An interfaith group's 1950s MLK comic book remains a prominent nonviolence teaching tool
(RNS) — At cross-cultural gatherings in Bethlehem, West Bank, groups of children and adults turn to a 67-year-old, colorful comic book with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s image on its cover, his tie and shirt collar visible beneath his clerical robe.
As they read from 'Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story,' the group leader is prepared to discuss questions about achieving peace through nonviolent behavior.
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Associated Press
31 minutes ago
- Associated Press
UN Security Council will vote on a resolution demanding a Gaza ceasefire, with US veto expected
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council will vote Wednesday on a resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and the Trump administration is expected to veto it because it does not link the ceasefire to the release of all the hostages held by Hamas. The resolution before the U.N.'s most powerful body also does not condemn Hamas' deadly attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the war, or say the militant group must disarm and withdraw from Gaza — two other U.S. demands. The U.S. vetoed the last resolution on Gaza in November, under the Biden administration, because the ceasefire demand was not directly linked to the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. Similarly, the current resolution demands those taken by Hamas and other groups be released, but it does not make it a condition for a truce. Calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza 'catastrophic,' the resolution, put forth by the 15-member council's 10 elected members, also calls for 'the immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and its safe and unhindered distribution at scale, including by the U.N. and humanitarian partners.' President Donald Trump's administration has tried to ramp up its efforts to broker peace in Gaza after 20 months of war. However, Hamas has sought amendments to a U.S. proposal that special envoy Steve Witkoff has called 'totally unacceptable.' The vote follows a decision by an Israeli and U.S.-backed foundation to pause food delivery at its three distribution sites in the Gaza Strip after health officials said dozens of Palestinians were killed in a series of shootings near the sites this week. Israel and the United States say they supported the establishment of the new aid system to prevent Hamas from stealing aid previously distributed by the U.N. The United Nations has rejected the new system, saying it doesn't address Gaza's mounting hunger crisis, allows Israel to use aid as a weapon and doesn't comply with the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence. The U.N. says its distribution system throughout Gaza worked very well during the March ceasefire and is carefully monitored. The resolution demands the restoration of all essential humanitarian services in line with humanitarian principles, international humanitarian law and U.N. Security Council resolutions. Several U.N. diplomats from different countries, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions have been private, said they expect the United States to veto the resolution. They also said they expect a similar vote to the one in November, when the 14 other council members supported the resolution. Israel's U.N. Mission said Ambassador Danny Danon, who will speak after the vote, will say the resolution undermines humanitarian relief efforts and ignores Hamas, which is still endangering civilians in Gaza. He also will say the resolution disregards the ceasefire negotiations that are already underway, the mission said. Gaza's roughly 2 million people are almost completely reliant on international aid because Israel's offensive has destroyed nearly all food production capabilities. Israel imposed a blockade on supplies into Gaza on March 2, and limited aid began to enter again late last month after pressure from allies and warnings of famine. 'The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat,' U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement Wednesday. He called for a flood of aid to be let in and for the world body to be the one delivering it. The Security Council has voted on 14 Gaza-related resolutions and approved four since the war began. That is when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 58 hostages, a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government. Its toll is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers. ___ AP writer Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Dr. Santa Ono and the UF president search. What we know about his rejection
For the first time ever, the body that governs Florida's 12 public universities, the Florida Board of governors (BOG), rejected a university trustee board's leadership selection. Last week, the University of Florida's board of trustees unanimously chose a new president for the university, just shy of a year after the last president stepped down. UF's trustees selected Dr. Santa Ono, who came to Florida from the University of Michigan, where he recently closed the university's DEI office after spending a good portion of his career supporting DEI efforts. And in a shocking turn of events for those paying attention to higher education in Florida, the vote to confirm Ono failed (6-10), after a three-hour questioning in which the board pointed out his unclear stances on issues like DEI and merit-based admissions. ere's why Dr. Ono was rejected by the Florida Board of Governors, what to know about his career and how he ended up as UF's top choice for its 14th president. More on Ono's rejection: Florida higher ed board stuns UF, blocks Santa Ono from becoming president It's the Florida Board of Governors' job to confirm or deny university president appointments for all of Florida's public universities. Each university's board of trustees makes a selection and waits for confirmation from the BOG before they can hire the person they've chosen. The BOG's rejection of Dr. Ono as the next president of UF was the first time the 17-member governing body has rejected a university BOT's leadership selection. Before he was rejected by the governing board this week, Dr. Ono was on track to become one of the highest-paid university presidents in the U.S., The Gainesville Sun reported. 'Newly named University of Florida President Dr. Santa Ono is set to receive a five-year compensation package worth up to $15 million, making him one of the highest-paid public university presidents in the country,' The Sun reported last week. 'The contract, part of the Florida Board of Governors' agenda packet for its June 3 meeting — when it is expected to formally approve the hire — includes an annual base salary of $1.5 million, along with an annual 3% raise and an annual 20% retention bonus.' More on UF and Dr. Ono: Here's how much Dr. Santa Ono would have received as president of the University of Florida Just one week after Dr. Santa Ono was unanimously selected by UF's Board of Trustees to become the president-elect, the Florida Board of Governors rejected the selection in a 6-10 vote on Tuesday, June 3. Ono was questioned for three hours on his past support of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs during his time leading the University of Michigan, his views on merit-based admissions, gender-affirming care, climate change and his response to the COVID-19 pandemic — all of which have been flashpoints among Florida's ruling conservatives, the Sun reported. Ono also was asked about an encampment of pro-Palestine protesters that remained on the Michigan campus for a month, and about his position on antisemitism. Some BOG members bucked against the grilling session, saying that it felt 'unfair' to 'interrogate somebody who hasn't had a chance to review the materials in advance.' Board Chair Brian Lamb said it would have been appropriate for Ono to receive the materials in advance, and Board of Governors member Charles H. Lydecker, who served on UF's presidential search committee, said "this is not a court of law," The Sun reported. UF's Presidential Search Committee will now restart the process to select a new finalist for the Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors to either confirm or reject. It's unclear who UF is considering for the position now that Ono has been rejected. Former UF President Kent Fuchs was appointed as the interim president of the university in August 2024 and will hold the position until a new president is confirmed. Fuchs was the president of UF for a little less than 10 years. Ono was the president of three other universities before being selected by the University of Florida: the University of Michigan, the University of British Columbia in Canada and the University of Cincinnati. He also previously held faculty appointments at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Harvard University and University College London. Ono's doctorate degree is in experimental medicine from McGill University. 'We recognize that, for most of the past year, he was not setting 'policy' in consideration of the best interests of our community but was trashing and burning our institutional values and norms as a performance for University of Florida trustees,' Rebekah Modrak, a UM professor who served as Faculty Senate chair from May 1, 2024, through April 30, 2025, told The Gainesville Sun. 'On March 27, President Ono, who we now know was being considered to be the next president of the University of Florida, discontinued the DEI 2.0 plan, closed the Office of DEI at UM, and fired valuable staff who led key assessment and strategy work for DEI, among other measures that took the university more than two steps back.' Here's a list of UF's past presidents, from 1904 through present day, from the UF Website: Andrew Sledd, 1904-1909 Albert Murphree, 1909-1927 James Farr, interim president, 1927-1928 John J. Tigert, 1928-1947 Harold Hume, interim president, 1947-1948 J. Hillis Miller, 1948-1953 John Allen, interim president, 1953-1955 J. Wayne Reitz, 1955-1967 Stephen C. O'Connell, 1967-1973 E.T. York, interim president, 1973-1974 Robert Q. Marston, 1974-1984 Marshall Criser, 1984-1989 Robert Bryan, interim president, 1989-1990 John Lombardi, 1990-1999 Charles E. Young, 1999-2003 Bernie Machen, 2004-2014 Kent Fuchs, 2015-2023 (interim 2024-25) Ben Sasse, 2023-2024 Contributing: Alan Festo, Elliot Tritto, The Gainesville Sun This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida colleges board rejects UF president selection Santa Ono
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Putin, Zelensky Trade Accusations Amid Escalating Attacks
The leaders of Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday lashed out, accusing each other of sabotaging peace prospects amid escalating attacks and highlighting the deep animosity that is keeping the sides as far apart as ever. Speaking at a meeting with high-ranking government officials in Russia, President Vladimir V. Putin did not mention Ukraine's audacious recent drone strikes on Russian strategic bombers, but concentrated instead on apparent attacks that derailed two Russian trains on Sunday, killing seven people. After hearing a report from Russia's top investigator, who said that the railway attacks had been committed by Ukrainian special services, Mr. Putin accused Kyiv's leadership of ordering them to disrupt the second round of the Russian-Ukrainian talks that took place on Monday in Istanbul. 'They are asking for a summit meeting,' Mr. Putin said, referring to Ukraine's request for an in-person meeting between him and President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'But how can such meetings be held in these conditions?' Mr. Putin asked. 'How can we negotiate with those who rely on terror?' President Trump said Wednesday that he had spoken with Mr. Putin for the first time since the weekend. In a Truth Social post, referring to the drone strikes against bombers, Mr. Trump said, 'President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
