World News

France: 70 million people. 348 Senators. 5 year mandate. Each French Senator represents a small region of France. Banned from having any second job.

Britain: 70 million people. 831 Lords and Barons. Overwhelming from Southern England. No second-job ban. Several are paid lobbyists. Lifetime job security. Many in their 70s and 80s get paid to show up, have tea and play cards with friends.

Israeli forces opened fire near two aid distribution sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as crowds of hungry Palestinians again sought food, killing at least 10 people, witnesses and health workers said Saturday — a day after U.S. officials visited a GHF site and the U.S. ambassador called the troubled system “an incredible feat.”

Airbnb has apologised to a woman after an apartment host falsely claimed she had caused thousands of pounds’ worth of damage and used images she says were digitally manipulated to back up his allegations.

The London-based academic was refunded almost £4,300, and an internal review of how the case was dealt with has been launched at the short-term accommodation rental company.

The incident highlights how cheap and easily available artificial intelligence software is now being used to manipulate images to give false evidence of what has happened in consumer complaints, according to one security expert.

Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki has erupted, spewing an ash cloud more than 10 kilometres into the sky.

The country's volcanic agency said the volcano erupted at 8:48pm on Friday night, local time.

A photo

Nearly nine out of 10 Israeli military investigations into allegations of war crimes or abuses by its soldiers since the start of the war in Gaza have been closed without finding fault or left without resolution, according to a conflict monitor.

Unresolved investigations include the killing of at least 112 Palestinians queueing for flour in Gaza City in February 2024, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) said, and an airstrike that killed 45 in an inferno at a tented camp in Rafah in May 2024.

Also unresolved is an inquiry into the killing of 31 Palestinians going to pick up food at a distribution point in Rafah on 1 June.

They were killed after Israeli forces opened fire, witnesses said. Shortly after, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the reports were “false” but the IDF told the Guardian that the incident was “still under review”.

E: Gaza's UN aid => UN aid for Gaza

The J-10s shot down at least one Rafale, Reuters reported in May, citing U.S. officials. Its downing surprised many in the military community and raised questions about the effectiveness of Western military hardware against untested Chinese alternatives.

Indonesia, which has outstanding Rafale orders, has said it is now considering purchasing J-10s – a major boost to China’s efforts to sell the aircraft overseas.

Delhi hasn't acknowledged a Rafale being shot down, but France's air chief told reporters in June that he had seen evidence of the loss of that fighter and two other aircraft flown by India, including a Russian-made Sukhoi. A top Dassault executive also told French lawmakers that month that India had lost a Rafale in operations, though he didn't have specific details.

Moomin character removed from Brooklyn library exhibition after racism concern

A Moomin scholar finds the move "absurd", arguing that the character Stinky is far from racist and the decision likely reflects a lack of familiarity with the Moomin stories.

Yle News 1.8. 16:34 A Moomin character has been dropped from a major exhibition at Brooklyn Public Library in New York after one of the institution's supporters raised concerns that the character might be perceived as racist.

"One of their supporters had thought Stinky could be seen as a racist symbol," said Roleff Kråkström, CEO of Moomin Characters, the company that manages the rights to Tove Jansson's beloved Moomin universe.

The exhibition, which has drawn a young audience over the summer, features illustrations of Moominvalley characters and details about Jansson's life and work. But Stinky — known in Finnish as Haisuli — was removed from some of the large mural-style displays in the library, although he still appears in the original books on show.

Kråkström told Yle he was informed of the decision via a short email from the library and responded with understanding.

"We replied in a few lines and said it's fine. We see this as a healthy societal discussion. If such a change is requested, we have no objection," he said.

He noted this is the first time in 80 years that the character has drawn such criticism.

"Tove Jansson is widely seen as a champion of tolerance, radical acceptance, and inclusivity. But I greatly respect the American sensitivity around these types of conversations," he said.

The decision was first reported by Finland's Swedish-language Hufvudstadsbladet newspaper.

Over 250,000 people suffered domestic violence in Germany last year, according to a media report citing official figures.

Pro-Palestine protesters will be legally protected while marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday after a New South Wales supreme court decision.

The bridge is expected to be closed for about five hours, from 11.30am, and additional police are being mobilised to observe a march that could include up to 50,000 people.

In her judgment, Justice Belinda Rigg said “the march at this location is motivated by the belief that the horror and urgency of the situation in Gaza demands an urgent and extraordinary response from the people of the world”.

“The evidence indicates there is significant support for the march.”

50,000 seems a bit on the small side for a Sydney Harbour Bridge march. Hopefully there will be many many more than that.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/33847388

"When you really break it down, it’s like trying to sing while you're starving."

From age and ID restrictions on the Internet, to charging rappers with “terrorism,” the U.K. is demolishing the most basic civil liberties. If we let them, U.S. leaders may be close behind.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/45330004

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5719320

Ramallah- July 31, 2025: In a grave escalation of its assault on Palestinian agricultural sovereignty, Israeli military forces carried out a violent raid this morning targeting the Seed Multiplication Unit of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)’s Seed Bank, located in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Using bulldozers and heavy machinery, the Israeli army destroyed the storage warehouses and infrastructure of the unit, where essential equipment, seed materials, and tools for indigenous seed reproduction were kept. The destruction was carried out without warning, under military protection, and constitutes a direct blow to Palestinian efforts to preserve local biodiversity and ensure food sovereignty.

This deliberate targeting of a civilian agricultural facility is a strategic attack on the very foundations of Palestinian resilience. The Seed Bank has played a critical role in safeguarding traditional seed varieties and empowering small-scale farmers through local seed reproduction and exchange.

The attack comes amid increasing settler violence, land grabs, and systemic efforts by the Israeli occupation to dismantle the means of survival for Palestinian communities. Destroying a national seed bank is an act of erasure, intended to sever the generational ties between farmers and their land.

We call on all international partners, human rights defenders, and solidarity movements to speak out forcefully against this crime.

We urge immediate international intervention to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for its repeated violations of agricultural, environmental, and human rights.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/45325294

https://archive.is/XjUjC

Taiwan’s failure to secure a trade deal with Donald Trump before his August 1 deadline has deepened fears that Washington could water down security support for Taipei to smooth relations with Beijing.

Trump on Thursday imposed a 20 per cent tariff on imports from Taiwan. The levies are due to take effect next week.

MEE’s investigation can reveal that:

• The woman accusing Khan of sexual misconduct wrote in May 2024 in text messages to Khan that there were “games being played” and attempts to make her a “pawn in some game I don’t want to play”. Two internal ICC investigations into the allegations were closed after she refused to cooperate with them

• The complainant had previously sought and obtained Khan’s help in another complaint against a second senior ICC official. This was during the period in which she later alleged Khan had repeatedly sexually assaulted her. Investigators found no wrongdoing on the part of the individual who was the subject of her complaint

• Thomas Lynch, Khan’s special assistant, who he tasked to liaise with Israel on the Palestine investigation, played a key role in making the allegations against Khan official. Privately however, Lynch had expressed his own doubts about the allegations to Khan’s wife and said that the timing was suspicious. In response to questions from MEE, Lynch described allegations in this article as “false and misleading”.

• A female ICC lawyer told MEE there was a group of people within the court who disagreed with Khan’s approach and who were working to discredit him. She said she had been approached in May 2024 and asked if Khan had ever behaved inappropriately towards her: “I told them he is the last person on my list of men who would do that”

• Two former ICC judges have told MEE they have grave concerns about the way the OIOS investigation into the allegations against Khan has been conducted, questioning why the prosecutor was publicly named as the subject of a complaint, and the need for an external investigation into his alleged misconduct

cross-posted from: https://metawire.eu/post/247532

US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he had ordered two nuclear submarines to deploy near Russia, responding to what he called "foolish and inflammatory" threats from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution site in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, which has been almost completely destroyed and is now a largely depopulated Israeli military zone.