Second killing in Minneapolis by US federal agents sparks uproar

The killing of a US citizen by federal immigration agents on Saturday — the second in Minneapolis this month — sparked new protests and impassioned demands by local leaders for the Trump administration to end its operation in the city.Federal agents shot dead Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, while scuffling with him on an icy roadway, less than three weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car.The Trump administration quickly claimed, as it did after Good’s death, that Pretti had intended to harm the federal agents, even as video of the incident appeared to contradict their account.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pointed to a pistol and ammunition it said was discovered on Pretti.”He was there to perpetuate violence,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told a briefing, while White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller referred to Pretti as an “assassin,” in a post amplified on X by Vice President JD Vance.However, as with Good’s death, cell phone footage of the incident raised serious questions about the federal government’s description of the incident.Video aired widely by US media, which AFP has not verified, shows Pretti filming agents in the snow-lined street and directing traffic.After an agent shoves a woman protester to the ground on the sidewalk, Pretti steps in between them and is sprayed in the face by a chemical irritant.The agent then pulls Pretti to the ground and several officers struggle to detain him on the icy roadway.Seconds later, as an officer apparently discovers and pulls a gun from Pretti’s pants, agents open fire, also shooting his motionless body several times from a distance.Pretti’s parents in a statement circulated by US media called him a “kindhearted soul” and accused the Trump administration of telling “sickening lies” about their son.Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the shooting “horrific” and demanded state authorities lead the investigation.”The federal government cannot be trusted to lead this investigation. The state will handle it, period,” Walz told a news conference.Federal authorities controversially blocked local investigators from jointly probing Good’s death.One Senate Republican on Saturday called for a joint investigation into the shooting.”The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing. The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake,” Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, wrote on X.”There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth.”- ‘Insurrection’ -Republican President Donald Trump meanwhile ratcheted up his war of words with Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing the Democratic leaders of “inciting insurrection” with their rhetoric.Trump had previously threatened to send troops to Minnesota by invoking the Insurrection Act.As the president presses a sweeping campaign to deport undocumented migrants, thousands of ICE agents have been deployed to the Democratic-led city.Public outrage was also rekindled earlier this week by the detention of a five-year-old boy as federal agents sought to arrest his father.Frey at a news conference urged Trump to end the federal immigration operation, which has sparked sometimes violent demonstrations.”This is a moment to act like a leader. Put Minneapolis, put America first in this moment — let’s achieve peace. Let’s end this operation.”Police Chief Brian O’Hara said an “incredibly volatile scene” erupted after the shooting as protesters arrived, with local officials unable to secure the scene for investigation.O’Hara told a later briefing that Minnesota National Guard troops would help secure a vehicle exclusion zone set up around the site.Local resident Maria, 56, told AFP the situation in the city was “escalating.””They’re attacking and terrorizing our communities right now.”Hundreds of protesters gathered in a park in Minneapolis Saturday evening, despite bitterly cold temperatures in the northern US city.The shooting comes a day after tens of thousands of people braved the cold to gather in downtown Minneapolis to voice opposition to the federal operation.- 2nd Amendment -O’Hara said police believed the victim did not have any serious criminal background and was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”Some gun rights advocates — often staunch supporters of the president — have raised concerns after the Trump administration quickly linked Pretti’s legal gun possession to an intent to do mass harm.The Gun Owners of America (GOA) condemned a statement by Bill Essayli, a federal prosecutor in California, who had said on X: “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.””The Second Amendment protects Americans’ right to bear arms while protesting — a right the federal government must not infringe upon,” GOA said in a statement.

Defiance as a profession: Pakistan’s jailed lawyer Imaan Mazari

No amount of pressure, cyberbullying or arrest warrants has so far succeeded in silencing one of Pakistan’s most prominent dissidents, the human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari. She vows not to let a prison term dealt this weekend dent her resolve either. The 32-year-old shot to prominence tackling some of the country’s most sensitive topics while defending ethnic minorities, journalists facing defamation charges and clients branded blasphemers.  As Mazari’s reputation grew, so too did her own rap sheet, with charges including “cyber terrorism” and “hate speech”. On Saturday, an Islamabad court handed her and her husband, fellow lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, 10-year jail terms over “anti-state” social media posts.  The vocal critic of Pakistan’s military “disseminated highly offensive” content, according to a court document. The sentencing came a day after the couple were arrested again as they were heading to a court hearing to face the charges.- ‘We will not back down’ -“Truth seems overwhelmingly difficult in this country,” Mazari said in court on Tuesday.”But we knew that when we got into this work, we’re ready to face that,” she told AFP. “We will not back down.”Her refusal to yield has led to comparisons with Pakistan’s late leading human rights lawyer Asma Jahangir, which Mazari said is “a huge honour and a privilege”.Mazari is the daughter of Pakistan’s former minister for human rights, Shireen Mazari, while her late father was the South Asian country’s top paediatrician.Her mother told AFP that it had been difficult for the family to cope with the threats they were facing because of her daughter’s defence of the “dispossessed and marginalised”, a cause she said made her proud.”When so many people are suffering, we expect she will also be made to suffer for speaking out against excesses to human rights,” she said.- ‘A constant challenge’ -As a pro bono lawyer, Mazari has worked on some of the most sensitive cases in Pakistan, including the enforced disappearances of ethnic Balochs, as well as defending the community’s top activist, Mahrang Baloch.She also represented those accused of blasphemy — an incendiary charge — as well as Afghans who face crackdowns by the authorities.Changes to the constitution and hasty legislation passed by parliament have pushed Pakistan towards tighter state control, with diminishing political and civil rights.Asad Ali Toor, a journalist Mazari represented in multiple cases, said she proved “a constant challenge for the state”.”Because she is representing everybody who is directly or indirectly on the receiving end of the state,” he told AFP.”Despite coming from a very well-off family, she has made her life considerably more difficult through the choices she has made about her activism,” he said.- ‘We will keep fighting’ -The University of Edinburgh graduate has also faced sexist remarks and doctored photos circulated on social media, in a country where women’s participation in the workplace remains low.Mazari was honoured in 2025 with the Young Inspiration Award by the World Expression Forum for her “extraordinary courage, integrity, and impact in the struggle for the rule of law and justice”.The same year, the UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders said the cases against her “appear to reflect an arbitrary use of the legal system to harass and intimidate”.Mazari was targeted in a January 2026 news conference by Pakistan’s military spokesman, who shared one of her X posts while building a case against “hidden elements committing subtle crimes”.”They operate under the guise of democracy and human rights to promote terrorism,” Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said.Despite such accusations, Mazari vowed to continue her work along with her husband.”We’re not the first people who will be unlawfully incarcerated in this country,” she told AFP.”We will keep fighting.”

Bangladesh says star cricketer Shakib can return

Bangladesh cricket chiefs have reopened the door for ex-captain Shakib Al Hasan’s return, a star player but who was also a lawmaker in the former ruling party overthrown in a 2024 uprising.Shakib’s links to ousted leader Sheikh Hasina made him a target of public anger, and he was among dozens facing murder investigations for a deadly police crackdown on protesters.The all-rounder announced his retirement from international cricket in 2024, but said he would like to reverse that decision last month.Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) senior official Amzad Hossain said he could play again.”The board has taken a unanimous decision that if Shakib Al Hasan’s availability, fitness and accessibility allow it — and if he can be present at the venue where matches are played — then the board and the selection panel will consider him for the national team,” Hossain told reporters late Saturday.He added that the BCB would issue Shakib no-objection certificates (NOC) to play in overseas leagues.”If he wants to participate in other global tournaments, the board will provide him NOC as required,” Amzad added.Shakib had earlier apologised for remaining silent during the student-led uprising but defended his decision to serve the regime it toppled.Bangladesh cricket is reeling from being kicked out of next month’s T20 World Cup, after the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday replaced Bangladesh with Scotland.The BCB had refused to send its players to India and pleaded for games to be shifted to co-host Sri Lanka. The dispute between New Delhi and Dhaka erupted this month when the Indian cricket board ordered the Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman.The ICC said it had found no credible security threat to Bangladesh in India, but the BCB said the matter was beyond their control.”This is a government decision taken on security grounds,” Amzad said. “Because of that, there was nothing more we could do.”Shakib was playing in a domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Canada when Hasina’s government collapsed and has not returned to Bangladesh since.The left-arm allrounder has played 71 Tests, 247 one-day internationals and 129 Twenty20s for Bangladesh, taking a combined 712 wickets.

India’s Bollywood bets big on ‘event cinema’

India’s Bollywood is moving decisively towards a cinema of scale and confrontation — where patriotism, spectacle, and ideological clarity increasingly trump nuance and narrative risk, industry insiders say.The shift has fuelled what experts describe as “event cinema”, as studios rely on big-budget spectacles and top-tier stars to lure audiences — especially smartphone-loving Gen Z viewers — back into theatres.That strategy appears to be working. Akshaye Rathi, a prominent film exhibitor, predicted a 45–50 percent rise in net Hindi box-office collections and a 25 percent increase in young theatre-goers this year.”The year looks poised for historic numbers,” Rathi told AFP.The industry’s financial model was shaken during the Covid-19 pandemic, which coincided with the rapid rise of streaming platforms and a shift to home viewing.But its 2026 upcoming slate, packed with patriotic war dramas, spy thrillers, mythological epics and nationalist narratives — reflects not just a commercial recalibration, analysts say, but a broader change in creative priorities.- ‘Propaganda’ -Critics argue Bollywood is increasingly producing polarising films aligned with the ideology of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government, using cinema’s unrivalled mass reach to shape public sentiment.”These days film themes also depend upon who is ruling at the centre — Hindu wave, propaganda… all these are big factors that filmmakers cash in on,” said movie business analyst Atul Mohan, editor of film trade magazine Complete Cinema. “But only one or two films work, not all 10 or 15.”He cited the success of 2022 blockbuster “The Kashmir Files”, depicting in harrowing detail how several hundred thousand Hindus fled Muslim militants in Indian-administered Kashmir in 1989-90.And he compared that with the 2025 film “The Bengal Files”, on alleged political violence in eastern India, which he described as a commercial “disaster”.Films centred on geopolitical conflict, internal enemies, and heroic masculinity now dominate mainstream Hindi cinema, reflecting both the political mood and the economics of theatrical survival.Last year’s gory action thriller “Dhurandhar”, meaning “formidable”, leaned heavily on hyper-nationalist tropes of Indian agents confronting Pakistan-linked foes, and became one of 2025’s highest-grossing films — following a real-life four-day border clash with Pakistan.Its sequel, “Dhurandhar 2″, again starring Ranveer Singh, is set for release in March.- ‘Gratuitous violence’ -Veteran Delhi-based film critic Arnab Banerjee said political messaging now outweighs craftsmanship.”It is not the quality of the film that matters today, it is propaganda films that are working,” said Banerjee.”The mood of the nation is such that people are lapping up these subjects. Pakistan-bashing and references to enemy countries are being accepted without questioning.”Banerjee also criticised what he called an excess of “gratuitous violence”, arguing that “it is social media hype that is deciding the film’s fate.”He pointed to “Ikkis”, a film on the 1971 India–Pakistan war released in January, which struggled commercially despite positive reviews.”It is a well-made film, but it didn’t work,” he said. “Perhaps because Pakistan is not shown as the enemy.”Director Ahmed Khan, however, said quality still ultimately determines success, citing his upcoming action-comedy “Welcome to the Jungle”, starring Akshay Kumar.”Whatever the genre — action, drama, comedy or horror — it depends on how well you’ve made it,” Khan said.He pointed to the 2025 successes of the contrasting romantic drama “Saiyaara” as well as high-octane “Dhurandhar”.”Both, poles apart in genre, did great business,” he said. “People’s mood can change any time.”

Olivia Wilde slams ICE after Minneapolis shooting

Actress and director Olivia Wilde used her red carpet appearance at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday to slam the “murder” of an American protester, who was shot dead on the streets of Minneapolis by federal agents.Wilde, who was in Park City, Utah, for the premiere “The Invite,” which she directed and starred in, said the death of a second protester in just three weeks at the hands of federal agents was “unfathomable.””I can’t believe that we’re watching people get murdered in the street,” she told AFP.”These brave Americans who have stepped out to protest the injustice of these ICE quote/unquote ‘officers,’ and watching them be murdered. It’s unfathomable. We cannot normalize it.”Wilde’s comments come after the killing of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, who died after being pinned to the ground by federal agents who then shot him multiple times.Pretti’s death comes weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car.Wilde, who wore an “ICE OUT” badge, said the US government violence on people exercising their right to free expression was “un-American.””We may have a government that is somehow trying to make excuses for it and legitimize it, but we (Americans) don’t.”