By Mary Ellen O’Connell, University of Notre Dame | – (The Conversation) – >Assassination is a particular form of murder. Regardless of who carries out the act, on whose orders or why, it is always unlawful. This is the reason Vadim Krasikov was languishing behind bars in Germany prior to being released on Aug. 1, […]
As Far Right Islamophobic Mobs riot in the UK, Online Merchants of Hate work their Audiences
By Richard Fern, Swansea University | – The frightening scenes of far-right extremists clashing with police and even rioting in British towns and cities in recent days have many wondering how to stop the spread of the propaganda that encourages racism, violence and misogyny. The tough truth is that in seeking to fact check misinformation […]
German Colonialism in Africa left Hundreds of Thousands Dead: Its Chilling Afterlife
By Henning Melber, University of Pretoria | – (The Conversation) – Germany was a significant – and often brutal – colonial power in Africa. But this colonial history is not told as often as that of other imperialist nations. A new book called The Long Shadow of German Colonialism: Amnesia, Denialism and Revisionism aims to […]
Assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders is a Gamble for Benjamin Netanyahu that buys him Time but risks wider Wars
By Scott Lucas, University College Dublin | – (The Conversation) – The missile that struck a building in southern Beirut on Tuesday, killing Hezbollah’s senior military commander Fuad Shukr, had been widely anticipated. Three days earlier, a Hezbollah rocket – which had no doubt missed its military target in northern Israel – struck a football […]
Iran vows “Harsh” Response to Haniyeh’s Killing, But how Likely is all-out War with Israel?
Ali Mamouri, Deakin University | – (The Conversation) – Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has vowed to inflict “harsh punishment” on Israel in retaliation for the assassination of the top Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran. Haniyeh’s killing is a critical escalation in the already volatile and increasingly hostile region. But the severity […]
Israel’s Military starts drafting Ultra-Orthodox Jews, but will they Dodge the Draft on Religious Principle?
By Michael Brenner, American University | – (The Conversation) – In late July 2024, the Israeli military sent out the first 1,000 conscription notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, following a unanimous Supreme Court ruling that the government must stop exempting them. But will these Haredim, as the ultra-Orthodox are called in Israel, actually join the […]
The only Way to address the Threat of Microplastics in the Great Lakes is to Cut Plastic Production and Consumption
By Lewis Alcott, University of Bristol; Fereidoun Rezanezhad, University of Waterloo; Nancy Goucher, University of Waterloo; Philippe Van Cappellen, University of Waterloo; and Stephanie SlowinskiUniversity of Waterloo | – You would be hard-pressed to find a corner of the world free from microplastics, plastic particles measuring less than five millimetres. They contaminate our drinking water, […]
Polio in Gaza: What does this mean for the Region and the World
By Michael Toole, Burnet Institute | – (The Conversation) – As war continues to devastate Gaza and its people, we learnt last week that a variant of poliovirus has been detected in the region. The virus was isolated in six sewage samples collected in late June from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. Most infections […]
Can Israel and Hezbollah be pulled back from the Brink of War?
By Amin Saikal, Australian National University | – (The Conversation) – The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in intense diplomacy to persuade the protagonists to pull back from the brink. But US efforts have […]