Planet Watch
Toad

Podcast: yet further thoughts on the common toad

The digitization and literal disembodiment of every sphere of human reality advances with terrifying rapidity—from the Social Security system to the New York subway system. Rather than dropping swipe-cards and bringing back tokens, returning to what was a manifestly superior and more rational system, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority moves to a still more dystopian “contactless” credit system. Similarly, rather than phasing out automobiles, our corporate overlords are now imposing driverless cars, a further step toward making the human race redundant altogether and portending the ultimate abolition of humanity. In Episode 270 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg continues his Spring ritual of reading the George Orwell essay “Some Thoughts on the Common Toad“—which brilliantly critiqued technological hypertrophy and articulated an imperative for humanistic revolution and scaleback of the mega-machine way back in April 1946. (Photo: Partonez via Wikimedia Commons)

Europe
Lampedusa

Proposed EU migrant rules ‘cruel and unrealistic’

Human Rights Watch criticized the proposed European Union “Returns Regulation” for undocumented migrants as “cruel and unrealistic” for allowing longer detention and harsher treatment. The European Commission seeks to establish standardized procedures so that returns of migrants can be more efficient while still respecting fundamental human rights. However, the proposed regulations broaden the criteria for mandatory forced return of undocumented migrants. HRW argues that this could allow the prolonged detention of vulnerable individuals, including unaccompanied children, if origin countries refuse to cooperate. HRW also raised concerns that the third-country “return hubs,” which would serve to transfer migrants, fail to guarantee safe and sustainable shelter. (Photo: Sara Creta/TNH)

Greater Middle East
Istanbul

Amnesty International condemns arrest of Istanbul mayor

Amnesty International condemned the Turkish government’s detention of over 100 individuals, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, calling it a severe escalation in an ongoing crackdown on the political opposition. Amnesty decried “the weaponization of vague anti-terrorism allegations to detain and prosecute opponents.” The timing of the crackdown is notable, as it comes just before the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is to select its presidential candidate. İmamoğlu was expected to be chosen, but the government actions, including the closure of transportation routes in Istanbul and the cancellation of İmamoğlu’s university degree, have thrown this into doubt—and added fuel to the fire of public dissent. Article 101 of the Turkish constitution mandates that those seeking the presidency must hold higher education qualifications. (Photo: Hunanuk via Wikimedia Commons)

Europe
Russian tank

US withdraws from investigation of Russian aggression

The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (EuroJust) announced that the United States is withdrawing from the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA), created to hold Russia accountable for its invasion and seizure of territory in Ukraine. The organization was launched by EuroJust in 2023 to assist Ukraine in prosecuting parties responsible for orchestrating the crime of “aggression” against Ukraine, facilitating information-sharing across international law enforcement and judicial bodies. The Biden administration collaborated with the organization by providing monetary support and appointing US prosecutors to help with the work of the ICPA. The funding cut-off comes as the White House has shifted course in US foreign policy on Ukraine, with President Donald Trump insisting on brokering a bilateral peace deal with Russia, regardless of the wishes of the Ukrainian government. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Africa
VDP

Demand investigation into Burkina Faso massacre

Human Rights Watch has called for an urgent investigation into the massacre of dozens of civilians in Burkina Faso’s western city of Solenzo. HRW noted video footage circulating on social media that implicates pro-government militias in the killings, raising serious concerns about accountability and civilian protection in a country already grappling with widespread violence and human rights abuses. The victims, many of whom belonged to the Fulani ethnic group, were targeted in what appears to be a reprisal attack amid ongoing counterinsurgency operations. (Photo of VDP fighters: Henry Wilkins/VOA via Wikimedia Commons)

Europe
rusich

Russian paramilitary leader gets life for war crimes —in Finland

The Helsinki District Court in Finland sentenced a 38-year-old man to life for committing war crimes in Ukraine. Voislav Torden, 38, a Russian-Norwegian better known as Yan Petrovskiy, was deputy commander of a neo-Nazi paramilitary unit called Rusich, which participated in Russia’s first incursions into Ukraine in 2014. According to prosecutors, Petrovskyi was responsible for leading an attack on Ukraine’s eastern frontier in 2014, which left approximately 20 Ukrainian troops dead. Petrovskyi was accused of ordering his men to carve Rusich’s emblem into the chest of a wounded Ukrainian soldier. He was also charged for posing with a dead soldier’s body for photos, which were later uploaded to social media. (Photo of Azov Battalion fighters: Carl Ridderstråle/Wikimedia Commons)

Greater Middle East
warplanes

Trump launches air-strikes on Yemen, Iraq

President Donald Trump ordered a series of air-strikes on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. Houthi authorities said 13 civilians were killed in the strikes. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who control the capital, have said they will resume attacks on ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s renewed blockade on aid to Gaza. Following the January Hamas-Israel ceasefire, the Houthis had paused their campaign of attacks on shipping, which they depict as a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinians (although many targets are not linked to Israel). Days before the strikes on Sanaa, a US air-raid in Iraq’s Anbar province reportedly killed Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, the second-highest ranking ISIS leader. (Photo: CENTCOM)

Africa
Darfur

Sudan sues UAE for complicity in Darfur genocide

Sudan instituted proceedings against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before the International Court of Justice, charging that the UAE has directly supported the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its associated militia in West Darfur state, violating the Genocide Convention. Sudan’s claim is based on weapons seized by the Sudanese Armed Forces in active war zones. Sudanese forces reportedly discovered several passports of Emirati nationals inside armored personnel carriers and 4×4 combat vehicles that originated in the UAE. According to Sudan, this reveals illegal military and logistical support that has allowed the RSF to commit genocidal acts in West Darfur, including the killings of civilians, and the deprivation of access to medical care and basic necessities. (Map via Radio Tamazuj)

North America
Métis

Canada high court allows Métis challenge of mine leases

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed an application by the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MNS) for judicial review of the Saskatchewan government’s approval of mining permits to proceed. The court ruled that the application, launched in 2021, was not an abuse of process because previous proceedings between the parties had not addressed the dispute in the present case. At issue are three uranium exploration permits within territory over which the MNS asserts Aboriginal title and rights. (Image: MNS)

Africa
Azawad

Jihadists and separatists to form alliance in Mali?

Talks are reported to be underway between JNIM, the main jihadist coalition in Mali, and the Tuareg-led secessionist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) over a possible alliance against the Malian army and its Russian mercenary allies. Mali’s military regime terminated a peace deal with the separatists last year after driving them out of their northern strongholds. The junta has consistently labelled secessionist groups as “terrorists'” and accused them of collusion with jihadists. Separatists deny this, though combatants from both groups share family and community ties, have allied opportunistically at times in the past, and operate in the same areas. According to France 24, current points of negotiation include JNIM softening its demands, especially regarding the application of sharia law, and breaking ties to al-Qaeda. A sticking point may be the FLA’s goal of an independent Azawad—the name they give to northern Mali. Intensified fighting in the north over the past year has had severe humanitarian consequences, driving tens of thousands of people to neighboring Mauritania. (Map of Azawad, the claimed Tuareg homeland, via Twitter)

Syria
SDF

Syria: interim government, SDF sign integration pact

Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi signed an agreement to integrate the Kurdish-led SDF into Syria’s state institutions. A statement by the Syrian Presidency said a pact was reached to “integrate all civil and military institutions in northeast Syria [Rojava] under the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the [Qamishli] Airport, and oil and gas fields.” The statement emphasized that “the Kurdish community is indigenous to the Syrian state, which ensures this community’s right to citizenship and all of its constitutional rights.” (Image: Rudaw)