Belgium to recognise Palestinian state, impose sanctions on Israel
Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot tells Al Jazeera his country will recognise Palestine as a state this month.
Outcry as Swedish ‘cultural canon’ snubs Abba and anything since 1975
Critics argue ‘shared map’ of Swedish culture is ‘very exclusionary’ and a ‘nationalist education project’
The Gustav Vasa 1541 bible, Pippi Longstocking, Ikea, the right to roam, paternity leave, Sámi joiks, the Nobel prize and works by Ingmar Bergman and August Strindberg all made it into Sweden’s long-awaited, much-criticised proposal for a “cultural canon”.
However, notable omissions from the list of 100 works and references that have formed Sweden’s culture and history – intended, its creators said in Uppsala on Tuesday, to establish a “shared map and compass” for Swedish citizens and new arrivals to Sweden – included Abba and anything from after 1975, a period that has seen Sweden transform into an international, multicultural society.
Continue reading...Margaret Atwood releases short story critiquing book bans in Canada
Author quipped she wrote ‘suitable’ piece after Alberta school ban included her novel The Handmaid’s Tale
Margaret Atwood has released a new short story critiquing elected officials for a wide-ranging book ban in the Canadian province of Alberta. The controversial decision to remove books purportedly containing “explicit sexual content” has seen numerous works of literature swept up in the dragnet, including Atwood’s dystopian work The Handmaid’s Tale.
In a social media post, Atwood wrote that since her famed work was no longer permissible in Alberta schools, she had written a “suitable” short work for teens, adding the work was necessary because the province’s minister of education thought students were “stupid babies”.
Continue reading...Top genocide scholars say Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
The leading group of genocide scholars has agreed that Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide.
Kraft Heinz to split into two companies as financial struggles mount
The spinoff comes a decade after the two companies merged in efforts to boost growth.
Putin says Trump admin ‘listening’ to Russia’s stance on Ukraine war
The Russian leader told the Slovak PM that Moscow and Washington had a 'mutual understanding' on how to end the war.
Strong aftershock hits Afghanistan after quake kills more than 1,400
Many remain trapped under rubble as rescuers use helicopters in remote areas hit by recent landslides.
Graham Linehan Arrested After X Posts – Deadline
- Graham Linehan Arrested After X Posts Deadline
- 'Fury' over Father Ted creator arrest and 'nervy bond markets' BBC
- UK comedy writer Graham Linehan arrested over social media posts criticizing trans activists Fox News
- Father Ted creator Graham Linehan arrested over posts on transgender issues The Guardian
- Comedian Graham Linehan arrested over trans tweets The Times
Modi’s warm meeting with Xi shows impact of Trump’s ‘tariff tantrum’
China seizes on opportunity for geopolitical realignment after India was hit with one of US’s harshest trade penalties
They stood together like old friends, heads thrown back in jovial laughter, clutching one another’s hands affectionately. Except this was no ordinary gathering of three men, but a meeting of three of the most powerful non-western leaders: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi.
The overt displays of intimacy were widely regarded by observers as a telling message of defiance aimed at their western counterparts, in particular Donald Trump, who just a few days earlier had slapped India with 50% import tariffs, among the harshest of the US president’s trade penalties.
Continue reading...Xi Jinping’s anti-American party – The Economist
- Xi Jinping’s anti-American party The Economist
- India Was the Economic Alternative to China. Trump Ended That. The New York Times
- Trump's rebuke, Xi's handshake, Putin's oil: India's foreign policy test BBC
- Opinion | Trump’s white-knuckling with India could backfire The Washington Post
- Opinion: Opinion | To Survive Trump, India Needs More Than Just Handshakes With Xi And Putin NDTV
Five children in Gaza among those killed by Israeli strike while fetching water
Latest attack comes as Israel’s military urges people to leave Gaza City with 60,000 more reservists to be called up
At least nine people, including five children, have been killed in an Israeli strike while fetching water in al-Mawasi, an area of southern Gaza which Israel has designated as a safe zone, health officials said.
A doctor from al-Nasser hospital shared a picture of the children’s bodies in the hospital, as well as a picture of water jugs left in a pool of blood at the site of the attack on Tuesday.
Continue reading...As many as 1,000 killed in Sudan landslide – NPR
- As many as 1,000 killed in Sudan landslide NPR
- Landslide Kills Hundreds in Sudan The New York Times
- Sudan landslide: A collapsing mountain and bodies still buried under rubble in Darfur BBC
- Pope Leo XIV appeals to international community to respond to crisis in Sudan Vatican News
- About 100 bodies recovered from landslide-hit village in Darfur as pope urges help AP News
‘Anonymity Online Is Going to Die’: What Age-Verification Laws Could Look Like in the U.S. – Rolling Stone
- ‘Anonymity Online Is Going to Die’: What Age-Verification Laws Could Look Like in the U.S. Rolling Stone
- Behind the Passwords Alternative: Passkeys - Tech News Briefing - WSJ Podcasts The Wall Street Journal
- Global movement to protect kids online fuels a wave of AI safety tech CNBC
- ‘Scan your face’ laws for the web are having unexpected consequences The Washington Post
- Online age checks are proliferating, but so are concerns they curtail internet freedom AP News
Mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo charity makes undisclosed donation to the Australia Institute
Exclusive: The progressive thinktank, which has championed a ‘real zero’ emissions policy, says it protects privacy of donors to avoid them being targeted
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Andrew Forrest’s charity has made an undisclosed donation to the Australia Institute, raising transparency concerns about the funding of influential advocacy groups.
The donation to the progressive thinktank, which has been confirmed by several sources familiar with the deal but not authorised to comment, highlights differing disclosure standards across the research and advocacy sector.
Continue reading...There are just 150 of these creamy-flowered shrubs left in the world – and a Victorian fire break could destroy dozens
More than 40 round-leaf pomaderris discovered by environmental community group inside the area earmarked for fire break in July
A mere 150 round-leaf pomaderris were thought left in the world in 2021 and now a planned firebreak in Victoria could destroy dozens of the plants.
The critically endangered shrub, which bursts into cascades of creamy flowers, is known to exist in only a handful of locations in central Victoria’s hill country.
Continue reading...Up to 80,000 people in Australia may be affected by ‘sledgehammer’ powers to deport noncitizens to Nauru, lawyers warn
Greens senator David Shoebridge accuses Tony Burke of ‘doing his Peter Dutton impression, dog-whistling and punching down on migrants’
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Up to 80,000 people in Australia may be affected by the Albanese government’s proposed powers to strip basic legal protections from the noncitizens it plans to deport to Nauru, refugee lawyers warn.
The proposed federal powers, revealed last Wednesday, are expected to pass parliament this week with the Coalition’s support at a snap two-hour committee hearing scheduled for Wednesday night.
Continue reading...Andriy Parubiy: Suspect admits killing Ukrainian lawmaker, says it was ‘revenge’ against authorities – CNN
- Andriy Parubiy: Suspect admits killing Ukrainian lawmaker, says it was ‘revenge’ against authorities CNN
- Disguised gunman who assassinated prominent Ukraine politician is linked to Russia, Kyiv says CBS News
- Kyiv Links Moscow to Killing of Former Ukrainian Parliament Speaker The New York Times
- Arrest after fatal shooting of Ukrainian politician Andriy Parubiy BBC
- Hundreds mourn pro-Western Ukrainian politician who was gunned down in the street AP News
Burkina Faso’s parliament votes to outlaw homosexual acts
People could face up to five years in prison for breaking the new measure once signed into law.
Treasury Intensifies Pressure on Iranian Oil Smuggling and Sanctions Evasion Schemes in Iraq – U.S. Department of the Treasury (.gov)
- Treasury Intensifies Pressure on Iranian Oil Smuggling and Sanctions Evasion Schemes in Iraq U.S. Department of the Treasury (.gov)
- Oil settles up 1% after US imposes sanctions targeting Iranian oil Reuters
- US Targets Iraqi Tycoon in Latest Move Against Iran Oil Exports Bloomberg.com
- US sanctions network for transporting Iranian oil as nuclear talks remain stalled The Times of Israel
- Oil prices hold on to gains from US sanctions Yahoo Finance
Belgium to recognise Palestinian state at UN and sanction Israel – as it happened
Foreign minister says move is not aimed at Israeli people but ‘ensuring their government respects international and humanitarian law’. This live blog is closed
At least 63,633 Palestinian people have been killed and 160,914 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
At least 76 Palestinian people, including 12 aid seekers, were killed in the last 24 hours alone, the ministry said.
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