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It’s not only Israel on trial. South Africa is testing the West’s claim to moral superiority

It’s not only Israel on trial. South Africa is testing the West’s claim to moral superiority

Nesrine Malik writes: It was only a little over six hours of legal argument, but the genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel at the international court of justice had decades of history bearing down on it. The specifics dealt with Israel’s assault on Gaza, but at its heart, the case was about something wider: closing the gap between Palestinian reality and how the dominant political forces describe it. For weeks now, anger at events in Gaza has spilled…

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Jewish activists mobilizing against war are finding a new community

Jewish activists mobilizing against war are finding a new community

Shane Burley writes: “Let Gaza live! Let Gaza live!” The chant bounced off the century-old granite walls of New York City’s historic Grand Central Station on Oct. 27, as thousands poured onto the floor wearing black T-shirts reading “Jews Say Ceasefire Now.” This messaging has become familiar, as massive rallies around the country, including one of 5,000 people in Washington, D.C., and others in dozens more cities, have been organized by Jewish activists speaking primarily as Jews. These protests represent…

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Much of Houthis’ offensive ability remains intact after U.S.-led airstrikes

Much of Houthis’ offensive ability remains intact after U.S.-led airstrikes

The New York Times reports: The United States-led airstrikes on Thursday and Friday against sites in Yemen controlled by the Houthi militia damaged or destroyed about 90 percent of the targets struck, but the group retained about three-quarters of its ability to fire missiles and drones at ships transiting the Red Sea, two U.S. officials said on Saturday. The damage estimates are the first detailed assessments of the strikes by American and British attack planes and warships against nearly 30…

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Global confidence in American democracy is already waning

Global confidence in American democracy is already waning

Nahal Toosi writes: When I asked the European ambassador to talk to me about America’s deepening partisan divide, I expected a polite brushoff at best. Foreign diplomats are usually loath to discuss domestic U.S. politics. Instead, the ambassador unloaded for an hour, warning that America’s poisonous politics are hurting its security, its economy, its friends and its standing as a pillar of democracy and global stability. The U.S. is a “fat buffalo trying to take a nap” as hungry wolves…

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Poland presses for ambitious 2040 EU climate target, signaling U-turn

Poland presses for ambitious 2040 EU climate target, signaling U-turn

Politico reports: Poland’s new government will urge the European Union to “embrace” a plan to slash 90 percent of the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, a senior government official said on Monday — reflecting the country’s massive shift in climate policy. The European Commission is set to publish a roadmap toward the bloc’s next climate target on February 6, and the EU’s Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change has recommended an emissions cut of 90-95 percent by 2040 compared…

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Climate change threatens global forest carbon sequestration, study finds

Climate change threatens global forest carbon sequestration, study finds

University of Florida: Climate change is reshaping forests differently across the United States, according to a new analysis of U.S. Forest Service data. With rising temperatures, escalating droughts, wildfires, and disease outbreaks taking a toll on trees, researchers warn that forests across the American West are bearing the brunt of the consequences. The study, led by UF Biology researchers J. AARON HOGAN and JEREMY W. LICHSTEIN was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study reveals…

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Bill McKibben explains what individuals can do to win the climate fight — together

Bill McKibben explains what individuals can do to win the climate fight — together

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Jessica McKenzie: I was wondering if we could start just by taking stock of the global climate movement. How do you think things are going? Bill McKibben: The success or failure of the global climate movement is obviously measured by how high the temperature is. And the temperature is higher than it’s been in 125,000 years, at least, this year. So I think you’d have to say from that, we’re not exactly triumphant. In the…

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War on Gaza: Internal anger with Biden and Congress reaches boiling point

War on Gaza: Internal anger with Biden and Congress reaches boiling point

Middle East Eye reports: After three months of Israel’s war on Gaza, and after months of widespread mass protests against the war and calls for US President Joe Biden to support a ceasefire, Washington ordered air strikes on Yemen, an escalatory move that could push the region into a wider war. The decision by Biden has exponentially increased the level of anger from lawmakers and progressives who have been working since October to push for a ceasefire in Gaza. But…

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A top Biden official is pushing an urgent post-Gaza plan that’s alarming some insiders

A top Biden official is pushing an urgent post-Gaza plan that’s alarming some insiders

HuffPost reports: Top White House official Brett McGurk is quietly floating a controversial plan to reconstruct Gaza after Israel’s assault concludes, HuffPost has learned, despite serious concerns from some officials inside the administration that it would sow the seeds for future instability in the region. In recent weeks, McGurk has been pitching national security officials on a plan suggesting an approximately 90-day timeline for what should happen once active fighting in Gaza ends, three U.S. officials said. It argues that…

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Red Sea crisis could shatter hopes of global economic recovery

Red Sea crisis could shatter hopes of global economic recovery

The Observer reports: A prolonged conflict in the Red Sea and escalating tensions across the Middle East risk having devastating effects on the global economy, reigniting inflation and disrupting energy supplies, some of the world’s leading economists warn this weekend. Before a statement expected on Monday by Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons about UK and US airstrikes on Houthi sites in Yemen, economists at the World Bank say the crisis now threatens to feed through into higher interest…

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The Houthis’ forgotten war goes global

The Houthis’ forgotten war goes global

Elisabeth Kendall writes: On 14 November 2023, the military spokesman of Yemen’s Houthis, General Yahya Sarea, released a statement with an image of an Israeli ship on fire with a vow to ‘sink your ships’. Five days later, dramatic footage captured on the bodycams of Houthi hijackers and beamed around the world showed heavily armed insurgents clad in black balaclavas jumping out of a helicopter onto the deck of the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship affiliated with an Israeli businessman,…

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How airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels could backfire for the Western alliance

How airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels could backfire for the Western alliance

  Elisabeth Kendall, Yemen and Middle East expert, Girton College, University of Cambridge, says: “Of course the reason behind the strikes by the United States and the UK is to try to disengage the Houthis from wreaking havoc in the Red Sea. So the whole point is to try to tamp down the conflict there, and to ease the burden of fear on the shipping industry and therefore the knock-on effects that that has on our economies. The problem now…

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Poll indicates majority of Republicans are xenophobic racists

Poll indicates majority of Republicans are xenophobic racists

CBS News reports: As Donald Trump dominates the GOP nomination race and some of his inflammatory comments find favor with the party faithful, CBS News measured how the public feels about his “poisoning the blood” language. A striking number of voters agree with this description of immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally, and among Republicans, associating the remarks with Trump himself makes them even likelier to agree. We asked registered voters whether they agreed or disagreed with this statement in…

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Cells across the body talk to each other about aging

Cells across the body talk to each other about aging

Viviane Callier writes: Aging can seem like an unregulated process: As time marches along, our cells and bodies inevitably accumulate dings and dents that cause dysfunctions, failures and ultimately death. However, in 1993 a discovery upended that interpretation of events. Researchers found a mutation in a single gene that doubled a worm’s life span; subsequent work showed that related genes, all involved in the response to insulin, are key regulators of aging in a host of animals, from worms and…

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