12 h. ago Palestinians fear razing of villages in West Bank, as settlers circle their homes

An Israeli directive gives a green light for demolitions in Masafer Yatta, where residents keep watch at night for attackers in the darknessAli Awad is tired. The 27-year-old resident of Tuba, one of the dozen or so villages that make up Masafer Yatta in the arid south Hebron hills of the occupied West Bank, had been up all night watching as a masked Israeli settler on horseback circled his family home.“When we saw the masked settler, we knew he wanted violence,” said Awad, his eyes bloodshot. They were lucky this time: the settler disappeared into the darkness before police could show up. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago ‘Are we safe, if nuclear weapons are here?’: trepidation in Norfolk village over new jets

Some in Marham are troubled by news that its airbase could host nuclear warplanes, but others are relaxedThe genteel west Norfolk village of Marham does not seem to be at the forefront of Britain’s military might. A dance class is about to start in the village hall, a game of crown green bowls is under way and swallows are swooping around the medieval church tower as wood pigeons coo.“It’s a lovely, quiet little village,” says Nona Bourne as she watches another end of bowls in a match between Marham and nearby Massingham. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago An entire village in Dorset is facing eviction – proof that private money holds all the power in rural England | George Monbiot

This scandalous story gives lie to the claim that the biggest threat to country life comes from city dwellersPower hides by setting us against each other. This is never more true than in the countryside, where the impacts of an extreme concentration of ownership and control are blamed on those who have nothing to do with it. Rural people are endlessly instructed that they’re oppressed not by the lords of the land, but by vicious and ignorant townies – the “urban jackboot” as the Countryside Alliance used to call it – stamping on their traditions.Near Bridport in Dorset right now, an entire village is facing eviction, following the sale of the Bridehead Estate for about £30m. The official new owner, Bridehead Estate Ltd, is registered to the same address, with the same officers, as a company called Belport. The Telegraph reports that the estate “was bought by Belport, a private equity firm, on behalf of a wealthy client last autumn”, but no one knows who the client is. So far I’ve re...

Economics

2 w. ago The ‘sacrifice zone’: villagers resist the EU’s green push for lithium mining

Residents of a Portuguese rural idyll where four vast mines are planned are among those who feel they will pay too high a cost for the energy transitionFilipe Gomes had been craving fresh air and quiet routine when he and his partner quit the chaos of London’s catering industry for the fog-misted hills of Covas do Barroso, the sleepy Portuguese farming village in which he was raised.But his rural idyll has been disturbed by miners drilling boreholes as they push to dig four vast lithium mines right beside the village. The prospecting has sparked resistance from residents who fear the mines will foul the soil, drain the water and fill the air with the rumbling thunder of heavy trucks. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Keep calm and enjoy’: Italian village enlists ‘street tutors’ to ease overtourism

When Sirmione became jammed with visitors during a particularly busy May Day weekend, it proved a tipping pointIn the era of overtourism, every popular holiday destination has its tipping point.For Sirmione, a sliver of land lapped by the blue-green waters of Lake Garda, that watershed moment came during Italy’s long May Day holiday weekend, and has led the medieval Italian village to introduce “street tutors” to manage the visitor flow and ensure good behaviour. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Solana to Participate in London Startup Village 2025 in London on June 9

Solana to Participate in London Startup Village 2025 in London on June 9  TradingView

Politics