Tag Archives: Ukraine War

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Monday, December 18, 2023

Leave a comment
Image

Israel’s Allies Urge Restraint as Netanyahu Vows ‘Fight to the End’

Dark smoke rises from Gaza, seen from southern Israel.

The U.S. defense secretary was headed to the Middle East as two top European officials called for a scaled-back war against Hamas.

Why Democracy Hasn’t Settled the Abortion Question

Post-Roe voting might bring America to a new consensus — but only if the voters keep getting their say.

Campus Crackdowns Have Chilling Effect on Pro-Palestinian Speech

Universities are under tremendous pressure to stamp out antisemitism, but some say that is causing fear and curbing free expression.

More Than 100 Members of This Gaza Clan Have Been Killed in War

Family trees have been dismembered, and whole branches obliterated, since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct. 7.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Sunday, December 17, 2023

Leave a comment
Image

Israel Found the Hamas Money Machine Years Ago. Nobody Turned It Off.

Running to a reinforced concrete shelter in Ashkelon, Israel, moments after a rocket siren was sounded on Oct. 7.

Agents worried as millions poured in. Hamas bought weapons and plotted an attack. The authorities now say the money helped lay the groundwork for the Oct. 7 assault on Israel.

Israel Says 3 Hostages Bore White Flag Before Being Killed by Troops

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas attending a rally calling for their return in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

The military said the mistaken killing of the three men, who had been shirtless, was a violation of its rules of engagement.

Behind the Scenes at the Dismantling of Roe v. Wade

This is the inside story of how the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion — shooting down compromise and testing the boundaries of how the law is decided.

The Overlooked Crisis in Congo: ‘We Live in War’

Six million have died, and more than six million are displaced after decades of fighting and the ensuing humanitarian crisis in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, drawing in neighbors, mercenaries and militias. An upcoming election is inflaming tempers.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Saturday, Dec 16, 2023

Leave a comment
Image

Zelensky Returns to Ukraine With Little Aid and a Raft of Needs

Residents removing their belongings on Wednesday after a Russian missile fell near an apartment building in Kyiv.

The European Union’s willingness to open accession talks will lift morale, but the more immediate prospects for financial support from allies is sobering.

Women at Fast-Growing Realty Firm Say They Were Drugged and Assaulted

In lawsuits, five women say eXp Realty long ignored complaints that two male agents were preying on their female peers at alcohol-fueled work events.

Private Gun Ownership in Israel Spikes After Hamas Attacks

In a country already bristling with armed soldiers and reservists, a new sense of insecurity is pushing civilians to seek more personal weapons.

Jury Orders Giuliani to Pay $148 Million to Election Workers He Defamed

Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, wrongfully accused by Rudolph W. Giuliani of having tried to steal votes from Donald J. Trump in Georgia, were awarded the damages by a federal court in Washington.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Friday, December 15, 2023

Leave a comment
Image

Washington Urges Israel to Scale Down Its War in Gaza

A soldier on an armored vehicle.

The call for a more targeted phase in the war appeared to be the most definitive effort yet by the United States to restrain Israel in its retaliation against Hamas for the attacks it led on Oct. 7.

How the Israel-Hamas War Tore Apart Public Defenders in the Bronx

The Bronx Defenders, who represent the borough’s most vulnerable in court, have been mired in furious debate over a faraway conflict.

The Bronx Defenders is one of the most influential public defense organizations in the United States. But allegations of antisemitism have dogged it and have grown louder since Oct. 7.

Who Gets the Water in California? Whoever Gets There First.

As the world warms, the state is re-examining claims to its water that have gone unchallenged for generations.

Losing Hair, Gaining Followers

Hair-loss influencers on TikTok say they are destigmatizing a common insecurity. Critics say they are cashing in on a vulnerable audience.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Thursday, Dec 14, 2023

Leave a comment
Image

In a First, Nations at Climate Summit Agree to Move Away From Fossil Fuels

Sultan Al Jaber, right, the president of COP28, at the summit early on Wednesday with COP28 and United Nations officials.

Nearly 200 countries convened by the United Nations approved a milestone plan to ramp up renewable energy and transition away from coal, oil and gas.

Under Rules of War, ‘Proportionality’ in Gaza Is Not About Evening the Score

Palestinians examining the rubble of destroyed buildings after an airstrike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, in October.

The concept, important for determining the legality of an act of war, is about weighing civilian harm against military objectives, not about achieving a balanced number of casualties.

Held Hostage in Gaza, a Thai Worker’s Prayers for Freedom Come True

A Thai farmworker clung to hope during her nearly 50 days of captivity in Gaza by befriending a young Israeli girl and dreaming of reuniting with her boyfriend, who had also been abducted.

Tesla Recalls Autopilot Software in 2 Million Vehicles

Federal regulators pressed the automaker to make updates to ensure drivers are paying attention while using Autopilot, a system that can steer, accelerate and brake on its own.

Analysis, Foreign Affairs, Government, Magazines, Politics, Reviews

Politics: Foreign Affairs Magazine- January 2024

Leave a comment
Image

Foreign Affairs (December 13, 2023): The new January/February 2024 issue features ‘The Self-Doubting Superpower’ – America shouldn’t give up on the World It Made; The Middle East Remade; Why Israel Slept; Hamas’s Advantage, and more….

The Self-Doubting Superpower

America Shouldn’t Give Up on the World It Made

By Fareed Zakaria

Most Americans think their country is in decline. In 2018, when the Pew Research Center asked Americans how they felt their country would perform in 2050, 54 percent of respondents agreed that the U.S. economy would be weaker. An even larger number, 60 percent, agreed that the United States would be less important in the world. This should not be surprising; the political atmosphere has been pervaded for some time by a sense that the country is headed in the wrong direction. According to a long-running Gallup poll, the share of Americans who are “satisfied” with the way things are going has not crossed 50 percent in 20 years. It currently stands at 20 percent.

Why Israel Slept

The War in Gaza and the Search for Security

By Amos Yadlin and Udi Evental

In a barbaric surprise attack launched by Hamas on October 7, more Jews were slaughtered than on any day since the Holocaust. Thousands of elite Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated small communities and cities in southern Israel, where they proceeded to commit sadistic, repulsive crimes against humanity, filming their vile deeds and boasting about them to friends and family back home.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Wednesday, Dec 13 2023

Leave a comment
Image

Biden Warns Israel It Is ‘Losing Support’ Over War

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, at his office in Jerusalem this week.

The president’s words exposed a widening rift between his administration and that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as casualties rise in Gaza.

Harvard’s Board Unites Behind Its President, but Its Campus Remains Splintered

Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, testifying before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in Washington.

Harvard’s governing body said it stood firmly behind Claudine Gay as the university’s president, a stance both praised and condemned by students, faculty and alumni.

Biden Says Russia Is Celebrating U.S. Divisions Over Providing Aid to Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine traveled to Washington to make a last-ditch appeal for more help to fight Russia. But Republicans said they wouldn’t act without a border deal.

How Africans Are Changing French — One Joke, Rap and Book at a Time

More than 60 percent of French speakers now live in Africa. Despite growing resentment at France, Africans are contributing to the evolution and spread of the French language.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Leave a comment
Image

As Fighting Rages in Gaza, Israel Issues Warnings on Another Front

Smoke billowing above badly damaged buildings.

Top Israeli officials hinted at a powerful response to attacks by Hezbollah across the northern border with Lebanon, as to the south Israeli troops wage street battles against Hamas in Gaza.

Is Anti-Zionism Always Antisemitic? A Fraught Question for the Moment.

Supporters of Israel in Los Angeles last month.

From the halls of Congress to America’s streets and universities, a once largely academic issue has roiled national discourse, inciting accusations of bigotry and countercharges of bullying.

To Revive Portland, Officials Seek to Ban Public Drug Use

State and local leaders are proposing to roll back part of the nation’s pioneering drug decriminalization law and step up police enforcement.

Record Rent Burdens Batter Low-Income Life

More tenants than ever spend half or more of their income for shelter, leaving less for everything else, taking an emotional toll and leaving some without a place to call their own.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Monday, December 11, 2023

Leave a comment
Image

Gazans Mass at Border for Safety, but Find Only More Peril

Palestinians fleeing Khan Younis toward Rafah passing a crater caused by strikes on Sunday.

As Israeli forces pound Gaza, the area where Palestinians can seek shelter is shrinking, raising concerns that they could be forced into Egypt.

As Fury Erupts Over Campus Antisemitism, Conservatives Seize the Moment

Harvard was one of three universities last week whose presidents testified in Washington at a hearing on antisemitism.

Republicans have been attacking elite universities for years. After a tense congressional hearing last week, many on the left are joining them.

To Handle a Surge of Illegal Crossings, Border Officials Stop Legal Ones

Some border communities in the U.S. and Mexico are suddenly cut off from each other after a border crossing closed to cope with large numbers of migrants.

Gaza War Has Buoyed Egypt’s Leader Ahead of Presidential Vote

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt grew increasingly unpopular amid a deep economic crisis. But the war in neighboring Gaza has given him a vital role on the international stage.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Sunday, December 10, 2023

Leave a comment
Image

Fears of a NATO Withdrawal Rise as Trump Seeks a Return to Power

Former President Donald J. Trump has made it clear that he primarily sees NATO as a drain on American resources.

Current and former European diplomats said there was growing concern a second Trump presidency could mean an American retreat from the continent and a gutting of NATO.

Penn’s Leadership Resigns Amid Controversies Over Antisemitism

The University of Pennsylvania’s president, M. Elizabeth Magill, during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

The president, Elizabeth Magill, and the chairman of the board of trustees, Scott L. Bok, are leaving after intense pressure from donors, politicians and alumni.

Hong Kong Wants More Tourists, but Mostly ‘Good Quality’ Ones, Please

The return of budget tour groups from mainland China is sparking frustrations — and a dose of snobbery — in a city starved for business.

Tiny Electric Vehicles Pack a Bigger Climate Punch Than Cars

Two- and three-wheeled vehicles, used by billions of people, are moving away from fossil fuels to batteries faster than cars in countries that have made the energy transition a priority.