Global Courant 2023-04-18 02:01:26
Long sentence for a Putin critic
Vladimir Kara-Murza, an activist and journalist, was convicted of treason and sentenced to 25 years in prison about his outspoken criticism of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The unusually harsh sentence provoked international condemnation, with Kara-Murza supporters comparing it to the oppression of the Stalin era.
Many Russian political activists have been prosecuted since the beginning of the war, but Kara-Murza’s sentence is the longest ever handed down. Ivan Pavlov, an acclaimed Russian human rights lawyer, called it “unprecedented” and said even Russian killers were getting shorter prison sentences.
The verdict is likely to send a chilling message to Russia’s remaining anti-war activists as the Kremlin continues to crack down on dissent.
Background: Kara-Murza, who provides opinion columns for The Washington Post, became known as an outspoken critic of what he called the Kremlin’s policy of assassinating political enemies and lobbied for the use of Western sanctions to punish Russian government officials.
Fighting rages in Khartoum
Intense street fighting and explosions were reported yesterday in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, in a third day of fighting as rival generals’ forces vied for control of the country.
The fighting has left many of the city’s five million residents holed up in their homes without electricity or water. Doctors and hospitals are also under attack as they grapple with the increasing number of casualties.
When Ramadan started last month, inflation was 35.4 percent, according to government figures, the highest in nearly five decades. Severe flooding last fall destroyed much of the country’s agricultural belt, damaging farmland for years to come. The war in Ukraine has further strained Pakistan’s food supply, officials said.
At least 22 people have been killed and dozens more injured across Pakistan since the holiday began in stampedes and long queues at food charities and government distribution centers.
Analysis: The money-poor country is facing one of the biggest economic challenges in its history. It needs funding from the International Monetary Fund to avoid defaulting and falling into recession. But to meet the terms of a deal, officials must raise taxes and cut subsidies — actions that make basic necessities such as food, gas and utilities even more expensive for the nation’s poorest.
THE LAST NEWS
Asia Pacific
Mega-constellations from satellites from companies like SpaceX clog the sky, making it harder for terrestrial telescopes to see celestial phenomena.
Some scientists want to add small gamma-ray detectors to the satellites, creating a new kind of telescope. But so far none of the companies making the satellites have agreed to the plan.
Related: On Monday, SpaceX delayed the launch of the Starship rocket for several days.
ART AND IDEAS
The enduring appeal of the world’s first novel
“The Tale of Genji,” a 1,300-page tome written over 1,000 years ago and often described as the world’s first novel, follows the life of a son of the Emperor of Japan. Genji has multiple affairs and wives, and the story features epic plot twists.
Written by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting at the emperor’s court, the book focuses on female perspectives while ostensibly chronicling the escapades of a male hero.
“Genji” has retained an unwavering hold on Japanese culture and has been subjected to countless translations, interpretations, and adaptations into seemingly every possible art form: paintings, plays, dance, anime, and even a rom-com.
The Tokyo bureau chief of The Times, who recently took up the book, wrote that she expected to feel distanced from the medieval text.
“Instead, I found common ground not only with my personal experience, but also with my reporting for six years as a correspondent in Japan,” she wrote. “The more I read, the more this ancient work made me think about how gender and power dynamics reverberated in Japan through the ages.”
