Politics

Mamata Banerjee's TMC and Narendra Modi's BJP are locked in a high-stakes battle in the final round of voting. Meanwhile, a Dalit man talks about his experiences with the Indian diaspora in Germany. DW has the latest.

Voters in key Indian regions are casting ballots in local elections that will test the support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With missiles and bombs raining down, Pentagon accounts began using strange turns of phrase to describe the AI-guided violence unleashed against child and soldier alike. The destruction was described as “lethalitymaxxing”. Its perpetrators were said to be “locked in” with “low cortisol”.

The Supreme Court significantly narrowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in a 6-3 ruling Wednesday, further eroding the impact of the landmark civil rights-era law.

For decades, Section 2 — a provision that broadly outlawed discrimination in voting on the basis of race — has been interpreted to allow, and sometimes demand, the use of race-conscious data in redistricting, to protect the voting power of minorities.

But the court’s new opinion, which split the justices along ideological lines, throws into question exactly how states can utilize race in their mapmaking process. The case involves a challenge to two majority-Black districts in Louisiana.

Liberal groups had feared the court would fully gut the law, allowing red states to redraw maps nationwide and effectively lock in GOP control of Congress. Republicans, meanwhile, believe that considering race in drawing congressional districts is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Voting in one of India’s most closely watched state elections has begun after a national voter roll revision removed millions of names and raised concerns over disenfranchisement.

TMC vs BJP battle intensifies in Bhabanipur as Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari face off amid sporadic violence and EVM glitches.

@politics@piefed.social @politics@newsmast.community @em @ml it's just 7 in the morning and my brother and my mother went to vote. Voting has started.Alongwith the voter's card and the booth slip issued by the eci, they also carried some other official documents with them plus their photocopies.

@politics @ml @emselimahmed in the recently concluded general elections, a major political party was banned from contesting, and then the elections were conducted. Bangladesh was born because of the blood that was given by this political party. Yet it was banned from seeking the opinion of the people.

What sort of a #democracy is #Bangladesh ??🤔🤔🤔

@politics@piefed.social @praveen @subins2000 while the elections are over at your place, the elections at my place are coming up.But seriously, whom has this SIR benefitted ?? Through this exercise, isn't the #electioncommission literally deciding who should have the right to vote ??How is #adultfranchise universal now ??@politics@newsmast.community

@emselimahmed @politics is a forum where any topic related to #politics can be discussed. However, probably the admins of this #community want the #discussions to be in #English

From the Ombudsman herself:

https://www.stripes.com/opinion/2026-04-23/stripes-former-ombudsman-pentagon-trying-to-silence-21465037.html

Don’t worry about me. I’ve had a long and satisfying career in journalism. I knew there would be perils for speaking out against Pentagon attempts to control the news, but I expected some communication or questions or warning first. Nothing, just Form 3434.

Ironically, my three-year term would have expired at the end of this year anyway. They couldn’t wait.

I was immensely honored to be chosen as the 13th, and first female, ombudsman for Stars and Stripes. I’ve come to appreciate the many talented and dedicated journalists and staff at Stripes — it’s more than a job for them wherever they are stationed around the world. I’ve been fortunate to meet or hear from innumerable veterans, officers and enlisted personnel and military spouses. I’ve even respected the colonels who I tangled with over the rights of Stripes reporters to cover public gatherings on bases.

What you can worry about is the future of Stars and Stripes. This newspaper has a long history of commitment to the military community and to journalistic values. Please don’t let it be controlled by Pentagon brass.

If adopted by the House, the resolution will allow congressional committees to begin filling in the details on how the $70 billion would be spent in separate legislation ⁠that President ‌Donald Trump would have to sign into law. The new funding would be expected to ⁠run through Trump's presidency, which ends in January 2029.

With Democrats adamantly opposed to the funding initiative, Republicans plan to employ a rarely used procedure known as budget reconciliation in the separate legislation, which allows some budget-related bills to bypass Democratic opposition in the Senate.

Such measures require only a simple majority for passage in the 100-member chamber, instead of the usual supermajority of 60 votes or more. ‌Republicans hold a 53-47 seat majority.

But due to the cuts in the GOP’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” and Congress’ drastic cuts to DC’s annual budget, I received a letter stating that my autistic children’s access to 24/7 emergency care has been cut, among other restrictions. I also received notification that I am no longer eligible for medical assistance from the Health Alliance.

This is warfare on our livelihoods. And for what?

We simply want what all families want—love, safety, health, and opportunities for our kids. Yet my taxpayer dollars—and yours—are being taken away from support for families and communities and put straight into the pockets of billionaires and ICE. Those masked ICE agents then prowl our schools, hospitals, and churches; break into our cars and homes without a judicial warrant; and use our small children as bait to abduct us.

...

I have not stood by while all these harms are being done to my family and neighbors—I’ve become a community leader. With the training from organizations like Spaces in Action and Popular Democracy, I host fundraisers to help house, feed, and clothe families who are too scared to leave their homes to work. We make homegoods to raise money to keep our children healthy.

We all need to be united as human beings—no matter where we were born or what language we speak. Human rights, not cruel partisan politics, are our common thread.

Decades of research in developmental psychology have shown that moral reasoning develops through consequences—not punishment, necessarily, but experiencing the effects of your actions on others, receiving honest feedback, having to accommodate reality as it actually is rather than as you wish it to be. It’s not that the wealthy become evil; it’s that their environment stops teaching them the things that nonwealthy people are forced to learn simply by living in a world that pushes back. When you can buy your way out of any mistake, when you can fire anyone who disagrees with you, when your social circle consists entirely of people who need something from you, the basic mechanism by which humans learn that other people are real goes dark.

President Donald Trump said the US military "hasn't even started" to destroy what is left of Iran after a month of devastating attacks and he threatened to strike electrical power plants and more bridges in his latest warning to the regime in Tehran.

Yes, election is actually one big business. At the end of the day, it's you who have to defend your rights as the State makes all its moves to trample upon you !!!

“America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war for Israel.” McGinnis is then seen in a struggle with officers near the doorway with Sheehy stepping in.

While authorities attempted to pull McGinnis out of the room, his left hand became stuck between the door and the frame. A loud crack can be heard as McGinnis’ arm appears to break.

This footage, recorded by Josephine Guilbeau, also shows McGinnis telling the officers who arrested him that his left arm is broken. Bystanders are heard sharing their concern at the protester’s arm injury, with activist group Code Pink also confirming the break.

McGinnis continued to yell the opening line of the Marine Corps' national anthem, "Free Palestine, from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, Palestine will be free," as he was eventually escorted away from the scene.

Republican fascists will tell you that the people in parkas and bathrobes are domestic terrorists who threaten our way of life and the armed paramilitary thugs who are terrorizing them with kidnapping and gassing and beatings and murder are legal officers who ensure our peace and safety.