Posts

The war on Iran will likely end in American retreat

Image
 T he war against Iran that the United States and Israel launched on February 28, 2026, will likely end in an American retreat. The United States cannot continue the war without producing disastrous consequences. A renewed escalation would likely lead to the destruction of the region’s oil, gas, and desalination infrastructure, causing a prolonged global catastrophe. Iran can credibly impose costs that the United States cannot bear and that the world should not suffer. The US – Israel war plan was a decapitation strike, sold to President Donald Trump by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and David Barnea, the director of the Mossad. The premise was that an aggressive joint US–Israeli bombing campaign would so degrade the Iranian regime’s command structure, nuclear programme, and IRGC senior leadership that the regime would fracture. The United States and Israel would then impose a pliable government in Tehran. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4 Trump scolds Germany’s Me...
Post a Comment
Read more

Peter Magyar sworn in as Hungary’s PM, ending Orban’s 16 years in power

Image
  Peter Magyar has been sworn in as Hungary’s new prime minister, almost a month after parliamentary elections that ended Viktor Orban’s 16 years in power. Magyar, 45, who leads the centre-right Tisza party, was propelled into office on promises of change after years of economic stagnation under Orban, and strained ties with key allies, including the European Union. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4 Peter Magyar wins Hungary election, unseating Viktor Orban after 16 years list 2 of 4 Hungary’s Viktor Orban struggling for political survival ahead of vote list 3 of 4 UK to hold off on deal ceding Chagos Islands amid US opposition list 4 of 4 World reacts to Peter Magyar defeating Viktor Orban, Hungary’s longtime PM end of list On Saturday, Magyar invited Hungarians to “step through the gate of regime change”. His party has a huge parliamentary majority, winning 141 of the 199 seats. However, Magyar faces several challenges in his new role, including restoring Budapest’s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gaza at the Venice Biennale: Where language falls short, threads take over

Image
  I am a journalist; storytelling is my craft. Words are the tools I turn to, again and again, to make sense of events and shape them into narratives that do them justice. And yet, when it comes to the genocide in Gaza, my birthplace, language feels wholly inadequate. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4 In Gaza, Trump’s Board of Peace met with deep scepticism, little hope list 2 of 4 Who accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza? list 3 of 4 Activists announce new, bigger aid flotilla to set sail for Gaza in March list 4 of 4 Israeli forces keep destroying high-rise residential buildings in Gaza City end of list There is a limit to what words can say. At a certain point, the instinct to describe, to explain and to make sense of what has unfolded begins to break down under the sheer scale of devastation and pain. One scene from the start of the war has lingered in my mind: A bulldozer burying 111 unidentified bodies, wrapped in bright blue bags, in a mass grave. It a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Letter from Bethlehem: Mazin Qumsiyeh

  Nakba, Birthday, NORWAY, Marathon This coming week we commemorate the Nakba, the large scale ethnic cleansing that accompanied the declaration of a Jewish apartheid state 15 May 1948. I have relatives who lost their homes in Jaffa (a city that was largely ethnically cleansed and subsumed into “Tel-Aviv”). See  https://qumsiyeh.org/chapter4/  on this chapter of the ongoing Palestine tragedy. This coming week is also my birthday and as in all such days we remember our mothers. My mom’s last day included few words she could utter but one was the name of her friend Hayah Balbisi, massacred in Deir Yassin by Zionist forces 9 April 1948. While my body ages, I still try to keep the pace as a full time volunteer (7 days a week, 15 hours per day) and donor at the Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability. Soon we open the new Museum of Natural History and new Heritage Garden. Thus, for those who contemplate sending birthday wishes or gifts, please consider supportin...
Post a Comment
Read more