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"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction."

-- Blaise Pascal

News and Opinion

Israel Jails US Journalist, Fires On UN Peacekeepers, Bombs Beirut, Kills More Kids, Etc

I used to be able to write individual articles about the individual bad things the US empire is involved in around the world. These days I’m increasingly finding it necessary to cram a bunch of them into a single daily write-up to touch on as many of them as I can, just to stay on top of things.

Israel has arrested The Grayzone’s Jeremy Loffredo, an American journalist who had recently done some on the ground reporting on last week’s Iranian missile strikes in Israel.

Israeli news outlet Ynet reports that the charges against Loffredo “include aiding the enemy during wartime and providing information to the enemy,” which, as his fellow Grayzone reporter Kit Klarenberg notes, can be punished by the death penalty in Israel.

The Grayzone has further clarified in a statement that officially Israeli police are holding the reporter “on suspicion of serious security offenses for publicly publishing… the locations of missile drops near or inside sensitive security facilities, with the aim of bringing this to the notice of the enemy and thereby assisting them in their future attacks.”

Loffredo’s report on the missile strikes features footage of explosions at the IDF’s Nevatim Airbase, as well as shots of the location where a missile landed near the headquarters of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Imagine if an Iranian missile landed right next to the CIA headquarters and the US said was forbidden on pain of death to report anything about this major news story, even for foreign journalists.

Interestingly, these same things have been reported on by other foreign news outlets without any arrests being made. As journalist Dan Cohen noted on Twitter, a report from Nick Schifrin of PBS News also featured footage of the blast site near Mossad headquarters, but Schifrin has not been arrested. Perhaps Loffredo is being singled out more because The Grayzone has been reporting on Israel’s lies and criminality than because of his work in this specific instance.

As of this writing, Loffredo is still jailed.

It’s insane that this is just today’s news. But you won’t see it in Western media headlines. pic.twitter.com/pxQ7OlHZK9

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) October 10, 2024

In other news, Axios reports that the US and Israeli governments have moved closer to a consensus on Israel’s coming “major attack” on Iran, with the Biden administration accepting that this enormous escalation is going to happen despite fears that it will spark a large-scale war.

“The Biden administration accepts that Israel will soon launch a major attack on Iran, but it fears that strikes on certain targets could dramatically escalate the regional war,” writes Axios’ Barak Ravid.

A UN inquiry has accused Israel of “extermination” because of its systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system via “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities.”

“The report found that Israeli security forces have deliberately killed, detained and tortured medical personnel and targeted medical vehicles while tightening their siege on Gaza and restricting permits to leave the territory for medical treatment,” a UN press release reads. “These actions constitute the war crimes of willful killing and mistreatment and of the destruction of protected civilian property and the crime against humanity of extermination.”

If past behavior is a reliable indicator, the US will now dismiss these accusations, and Israel will promptly accuse the United Nations of antisemitism.

Israeli forces repeatedly fired on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Thursday, injuring two UN workers by causing them to fall from a tower that was struck. Israel has killed hundreds of UN humanitarian workers in Gaza over the past year, but extending these attacks to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon is a significant new addition to the list of Israeli criminality.

Israeli airstrikes in a densely populated residential area of central Beirut have reportedly killed at least 22 people, injuring at least 117.

Israel killed at least 28 people in an airstrike on a school where civilians have been sheltering in Gaza, reportedly including many women and children as per usual. Al Jazeera reports that they’re having trouble identifying and counting the dead because the bodies are so unrecognizably shredded. Dozens more were killed elsewhere in Gaza over the last 24 hours.

And then there’s the New York Times report we discussed yesterday adding to the mountains upon mountains of evidence that Israeli forces are routinely, deliberately shooting Palestinian children in the head throughout the Gaza Strip. There is too much evidence that this is happening for anyone to legitimately deny it at this point.

Today the US State Department did not hold a press briefing, which is understandable. If I were in charge of justifying the behavior of the US government and its allies, I wouldn’t want to face the press today either.

U.S. Journalist Arrested, Charged In Israel

Mohammad Marandi | Iran's Fierce Warning: A Devastating Response Awaits If Israel Strikes!

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon say Israel has fired on their bases deliberately

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said on Thursday that Israeli forces had deliberately fired on its positions, injuring two peacekeepers and bringing fresh accusations of violations of international law. Israel has been carrying out repeated ground incursions across the border into Lebanon in its war with Hezbollah, as the conflict that began in Gaza a year ago continues to spread across the region.

The alleged attacks brought expressions of outrage from UN member states who contribute troops to the UN interim force in Lebanon (Unifil), at a time Israel is already under scrutiny on multiple fronts for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. ...

Unifil said an Israeli tank fired on an observation tower in the force’s headquarters in Naqoura just north of the Lebanese border, causing two Indonesian peacekeepers to fall off it. “The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital,” a Unifil statement said, adding that deliberate attacks on UN peacekeepers was a “grave violation” of international law.

Unifil said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers also fired at a UN observation post at Labbouneh a few hundred metres from the border, “hitting the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, and damaging vehicles and a communications system”. The Unifil statement made it clear that the peacekeepers thought the attacks on their positions were no accident, suggesting there had been premeditation. “An IDF drone was observed flying inside the UN position up to the bunker entrance,” it said. “Yesterday, IDF soldiers deliberately fired at and disabled the position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras.”

Unifil also said Israeli forces had “deliberately fired” on a UN facility at a border point on the coast where peacekeepers hosted tripartite meetings with Israeli and Lebanese officers before the outbreak of the current conflict. Unifil said any deliberate attack on peacekeepers was a “grave violation of international humanitarian law” and of security council resolution 1701.

Israel Wants to Colonize Lebanon. Here’s Why It Won’t Work w/ Hala Jaber

‘Catastrophic situation’ at children’s hospital as Israel renews Gaza attacks

The director of the only major hospital in the northern Gaza Strip now offering specialised care for children has described a “catastrophic situation” as Israeli forces launched new ground assaults and airstrikes in the north and centre of the territory.

Dr Husam Abu Safiyeh, the director of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, said it had not been possible to comply with an Israeli army order to evacuate all patients within 24 hours. “We have seven cases in intensive care … all these cases are very severe and they all need intensive surgical or medical care,” he said. “Moving or transporting these patients puts their life in serious danger, it is not possible to transfer them. In addition, there is no facility in Gaza that has capacity to take them as they are all overrun with their own similar cases.” ...

Dr Eid Sabah, the director of the nursing department at Kamal Adwan hospital, which offers paediatric intensive care facilities and a malnutrition clinic, said a fleet of ambulances evacuated some but not all of its patients.

The hospital is now running short of medical supplies as well as diesel for its generators, which means electricity and oxygen shortages. Doctors said 100 dead and more than 300 injured had been brought into the facility in recent days, including many children. “Until this moment, none of the workers inside the hospital was able to leave it due to the danger of the bombing,” Sabah said.

Chaotic Biden-Netanyahu-Harris discussions

'Crime Against Humanity': UN Inquiry Details Israeli 'Extermination' of Gaza Healthcare

For the second time this year, a United Nations commission tasked with investigating Israel's conduct during its yearlong invasion and blockade of Gaza has found that the U.S.-armed Israeli military is committing crimes against humanity against Palestinians.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory released a report Thursday detailing how "Israel has perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy Gaza's healthcare system as part of a broader assault on Gaza, committing war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities."

"The commission also investigated the treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israel and of Israeli and foreign hostages in Gaza since October 7, 2023 and concluded that Israel and Palestinian armed groups are responsible for torture and sexual and gender-based violence," the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a summary of the report.

The report cites the U.N. World Health Organization's findings that Israel carried out 498 attacks on healthcare facilities in the Gaza Strip between October 7, 2023—when Hamas launched the deadliest-ever attack on Israel—and July 30, 2024.

"A total of 747 persons were killed directly in those attacks, and 969 others were injured, and 110 facilities were affected," the publication states. The report calls the attacks "widespread and systematic."

.@UN Commission of Inquiry says in a new report that #Israel has perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy #Gaza’s healthcare system; war crimes & crimes against humanity committed in treatment of Palestinian detainees & Israeli & foreign hostages.

Readhttps://t.co/BX9ZEU3gua pic.twitter.com/Nls34rjXO2

— United Nations Human Rights Council | #HRC57 (@UN_HRC) October 10, 2024

The commission continued:

Israeli security forces carried out air strikes against hospitals, causing considerable damage to buildings and surroundings, as well as multiple casualties; surrounded and besieged hospital premises; prevented the entry of goods and medical equipment and exit/entry of civilians; issued evacuation orders but prevented safe evacuations; and raided hospitals, arresting hospital staff and patients. Israeli security forces also obstructed access by humanitarian agencies.

"Israel must immediately stop its unprecedented wanton destruction of healthcare facilities in Gaza," said commission chair Navi Pillay. "By targeting healthcare facilities, Israel is targeting the right to health itself with significant long-term detrimental effects on the civilian population. Children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system."

OHCHR said that "attacks on medical facilities in Gaza, particularly those devoted to pediatric and neonatal care, have led to incalculable suffering of child patients, including newborns."

"In continuing these attacks, Israel has violated children's right to life, denied children access to basic healthcare, and deliberately inflicted conditions of life resulting in the destruction of generations of Palestinian children and, potentially, the Palestinian people as a group," the agency added.

The commission's inquiry found that as of July 15, "113 ambulances had been attacked and at least 61 had been damaged," including vehicles used by the U.N., International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), and other organizations.

Israel bombed an ambulance carrying injured people in the middle of a crowd of civilians today.pic.twitter.com/SARWx2TO3Q

— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) February 8, 2024

"Access was also reduced owing to closure of areas by Israeli security forces, [and] delays in coordination of safe routes, checkpoints, searches, or destruction of roads," the report notes.

The commission investigated the January 29 attack that killed 6-year-old Hind Rajab and six of her relatives, as well as two paramedics who had Israeli permission to attempt to rescue them.

"They were attacked while trying to evacuate in their car," the report said of the family. "The ambulance, carrying two paramedics, Yousef Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, was dispatched after its route had been coordinated with Israeli security forces. It was hit by a tank shell at a distance of some 50 meters from the family's car."

"Hind was still alive at the time that the ambulance was dispatched," the publication noted. "The presence of Israeli security forces in the area prevented access. As a result, the family members' bodies could not be retrieved from their bullet-ridden car until 12 days after the incident."

Israel Defense Forces officials have repeatedly claimed that no IDF troops were in the area at the time of the attack. Multiple journalistic investigations, including one published Tuesday by Sky News, showed that Israeli tank and machine gun fire killed the family and paramedics.

.@prem_thakker: [Hind Rajab] is illustrative of 10s of thousands of kids killed…how can US keep unconditionally sending weapons if this is how is dealing with investigations of potential violations

Miller: You should go to them with questions of what they’re doing, we are… pic.twitter.com/rfccFqsY7F

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) October 9, 2024

The new report's authors also noted that "hundreds of medical personnel, including three hospital directors and the head of an orthopedic department, as well as patients and journalists were arrested by Israeli security forces" during raids on Gaza medical facilities.

"Reportedly, 128 health workers remain detained by Israeli authorities as of July 15, including four PRCS staff members," the publication states.

"The institutionalized mistreatment of Palestinian detainees, a longstanding characteristic of the occupation, took place under direct orders from the Israeli minister in charge of the prison system, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and was fueled by Israeli government statements inciting violence and retribution," said OHCHR.

Released Palestinian doctor Khaled Al-Sarr tells the horrific conditions & brutal torture faced by Palestinian prisoners being held inside israeli jails pic.twitter.com/tdphFnBV5E

— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) October 9, 2024

The commission report also detailed crimes committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups against Israelis on and after October 7, 2023, when more than 1,100 Israelis and others were killed—at least some by so-called "friendly fire" and under the fratricidal Hannibal Directive—and over 240 people abducted.

Hostages "were mistreated to inflict physical pain and severe mental suffering, including physical violence, abuse, sexual violence, forced isolation, limited access to hygiene facilities, water and food, threats and humiliation," OHCHR said. "Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups committed the war crimes of torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, and the crimes against humanity of enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts causing great suffering or serious injury."

In June, the same U.N. commission found Israel's far-right government responsible for a range of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, including "extermination, torture, forcible transfer, and the use of starvation as a weapon of warfare."

Over the course of its 370-day assault on Gaza, Israeli forces have killed at least 42,010 Palestinians in the coastal enclave—most of them women and children—and wounded more than 97,700 others, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health and international agencies.

At least 10,000 Palestinians are missing and believed to be dead and buried beneath the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed buildings. Israel's "complete siege" of Gaza has forcibly displaced more than 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people, and has contributed to the starvation and sickening of hundreds of thousands of Gazans.

Israel is on trial for genocide at the U.N. International Court of Justice. Meanwhile, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders—at least one of whom, political chief Ismail Haniyeh, has been assassinated—for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extermination.

Dr. Gilbert Doctorow: Who Runs US Foreign Policy?

IDF in ‘Outrageous Threat’ to Irish UN Troops in Lebanon

An Irish-Israeli diplomatic crisis has been defused after Israel withdrew its invasion force from firing positions metres from a U.N. post in south Lebanon staffed by Irish peacekeepers. Irish President Michael D. Higgins had called Israeli demands for U.N. peacekeepers to abandon their posts as its invading army crossed deeper into Lebanese sovereign territory “an outrageous threat.”

The incident underlined how Israel is increasingly alienating itself on the international stage while continuing to undermine institutions and instruments of international humanitarian law. ...

Israel’s actions prompted accusations from Hezbollah, Lebanese media, and Irish Defence Minister Micheál Martin who said the IDF was using the Irish troops as cover, or human shields, as it extended its invasion. When asked by a journalist if Irish peacekeepers were being used as such, Martin said, “they’re certainly availing of the cover that that presents.” The U.N. had been communicating with the Israeli permanent mission to the U.N. in New York over the ongoing situation. On Tuesday U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres announced the Israeli forces had moved away from the Irish position after high-level talks. ...

The rejection of Israel’s request for U.N. forces to withdraw was much to the chagrin of its government and supporters. On Monday, Washington-based think tank analyst and former director of policy at the Jewish Policy Center, Matthew R.J. Brodsky, even called for the area controlled by the Irish contingent to be carpet bombed and “napalmed.”

Israel's evacuation orders in Lebanon are misleading: Amnesty

Amnesty International accused Israel on Thursday of "misleading" and sometimes inadequate calls for residents to evacuate parts of the country, expressing concern the warnings intend to massively uproot southerners.

Since September 23, Israel has launched an intense aerial offensive that has killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon - many of them civilians - and displaced over a million more from their homes, according to official figures.

"Warnings issued by the Israeli military to residents of Dahiyeh, the densely populated southern suburbs of Beirut, were inadequate," Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard said in a statement.

The group said it analysed more than a dozen evacuation warnings and maps and conducted interviews with residents of Beirut's southern suburbs and south Lebanon.

Callamard said the warning included "misleading maps" and were issued "at short notice - in one instance less than 30 minutes before strikes began - in the middle of the night, via social media" when many are asleep, she added.

Israel Economy Collapsing As People Flee The Country!

'Jewish state will extend from Jerusalem to Damascus': Israeli finance minister

In a new documentary, Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich detailed his desire to conquer not only all Palestinian territory to the Jordan River but also the Syrian capital of Damascus and territories extending as far as Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Smotrich, the Finance Minister in the Israeli cabinet and head of the Religious Zionism party, made the comments in a recently released documentary entitled Israel: Extremists in Power. The documentary was produced by Arte Reportage, a Franco-German broadcast news magazine.

When asked about his goal, Smotrich tells the interviewer, “I want a Jewish state … It is a country run according to the values of the Jewish people.”

In a documentary produced by Arte, Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich says he wants a “Jewish state,” adding that, “It is written that the future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus.” pic.twitter.com/E2SBu1LJvD

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 10, 2024

Israel currently controls territory from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, including the Palestinian territories in the West Bank, which have been under Israeli military occupation since 1967. Israel has been building illegal Jewish settlements on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank ever since.

The interviewer then asked Smotrich whether he thought the borders of the Jewish state should extend past the Jordan River. Smotrich responded by saying, “Absolutely, but slowly … Our great religious elders used to say that the future of Jerusalem was to extend as far as Damascus.”

The documentary narrator then added, “Bezalel Smotrich has a maximalist vision of the promised land. And it includes all Palestinian lands, but also territories in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt. Even in Saudi Arabia. A radical vision admittedly, but one that is accepted in public debate in Israel.”

An image of an Israeli soldier's uniform with a patch of the map of 'Greater Israel' has been circulating online.

Here the long-term ambitions of the supporters of 'Greater Israel' are explained
pic.twitter.com/jdP0zGTpj5

— Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis (@DrLoupis) June 19, 2024

UK Denies Zelensky’s Request To Use Long-Range Missiles in Strikes on Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday and again asked for permission to use British-provided missiles for long-range strikes inside Russian territory but was denied.

A spokesperson for Starmer said the UK has not lifted the restrictions on Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of about 155 miles, and added that “no war has ever been won by a single weapon, and there’s no change in the government’s policy on the use of long-range missiles.”

According to Zelensky’s office, the Ukrainian leader emphasized to Starmer the “need to obtain permission to strike deep into the territory of Russia.”

September inflation lowest in three years as price growth continued decline

Inflation weakened to its slowest pace in more than three years last month, as price growth continued to fall back from its highest levels in a generation.

With concerns over the heightened cost of living at the heart of the presidential election campaign, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its final monthly inflation reading before voters head to the polls.

The consumer price index rose at an annual pace of 2.4% in September, slightly higher than economists’ expectations of 2.3%, and down from 2.5% in August. The so-called “core” index, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, increased at an annual rate of 3.3%. Over the month, prices rose 0.2%.

Gasoline prices dropped by 4.1% during September, and were 15.3% lower than a year ago. But problems remain. Shelter costs rose 0.2% and food prices increased 0.4% in September, contributing over 75% of the monthly all items increase. Egg prices rose 8.4%.

Atomic Bomb Survivors Win Nobel Peace Prize, Say Gaza Today Is Like Japan 80 Years Ago

Trump demands CBS be stripped of licence over edited Harris interview

America’s top broadcasting regulatory body, the Federal Communications Commission, has denounced Donald Trump after the former US president demanded that CBS be stripped of its licence for airing an edited answer in a primetime interview with Kamala Harris. He also called the network a “threat to democracy” and targeted other broadcasters for having their licences revoked also.

In a furious onslaught that seemed to bode ill for freedom of the press in the US if he returns to the White House, Trump accused the network of “a giant fake news scam” for broadcasting a clip from Harris about Israel in Monday’s 60 Minutes programme that was shorter and snappier than the version transmitted in the trailer. Trump claimed the contrasting answers proved CBS and the Democrats were colluding to commit “election interference” in next month’s presidential poll and said both were “threats to democracy”.

His outburst was condemned as “threats against free speech” by the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Jessica Rosenworcel, who said broadcasting licences could not be revoked because a candidate dislikes coverage.

Challenged by the interviewer Bill Whitaker over whether Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, listens to US advice on Gaza , Monday’s programme broadcast Harris answering: “We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States – to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.” ...

The trailer version, in response to the same prompt from Whitaker, had Harris answering: “Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region.”

Harris campaign’s record $1bn funds fail to translate into swing state advantage

Kamala Harris’s campaign has raised a record-breaking $1bn within 80 days of her becoming the Democrats’ nominee yet has failed to translate her cash advantage over Donald Trump into a poll advantage in the key battleground states that will probably decide the election.

The vice-president’s fundraising haul, first reported by NBC, dwarfs the $309m raised by Trump’s campaign by the end of August, and equals the amount brought in by Joe Biden for his entire 2020 campaign.

But Democrats’ joy over the bounty is being tempered by a lack of evidence that it is giving her the edge she will need in the battleground states to win enough of them to affect the election outcome in her favor.

In the latest warning sign for the vice-president, a Quinnipiac university poll published on Wednesday showed her trailing Trump by two and three points respectively in Wisconsin and Michigan – states which, along with Pennsylvania, Democrats have labelled the “blue wall”. The survey showed Trump ahead by 48-46% in Wisconsin and 50-47% in Michigan. Harris has a narrow lead in most nationwide polls.

Harris maintains a three-point advantage in Pennsylvania, according to Quinnipiac, as Barack Obama arrives in the state to campaign for Harris. The former president will headline a Thursday rally in Pittsburgh, where he is expected to urge naturally pro-Democrat voters to turn out for the 5 November poll.

Progressives Issue Warning to Harris: Break With Biden on Gaza

With the high-stakes U.S. presidential election less than a month away, warnings about the possible political consequences of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris' refusal to break with President Joe Biden on supporting Israel's assault on Gaza and beyond are taking on fresh urgency amid new survey data showing the vice president narrowly trailing GOP nominee Donald Trump in Michigan—a critical battleground state.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found that Harris is trailing Trump by three percentage points in Michigan—a reversal of the university's survey last month, which showed the vice president with a slight lead over her Republican opponent. The new survey showed Harris leading in Pennsylvania and Trump leading in Wisconsin.

While Trump's polling lead in Michigan was within the margin of error, the results amplified preexisting concerns about Harris' chances in the state, which has a large Arab and Muslim population—many of whom have lost family members in Israel's yearlong assault on the Gaza Strip, a relentless military campaign that has intensified in recent days as the prospects of a cease-fire agreement appear nonexistent.

The Quinnipiac poll found that by a margin of 53% to 43%, Michigan respondents said they think Trump—who has expressed support for Israel's devastating bombardment of Gaza—would do a better job "handling the conflict in the Middle East" than Harris.

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, toldRolling Stone earlier this week that he has expressed to the Harris team that "if you want people to vote for you, you gotta give them a reason.

"They don't seem to care enough about the Arab American vote to do something to get it," said Zogby.

Collapsing wildlife populations near ‘points of no return’

Global wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 73% in 50 years, a new scientific assessment has found, as humans continue to push ecosystems to the brink of collapse.

Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the steepest average declines in recorded wildlife populations, with a 95% fall, according to the WWF and the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) biennial Living Planet report. They were followed by Africa with 76%, and Asia and the Pacific at 60%. Europe and North America recorded comparatively lower falls of 35% and 39% respectively since 1970.

Scientists said this was explained by much larger declines in wildlife populations in Europe and North America before 1970 that were now being replicated in other parts of the world. They warned that the loss could quicken in future years as global heating accelerates, triggered by tipping points in the Amazon rainforest, Arctic and marine ecosystems, which could have catastrophic consequences for nature and human society.

Matthew Gould, ZSL’s chief executive, said the report’s message was clear: “We are dangerously close to tipping points for nature loss and climate change. But we know nature can recover, given the opportunity, and that we still have the chance to act.”

Herd of tauros to be released into Highlands to recreate aurochs effect

A herd of beefy, long-horned tauros are to be released into a Highlands rewilding project to replicate the ecological role of the aurochs, an extinct, huge herbivore that is the wild ancestor of cattle.

The tauros have been bred in the Netherlands in recent years to fill the niche vacated by the aurochs, which once shaped landscapes and strengthened wildlife across Europe.

Trees for Life, the rewilding charity, is planning to create the first British herd of up to 15 of the animals on its 4,000-hectare (9,884-acre) Dundreggan estate near Loch Ness, in a scientific research project aimed at enhancing biodiversity, education and ecotourism.

“Introducing the aurochs-like tauros to the Highlands four centuries after their wild ancestors were driven to extinction will refill a vital but empty ecological niche – allowing us to study how these remarkable wild cattle can be a powerful ally for tackling the nature and climate emergencies,” said Steve Micklewright, the chief executive of Trees for Life.

The heaviest of Europe’s land mammals after the woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros, aurochs disappeared from Britain around 1300BC. Habitat loss and hunting led to their extinction, with the last female having perished in Poland in 1627. The DNA of aurochs survives in some ancient cattle breeds.

Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

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The Government Compels Silence – Again

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Strong solar flare could bring northern lights as far south as Alabama

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A Little Night Music

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