most New Yorkers couldn’t have picked out of a police lineup six months earlier.

Across the city in Astoria, that nobody—Zohran Kwame Mamdani, son of Indo-Ugandan exiles, former rapper, sometime housing advocate – stood before a crowd of volunteers who had just rewritten the rules of American politics. They had not merely defeated a former governor; they had obliterated him, turning Cuomo’s 30-point lead into a seven-point rout that would make their candidate the Democratic nominee for mayor of America’s largest city.

This was not supposed to happen. Not in New York, where money and connections have long determined who gets to compete for City Hall. Not to Andrew Cuomo, scion of political royalty, armed with $33 million and the backing of Wall Street’s finest. And certainly not at the hands of an obscure Assemblyman whose campaign headquarters doubled as a community organizing centre in Queens, whose previous claim to fame was battling foreclosure notices in immigrant neighbourhoods nobody else bothered to visit.

Yet here was Mamdani, with 93 per cent of ballots counted, claiming 43.5 per cent of first-choice votes against Cuomo’s 36.4 per cent. His primary victory, powered by 50,000 volunteers and $8 million in small-dollar donations, represented something unprecedented in American politics: the emergence of a candidate who successfully translated policy prescriptions into cultural resonance, whose “exuberant economic populism” became, in the words of campaign observers, “a love song to a city yearning for change.” His victory positions him as the Democratic nominee who could become New York’s first Muslim, Indian-American, and millennial mayor—a symbolic breakthrough that extends far beyond representation to embody resistance against the nationalist currents of Donald Trump’s second presidential term.

Roots of Rebellion

To understand how Mamdani reached this moment, one must look to the inheritance that shaped him. Born on October 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda, to Indian parents, Mamdani grew up carrying the legacies of dislocation and resistance. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a renowned Gujarati Shia Muslim scholar at Columbia University, whose work on decolonisation reshaped how generations understood power and citizenship. His mother, Mira Nair, an acclaimed Punjabi Hindu filmmaker, gave voice to diaspora stories through her cinema.

The middle name Kwame, a tribute to Ghanaian revolutionary Kwame Nkrumah, was entirely intentional. It was a signal. Mahmood Mamdani’s own life had been a study in resistance: expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin for being Indian and outspoken, he passed through London refugee camps before returning to a post Amin Kampala. His resignation from the University of Cape Town, after white faculty resisted efforts to decolonise the curriculum, led to his landmark book Citizen and Subject, which reframed Africa’s colonial inheritance as one that divided urban citizens from rural subjects.

That defiant, searching spirit filtered down. Zohran’s undergraduate thesis at Bowdoin, on Uganda’s expulsion of Indians, reflected far more than an academic interest but a personal reckoning. It brought him closer to immigrant communities whose lives echoed his family’s. The narrative of loss and return, of exile and belonging, lived in him.

After arriving in New York at age seven, Mamdani came of age in the city’s multitudes. At Bowdoin, he studied Africana Studies and co-founded Students for Justice in Palestine—his politics expanding beyond borders, his compass set to global justice.

From the Streets to the Statehouse

The path from Bowdoin College to City Hall was anything but conventional for Mamdani. After graduating with a degree in Africana Studies, where he co-founded Students for Justice in Palestine, he spent time pursuing an unlikely passion: hip-hop music. Under a stage name he now prefers to keep private, Mamdani briefly tried his hand as a rapper, before concluding that community organizing offered more direct routes to social change.

His transition to housing advocacy proved formative. Working as a foreclosure prevention counsellor in Queens, Mamdani spent his days in cramped apartments with families facing eviction, navigating bureaucratic mazes to keep people housed. The work provided intimate knowledge of the housing crisis that would later inform his policy prescriptions, but more importantly, it connected him to the human cost of policy failures that most politicians encounter only in statistics.

By 2019, Mamdani was organizing tenant unions in Astoria. Renters, once isolated, began to act collectively. They fought back. And in those tight hallways and cramped living rooms, he learned what real power looked like. The power of platforms paled next to the power of listening, of showing up, of helping people see themselves as part of something larger.

His 2020 election to the New York State Assembly at age 29, defeating a four-term incumbent in Astoria’s diverse district, marked his formal entry into electoral politics. The victory, followed by unopposed re-election, established him as a rising star in progressive circles. His legislative record, including securing $100 million for subway service improvements and piloting fare-free bus programmes, demonstrated his ability to navigate Albany’s complex coalition politics while maintaining his progressive credentials.

The 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes offered another proving ground. Mamdani stood with the unions. His face became familiar on picket lines. His solidarity went beyond symbolism and built the trust that would carry him through a citywide campaign.

A City Crying Out for Bold Answers

When Mamdani unveiled his mayoral platform, critics immediately branded it “radical.” The label didn’t seem to bother him. “These policies reflect what working people demand,” he argued in response, “not what billionaire donors or real estate speculators prefer.” It was classic Mamdani—turning a potential weakness into a populist rallying cry.

His comprehensive agenda reads like a progressive wish list: freeze rents on over one million stabilised apartments, eliminate fares on city buses, fund universal childcare, raise the minimum wage to $30 by 2030, and establish city-run grocery stores to combat food inflation. The financing mechanism—a $10 billion tax on corporations and the ultra-wealthy—represents perhaps the most controversial aspect of his platform, prompting business elites to threaten a capital strike.

Mamdani’s housing strategy represents a particular departure from conventional wisdom, shifting emphasis from developer incentives to tenant-owned buildings—a approach he describes as informed by his years of tenant organising experience. “We’re not going to build our way out of this crisis by making developers richer,” he said during a campaign debate, a line that became a signature applause generator at his rallies.

His public safety vision, prioritising what he calls a “Department of Community Safety” over militarised policing, reflects progressive thinking on criminal justice reform but has drawn scepticism from centrists like Mayor Eric Adams, whose 2024 corruption indictment was ultimately dismissed. When pressed on specifics during a contentious radio interview, Mamdani argued that “public safety means people feeling safe in their homes from eviction, safe in their neighbourhoods from violence, and safe in their workplaces from exploitation.”

David Slays Goliath: How the Upset Happened

The mechanics of Mamdani’s campaign victory represent a masterclass in modern political organising. Defying 31 of 32 polls that favoured Cuomo, the campaign leveraged New York’s ranked-choice voting system with surgical precision. A strategic cross-endorsement with City Comptroller Brad Lander, who secured 11.4 per cent of first-choice votes, provided the crucial margin in reallocations that secured Mamdani’s seven-point victory margin.

The ground game was unprecedented in its scope and intensity. Fifty thousand volunteers conducted 1.2 million door-knocks, reaching diverse communities across the city’s five boroughs. The campaign’s ability to mobilise South Asians in Richmond Hill, Latinos in Jackson Heights, Chinese voters in Flushing, and even make inroads among Brooklyn gentrifiers demonstrated sophisticated targeting and messaging. Even in conservative Staten Island, traditionally hostile territory for progressive candidates, Mamdani narrowed the gap to just nine points.

The financial contrast between the campaigns tells its own story. Mamdani’s $8 million, raised from 21,000 small-dollar donors—75 per cent contributing under $100—stood against Cuomo’s $33 million war chest, including a $25 million super PAC, Fix the City, backed by billionaire Bill Ackman, a Trump supporter and Israel advocate. This David-versus-Goliath dynamic resonated with voters increasingly cynical about money’s role in politics.

Cuomo’s campaign, by contrast, seemed to embody everything voters found objectionable about contemporary politics. Heir to a political dynasty through his father Mario Cuomo, who served as governor from 1983 to 1994, Andrew Cuomo relied heavily on name recognition but failed to qualify for public matching funds. His record—hiding nursing home deaths during COVID-19, discrediting over a dozen women who accused him of sexual harassment, and cutting a 2022 gerrymandering deal that aided Republican House gains—made him a symbol of status-quo failure, unable to withstand Mamdani’s populist surge.

When Identity Meets Authenticity

Mamdani’s relationship with New York’s 600,000-strong South Asian community exemplifies his sophisticated approach to identity politics. Drawing on his mother Mira Nair’s Sikh heritage, he engaged authentically with community institutions, speaking Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi at gurdwaras and community events. His support for India’s 2020-21 farmer protests and praise for Kerala’s Communist leadership demonstrated his ability to navigate complex subcontinental politics while maintaining progressive credentials.

His critique of Hindu nationalism, including calling Narendra Modi “the butcher of Gujarat” for the 2002 riots and condemning the Ram Temple consecration as majoritarian oppression tied to the Babri Masjid’s demolition, drew predictable criticism from BJP MP Kangana Ranaut but solidified his standing among progressive South Asian groups like DRUM. This willingness to take controversial positions on international issues distinguished him from conventional politicians who avoid diaspora controversies.

Perhaps no issue tested Mamdani’s political courage more than Palestine. His characterisation of Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” and his support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement became a litmus test for progressive authenticity. His pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—an indicted war criminal—if elected mayor and Netanyahu visited New York represented a direct challenge to the Democratic establishment’s unwavering support for Israel. During a heated March 2025 confrontation with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, Mamdani demanded the release of detained activist Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian-American organizer arrested while protesting weapons shipments to Israel. The moment, widely shared on social media, further galvanized his support among pro-Palestinian groups and cemented his stance as a rare voice of solidarity within mainstream American politics.

This stance contrasted sharply with Cuomo’s offer to join Netanyahu’s defence team before the International Criminal Court, aligning him with establishment Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. Mamdani’s position, amplified through 135 mosque visits during the campaign, mobilised Muslim voters despite drawing antisemitism accusations from Representative Laura Gillen. The defence mounted by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, citing his clear condemnation of antisemitism as a “disgusting and dangerous ideology,” helped neutralise these attacks.

The Hard Part: From Nominee to City Hall

The transition from primary winner to governing will test Mamdani’s political skills in new ways. With the November general election looming, he must first survive what promises to be a bruising campaign against the Republican nominee while managing New York’s complex electoral dynamics. Should he win in November, governing the city’s $115 billion budget and 300,000 employees will require executive experience that his critics, led by Cuomo, have questioned. The New York Post and business elites, alarmed by his tax proposals, may support Cuomo’s rumoured independent run, creating additional political complications.

Federal budget cuts under Trump’s second term, combined with potential state resistance to progressive policies, will create fiscal constraints that may limit Mamdani’s ability to implement his agenda. However, some of his key proposals, particularly the rent freeze, appear feasible through existing mechanisms like the Rent Guidelines Board.

His electoral coalition—South Asians, Latinos, progressive young voters—provides a strong foundation for governance, but maintaining unity while making the inevitable compromises required for effective administration will require careful political management. His consultations with technocrats like Maria Torres-Springer suggest preparation for the practical challenges of potential governance, though media scrutiny and a Republican opponent in the general election will test his campaign from now until November. Should he prevail in November, potential opposition from figures like Eric Adams would test his administration from the outset.

If Mamdani reaches City Hall, he may join the lineage of American progressives who governed boldly: Milwaukee’s “sewer socialists,” Bernie Sanders in Burlington.

“It always seems impossible until it is done,” he said, quoting Mandela. Mamdani has done what many thought impossible. What remains is to prove it was entirely intentional.

Courtesy: The AIDEM

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A glaring example is Palestine. Since October 2023, Gaza has endured one of the most devastating humanitarian catastrophes in modern times: at least 55,706 Palestinians killed and 130,101 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. By January 2024, UNICEF reported that 14,500 children had been killed, 17,000 orphaned or separated, and Gaza had the highest percentage of child amputees globally. These are not collateral damages – they are systematic violations of law and humanity.

The international legal framework meant to prevent such atrocities such as the Fourth Geneva Convention, Rome Statute of the ICC, Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been consistently ignored. Article 8 of the Rome Statute explicitly defines deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure as war crimes. Yet, violations by Israel are documented in the OHCHR’s 30 December 2024 press release which includes murder, torture, sexual violence, starvation as a weapon of war, indiscriminate attacks on civilian objects, forced displacement, and collective punishment. These are not allegations. They are evidence-backed determinations by UN-mandated experts.

And yet, the world remains largely silent. Why?

Because power protects itself. Nuclear powers whether economically robust or fragile wield an unspoken immunity. Even countries like Pakistan, despite deep economic instability, are seldom threatened directly due to their nuclear deterrence. Their military posture buys them geopolitical respect that their economy cannot.

One of the most guarded secrets in international politics is Israel’s nuclear policy. For decades, Israel has followed a strategy of deliberate ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying possession of nuclear weapons, instead stating: “Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons to the Middle East.” However, in November 2023, amid the intensifying war on Gaza, Israeli Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu publicly floated the idea of dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza, it was a chilling statement that many interpreted as a tacit admission of nuclear capability. While Prime Minister Netanyahu suspended the minister, the world had already taken note. Silence followed.

This silence also extends to Iran, a state with one of the world’s largest proven oil and gas reserves and control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 – 30% of global oil supply transits. Iran, often vocal on Palestine, has been strategically cautious. Its economic and geopolitical dependencies, especially in global energy trade and its own fragile economic ecosystem, have kept it from direct military involvement, despite the moral and ideological stakes.

Meanwhile, the world bears witness to selective intervention. Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, and Lebanon have all suffered under Western or Israeli military aggression, often framed as anti-terrorism but ending in mass civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of state institutions. The U.S. alone has used its UNSC veto power 42 times to shield Israel, while continuing to provide $3 billion annually in military aid.

This is not a religious war. It is a militarised geopolitical strategy aimed at maintaining global power hierarchies. It poses a question by the experts that law exists only for the weak. Sovereignty applies only until it offends the interests of the powerful. And accountability is demanded from the powerless, not those with nuclear warheads and strategic alliances.

It seems that the international system is thus not failing but it is functioning exactly as it was designed: As it was established to protect the dominant? What is urgently needed is a transformation of global governance mechanisms – the UN, the International Criminal Court, and international law must be empowered to act independently of hegemonic influence.

If the targeting of Palestine and the neutralisation of Iran’s potential role can continue unchecked, the precedent set is clear: peace is not a right, but a privilege of the powerful and the global community truly seeks a world free of nuclear weapons, disarmament must begin with the nine nuclear-armed states. If these powers retain their arsenals, calls for non-proliferation will remain hypocritical. This imbalance fosters power hegemony, where peace is dictated through threats, not diplomacy. Non-nuclear states are left vulnerable and forced to surrender or suffer devastating consequences, as seen in Gaza. Without equal commitment to disarmament, the world risks continuing cycles of coercion, conflict, and undeclared genocides against those who dare to resist dominant powers.

(The author is an assistant professor of law and a mediator based in Dubai. Her work focuses on international law, gender rights, and conflict resolution) 

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In the late 1960s, the prevailing opinion among Israeli Shin Bet intelligence officers was that the key to defeating the Palestinian Liberation Organisation was to assassinate its then-leader Yasser Arafat.

The elimination of Arafat, the Shin Bet commander Yehuda Arbel wrote in his diary, was “a precondition to finding a solution to the Palestinian problem.”

For other, even more radical Israelis – such as the ultra-nationalist assassin Yigal Amir – the answer lay elsewhere. They sought the assassination of Israeli leaders such as Yitzak Rabin who wanted peace with the Palestinians.

Despite Rabin’s long personal history as a famed and often ruthless military commander in the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli Wars, Amir stalked and shot Rabin dead in 1995. He believed Rabin had betrayed Israel by signing the Oslo Accords peace deal with Arafat.

It’s been 20 years since Arafat died as possibly the victim of polonium poisoning, and 30 years after the shooting of Rabin. Peace between Israelis and the Palestinians has never been further away.

What Amnesty International and a United Nations Special Committee have called genocidal attacks on Palestinians in Gaza have spilled over into Israeli attacks on the prominent leaders of its enemies in Lebanon and, most recently, Iran.

Since its attacks on Iran began on Friday, Israel has killed numerous military and intelligence leaders, including Iran’s intelligence chief, Mohammad Kazemi; the chief of the armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri; and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami. At least nine Iranian nuclear scientists have also been killed.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said:

We got their chief intelligence officer and his deputy in Tehran.

Iran, predictably, has responded with deadly missile attacks on Israel.

Far from having solved the issue of Middle East peace, assassinations continue to pour oil on the flames.

A long history of extra-judicial killings

Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman’s book Rise and Kill First argues assassinations have long sat at the heart of Israeli politics.

In the past 75 years, there have been more than 2,700 assassination operations undertaken by Israel. These have, in Bergman’s words, attempted to “stop history” and bypass “statesmanship and political discourse”.

This normalisation of assassinations has been codified in the Israeli expression of “mowing the grass”. This is, as historian Nadim Rouhana has shown, a metaphor for a politics of constant assassination. Enemy “leadership and military facilities must regularly be hit in order to keep them weak.”

The point is not to solve the underlying political questions at issue. Instead, this approach aims to sow fear, dissent and confusion among enemies.

Thousands of assassination operations have not, however, proved sufficient to resolve the long-running conflict between Israel, its neighbours and the Palestinians. The tactic itself is surely overdue for retirement.

Targeted assassinations elsewhere

Israel has been far from alone in this strategy of assassination and killing.

Former US President Barack Obama oversaw the extra-judicial killing of Osama Bin Laden, for instance.

After what Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch denounced as a flawed trial, former US President George W. Bush welcomed the hanging of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as “an important milestone on Iraq’s course to becoming a democracy”.

Current US President Donald Trump oversaw the assassination of Iran’s leader of clandestine military operations, Qassem Soleimani, in 2020.

More recently, however, Trump appears to have baulked at granting Netanyahu permission to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

And it’s worth noting the US Department of Justice last year brought charges against an Iranian man who said he’d been tasked with killing Trump.

Elsewhere, in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, it’s common for senior political and media opponents to be shot in the streets. Frequently they also “fall” out of high windows, are killed in plane crashes or succumb to mystery “illnesses”.

A poor record

Extra-judicial killings, however, have a poor record as a mechanism for solving political problems.

Cutting off the hydra’s head has generally led to its often immediate replacement by another equally or more ideologically committed person, as has already happened in Iran. Perhaps they too await the next round of “mowing the grass”.

But as the latest Israeli strikes in Iran and elsewhere show, solving the underlying issue is rarely the point.

In situations where finding a lasting negotiated settlement would mean painful concessions or strategic risks, assassinations prove simply too tempting. They circumvent the difficulties and complexities of diplomacy while avoiding the need to concede power or territory.

As many have concluded, however, assassinations have never killed resistance. They have never killed the ideas and experiences that give birth to resistance in the first place.

Nor have they offered lasting security to those who have ordered the lethal strike.

Enduring security requires that, at some point, someone grasp the nettle and look to the underlying issues.

The alternative is the continuation of the brutal pattern of strike and counter-strike for generations to come.

Matt Fitzpatrick, Professor in International History, Flinders University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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NGOs such as Amnesty International, Save the Children, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), and Oxfam organized the demonstration, which ran through the city to the International Court of Justice. The protesters were all dressed in red, creating a “red line”.

Organisers described it as the country’s largest demonstration in two decades. Many waving Palestinian flags and some chanting “Stop the Genocide”, the demonstrators turned a central park in the city into a sea of red on a sunny afternoon.

“The Dutch cabinet still refuses to draw a red line. That is why we do it, for as long as necessary,” Marjon Rozema of Amnesty International Netherlands said in a statement.

Protesters walked a 5-kilometer loop around the city center of The Hague to symbolically create the red line that the government has failed to set.

And what a red line it is!!!

The Hague, The Netherlands, now. Protest against Netanyahu’s genocide in Gaza.

Approximately 200.000 participants. #rodelijn #redline #israel pic.twitter.com/T2s5Mf1wgo

— Whispering (@AnnetinMokum) June 15, 2025

Tienduizenden mensen zijn weer in Den Haag lom een rode lijn te trekken tegen medeplichtigheid in de genocide in Gaza en het oorlogszuchtige politiek van onze politici. pic.twitter.com/OXmgRqyXnc

— DiEM25 in Nederland (@DiEM25_NL) June 15, 2025

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“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history. Moments ago Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a recorded video message, reported Reuters.

Following the Israeli strikes on Tehran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio termed the attack as Israel’s “unilateral” action against Iran. The US washed its hands off the attacks.

“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence,” said Rubio in a statement.

“President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” he added.

It should not be seen as a coincidence that on June 13 –the same day of the attacks—the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had overwhelming in a Resolution pulled up Israel for its blockade of Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire.

Following the attack, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Israel will face “severe punishment”, reported the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the IRNA news agency also reported that Major General Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Cops has been assassinated in the Israeli strike. Iranian state media reported that at least two nuclear scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were killed in the strikes.

India has meanwhile, according to a report in The Hindustan Times cautioned both Israel and Iran against any escalation. India on Friday expressed deep concern after Israel launched waves of air strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites and urged both countries to avoid escalatory steps.

An Israeli military official told Reuters that Israel was striking “dozens” of nuclear and military targets including the facility at Natanz in central Iran. The official added that Iran had enough material to make 15 nuclear bombs within days.

Along with launching these attacks, reports confirmed that the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defence units stood at high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran. In its response after the attack, the government of Iran said that starting a war with the country was like “twisting the lion’s tail”.

The Israeli military said that Iran has launched over 100 drones at Israel in the last few hours.

IAEA confirms Iran’s Uranium enrichment facility hit, UN chief condemns Israeli action

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that that Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz was hit by an Israeli strike.

“The IAEA is closely monitoring the deeply concerning situation in Iran. Agency can confirm Natanz site among targets. The Agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country,” said IAEA head Rafael Mariano Grossi in a statement on X.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has condemned the “military escalation” by Israel. In a statement through his spokesperson, Guterres said that he was “concerned” by Israel’s action “while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme are underway, reported AP.

“The Secretary-General asks both sides to show maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford,” said Farhan Haq, the UN spokesperson, said in a statement late Thursday (June 12).

The Indian Embassy in Iran requested all Indian nationals & persons of Indian origin in Iran to remain vigilant, avoid all unnecessary movements, follow the Embassy’s Social Media accounts & observe safety protocols as advised by local authorities.

The Indian Embassy in Israel to issue a similar advisory and urged Indian nationals to exercise caution, avoid unnecessary travel within the country and stay close to safety shelters. “We are closely monitoring the evolving situation, including reports related to attacks on nuclear sites. India urges both sides to avoid any escalatory steps. Existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy should be utilised to work towards a de-escalation of the situation and resolving underlying issues. India enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support,” said the Ministry of External affairs in a statement.

“Our Missions in both countries are in contact with the Indian community. All Indian nationals in the region are advised to exercise caution, stay safe and follow local security advisories,” the MEA statement added.  “We are deeply concerned at the recent developments between Iran and Israel,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

“India urges both sides to avoid any escalatory steps. Existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy should be utilised to work towards a de-escalation of the situation and resolving underlying issues,” the statement said.

The statement noted that India “enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support”.

The Indian side is closely monitoring the evolving situation, including “reports related to attacks on nuclear sites”. Indian embassies in both countries are in contact with the Indian community, and all Indian nationals in the region were advised to “exercise caution, stay safe and follow local security advisories”.

The scale and scope of Friday’s air strikes by Israel was much greater than tit-for-tat attacks carried out in 2024.

In April 2024, Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel after the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus. This was followed by another round of hostilities last October, after Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel responded on both occasions by targeting Iranian infrastructure and military facilities.

The post Israel bombs Iran, targets nuclear facilities, military leaders, scientists; US claims it’s not involved appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The resolution reiterated previous United National General Assembly (UNGA) demands for a permanent and immediate ceasefire and the dignified unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups. It also strongly condemned any use of starvation of civilians as method of warfare and demands that Israel, the occupying power, immediately end its blockade of Gaza and ensure humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians throughout the Strip. The Resolution was passed on June 13.

Besides, the UN Resolution that was passed stresses on the need for accountability to ensure Israel’s respect of international law obligations and calls on UN member states to individually and collectively take all measures necessary, in line with international law and the UN Charter, to ensure Israeli compliance with said obligations.

The UN Resolution on Gaza may be read here.

As detailed on the UN website, the Resolution had been brought forward by over 20 countries, and most critically it strongly condemns the use of starvation as a weapon of war, demands a full lifting of the Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid, and insists on the protection of civilians under international law. Although General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, they carry significant political and moral weight.

The Resolution of June 13, followed the developments at the Security Council on June 4: On June 4, the Security Council failed to adopt its draft resolution after a veto by the United States, a permanent member.

“Meanwhile, famine conditions continue to threaten lives across Gaza, and reports persist of civilians being killed or injured while trying to access food at distribution points operated independently of the UN but supported by Israel and the US.

“Assembly steps into as Security Council stalls

“Opening the special session, General Assembly President Philémon Yang said that “the horrors in Gaza must end” after 20 months of war. He criticised the Security Council’s ongoing paralysis and inability to fulfil its core responsibility to uphold peace and security.

“He called the situation on the ground “unacceptable”, highlighting the deprivation of food, water and medicine for civilians, the continued captivity of hostages, and the need for urgent international action.

“Mr. Yang noted that next week’s high-level meeting in New York on implementing a two-State solution, chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, saying it would offer a chance for renewed commitment towards peace in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“Key elements of the resolution:

• Ceasefire: Calls for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire by all parties.
• Hostages: Demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups.
• Implementation: Urges the full and immediate implementation of Security Council resolution 2735 (2024), including the ceasefire, hostage and prisoner exchanges, return of displaced persons, and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
• International law: Reaffirms that all parties must uphold international humanitarian and human rights law, with particular attention to civilian protection and accountability for violations.
• Starvation as a weapon: Strongly condemns the use of starvation and the denial of aid as tactics of war.
• Humanitarian access: Demands the full, safe and unimpeded delivery of aid – including food, medicine, water, shelter and fuel – throughout Gaza.
• Detention practices: Calls for the humane treatment and release of those arbitrarily detained, and the return of remains.
• ICJ advisory opinion: Recalls the request for an urgent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on Israel’s obligations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
• End of blockade: Demands Israel immediately lift the blockade on Gaza and open all border crossings for aid deliveries.
• Accountability: Urges Member States to take necessary steps to ensure Israel complies with its international legal obligations.
• UN and humanitarian personnel: Calls for full respect for the work and immunity of UN staff and humanitarian workers.
• Protection of aid workers: Urges both humanitarian and UN bodies to ensure the safety of their personnel.
• Medical neutrality: Underscores the duty to protect medical workers, health facilities, and transport routes.

Watch as the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire and an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, and need for accountability for Israel’s violations: pic.twitter.com/70QQLxTP14

— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) June 12, 2025

Watch as the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire and an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, and need for accountability for Israel’s violations: pic.twitter.com/70QQLxTP14

— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) June 12, 2025

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Gaza: 700 citizens demand release of detained Madleen activists, call upon UK to fix Israel’s accountability for genocide, blockade, war crimes in Palestine

The post UNGCA Resolution, Gaza Genocide: Abandoning decades of commitment to non-alignment, India abstains appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The information in this article has been extracted from the public statements and press releases of SMART Legislation, the action arm of SMART Elections, which is the lead plaintiff in the case. Both organisations have described themselves as “dedicated to ensuring fair and accurate elections.”

The June 11 statement by the organisation questions the conclusions drawn in an article on Msn.com that possibly sensationalises the issue. However the fact that the transparency and accountability of the 2024 US elections are the subject matter of serious investigation is based on fact.

Calling into serious questions the US 2024 Presidential race and the transparency of the electoral process, a non-partisan group, Smart Elections has filed a law suit, demanding answers.

“There is clear evidence that the senate results are incorrect, and there are statistical indications that the presidential results are highly unlikely,” stated Lulu Friesdat, Founder and Executive Director of SMART Legislation in a press release. “If the results are incorrect, it is a violation of the constitutional rights of each person who voted in the 2024 Rockland County general election. The best way to determine if the results are correct is to examine the paper ballots in a full public, transparent hand recount of all presidential and senate ballots in Rockland County. We believe it’s vitally important, especially in the current environment, to be absolutely confident about the results of the election.”

As stated in the complaint, more voters have sworn they voted for independent U.S. Senate candidate Diane Sare than the Rockland County Board of Elections counted and certified, directly contradicting those results. Additionally, the presidential election results exhibit numerous statistical anomalies. The anomalies in the presidential race include multiple districts where hundreds of voters chose the Democratic candidate Kirsten Gillibrand for Senate, but where zero voters selected the Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Additionally, a statistician determined that the 2024 presidential election results were statistically highly unlikely in four of the five towns in Rockland County when compared with 2020 results. Max Bonamente, Ph.D., Professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the author of the textbook, “Statistics and Analysis of Scientific Data,” says in an upcoming paper on the Rockland data, “These data would require extreme sociological or political causes for their explanation, and would benefit from further assurances as to their fidelity.”

Discovery (disclosure of evidence) could give both the court and the public a window into what issues in Rockland County are contributing to irregularities in the election results. Plaintiffs anticipate some depositions as well. Because the source of the discrepancies is unknown, a court-ordered recount could alter the election results or reveal issues in other races

(From the Press Release)

• District 39 (Exhibit A): Nine voters signed sworn statements saying they cast ballots for Diane Sare in the U.S. Senate race. The Rockland County Board of Elections recorded just five votes-a nearly 50% shortfall.
• District 62 (Exhibit B): Five voters said they voted for Sare; the Rockland County Board of Elections recorded three – a 40% deficit.

Does this all mean that the Former US Vice-President and Presidential candidate in 2024, Kamala Harris may have actually won the poll race? A report in MSN. Com and then Economic Times suggests that this is possible. However this is what Smart Elections says in response:

“Was There tampering?

Yesterday an article went up on MSN.com with some very serious statements about the 2024 election with information and quotes that were attributed to us – SMART      Elections. We appreciate the long overdue focus on this issue……

The article covers software and firmware updates to 2024 election technology and asks whether those updates had the necessary security and transparency. Although the article gets some of the details incorrect, we agree with the article’s overall conclusion that there were serious failures in the security and transparency of the updates. We disagree with the article’s claim that this proves Kamala Harris won the 2024 presidential election. It’s just not that simple.

Regarding the updates: You want technology to get updates. It’s an important part of good security practices. Often that is how you protect against known vulnerabilities that are discovered. You do a software update.

But in this case, the website of one of the testing labs approved to give software updates, was in disrepair for months. The testing lab, ProV&V is one of two that are authorized to approve software updates for U.S. election technology. Was their website hacked? Unknown. Was the company hacked? Unknown. They say they were building a new website, and eventually after months, a new rather incomplete, lame website did emerge.

Is the testing lab Pro V&V sloppy? Definitely. Are we concerned about all the software updates they released. You bet we are. Can we say conclusively that there was some kind of malware in those updates that changed vote totals? No we cannot. That’s why we’re in court. To get that kind of information.”

Who is behind Pro V&V, and why is there no oversight?

At the centre of the controversy is Jack Cobb, the director of Pro V&V. While he doesn’t appear in the headlines, his lab certifies the machines that millions of Americans use to vote. According to the report, once the controversy began to gain traction, Pro V&V’s website went dark, leaving only a phone number and a generic email address. No public logs. No documentation. No comment.

Pro V&V is certified by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). However, once accredited, labs like Pro V&V faces no real public oversight. There is no hotline, no review board, and no formal process for the public to challenge or remove them.

The EAC itself has four commissioners, two of whom—Benjamin Hovland and Donald Palmer—were appointed by Donald Trump during his first presidency.

As of June 2025, Pro V&V remains fully accredited and un-investigated. 

Will the outcome of the suit change election results?

In May 2025, Judge Rachel Tanguay ruled that allegations raised by SMART Elections were credible enough to move forward. The case, SMART Legislation et al. v. Rockland County Board of Elections, is scheduled for hearing this fall. While the lawsuit won’t change the outcome of the election—Congress already certified Trump’s victory—it could set off wider probes, from state investigations to federal criminal inquiries. The upcoming court case could become a pivotal moment in election security history. The lawsuit claims that a private company quietly changed voting machines in over 40% of U.S. counties—and no one knew until after the votes were counted. 

The implications are serious:

• Could future elections be altered without oversight?
• Should the EAC change how it certifies and monitors voting labs?
• Is the public being kept in the dark about the technology behind their vote? 

SMART Elections warns this isn’t just about one race:

“If one underfunded watchdog group can dig up this much from a quiet New York suburb, what else is rotting in the shadows of this country’s ballots?”

Other findings in the Lawsuit by Smart Elections

Drop-off Irregularities in Rockland County could mean the results are incorrect

• Drop-off is a measure of the difference between the presidential candidate and a major down-ballot candidate of the same party.
  • A large positive drop-off indicates an “over performance” by a candidate, meaning the candidate received more votes than is typical.
  • A large negative drop-off indicates an “underperformance” by a candidate, meaning the candidate received fewer votes than is typical and could signify votes are missing from the candidate’s totals.
• Republican drop-off (23%): 23% of Trump’s totals in Rockland County exceed the 2024 Republican Senate candidate. The high drop-off rate illustrates that the presidential candidate far outperformed his down-ballot counterpart.
• Democratic drop-off is negative (-9%): 9% of Harris’ totals are below the Democratic Senate candidate. This is a highly unusual phenomenon that was repeated across the state andacross the country. Rockland County is the first county where it is being formally investigated.

Why it matters

Typical drop-off rates run 1-2%. Gaps of 23% or -9% are surprising and could indicate that votes were miscounted. 

Statistical Analysis, Manual Counts & Examination of Voting Systems Can Reveal Problems with Elections

In Bladen County, North Carolina, statistical discrepancies helped investigators identify fraudulent absentee ballots in both the 2016 and 2018 elections.

• In Philadelphia, an election judge repeatedly committed election fraud in multiple elections. It was discovered by a local election official who noticed that the election results did not reconcile correctlyand reported it to law enforcement.
• In Windham County, N.H., voting machines counted the 2020 election results incorrectly due to dust in the machines and folds in the ballots. The incorrect counts were discovered in a hand recount and explained in a forensic audit.

(SMART Elections is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to making U.S. elections secure, accurate, accessible, inclusive, well-administered, and publicly verifiable. SMART Legislation is the action arm of the organization)

Related:

Waiting for US election results?

Analysing the Feasibility of Simultaneous Elections in India: A Review of Committee Recommendations and Constitutional Implications

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The letter was initiated by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), a coalition of grassroots movements in India and signed by numerous other people’s collectives and concerned citizens, committed to justice and human rights. The signatories have condemned the capture of the Freedom Flotilla vessel Madleen, a UK-flagged civilian ship, by Israeli forces in international waters on June 9, 2025, and the unlawful blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza. They demand the immediate and dignified release of the eight detained Madleen activists, the return of the four ‘deported’ activists to resume their peaceful mission, an end to Israel’s blockade, accountability for its genocidal war crimes and immediate, unhindered access to humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Madleen carried vital aid—baby formula, food, medical supplies—for Gaza’s population facing forced starvation due to Israel’s blockade and ongoing genocide. The letter states that the British Deputy High Commission in Israel has clear legal and diplomatic responsibilities: to intervene in the defence of the UK-flagged Madleen and its detained crew, in line with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (Article 5). This includes demanding accountability for their treatment, pressing the FCDO to act for the Madleen’s release, and supporting ICC/UN international war crimes investigations.

The signatories call upon the United Kingdom (UK) to fulfil its legal and moral responsibility, and to act without delay in defence of the 12 activists who were unlawfully abducted and silenced for their solidarity. These brave activists are doing what no international body or state has effectively done: directly confronting the illegal blockade to deliver aid to Gaza’s starving population. They cannot be penalized for upholding human rights that the international community has painstakingly defined and defended since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

1. The signatories demand has been made of the British High Commission, through its offices across India and its counterpart in Tel Aviv to:
2. Secure the immediate and dignified release of the eight Madleen activists, including MEP Rima Hassan, ensuring protection from torture and clarifying diplomatic immunities.
3. Recover the Madleen and its cargo for Gaza’s urgent aid delivery.
4. Support the Hind Rajab Foundation’s complaint, pushing for a UK criminal investigation into Shayetet 13, Vice Admiral David Saar Salama, and other senior military commanders implicated in war crimes in the Madleen, Conscience, and Mavi Marmara incidents, holding Israel accountable.
5. Demand the lifting of Israel’s illegal blockade and ensure immediate, unimpeded access to all land and sea routes for humanitarian aid, dismantling the US-Israeli militarized aid model.
6. Compel the UK to lead decisive diplomatic action to end Israel’s impunity and hold it accountable for genocide, aligning with its justice commitments.
7. Urge the UK to champion EU naval escorts to protect humanitarian missions to Gaza, ensuring safe aid delivery against Israel’s aggression.

The letter states that UK’s obligation to uphold international law is absolute. Israel’s abduction of the Madleen activists, unlawful detention, and prevention of aid delivery demand unequivocal condemnation and strict sanctions on Israel, both by the UK and the international community. The horrific use of starvation as a weapon of ‘war’ by Israel and bombing at aid delivery centres is condemnable.

The signatories call upon government of the United Kingdom to initiate immediate action towards release of all those detained, uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza and an urgent investigation and accountability into the genocidal war crimes of Israel. They also demand an end to the impunity being enjoyed by Israel, especially due to inaction by and complicity of the UK and other powerful governments.

The entire text of the memorandum including signatories may be seen here

Related:

Free unrestricted access to Gaza: Reporters without Borders & CPJ issue open letter

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