Recommended Sunday Reading—February 26

Watch trailers of movies nominated for Oscars

The 89th annual Academy Awards announce their winners on Sunday, February 26, so if you want to catch up on the nominees — the better to know when to celebrate and/or roll your eyes during the ceremony. In Vox.com.

Blast in Delhi, lives lost in Kashmir

Now fiddling with his younger cousin’s phone, Rafiq says, “When I went away, there were no smartphones. So I don’t know how to use these phones; I still have this,” he says, pulling out a basic Nokia phone from his pocket. Sitting beside Rafiq, his father Mohammad Yasin, 70, who retired as a deputy forester, says, “It took us 11 years to prove his innocence. I have exhausted all my pension and gratuity money on defending my son. The only satisfaction is that our struggle didn’t go to waste,” he says. In The Indian Express.

A ‘secret’ viewing of ‘Raees’ in Pakistan

“He went onto share his second and most significant issue with the film which was one of the major taglines, “Dhanday sae bara koi dharam nahin hota (There’s no bigger religion than business).” This was followed by a moment of silence as the concerned member suggested it was a very controversial dialogue that needs to be entirely removed from the film. The chairman was quick to defend it by saying that the same character eventually nullifies his own argument by saying, “Mae dharam dekh kay dhanda nahin karta (I don’t mix religion with business),” to which the crowd agreed but the concerned member still had reservations.” In The Tribune.

Civil liberties and sedition in the US of A

I could not but guffaw when my 11-year-old nephew reacted to my mother gushing about how fair he had become with: "Dida, that's racist. Like Trump!" At a large Baltimore guitar shop, a guy walked in wearing a T-shirt depicting Trump bleeding from the head from a hammer hit. The shop guy, one of those gigging by night and store-fronting by day dudes, promptly asked him: "Hey man, can I take a picture of your T-shirt? My girlfriend's from a Spanish-speaking family and they'd love this." In The Telegraph.

A French artist’s ‘Rock Yoga’ in Paris

“People seem to be very touched. They come and talk into the crack, read poetry to me, or tell me about their nightmares or their dreams,” he said. “They are not so much talking to me, I think, as to the stone. I am very happy that the stone has got into their heads.” In The Guardian.