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Category: Politics

CPJ and partners call on President Biden to protect journalists in the Israel-Gaza war

CPJ and partners call on President Biden to protect journalists in the Israel-Gaza war

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined five other press freedom and human rights organizations on Wednesday in calling on U.S. President Joe Biden to act immediately and decisively to promote the conditions for safe and unrestricted reporting on the hostilities in Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon. The Israel-Gaza war has taken a severe toll on journalists since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, and Israel declared war on the militant Palestinian group, launching military operations in…

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Russia is on course to lose 500,000 troops by end of 2024

Russia is on course to lose 500,000 troops by end of 2024

Business Insider reports: The average number of Russian casualties in Ukraine each day had risen by almost 300 during last year, the department said, citing data from the Ukrainian defense ministry. Neither Business Insider nor the UK’s MOD could independently verify the methodology used by the Ukrainian general staff. But the MOD previously said the figures were “plausible” considering mounting casualty figures from Russia’s attacks on Avdiivka, a small town on the edge of occupied Donetsk. The department said the…

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Trump vowed he’d ‘never’ help Europe if it’s attacked, top EU official says

Trump vowed he’d ‘never’ help Europe if it’s attacked, top EU official says

Politico reports: One of Europe’s most senior politicians recounted how former U.S. President Donald Trump privately warned that America would not come to the EU’s aid if it was attacked militarily. “You need to understand that if Europe is under attack we will never come to help you and to support you,” Trump told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in 2020, according to French European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who was also present at a meeting at the World…

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Coverage of Gaza war in NYT and other major newspapers heavily favored Israel, analysis finds

Coverage of Gaza war in NYT and other major newspapers heavily favored Israel, analysis finds

The Intercept reports: The New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times’s coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza showed a consistent bias against Palestinians, according to an Intercept analysis of major media coverage. The print media outlets, which play an influential role in shaping U.S. views of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, paid little attention to the unprecedented impact of Israel’s siege and bombing campaign on both children and journalists in the Gaza Strip. Major U.S. newspapers disproportionately emphasized Israeli deaths…

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How Ukraine must change if it wants to win

How Ukraine must change if it wants to win

Anne Applebaum writes: On December 29, Russia launched the largest missile attack against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion. On January 2, another attack of the same magnitude hit schools, hospitals, and apartment blocks across Ukraine. Early yesterday morning—the day after Orthodox Christmas—the Russians hurled yet another missile barrage at Ukraine. Together, these attacks sent a message: Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in negotiations, cease-fires, or swapping land for peace. Although he cannot overwhelm Ukraine militarily,…

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Trump’s legal arguments are getting increasingly embarrassing

Trump’s legal arguments are getting increasingly embarrassing

Jeremy Stahl writes: On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump’s attorneys tried to convince a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that their client is entitled to “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for the actions he took while in office related to Jan. 6 and his efforts to steal the 2020 election. Their argument? That Trump was president, so it doesn’t matter. The three judges did not seem impressed. They are poised to rule…

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Calm down, the allegations against Fani Willis won’t put Trump’s Georgia prosecution at risk

Calm down, the allegations against Fani Willis won’t put Trump’s Georgia prosecution at risk

Shan Wu writes: There is something to worry about in a motion filed today by a Donald Trump co-defendant seeking to dismiss the indictment and disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. But the worry has nothing to do with the criminal prosecution. The motion was filed by attorney Ashleigh Merchant who represents Trump co-defendant Michael Roman—a former Trump campaign official—and accuses DA Willis of misconduct, conflict of interest, and even possible federal crimes based upon Merchant’s unsupported claim that…

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The first world orders were not European. They came from Asia

The first world orders were not European. They came from Asia

Ayşe Zarakol writes: The process that gave rise to Eurocentrism in social sciences and history is somewhat comparable to the follies of youth. Little children have difficulty believing that their parents existed before their birth. Teenagers often think that they are the first ones to have the experiences they are having as they make their way into adulthood. Young people usually think of previous generations as stodgy and old-fashioned, and of themselves as uniquely special and innovative. And they imagine…

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Why Israel should be very worried by genocide case at International Court of Justice

Why Israel should be very worried by genocide case at International Court of Justice

  Owen Jones: “You might think that South Africa’s case against Israel for genocide is doomed – that Israel will just ignore the International Court of Justice if it issues a provisional ruling ordering it to cease its murderous onslaught against Gaza. “But as lawyer Daniel Machover explains – this could have major consequences for Israel. He explains – very clearly – what the legal case means – and where it could lead.” The New Arab reports: Jordan’s foreign minister…

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How apartheid history shaped South Africa’s genocide case against Israel

How apartheid history shaped South Africa’s genocide case against Israel

Chris McGreal reports: Israel has denounced South Africa’s legal action at the international court of justice accusing Israel of genocide and war crimes in Gaza as amounting to support for Hamas. Israel called the charge that it was intentionally killing thousands of Palestinian civilians – which the ICJ is expected to start hearing on Thursday – a “blood libel”. Jewish organisations in South Africa accused the ruling African National Congress of siding with terrorism and antisemitism. But South Africa’s lawsuit…

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Israel tasks ex-Supreme Court chief Aharon Barak to serve at Hague genocide hearings

Israel tasks ex-Supreme Court chief Aharon Barak to serve at Hague genocide hearings

The Times of Israel reports: Retired Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, 87, will be Israel’s appointee to the 15-judge panel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague that will this week hear South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, Jerusalem announced Sunday. The Foreign Ministry confirmed Barak’s appointment to The Times of Israel. Barak’s name was suggested by the International Department of the State Attorney’s Office, backed by Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara and personally approved…

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The epidemiological war on Gaza

The epidemiological war on Gaza

Maya Rosen writes: Since October 7th, Israel has severely reduced the entry of food, water, and fuel into Gaza, successfully creating what global health expert Yara Asi described as “a dire human-made humanitarian catastrophe” characterized by mass hunger, thirst, homelessness, and lack of medical services. As months pass without any meaningful relief, these conditions have produced “the perfect storm for disease,” in the words of United Nations Children’s Fund spokesperson James Elder. On January 2nd, the WHO announced that there…

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Biden’s refusal of Gaza ceasefire could drag U.S. into Middle East war

Biden’s refusal of Gaza ceasefire could drag U.S. into Middle East war

  Middle East policy expert Trita Parsi says President Biden’s reluctance to press Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza has the potential to drag the U.S. into a war with Iran and its allies in the region. On Monday, Israel reportedly killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon, just days after an airstrike killed a senior Hamas leader in the capital Beirut. Meanwhile, the U.S. has exchanged fire with Yemen’s Houthi forces, who have attacked commercial ships in the Red…

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Israel is not promising to ‘scale back’ its war on Gaza

Israel is not promising to ‘scale back’ its war on Gaza

Spencer Ackerman writes: Readers of The New York Times were treated on Monday morning to a breaking-news alert heralding what seemed like a welcome development: “Israel says it has begun to scale back war.” That description, which led the Times website, is about as close to the opposite of the way Israel’s war is heading as could appear in the leading US newspaper. The Israeli Defense Forces spokesman, Radm. Daniel Hagari, gave the Times the interview that it used for…

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Israel’s talk of expanding war to Lebanon alarms U.S. — but not enough to demand a ceasefire

Israel’s talk of expanding war to Lebanon alarms U.S. — but not enough to demand a ceasefire

The Washington Post reports: President Biden has dispatched his top aides to the Middle East with a critical objective: Prevent a full-blown war from erupting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Israel has made clear it views as untenable the regular exchange of fire between its forces and Hezbollah along the border and may soon launch a major military operation in Lebanon. “We prefer the path of an agreed-upon diplomatic settlement,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Friday,…

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Seizing Russia’s frozen assets is the right move

Seizing Russia’s frozen assets is the right move

Joseph E. Stiglitz and Andrew Kosenko write: As Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to wreak havoc both regionally and globally, the Ukrainian people and their allies demonstrate remarkable determination and courage. But nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, it is increasingly clear that the international community can and must do much more to help. While the G7 countries and other governments around the world have been extraordinarily generous in supporting the Ukrainian war effort, there are signs…

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