Dr Fifa A Rahman

Last week I wrote to Katie White MP calling her to make clear to Keir Starmer that his position on Gaza is untenable.

While I appreciate my MP’s response (below), Israel is not a rational actor. Negotiations will not deter Israel. There must be military action and sanctions on Israel.

EU ‘too little, too late’ on Gaza, NGOs tell von der Leyen Humanitarian groups are urging the EU to impose sanctions on Israel.

Thanks @roneilll.bsky.social for this: ““Tweets don’t feed people,” said Bushra Khalidi, policy lead at Oxfam. “Statements don’t open aid crossings.” It’s “baffling” the EU chose “hollow” social media posts instead of pressuring Israel to act, she said.”

www.politico.eu/article/eu-g...

It is appalling. Also: my IELTS exam question was: “Do you like hats?” I did my PhD on political economy tradeoffs in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. It’s like they are in competition with each other as to who can be most condescending to brown people.

Malaria ‘back with a vengeance’ in Zimbabwe as number of deaths from the disease triple Withdrawal of USAID funds threatens decades of progress, say experts, with cuts to research and shortage of mosquito nets putting thousands at risk across the country

Malaria cases surge in Zimbabwe largely due to abrupt cut in USAID that affected mosquito net provision and surveillance measures. The Zimbabwean government trying to step up but can’t make up for the damage the sudden cessation. Climate change further increases mosquito burden too

Food is running out in Gaza - if no aid comes in we will witness a mass starvation event.

Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) Article 4 states that countries can refuse agrément (approval) to an ambassadorial appointment and “not obliged to give reasons” as to the refusal. As a Malaysian citizen and voter I would like Malaysia to refuse agrément to Nick Adams.

“Today, middle powers will have to make a choice. Without collective advocacy rooted in shared values, middle powers cannot present a credible alternative to remake the global order. Without shared norms, the glue binding these countries together is weak, and consequently, so is their influence.”

Bring Back the Spirit of Bandung The 1955 conference’s value-based approach to international affairs offers a model for middle powers today.

Excellent by @galipdalay.bsky.social et al. in @foreignpolicy.com: “Today, middle powers are again demanding a greater voice in global politics. But they have put less emphasis on the principles that were central to the (Bandung) conference’s global vision.“ foreignpolicy.com/2025/07/11/b...

"The U.S. commitment to international law, along each of these four dimensions, was neither neutral nor disinterested. The United States promoted international law to achieve its own goals, and its policy preferences came to define much of the field." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

A list of grocery prices from North Gaza

Israel’s systematic system of starvation is resulting in these prices for groceries. Annette Gaudino and I are raising money for a young dentistry student in Gaza who is struggling to survive. Please consider donating even £10 for his survival: chuffed.org/project/1353...

I’m really not sure what we as a people did to deserve such a buffoon even step on our shores.

🤡

It hurts my global south heart to see the way African leaders are being treated in the White House today. We need a South-South strategy so global south leaders don’t need to debase themselves in this way. The world can move on from America.

Deeply embarrassing. And for a so-called health and science reporter to not be able to figure out that people can be of multiple different ethnicities is beyond stupid. How embarrassing as well to title the post “SCOOP” like he was waiting for adulation. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Eight countries launch solidarity coalition for levies on premium flyers | Global Solidarity Levies Task Force The Global Solidarity Levies Task Force brings together countries from around the world to advance options for international levelies that will raise much needed revenue for the fight against climate ...

This is an excellent initiative by France, Kenya, Barbados, Spain, Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone and Antigua & Barbuda to place levies on premium flyers, with the objective of supporting work on development challenges.

solidaritylevies.org/eight-countr...

100% agree on this.

USG should really remove the question in their visa applications about whether you’ve committed genocide.

Having your US visa revoked has, inevitably, become a badge of honour.

“International trade ties look set to strengthen in the Southeast Asian region and beyond, independent of the fate of the United States’ reciprocal tariffs.”

Israel’s bombing Gaza and Lebanon again today. When will these genocidal maniacs stop? When will this barbarity end?

Glad Mamdani has won the primary. Not glad that @stephencolbert.bsky.social thought it apt to ask him if Israel has the right to exist. It’s like asking a Jewish candidate “do you believe that 377,000 Palestinians (IDF’s own data) had the right to not be massacred and shredded. Bigotry.

Thanks for this context Antoine, much appreciated. Suitably dour update.

Norway pledging NOK 10 billion to global health Norway pledges NOK 10 billion to the vaccine alliance, Gavi, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the period 2026–2030.

Amazing to hear that Norway has allocated NOK 10B to global health!! 🎉 Norway has been on the right side of history so many times this year. So happy about this - hope that funds get to communities that need them as soon as possible. www.regjeringen.no/en/aktuelt/n...

Gaza Strip was approximately 2.227 million. The Garb report includes maps displaying IDF estimates for the populations remaining in what are considered the three primary enclaves. The numbers are as follows: Gaza City: 1 million Mawasi: 0.5 million Central: 0.35 million The total of these official estimates is 1.85 million people. Simple arithmetic reveals a horrifying gap: 2.227 million minus 1.85 million leaves 377,000 people unaccounted for.

A Harvard study of IDF data finds that there are 377,000 people unaccounted for in Gaza.

That estimate is six times the number of people normally cited as killed.

Genocide.

medium.com/@m4xim1l1an/...

Developing countries is even worse and doesn’t illustrate how in a number of aspects these countries are more advanced than the so-called “developed countries”. What was the rationale for this?

Worth it today to think about Jimmy Carter’s quote that the “US has been at peace for only 16 of its 242 years as a nation”, counting wars, military attacks and military occupations. Democratic and Republican alike, being warlike is integral to that country’s identity.

This tweet from @alonso-gd.bsky.social strikes at the core of the West’s warlike tendencies. That the racialised community have no agency. No right to self-defence.

These are just lies. Iran didn’t actually leave the negotiating table. Israel simply bombed Iran and now the US has joined. And the UK just declared that it supports these bombings.

It’s difficult to stress how dangerous this all is, and how reckless Starmer is

Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza on 9 November 2023 amid Israel's bombardment and siege of the enclave, and intense fighting between the Israeli military and Hamas fighters in the north. Credit: Mohammed Zaanoun/TNH

LSHTM's Director writes to UK Government about #Gaza public health catastrophe

Professor Liam Smeeth's letter to the Prime Minister & Foreign Secretary urges action to prevent a greater #PublicHealth disaster:

👉 www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/n...

Beijing is more openly leveraging its control over rare earths, using them both as a stick to pressure geostrategic rivals like the U.S. and as a carrot to incentivize cooperation with states such as Malaysia. buff.ly/mkW3Dax