Daily Peace and Crisis Report — Thursday

US Charges NFT Founder in Alleged $10M Investor Fraud

U.S. prosecutors allege Taj Tarsha diverted investor funds meant for a new digital marketplace to pay for online gambling, a Miami condo and his DJ hobby. Tarsha’s attorneys claim he is innocent.

Spain and Ecuador Bust International Drug Ring, Seize 21 Tonnes of Cocaine

Frequently asked questions: Nuclear Weapons

‘Wanton, intentional infliction of incredible pain’ by gangs in Haiti

Gangs in Haiti continue to terrorize communities with the “wanton, intentional infliction of incredible pain” on people who often are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Security Council LIVE: Warnings of famine and collapse as South Sudan's peace deal frays

Nearly eight million people in South Sudan – more than half the population – face crisis-level hunger, with famine risk now flagged in four counties, as the Security Council meets this morning in New York. A cholera outb...

Gaza: 300 children killed in 300 days of Israeli-Hamas ‘ceasefire’

At least 300 young Gazans have been reportedly killed in as many days since a ceasefire agreement came into effect last October, to suspend military operations between Hamas fighters and the Israel Defense Forces, the UN...

Ukraine: Civilian casualties rise as conflict escalates

The Most Shocking Climate News of 2026

The UK Green Party’s former leader Caroline Lucas recently nailed the Labour Party for “burying the most explosive report” of the year by UK military and intelligence sources. The concealed report warns “that the global...

Afghanistan: Operational Facts and Figures – January to June 2026

Nicolai Petro and Ted Snider: The Meaning of Fedorov’s Firing

On January 14, 2026, Mykhailo Fedorov was appointed Ukraine’s minister of defense. Just six months later, he was dismissed.

Sheikh Hasina’s Media Event in New Delhi: Dhaka Reacts Strongly, Terms It ‘Harmful to Bilateral Ties’

By Sheikh Arif (Dhaka Bureau) The Bangladesh government has expressed deep indignation and dissatisfaction over former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina- currently living in exile in India- being allowed to address the media...

EcoWaste Coalition Applauds BOC for Seizure of Illegal Firecracker Shipments from China Worth P40 Million

Seizure of health- and environmentally-damaging firecrackers and fireworks is good for Mother Earth and her children, group says   6 August 2026, Quezon City.  The EcoWaste Coalition, an environmental health advocacy org...

The Costs of the US Blockade on Cuba

The U.S. public has been skeptical of the blockade for decades. A 2016 Pew Research Center poll revealed that 73% of Americans favored ending the blockade. More recently, a February 25, 2026 poll by YouGov shows that not...

The Ceuta Crisis

The geography of the crisis seemed widely misunderstood. Ceuta has remained under Portuguese and subsequently Spanish sovereignty since 1415, remaining with Spain after Portugal regained independence in the seventeenth c...

Marta Havryshko: Why Ukrainian liberals love conscription

Since Putin’s full-scale invasion began, over a million Ukrainians have been conscripted to defend their homeland. And, as voluntary recruits have dried up, the army has begun resorting to the same methods faced by that...

What the Democrats Need to Do to Defend and Strengthen Social Security

Last month, the Social Security Administration released a report finding that by 2032 the Social Security Trust Fund will be able to cover just 78 percent of the benefits of more than 70 million Americans who have earned...

Resisting the Cat-Torturer in the Casa de Nariño

August 7 will be a dark day, for it is when Colombia’s presidential turnover is set to take place. On this day, which marks the anniversary of the Battle of Boyacá – the decisive 1819 battle in which Simón Bolívar’s army...

How an 1876 Massacre of Black Men in South Carolina Turned Racial Terror into Political Power

As the U.S. celebrates its 250th anniversary, its citizens commemorate a democracy more diverse, free and inclusive than it’s ever been. The path to this milestone was imperfect and paved in blood and suffering. Still, f...

ICE Needs to Be Iced

Since its last two murders in mid-July, ICE, mothballed for a mere 24-hours, has dropped out of the news. Its stop and shoot habit, one can only assume, is approved by the man who nixed the Department of Homeland Securit...

When Women Reach the Top, but Power Remains the Same

This may seem like a slightly belated reaction to India’s President’s visit to Macedonia 20-23 July. Yet the event deserves a brief reflection through a gender lens. The real inspiration comes from my engagement in a two...

America Reaps What Trump Sows: The Price of Policing the Globe 

What goes around comes around. That is the terrible law of blowback. When the United States bombs another country, threatens its government, kills its people, occupies its territory or attempts to dictate its future, the...

Sustained Beauty and Splendor: Aristotle and Homer

I have a deep respect and affection for Homer. I do indeed think of him as the teacher of the Greeks. My understanding of Homer is no different than that of ancient Greeks. In a metaphorical way, I am ancient Greek, too....

If Only We Could Fly Away from Donald Trump

Yes, I’m on the fly when it comes to — or do I mean I’m a fly on the wall of? — our most recent history. I’m not sure which, but whatever the case, I do know that I’m watching a world growing eerily stranger by the day (...

A Bad Deal with Saudi Arabia

A Deal Without Safeguards The Trump administration has approved a deal with Saudi Arabia under which the US will provide the material and technical capacity for that country to build a nuclear power plant. The deal, said...

Michigan/America Is Not For Sale

Wowza, rare glimmer of good news. We take a moment to honor the stunning Michigan victory of Abdul El-Sayed, who was outspent 12-1 by his opponent's millions from establishment Dems, Zionist PACS and corporations and st...

Lavrov’s Vision for Emerging Multipolar World, Status of Europe and United States

(Moscow Bureau) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took an academic moment to outline and share his contemporary visions on the emerging multipolar world, the conditions for integrating developing nations, particul...

Mexican president decries U.S. tariff policy

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday again expressed her opposition to the U.S. tariff policy, arguing there are more effective ways to strengthen a regional economy and resolve trade disputes between countries...

United States strikes Iran again with widescale attacks; civilians and young conscripts killed in the south

Once again, war has taken a toll on ordinary lives. The United States launched a new wave of attacks against Iran in recent days, hitting and destroying numerous civilian infrastructures and infrastructures tied to the d...

Hiroshima International Declaration

2026 World Conference against A and H Bombs Declaration of International Meeting The world now stands at a critical crossroads: between war and nuclear catastrophe on the one hand, and peace and the abolition of nuclear...

Two Speeches from the World Conference Against A- and H-Bombs 2026 

Two speeches by IPB Co-President and CPDCS Director Joseph Gerson, given on August 3rd and 4th, 2026, at the World Conference Against A and H Bombs in Hiroshima, Japan. Conference Speech By Joseph GersonHIroshima, August...

Inside the influence machine: Israel’s billion-dollar battle for US public opinion

The post Inside the influence machine: Israel’s billion-dollar battle for US public opinion appeared first on Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

From Headlines to Impact: Connecting Journalism and Civil Society to Drive Accountability in Ukraine

IPB Condemns Benin’s Cancellation of the World Social Forum and Repression of International Delegates

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) expresses its deepest concern and regret with the sudden, unexpected, and undemocratic decision of the government of Benin to cancel the World Social Forum and to deny entry to intern...

A Message of Solidarity, Remembrance, and Hope for a World Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction

On this solemn 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I extend my deepest sympathies, solidarity, and heartfelt condolences to the survivors, the families of the victims, and the people of Jap...

Strengthening El Niño to push 49 million more people into acute hunger

Nearly 50 million more people in highly vulnerable communities globally are set to be pushed into acute hunger because of the strengthening El Niño weather phenomenon, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday.

Security Council LIVE: Briefing on continuing ISIL terror threat

The Security Council is meeting on Wednesday to examine the persistent threat posed by the terrorist group ISIL, also known as Dae’sh, to international peace and security. At a conference in June, the acting head of the...

Sharp spike in executions, death sentences in Iran

The UN rights chief expressed alarm on Wednesday over the sharp increase in executions and death sentences in Iran since the US-Israeli bombing campaign began in late February, warning that capital punishment is being us...

Tate brothers’ US extradition case a ‘step towards accountability,’ says independent expert

An independent UN human rights expert has welcomed ongoing proceedings in the United States to extradite “manosphere” bloggers Andrew and Tristan Tate to the United Kingdom, calling the case an important step towards acc...

Hiroshima fosters hope, 81 years on from nuclear catastrophe

Eighty-one years ago on Thursday, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, reducing the city to ruins, killing tens of thousands of people and bringing the world “face to face with the catastrophic power of...

UN reports deadly month for Ukrainian civilians as Russian attacks intensify

Russian forces hammered Ukraine with ballistic missiles and long-range drones overnight on Tuesday, killing at least 17 civilians – mainly around Kyiv – and injuring another 44, the UN human rights office in Ukraine repo...

World News in Brief: Cambodia human rights, Hormuz invasive species risk, IOM lauds progress

Concluding his first official visit to Cambodia, UN independent human rights expert Tom Andrews said he was encouraged by the government’s cooperation but remained concerned about key human rights issues such as the lack...

SWEATING THROUGH BAKUN

The One-Day Trio Falls Survival By Maybeline F. Nacis, Ruther Ray C. Ruado, and Sarah Onangey–Garcia Chasing waterfalls in the Philippine Cordilleras sounds like the ultimate serene getaway, until Bakun Central’s vertica...

Jeffrey Sachs: Ukraine: America’s Enduring Proxy War on Russia

In his farewell address of January 1961, Dwight Eisenhower warned Americans against the “acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex,” and the danger that “public...

Ian Proud: The Ultimate Guide to Why Russia Sanctions Have Failed

If you listen to the pronouncements of European elites like Kaja Kallas and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, and read the Western mainstream media, you would be forgiven for believing that sanctions are helping t...

Flood in India’s Assam Recedes, Challenges Remain

The massive flood in eastern Assam, India, due to heavy rainfall in the entire zone, was worsened by man-made environmental degradation in the hilly terrains of Nagaland. The unprecedented rains (up to 137 mm, but not id...

Ecowaste Coalition Calls for Formal Investigation into LGU Waste Contracts, Urges Full Utilization of Re-established Environmental Ombudsman Program to Enforce R.A. 9003

05 August 2026, Quezon City. In response to recent public statements made by Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla regarding irregularities in local government units (LGUs) garbage collection, the EcoWaste Coalition called on...

Lessons from Michigan: How Standing Up to Israeli Genocide Could Win Democrats Congress

At 2 AM Michigan time last night, NBC projected that AIPAC's candidate was on her way to look for a new job. Representative Haley Stevens' defeat in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary is the last nail in AIPAC's coffin...

The Rising Danger of Regional Confrontation

The U.S.-Israeli invasion of Israel was planned as a short war, but it is turning into an unmitigated, gale-force cock-up.  Fighting continues in the sixth month and as many as 17 nations may be involved.  Iran launched...

Farewell Truth and Trust?

So much going on. Existential crises. Fundamental needs. Short and long term agendas. Sounds heard all around the world. Much to think about. Much to do. But does the following also deserve some notice? I think maybe it...

On Slow Violence in Cuba

The rooftop of Azotea de la India in Centro Habana offers respite. At this elevation, just peaking over the rival buildings, the sea breeze races across the island struggling to combat the heat that blankets the streets...

Big Tech: When 1984 meets The Godfather

The development of AI is inevitable, but when Nineteen Eighty-Four meets The Godfather in real life, it’s time to consider the lack of public protection and regulation to deal with its consequences. read now...

Confused about interest rates and inflation? You’re not alone

Negative gearing reforms expose a new housing trap

Negative gearing reforms may boost new housing, but also lock up the established homes first home buyers need most. read now...

Miles Franklin winners are taxed but winners on The Block aren't. How's that fair?

Last night, Queanbeyan local Omar Musa won the 2026 Miles Franklin award for the 'novel with the highest literary merit which presents Australian life.' He received a $60,000 prize, only he won’t get to keep it all becau...

Who the Greens vote with matters less than what the Greens vote for

In the coming weeks in the federal Senate, the Australian Greens will hold the balance of power vote on a small disallowance motion with big repercussions for climate policy in Australia.

Victorian Labor's collapse isn't about debt. It's about 2020

Victorian Labor’s collapse is not only about debt, crime or infrastructure blowouts, but a delayed reckoning from communities that felt broken by lockdowns and ignored by the recovery.

Ed Husic doesn’t give a shit; William Blake might

Ed Husic's blunt outburst says more about Labor's political paralysis than party discipline, through the unexpected lens of William Blake's philosophy. read now...

Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan win is a blow to AIPAC

Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary marks a major defeat for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and pro-Israel spending, and could signal a wider shift in Democratic politics over G...

Plug-in solar could bring renters into the renewables boom

New Zealand has recommended legalising plug-in solar, potentially opening rooftop-style savings to renters, apartment dwellers and others previously locked out of renewables.

Voters are not abandoning democracy – they are waiting for it to work

Australians are not tuning out of democracy; they are losing faith in a political system that produces constant conflict but too little capacity to solve the problems it contests.

Climate action starts with clearer language

Many Australians are concerned about climate change but do not know how petrol, diesel and gas drive it, because climate language has become too technical, opaque and disconnected from daily life.

Can juries stay impartial in the opinion age?

Trial by jury remains fundamental to criminal justice, but high-profile cases, media saturation and jurors’ exposure to outside commentary are testing old assumptions about impartiality.

The program that quietly evaluated me

An Aboriginal-developed program revealed that lasting social change depends not only on structural reform, but on people discovering and using the agency they already possess.

We can do better for our forests than the INFM method

A statement by Bob Debus, Chair of Wilderness Australia (formerly the Colong Foundation for Wilderness), on the new carbon offset method called the Improved Native Forest Management (INFM) method that allows State Govern...

What I saw in the West Bank

Former Irish president and UN human rights chief Mary Robinson says Israel’s annexation of Palestinian land is unfolding in plain sight, enabled by impunity and a lack of international political will.

Australia’s federation has survived 125 years of economic shocks

Australia’s economic history shows that major shocks often come from overseas, but better policy settings over the past three decades have helped keep unemployment, inflation and debt under greater control.

Israel accused of erasing evidence in Gaza

A new human rights report accuses Israeli forces and contractors of removing and crushing Gaza’s rubble before investigators can examine possible evidence of genocide, mass graves and unlawful killings.

India’s students reject the compliance machine

India’s student protests exposed a deeper crisis: an education system built around high-stakes exams, compliance and fear is no longer delivering secure futures or good jobs.

University racism definitions won’t dismantle racism

The government’s push for universities to adopt racism definitions risks turning anti-racism into compliance policy while leaving structural racism untouched and constraining speech on Palestine.

Need, not visa status, should determine how we treat the homeless

People seeking asylum and other non-residents face a double invisibility in Australia’s homelessness crisis, excluded from support systems just when they most need help.

Trump’s vanity battleship exposes AUKUS reactor problem

The planned nuclear-powered Trump-class battleship could place further pressure on already stretched US naval reactor supply chains, adding to doubts about Australia’s chances of receiving Virginia-class submarines.

How the gig economy is reshaping where Australians work

The rise of app-based and contract work has changed more than how Australians earn. It is also changing where work happens, who pays for the workplace and which risks are carried by the worker. read now...

More Than 70 Percent of Aboriginal Kids Behind Bars Australia Are on Remand

On an average night over 2024-25, more than 70 percent of First Nations youths held in Australian child prisons were on remand, which meant that either a decision on their guilt had not yet been made or they were yet......

U.S. arsenal stretched as Australia weighs alliance risks

America's dwindling missile stockpiles are forcing Australia to confront the strategic risks of ever-deeper alliance integration. read now...

Climate change rebellion, anyone? Aussie Gen Z says...Meh!

Why are the young often quiescent when their very lives and future livelihoods are in real danger? read now...

Is Australian climate policy finally heading in the right direction?

‘Impoverishing millions’: Richard Denniss says the RBA needs to rethink how it fights inflation

The Reserve Bank is being urged to stop using interest rates as the primary lever to lower inflation, with Australia Institute co-CEO Richard Denniss arguing “impoverishing millions” isn’t the only option available to th...

AI job applicant screening — the law still applies

We were promised the machine would make hiring fairer. Instead, it made the unfairness quieter. read now...

How “the tithe” funds political parties from politicians’ salaries

Parties often encourage or compel their elected MPs (and sometimes their political staff) to pay a contribution to the party out of their parliamentary salary. It’s called “the tithe” or a “levy”. These levies are often...

Oversighting the NSW DPP: An Interview with NSW Labor MLC Stephen Lawrence

The New South Wales Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has of late been the subject of scandal and a controversial NSW parliamentary inquiry, which recommended that the state government give consideration to e...

What I saw in the West Bank

Former Irish president and UN human rights chief Mary Robinson says Israel’s annexation of Palestinian land is unfolding in plain sight, enabled by impunity and a lack of international political will.

Australia’s federation has survived 125 years of economic shocks

Australia’s economic history shows that major shocks often come from overseas, but better policy settings over the past three decades have helped keep unemployment, inflation and debt under greater control.

Israel accused of erasing evidence in Gaza

A new human rights report accuses Israeli forces and contractors of removing and crushing Gaza’s rubble before investigators can examine possible evidence of genocide, mass graves and unlawful killings.

India’s students reject the compliance machine

India’s student protests exposed a deeper crisis: an education system built around high-stakes exams, compliance and fear is no longer delivering secure futures or good jobs.

University racism definitions won’t dismantle racism

The government’s push for universities to adopt racism definitions risks turning anti-racism into compliance policy while leaving structural racism untouched and constraining speech on Palestine.

Need, not visa status, should determine how we treat the homeless

People seeking asylum and other non-residents face a double invisibility in Australia’s homelessness crisis, excluded from support systems just when they most need help.

Trump’s vanity battleship exposes AUKUS reactor problem

The planned nuclear-powered Trump-class battleship could place further pressure on already stretched US naval reactor supply chains, adding to doubts about Australia’s chances of receiving Virginia-class submarines.

Antisemitism education as the new propaganda

How a misguided campaign against antisemitism could propagandise the Australian education system and restrict legitimate debate about Israel and Palestine.

Australia is finally beating fire ants. Now is the worst possible time to stop.

The national eradication program has reached a major milestone. After years spent chasing the growing edges of the infestation, eradication teams are now moving into the core of the invasion. This marks the turning point...

Australians support Pacific workers’ right to change employer

New polling from the Australia Institute shows that the majority of Australians would support the rights of PALM visa holders to change employer if they are not being treated fairly.

Sky infrastructure: Starlink, Australia and the dynamic global telecommunications order

No longer niche — one in five rural households that switched broadband providers in the past year chose Starlink. read now...

GDP is not what you think it is, which is no accident

This is an edited extract of More Fool Me (Vantage Point Issue 6) by Richard Denniss, published by The Australia Institute. Available from the 4th of August.

The hounding of Tony Fauci shows Trump’s ugly America

The attacks on Tony Fauci over COVID-19 advice, masks, gain-of-function research and rejected treatments are vindictive politics dressed up as accountability.

The hounding of Tony Fauci shows Trump’s ugly America

The attacks on Tony Fauci over COVID-19 advice, masks, gain-of-function research and rejected treatments are vindictive politics dressed up as accountability.

Terrorism and the deliberate corruption of language and meaning

The word “terrorism” is applied selectively to enemies of the US and its allies, turning a legal and moral category into propaganda that obscures state violence and normalises genocide.

Terrorism and the deliberate corruption of language and meaning

The word “terrorism” is applied selectively to enemies of the US and its allies, turning a legal and moral category into propaganda that obscures state violence and normalises genocide.

Israel is losing America – and endangering Jews

Israel’s war in Gaza has eroded support across the US political spectrum, while Netanyahu’s claim to act for all Jews risks fuelling the very anti-Jewish hostility Israel says it opposes.

Israel is losing America – and endangering Jews

Israel’s war in Gaza has eroded support across the US political spectrum, while Netanyahu’s claim to act for all Jews risks fuelling the very anti-Jewish hostility Israel says it opposes.

IDF closes investigation into brutal 2023 settler attack on Palestinians without charges

The closure of an investigation into alleged torture by Israeli settlers and soldiers highlights the near-total impunity surrounding escalating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Construction corruption: does not stop at the bottom so follow it to the top

Victoria’s construction royal commission must investigate crime, intimidation and labour abuse on building sites – but also the political, financial and procurement systems that allow corruption to flourish.