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In an era when clubs have become the playthings of billionaires, fans are left pondering the question: how do you prefer your sportswashing?When Qatar's Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani withdrew from the race to buy Manchester United last month, you could almost hear the sighs of relief emanating from the press department on Sir Matt Busby Way.A Qatari takeover, despite the appeal and simplicity of Sheikh Jassim's all-cash offer, would be sure to face fierce criticism - not only on the basis of Qatar's enduringly appalling human rights record, but as further proof of oil money's deepening incursion into global soccer's most sacred places. With this ethical conundrum out of the way, the path is now clear for a much easier publicity sell: Manchester United looks set to fall into the care of a footballing humanitarian who presents the unique advantage of being both obscenely rich and unimpeachably English. Finally, the self-styled biggest club on the planet will be yanked away from the pesky Americans, snatched from the slick hands of the Gulf, and come to nestle at the top of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's corporate crown - pending a final buyout of the Glazers' remaining 75% stake. A victory, at last, for clean money, good money, English money. Continue reading...

The Khan Yunis refugee camp was supposed to be in the safe zone. But nowhere is safe - the very existence of Palestinians is under attackMy family home was supposed to be in the safe zone in southern Gaza. But last week the bombs came anyway, without warning. They fell at around 10 o'clock on Thursday morning in four or five big explosions. An entire residential quarter of the Khan Yunis refugee camp, where I was born and raised, was reduced to rubble. Everyone there experienced it as an earthquake; a human-made earthquake. The whole camp was shaking.I've counted 49 dead - among them are 36 members of my family. Another dozen or more are still missing under the rubble of eight homes, I'm told, and more than 100 are injured.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Attorney for Jenna Ellis admits guilty pleas by Sidney Powell and Ken Chesebro hastened effort to cooperate with prosecutorsDonald Trump's former attorney Jenna Ellis scrambled to secure a plea deal for herself in the Georgia election subversion case after watching two other indicted lawyers fold, it was revealed on Wednesday.The haste in which her legal team acted to snag an advantageous agreement for their client was laid out by Ellis's own attorney Frank Hogue in an exclusive interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Continue reading...

Rachael and Kadyn Swainston accused of taking underage girl to Oregon for abortion without her parents' knowledgeAn Idaho mother and son have been charged with second-degree kidnapping for allegedly taking an underage girl across state lines for an abortion without her parents' knowledge.Idaho police started investigating Kadyn Swainston and his mother, Rachael Swainston, after the girl's mother reported to police that her daughter had been sexually assaulted and taken to Oregon for an abortion earlier this year. Continue reading...

They can take another's words and sentences and reshape them, on the instant, transforming my stammered-over words into sublimities

A resistance to safety lies deep in the sport's culture but it is to be hoped the tragedy in Sheffield will now prompt actionAdam Johnson's tragic death during an English Ice Hockey Association game last weekend in Sheffield has created reverberations across the hockey world and, unlike previous incidents, may finally prove the catalyst for widespread change when it comes to protective equipment.The Nottingham Panthers player died after sustaining a throat laceration during the second period in a Challenge Cup game against the Sheffield Steelers. The incident, which has been described by the Panthers club and others around the hockey world as a freak accident", is indeed a rare occurrence on the ice, despite the sport's speed, physical contact and players' razor-sharp skate blades. But it's not the first of its kind. Continue reading...

Voting rights groups decry error days before elections that will determine which party controls the state legislatureVirginia election officials wrongly removed almost 3,400 eligible voters from the state's voter rolls, a significant error that has caused alarm among voting rights groups just days before critical state elections that will determine which party controls the state legislature.Officials announced the number of voters affected by the purge on Friday - more than 10 times the number of people they had initially said were affected. Macaulay Porter, a spokesperson for the governor, Glenn Youngkin, had told the Washington Post on 6 October that at least 270 people had been wrongly removed and that officials didn't expect that number to rise much. Officials declined to provide updates on the number affected until Friday, when they announced that the actual number was nearly 3,400" (they did not provide an exact figure). VPM, Virginia's NPR affiliate, first reported on the issue in September. Continue reading...

CDC data shows rate rose 3% last year but experts say they are not sure why statistic that has been falling should have risen sharplyThe US infant mortality rate rose 3% last year - the largest increase in two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.White and Native American infants, infant boys and babies born at 37 weeks or earlier had significant death rate increases. The CDC's report, published Wednesday, also noted larger increases for two of the leading causes of infant deaths - maternal complications and bacterial meningitis. Continue reading...

Border crossing open for first time in weeks to allow evacuation of injured Palestinians and foreign passport holders. Plus, one man's search for the world's greatest sandwich

Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka scheduled to give evidence with father this week in case against Trump OrganizationDonald Trump's fraud trial becomes a family affair this week as three of his children, and the former president himself, prepare to be called to the witness stand in New York.Trump's appearances in court so far have been controversial, to say the least. The former president has railed against the prosecution, calling it a witch-hunt", and has been threatened with jail for attacking one of the court's clerks on social media. Continue reading...

Just a glimpse of some curling cured meats and blue-cheese slime and I'll be elbowing rival diners out of the wayI recently received an invitation that made me happy for about 10 seconds until I noticed the words guaranteed to instil dread in my heart: A buffet lunch will be served." I felt a sense of outrage, too, because surely, since Covid, buffets have been consigned to the food waste bin of history.Something weird happens to me when I am confronted with a trestle table groaning with UFOs (unidentified food offerings). Rather than being rational and deciding on a sensible food combination, I abandon all culinary common sense and behave like a contestant on Supermarket Sweep. Continue reading...

The United Auto Workers have scored a major victory. And it could be a sign of more to come for workers - unless the Fed undermines them againThe United Auto Workers has scored a major victory. It's still awaiting a vote by union members, but it's a big deal - a 25% wage increase over the four and a half years of the contract, cost-of-living increases that will further ratchet up hourly pay, the right to strike over plant closures and a shorter time period for workers to reach top pay.If the victory ripples across the auto industry and encourages wage increases in other sectors, it will also be a victory for the American middle class.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley Continue reading...

Deion Sanders's Colorado got off to a blazing start but have recently endured losses, injuries and thefts. They are far from a doomed project thoughAfter losing to UCLA on Saturday, a subdued Deion Sanders repaired to the media room inside the Rose Bowl to face the music. Asked about his team's big picture" plans to protect their much-maligned quarterback, the Colorado coach snapped: You go get new linemen. That's the picture, and I'mma paint it beautifully." As a shutdown corner in the NFL, Sanders was famous for springing traps. For him to start falling for them shows just how hard it is to sustain overnight success in a sport that's all about playing the long game.The 28-16 loss to UCLA dropped Colorado to 1-4 since their blazing 3-0 start to the season took the US by storm. Once the feelgood story that attracted the TV networks, celebrities and a national ranking, the Buffaloes are now a college football unicorn: the arrivistes who bring out the other side's A-game. Continue reading...

Ad released in Virginia part of well-funded effort to portray Democrats as abortion extremists and Republicans as reasonable compromisersThe ad opens with the sound of a fetal heartbeat.Most people believe that abortion at the moment of birth is wrong, far beyond any reasonable limit. Not Virginia Democrats," a female narrator says, just before the sound of a baby cooing and crying. They fought to make late-term abortions the rule, not the exception." Continue reading...

The former NBA star is facing claims he assaulted a man at his home. But fans and the media seem more interested in his private lifeSince Jason Collins became the first openly gay active male athlete in a major US sports league in 2013, the public attitudes toward LGBTQ+ athletes have shifted significantly. We've lived through Obergefell v Hodges, the legalization of same-sex marriage, and a steady drumbeat of firsts' including Michael Sam, Collin Martin, Carl Nassib and Luke Prokop. But one thing hasn't changed: how the NBA, its players and fans react when socially constructed ideas of masculinity, sexuality and sports are questioned.When Collins came out, he was met mostly with applause, including support from Kobe Bryant and the Obamas. The circumstances around another NBA star, Dwight Howard, are very different. While Collins was never more than a role player during his NBA career, Howard is a future Hall of Famer once put forth as a face of the league: a three-time defensive player of the year, an eight-time All-Star and an NBA champion with the LA Lakers in 2020. (The 37-year-old most recently played in the Taiwanese league.) Continue reading...

As another big climate conference looms and global loss and damage' takes hold, we must keep pressure on the biggest emitters Prof Saleemul Huq died on 28 October, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was 71. This is his final piece of writingProf Saleemul Huq OBE and I wrote and submitted this article before his untimely death on Saturday 28 October, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Huq was a visionary and steadfast leader on climate justice, a champion of developing countries at climate negotiations, an advocate for the global poor, and a source of inspiration to thousands worldwide. He continually pushed for loss and damage" measures, whereby the nations that emit the bulk of greenhouse gasses help address the needs of lower-emitting nations who nonetheless bear the brunt of the climate crisis. A loss and damage fund was finally achieved at Cop27, but it needs strong advocates to ensure it is followed and expanded.His sudden death is a blow to the global south, and to all those who work towards climate justice. Here, we touch on our concerns for the upcoming Cop28 summit, and the future of the loss and damage project, and call for greater concerted efforts on climate accountability. Farhana SultanaFarhana Sultana is a professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New YorkSaleemul Huq was the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development at the Independent University, Bangladesh Continue reading...

The former ruling party targeted and scapegoated Poland's LGBTQ+ people. Now it's out of power, equality is within reachFor LGBTQ+ people in Poland, the past eight years under the Law and Justice party (PiS) have been a period of turmoil and a test of endurance. Now that PiS is on its way out after last month's elections - it was ousted by an opposition alliance led by Donald Tusk - there is a sense of hope on the horizon. So how have government and public attitudes on this issue changed in recent years, and what needs to be done now?The LGBTQ+ community in Poland remains the least legally protected in the EU. The PiS government made homophobia a central electoral theme ever since it first had to defend its hold on power in 2018. Throughout local, EU and general elections, queer communities were consistently scapegoated by the ruling party and portrayed as an internal enemy. In 2020, Poland's president, Andrzej Duda, who was fighting for re-election, infamously claimed that LGBT is not people, it's an ideology", which threatened the nation and was worse than communism. This kind of publicly sanctioned symbolic violence was echoed by several Law and Justice-controlled local authorities, which declared themselves LGBT-free zones", sparking outrage from civil society and international institutions and news media.Dr Roch Dunin-Wsowicz lectures in sociology at the UCL Social Research InstituteDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

In hearing interrupted by protesters, Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin try to beat Republican attempts to kill $106bn aid packageThe Biden administration took its quest for emergency military aid for Israel and Ukraine to Capitol Hill on Tuesday in an all-out effort to overcome House Republican attempts to decimate a $106bn package while cutting key parts of the White House's domestic policy.In a stormy session interrupted several times by demonstrators, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and defense secretary Lloyd Austin, told a Senate hearing that assistance to both countries was closely linked and should not be decoupled, as demanded by leading Republicans who are keen to back Israel but oppose any further help for Ukraine. Continue reading...

Federal jury rules against National Association of Realtors and some units of Warren Buffett's Berkshire HathawayA US jury on Tuesday found the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and some residential brokerages, including units of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, liable to pay $1.78bn in damages for conspiring to artificially inflate commissions for home sales.The verdict by a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, could upend decades-old practices that have allowed real estate agents to boost commissions as home prices and mortgage rates rise, hurting consumers by making housing transactions more expensive. Continue reading...

White House comments come after China's foreign minister made rare visit to Washington to pave way for Xi to meet BidenJoe Biden is expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a summit in San Francisco in November for constructive" talks, the White House said on Tuesday.The comments came days after China's foreign minister made a rare visit to Washington to pave the way for Xi to meet Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. Continue reading...

Craig Mokhiber, director of human rights body, accuses the US, UK and much of Europe as wholly complicit in the horrific assault'

Couple known by their assumed names of Bobby Fort and Julie Montague had begun deception decades agoA jury has convicted a Hawaii couple of conspiracy, passport fraud and identity theft for stealing identities and living for decades under the names of dead babies.Jurors deliberated for about two hours before reaching guilty verdicts on Monday, according to court records. Continue reading...

Ina Kenoyer charged with murder Steven Riley Jr after learning he would break up with her and says she is entitled to part of $30mA North Dakota woman is accused of fatally poisoning her boyfriend with antifreeze after learning that he planned to break up with her after he received a large inheritance.Steven Riley Jr, 51, became ill when he met with a lawyer 3 September to get the money, witnesses told investigators, according to Minot police department records. His girlfriend, Ina Thea Kenoyer, called 911 the next day, and paramedics found Riley unresponsive. He was hospitalized and died on 5 September. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. The secretary of state called meeting with the new House speaker very positive'CNN rounded up a few Democratic and Republican senators' views on the House GOP's proposal to tie aiding Israel to cutting the IRS's budget and considering Ukraine assistance separately.As you can see, Democrats are opposed, while some Republicans seem more open to their House counterparts' views, even while reiterating that they believe Ukraine needs support: Continue reading...

Director's remarks come in homeland security hearing amid increase in threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab Americans

Fire whipped by gusty Santa Ana winds tears through rural area with 4,000 people under evacuation ordersA wildfire fueled by gusty Santa Ana winds ripped through rural land south-east of Los Angeles, forcing about 4,000 people from their homes, fire authorities said.About 1,300 homes and 4,000 residents were under evacuation orders, a fire spokesperson, Jeff LaRusso, said on Monday. Evacuation orders and warnings remained in place on Tuesday morning, officials said. Continue reading...

Prosecutors press Bankman-Fried on how Alameda Research, sister hedge fund to FTX exchange, spent $8bn of customer fundsThe trial of cryptocurrency's most infamous entrepreneur is near its end, with closing arguments set to begin on Wednesday.Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, stepped down from the witness stand in Manhattan federal court shortly before noon on Tuesday as his cross-examination ended. Continue reading...

Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow will also be subpoenaed over roles in paying for gifts for Clarence Thomas and Samuel AlitoSenate Democrats plan to subpoena Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow and conservative activist Leonard Leo to quiz them about their roles in organizing and paying for lavish perks for justices on the hard-right wing of the US supreme court.The announcement by Democrats on the Senate judiciary committee came on Monday amid a storm of controversy that has blown up in recent months about conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito not only accepting but also not disclosing free travel and other luxury favors provided or facilitated by influential public figures.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

Sanctions imposed on Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise in US's first direct action against junta's main source of foreign revenueThe United States imposed sanctions on Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (Moge) on Tuesday, the first time it has directly targeted the entity that is Myanmar's ruling junta's main source of foreign revenue.The action, first reported by Reuters, prohibits certain financial services by Americans to the state oil and gas enterprise starting on 15 December, the treasury department said in a statement. Financial services include loans, accounts, insurance, investments and other services, according to treasury guidance. Continue reading...

Concern over Robert Card's mental health dated back to last summer after a training facility episode sparked an evaluationFive months before the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the New England state of Maine, the gunman's family alerted the local sheriff that they were becoming concerned about his deteriorating mental health while he had access to firearms, according to authorities.After the alert, the Sagadahoc county sheriff's office reached out to officials of Robert Card's army reserve unit, which assured deputies that they would speak to Card and make sure he got medical attention, Sheriff Joel Merry said. Continue reading...

Preliminary order before 2024 trial comes months after Kansans voted to protect abortion rights in state constitutionKansas cannot enforce laws that would force abortion patients to wait 24 hours for the procedure or be given anti-abortion talking points, a judge ruled on Monday.The move comes months after Kansans overwhelmingly voted to protect abortion rights in the state's constitution. Continue reading...

When Rishi Sunak granted 27 new North Sea licences this week, he wasn't thinking about the survival of the living worldCan you see it yet? The Earth systems horizon - the point at which our planetary systems tip into a new equilibrium, hostile to most lifeforms? I think we can. The sudden acceleration of environmental crises we have seen this year, coupled with the strategic uselessness of powerful governments, rushes us towards the point of no return.We're told we are living through the sixth mass extinction. But even this is a euphemism. We call such events mass extinctions because the most visible sign of the five previous catastrophes of the Phanerozoic era (since animals with hard body parts evolved) is the disappearance of fossils from the rocks. But their vanishing was a result of something even bigger. Mass extinction is a symptom of Earth systems collapse.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Poll from AAI shows increase in discrimination against Arab Americans and increase in support for Donald TrumpArab American support for Joe Biden has fallen in the wake of his response to the latest bout of violence between Israel and Hamas, a new poll from the Arab American Institute (AAI) shows. The same poll showed a sharp increase in reports of discrimination against members of the community.Following Hamas's deadly 7 October attacks, which killed 1,400 Israelis, Biden has repeatedly proclaimed the US's rock-solid and unwavering support" for Israel, which has responded by tightening its blockade and bombarding the Gaza Strip. More than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to health officials in the coastal territory. Continue reading...

Quality time' has often been elusive through decades of heartbreak, illness, childrearing and work schedules. But this old familiarity of ours feels more precious than everYou look upset, how can I make you feel better?"The seriousness of the question and its sheer empathy stops me short in class. We are both teenagers in our first year studying medicine. Alone in this country, I juggle rent and meals alongside university, discovering that grit" is easier said than acquired. Not trusting myself to speak, I thank her with my eyes. Continue reading...

We met in a space within Westminster Abbey, and agreed that both religious communities must fight for safety and empathyNo matter how many times I rewrite these words, nothing feels right. There is pain, there is rage, there is grief. It feels impossible to do justice to the horror that is unfolding. My social media feeds groan with ghastly images and fraught, exasperated posting. And the bleak news from the Middle East has claimed a further casualty: the already volatile state of relations between Muslim and Jewish communities in the UK and across the globe.Each day brings more fury and tension. I fear the will to protect faith and community relations is eroding, which risks propelling higher an already sharp surge in antisemitism and Islamophobia. The rejection of this hard-fought equilibrium can leave a vacuum for extremists to clamber into, and for hate to breed. Rising tensions have been deadly. In the US, Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six-year-old Palestinian-American, was stabbed 26 times and killed by his own landlord, who shouted you Muslims must die" during the attack. Over the weekend, a mob in Russia stormed Dagestan airport searching for Jewish passengers arriving from Israel. In London, antisemitic attacks went up by 1,350% and Islamophobic offences by 140% in the first half of October.Remona Aly is a journalist and broadcaster with a focus on faith and lifestyleDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Simply opposing violence against civilians is to risk career and reputation. Where are the defenders of free speech' now?What exactly was the offence of computational biologist Michael Eisen that led to him being sacked as editor of eLife, a prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal for biomedical and life sciences? This Jewish-American with Israeli family shared a post from satirical website the Onion, headlined Dying Gazans criticized for not using last words to condemn Hamas".The dark humour spoke to an indisputable truth: Palestinians have died due to the logic of collective guilt, as endorsed by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, who declared It is an entire nation out there that is responsible." Eisen praised the Onion for having more courage, insight and moral clarity than the leaders of every academic institution" and also condemned Hamas. Ten days later, he was fired.Owen Jones is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Another week, another round of VAR controversies across the Premier League. Coaches and fans are turning on in-game technology, but referees want moreThe rain was unrelenting, with the shrouded sun providing only enough light to turn the sky a slightly brighter shade of gray. The artificial turf was slick.The ball was played into the penalty area. Three players converged on the ball. In an instant, they formed a tangle of bodies on the field. Continue reading...

Seventeen alleged victims testified at grand jury hearing, where Shannon Marie O'Connor was indicted on 63 chargesA woman accused of hosting parties for her teenage son and his friends in northern California where she encouraged them to drink and sexually assault intoxicated girls was charged on Monday with more than five dozen felony and misdemeanor counts.Shannon Marie O'Connor, 49, was indicted by a grand jury in Santa Clara county on 63 charges including child endangerment for furnishing alcohol to minors and aiding and abetting sexual assault, the Mercury News reported.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html. Continue reading...

With Skims' eye-catching erect nipple bra', you can now look more naked than you would nakedThe new bra in Kim Kardashian's lingerie range, with its daring" raised nipple detail, goes on sale on Halloween, but not, I think, because the effect she's going for is scary". The sales pitch is No matter how hot it is, you will always look cold", but I'm not sure cold" is the look she's really after, either; the word perky" has also been floated. Kim is offering you the chance to look permanently turned on, by everything. You could be ambling along with nothing on your mind but a knotty Wordle and half a to-do list, and thanks to the Skims perky bra, sprinkle random erotic charge all over everything. Would this make your day better, or worse? Hard to say, but definitely different.I resisted Kardashian discourse all the way through the butt years, as I felt that people were loading her with beliefs and agendas she hadn't necessarily signed up to. All she did was appear on the cover of Romanian Playboy in 2010, with the headline Poezia Unui Fund Bombat (the poetry of a bulging ass). I doubt she wrote the words herself, or made any great claims for the poetry of any of her body parts. She was lauded for tearing down the expectations of what a bottom was supposed to look like, then later, in the inevitable backlash, Time magazine said, Kim Kardashian's ass is nothing but an empty promise" - which I guess made sense, if you thought its promise was to smash the patriarchy. It did make me wonder what an ass delivering on a promise would have looked like. And whether, in fact, if you think too hard about the sociocultural implications of any celebrity's butt, you will end up disappointed, and maybe that's something for you to deal with on your own.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The 2027 showpiece will not break new ground so making the US a rugby hotbed in 2031 is now an unlikely missionNothing ever stands still in international sport. In just over 13 weeks the next Six Nations championship will be kicking off and the global rugby circus is already moving on. The 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia might seem a far distant prospect in every sense but it will come charging over the hill quicker than expected.So even as Paris's hoteliers and bar owners count their profits (if anyone in Guardian accounts is reading this, we've kept all our mineral water receipts), now is the time for thinking and planning ahead. And, as ever, wondering how the World Cup experience might be improved in future, rather than simply cutting and pasting from previous brochures. Continue reading...

Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, who pushed false claims about the 2020 election, face six- and seven-figure billsA trio of top Donald Trump allies who have racked up huge legal expenses to defend themselves from either criminal charges, convictions or defamation lawsuits have lost key lawyers for failing to pay six- and seven-figure bills in a sign of the huge legal problems they face.The hefty legal bills of ex-Trump advisor Steve Bannon, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, underscore the scale of the criminal and civil charges that ensnare them. Continue reading...

Hamas reports clashes with IDF in north and south Gaza as leader of main UN agency in Palestine accuses Israel of collective punishment'. Plus, how to build a life full of joy and meaning when you're child-freeGood morning.Israeli ground forces have attacked Hamas positions and infrastructure in northern Gaza, after the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, categorically ruled out a ceasefire as a surrender".What is a human shield and how has Hamas been accused of using them? The international criminal court defines the war crime of using human shields as utilising the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations". Here's an explainer on how Israel says Hamas uses them and what Hamas says.Have war crimes been committed in Israel and Gaza and what international laws apply? The United Nations has said there is already clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed" by Hamas and the Israeli military since 7 October and that it is gathering evidence for potential prosecutions. Here's what we know.What are carbon bombs? The carbon bombs, which were first identified in an academic database by the Guardian and partners last year, are the single biggest sources of fuels that release planet-heating gas when burned. Data for Good and Eclaircies, two French non-profits, and several European media outlets have now used publicly available data to map out the companies that operate the carbon bombs and the banks that finance them. Continue reading...

The problem began with dubious or insufficient sourcing and reports being accepted as the truth, which were then exaggerated on social mediaAs if the atrocities in the Middle East over the past month weren't terrible enough, the mainstream press has managed to make matters worse.Too often, false or unconfirmed reporting circulated widely, including on some of the biggest, most prestigious platforms in the world.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...