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Israeli settlers displace Palestinians with “new strategy”

Israeli settlers displace Palestinians with “new strategy”

Quotable “There’s a lot more settler violence than we saw a couple of months ago.” Read more Human rights activist Andrey X says that attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank are on the rise and that they’ve found a new method to displace Palestinians. Published On 7 Jul 20257 Jul 2025 Adblock test (Why?)

Wildfires erupt across Mediterranean as heatwave worsens

Wildfires erupt across Mediterranean as heatwave worsens

Blazes break out in France, Greece, Turkiye and Syria, with several other nations on high alert amid warnings of scorching weather. Countries across the Mediterranean are battling fast-spreading wildfires and soaring temperatures as a heatwave sweeps through Southern Europe and parts of the Middle East, prompting evacuations and emergency alerts. Blazes broke out in Greece, Turkiye, France and Syria on Sunday, with several other nations on high alert as forecasters warned that the scorching weather would intensify in the coming days. From Spain to Italy, authorities urged residents to protect vulnerable people and avoid unnecessary travel during the region’s first severe heatwave of the summer. Emergency teams and ambulances were stationed near popular tourist destinations, while meteorologists warned that extreme heat events – supercharged by climate change – are becoming more frequent and intense. A firefighter walks past a burned house in Pikermi, east of Athens, Greece, July 3, 2025 [George Vitsaras/EPA] In western Turkiye, wildfires erupted on Sunday in Izmir province, fanned by strong winds. Firefighters, supported by aircraft, fought to control the blaze. Local authorities said five neighbourhoods in the Seferihisar district were evacuated as a precaution. Authorities said firefighters have battled more than 600 fires in the drought-hit nation over the past week. Turkish authorities arrested 10 suspects in relation to wildfires that broke out across the country over the past week, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday. The wildfires killed at least three people in the western coastal province of Izmir. Advertisement Firefighters were still trying to control a blaze in the southern coastal area of Dortyol in Hatay province. Meanwhile, in Greece, more than 160 firefighters, 46 fire trucks and five aircraft were deployed to combat flames in southern Evia. The blaze, which began late on Friday, burned through forested areas and forced two villages to evacuate, officials said. Fires also broke out near Athens. France also saw wildfires break out in the Corbieres region of Aude in the southwest, where temperatures soared above 40C (104F). A campsite and a historic abbey were evacuated. Meteo France placed 84 of the country’s 101 departments under orange-level heat alerts on Monday. A firefighting aircraft flies over a fire engine during efforts to contain a wildfire near Pikermi suburb, east of Athens, Greece, July 3, 2025 [George Vitsaras/EPA] In Spain, the national weather agency AEMET reported temperatures reaching 44C (111F) in parts of Extremadura and Andalusia. “I feel that the heat we’re experiencing is not normal for this time of year,” said Diego Radames, a 32-year-old photographer in Madrid, speaking to the AFP news agency. “Madrid just keeps getting hotter.” Italy placed 21 cities on red alert, including important ones, such as Rome, Milan and Naples. Emergency rooms reported a 10 percent rise in heatstroke cases, according to Mario Guarino of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine. Portugal also faced extreme conditions, with the capital, Lisbon, under a red warning until Monday night. Two-thirds of the country was on high alert for wildfires and extreme heat. On the island of Sicily, firefighters tackled 15 blazes on Saturday alone. Scientists warn that climate change is intensifying the heat. “Heatwaves in the Mediterranean have become more frequent and more intense in recent years,” Emanuela Piervitali of Italy’s Institute for Environmental Protection and Research told AFP. “We’ll need to adapt to even higher extremes in the future.” Adblock test (Why?)

Liberal critics question why architect of failed Biden foreign policy is advising ‘Project 2029’

Liberal critics question why architect of failed Biden foreign policy is advising ‘Project 2029’

Democrats are assembling a new policy brain trust called Project 2029, an effort aimed at shaping the party’s long-term vision and regaining electoral strength. But at a time when there’s widespread agreement that Democrats need fresh ideas and new voices, the inclusion of longtime party insiders — especially former President Joe Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan — is raising eyebrows across the political spectrum. “It’s really disappointing to see the lack of self-awareness on Jake’s part,” said Brett Bruen, former director of global engagement in the Obama White House. “Having Jake involved, let alone leading this, will only lead to stupid, superficial changes.” “These Democratic leaders need to take a long look in the mirror and understand they played a big part in bringing this situation about — and exit stage left.” DEMOCRATS TAKE PAGE FROM CONSERVATIVE PLAYBOOK WITH NEW PROJECT 2029 Modeled in name and structure after the Heritage Foundation’s conservative Project 2025, Project 2029 brings together high-profile Democratic veterans to outline a policy road map. After a decade of standing more against President Donald Trump than for anything else, the group is dedicated to helping Democrats define the policies that can win the 2028 election. The initiative, first reported by The New York Times, is led by longtime Democratic strategist Andrei Cherny and a cast of familiar faces — including Sullivan, Neera Tanden, Biden’s domestic policy advisor; Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America; Justin Wolfers, University of Michigan economist; Jim Kessler, co-founder of Third Way; and Felicia Wong , former president of the Roosevelt Institute.  But Sullivan’s role has drawn particular criticism from both Republicans and progressives.  Sullivan was Biden’s top advisor during the chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, which resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members. He reportedly offered to resign at the time once the evacuation didn’t go as planned.  He’s also drawn fire for the Biden administration’s failure to help Israel and Hamas reach a lasting ceasefire, and for its Ukraine policy — which, as one European diplomat told Fox News Digital, seemed aimed at letting Ukraine “lose slowly.”​​ “Why isn’t Jake Sullivan working at Chipotle?” quipped Steven Moore, founder of the Ukraine Freedom Project, on a podcast in 2024.  “Jake in his position both as national security advisor and in Biden world is one of the last people on earth that should be involved in a reset for the Democratic Party,” said Bruen. DEMS AT A CROSSROADS AS ESTABLISHMENT PLANS ‘PROJECT 2029’ WHILE SOCIALIST CANDIDATE WINS NYC MAYORAL PRIMARY Sullivan did not reply to a request for comment by Fox News Digital. Zohran Momdani’s stunning upset in New York City’s mayoral primary over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has reignited a debate over whether Democrats on a national level need to start taking progressivism seriously. “The people responsible for driving the Democratic Party into a ditch are now asking for the keys again,” said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of progressive group Our Revolution. “Leaders like Zohran Mamdani are showing what’s possible when you speak directly to working-class pain and stand up to entrenched power.” Despite the criticism, some Democrats defend Sullivan’s role and believe he could help unify the party. “He’s a historic organizer of the diverse lanes of Democratic foreign policy, and he’s done a great job with it,” said Joel Rubin, a former deputy assistant secretary of state and Democratic strategist. However, Rubin questioned how much real influence Project 2029 will have, especially with no clear 2028 front runner. “We’re going to have a wide-open primary,” Rubin said. “Unlike Project 2025, where Republicans had a candidate-in-waiting in Trump, we have no standard-bearer. So Project 2029 is going to be one of many blueprints for what a Democratic administration should do.” Some argue that figures like Sullivan are better suited to bridge the divide between establishment figures and progressives than any leftist leader.  “He’s part of the old guard, but the old guard isn’t that old. There’s a lot of young people,” one Democratic insider said. “You’d be hard-pressed to find people in the progressive lane pulling in establishment folks, whereas the establishment lane is working to pull in progressives.” Sullivan’s GOP critics also point to his role in promoting now-debunked allegations during the 2016 election. After a report from Slate claimed Trump Tower maintained a secret server communicating with Russia’s Alfa Bank, Sullivan — then a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton — amplified the claim. “This could be the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow,” Sullivan said in a statement at the time. “This secret hotline may be the key to unlocking the mystery of Trump’s ties to Russia.” Republicans later accused him of spreading unverified information and misleading the public.