Leo XIV has embraced his predecessor's ethic of empathy. But across the Church, many are demanding he speak out more clearly against Israel's crimes. The first pope from the United States was far removed from the July 4 celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the colony's independence from the United Kingdom. Instead, Pope Leo XIV was on the edge of Europe, opposite the northern coast of Africa, on the island of Lampedusa — the first port of call for thousands of migrants making (…)

- Palestine & Israel / Léon XIV (pape) / PREVOST Robert Francis / Leo XIV (Pope), Catholic, Christian/Christianity/Christians, Vatican, Gaza, Israel (Eng), Genocide / Pogrom / Crime against humanity, Migrants/Migration (Fr), Palestinians, Pope Francis / BERGOGLIO Jorge Mario, PIZZABALLA Pierbattista (Cardinal), Jewish supremacy / Supremacism, Jerusalem / Jérusalem, West Bank, DEEK George

Palestinians are defying Israeli bombings and power outages to follow soccer's biggest tournament. But many fear the world has abandoned them. Palestinian football fans in Gaza City gather in the Al-Rimal area to watch the match between Egypt and Australia for a place in the round of 16 in the 2026 World Football Cup, 3 July 2026. (Yousef Zaanoun/Activestills) In Gaza, the FIFA World Cup has long been much more than a passing sporting event. Palestinians will tell you it is an occasion (…)

- Palestine & Israel / Gaza, Football (Eng), Fifa (Football), Sport (Eng), Domicide, Palestinians

Habitat destruction strongest driver of species loss, with legislation keeping 99% of listed species from going extinct Manatees touch snouts in the waters of the Three Sisters Springs wildlife refuge in Crystal River, Florida, on 4 February 2026. Photograph: Zoraida Diaz/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock The Trump administration repealed a crucial part of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Friday, finalizing a new rule that will open habitats of imperiled wildlife to development, logging, (…)

- Ecology (USA) / TRUMP Donald, Ecosystems / Habitat (Eng), Habitat destruction (ecosystems), Endangered Species Act (ESA) (USA), Conservation / protection (nature), Industry (oil and fossil fuel), Agro-Industry, Mass extinction, Climate Crisis / Climate Change (Eng)

Halfway between Cairo and Suez, some 60 kilometres from the centre of Cairo, concrete is being poured across a stretch of land measuring 170,000 feddans—an expanse twice the size of Cairo itself, or roughly equal to the historic heart of Greater Cairo, encompassing Cairo, Giza, and Shubra El Kheima. Egypt's New Administrative Capital (NAC) covers an area approaching that of Singapore, or four times the size of Washington, D.C. The state and its real estate developers present these figures (…)

- Urban (Egypt) / Urbanism (Eng), Militarism / Militarisation / Militarization / Demilitarization, Egypt's New Administrative Capital (NAC), al-SISSI Abdel-Fattah / el-SISI Abdel Fattah, Military urbanism, Surveillance (Eng), Freedom of demonstration, Freedom of expression, Technology / Technologies (Eng), Authoritarian / authoritarianism / Dictatorship, Authoritarian liberalism / Authoritarian neoliberalism, Smart city, Land and property grabbing, Internally-displaced persons (IDPs), Military, Debt / Indebtedness, China, Militaro-Industrial Complex, Social Movements

Is Putin is preparing a second partial mobilisation? Drawing on opposition media sources, particularly Verstka and Meduza, Yurii Colombo traces the convergent signals — his terminological shift from “special military operation” to “war,” the distribution of call-up documentation across multiple regions, and preparatory work inside state enterprises. The costs are substantial: logistical expense, per-soldier benefit obligations, the acknowledged incapacity to train new recruits effectively (…)

- Russia

Andy Durgan revient sur la révolution de juillet 1936 à la lumière de son étude récente sur le Parti ouvrier d'unification marxiste (POUM). Il conteste l'interprétation dominante présentant la guerre civile comme une simple lutte entre démocratie et fascisme : la polarisation sociale de la Seconde République rendait inévitables à la fois le conflit armé et la révolution. Durgan analyse le dilemme des anarchistes, la montée du stalinisme, l'échec des stratégies frontpopulistes et la question (…)

- Histoire moderne (Europe) / 1936, Guerre civile espagnole