Politics

Responsibility is assigned on the basis of nationality rather than agency

Policies that stigmatise national identity rather than state behaviour risk reinforcing nationalist narratives instead of weakening them

They may alienate precisely those individuals who might otherwise be open to criticism of authoritarian regimes

From a liberal perspective this resembles collective punishment

Sporting institutions have moved to restrict symbols associated with the war under pressure from governments sponsors and public opinion

Many states represented at the Australian Open have violated the territorial integrity of other countries conducted prolonged military interventions or overseen serious abuses of civilian populations

China’s repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang is an obvious example

Many of the United States’ post–Cold War military campaigns and Britain’s imperial history shape global inequalities and political relationships today

National flags in stadiums are not endorsements of governments

They are expressions of identity belonging and personal attachment especially for migrants and diasporic communities

Belarusian flags were absent because tournament policy prohibits the display of Belarusian and Russian national symbols

Kazakh flags were visible throughout the crowd and in-stadium video shots often focused on them

That policy has been widely reported and defended as part of international sport’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’s role in facilitating it

In his order Monday Judge Engelmayer noted the public interest argument saying that he had given it careful consideration

It indicated that there would be no more disclosures about Mr Epstein

Last month the Justice Department said that it had closed the case prompting an instant outcry

The push to unseal the records might be seen as an effort not aimed not at transparency but at diversion aimed not at full disclosure but at the illusion of such he wrote

Far from it it consists of garden-variety summary testimony by two law enforcement agents

The government argued that the release would be warranted because attention to the cases had recently intensified after the Justice Department announced last month that it had concluded its review of the investigation

In February when Ms Bondi released documents connected to the case she failed to appease Mr Trump's supporters and conservative media figures