Articles by: Jake Johnson

Afghans evacuate the wounded following an earthquake in the province of Paktika in eastern Afghanistan on June 22, 2022. (Photo: Bakhtar News Agency via AP)

Earthquake Kills 900+ in Afghanistan

A powerful earthquake in Afghanistan killed more than 900 people and injured hundreds more on Wednesday, flattening homes and devastating entire villages in a nation already ravaged by decades of U.S.-led war and an ongoing economic collapse. The earthquake, which hit overnight, had an estimated magnitude of 6.1 with an epicenter near the nation’s border with Pakistan. “The death toll is likely to[Read More…]

by 22/06/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Outrage as Judge Approves Assange Extradition to US

Outrage as Judge Approves Assange Extradition to US

A British judge on Wednesday officially approved the U.S. government’s request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who faces espionage charges for publishing classified material that exposed war crimes by American forces. The judge’s new and widely expected procedural order, the culmination of a drawn-out legal battle, places the final decision on Assange’s extradition in the hands of U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel,[Read More…]

by 20/04/2022 Comments are Disabled World
A patient is assisted by medical staff as he arrives at Novoiavorivsk District Hospital on March 13, 2022 in Novoiavorivsk, Ukraine following a Russian strike on the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security. (Photo:  Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Russia Bombs Ukrainian Military Base Near Border of NATO Member Poland

Russian forces on Sunday bombed a Ukrainian military facility located just 22 miles from the border of NATO member Poland, killing at least 35 people and injuring dozens more. Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the facility hosted NATO drills and U.S. troops used it to train Ukrainian forces on the deployment of anti-tank missiles and other weaponry. The base has been described as “a vital link in[Read More…]

by 13/03/2022 1 comment World
British Court Rules Assange Can Be Extradited to US

British Court Rules Assange Can Be Extradited to US

A British court ruled Friday that WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange can be extradited to the United States to face charges of violating the Espionage Act, a decision that rights groups say poses a profound threat to global press freedoms. “This is an utterly shameful development that has alarming implications not only for Assange’s mental health, but also for[Read More…]

by 10/12/2021 1 comment Human Rights
‘Code Red for Humanity’: IPCC Report Warns Window for Climate Action Is Closing Fast

‘Code Red for Humanity’: IPCC Report Warns Window for Climate Action Is Closing Fast

“The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk.” A panel of leading scientists convened by the United Nations issued a comprehensive report Monday that contains a stark warning for humanity: The climate crisis is here, some of its[Read More…]

by 09/08/2021 Comments are Disabled Climate Change
‘Epic Failure of Humanity’: Global Displaced Population Hits All-Time High

‘Epic Failure of Humanity’: Global Displaced Population Hits All-Time High

A report released Friday by the United Nations Refugee Agency finds that more than 82 million people across the globe were forcibly displaced by war, persecution, the climate crisis, and other factors by the end of 2020, a record high that one international aid group called “an epic failure of humanity.” The U.N.’s annual Global Trends in Forced Displacement (pdf) assessment estimates that girls and[Read More…]

by 19/06/2021 1 comment World
After Far-Right Marchers Chant ‘Death to Arabs,’ New Israeli Government Bombs Gaza

After Far-Right Marchers Chant ‘Death to Arabs,’ New Israeli Government Bombs Gaza

Just hours after far-right marchers chanted “Death to Arabs!” during a demonstration in the streets of Jerusalem, Israeli war planes bombarded the occupied Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning in the first series of airstrikes launched by the new government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former IDF officer who once boasted that he has “killed a lot of Arabs.” While initial reports indicated that[Read More…]

by 16/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
A fire rages at sunrise in Khan Yunish following an Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip on May 12, 2021. (Photo: Youssef Massoud/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden Administration Reportedly Blocking UN Cease-Fire Statement as Israel Bombards Gaza

The Biden administration is reportedly blocking the release of a United Nations Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire as Israel continues its devastating assault on the occupied Gaza Strip, killing dozens of Palestinians and injuring hundreds more. According to Reuters, which cited anonymous diplomats and sources familiar with the Biden administration’s strategy, the United States is “delaying” the U.N.[Read More…]

by 12/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Coronavirus structure. Credit: https://www.scientificanimations.com / CC BY-SA

WHO Declares Covid Mutation Found in India a ‘Variant of Concern’ for Global Health

The World Health Organization on Monday classified a coronavirus mutation first detected in India as a “variant of concern” for global health, warning that it appears to be more contagious than other strains. Experts believe the variant, formally known as B.1.617, could be a key driving force behind the devastating coronavirus surge in India, which has been reporting more than 300,000 new[Read More…]

by 11/05/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Trump Reportedly Offered German Firm ‘Large Sum’ for Exclusive Rights to Coronavirus Vaccine

Trump Reportedly Offered German Firm ‘Large Sum’ for Exclusive Rights to Coronavirus Vaccine

German lawmakers and government officials voiced outrage at reporting Sunday that the Trump administration is seeking to secure exclusive rights to a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by the German firm CureVac as the pandemic spreads and takes lives across the globe. The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, citing an anonymous German government official, reported Sunday that the Trump administration offered CureVac $1 billion to[Read More…]

by 16/03/2020 1 comment World
Oxfam Unveils Report Showing Climate-Related Disasters Displaced 200 Million People Since 2008

Oxfam Unveils Report Showing Climate-Related Disasters Displaced 200 Million People Since 2008

Residents brave the floods in Mazive, southern Mozambique, on April 28, 2019, just weeks after the country suffered one of the worst storms in its history. (Photo: Emidio Josine/AFP via Getty Images) As world leaders convened in Madrid for COP25 amid surging grassroots demands for radical action, the charitable organization Oxfam released new research Monday showing that climate-related disasters were the leading cause of[Read More…]

by 02/12/2019 1 comment Climate Change
UN Report Warns Only Rapid and Transformational Action Can Stave Off Global Climate Disaster

UN Report Warns Only Rapid and Transformational Action Can Stave Off Global Climate Disaster

An alarming United Nations report released Tuesday said global temperatures are on track to rise as much as 3.9°C by the end of the century, meaning only drastic and unprecedented emissions reductions can stave off the most devastating consequences of the climate crisis. The annual Emissions Gap report (pdf) from the U.N. Environmental Program (UNEP) warns that nations’ commitments under the Paris climate accord—from which U.S.[Read More…]

by 26/11/2019 3 comments Climate Change
Hurricane Dorian Devastates Bahamas; Heads Toward US Coast As Category 5 Storm

Hurricane Dorian Devastates Bahamas; Heads Toward US Coast As Category 5 Storm

Videos posted online late Sunday and early Monday provided the first glimpse of the scale of destruction Hurricane Dorian—a historic Category 5 storm—left in its wake in the Bahamas as it slowly moves toward the southeastern coast of the United States, forcing nearly a million residents of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas to evacuate. “I have seen utter devastation here… We are[Read More…]

by 02/09/2019 Comments are Disabled Climate Change
‘Deja Vu’ of Iraq War Lies as Mike Pompeo Blames Iran for Tanker Attack Without Single Shred of Evidence

‘Deja Vu’ of Iraq War Lies as Mike Pompeo Blames Iran for Tanker Attack Without Single Shred of Evidence

In a press conference that immediately evoked memories of the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday claimed Iran was behind alleged attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman without presenting one single shred of evidence. “This assessment is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute[Read More…]

by 14/06/2019 Comments are Disabled World
Chelsea Manning Released From Jail

Chelsea Manning Released From Jail

U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning was released from jail Thursday after being held for 62 days—including a month in solitary confinement—for refusing to testify before a secret grand jury, but she could be imprisoned again as soon as next week if she refuses to comply with a second subpoena to appear before a different grand jury. Manning’s release came after the expiration[Read More…]

by 10/05/2019 Comments are Disabled World
"Politicians have responded with indifference to our crippling summer of record heat, bushfires, and floods. It's no wonder so many came out in support today," Nosrat Fareha a 16-year-old climate activist from Western Sydney, said as more than 150,000 students and adult supporters poured into the streets across Australia on Friday. (Photo: School Strike/Flickr/cc)

Youth-Led Global Climate Strikes Kick Off in 130+ Nations

“We are unstoppable. Another world is possible.” That was the message of the youth-led School Strike for Climate movement on Friday as hundreds of thousands of students across the globe walked out of class and flooded the streets to demand immediate action against the ecological crisis, which threatens to render the planet uninhabitable for future generations. With events planned in over 130 countries on[Read More…]

by 15/03/2019 2 comments Climate Change
Urging Defections, Trump Administration Reportedly Holding Secret Talks With Venezuelan Military

Urging Defections, Trump Administration Reportedly Holding Secret Talks With Venezuelan Military

In an effort to encourage defections from Venezuela’s elected President Nicolas Maduro, the Trump administration is reportedly holding secret talks with members of the Venezuelan military as top U.S. cabinet officials continue to issue aggressive threats and push for regime change. According to Reuters, which cited an anonymous senior White House official, the U.S. “is holding direct communications with members of Venezuela’s military[Read More…]

by 09/02/2019 Comments are Disabled World
(Photo: Alias 0591/Flickr/cc)

Climate-Driven ‘Bugpocalypse’

When a scientist who studies the essential role insects play in the health of the ecosystem calls a new study on the dramatic decline of bug populations around the world “one of the most disturbing articles” he’s ever read, it’s time for the world to pay attention. The article in question is a report published Monday in the Proceedings of the National[Read More…]

by 16/10/2018 1 comment Environmental Protection
Hurricane Michael Leaves Millions Without Power and Basic Needs

Hurricane Michael Leaves Millions Without Power and Basic Needs

Now that nearly a full week has passed since Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle and proceeded to tear through Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina—obliterating entire neighborhoods, businesses, and schools and killing at least 18 people—many of the millions of U.S. residents affected by the storm are beginning to voice outrage at the inadequate response of the Trump administration[Read More…]

by 15/10/2018 Comments are Disabled Climate Change
Hundreds Killed After Catastrophic Earthquake and Tsunami Strike Indonesia

Hundreds Killed After Catastrophic Earthquake and Tsunami Strike Indonesia

Nearly 400 people were killed and thousands of homes and buildings were destroyed Friday night after a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. As the Washington Post reported: More than 384 people have died in the city of Palu alone, one of the two cities worst-hit by the tsunami, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia’s National[Read More…]

by 29/09/2018 Comments are Disabled World
Many major websites have been working in conjunction with activists to drive calls to Congress since the day Pai unveiled his plan to eliminate net neutrality rules just before Thanksgiving. Last week, internet users flooded the front page of Reddit with posts to shaming their representatives for selling out to the telecom industry. (Photo: Battle for the Net)

Massive ‘Break the Internet’ Revolt This Week to ‘Save Net Neutrality’

In addition to making their voices heard in the streets, net neutrality defenders have planned a massive online demonstration this week ahead of the FCC’s scheduled vote on chairman Ajit Pai’s deeply unpopular plan to kill the open internet, which critics have denounced as “naked corporatism.” Slated to begin Tuesday—and continue through to the scheduled vote by the Republican-controlled FCC on Thursday—the “Break the Internet”[Read More…]

by 11/12/2017 1 comment World
"Ajit Pai may be owned by Verizon, but he has to answer to Congress, and lawmakers have to answer to us, their constituents," said Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future. (Photo: Battle for the Net)

Protests Planned Across USA As Vote On FCC’s ‘Catastrophic’ Plan To Kill Net Neutrality Looms

With the FCC set to vote on chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to kill neutrality in just over a week, a diverse coalition—ranging from consumer protection organizations to progressive lawmakers to Harvard professors—is denouncing the FCC’s proposals and scheduling nationwide protests to combat the agency’s move to let massive telecom companies “cash in on the internet” at the expense of consumers. This is the free speech fight of[Read More…]

by 05/12/2017 2 comments World
Internet Defenders Urge Mass Revolt To Fight FCC’s “Scorched-Earth” Attack On Net Neutrality

Internet Defenders Urge Mass Revolt To Fight FCC’s “Scorched-Earth” Attack On Net Neutrality

Open internet advocates warned that “we’re running out of time” to save the web from corporate control and called on Americans to make their representatives’ phones “ring off the hook” Tuesday after FCC chairman Ajit Pai unveiled his long-awaited plan to scrap net neutrality that critics slammed as “naked corporatism” designed to give a major gift to the telecom industry at the expense of[Read More…]

by 22/11/2017 2 comments World
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