Special

India's government has moved to scrap parts of the constitution which grant Indian Kashmir significant autonomy.

The disputed territory of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain.

Both countries claim it as their own and control parts of it.

Indian Kashmir was granted special autonomy that allowed it to function largely without direct interference from New Delhi.

But that has now changed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government has revoked the special status.

And sent additional troops to the area and put the region on lockdown.

It's a move that could have widespread consequences.

So, what's behind this decision? and does it abide by the longstanding consensus over the territory?

Money laundering, bribery and corruption at Brazil's state-owned energy company Petrobras are just some of the crimes uncovered in the biggest political corruption scandal in the country's history. Back in 2014, the judge appointed to preside over the Car Wash investigation, also known as Lava Jato, was Sergio Moro.

It resulted in the arrest of hundreds of politicians and business figures, led to the fall of one President - Dilma Rousseff - and landed another former President - Lula Da Silva - behind bars.

Moro was lionised by Brazil's mostly right-wing media - TV channels like Globo and Record, and magazines like Veja. And a few years later, when far-right Jair Bolsonaro was elected Brazil's leader, he selected Moro as his justice and public security minister.

But now Moro is facing a scandal of his own which demolishes his reputation as an anti-corruption crusader, scrubbing Brazil clean of corruption. The Intercept Brasil published a series of exposes from text messages they obtained showing Moro's communication with prosecutors that indicate he was conspiring with them, rather than being an impartial judge.

"The most important revelation is that Sergio Moro was in cahoots with the prosecution. It's entirely forbidden to have a judge who is in constant conversation with the prosecution in order to arrange outcomes," Joao Feres, a professor with Rio de Janeiro State University, tells Al Jazeera.

The messages also appear to confirm the suspicion that - throughout the Car Wash investigation - Moro and the prosecution were trying to manipulate press coverage to turn it against members of the leftist PT party and to pave the way for Bolsonaro.

"What this whole Lava Jato campaign as a media campaign produced was a devaluation of institutional politics, of party politics in Brazil to a degree in which the electorate became so sceptical that in the end, they elected extreme right-wing outsider Bolsonaro. So Bolsonaro and his election should be seen as a product of this long campaign against institutional politics," adds Feres.

But not all media outlets followed up on The Intercept Brasil's reporting alleging Moro's collusion with prosecutors.

"In Brazil, there exists a section of right-wing media that invested a lot in the Car Wash story and there is no way they will ever let go of this narrative," says Alexandre Santi, deputy editor at The Intercept Brasil, who noted, on the other hand, the reaction of many international news outlets to their expose on Moro was "incredible".

The country's most powerful broadcaster, Globo, focused on the legalities of The Intercept Brasil's journalism rather than the content. This past Wednesday, a judge ordered the arrest of four people on charges of hacking Moro's phone.

In a comment to Al Jazeera, Globo defended its stance: "It would be considered bad journalism in any part of the world, including in Qatar, to ignore that the cellphones of the authorities were hacked."

"In a story of such magnitude as #VazaJato, which involves the hacking of several authorities - including the most famous judge in Brazil, the current minister of justice, the biggest news I believe is not the content of the alleged conversations but rather the hacking of these conversations. This is very serious," says Rodrigo Constantino, a columnist with Brazil's Gazeta do Povo.

But back in March of 2016, when Moro released a tape of a private phone call between Dilma Rousseff and Lula Da Silva, Globo was less concerned about the journalistic ethics. It ran with that story, as did Veja and many other Brazilian news outlets.

"Much more serious was when Moro leaked a conversation between presidents; this was not in the public interest," says Carolina Matos, a media scholar at City University. "Moro had the chance of a lifetime to go down in history as someone who has combated corruption. You had all the power at your disposal … all the media attention … all the public support. And, no, instead of that, you chose a political project. You chose to align yourself to a particular group."

Fifty years ago this week, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step onto the moon. Since then, only a dozen men have walked on the moon - the last in 1972.

Now, there is renewed interest.

China plans to build a lunar base by 2030 and NASA hopes to have men and women on the moon by 2024.

Over the next five years, the space agency is expected to spend $30bn on this. It is funding several projects from lunar landers to a mini-space station that will allow spacecraft to dock around the moon.

Billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are also spending billions to get to the moon and Mars.

But there is a new emerging power. India is trying to become the fourth nation to land a probe on the moon.

The Chandrayaan-2 mission hopes to land a lunar rover close to the South Pole - a previously unexplored area - some time in September.

There, India hopes to find signs of water and helium-3. There is thought to be one million metric tonnes of helium-3 on the moon - each tonne estimated to be worth about $5bn.

Realistically, only about 250,000 tonnes of it could potentially be mined; but that would be enough to power the earth for at least two centuries.

The Indian Space Research Organisation's mission is expected to cost just $125m. India has built a reputation for its low-cost space exploration. Its budget of $1.7bn a year is just a tenth of NASA's $19bn.

Why is world hunger back on the rise?
The number of people going hungry has risen for the third year running after a period of improvement, the United Nations (UN) says.

The world body blames conflict, climate change, and an economic slowdown for the new uptick.

More than 820 million people, or 11 percent of the global population, suffer from hunger.

Africa has the highest numbers, with one in five people going hungry. In East Africa, the figure rises to nearly one in three people.

According to five UN agencies, more than two billion people worldwide cannot get safe, sufficient or nutritious food.

Big brands and the Muslim fashion industry
Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana and DKNY have all attempted to crack one of the fastest-growing markets - Islamic fashion.

What started as brands targeting wealthy Muslims with one-off fashion lines for religious occasions, has grown to a global trend for women who prefer to dress conservatively.

According to the Pew Research Center, Muslims are the world's fastest-growing major religious group. By 2050, it estimates there will be 2.7 billion Muslims worldwide, making up 29.7 percent of the global population.

And when it comes to the Islamic or modest fashion sector, spending is forecast to grow five percent annually to $361bn by 2023.

Turkey is the biggest spender on modest fashion: $28bn a year. This is followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia. But it is not a one-size-fits-all-trend; what is popular in Indonesia may not have the same appeal in the Middle East.

The House of Representatives has condemned as racist, comments by the U.S. President about four congresswomen.

The House's resolution was backed by 240 votes to 187, with only four Republicans supporting the motion.

Trump has launched a series of attacks on the congresswomen of colour, known as the 'squad' - telling them to ‘go back to the crime-infested places from which they came'.

The politicians – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib, were born the U.S., and Ilhan Omar came to the US as a refugee aged 12.

The remarks have been widely denounced, mainly by Democrats, who have renewed calls to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump.

But as he remains defiant, what does it mean for race and ethnicity in the U.S.?

A battle appears to be looming within the western world's most important military alliance.

The two NATO members with the largest armies are in dispute over weapons from Russia.

The US is threatening sanctions against Turkey for buying the Russian S-400 anti-missile system, placing Russian weapons inside NATO territory.

Washington had warned that if the sale goes ahead, Turkey would be kicked out of a programme to build its new F-35 warplane, and Turkish pilots learning to fly the jet would be sent home.

Why is the sale so controversial? And could Turkey be risking its position in the NATO military alliance?

In Libya, questions still surround a July 3 air attack near Tripoli that destroyed a migrant detention centre and killed at least 50 detainees and wounding 130 others. A UN special envoy to Libya said the attack could constitute a war crime. The incident is believed to be one of the most fatal cases of civilian deaths since rebel forces led by General Khalifa Haftar launched a military offensive in April to seize the capital Tripoli. In what ways will the July 3 incident change the conditions faced by migrants in Libya?

Battle for Tripoli
For the past three months, Libya’s two rival governments have been fighting for control of the capital city Tripoli. More than 1,000 people have been killed, according to the UN. Tripoli is currently controlled by the UN-recognised Government of National Accord, which receives support from Turkey and Qatar. From Libya’s east, rogue commander General Khalifa Haftar and his self-declared Libyan National Army has been advancing on the city with a ground and air offensive backed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The fighting is thwarting peace attempts, and on Friday the UN called for a ceasefire. How is the ongoing conflict impacting the lives of people in the country?

No end in sight to Libya's war?
After eight years of civil war, why has it been so difficult to end the conflict in Libya? Since 2014, the war has been shaped by Libya's two competing governments  - each backed by international powers, regional powers and local militia groups. In April, the battle over Tripoli forced the postponement of a national conference aimed at unifying the country and setting a date for new elections. In this segment, we'll discuss solutions to Libya's war and ask whether a political solution is still possible.

UN envoy condemns the attack as a 'war crime' and says those responsible must be held to account.

African migrants and refugees have become the latest victims of Libya's civil war.

At least 44 people died in an air strike on a detention centre in the capital Tripoli.

The UN's special envoy to Libya is calling it a war crime.
And the UN-recognised government in Tripoli is blaming warlord Khalifa Haftar, whose forces have been fighting to seize the city.

The victims are among tens of thousands of Africans hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea to start a new life in Europe.

Special Report: Trump meets North Korea's Kim Jong Un in the DMZ

It's been two years since Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (also known as MBS) ascended to power. Many consider him to be the kingdom's de facto ruler.

A lot of people in the West had pinned their hopes on the young reformist prince and what they described as his bold vision for Saudi Arabia. But with the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the persecution of activists and feminists, and the jailing of human rights defenders, including Saudi Muslim leader Salman al-Awdah, many find his leadership decisions concerning.

"The promise was to reform the social fabric in Saudi Arabia, was to diversify the Saudi economy and to promote moderate Islam," says Abdullah Alaoudh, a scholar, rights advocate and the son of al-Awdah.

"What has been done is actually the opposite of all these three different aspects," he tells Al Jazeera.

Alaoudh, a senior fellow at Georgetown University in the US, is sceptical of what he calls MBS's "superficial reforms" in Saudi Arabia, including lifting a driving ban on women, because this has happened in the midst of other basic rights and liberties being taken away.

He says the reforms are akin to a "PR campaign" for MBS who "took advantage of a lot of people in the West not knowing the dynamics of the Saudi society".

"(MBS has) attacked the moderate voices of the kingdom; the voices that have been spearheading the campaign against extremism, terrorism in the kingdom," Alaoudh says.

"Look at the liberals, the feminists, the Shia, the Sunni, the Islamists, the different women, men. The leaders of all these segments of Saudi society all have been either put in jail, silenced, intimidated or threatened in one way or another. Even the tribal leaders in Saudi Arabia. Even his own family."

Alaoudh calls the murder of Khashoggi "horrible" but says it was also a "wake-up call" for the Saudi public, the international community and global media.

"The case of Khashoggi is actually representative of the human rights cases in Saudi Arabia ... The same minds that treated Jamal Khashoggi with brutality, with a gruesome killing, are still torturing women human rights defenders, feminists, the moderate Muslims, and the economists in Saudi Arabia."

Alaoudh says he remains concerned for his own safety and the safety of his father, who was arrested after sending out a tweet - an apparent call for reconciliation - at the start of the Saudi blockade on Qatar in 2017. Calling his father a "religious democrat" and "an icon of enlightenment, of moderate Islam", Alaoudh says these are the types of discourse MBS seeks to clamp down on because he fears it the most.

Asked whether he believes that his father's death penalty would be executed, Alaoudh says: "Did we ever think that those who were sent to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul will execute that horrible, gruesome killing of my friend Jamal Khashoggi? If those who killed Jamal Khashoggi were just rogue operatives, the head of that rogue operation, is it still in force? Is it still administering and managing the situation in Saudi Arabia? So I really can't expect anything."

Alaoudh says his larger fear is for the future of his country, where extreme voices have been empowered while those seeking to uphold basic rights and liberties are targeted or tortured or killed.

"My father is the most popular figure in the kingdom and he was treated like that. So just imagine those who are less known or even not known to the public or to the international media, what would they do? How would they treat such people?"

But he says there is more to the country than those who control it today.

"MBS is not Saudi Arabia. MBS is not the history of Saudi Arabia. MBS is not his own royal family and MBS is not the Saudi public," he says.

"So if you (the West) want to really establish a real alliance with Saudi Arabia, if you want to make sure that you have a stable relationship, if you want to have a long term alliance, you have to establish that with the Saudi public who will be there forever."

The opportunity of the century.
That's what White House Adviser and the US president's son-in-law is selling as the first step towards ending decades of conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Jared Kushner unveiled the economic part of a long-awaited Middle East peace plan in Bahrain on Tuesday.

He wants $50 billion from Gulf Arab nations and business leaders to build projects and create jobs in the Palestinian territory, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.

However, no Israeli official has been invited to the conference, and Palestinians are boycotting the event.

So what's the point of the meeting? And does money trump politics?