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Category: Politics

Gaza: 23 million tonnes of debris ‘will take years to clear’; acute malnutrition doubles in a month

Gaza: 23 million tonnes of debris ‘will take years to clear’; acute malnutrition doubles in a month

UN News reports: In a fresh alert about the disastrous humanitarian emergency still unfolding in the enclave, the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, said on Friday that it will “take years” before the Strip is made safe again. The lives of more than two million Gazans have been devastated by daily Israeli bombardment, since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on 7 October, the UN agency noted in a post on X, formerly Twitter. As the largest relief agency in Gaza,…

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Iran and U.S. held secret talks on proxy attacks and ceasefire

Iran and U.S. held secret talks on proxy attacks and ceasefire

The New York Times reports: Iran and the United States held secret, indirect talks in Oman in January, addressing the escalating threat posed to Red Sea shipping by the Houthis in Yemen, as well as the attacks on American bases by Iran-backed militias in Iraq, according to Iranian and U.S. officials familiar with the discussions. The secret talks were held on Jan. 10 in Muscat, the capital of Oman, with Omani officials shuffling messages back and forth between delegations of…

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Who will succeed Russia’s longest ruling dictator since Stalin?

Who will succeed Russia’s longest ruling dictator since Stalin?

Anna Nemtsova writes: Not even the most passionate supporters of Vladimir Putin are pretending that the results of this weekend’s election are in doubt: Putin, Russia’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin, is about to embark on his sixth term. And so, with no electoral politics to debate, both pro-Putin and liberal Kremlinologists in the Russian-language mediasphere have been focusing instead on changes at the very top of Russia’s power pyramid: the new elite that is coming to replace the old…

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Asking Israel’s powerful voices about Gaza. And, is this a watershed moment for Jewish solidarity with Palestinians?

Asking Israel’s powerful voices about Gaza. And, is this a watershed moment for Jewish solidarity with Palestinians?

YouTube’s application of “age-restricted” in the context of Gaza often appears to have much less to do with protecting minors than it serves to deflect criticism of the Netanyahu government and the IDF. Australia’s ABC Global Affairs Editor John Lyons asks tough questions to some of Israel’s most powerful political and military voices about the country’s strategy and intentions. This interview-led documentary features former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, who says Benjamin Netanyahu can’t be trusted, and cabinet minister Avi…

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Inside Northern Gaza: kids desperate for food and medicine

Inside Northern Gaza: kids desperate for food and medicine

  As the people of Gaza grow ever more desperate for food, pressure keeps growing on Israel. Top US Democrat Chuck Schumer has criticised Benjamin Netanyahu as an “obstacle to peace” and called for elections. A ship carrying food aid from charity World Central Kitchen is now approaching Gaza. The shipment from Cyprus is the first in a newly established maritime aid corridor. But the UN says the most effective way to get aid into the besieged Strip is still…

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AIPAC talking points revealed

AIPAC talking points revealed

The American Prospect reports: It’s been clear for several election cycles that AIPAC might sway the electoral map more so for Republicans, but this document all but signals that directly to its members. The pamphlet does try to refute charges that the lobby opposes all progressives. It takes a dig at its critics by claiming to have raised more money for endorsed Congressional Progressive Caucus members, at $1.8 million, than left-aligned groups Justice Democrats, J Street, and EMILYs List combined….

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A forever war, more repression, Putin for life? Russia’s bleak post-election outlook

A forever war, more repression, Putin for life? Russia’s bleak post-election outlook

The Guardian reports: For a few weeks in 2022, Vladimir Putin’s world was unravelling fast. Russian troops had failed to take Kyiv and the west was coalescing around Volodymyr Zelenskiy, freezing Russian assets abroad and imposing unprecedented sanctions. Putin himself appeared unhinged, railing against Lenin or appealing to Ukrainians to overthrow their “gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”. As Russians go to the polls on Friday in an election with only one possible result, the Kremlin will claim a mandate…

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I listened to Trump’s rambling, unhinged, vituperative Georgia rally — and so should you

I listened to Trump’s rambling, unhinged, vituperative Georgia rally — and so should you

Susan B. Glasser writes: I’m sure you had better things to do on Saturday evening than watch Donald Trump rant for nearly two hours to an audience of cheering fans in Rome, Georgia. His speech was rambling, unhinged, vituperative, and oh-so-revealing. In his first rally since effectively clinching the Republican Presidential nomination, Trump made what amounted to his response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. It’s hard to imagine a better or more pointed contrast with the vision…

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Chuck Schumer calls for elections in Israel, warning it ‘cannot survive if it becomes a pariah’

Chuck Schumer calls for elections in Israel, warning it ‘cannot survive if it becomes a pariah’

NBC News reports: In the most significant criticism by a U.S. leader against the Israeli government since its war with Hamas began, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday called for new elections in Israel to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S. ever, said in remarks on the Senate floor that “the Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7.” “The world has changed — radically — since then,…

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A new surge of settler outposts is terrorizing Palestinians off their land

A new surge of settler outposts is terrorizing Palestinians off their land

+972 Magazine reports: Since late December, Palestinians living in the village of Battir, west of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, have been cut off from significant portions of their land. A group of Israeli settlers simply arrived in the area one day — which UNESCO has designated as a world heritage site — and set up a new outpost, with a few small shacks for living in and for keeping their livestock. “Settler shepherds took control of the area…

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A Palestinian poet chronicles the war raging around him

A Palestinian poet chronicles the war raging around him

Palestinian poet and literary critic Talat Qudaih recounts from his diary entries from the beginning of the present war in Gaza until March 2024: Why do we need to recount what has transpired since Oct. 7, 2023? Must we chronicle the calamities that have befallen us, akin to torrential rain — an onslaught of missiles, bombs, shells and bullets that have extinguished lives, torn bodies asunder and marred the essence of childhood and innocence? Amid the debris of human limbs…

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President Macron discusses Ukraine’s current situation

President Macron discusses Ukraine’s current situation

  In this pivotal interview from March 14, 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron provides a detailed update on the state of Ukraine amidst ongoing war and tensions in the region. Translated via AI. President Macron outlines France’s stance, the international community’s efforts for peace, and how these dynamics influence the European political landscape. Don’t miss this insightful conversation that sheds light on the complexities of international diplomacy and the path forward for Ukraine.

U.S. firm that paid indicted FBI informant tied to Trump associates, records reveal

U.S. firm that paid indicted FBI informant tied to Trump associates, records reveal

The Guardian reports: An American company that paid the now indicted FBI informant Alexander Smirnov in 2020 is connected to a UK company owned by Trump business associates in Dubai, according to business filings and court documents. Smirnov is now accused of lying to the FBI about Hunter Biden and his father, President Joe Biden, alleging that they engaged in a bribery scheme with executives at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Smirnov’s accounts to the FBI, beginning in 2020, that…

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The Supreme Court’s supreme betrayal

The Supreme Court’s supreme betrayal

J. Michael Luttig and Laurence H. Tribe write: The Supreme Court of the United States did a grave disservice to both the Constitution and the nation in Trump v. Anderson. In a stunning disfigurement of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Court impressed upon it an ahistorical misinterpretation that defies both its plain text and its original meaning. Despite disagreement within the Court that led to a 5–4 split among the justices over momentous but tangential issues that it had no need…

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Elon Musk has a giant charity. Its money stays close to home

Elon Musk has a giant charity. Its money stays close to home

The New York Times reports: Before March 2021, Elon Musk’s charitable foundation had never announced any donations to Cameron County, an impoverished region at the southern tip of Texas that is home to his SpaceX launch site and local officials who help regulate it. Then, at 8:05 one morning that month, a SpaceX rocket blew up, showering the area with a rain of twisted metal. The Musk Foundation began giving at 9:27 a.m. local time. Am donating $20M to Cameron…

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How does U.S. intelligence disagree with Israel on Gaza?

How does U.S. intelligence disagree with Israel on Gaza?

  In its annual report, the US intelligence community says Hamas cannot be destroyed. The group’s elimination is a core aim of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s merciless onslaught in Gaza. So why is the US continuing to arm Israel, to fight a war it doesn’t believe can be won?