Friday, 09 September 2022

In a week of significant constitutional change in the UK, our CEO Ruth Smeeth reflects on the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth. She says that whether you are a monarchist or a republican it cannot be denied that Her Majesty was a formidable head of state and that she was a stabilising force through many periods of global turmoil from World War II to the current day. Read her tribute here.

This ends a 70-year reign, the longest rule in British history. In Index's 50 years of publication, we have covered many aspects of the monarchy, such as this fascinating article from FT writer John Lloyd on press interviews with the Royal Family and Will Self reflecting on the time when God Save the Queen - the Sex Pistols' version - was banned by the BBC. Read the Index archive in full here.

‘Bolsonaro represents death,’ says Brazilian journalist ahead of elections

With Brazilians heading to the polls on 2 October, Guilherme Osinski discusses what it has been like to see his country’s rights landscape destroyed by Jair Bolsonaro.

Authors and activists add their messages of support for Salman Rushdie

Your messages of support for the author Salman Rushdie continue to arrive as he makes his recovery from an attack that left him with "life-changing" injuries to his eye, arm and liver.

The Indian author Nayantara Sahgal writes: "The despicable armed assassin who tried to kill an unarmed man, a great writer, has left all civilised people aghast." Readers of Rushdie's work have also joined in with their messages. "From Midnight's Children to Satanic Verses to Haroun and the Sea of Stories and beyond, your imagination, humour, and mouth-watering use of language have enriched my life," writes one supporter from Switzerland.

Authors and other supporters of freedom of expression have also continued sharing their thoughts about the attack and the writer's work. This week watch Rahima Mahmut of the World Uyghur Congress read an extract of Rushdie's article Bosnia On My Mind, published in Index in 1994.

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