US Supreme Court rules Trump admin can cut nearly $800m in health funding
SCOTUS decision impacts DEI programmes that include breast cancer research and HIV prevention. The highest court in the US has ruled that the Trump administration can slash hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of research funding on breast cancer, HIV prevention and suicide, among other issues, in its push to cut federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. In a 5-4 decision issued on Thursday, the Supreme Court lifted a judge’s order blocking $783m worth of cuts made by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to align with Republican President Donald Trump’s priorities. The justices granted the Justice Department’s request to lift Boston-based US District Judge William Young’s decision in June that the grant terminations violated federal law, while a legal challenge brought by researchers and 16 US states plays out in a lower court. The order marks the latest Supreme Court win for Trump and allows the administration to forge ahead with cancelling hundreds of grants while the lawsuit continues to unfold. The plaintiffs, including states and public-health advocacy groups, have argued that the cuts will inflict “incalculable losses in public health and human life”. The NIH is the world’s largest funder of biomedical research. The cuts are part of Trump’s wide-ranging actions to reshape the US government, slash federal spending and end government support for programmes aimed at promoting diversity or “gender ideology” that the administration opposes. The administration said Young’s ruling required the NIH to continue paying $783m in grants that run counter to its priorities. Advertisement The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has sided with the administration in almost every case that it has been called upon to review since Trump returned to the presidency in January. After Trump signed executive orders in January targeting DEI and gender ideology, NIH instructed staff to terminate grant funding for “low-value and off-mission” studies deemed related to these concepts, as well as COVID-19 and ways to curb vaccine hesitancy. Young’s ruling came in two lawsuits challenging the cuts. One was filed by the American Public Health Association, individual researchers and other plaintiffs, who called the cuts an “ongoing ideological purge” targeting projects based on “vague, now-forbidden language”. The other was filed by the states, most of them Democratic-led. The plaintiffs said the terminated grants included projects on breast cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, HIV prevention, suicide, depression and other conditions that often disproportionately burden minority communities, as well as grants mandated by Congress to train and support a diverse group of scientists in biomedical research. Young, an appointee of former Republican President Ronald Reagan, invalidated the grant terminations in June. In a written ruling, the judge said they were “breathtakingly arbitrary and capricious”, violating a federal law governing the actions of agencies. During a June hearing in the case, Young rebuked the administration for what he called a “darker aspect” to the case that the cuts represent “racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community”. “I’ve never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable,” the judge said. Young also said the cuts were designed to stop research that bears on the health of the LGBTQ community. “That’s appalling,” the judge said. The administration has argued that the litigation should have been brought in a different judicial body, the Washington-based Court of Federal Claims, which specialises in money damages claims against the US government. That reasoning was also the basis for the Supreme Court’s decision in April that let Trump’s administration proceed with millions of dollars of cuts to teacher training grants, also targeted under the DEI crackdown. Adblock test (Why?)
US DOJ to probe Fed Reserve’s Cook, urges Powell to remove her: Report
Cook, who has been accused of mortgage fraud, has said she will not be bullied by Trump into resigning. The United States Department of Justice plans to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, with a top official informing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of the probe and encouraging him to remove her, Bloomberg News has reported. A letter to Powell from Ed Martin, a Department of Justice (DOJ) official who has led similar investigations into Senator Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James, said Cook’s case “requires further examination”, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. “At this time, I encourage you to remove Ms Cook from your Board,” Martin wrote, according to Bloomberg. “Do it today before it is too late! After all, no American thinks it is appropriate that she serve during this time with a cloud hanging over her.” The DOJ did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Asked about the report, a Fed spokesperson referred to Cook’s statement on Wednesday, when she said she had no intention of being “bullied” into resigning after President Donald Trump called for her to step down on the basis of allegations made by a member of his administration about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia. The Federal Reserve Act provides no authority for a Fed chair to remove another member of the Board of Governors. Cook, the first Black woman to be a Fed governor, is serving a 14-year term that began after her second Senate confirmation in 2023. The effort to remove Cook comes as the administration has unleashed a campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and intensifies Trump’s ongoing effort to gain influence over the US central bank and push it to lower interest rates. Advertisement Fed under pressure Central bankers from around the world gathered on Thursday in Grand Teton National Park for the opening of the Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium, where Powell will give a keynote speech on Friday, sketching out his view of the economy and, investors hope, where rates are headed. “I would just say that I know her to be an outstanding economist and a person of high integrity,” Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack told Yahoo Finance at the event. US Federal Housing Finance Agency director William Pulte, who referred the allegations of Cook’s wrongdoing to the Department of Justice this week, said they arose as part of regular investigations into mortgage fraud by his agency and were not a “witch-hunt”. “Defrauding people is nothing new,” Pulte told Bloomberg Television. “I believe that she committed mortgage fraud.” He said that public records clearly show fraud and that a special exemption should not be made for the powerful. He said the fraud is “self-evident”. Cook has yet to expressly address Pulte’s accusation, saying only in Wednesday’s statement: “I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve, and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.” The Fed has held borrowing costs steady all year in the 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent range out of concern that Trump’s tariffs could reignite inflation that is still running above the Fed’s 2 percent goal. Recent weaker labour market data – including a report showing job gains averaged a paltry 35,000 from May to July – has increased Fed policymaker concern that borrowing costs may be a bit too high, and financial markets are priced for the likelihood of a quarter-point interest-rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting. That would be far short of the several percentage points that Trump has called for. Trump can name a new chair when Powell’s term ends in May. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the search, has nearly a dozen candidates, and all have voiced their support for big rate cuts and big changes to the central bank. Traditionally, Fed chairs resign when their leadership term ends, but there is some speculation that Powell would stay on until his term as governor ends in 2028, denying Trump the chance to install more loyalists to consolidate his control over the central bank. Trump has nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran, a Fed critic and enthusiastic supporter of Trump’s tariffs and other policies, to serve at the Fed in the seat vacated by the surprise resignation this month of Adriana Kugler. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Xi Jinping makes rare visit to Tibet to celebrate 60 years of Chinese rule
NewsFeed China’s President Xi Jinping has made a rare visit to Lhasa to mark 60 years since Chinese rule was consolidated with the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region. State media says he was greeted by 20,000 people as the tightly controlled region staged a parade and celebrations. Published On 21 Aug 202521 Aug 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Top men’s tennis names shielded from ‘severe’ abuse by ATP AI tool
First-year results show AI tool scanned 3.1m digital posts in drive to protect to tennis players from harmful content. Top men’s tennis players were shielded from more than 162,000 social media comments containing “severe” abuse during the first year of the artificial intelligence-powered ATP Safe Sport initiative, the sport’s governing body has announced. The abusive messages, which targeted 245 players, were found and then hidden in real time as the system scanned more than 3.1 million comments for harmful digital content following its launch in July 2024. “Safe Sport creates a healthier online environment, free from hateful comments and negative messages,” said Serb Dusan Lajovic, the ATP Player Advisory Council member said on Thursday. “This way, my social media presence is defined by who I am, not by my performance on the court.” Tennis players, like many athletes, often have to deal with the wrath of anonymous abusers online. A study conducted by the governing bodies of the sport showed last year that many of the offenders were found to be angry gamblers. Former world number three Elina Svitolina said this month, following her defeat by Naomi Osaka in Montreal, that she had been flooded with abuse and death threats, and blamed the “shameful” behaviour on disgruntled bettors. Former world number three, Elina Svitolina, announced she was targeted by harmful digital content following a defeat last month [David Kirouac-Imagn Images/Reuters] Men’s players are equally prone to abuse, and ATP Director of Safeguarding Andrew Azzopardi said that Safe Sport fundamentally changed how his organisation protected athletes online over the last year. Advertisement “More than one in 10 comments on players’ posts were abusive – rising to 50 percent in extreme cases. While it won’t eliminate abuse overnight, it’s our first line of defence,” Azzopardi said. “Safeguarding player wellbeing is a long-term commitment.” During the first year of Safe Sport, officials escalated more than 3,300 comments while they identified 68 perpetrators and initiated 28 law enforcement referrals. Beyond social media, the initiative, which currently covers the top 250 singles and top 50 doubles players, will also support athletes facing email threats, impersonation, deepfakes, as well as scams. The ATP – which governs the men’s professional game in tennis – added that it will enhance incident response protocols, broaden protections and advocate for greater accountability from social media platforms in the future. Adblock test (Why?)
New York appeals court tosses $515m civil fraud penalty against Trump
An appeals court in New York has thrown out a civil fraud penalty that would have cost United States President Donald Trump and his business associates nearly half a billion dollars, calling the fine “excessive”. On Thursday, a five-judge panel in New York’s Appellate Division rendered its decision after weighing Trump’s appeal for nearly 11 months. In its ruling, the panel cited the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits the government from levying unduly harsh penalties on its citizens. The case stems from a civil suit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who argued that Trump had inflated his financial records in order to secure advantages with insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions. In February 2024, a lower court had ordered Trump to pay $355m in penalties, an amount the appeals court called into question. That amount has since grown to about $515m due to accumulating interest. “While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” two of the panel’s judges, Dianne T Renwick and Peter H Moulton, wrote in one opinion. While the court did dismiss the penalty in its entirety, its judges were divided over the merits of the lower court’s ruling, finding that Trump and his co-defendants had misrepresented their wealth in “fraudulent ways”. Advertisement What did the lower court decide? The judge who issued that initial decision, Arthur Engoron, a Democrat, explained in his initial decision that “the frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience”. In his 92-page decision, Engoron expressed particular frustration over Trump’s refusal to answer questions before the court and his refusal to acknowledge the misrepresentations in his financial documents. “Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin,” Engoron wrote. “Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways.” Trump and his co-defendants — who include his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, as well as other Trump Organization leaders — were dealt a combined financial penalty that currently totals to about $527m, including interest. While Engoron’s ruling left the Trump Organization intact, it did bar Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr from serving in executive roles for two years. Trump, meanwhile, did not have an official role in the organization at the time. He was in the midst of his 2024 campaign for re-election, and he dismissed the fraud case as “election interference”. A slate of ongoing appeals He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the myriad legal cases he faced between his two terms as president. In 2023, for instance, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a case involving writer E Jean Carroll, who alleged the Republican leader raped her in a New York City department story, Bergdorf Goodman. The jury in that case awarded $5m to Carroll. A second defamation civil suit filed by Carroll resulted in an even bigger sum for damages: $83.3m. Trump continues to appeal both decisions. During that period, Trump also faced four criminal indictments, two on the state level and two on the federal level. The federal cases were dropped ahead of Trump’s second inauguration, but one of the state level cases, also in New York, resulted in Trump becoming the first president, past or present, to become a convicted felon. He was found guilty in May 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records. He continues to appeal that case as well, and his legal team has pushed to move the case from the state court system to the federal level, where Trump would enjoy immunity as president. Adblock test (Why?)
US senators urge Rubio to press Israel over journalist killings
The senators urged for the protection of journalists in Gaza and international media access to the territory. A group of 17 US senators has written to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, condemning an Israeli attack last week that killed several Al Jazeera journalists, and urging the US to pressure Israel to grant foreign media access to Gaza and protect journalists there. The letter [pdf] published on Wednesday was led by Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz and signed by 16 other senators, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a registered independent who caucuses with the Democrats. It comes a week after an Israeli strike killed several Palestinian journalists in the besieged territory, including Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, and Al Jazeera cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal. The attack was met with international outcry and brought the number of journalists killed by Israel in Gaza since October 7, 2023, to 238, according to the Gaza Government Media Office. “Israel has not provided convincing evidence for its claim that al-Sharif was a Hamas militant,” the senators wrote. “Absent a compelling explanation of the military objective for this attack, it appears Israel is publicly admitting to targeting and killing journalists who have shown the world the scale of suffering in Gaza, which would be a violation of international law.” The group urged President Donald Trump’s administration to provide more information about the State Department’s “awareness and analysis” of the strike. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters last week that the department discussed al-Sharif’s killing with Israel, and reiterated Israel’s unverified claim that he may have had ties to Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza. Advertisement Al Jazeera has accused Israeli authorities of fabricating evidence to link its staff to Hamas, and denounced Israel’s military for waging a “campaign of incitement” against its journalists in the Gaza Strip, including al-Sharif. The senators called for the US to “make it clear to Israel that banning and censoring media organizations and targeting or threatening members of the press is unacceptable and must stop.” “We urge you to press the Israeli government to protect journalists in Gaza and allow international media to access the territory.” The senators’ letter also called for unrestricted and immediate access for foreign journalists to cover Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. While Palestinian journalists in Gaza cover Israel’s devastating war, Israel has barred international journalists from entering the Strip. The letter also voiced concern for Israel’s attacks on press freedom elsewhere. The group condemned the killings of journalists in Lebanon, Israel’s crackdown on journalists and media outlets in the occupied West Bank, harassment by Israeli soldiers of journalists in southern Syria, and the legal threats and censorship faced by Israeli journalists and media organisations. The Washington Post on Wednesday night also reported that a member of the press office for the US State Department’s Bureau of Near East Affairs, Shahed Ghoreishi, was fired after suggesting Washington offer condolences for the journalists killed in Gaza. Adblock test (Why?)
US college declines to oppose Trump travel ban after Iranian students’ plea
A top university in the United States has declined to oppose President Donald Trump’s travel ban on Iran after a call to action by its Iranian students. In a letter last month, the group of students called on the University of Texas at Austin to denounce Trump’s “sweeping and discriminatory” ban, take “immediate legal action” against the measure, and reaffirm support for Iranian students and scholars. The letter, authored “on behalf of the newly admitted Iranian students”, was sent to interim university President Jim Davis on July 21, weeks after Trump signed an executive order banning citizens from 12 countries, including Iran. “This Proclamation undermines the very principles upon which UT Austin stands. Iranian students and scholars have long been integral to the university’s academic and research excellence, particularly in STEM fields,” the letter said. In the letter, the group noted that the university’s department of civil, architectural and environmental engineering was named after Fariborz Maseeh, an Iranian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, in a “testament to the enduring legacy of Iranian American contributions to education, innovation, and public service”. “This is a moment that calls for bold and principled action,” the letter said. “UT Austin has long benefited from Iranian students’ academic contributions. It must now stand in their defense. Failing to act not only jeopardizes the futures of individual students – it risks diminishing the ethical and intellectual standing of the institution itself.” Al Jazeera obtained the letter through a public records request. Advertisement Despite the students’ plea, neither the university nor Davis have made any public comment on the ban. Davis’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Last year, 81 Iranians studied at the University of Texas at Austin, according to the university’s website, almost all of whom were graduate students. The University of Texas at Austin is considered among the most prestigious tertiary institutions in the US, placing 30th in US News and World Report’s 2025 university rankings. “After months of preparation and acceptance into the world’s leading research institutions, we now face the heartbreaking possibility of being denied entry for a long time,” an Iranian student, who was involved in the letter, told Al Jazeera, requesting anonymity. The student said many members of a 1,500-person Telegram group of Iranian students that they belong to have reported being stuck in prolonged post-interview administrative processing. A few of them have been refused visas, while others have chosen to skip visa interviews on the understanding that they would be denied a visa, the student said. Prior to the ban, many of them would have already undergone extensive security vetting to obtain a student visa. Apart from Iran, Trump’s travel ban also applies to Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. The student said Iranians were facing “collective punishment” by the Trump administration. “People must not be equated with their governments,” the student said. “Such blanket measures are neither reasonable nor fair, and they undermine the very principles of justice, academic freedom, and equal opportunity that the United States has long stood for.” More than 12,300 Iranian students studied in the US during the 2023-2024 academic year, up from 10,812 a year earlier, according to the US State Department. Adblock test (Why?)
What’s causing Pakistan’s deadly floods?
Pakistan has been reeling from flooding triggered by torrential rains, with nearly 400 people killed since August 14. On Wednesday, Karachi was inundated following a heavy downpour, paralysing the southern port city of 20 million people less than a week after deadly flash floods swept away villages in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. More than 700 people have been killed in the flooding and landslides across the South Asian nation since June, with forecasters warning of further downpours until Saturday. So why have floods in Pakistan been so intense, and what is the solution to the South Asian country’s flooding problem? Where did it flood in Pakistan? The Buner district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been the worst hit, with more than 200 people killed and extensive damage to homes and public infrastructure across the northwestern mountainous province since August 14. The Himalayan region of Gilgit-Baltistan, as well as Pakistan-administered Kashmir, was also affected. Karachi, the capital of the southern Sindh province, was hit by floods after rainfall on Tuesday. Videos circulating on social media showed cars and motorbikes submerged in water. How many people have died in the floods? On Thursday, nine people died and 15 were injured across the country, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Seven of these deaths were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while two were in Sindh. On Wednesday, 41 people died and 11 people were injured across the country. At least 19 of these deaths were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 deaths were in Sindh, and 11 deaths were reported in Gilgit-Baltistan. Advertisement Some 759 people have died, including 186 children, and 993 have been injured since the onset of the monsoon season in June. More than 4,000 houses have been damaged due to flooding in the same period. What do rescue efforts look like? The head of the NDMA, Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, said that more than 25,000 people had been rescued from flood-hit areas, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The army and air force have also been pressed into action in rescue efforts. On Wednesday, 2,300 people were treated in 14 active medical camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the NDMA. Relief items have also been distributed among those affected by the floods. What is causing the floods in Pakistan? While the exact cause of the floods is yet to be determined, several factors could have contributed to the deluge. “While climate change plays a critical role in intensifying flooding events in Pakistan, other factors such as urbanisation, deforestation, inadequate infrastructure, and poor river management also contribute significantly,” Ayyoob Sharifi, a professor at Hiroshima University in Japan, told Al Jazeera. Climate change Sharifi told Al Jazeera that climate change is causing monsoon rainfall to intensify, resulting in more frequent extreme precipitation events. A study co-authored by Sharifi and published in February this year, indicates that cities such as Lahore and Faisalabad could experience increased rainfall under certain scenarios, heightening the risk of urban flooding. He added that rising temperatures allow the atmosphere to hold more moisture, leading to heavier downpours during storms. In northern Pakistan, these higher temperatures are also accelerating glacial melting, which increases the likelihood of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). These are floods that occur when water is suddenly released from a glacial lake. Earlier this month, a GLOF occurred in Pakistan’s northern region of Hunza, when the Shisper Glacier swelled the Hassanabad nullah, damaging infrastructure and destroying cultivable land, Dawn reported on August 8. While Pakistan is responsible for less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions according to European Union data, the country bears the brunt of climate disaster, the country’s former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told CNBC in 2022. Heavy rain over a short period Fahad Saeed, a climate scientist at the Berlin-based think tank, Climate Analytics, told Al Jazeera that the flooding was caused by higher-intensity rainfall. This means that there was a large amount of rain over a short period. Advertisement In Buner, more than 150mm (6 inches) of rain fell in just one hour on Friday morning. In 2022, Pakistan endured its most severe monsoon season ever recorded, resulting in at least 1,700 deaths and causing an estimated $40bn in damage. Saeed said the 2022 floods were unexpected because of the areas they hit, ravaging arid or semiarid parts of northern Sindh that usually do not experience heavy rainfall. However, rainfall this year has occurred within or around the region that normally experiences monsoon rain, he said. What is unusual this time is the sheer intensity of the rain. Soil unable to absorb the rain in rural areas Saeed explained that when there is rapid rainfall in a rural area over a short time, the soil does not get enough time to absorb the rainwater. “The rain doesn’t infiltrate into the soil, rather, it flows off the surface. It results in mudslides and soil erosion.” This applies to rural areas in the northern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Gilgit-Baltistan. “What happens is that normally, if you are living next to the rivers, your house is prone to get destroyed or inundated. But this time, what happened is that even if you are on the slopes of the mountain, the rainfall is so intense that because of the mudslide and the landslides, it destroyed the homes at the elevations,” Saeed explained. Issues with the drainage system in urban areas Karachi primarily relies on natural stormwater drains, or nullahs, for rainwater to be drained off. Research shows that Karachi generates more than 20,000 tonnes of solid waste per day, and the nullahs are clogged by this rubbish. During an event on urban flooding last year, hydrologist Sana Adnan pointed out that cleaning nullahs only before the monsoon season significantly contributes to flooded roads, emphasising that heavy rains can happen at any time of the year, not just during the monsoon, local outlet Dawn News reported. Architect and planner Arif Hasan told Dawn in 2020 that due to the absence of a sustainable
‘Moral imperative’: Hundreds of UK business leaders demand action on Israel
London, United Kingdom – Hundreds of business leaders in the United Kingdom – including a former adviser to the king and a sustainability consultant descended from Holocaust survivors – are calling on the government to take action against Israel as the crisis in Gaza worsens. As of Thursday morning, 762 people had signed a statement calling on Britain to cease all arms trade with Israel, sanction those accused of violating international law – ostensibly including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he is wanted for arrest by International Criminal Court, invest in screening to stop the UK financing “complicit” companies, and enforce the United Nations’ principles on business and human rights across the UK’s economic systems. “We see this not only as a moral imperative, but as a matter of professional responsibility – consistent with our duty to act in the best interests of long-term societal and economic resilience,” the letter reads. “The UK must ensure that no business – whether through products, services, or supply chains – is contributing to these atrocities, directly or indirectly.” Among the signatories are the former royal adviser Jonathon Porritt CBE; sustainability consultant Adam Garfunkel; Frieda Gormley, the founder of the luxury interior design brand House of Hackney; the prominent philanthropist who once led Unilever, Paul Polman; and Geetie Singh-Watson MBE, an organic food entrepreneur – as well as other professionals who have been honoured with the Member of the British Empire (MBE) award. Advertisement They have pledged to support the UK government with an “ongoing process of reflection and action – reviewing our operations, supply chains, financial flows, and influence to help foster peace, uphold human rights, and strengthen respect for international law”. “Business cannot succeed in societies that are falling apart,” said Polman. “It is time for business leaders to show courage, speak out, and use our influence to uphold international law.” The number of professionals signing the letter is growing as Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face their darkest days. Israel is beginning a feared invasion into Gaza City while thousands endure hunger and famine due to the blockade of the Strip. [Courtesy of Adam Garfunkel] “We need as businesses to justify our existence and to recognise that all people everywhere deserve to be treated fairly,” Garfunkel told Al Jazeera. “My family was caught up in the Holocaust. My father was lucky enough to escape with his brother and his parents to the UK. My great grandparents were taken to the woods and shot and buried in a mass grave, and what I’ve taken from that is a strong belief that everyone matters, that everyone has human rights, that persecution on the basis of ethnic identity is always wrong, wherever it happens.” Israel’s latest war on Gaza, termed a genocide by leading rights groups, has killed more than 60,000 people in the 22 months since October 7, 2023, when Hamas led an incursion into southern Israel, during which about 1,200 were killed and 250 taken captive – “grave crimes under international law”, according to the letter. “However, the Israeli government’s ongoing military campaign amounts to an unrelenting and indefensible assault on civilians, breaching both moral boundaries and the core principles of the Geneva Conventions,” it added. Porritt, who counselled King Charles on environmental issues for 30 years when the monarch held the Prince of Wales title and has chaired a sustainable development commission set up by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, said the letter reflects the role of businesses in society at a critical time. “It’s just become so much clearer over the course of the last few months that this situation now is completely intolerable. And it constitutes very specifically a genocide against the people of Palestine, of Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera. Businesses are obliged to be supportive in “achieving and maintaining” human rights in the countries in which they’re trading, he said. “That provides a very strong steer as to why individual business leaders need to get involved at this stage.” Porritt has recently made headlines in the British media for his support of Palestine Action, a protest group that was proscribed by the UK government weeks ago as a terrorist organisation. Advertisement He was among the more than 500 citizens arrested during an August 9 rally in London, where he raised a banner reading, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” His bail hearing is set for late October. Adblock test (Why?)
Europe must shoulder ‘lion’s share’ of Ukraine’s security, Vance says
US vice president says Europe will be expected to play the ‘leading role’ in guaranteeing Kyiv’s post-war security. European countries will have to shoulder the “lion’s share” of guaranteeing Ukraine’s security in the event of a deal to end Russia’s war in the country, United States Vice President JD Vance has said. In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Vance said the US should not have to “carry the burden” of underpinning Kyiv’s post-war security. “I think that we should be helpful if it’s necessary to stop the war and to stop the killing. But I think that we should expect, and the president certainly expects, Europe to play the leading role here,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “What he said very clearly is: Look, the United States is open to have the conversation, but we’re not going to make commitments until we figure out what is going to be necessary to stop the war in the first place.” Vance’s comments came a day after US President Donald Trump ruled out the possibility of US troops in Ukraine, while suggesting that Washington could provide support “by air”. The issue of post-war security guarantees for Ukraine has been a major question mark over Trump’s push to end the three-and-a-half-year-long conflict. After hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top European leaders at the White House for talks on the war on Monday, Trump said that European countries would be the “first line of defence”, but that Washington would provide “a lot of help”. While Trump has ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine, his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte have raised the possibility of offering Kyiv a security guarantee resembling the 32-member alliance’s collective defence mandate. Advertisement Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against one NATO member nation is considered an attack on all members of the alliance. While Trump has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to European peacekeepers being stationed in Ukraine, Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the possibility of troops from NATO countries along its border. On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that his country would need to be included in negotiations on security guarantees, warning that excluding Moscow would be a “road to nowhere”. “We cannot agree with the fact that now it is proposed to resolve questions of security, collective security, without the Russian Federation. This will not work,” Lavrov said. Despite the sticking points between the sides, Vance said on Wednesday that the Trump administration had made “great progress” in its efforts to end the war. “You can never say with certainty what the outcome in this situation is going to be,” Vance said. “But we now have the Russians talking to the Ukrainians; they’re talking details about what would be necessary on each side to stop the fighting, to stop the killing.” Adblock test (Why?)