Hammad

Jane Goodall’s passing reminds us of what we ignored while she was alive. Her life’s work held up a mirror to human arrogance — our assumption that we stand above nature, separate from it. She taught us that kinship with animals is not weakness, but wisdom. The real grief is how little we listened.

Genocides target people, not states. Whether those people live in a recognized state is irrelevant — @claudiofrancavilla.bsky.social

More in my latest: tribune.com.pk/story/256940...

EU warned over India’s authoritarian drift | The Express Tribune Rights group cautions against overlooking the country’s deteriorating domestic landscape

As the EU moves to court New Delhi, @hrw.org has raised the alarm again, reminding Brussels not to hand Prime Minister #Modi a free pass on #India’s ‘authoritarian drift’

If India is the world’s largest democracy, it should act like one - @claudiofrancavilla.bsky.social

#Apple has perfected the art of selling déjà vu -- year after year. Series 11 runs the same S10 chip as Series 10. No new health sensor. Just sleep scores and hypertension alerts dressed up as “innovation.” At best, the latest #AppleWatch is iterative. At worst, it’s just a repackaged piece of tech.

The world is run by old men in a hurry The advanced age of leaders is a destabilising force in international politics

World is run by old men in a hurry on.ft.com/3IGgA7a

Honor killing remains a national sport in Pakistan. Don’t mistake my sarcasm—I have nothing but contempt for the toxic social constructs that fuel it — misogyny, hyper-masculinity, and the belief that women are mere objects of male ownership. No man is superior to a woman—anywhere, in any way.

Israel and Iran Usher In New Era of Psychological Warfare

The 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel was marked by a flurry of propaganda, disinformation and covert operations aided by artificial intelligence and spread by social media. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/t...

Gisèle Pelicot carved her place in history, and she did it with strength, dignity, and grace. France hasn’t done her a favour — it’s just catching up to the truth. Brava.

Hard to say what’s more dangerous for Kabul — a city running dry, or a regime of paedophiles enjoying Western approval. Either way, the END isn’t waiting politely at the door — it’s halfway through the living room…

Of all things, only human indifference appears untouched by #climate change — tragically comical, to say the least.

Why the world cannot quit coal Ten years after the signing of the Paris climate accord, demand for coal shows no sign of peaking

Ten years after the signing of the Paris accord, demand for coal is still growing — and shows no signs of peaking. on.ft.com/3HKhDm1

How Close Are the Planet’s Climate Tipping Points? (Gift Article) Earth’s warming could trigger sweeping changes in the natural world that would be hard, if not impossible, to reverse.

Earth’s warming could trigger sweeping changes in the natural world that would be hard, if not impossible, to reverse.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

#France defends #Israel’s provocation, a preemptive strike against #Iran. Honestly, the French haven’t made sense of anything — including their own existence — since Marie Antoinette tried to feed them cake.

Press freedom under siege in Trump’s first 100 days | The Express Tribune US president’s hostile rhetoric toward independent media has left newsrooms increasingly on edge

The US—for better or worse—has long presented itself as a promoter of press freedom. So when the US falls short, it becomes much harder to advocate for #pressfreedom abroad, says Katherine Jacobsen of @pressfreedom.bsky.social More in my latest: tribune.com.pk/story/254622...

Hi, Ben, what’s a the best way to contact you for a news report?

In every chapter of Indo-Pak hostilities, the presence of a third party has invariably been essential to pull the region back from the precipice. Whatever one’s view of #Trump, it is a matter of record that he played a consequential role in steering South Asia away from the edge.

Expect increased media #censorship from governments focused on extraction to support Donald’s anti-environment agenda.

The brouhaha over #tariffs is justified, but it distracts from a more sinister move— #Trump’s fixation on grabbing critical #minerals & benefits through coercion. For weak #democracies, that means massive #environmental wreckage. It fuels global plunder when the planet can least afford another blow.

W.Rodney’s How #Europe Underdeveloped Africa exposes #colonialism not as a past injustice but as a deliberate system of exploitation that outlived formal rule. Europe didn’t just plunder #Africa’s wealth, it engineered a cycle of dependence, ensuring that so-called independence remained an illusion.

New Data Details the Risk of Sea-Level Rise for U.S. Coastal Cities (Gift Article) A new study of sinking and rising land along American coasts offers a more specific understanding of potential flooding in 32 coastal cities.

Sinking land, rising seas—and yet denial reaches new heights. How much evidence is enough?

Opinion | The Problem With Sweden Is Sweden (Gift Article) The country’s backlash against migration stems from a deeper discontent.

#Sweden has cemented its reputation as a nation that wasted no time in slamming the door on migrants—first under a center-left govt, then with even greater enthusiasm under a right-leaning one. Only shows that when political survival is on the line, the left and right aren’t so different after all.

As gold is smuggled out and weapons pour in, #Sudan’s civil war remains ruthless, relentless, and well-funded—all thanks to the #UAE, which conveniently sits at the heart of the illicit trade, profiting off both blood and bullion, ensuring that conflict stays as lucrative as ever.

Chile’s lithium boom promises jobs and money — but threatens a critical water source The Atacama Desert is a major source of lithium for EV batteries. As global demand ramps up, the local Lickanantay people are racing to protect already scarce water supplies and their way of life.

Reading about #lithium extraction in #Chile, I’m struck by the irony of #climate / environment reporting—no matter the geography, the patterns of human suffering remain eerily similar, only varying in degree.

Ah, the European tradition of selective outrage. #Humanrights are sacred—until they clash with energy contracts and arms deals. Then, righteous indignation takes a well-timed nap. In the #MiddleEast, the moral high ground gets remarkably slippery, and silence becomes the language of choice. #Bahrain

Don’t we have enough living pharaohs? I mean, look no further—the pharaoh of pharaohs resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…

Biden aides argued dropping out would bring ‘mistake’ of Harris, book claims Top aides ‘aggressively’ made case to Democratic donors last summer, according to account of 2024 campaign by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes

Biden aides argued dropping out would bring ‘mistake’ of Harris, book claims www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...

European concern for #climate, unsurprisingly, begins and ends with #Europe—textbook self-centeredness. But here’s the reality — outsourcing environmental destruction won’t keep #climatechange off your shores.

Does Columbia still merit the name of a university? | Rashid Khalidi Columbia has long been run more as a business empire than as an educational institution. Now it’s acting like Vichy on the Hudson

Rashid Khalidi, whom I interviewed last year for a report on #Gaza, has been one of the more forthright voices on the crisis. He now refers to @columbiauniversity.bsky.social as ‘Vichy on the Hudson’—a description that, quite frankly, feels all too apt. More in his @theguardian.com piece.

#Pakistan’s federal and provincial cabinets—the centre of executive power—remain overwhelmingly male. Why do these glass ceilings hold firm? More in my latest: tribune.com.pk/story/253638... | #gendergap | #equality |

Trump open to selling allies 'toned-down' version of next-gen F-47 fighter Plane would be 10% less capable, president says, in case countries switch sides

If there was ever a way to reassure allies of America’s steadfast commitment, it’s #Trump openly admitting they get the bargain-bin jets—just in case they start thinking for themselves. A brilliant way to inspire confidence and trust — no doubt.

asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Tr...