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The Herald Scotland
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Activists are right to target Edinburgh Festival sponsorship
There's a lot there I disagree with, but there's one point on which I find myself in accord with Ms McDermid. 'There is no such thing as a clean sponsor,' she says. 'If you dig deep, everybody who sponsors an arts event has got something in the cupboard that you would be uncomfortable with.' Read more Which surely cuts to the very heart of the matter and, I believe, undercuts Ms McDermid's argument. Because if there are no clean sponsors in the world of arts funding then surely you have a prima facie case proving that none of them – not 'unfairly pilloried' Baillie Gifford, not BP, not the Sackler family nor any of those other deep-pocketed corporate backers of the arts – was ever in it for reasons of genuine altruism but instead for reasons of cynicism and opportunism. To hedge against reputational damage. To indulge in what these days we call art-washing. Or, in the words of Chris Garrard, director of the campaign group Culture Unstained, to 'attempt to access high-level decision makers, to secure the public backing of leading cultural figures and to craft a positive public image.' Of course nobody wants to be in a position where all arts are state-funded (dream on, anyway: given the state of the nation's finances it's an entirely theoretical position). But just because there are no clean current sponsors of the arts does not mean there is no potential for them, no clean companies or wealthy individuals willing to front up cash in return for something as relatively benign as publicity or recognition. You just have to find them. Arts sponsorship is transactional, but nobody is asking you to sell your soul at the crossroads. All they do ask is for due diligence to be applied at the outset and, as societal attitudes shift and geo-politics intrude, for a little common sense to be brought to bear. As an author, Ms McDermid engages with and explores moral complexity because that's what good authors do. Things aren't black and white, she is saying, so underpinning her comments is an associated belief in nuance. Back in August 2023, the bone of contention centred mainly on Baillie Gifford's involvement in the fossil fuel industry and the wider impact on the ongoing climate emergency. People applied nuance to that and often concluded things weren't as simple as they looked to the protestors. A Palestinian woman mourns as she embraces the body of her daughter who was killed in an Israeli army strike on Gaza. at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in June. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) (Image: Jehad Alshrafi) But since then the issue of Gaza and Palestine, and of Israeli's response to the Hamas attacks of October 2023, has joined the climate emergency at the battlefront and become an area of great concern for many who work in the cultural sector. And just as nature abhors a vacuum, so do many in 2025 now naturally abjure nuance as a result. Why? Because nuance cannot be found in images of emaciated Palestinian children being starved of food. Because it's likewise hard to catch as you view satellite images of the post-apocalyptic wasteland Israeli bombers and American-made bombs have left behind in Gaza. Because today the climate emergency increasingly must be seen in terms of black and white. How else can activists and protestors critique the woolly 'adaptation' and 'resilience' mantras peddled by do-little (or do-nothing) governments? How else can they attack the actions of the rent-seeking corporates who still seek mid-term advantage in fossil fuels or, yes, the private equity firms which take short-term advantage from the same and return sizeable profits to their clients? Nuance be damned, I say, and I congratulate those artists, musicians, writers and other performers who say: enough is enough. Who say: sorry, not coming this year. Who blow the whistle and yell: everybody out. Ironically, this is also the week in which even the University of Edinburgh – let's have that again for emphasis: even the University of Edinburgh – has announced that among other acts of reparation it will investigate divesting from companies which may contribute to human rights violations in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. The UN has found the university to be one of the UK's most 'financially entangled institutions' in that regard, with over £25 million invested in four companies central to Israel's 'surveillance apparatus and the ongoing Gaza destruction.' The 200 or so pro-Palestine protestors who disrupted 24 graduation ceremonies this summer will be applauding. Less so those who criticised and derided those same students for their actions. Read more Moving on, the Baillie Gifford case appears settled. But as the digital archaeologists, hacktivists and activists sift through social media posts, company accounts and financial documents, there are many sets of cross-hairs alighting on many more targets and the effects could be felt among the UK's arts organisations and arts bodies. Watch out for mention of Sequoia Capital in the months ahead. They recently invested $100 million in UK-based art-house movie streaming platform and film distributor MUBI, but they also have investments in Israeli defence-tech start-up Kela which is developing AI-enhanced battlefield systems. Last week, Chile's Valdivia Film Festival announced it was refusing to show films managed by MUBI as a consequence. Will there be more such actions? It doesn't seem unlikely. And while you may never have heard of US-based private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) or even of Superstruct Entertainment, the company it bought in 2020, you will have heard of some of the 80 music festivals Superstruct Entertainment owns. Among them are UK festivals Field Day and The Mighty Hoopla, live streaming platform Boiler Room, and Barcelona's massive and massively prestigious electronic music festival, Sónar. Not so big this year, though: 70 acts pulled out of the June event in protest at KKR's Israeli military contracts and its links to manufacturers of weapons and surveillance technology. I look at all this and I don't see virtual signalling or hypocrisy or bandwagon jumping. I see artists doing what they should be doing and what our politicians are not: displaying moral courage, often in the face of criticism and (just as often) their own financial self-interest. Will it affect anything? Maybe not. But change starts with uncomfortable questions being asked, and for that you need 360 degree scrutiny. If action follows, so be it. Barry Didcock is a Herald arts writer
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Glasgow Times
Number of Palestinians killed in Israel-Hamas war passes 60,000, ministry says
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, said the death toll has climbed to 60,034, with another 145,870 people wounded since the Hamas attack on October 7 2023. It did not say how many were civilians or militants, but has said women and children make up around half of the dead. The ministry is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties. An Israeli armoured personnel carrier returns from inside the northern Gaza Strip (Ariel Schalit/AP) Israel's offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. As international organisations warn of a 'worst-case scenario of famine', Israel continued to strike the Gaza Strip, killing at least 70 Palestinians in the past day, according to local hospitals. More than half were killed while attempting to access aid, hospitals said, and includes a rising toll from a deadly incident on Monday as people attempted to access aid from a truck convoy passing through the southern Gaza Strip. Local hospitals said they received the bodies of an additional 33 people who were killed by gunfire around an aid convoy in southern Gaza on Monday, bringing the total from the single incident to 58. The Israeli military did not comment on the shooting. Israel says it only targets militants and takes extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in populated areas. The military said it targeted Hamas military infrastructure over the past day including rocket launchers, weapons storage facilities and tunnels. An additional seven Palestinians were killed while attempting to access aid near the American and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) site in central Gaza, according to local hospitals. Neither GHF nor the Israeli military commented on the shooting, but the Israeli military has said in the past it only fires warning shots if troops feel threatened and GHF has said their contractors have not fired at civilians. Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Gaza City (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) Air strikes also targeted tents hosting displaced people in the central city of Nuseirat, killing 30 people, including 12 children and 14 women, according to Al-Awda hospital. The strikes come as international organisations continue to warn about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has teetered on the brink of famine for two years. Recent developments have 'dramatically worsened' the situation, according to a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the attack that sparked the war, and abducted another 251. They are still holding 50 captives, around 20 believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. The war took a major turn in early March when Israel imposed a blockade, barring the entry of all food, medicine, fuel and other goods. Weeks later, Israel ended a ceasefire with a surprise bombardment and began seizing large areas of Gaza, measures it said were aimed at pressuring Hamas to release more hostages. At least 8,867 Palestinians have been killed since then. Israel eased the blockade in May, but UN agencies say it has not allowed nearly enough aid to enter and that they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order. An alternative Israeli-backed system run by an American contractor has been marred by violence and controversy.
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- Health
- South Wales Argus
Number of Palestinians killed in Israel-Hamas war passes 60,000, ministry says
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, said the death toll has climbed to 60,034, with another 145,870 people wounded since the Hamas attack on October 7 2023. It did not say how many were civilians or militants, but has said women and children make up around half of the dead. The ministry is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties. An Israeli armoured personnel carrier returns from inside the northern Gaza Strip (Ariel Schalit/AP) Israel's offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. As international organisations warn of a 'worst-case scenario of famine', Israel continued to strike the Gaza Strip, killing at least 70 Palestinians in the past day, according to local hospitals. More than half were killed while attempting to access aid, hospitals said, and includes a rising toll from a deadly incident on Monday as people attempted to access aid from a truck convoy passing through the southern Gaza Strip. Local hospitals said they received the bodies of an additional 33 people who were killed by gunfire around an aid convoy in southern Gaza on Monday, bringing the total from the single incident to 58. The Israeli military did not comment on the shooting. Israel says it only targets militants and takes extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in populated areas. The military said it targeted Hamas military infrastructure over the past day including rocket launchers, weapons storage facilities and tunnels. An additional seven Palestinians were killed while attempting to access aid near the American and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) site in central Gaza, according to local hospitals. Neither GHF nor the Israeli military commented on the shooting, but the Israeli military has said in the past it only fires warning shots if troops feel threatened and GHF has said their contractors have not fired at civilians. Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Gaza City (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) Air strikes also targeted tents hosting displaced people in the central city of Nuseirat, killing 30 people, including 12 children and 14 women, according to Al-Awda hospital. The strikes come as international organisations continue to warn about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has teetered on the brink of famine for two years. Recent developments have 'dramatically worsened' the situation, according to a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the attack that sparked the war, and abducted another 251. They are still holding 50 captives, around 20 believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. The war took a major turn in early March when Israel imposed a blockade, barring the entry of all food, medicine, fuel and other goods. Weeks later, Israel ended a ceasefire with a surprise bombardment and began seizing large areas of Gaza, measures it said were aimed at pressuring Hamas to release more hostages. At least 8,867 Palestinians have been killed since then. Israel eased the blockade in May, but UN agencies say it has not allowed nearly enough aid to enter and that they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order. An alternative Israeli-backed system run by an American contractor has been marred by violence and controversy.
Toronto Sun
2 days ago
- General
- Toronto Sun
'Worst-case scenario of famine' is happening in Gaza, food crisis experts say
Published Jul 29, 2025 • 3 minute read Yazan Abu Ful, a 2-year-old malnourished child, poses for a photo at his family home in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. Photo by Jehad Alshrafi / AP TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip,' the leading international authority on food crises said in a new alert Tuesday, predicting 'widespread death' without immediate action. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The alert, still short of a formal famine declaration, follows an outcry over images of emaciated children in Gaza and reports of dozens of hunger-related deaths after nearly 22 months of war. The international pressure led Israel over the weekend to announce measures, including daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza and airdrops. The United Nations and Palestinians on the ground say little has changed, and desperate crowds continue to overwhelm and unload delivery trucks before they can reach their destinations. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said Gaza has teetered on the brink of famine for two years, but recent developments have 'dramatically worsened' the situation, including 'increasingly stringent blockades' by Israel. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A formal famine declaration, which is rare, requires the kind of data that the lack of access to Gaza and mobility within has largely denied. The IPC has only declared famine a few times — in Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and parts of Sudan's western Darfur region last year. But independent experts say they don't need a formal declaration to know what they're seeing in Gaza. 'Just as a family physician can often diagnose a patient she's familiar with based on visible symptoms without having to send samples to the lab and wait for results, so too we can interpret Gaza's symptoms. This is famine,' Alex de Waal, author of 'Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine' and executive director of the World Peace Foundation, told The Associated Press. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. An area is classified as in famine when all three of the following conditions are confirmed: At least 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or are essentially starving. At least 30% of children six months to 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height. And at least two people or four children under 5 per 10,000 are dying daily due to starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease. The report is based on available information through July 25 and says the crisis has reached 'an alarming and deadly turning point.' It says data indicate that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza — at its lowest level since the war began — and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City. The report says nearly 17 out of every 100 children under the age of 5 in Gaza City are acutely malnourished. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Mounting evidence shows 'widespread starvation.' Essential health and other services have collapsed. One in three people in Gaza is going without food for days at a time, according to the World Food Program. Hospitals report a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths in children under 5. Gaza's population of over 2 million has been squeezed into increasingly tiny areas of the devastated territory. The IPC's latest analysis in May warned that Gaza will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn't lift its blockade and stop its military campaign. Its new alert calls for immediate and large-scale action and warns: 'Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the strip.' What aid restrictions look like Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine, to pressure Hamas to free hostages. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Israel eased those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead with a new U.S.-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence. The traditional, U.N.-led aid providers say deliveries have been hampered by Israeli military restrictions and incidents of looting, while criminals and hungry crowds swarm entering convoys. While Israel says there's no limit on how many aid trucks can enter Gaza, U.N. agencies and aid groups say even the latest humanitarian measures are not enough to counter the worsening starvation. In a statement Monday, Doctors Without Borders called the new airdrops ineffective and dangerous, saying they deliver less aid than trucks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said no one is starving in Gaza and that Israel has supplied enough aid throughout the war, 'otherwise, there would be no Gazans.' Israel's military on Monday criticized what it calls 'false claims of deliberate starvation in Gaza.' Israel's closest ally now appears to disagree. 'Those children look very hungry,' President Donald Trump said Monday of the images from Gaza in recent days. — Anna reported from Lowville, New York. MLB Sunshine Girls Celebrity Toronto & GTA Columnists
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
UK out of step with international consensus on Palestinian state
Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians among the ruins of Gaza City on Monday (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) The consensus to recognise Palestinian statehood is broad and cross party. Scotland's First Minister John Swinney has called for the formal recognition the state of Palestine and 221 MPs from across all parties in the UK Parliament signed a letter calling for the UK Government to take this step. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... This is a political decision with serious implications. Recognition affirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and gives their representatives standing in international legal and diplomatic forums. It also opens clearer pathways for the international community to intervene, uphold humanitarian law and hold states to account. France is moving in this direction. Spain, Ireland and Norway have already taken the step. Over 140 countries worldwide now recognise Palestine as a state. The UK's position is increasingly out of step with the international consensus and with its own stated commitment to a two-state solution. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The current scale of violence in Gaza and the West Bank reinforces the urgency. UN agencies, international courts and humanitarian organisations have provided consistent evidence of widespread destruction, displacement and loss of life. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has documented the collapse of medical services and repeated attacks on healthcare workers. MSF has concluded that genocide is taking place, as has Amnesty International and other reputable NGOs and individuals. The International Court of Justice has issued provisional measures in relation to allegations of genocide. These are not political claims, but formal findings and warnings issued by some of the world's most credible legal and humanitarian bodies. Israel's actions must be examined with the full force of international law. Recognition of Palestinian statehood strengthens the international legal framework. It supports the work of institutions such as the International Criminal Court and allows for greater coordination of humanitarian aid. It also gives future peace negotiations a more equal and legitimate starting point. Israel has a right to rid itself of the threat of Hamas. But when it became clear that Benjamin Netanyahu was no longer just interested in defeating Hamas and releasing the hostages but making Gaza uninhabitable, I was first in Parliament, on behalf of the Scottish Government, to condemn and call formally for an end to the disproportionate Israeli military action in Gaza. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad That position was taken at a time when UK Government ministers refused to issue the same condemnation and when the Labour leadership remained largely silent and continued to arm Israel. Delay has consequences. The longer it has taken to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation, the more difficult meaningful action has become. The Labour Party must now recognise the cost of that delay and support recognition without further hesitation. There is no credible basis for continuing to treat Palestinian statehood as a future possibility to be granted under political conditions. Legal statehood already exists in the eyes of most of the international community and under the criteria set out in international law. Recognition from the UK would reflect that reality and allow for greater diplomatic and humanitarian engagement. The Scottish Government has made its position clear. With growing international support, the UK Government now faces a choice. Recognition can help re-establish international norms, strengthen legal enforcement, and support a more sustainable approach to peace. Further delay will only weaken the UK's credibility and reduce the scope for constructive involvement. The UK has stood by for too long issuing words of condemnation, the time for action is now. Angus Robertson is SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary
