BMW cuts 8,000 jobs in Germany

As the last of the major German carmakers, BMW has now joined the ranks of corporations destroying jobs on a massive scale, agreeing with IG Metall to cut around 8,000 positions—almost one in 10 of it...

wsws.org

Saudi Aramco's profits soar 44 percent as war boosts oil prices

<article data-history-node-id="445472" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/saudi-aramcos-profits-soar-44-percent-war-boosts-prices" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/saudi-aramcos-profits-soar-44-percent-war-boosts-prices" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Saudi Aramco's profits soar 44 percent as war boosts oil prices</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>Oil company Saudi Aramco reported a 44 percent surge in net profits on Tuesday, as the war on Iran sent oil prices soaring.<br> <br> Its net income of 122.6 billion Saudi riyals ($32.7 billion) from April to June was up from 85 billion riyals ($22.7 billion) a year prior, a quarterly statement said.<br> <br> Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said there has been no material impact operationally or financially from the targeting of Aramco's facilities earlier in July.<br> <br aria-hidden="true"> "Despite the unprecedented supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz, we continued to demonstrate our ability to maintain business continuity," he said.</p> </div> </div> </article>

middleeasteye.net

Deadly migrant crisis in Ceuta – Is Israel involved?

In recent years Israel has forged close ties to Morocco amid worsening relations with Spain, fuelling speculation about its involvement in the Ceuta crisis

newarab.com

Anne Carson · Poem: ‘Smile’

lrb.co.uk

Spanish minister clashes with Israeli diplomat over migrants entering Ceuta

Some 60,000 people crossed into Ceuta from Morocco this week, including around 8,000 children

middleeasteye.net

US embassies tell citizens to 'consider departing' Middle East

<article data-history-node-id="445347" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-embassies-tell-citizens-consider-departing-middle-east" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-embassies-tell-citizens-consider-departing-middle-east" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">US embassies tell citizens to 'consider departing' Middle East</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>US embassies across the Middle East have issued security alerts urging American citizens to "consider departing" the region due to "the potential for an unforseen escalation" in the conflict between the US and Iran.&nbsp;</p> <p>The warnings come after US President Donald Trump threatened to hit Iran "very hard" on Friday amid widespread US media reports anticipating an escalation in US attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure.&nbsp;</p> <p>"Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions," said an <a href="https://jo.usembassy.gov/security-alert-u-s-embassy-amman-august-1-2026/">alert</a>&nbsp;circulated by the US embassy in Jordan, with versions of the same text also posted by the American missions in Jerusalem, Muscat, Baghdad and Beirut.</p> <p>Americans in Jordan were also advised to avoid travel to military bases in the country and to "exercise caution and stay alert at locations publicly associated with the United States."</p> </div> </div> </article>

middleeasteye.net

I’ve spent years researching what it means to be alive. This is what I’ve learned | Melanie Challenger

To understand the experience of life, don’t look to the mind. Look to the body

theguardian.com

Money worries can leave a lasting mark on the brain, 80-year study shows

Tracking thousands of people from birth to their 80s shows that long-term financial stress may quietly reshape the ageing brain.

tcnv.link

How the Met police spent £2.5m hiding spycop from former partner

Spycops inquiry has revealed how Helen Steel was secretly monitored in her search for undercover officer who deceived her into relationship

theguardian.com

The Soviet Crisis Was Predictable. Its Outcome Was Not.

The Soviet collapse in 1991 was so sudden and comprehensive that it came to seem inevitable. New work by historians of the USSR asks whether the system’s crisis could have ended in reform of its structures rather than disintegration.

jacobin.com

Migrant Rescue Operations Navigate a Mediterranean Bloodbath

The Seabird is a plane that monitors violence along the world’s deadliest migration route. Piloted by a German NGO, it is showing how European authorities collaborate with militias to harass people crossing the Mediterranean.

jacobin.com

Climate crisis-driven heat ‘sucking soils dry’ as extreme drought hits Europe

Analysis shows how heatwaves are making atmosphere thirstier, damaging water supplies, food production and power generation

theguardian.com

No Regrets for Being on the Right Side of History

Daniel Tatlow-Devally is one of five activists on trial in Germany over a direct action targeting Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems. In an interview from jail, he explains why he doesn’t regret it, and how the case has highlighted complicity with Israel.

jacobin.com

German railway to ban consuming alcohol at all its stations, with some exemptions

Germany’s national railway operator says it is banning alcohol consumption at all stations on the network in an effort to improve security and cleanliness for employees and passengers.

bit.ly

Bericht aus dem Bundestag: Informationsfreiheitsgesetz & BAföG-Reform

Liebe Genossinnen und Genossen, • Da parlamentarische Sommerpause ist, ruht das Plenum, dennoch gibt es einige Themen, die uns weiterhin intensiv beschäftigen. • Das Informationsfreiheitsgesetz (IFG) ...

spd-muenchen.de

Richard Dadd review – can his mental illness help explain these arresting, bizarre images?

Dadd was already a remarkable artist – with fairies as his hit theme – before he was locked up for murder. Yet it was within the confines of Bedlam that he saw nature and art afresh

theguardian.com

‘Most people don’t know we’ve set up a doomsday system’: physicist Laura Grego on satellites, nuclear weapons and the battle for our skies

Elon Musk is trying to own it, competing powers are trying to fight in it and nobody seems to be regulating it. So who does space really belong to?

theguardian.com

Edmund Gordon · Uncanny Little Blighter: M. John Harrison’s​ ‘The End of Everything’

lrb.co.uk

podcasts.apple.com

French Farmer: 'In 42 Years, I've Never Seen That'

Heat kills millions of chickens in France, showing poultry industry's vulnerability to climate change

newser.com

Earth-like exoplanet could have life-supporting water on its surface

Scientists discover the first confirmed atmosphere in habitable zone outside our solar system on LHS 1140b The search for life outside our solar system has taken another twist as researchers revealed they have discovered an atmosphere around an Earth-like planet 49 light years away that could have liquid water on its surface. Atmospheres have previously been found around gas giant exoplanets as well as “sub-Neptunes”. There have also been signs of such envelopes around rocky exoplanets that sit outside their star’s habitable zone – a region in which liquid water could exist on the planet’s surface, and hence potentially support life. Continue reading...

theguardian.com