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The evidence is now in – Chinese tourists are largely boycotting Australia. See the chart below which compares annual visitations from different countries in the year to March 2023 with those from the same countries in the year to March 2019 (well before the pandemic). Tourism is picking up from most countries, especially India which Continue reading »

The powerful lights mounted on the border wall threaten the dark skies that make southern Arizona a biodiversity hotspot.

The post The Feds Have Thousands of Stadium Lights on the Border. Switching Them On Would Devastate Desert Ecosystems. appeared first on The Intercept.

Many of the G7’s hopes and wants for the world appear to have been lifted directly from official documents of the Communist Party of China (CPC). There’s no real benefit to debating whether the G7 is copying the CPC’s policy program, although it smells of plagiarism. China is pleased that more countries are willing to Continue reading »

The US military has released video footage of a Chinese navy ship cutting across the path of an American Destroyer in the Taiwan Strait over the weekend, reportedly forcing the US vessel to slow down to avoid a collision. A statement on the incident from US Indo-Pacific Command says the Chinese ship “executed maneuvers in Continue reading »

In a new series, Nautilus puts a spotlight on Gorongosa National Park, a model for biodiversity restoration.

The post Welcome to Gorongosa National Park appeared first on Nautilus.

In one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, scientists are charting the amazing web of life.

The post A Map of Life Like None Other appeared first on Nautilus.

Chomsky and Pollin: Just Transition Can Stop Earth From Becoming Uninhabitable Noam Chomsky Interviewed by C.J. Polychroniou June 7, 2023. Truthout.  Climate change is “making our planet uninhabitable,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in late March. Indeed, the threats of the impending climate crisis have become very tangible, and the world’s top scientists are warning that the Earth […]

The FBI aided a Ukrainian intelligence effort to ban Twitter users and collect their data, new leaks show. Twitter declined to censor journalists targeted by Ukraine, including The Grayzone’s Aaron Maté. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has aided a Ukrainian intelligence effort to censor social media users and obtain their personal information, leaked emails reveal. In March 2022, an FBI Special Agent sent Twitter a list of accounts on behalf of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Ukraine’s main intelligence […]

The post Leaks reveal FBI helps Ukraine censor Twitter users and obtain their info first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Leaks reveal FBI helps Ukraine censor Twitter users and obtain their info appeared first on The Grayzone.

I don’t know what to say about the following. The person speaking gobbledygook may have had a few too many White Claws. You hve to admit, defending the Saudi human rights record and giving them credit for their sportswashing is pretty bold. Meanwhile, guess who else is going to benefit? The surprising deal on Tuesday ending a civil war in the world of professional golf stands to produce benefits for former President Donald J. Trump’s family business by increasing the prospect of major tournaments continuing to be played at Trump-owned courses in the United States and perhaps abroad. The outcome is the latest example of how the close relationship between Mr. Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and Saudi Arabia, whose sovereign wealth fund is the force behind the upheaval in the golf world, has proved beneficial to both sides even as it has prompted intense ethical scrutiny and political criticism. Even as it has injected new money and competition into professional golf, Saudi Arabia has been accused of using its wealth to buff its global reputation and obscure its human rights record through sports.

Bonnie Langford's Melanie Bush is joining Russell T. Davies, Ncuti Gatwa & Millie Gibson in the next series of Doctor Who adventures.

A prominent set of progressive leaders are coming to the defense of Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, whose administration is facing a cascading series of struggles.

The post Group of Global Leftist Leaders Warns “Soft Coup” Is Underway in Colombia appeared first on The Intercept.

A growing number of countries are preparing to shift from using the U.S. dollar in trade, which could undermine the greenback’s global supremacy.

The post Monetary Blowback: How U.S. Wars, Sanctions, and Hegemony Are Threatening the Dollar’s Reserve Currency Dominance appeared first on The Intercept.

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“Before the normalization happened, the Israelis would collaborate with the Moroccans, but also wouldn’t feel comfortable going beyond this covert intelligence or military or ad hoc cooperation, but with normalization, this has now reached a whole new level that is unprecedented.” -- Riccardo Fabiani, International Crisis Group

The post Exporting Occupation: Israeli Business is Booming in Morocco-Occupied Western Sahara appeared first on MintPress News.

Facing questions about Gail Gitcho’s work as a foreign agent, the GOP-affiliated Women’s Democracy Network scrubbed her from its site.

The post GOP Lobbyist Claimed to Be “Empowering Women” — but Worked for Saudi Theocracy’s LIV Golf appeared first on The Intercept.

“During his four years as Vice-President, Mike Pence brought flattery and obsequiousness to new heights,” the N.A.A. statement read.

Now that the debt ceiling has been raised and all the smoke has cleared, it’s worthwhile to step back as assess the political fallout from the first major test of Kevin McCarthy’s speakership — and the clout of the House Freedom Caucus. I certainly didn’t think it would end with a whimper, not a bang, but that’s exactly what happened. Considering how nuts the MAGA Republicans are, it was fair for most of us to assume they would hold McCarthy’s speakership hostage if he capitulated on any of their demands. After all, that was the whole point of the speakership battle back in January — they wanted the ability to dictate what bills would be voted out of the rules committee and come to the floor. And they guaranteed that by loading the committee with Freedom Caucus members and demanding that any one member could file a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair and require Kevin McCarthy to endure another election.

Capitalism takes no prisoners This is just breaking. CNBC reports that after little more than a year, CNN CEO Chris Licht is leaving. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said executives Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling and David Leavy will lead CNN until a replacement is found. “Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we had hoped – and ultimately that’s on me. I take responsibility,” Zaslav said in a memo: Licht drew heated criticism in recent weeks after the network hosted a town hall with Donald Trump that was packed with scores of the former president’s cheering fans. While the event drew 3.3 million viewers, CNN’s ratings plummeted afterward. Two days after the town hall, CNN’s prime-time viewership came in below right-wing outlet Newsmax, a much smaller network. But it was an unflattering 15,000-word profile of Licht in The Atlantic – titled “Inside the Meltdown at CNN” – that might have sealed his fate. He apologized to staffers Monday morning, but top brass at CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros.

The next General Election could be decided by millions of tactical voters turning out to defeat Rishi Sunak's party

As the newspaper is put for sale, a widely-publicised report claiming 'only' 1,700 lives were saved by lockdown – which was splashed on its front page – is not what it seems