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Anu Shukla

I am a UK-based multi-media journalist with bylines published at The Independent, Al Jazeera, Reuters and The New Internationalist amongst others.




'We're really in limbo land': How a lack of government guidance and support is crippling club scenes ahead of New Year's Eve · News ⟋ RA

Club scenes around the world are struggling with the upheaval caused by the Covid-19 variant Omicron and the subsequent lack of government guidance and support. In the UK, where Omicron has caused of Covid-19 cases, the situation varies from country to country. While venues are now in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, they remain open in England, as owners and promoters await instructions from the government ahead of New Year's Eve. This state of "limbo" has " " implications, Michael Kill, h

Turks fleeing repressive Erdogan regime 'are being forced back across border by Greece'

The number of Turkish asylum seekers illegally sent back home by Greek border officials has risen dramatically amid a surge in migration fuelled by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s crackdown on opponents. Figures obtained by The Telegraph show Greece has carried out 233 illegal “push-backs” of Turkish nationals since May alone. Greek border agents have been routinely accused of illegally turning back migrants crossing from Turkey to the EU, sometimes blocking boats from crossing the Aegean Sea

Turkish asylum seekers allegedly being pushed back in small boats by Greece

Three Turkish nationals seeking asylum in Greece in September were allegedly tortured by plain-clothes Greek officials, who then illegally put them on a boat back to Turkey, openDemocracy can reveal. Furkan Kurt, one of the three men, told openDemocracy that on 28 September they swam a 3.6-kilometre shortcut, with the help of a sea-scooter, from the Turkish coastal town of Kusadasi to the Greek island of Samos. They then walked 10 kilometres away from the coast, heading in the direction of the c

'Music is being used as a weapon': Spotify users and artists react to CEO's €100 million investment in AI defence tech · News ⟋ RA

Spotify users and artists have responded to CEO Daniel Ek's €100 million investment in AI defence tech company . On November 9th, Ek the investment into the British-German company, whose technology will initially be sold to the French, British and German militaries. As part of the deal, Ek is also joining Helsing's board. Helsing says it will use "world-leading AI technology for defence and national security" to provide "information advantage for democratic governments" and "keep liberal democra

Rohingya refugees trapped between state violence and armed gangs

The legitimacy of repatriation to Myanmar is looking increasingly difficult for Rohingya Muslims dwelling in refugee camps in Bangladesh due to escalating violence in Myanmar's Chin and Rakhine states. Meanwhile, a perilous chain of events has also further exacerbated refugee fears since the killing of prominent community leader Mohib Ullah in September by armed gangs. Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are exasperated by the unfolding crisis. Mohammad Yousof, a 65-year-old shopkeeper and father

From the red carpet to the studio floor

Artist Adrian Ekenhall is on borrowed time, but has other fish to fry. In the face of terminal illness, he’s got a legacy to cultivate, a housing crisis to address and an online gallery to promote. The artist and entrepreneur is using his art as a tool to address homelessness and as a form of therapy to deal with his condition. One of Ekenhall's ways to feel empowered is to transform his illness into art. With the help of doctors, Ekenhall (aka FkHead), took one cubic centimeter of solid mass f

'If you want a change, it has to start with you': How Faduma Farah is giving people with disabilities the voice they deserve in fashion

The pioneering work of British Somalian visionary Faduma Farah ignited a watershed moment in the fashion industry when models rolled down the catwalk in wheelchairs for the first time in the history of London Fashion Week in September. The 47-year-old first spoke with in June this year when she was at the height of running ‘Faduma’s Fellowship’ – a campaign to find a designer to co-create a collection of adapted clothing for people with disabilities – a vision she realised while paralysed from

In a wide-scale breach of trust, HMRC leaks sensitive migrant tax records to the UK Home Office

The UK Government's HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) department shared tax details of almost half a million migrants with the Home Office for immigration enforcement purposes; however, rights groups claim new government proposals to digitise the so-called ‘hostile environment’ aim to escalate such data sharing powers even further. An FOI, submitted by the Migrant Rights Network [MRN] – an organisation working on cases of highly skilled migrants refused permanent residency visas over “minor tax err

Race against lockdown: a tale of escape and close calls in Australia

It reads like the blurb of a far-fetched sci-fi movie. As the delta variant swept across Australia, one Kiwi traveller travelled from place to place to avoid getting caught up in the state lockdowns. Anna Cullins escaped them by the skin of her teeth, joining a fleet of “grey nomads and hippy travellers” who fled the southern states in camper vans that have since packed out caravan parks across northern Australia. An educational facilitator, Cullins has worked with health and education initiat

Black, disabled, fashionable: The British-Somalian woman defying the odds to showcase her collection at LFW

Wheelchair-friendly fashion will be showcased at London Fashion Week this fall thanks to a new line of clothing that is being co-created by a British-Somalian entrepreneur. Faduma Farah, an energetic young mother was a size 12 when she walked into a hospital in 2011; emerging in a wheelchair the following year a size 24. A meningitis infection had paralysed her from the neck down and a battle to regain control of her life ensued. Engulfed by the shock of her new reality, Farah, who is now 4

"A tool for protest": DJs from the Global South are fighting oppression with music

Speaking about gender inequality in the region, she added: “We have bigger things to worry about. Yes, female producers lack representation in the music industry, but when I’m in Palestine, I don’t feel that. Palestinians just want to let go and escape the reality for a minute and not think about life under occupation, so they’re not going to bring more conflict into the equation by discriminating women. It’s just not relevant for us. It’s more a case of ‘hey can you make us dance with your musi

Sarah Everard murder highlights threats faced by minority women

Recent government figures show Black Britons and people of mixed ethnicities are more likely to experience sexual assault. London, United Kingdom – The murder of Sarah Everard has placed the UK’s public institutions under intense scrutiny, raised questions as to why prosecutions against sexual abusers remain at an all-time low, and highlighted the threats faced by women and girls from ethnic minority backgrounds, according to experts. Everard went missing on March 3 – she was last seen walking

These BAME female DJs are smashing boundaries of social and institutional gender inequality

When UK artist DJ PsiBindi aka Rena Biring launched Psy-Sisters in 2012 – it was in response to the lack of women on line ups of music festivals and events. The classical-Indian trained vocalist of Indian-Pakistani descent who is also front woman for alt rock band Sentience Machine, has been DJing on London's underground music scene for the best part of two decades and recently joined forces with tech start up Musicbox to make remote artist collaboration easier and entice more women to step

The facade of Myanmar's democracy: How global powers failed Rohingya Muslims

"Part of the problem for organisations like mine is that human rights have fallen way down the international agenda. It's much harder than it has ever been for us to generate pressure and force governments to act," Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign UK, told The New Arab. Geopolitics continue to take centre stage, Farmaner says, despite the fact that a "genocide" has taken place. The recent escalation of military violence perpetrated against pro-democracy protesters must not be ignor

Bhasan Char: Everything is not what it seems at this new Rohingya refugee island

Sources on the ground have told The New Arab how availability of medical treatment and facilities in Cox's Bazaar outweigh those on the island; and that the Bangladesh government will not provide full access to such resources until it has relocated 100,000 people from Kutupalong camp. But this has created a life or death scenario for the likes of Fazia* who said she lost her husband to heart failure because he did not get proper medical attention on the island. She said medication prescribed
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