Introduction: This collection of articles highlights pressing global issues, ranging from climate change and international politics to economic trends and technological advancements. Below is a curated selection of the latest news that showcases the evolving landscape we find ourselves in today.
This 4,000-year-old city defied the rules of history Science Daily (Kevin W)
Why Is Everyone Trying to Build a Solid-State Battery? Construction Physics (Micael T)
This Everyday Chemical Raises Your Parkinson’s Risk by 500% (How to Protect Your Brain) YouTube (fk)
#COVID-19/Pandemics
Rehabilitating eugenics Angry Bear
Climate/Environment
It’s not just El Nino and the tropical Pacific – sea surface temperatures globally are at record warm levels Balanced Weather
The Mediterranean’s warming waters are drawing hundreds of invasive species Independent
Record warm seas power three storms at once in the Pacific Ocean Washington Post
This Year’s El Niño Could Spell Disaster for American Fishermen Inside Climate News
China?
Sharp Drop! Is China’s Lithography Machine Scaring Wall Street? ODaily
China’s DUV Lithography Still Lags ASML By Four Generations MenaFin
The U.S. Just Took A Big Step to Break China’s Magnet Dominance OilPrice
“Experts” wrong again: Global tech companies renting China’s excess data centers Kevin Walmsley (Kevin W)
Japan
Japan carries out yen-buying intervention as US executes rate check Nikkei
Africa
Climate-related crop losses top R1bn as extreme weather pressures South Africa’s farmers iol
Uganda begins emergency food handouts after 19 die from hunger Guardian
O Canada
Canadians spent $3.3bn less on travel to US in 2025 after Trump’s return to office Guardian (resilc)
European Disunion
Germany Draws Up “Secret Plans” to Hamstring AfD on Eve of State Elections Simplicius
A tour guide raises the German flag for his own group right in the middle of Germany.
ISRAELI tourists who are also in the area completely lose it.
They claim it evokes Nazi supremacy and drag the police into it.
Germany has completely lost the plot. pic.twitter.com/CyK6DfSrqu
— Parody Jeff (@Parodyjeffx) July 30, 2026
Climate change is turning parts of Europe into an insurance nightmare Politico
Danube River falls to record low in Budapest, snarling Europe’s freight artery TVP World
🚨 BREAKING:
Following thousands of irregular migration attempts from Morocco to Spain’s Ceuta, a security alert was issued.
Ceuta, near the Strait of Gibraltar, holds major strategic importance between the Mediterranean and Atlantic. pic.twitter.com/XvXnbBLkaF
— GBC (@GBC_Press) July 30, 2026
How corrupt can a Swedish prime minister be? Paragraf via machine translation (Micael T)
Old Blighty
Exclusive: Festival supporting rescued animals forced to cancel after UK Lawyers for Israel complaint Middle East Eye (Kevin W)
Half of England in drought as farmers warn food prices could soar Independent
Major incident declared as large wildfire rips through Dunwich Heath. ITV. Oh, and near the Sizewell nuclear plant
Leaked: How Britain Exploits US Empire Kit Klarenberg
Israel v. The Resistance
Extremist Israeli settlers targeted a vital source of income for Palestinian beekeepers by setting fire to Palestinian beehives in Kafr Qaddum village, east of Qalqilya, causing damage to farmers’ livelihoods. pic.twitter.com/MTvUFHDS3P
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 30, 2026
Trump announces deal for Hamas to disarm; Israel ‘skeptical’ The Hill
⚡️⭕️ Digest — 19:07–22:06 UTC
Gaza ceasefire draft on Article 8 obtained by Al Mayadeen/Al Jazeera: heavy-weapon inventorying/storage starts only after Sharm El-Sheikh Protocol commitments are met and the National Committee/International Stabilization Force deploy in Gaza. …
— Middle East Observer (@ME_Observer_) July 30, 2026
Amnesty: India sent 2,596 arms shipments to Israel during genocide in Gaza Middle East Eye (resilc)
‘You say genocide, I say war’: Boy George releases pro-Israel song, We Will Dance Again Guardian (Kevin W)
VIDEO: I Confront Schumer: “What could be More Corrupt than Backing Genocide?” Sam Husseini. Note Public Citizen’s cowardly behavior.
Trump says Board of Peace reaches agreement on disarmament of Hamas in Gaza Aljazeera (Kevin W)
The Limits to Military Action – ‘Military Catastrophe looms over Israel’ Conflicts Forum (Chuck L)
Israel in a Post-U.S. Hegemonic Middle East Leon Hadar
Riot: More than a hundred Israeli soldiers left the Givati Brigade unit TopWar
Dozens of Israeli soldiers leave Sde Teiman base after dispute with commanders: Report Anadolu Agency
Iran War
US-Saudi strikes in Iraq push region into ‘uncharted territory’, analysts warn Guardian (resilc)
Houthis v. Saudi Arabia: Round 2. This time it’s regional. Responsible Statecraft. resilc: “Bye bye MBS.”
Ivan Timofeev: Darline Graham’s Bill – Are There ‘Black Swans’? Olivier Boyd-Barrett
You Can’t Bomb Iran Into Surrender | Robert Pape YouTube (resilc)
A Deeply Unpopular War Daniel Larison
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine continues its use of mine terrorism against civilians Eva Karene Bartlett
Another F-16… Marat’s Substack
Imperial Collapse Watch
US schools are struggling to keep the yellow bus running amid shortages and cuts Guardian (resilc)
US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference Reuters (resilc)
ONE VETERAN’S DISGUST. A COUNTRY LOST IN WAR Michael Basta
Iran and the New Rules of Global Power Foreign Affairs. Robert Pape gets the lead story.
The Pentagon’s New Missile Gap Ken Klippenstein
Trump 2.0
🇺🇸 Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 34%, matching the lowest point of his presidency, last seen after January 6, 2021 events in the capital, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
Half of Americans now strongly disapprove of him, a record across his two terms, … pic.twitter.com/W2poom5VKY
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) July 30, 2026
Wisconsin Brewery to Lose Alcohol Permit After Owner Vows to Celebrate Trump’s Death People (resilc)
The Ugly Misogyny of Trump’s Movement Zeteo
Trump threatens to pull Todd Blanche’s AG nomination until after GOP holdouts leave office NBC
Police State Watch
You Can Be Arrested for Organizing or Participating in a Boycott W.A. Lawrence
Schools Deploying Pepper Spray Drones to Sic on Mass Shooters Furutism. Subhead: “Anything but actual gun control.”
Economy
Goldman Sachs: Diesel Crunch Is Now the Biggest Threat in Oil Markets OilPrice (resilc)
U.S. economy slowed to 1.5% growth rate in Q2; June core inflation at 3.3% CNBC
Mr. Market Should Be More Worried
FWIW, I would argue that the catalyst for higher long-dated treasury yields in the past 24 hours has far less to do with the Federal Reserve and the hawkish dissents than it does the $95 billion supplemental with $75 billion earmarked for munitions. What’s driving treasury …
— steph pomboy (@spomboy) July 30, 2026
The Korean government is planning to start buying AI stocks in the open market when the KOSPI is currently still up ~50% YTD
Maybe they are just competing with Japan on who can incinerate more public money and damage the domestic economy faster 🤷♂️ https://t.co/K41QBurOhZ pic.twitter.com/Ncektk8ALt
— JustDario (@DarioCpx) July 31, 2026
AI
Inside an AI TikTok Shop Slop Factory That Shills Supplements Recalled By the FDA 404 Media
The seven most shambolic things that happened in AI today Gary Marcus
THE LAST ENCLOSURE Shanaka Anslem Perera. He has a very baroque writing style, so it takes some effort to grasp his point. Nevertheless….
The Bezzle
BREAKING: Situational Awareness sold “the bulk” of its stock portfolio to Citadel after “big losses in AI,” per WSJ.
The hedge fund, which reportedly had a net asset value of $45 billion on July 1st, is now in “crisis mode,” WSJ reports. https://t.co/5M4yUgvOrg
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) July 30, 2026
a 24-year-old ex-openai researcher ran a fund to $45 billion with eight people, was up 439% net through June, and by the end of July had sold his entire public stock portfolio to Ken Griffin in a single block trade.
Griffin described this exact failure mode two years ago, asked… https://t.co/kVNwitYcmx pic.twitter.com/Ob7EeXIvUv
— Goshawk Trades (@GoshawkTrades) July 30, 2026
Less than 24 hours after blowing out, Leopold is asking for more capital 🚨 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Qw7rLhUk9b
— Barchart (@Barchart) July 31, 2026
>The Public Is the Exit TrendLabs (resilc)
Guillotine Watch
Barclays spots a chance to profit from extreme weather crisis Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Elon Musk’s $20 Billion Bet to Replace the Municipal Bond Shanaka Anslem Perera
Class Warfare
A people’s guide to the ‘Commie Corridor’ of Brooklyn and Queens Gothamist
Uninsured Patients Rise Sharply, Hospitals Report, Citing Obamacare Cuts New York Times (resilc)
The Hospitals That Close, and the Hospitals That Open, Are Not in the Same America Health Care Uncovered
Harvard to Shutter Dudley Community After More Than 90 Years Harvard Crimson (Rebecca R)
North Dakota residents contest mega dairy water deal Public News Service (BJB)
Antidote du jour. Tracie H: “Heckle and Jeckle hanging out”
And a bonus:
It’s incredible how both of them lower their quills as they get closer to him, carefully avoiding any harm.
Such a clear sign of trust. pic.twitter.com/rMY0gEFdJt— The Figen (@TheFigen_) July 30, 2026
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
