When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Geopolitics

Top 10 Most Popular Worldcrunch Articles Of 2014

Top 10 Most Popular Worldcrunch Articles Of 2014
Worldcrunch

Ukraine's Pro-Russian Separatists Are Bad News For Russia

The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, located on the Moldovan border with Ukraine, has relied on Russia for the past two decades. A perfect example of potential new burdens for Moscow. — KOMMERSANT


In India, The World's First Vegetarian City

After monks went on a hunger strike to push for a citywide ban on animal slaughter, the local government declared Palitana a meat-free zone. But the city's Muslims are not happy. — KBR


Syria's Silent War Crime: Systematic Mass Rape

Evidence is piling up that the Damascus regime has used rape — of daughters in front of fathers, wives in front of husbands — as a targeted weapon. — LE MONDE


What The World Cup Will Do To Brazil's Economy

Six months from kickoff, two economic assessments, pro and con, as the world's most popular sporting event lands in the "B" of BRICS. — FOLHA DE S. PAULO


Germany Will Ban Tech Companies That Play Ball With NSA

No German federal contracts will go to companies that turn over data to the NSA and other spy agencies in the U.S., and elsewhere. There may, however, be one crucial exemption. — SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG


ISIS, The Caliphate Of Madmen Starts To Crumble

The ISIS terror group believes that if it is Allah's will, the organization will take over much of the world. But at the moment, Allah doesn't seem to be on their side. — DIE WELT


Israeli Researchers: We Can Detect Breast Cancer With Simple Blood Test

Octava Pink, an easy and accurate new method for detecting breast cancer, is a potentially game-changing blood test for breast cancer with 97% detection rate. — CALCALIST


Adam Smith To Xi Jinping, Wealthy Nations Need Good Laws

As China holds its 18th CCP Fourth Plenary Session with the theme of the "rule of law in China," it is clear that the corrupt system that fueled the country's economic boom is bankrupt. — CAIXIN


My Son Has Committed Unspeakable Crimes

What is it like to be the parent of a "monster?" After their teenaged son confessed to rape and murder in southern France, the parents of Matthieu Moulinas decide to tell their story. — LE MONDE


Selfies At Auschwitz: When Tourism Destroys The Meaning Of Memory

It gets harder to feel the weight of history's most brutal hours when you're surrounded by tourists soaking in the sun and thinking about lunch plans. — DIE WELT

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Society

Big Brother For The People: India's CCTV Strategy For Cracking Down On Police Abuse

"There is nothing fashionable about installing so many cameras in and outside one’s house," says a lawyer from a Muslim community. And yet, doing this has helped members of the community prove unfair police action against them.

A woman is walking in the distance while a person holds a military-style gun close up

Survellance and tight security at the Lal Chowk area in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India on October 4, 2022

Sukanya Shantha

MUMBAI — When sleuths of the National Investigating Agency suddenly descended on human rights defender and school teacher Abdul Wahid Shaikh’s house on October 11, he knew exactly what he needed to do next.

He had been monitoring the three CCTVs that are installed on the front and the rear of his house — a chawl in Vikhroli, a densely populated area in suburban Mumbai. The cameras told him that a group of men and women — some dressed in Mumbai police’s uniform and a few in civil clothes — had converged outside his house. Some of them were armed and few others with batons were aggressively banging at the door asking him to immediately let them in.

This was not the first time that the police had landed at his place at 5 am.

When the policemen discovered the CCTV cameras outside his house, they began hitting it with their batons, destroying one of them mounted right over the door. This action was captured by the adjacent CCTV camera. Shaikh, holed up in his house with his wife and two children, kept pleading with the police to stop destroying his property and simply show them an official notice.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest