Figures obtained via a freedom of information request by Physicians for Human Rights Israel show punitive isolation of minors rising from 1 case in 2022 to 199 in 2024, with adult and women detainees also sharply increasing amid the war. Prison service rejects claims Prisoners in an Israeli incerceration facility, in March. Credit: Israel Prison Service The Israel Prison Service sharply increased the use of solitary confinement against Palestinian inmates since 2023, including minors (…)

The record is hardly a glowing one for the Malagasy military, who seized power by presenting themselves as the protectors of the people against the former repressive regime. In late September 2025, mass protests erupted against the incessant and increasingly prolonged power cuts, as well as against the corruption of the ruling Rajoelina clan. Eight months later, the hopes of Gen Z, which had mobilised en masse, have faded, giving way to mixed feelings of despondency and anger. Recurring (…)

Le bilan n'est guère reluisant pour les militaires qui ont pris le pouvoir en se présentant comme les protecteurs du peuple confronté à l'ancien régime répressif. Fin septembre 2025, des manifestations massives ont éclaté contre les coupures incessantes et de plus en plus longues d'électricité, ainsi que contre la corruption du clan Rajoelina au pouvoir. Huit mois plus tard, l'espoir de la Gen Z, massivement mobilisée, s'est estompé, laissant place à des sentiments mêlés d'abattement et (…)

Regional elections will take place in Andalusia on 17 May in a context marked by the consolidation of the PP, which in 2018 broke decades of Socialist dominance, and the rise of an increasingly aggressive right wing. Against this backdrop, the most striking development of the campaign is the growth of Adelante Andalucía: according to the latest CIS poll, the party is on course to secure 8.5% of the vote and win six seats, overtaking the coalition led by the Communist Party, which has (…)

The Left Party's 46th Congress displayed an almost deafening sense of self-confidence and fighting spirit ahead of the upcoming election. The key priority for the party leadership – and the majority at the congress – was to “tie Nooshi to the mast” regarding the demand to be part of a future government and not to “let through” any other alternative government. The question is whether the concerns that have existed – and still exist – among many Left Party members regarding the consequences (…)

A RECENT LETTER published in Counterpunch, signed by individuals ranging from Ajamu Baraka to Vijay Prashad, proves a remarkable episode in authoritarian apologia from the left. In particular, the letter condemns the US's actions against Iran. But in doing so, the letter ventures into apologia for the Iranian regime in the most glowing of terms. The letter writes, in speaking of Iran: “What stands before it is not merely a nation, but a civilisation that has weaponised its own (…)