• Two years after India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked India-administered Kashmir’s autonomy and imposed direct rule, the disputed region is largely calm. But the political repression of Kashmir’s politicians and civil society activists has taken its toll, with all forms of protest and dissent largely banned.
(“Modi Took Complete Control of Kashmir Two Years Ago and Got Away With It,” Foreign Policy, Aug. 3, 2021; “Modi is Trying To Engineer a Hindu Majority in Kashmir,” Foreign Policy, Aug. 11, 2021)
• In one of Rio de Janeiro’s poorest favela neighborhoods, gunfire broke out on May 6 as police helicopters hovered above the area. Hours later, 28 people were dead, nearly all black men. Some of those killed were unarmed. This was the deadliest police raid in Rio’s history.
(“One City, Two Worlds,” Economist, Aug. 14, 2021)
• Officials have declared a dire water shortage at Lake Mead, the United States’ largest reservoir, triggering major cuts in water diverted to Arizona and other western states. With this declaration, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation acknowledged that after a 20-year drought, the reservoir that impounds the Colorado River at the Hoover Dam has receded to its lowest levels since it was created in the 1930s.
(“Biggest U.S. Reservoir Declares Historic Shortage, Forcing Water Cuts Across West,” Guardian, Aug. 16, 2021; “U.S .Declares First Water Shortage of Colorado River,” Arizona Republic, Aug. 16, 2021)
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.
