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When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set

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Greece’s Mitsotakis blocks probe into ministers over massive EU farm funds fraud – POLITICO

The case offers damning evidence that — after three bailouts and a financial crisis that lasted over a decade — Greece still hasn’t cleared out the rot.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) pursued dozens of cases in which Greeks received EU agricultural funds for pastureland they did not own or lease, or for agricultural work they did not perform, depriving legitimate farmers of the funds they deserved. POLITICO first reported on the scheme in February.

A 3,000-page dossier sent to the Greek parliament includes dozens of wiretap transcripts in which people apparently discuss how to evade controls on payouts of EU farm subsidies so that party allies and friends could profit.

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Transcript of Niall Ferguson: How Civilizations Collapse – The Singju Post

On Cyclical Theories of History

There are people who say that we are in the last days of Western civilization. There are people like Ray Dalio who talk about how there are six stages of the collapse of empire. We’re in five and a half or whatever. As a historian, what do you make of this and everything that has been happening recently?...

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The Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO), one of Britain’s most prestigious arts institutions, has canceled its planned production of “Tosca” in Israel after a widespread staff backlash.

In a recent open letter, 182 members of staff said they “reject” holding current or future performances in Israel because of its war in Gaza.

The RBO had planned to stage the three-act opera, which dramatizes the “devastation of war,” in collaboration with the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv next year.

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For the second week protests took place across Britain, banging empty pots and pans, demanding “Stop Starving Gaza”. On Friday 120 protestors lined the seafront on Weymouth esplanade and on Thursday a protest was held in Bridport.

Earlier this week two renowned Israeli human rights organisations published reports identifying Israel’s attacks on Gaza as genocide. In 2024, UN experts asserted that “”Israel is destroying Gaza’s food system and using food as a weapon against the Palestinian people.” 

In their report, Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, note that “Since Israel broke the ceasefire in March 2025, the starvation of Gaza’s population has become official and openly declared policy” and expert projections estimate that by September, 470,000 people, 22 percent of Gaza’s population will experience catastrophic hunger.

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Gaza Death Toll in Israeli Genocide Rises to 61,100, Including 193 Died of Starvation

At least 61,158 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel's genocidal war in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, including 193 people who died of starvation, the Ministry of Health revealed on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, as reported by Anadolu.

A ministry statement mentioned that 138 bodies had been brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, including 25 bodies of the victims of a truck aid accident in central Gaza. Meanwhile, 771 people were injured, bringing the total number of casualties to 151,442 in the Israeli onslaught.

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Leftist Jews protest the war in Gaza, in New York City, August 4, 2025. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

Several hundred protesters led by leftish Jewish groups gather in New York City to demand and end to the war in Gaza.

The protesters carry signs that say, “Stop ethnic cleansing,” “Never again is now,” and

“Stop starvation.”

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, the city’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, leads the crowd in chants of “No more.”

“Yesterday on Tisha B’av we mourned a destruction that happened to the people of Israel, today we mourn a destruction being caused by the State of Israel, and we say no more,” Lander says.

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Israeli protesters demand Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal outside Netanyahu’s office

Israeli protesters rallied outside Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem on Monday 4 August, calling to end the war in Gaza, return all hostages under a comprehensive deal, and cancel the motion to sack attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara.

Demonstrators gathered outside the building while the Israeli cabinet was set to vote on firing Ms Baharav-Miara, who has sparred with Netanyahu's cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.

The High Court of Israel issued a temporary order blocking the government’s attempt to dismiss Ms Baharav-Miara.

Israel's government has been seeking the dismissal of Ms Baharav-Miara for months.

Footage shows protesters holding photos of hostages and signs calling to end the war in Gaza.

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Tensions are rising in Tijuana as protesters gathered outside the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry demanding the gove ment immediately sever diplomatic relations with Israel over its actions in Gaza. Demonstrators held signs and chanted slogans denouncing what they described as “genocide” against the Palestinian people. One protester, Enrique Ochoa, said the conflict could be summed up in one word: “genocide.” The protest reflects growing outrage in Latin America over Israel’s military actions and the rising civilian death toll in Gaza. The gathering in Tijuana adds to inte ational pressure on Mexico to take a firmer stance. While Mexico has expressed conce over the violence, it has stopped short of condemning Israel outright or taking diplomatic action. The demands of the protestors echo similar calls in global capitals as pro-Palestinian movements grow louder. No official response from the Mexican gove ment has been issued at the time of this report.

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03.08.25

Gaza Protests Erupt Across Europe As Italy, France, Germany, NY Face Public Outrage Over Inaction

Protests broke out across Milan, Berlin, and Paris as hundreds condemned Israel's campaign in Gaza and accused European governments of complicity through arms deals and inaction. Protesters waved Palestinian flags, banged pots, and demanded immediate aid. Italian demonstrators slammed their government’s silence, while Berlin and Paris crowds accused leaders of hypocrisy and symbolic politics. 

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Algeria has refused a request from several political parties to organise a large-scale popular march in Algiers in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

The ban, formalised by a document signed by the Interior Ministry's secretary general, Mahmoud Djamaa, and circulating online, was transmitted to a group of political parties including the Rally for Hope for Algeria, the Workers' Party and the Movement of Society for Peace.

Scheduled for 7 or 8 August under the slogan "Algeria with Palestine... against starvation and displacement", the march was intended to demonstrate the Algerian people's broad support for the Palestinian cause.

However, the ministry urged organisers to limit themselves to "solidarity gatherings" in enclosed spaces, citing a law regulating public meetings and marches.

"The Algerian authorities refuse to authorise any street demonstrations for fear of seeing the return of the Hirak," Algerian journalist Ali Boukhlef told Middle East Eye, referring to the 2019 massive pro-democracy movement that led to the ouster of longtime President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

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WASHINGTON

A group of Pro-Palestinian activists held a protest Tuesday outside the headquarters of major US news outlets in Washington, DC, accusing them of biased coverage of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Gathering at 400 North Capitol Street outside the offices of NBC, Fox News, MSNBC, The Hill and others, demonstrators carried signs saying “Stop media complicity in genocide” and “Media lies, Gaza dies.”

“For over 22 months, Gaza has been under relentless assault, (with) tens of thousands of people dead, many of them children,” said organizer Hazami Barmada. “Yet many of the media continue to remain silent, evasive or complicit.”

“What comes out of this building shapes the stories that the world believes, and right now, those stories are killing people,” she continued.

Barmada criticized coverage that uses passive language such as “people are starving” instead of saying “Israel is starving people,” adding that it “normalizes mass death” and sidelines Palestinian voices.

Israel has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in response to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas that killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and led to around 250 hostages being taken, according to local officials.

Israel's brutal military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed its health system and caused widespread food shortages.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and since March 2 has sealed all border crossings, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid and worsening already dire conditions in the enclave.

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SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Israel calls for focus on Gaza hostages’ plight | UN News

The solution is ending Israel’s occupation and the disastrous conflict, the realization of an independent Palestinian State, the fulfillment of Palestinians’ rights, respect for international law and the implementation of the two-State solution.

The International Conference has charted “an irreversible path to peace”, he stressed, reiterating Palestine’s readiness to work with the United States, Saudi Arabia and France to finally achieve peace in the Middle East. “Enough bloodshed. Enough wars. Enough suffering,” he stated.

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Why police couldn’t stop the Harbour Bridge protest | ABC News Daily pod...

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Why legal experts say that starvation in Gaza is a war crime | Middle East Eye

Israel has been accused of the crime of starving civilians since the beginning of its war on Gaza in October 2023.

In late July, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world's leading hunger monitoring system, said that the "worst-case scenario of famine" is unfolding in Gaza due to the Israel-imposed famine and siege.

At the time of publication, more than 160 Palestinian children and adults in Gaza have died from starvation, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Even before the current war, which has killed at least 60,000 Palestinians and displaced almost all the 2.2m population, Israel blockaded Gaza's airspace, territorial waters and two of its three land crossings since 2007. Approximately 80 percent of the population depended on aid from the UN and international NGOs.

Israel decided who and what could enter and exit, and sought to control the amount of calories per person. As early as 2006, an adviser to then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert summed up the policy: "The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger."