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Is Congress really going to abandon Ukraine now?

Is Congress really going to abandon Ukraine now?

Anne Applebaum writes: As I write this I am in Warsaw, 170 miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine. The front line, where Ukrainians are right now fighting and dying, is another 450 miles beyond that. Not so far, in other words. A long day’s drive. I am well within range of Russian missiles, the kind that have hit Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv so many times over the past two years. Tens of millions of other people—Poles, Germans, Romanians, Finns, Estonians,…

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After ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocide, U.S. and allies cut off funding for humanitarian aid to Gaza

After ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocide, U.S. and allies cut off funding for humanitarian aid to Gaza

UNRWA sure as hell chose a convenient moment to drop this news and hide it under all the ICJ coverage. Any other day, this would have been a major headline: Israel submits evidence of UN employees’ complicity with Hamas. https://t.co/eTePR0lFyG — Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) January 26, 2024 Israel sure as hell chose a convenient moment to drop this allegation against UNRWA. Axios reports: A senior Israeli official said the Shin Bet and Israeli military intelligence provided information that pointed to…

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Will Biden ever stand up to Benjamin Netanyahu? Don’t bet on it

Will Biden ever stand up to Benjamin Netanyahu? Don’t bet on it

Chris McGreal writes: Joe Biden has expended a lot of effort to avoid taking Benjamin Netanyahu at his word. The Israeli prime minister has spent his political life opposing a Palestinian state and acting accordingly. And although Biden has trotted out a rote commitment to the two-state solution when confronted with a crisis in the Middle East, there was barely a murmur from the White House as Netanyahu’s far-right government ramped up creeping colonisation of the occupied West Bank and…

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The past is being destroyed in Palestine — as well as the present

The past is being destroyed in Palestine — as well as the present

Olivia Snaije writes: It is nearly impossible today to imagine Gaza as a thriving port on the sparkling Mediterranean, where a rich socioeconomic exchange took place over thousands of years of human history. Yet for millennia, Gaza was an essential stopping point on the overland route between Africa, Asia and Europe. Rich archaeological treasures found in the area indicate that trading was brisk throughout the Bronze Age — including finds indicating a close relationship with Ancient Egypt — to Hellenic…

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American mercenaries hired by UAE to kill in Yemen

American mercenaries hired by UAE to kill in Yemen

  American mercenaries, hired by the UAE to kill in Yemen, have spoken candidly on camera for the first time in an investigation by BBC Arabic. At a time when Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping have highlighted the international dimensions of the Yemeni conflict, the investigation also reveals how US mercenaries trained Emirati officers to kill the UAE’s political enemies in Yemen. These extra-judicial killings, conducted in the name of counter-terrorism, started in 2015 and continue to this day.

Under fire from Democratic lawmakers, Pentagon scales back military support for human rights violators

Under fire from Democratic lawmakers, Pentagon scales back military support for human rights violators

The Washington Post reports: The Pentagon has abruptly abandoned plans to train alongside the militaries of several countries either involved in the overthrow of democratic governments or accused of human rights violations, reversing course amid recent scrutiny. The plans, disclosed to Congress in October and reviewed by The Washington Post, detailed the Pentagon’s intent to hold joint exercises this year with Sudan, Niger, Mali and other troubled African nations. Each is broadly prohibited under U.S. law from receiving American security…

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The GRU officer helping the Kremlin evade sanctions from his base in Brussels

The GRU officer helping the Kremlin evade sanctions from his base in Brussels

The Insider reports: In October, The Insider revealed how gaps in the complex web of Western sanctions policies have allowed Russia to continue procuring many of the foreign-made tools and components necessary for the production of its hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile, one of the “wonder weapons” unveiled by Vladimir Putin during an infamous 2018 speech that included computer generated graphics showing Russian warheads flying towards the United States. That particular sanctions-busting scheme relied on loopholes and exceptions that make it…

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The news business really is cratering

The news business really is cratering

Jack Shafer writes: Journalists across the country burst into flames of panic this week, as bad news for the news business crested and erupted everywhere all at once. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire publisher of the Los Angeles Times, laid off 20 percent of his newsroom. Over at Time magazine, its billionaire owners, Marc and Lynne Benioff, did the same for 15 percent of their unionized editorial employees. This latest conflagration had ignited at Sports Illustrated the previous week as catastrophic layoffs were dispensed via email to most staffers. Business…

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International Court of Justice says Israel must immediately stop killing Palestinians in Gaza

International Court of Justice says Israel must immediately stop killing Palestinians in Gaza

By fifteen votes to two, the International Court of Justice indicated the following provisional measures: The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of this Convention, in particular: (a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental…

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This momentous ICJ ruling may be brushed aside by Israel but its allies can’t afford to ignore it

This momentous ICJ ruling may be brushed aside by Israel but its allies can’t afford to ignore it

Steve Crawshaw writes: Israel will no doubt continue to pour scorn on the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague in the days and weeks to come. “Hague Shmague” was the first response from the security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. But the provisional measures ordered by the world court today are historic, by any measure. The requirement that Israel must take steps to prevent genocidal acts, prevent and punish incitement to genocide, and report back on its actions within a…

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South Africa’s genocide case is a diplomatic win, after ‘damning’ verdict against Israel

South Africa’s genocide case is a diplomatic win, after ‘damning’ verdict against Israel

Reuters reports: South Africa’s genocide case against Israel may have ruffled feathers in the capitals of vital Western trading partners, but it has boosted the country’s standing as a champion of the downtrodden Global South. That gamble is likely to pay off, thanks to renewed rivalry for Africa’s minerals and U.N. votes between the West, China and Russia, turbocharged by Russia’s war on Ukraine. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected Israel’s petition to throw out the case on Friday,…

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Israeli ICJ judge once supported use of hostages as ‘bargaining card’ but now votes to prevent genocide

Israeli ICJ judge once supported use of hostages as ‘bargaining card’ but now votes to prevent genocide

It is noteworthy that even the Israeli judge, Aharon Barak, joined the International Court of Justice (making it 16-1) on the points of preventing and punishing incitement to genocidal acts and allowing enough humanitarian aid to stop severe deprivation. https://t.co/2tqmN3cg7J — Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) January 26, 2024 In 1998, the New York Times reported: A three-judge panel of the Supreme Court today ended the secrecy of a four-month-old ruling in which it acknowledged and condoned the fact that Israel was…

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Defendants Biden, Blinken, and Austin accused in federal court of complicity in genocide

Defendants Biden, Blinken, and Austin accused in federal court of complicity in genocide

Having started my day with @CIJ_ICJ's momentous ruling that SA’s genocide claim against IS is “plausible” & its order of PM, I'll now head to the US Federal Court to testify against defendants @POTUS, @SecBlinken & @SecDef for their failure to prevent & complicity in #Genocide. pic.twitter.com/MezIGIncwn — Ahmed Abofoul | أحمد أبو فول (@AhmedAbofoul) January 26, 2024 Time reports: A federal court case filed against President Joe Biden and two U.S. cabinet officials for allegedly being complicit in Israel’s…

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Biden still wants to look like the climate president

Biden still wants to look like the climate president

The Atlantic reports: All of a sudden, the U.S. has become the biggest liquid-natural-gas exporter in the world. Supplied by a souped-up hydraulic-fracturing industry, and spurred by Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has hampered European gas access, LNG export terminals are being built on a monumental scale throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast, in places so beset by climate disasters that homes there are now deemed uninsurable. Shipping LNG abroad could be its own climate disaster, with questionable benefits: Recent research found that it may be worse for…

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