The only good thing about the ongoing disintegration of the US is that it's been happening slowly enough for other countries to adjust economically and politically. The question is whether Europe, for example, has been making good use of this time or squandering the opportunity by falling into the same disintegrative traps as the US.
The deal: Trump gives Putin a photo op, Putin gives Trump a photo op. Putin's mass murder in Ukraine continues. Trump's unparalleled incompetence in diplomacy continues.
the Guardian
No deal, and no answers, after brief Trump-Putin talks on Ukraine in Alaska
US president claims ‘great progress’ with Russian leader but ends press conference abruptly without taking questions
"Two leading human rights organisations based in Israel, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, say Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in #Gaza and the country’s western allies have a legal and moral duty to stop it."
the Guardian
Israel committing genocide in Gaza, say Israel-based human rights groups
Reports detailing intentional targeting of Palestinians as a group, and systemic destruction of Palestinian society, add to pressure for action
"It is a concentration camp." - Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert
the Guardian
‘Humanitarian city’ would be concentration camp for Palestinians, says former Israeli PM
Ehud Olmert says forcing people into camp would be ethnic cleansing, and anger at Israel is not all down to antisemitism
The Xi Jinping government has sought to eradicate the influence of lawyers who defend people’s rights while compelling the rest of the legal profession to serve the Chinese Communist Party’s political agenda.
Human Rights Watch
China: 10 Years Since ‘709 Crackdown,’ Lawyers Still Under Fire
The Chinese government is persecuting and silencing lawyers who challenge official abuses a decade after the “709 crackdown” on lawyers defendi...
#Hungary’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court is an insult to victims and survivors of the world’s worst crimes. “After refusing to arrest Netanyahu, an ICC fugitive, when he visited the country, Hungary is now doubling down on impunity...”
Human Rights Watch
Hungary: Orbán Government Withdraws from ICC
Hungary’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an insult to victims and survivors of the world’s worst crimes.
I know everyone is overwhelmed with multiple crises around the world right now, but please take 3 minutes to remind yourself of what may be the worst of them all - but probably gets the least international attention: #Sudan.
Human Rights Watch
Sudan Update: Daily Brief
For more than two years now, a horrific conflict has been raging in #Sudan. In Human Rights Watch’s Daily Brief today, Andrew Stroehlein reminds ...
No.
Vox
Trump asks the Supreme Court to neutralize the Convention Against Torture
Trump’s lawyers claim they’ve found a loophole that will allow Trump to ship immigrants overseas to be tortured.
Probably the most dangerous thing in politics is when a leader needs conflict - when he depends on conflict for his political power, maybe knows no other way to hold on to power. Driving up fears of others, launching deliberate provocations to incite violence, to then expand conflict, all for his own power, with not a thought about the death and destruction others face because of his lust for power.
Israel's "calibrated starvation as policy" in #Gaza https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/east-mediterranean-mena/israelpalestine/gaza-starvation-experiment