2 w. ago Look to his stand on Gaza: Pope Francis gave us moral leadership in amoral times | Owen Jones

With his outspokenness about Israel’s outrages, the late pope showed up the hypocrisy of the media and politiciansThe deaths of major public figures can provoke the most grotesque outpourings of hypocrisy. So it goes for Pope Francis, now lauded by leaders and media outlets that were complicit in the very evils he condemned. “Pope Francis was a pope for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten,” said Keir Starmer, a prime minister who stripped the winter fuel payment from many vulnerable pensioners before launching an assault on disability benefits predicted to drive up to 400,000 Britons into poverty. “He promoted an end to suffering across the globe,” wrote Joe Biden, enabler of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.Indeed, the fate of Gaza seemed to preoccupy the pope’s final years. In his last Easter address, he condemned the “death and destruction” and resulting “dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation” – a powerful sermon that hardly any western media outlets covered. I...

Politics

3 w. ago Microsoft faces growing unrest over role in Israel’s war on Gaza: ‘Close to a tipping point’

Turmoil spreads at company over Israel’s extensive use of its AI and cloud computing services in Gaza warFor the second time in the last month, Microsoft employees disrupted high-level executives speaking at an event celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary on 4 April, in protest against the company’s role in Israel’s ongoing siege on Gaza.AI executive Mustafa Suleyman was interrupted by employees Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal. The two were fired within days. The Microsoft president Brad Smith and the former CEO Steve Ballmer were shouted down at Seattle’s Great Hall on 20 March by a current and former employee. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago BBC is embroiled in yet another impartiality row after Radio 4's Today programme failed to mention Labour's role in Birmingham bin strikes

Wednesday's episode of BBC Radio 4's Today programme made no reference to the party in charge of the city, prompting criticism from the Tories.

Events

3 w. ago Postmortems of rescue workers killed in Gaza show ‘gunshots to head and torso’

Findings likely to increase pressure on Israel to give a full account of incident amid accusations of war crimeThe Gaza paramedic killings: a visual timelineThe doctor who carried out the postmortems of the 15 paramedics and rescue workers who were killed by Israeli troops in Gaza in March has said they were mostly killed by gunshots to the head and torso, as well as injuries caused by explosives.There was international outcry last month after it emerged that Israeli troops had launched a deadly attack on a group of paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent, civil defence and United Nations workers, as they carried out a rescue operation in southern Gaza. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Autopsies of rescue workers killed in Gaza show ‘gunshots to head and torso’

Findings likely to increase pressure on Israel to give a full account of incident amid accusations of war crimeThe Gaza paramedic killings: a visual timelineThe doctor who carried out the autopsies of the 15 paramedics and rescue workers who were killed by Israeli troops in Gaza in March has said they were mostly killed by gunshots to the head and torso, as well as injuries caused by explosives.There was international outcry last month after it emerged that Israeli troops had launched a deadly attack on a group of paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent, civil defence and United Nations workers, as they carried out a rescue operation in southern Gaza. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Over 10% of members of UK’s main Jewish umbrella group sign letter urging end to Gaza war

Over 10% of members of UK’s main Jewish umbrella group sign letter urging end to Gaza war  The Times of Israel

Events

3 w. ago Unite is accused of 'grandstanding' after upcoming conference agenda fails to mention Birmingham bin strikes once... while mentioning Gaza 16 times

The union is spearheading the strikes which have left rubbish pilling up in the streets of England's second city, but the issue does not make the preliminary agenda for a forthcoming conference.

Events

3 w. ago Gaza is a ‘killing field’ where people are being starved. How long will the world tolerate this? | Arwa Mahdawi

What is happening is, quite simply, annihilation. Yet our politicians keep funding it and media outlets normalize itWhere do I even start? In recent weeks I’ve sat down to try and write about Gaza and, every time I steel myself to write about one atrocity, another atrocity is committed. Palestinian journalists have been burned alive, babies have frozen to death, medics have been executed and buried in mass graves, kids are being killed in their sleep. Meanwhile, in the US and Germany, speaking out about dead Palestinian babies can land you on a deportation list. Arguing that international human rights law should be respected can put you at risk of being snatched off the street and stuck in a detention centre.I don’t know where to start and I don’t know what is really left to say at this point. After 18 months of endless carnage, it should be clear to everyone that this is not a war. That this is not self-defence. What is happening in Gaza is, quite simply, annihilation. A litany of ...

Events