“Riot police fired tear gas to disperse scores of protesters rallying on Monday against plans to build on part of a national park in Kenya’s capital. Officers moved in and arrested at least nine people, including former Chief Justice David Maraga, outside the main entrance of Nairobi National Park, Reuters reporters said. The Kenya Wildlife Service has defended the project, saying it will expand an animal orphanage on the site, Africa’s only wildlife reserve within a capital city. Protesters — who waved placards marked with ‘Nature is not vacant land’ and other slogans — say the plans, including a parking area for more than 1,000 vehicles, will encroach on one of Kenya’s most famous protected areas.” (06/08/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by Bill Kauffman
“Say the powers-that-be determine to site something truly noxious == a radioactive waste dump, a halfway house for child molesters, a data center — in your neighborhood. (These almost inevitably will be government projects or enabled by corporate welfare and subsidies to developers.) You protest. Instead of meeting your sincere remonstrations with arguments, you will be sneeringly called a NIMBY — a Not in My Backyard obstructionist. This epithet can be disorienting. Not in My Backyard? Well, yeah—not in my backyard. What’s wrong with caring about my backyard?” (06/08/26)
“At least 32 people have died after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao island in the southern Philippines, officials say. The quake hit at 07:37 local time on Monday (Sunday 23:37 GMT), triggering tsunami alerts in the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Australia. Some of those were cancelled hours later. Videos and images showed buildings collapsing, including a clip of a Jollibee fast food restaurant reduced to rubble, and landslides have been recorded in some areas. More than 100 people have been injured across several provinces, almost two dozen are missing, and 10,000 residents have been pre-emptively evacuated, authorities have said.” (06/08/26)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Omar Shaban Ismail
“By corralling millions of Palestinians into 30% of the former strip, Netanyahu is making life there untenable. For hardliners, this is all part of the plan.” (06/08/26)
“In the years before 1763, the British Empire—although in theory a unified entity—was really a federation. The central government in London controlled foreign affairs and the imperial post office. It also regulated trade with foreign countries and among units of the empire. But otherwise, the 13 future American states were largely self-governing.” (06/07/26)
“Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling party has won parliamentary elections, preliminary results showed on Monday, a victory seen as endorsement of the nation’s pro-Western shift after threats from Moscow and claims of Russian interference. Pashinyan’s push to forge closer ties with the West and move Armenia out of the orbit of its former imperial ruler has angered the Kremlin and drawn rebukes from President Vladimir Putin. The election comes after years of turmoil since Pashinyan was swept to power in a 2018 street revolution.” (06/07/26)
