Israel forces north Gaza’s last functioning hospital to close
NewsFeed Israeli forces have issued evacuation orders for five areas of northern Gaza including the Al Awda hospital. The hospital’s director told Al Jazeera that Israel had threatened to kill everyone in the building if it wasn’t evacuated. Published On 30 May 202530 May 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Can we reverse the obesity epidemic?
We look at why our waistlines are expanding at an alarming rate. Obesity has become one of the most rapidly escalating health crises of our time. The World Obesity Federation says one billion people will be overweight by 2030, twice as many as in 2010. This epidemic goes far beyond individual choices or diet. It is fuelled by entrenched social inequalities, the far-reaching influence of the food industry and systemic obstacles that make healthy living increasingly difficult. Presenter: Stefanie Dekker Guests:Ogweno Stephen – World Obesity FederationDr Rocio Salas-Whalen – EndocrinologistAdrian Scarlett – Content Creator Adblock test (Why?)
What to know about Mexico’s first-of-its-kind judicial elections
NewsFeed Mexico will hold its first nationwide judicial elections on Sunday, becoming the first country with judges selected entirely by public vote. What are the advantages and dangers? Al Jazeera’s John Holman explains. Published On 30 May 202530 May 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Ending the “unjustified violence” in Gaza is a “US political decision”
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Israeli onslaught in Gaza is shattering the medical system.
Republicans plan to tax US college endowments: Who will that hurt?
Republicans in the United States Congress are pushing for an increase in taxes on US universities, under a new bill that narrowly passed in the House of Representatives last Thursday. The bill’s supporters argue that a provision relating to higher educational institutions is crafted to target “woke” universities. Universities have taken a hit from US President Donald Trump’s executive orders and decisions aimed at changing education and immigration in the country, alongside cracking down on pro-Palestine protests that took place on US college campuses last year. The new tax plans aim to increase taxes on what US universities earn from their endowments. So, what exactly is an endowment? An endowment refers to funds or assets donated to a university to keep it financially sustained in the future. Endowments typically comprise charitable donations from alumni, other donors and companies. The bill before the US Congress sets tax rates for universities based on their effective endowments per student – by dividing their total endowments by the number of full-time students at the institution. Advertisement Earnings from investments made from endowments will be taxed, if the bill becomes law. Have universities been taxed so far? Most colleges have not been taxed on their endowments for centuries. The Revenue Act of 1909 exempted educational institutions as nonprofits which operate for public interest “exclusively for religious, charitable, or educational purposes”. As a result, educational institutions did not pay taxes on their investment gains. This changed during Trump’s first presidential term. In 2017, the US Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which introduced a 1.4 percent tax on colleges with per-student endowments of at least $500,000, and at least 500 students who paid tuition. Hence, the tax applies only to some of the wealthiest institutions in the country. This endowment tax generated approximately $380m in 2023, from 56 universities that met the taxation bar. What do Republicans want to do now? On May 22, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed, with a 215-214 vote, what Trump and the legislation’s authors have called the One Big Beautiful Bill. Within this bill is a proposal to raise taxes on elite universities. The proposal is tiered, and aims to levy a tax of: 1.4 percent on investment returns of institutions that have a per-student endowment of more than $500,000 but less than $750,000. 7 percent on institutions that have a per-student endowment of more than $750,000 but less than $1,250,000. 14 percent on institutions that have a per-student endowment of more than $1,250,000 but less than $2,000,000. 21 percent on institutions that have a per-student endowment of more than $2,000,000. Advertisement These percentages apply to universities that had at least 500 tuition-paying students in the previous taxable year and where 50 percent of their full-time tuition paying students are in the US. Universities identified as “qualified religious institutions” are exempt from this tax. The proposal was drafted by Republican legislators in the Ways and Means Committee, the oldest tax-writing body in the House. “For too long, universities have received beneficial treatment from our tax code while disregarding the interest of taxpayers,” Jason Smith, Missouri Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said shortly after the bill passed. A fact sheet released by Smith says the tax “holds woke, elite universities that operate more like major corporations and other tax-exempt entities accountable”. The bill is now headed to the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats and Democrats hold 47. It is unclear when the vote will take place, but Trump is urging Republican senators to promptly pass it. On May 22, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill! Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” How many colleges could be affected by this? An investigation by The New York Times found that at least 58 schools could potentially be affected by this. Major universities could fall under the highest tax slab. In the 2024 fiscal year, Harvard University’s total endowment was worth approximately $53.2bn – the largest of any university. There are 24,596 students at Harvard, which means the per-student endowment is $2.16m. That means it will have to pay a 21 percent tax if the bill becomes law. Advertisement Yale University’s endowment is valued at $41bn and the university has 15,490 students, bringing the per-student endowment to about $2.7m. While the institute currently pays the 1.4 percent tax, it too will have to pay a 21 percent tax if the bill becomes law. Likewise, Stanford’s endowment is $36.5bn and it has 17,529 students, making the per-student endowment about $2.1m. While the institute currently pays the 1.4 percent tax, it will have to pay a 21 percent tax if the bill becomes law. By contrast, University of Pennsylvania’s total endowment was $22.3bn as of June 2024 and the institute has 24,219 full-time students, making the per-student endowment $920,764. While the institute currently pays the 1.4 percent tax, it will have to pay a 7 percent tax if the bill becomes law. But because the bill determines which universities are taxable based on per-student endowments, it isn’t just big schools that will be affected: Even smaller private institutions, that previously paid 1.4 percent tax, might now have to pay much more. Pomona College in Claremont, California, had a total endowment of $3bn in 2024, of which the institute uses 5 percent each year. The university says 60 percent, or $36m, of financial aid at Pomona is covered by endowment, which also covers about half the institute’s operating budget. It has 1,747 students, which means Pomona has a per-student endowment of $1.7m. Until now, it paid a tax worth 1.4 percent of the endowment; if the bill passes, it will be taxed at 14 percent. Advertisement Can this be enforced? If the bill passes in the Senate, Trump is almost certain to sign it. But
China sets up international body in Hong Kong to rival World Court
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu said the body’s status would be on par with the UN’s International Court of Justice. The Chinese government has signed a convention establishing an international mediation organisation located in Hong Kong, with Beijing hoping it will rival the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as the world’s leading conflict resolution body. The Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed) was signed into law on Friday, in a ceremony presided over by Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Hong Kong. The ceremony was attended by representatives from several countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Laos, Cambodia and Serbia. Representatives from 20 international bodies, including the United Nations, also attended the ceremony, according to Hong Kong’s RTHK public broadcaster. A video shown at the signing ceremony said the scope of cases handled by the body would include disputes between countries, between a country and nationals of another country, and between private international entities. Beijing plans for the body to cement Hong Kong’s presence as a top global mediation hub, as it hopes to bolster the city’s waning international credentials. Advertisement In an un-bylined opinion piece published in China’s state-run Global Times newspaper, IOMed was described as the “world’s first intergovernmental international legal organisation dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation”. IOMed would fill a “critical gap in mechanisms focused on mediation-based dispute resolution”, it said. “The establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation marks a milestone in global governance and highlights the value of resolving conflicts in an ‘amicable way’,” it added. The ICJ – the principal judicial organ of the UN, also known as the World Court – is currently the top body for solving legal disputes between member states in accordance with international law. It also provides advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by UN bodies. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said this week that IOMed’s status would be on par with the UN bodies the ICJ and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Lee said it would also help bring “substantial” economic benefits and job opportunities, as well as stimulate various sectors including hospitality and transport, to Hong Kong. Hong Kong has experienced sustained economic stagnation since its handover back to Chinese rule in 1997 after more than a century and a half as a British colony. Investor confidence has been rocked by Beijing’s increasing control over all aspects of life in the territory – including the economy – while gloom also persists about the state of China’s post-pandemic recovery. Advertisement In an opinion piece published in the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s Justice Secretary Paul Lam said IOMed would help Hong Kong cope with challenges presented by “hostile external forces” that are “attempting to de-internationalise and de-functionalise” it. “To cope with such a challenge, Hong Kong needs to make good use of the IOMed headquarters as a focus for strengthening the city as an international dispute resolution centre, so as to give full play to its institutional advantages under the ‘one country, two systems’ framework,” Lam said, referring to China’s model of governing Hong Kong, which nominally allows it a level of autonomy. The IOMed headquarters, due to open by the end of this year or in early 2026, will be located at a former police station in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district. Adblock test (Why?)
Kazakhstan’s president on balancing Russia, China and the West
Kazakhstan sits at the crossroads of global power between Russia, China and key trade routes. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev talks to Al Jazeera about his reform agenda, the legacy of Nazarbayev, and plans to reduce inequality in a resource-rich nation. He also addresses Kazakhstan’s economic dependency on oil and Russia, growing ties with China and the West, and criticisms over press freedom and political openness. With the war in Ukraine redrawing alliances, is Kazakhstan truly neutral, or simply under pressure? Adblock test (Why?)
Will Southeast Asian nations pick sides between the US and China?
They’ve long been hedging their bets.But Southeast Asian nations are caught in the dispute between the United States and China.The trade-dependent countries are under threat from Trump’s tariffs, too.They face a delicate balancing act between economic survival and strategic neutrality.The message was clear at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – ASEAN’s recent summit in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.Member countries are recalibrating their economic partnerships to insulate their economies.That includes a push to deepen trade ties with China and Gulf countries. Why is the price of Japanese rice rocketing? Plus, should older people work longer? Adblock test (Why?)
Most LGBTQ adults in US don’t feel transgender people are accepted: Poll
By contrast, about six out of 10 LGBTQ adults said gay and lesbian people are generally accepted in the US. A new poll by the Pew Research Centre has found that transgender people experience less social acceptance in the United States than those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, according to LGBTQ adults. About six out of 10 LGBTQ adult participants in the poll said there is “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of social acceptance in the US for gay and lesbian people, according to “The Experiences of LGBTQ Americans Today” report released on Thursday. Only about one in 10 said the same for non-binary and transgender people — and about half said there was “not much” or no acceptance at all for transgender people. The survey of 3,959 LGBTQ adults was conducted in January, after US President Donald Trump’s election, but just before his return to office when he set into motion a series of policies that question transgender people’s existence and their place in society. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order calling on the government to recognise people as male or female based on the “biological truth” of their future cells at conception, rejecting evidence and scientific arguments that gender is a spectrum. Advertisement Since then, Trump has barred transgender women and girls from taking part in female sports competitions, pushed transgender service members from the military and tried to block federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19. A poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in May found that about half of US adults approve of the way Trump is handling transgender issues. Transgender people are less likely than gay or lesbian adults to say they are accepted by all their family members, according to the Pew poll. The majority of LGBTQ people said their siblings and friends accepted them, though the rates were slightly higher among gay or lesbian people. About half of gay and lesbian people said their parents did, compared with about one-third of transgender people. Only about one in 10 transgender people reported feeling accepted by their extended family, compared with about three in 10 for gay or lesbian people. According to the Pew poll, about two-thirds of LGBTQ adults said the landmark US Supreme Court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage nationally on June 26, 2015, increased acceptance of same-sex couples “a lot more” or “somewhat more”. The Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming weeks on whether Tennessee can enforce a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in what is seen as a major case for the transgender community. Adblock test (Why?)
Cambodia PM urges calm after border clash with Thailand leaves soldier dead
Cambodian and Thai officials claim soldiers from other side opening fire first in latest deadly border clash between the neighbours. Cambodia’s leader has called for calm in the country a day after a soldier was killed in a brief clash with troops from neighbouring Thailand, in a disputed zone along the Thai-Cambodia border. In a written statement on Thursday, Prime Minister Hun Manet said people should not “panic over unverified material being circulated”, and reassured the country that he did not want a conflict between Cambodian and Thai forces. “For this reason, I hope that the upcoming meeting between the Cambodian and Thai army commanders will produce positive results to preserve stability and good military communication between the two countries, as we have done in the past,” said Hun Manet, who is currently on a visit to Tokyo. “Even though I am in Japan … the command system and hierarchy for major military operations such as troop movements remain under my full responsibility as prime minister,” he added. Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence said on Wednesday that one of its soldiers was killed in a brief firefight with Thai troops, in a disputed border region between the country’s Preah Vihear province and Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province. Advertisement The ministry accused Thai soldiers of opening fire first on a Cambodian military post that had long existed in the contested border zone. Cambodian soldiers ride on a self-propelled multiple rocket launcher in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on May 28, 2025, as tension ramps up with Thailand [Kith Serey/EPA] However, Thailand’s Minister of Defence Phumtham Wechayachai said Cambodian forces in the area had opened fire first, adding they had previously dug a trench in the area in an effort to assert Cambodia’s claim over the disputed territory, local media reported. “I have been informed that the return fire was necessary to defend ourselves and protect Thailand’s sovereignty. I have instructed caution. Although the ceasefire holds, both sides continue to face each other,” the minister said, according to Thailand’s The Nation newspaper. The Nation also reported that Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra spoke with her counterpart, Hun Manet, and both were working to lower the temperature on the dispute. “We don’t want this to escalate,” the Thai prime minister was quoted as saying. Cambodia and Thailand have a long history of disputes along their mutual border, including armed clashes that broke out in 2008 near Cambodia’s Preah Vihear Temple, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site that year. Fighting also broke out along the border in 2011. The Associated Press news agency reports that in February, Cambodian troops and their family members entered an ancient temple along the border and sang the Cambodian national anthem, leading to a brief argument with Thai troops. Advertisement The incident was recorded on video and went viral on social media. Adblock test (Why?)