Category World News

Why did genocide scholars association say Israel’s war on Gaza is genocide?

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The most renowned genocide scholars in the world have concluded that Israel’s occupation of Gaza qualifies as genocide.

A resolution added to the chorus of nations, human rights organizations, and other organizations that support Israel’s claim to be a genocider in Gaza, which was approved by the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS).

In its war against Gaza, Israel has killed more than 63,500 people and injured more than 160,000. On October 7, 2023, a Hamas-led attack on Israel claimed the lives of 1,139 people and about 200 were taken as prisoners.

What is the only thing you need to know about the declaration and how it was made.

Who made the announcement and what was it?

The world’s leading association of genocide scholars is the IAGS, a 500-member body of academics established in 1994.

According to 86 percent of IAGS members, a resolution states that Israel’s actions and policies in Gaza fall under the 1948 UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.

What is happening in Gaza on the ground is genocide, according to Melanie O’Brien, IAGS president and professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, in a statement that is unwavering.

What is the definition of genocide in international law?

Genocide is defined as “any of the following acts committed with the intention to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group” according to the 1948 Genocide Convention:

Killing group members, inflicting severe bodily or mental harm on other members, purposefully causing the group’s entire or partially to be physically destroyed, imposing laws to stop group births, forcing the group to transfer their children to another group, etc.

Since October 2023, Israel has destroyed 90% of Gaza’s housing infrastructure.

What served as the foundation for IAGS’ decision?

In essence, IAGS cited the UN Genocide Convention as the basis for its decision.

Additionally, it added that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity as defined by international humanitarian law and the International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute.”

“indiscriminate and deliberate attacks against the civilians and civilian infrastructure (hospitals, homes, commercial buildings, etc.)” was one of the Israeli crimes that the resolution cited. of Gaza”.

IAGS recognized several Palestinian-related crimes committed by Israel, including:

  • torture,
  • arbitrary detention
  • sexual and reproductive violence
  • attacks on journalists, medical professionals, and members of the humanitarian organization, with intent,
  • deliberately denying people access to food, water, and medicine
  • 2.3 million Palestinians are being driven out of the Gaza Strip.
  • destroying more than 90% of the housing infrastructure
  • killing entire multi-generational families,
  • more than 50 000 children have been harmed or injured.

The IAGS cited comments made by Israeli officials as additional proof that the criteria for genocide have been met, as well as a plan that was first proposed by US President Donald Trump and supported by the Israeli government to expel Palestinians from Gaza.

The entire resolution can be found here (PDF).

What significance does this resolution have?

The decision may not directly lead to action, but it adds to the chorus of organizations that call Israel’s occupation of Gaza a genocide, including human rights organizations and experts.

The IAGS resolution has already attracted a lot of media attention as the world’s foremost organization for genocide researchers.

However, the UN and many Western nations claim that they will only declare genocide upon its completion if a court rules otherwise.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s top court, is currently hearing a case involving South Africa’s claim that Israel is committing genocide, but it is not anticipated until 2027.

South African Ambassador to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela uses a phone at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), during a ruling on South Africa's request to order a halt to Israel's Rafah offensive in Gaza as part of a larger case brought before the Hague-based court by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, in The Hague, Netherlands May 24, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Although South Africa has filed a lawsuit with the ICJ, a decision is not anticipated until 2027.

What is Israel’s response to the announcement?

The Israeli government described the action as “disgraceful.”

Despite Hamas’s attempted genocide against the Jewish people, the IAGS set a historic precedent, according to a statement from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Genocide Scholars” accuse the victim of genocide for the first time.

A Palestinian youth mourns by the body of a relative killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza City at dawn at Al-Shifa hospital
At the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on September 2, 2025, a Palestinian youth mourns by the body of a relative who was killed [Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP]

What position on this subject has the UN adopted?

Israel’s actions in Gaza have been repeatedly denounced by the UN, but they have not yet officially declared it a genocide.

UN staffers wrote to High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk last week to demand that he declare it a genocide.

Turk has not yet done so.

According to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, “a competent legal authority is responsible for labeling an event as a genocide.”

Despite the Turk, the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Regarding the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs in Occupied Territories discovered “Israel’s war methods consistent with genocide” as far back as November 2024.

UN experts warned the world community to “examine their relationships and avoid being complicit in this crime being committed by Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza” a month earlier.

What’s happening in Gaza right now?

Dire.

Since October 2023, Israel has accounted for more than 63 000 fatalities and displaced about 2 million Palestinians.

Israel has now dispatched thousands of reserve soldiers for a new offensive on Gaza City, and a large portion of the Gaza Strip is in disrepair as a result of numerous bombings by the Israeli military.

The UN reported on August 29 that Gaza’s “massive famine” had begun.

Thailand’s acting PM moves to dissolve parliament amid leadership bid

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Following the recent Thai court ruling to remove Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office, acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has filed a petition to dissolve the country’s parliament. The largest opposition party supported a rival candidate.

According to party secretary-general Sorawong Thienthong, the ruling Pheu Thai party submitted its “house dissolution decree” on Wednesday and is currently awaiting royal approval.

The People’s Party, a significant opposition party in Thailand’s parliament, announced it would support a Pheu Thai rival, the Bhumjaithai Party, informing the next government with a swift decision to dissolve parliament.

Following the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn, Pheu Thai had to rally with a slender majority to bolster its fragile coalition government.

Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, the leader of the People’s Party, stated to reporters on Wednesday that the 143 lawmakers in his party “agreed support” conservative business magnate Anutin Charnvirakul’s election as the next prime minister, likely giving him the majority of the support in parliament.

Anutin Charnvirakul, the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party and candidate for prime minister, leaves after a press conference at Bangkok’s parliament on September 3, 2025 [Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters]

Natthaphong claimed that his party’s support for Anutin was necessary to “avoid any further elections that may be held within the next four months” so that power can be re-established as soon as possible.”

He claimed that his party would support Bhumjaithai in order to stop a Pheu Thai-led coalition government from regaining power.

He added that a new prime minister’s election could be scheduled for this Friday.

Anutin stated to reporters that he had received the approval of 146 lawmakers in his campaign to become prime minister and that the People’s Party had put restrictions on his support.

Anutin, a heiress to a career in construction engineering, formerly served as deputy prime minister, interior minister, and health minister, fulfilling his commitment to legalizing marijuana for recreational use in 2022.

Djokovic to play Alcaraz in US Open semifinal after defeating Fritz

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Published On 3 Sep 2025

As the Serbian star fought hard to win the record-breaking 25th Grand Slam by winning a titanic US Open semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Alcázar continued their winning ways.

With a four-set victory over fourth seed Taylor Fritz, the 38-year-old Djokovic defeated the last American in the men’s draw, the 38-year-old advanced to a record-equalling 14th US Open semifinal on Tuesday.

Djokovic improved to 16-0 against US opponents in New York with 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victories, making it his 53rd major championship championship championship run.

“It was a very close match,” he said. Djokovic, who also made the most US Open semifinal appearances, said it was really anyone’s match.

“I believed I had a really good chance of surviving some important breakpoints in the second set.” He was, in my opinion, the better player for the majority of the second and third sets.

In a close fourth set, Fritz saved two match points before making a double mistake to seal his own fate.

“That last game was nerve-wracking,” said one player. Taylor didn’t deserve that, according to Djokovic, and it was a difficult assignment to finish with a double fault.

For the first time since the Australian Open quarterfinals in January, Djokovic and Alcaraz will square off in four sets to level off on a 5-3 score.

Their fifth Grand Slam appearance on Friday is their first at Flushing Meadows. In previous hard-court victories, Djokovic has won all three of his matches.

When Carlos Alcaraz takes on Djokovic in his 14th US Open semifinal on Friday [Clive Brunskill/Getty Images via AFP]

Djokovic fights with the crowd, downs Fritz, and so does.

In the eighth game, Djokovic brought up set point on his opponent’s serve as he zipped into a 3-0 lead inside Arthur Ashe Stadium right away.

In the following game, Fritz resisted and put on more pressure, collecting five break points.

However, Djokovic couldn’t convert because he relied on his signature grit to thwart Fritz, including during an incredible 25-stroke rally.

In the fourth and sixth games of the second set, Djokovic eventually held on to win the set, but Fritz created more chances.

Djokovic took the lead when he broke for a 4-3 advantage before failing to capitalize on it. Fritz reacted by giving Djokovic a two-set lead before tamingly reversing his own serve with a double fault in the subsequent match.

This time, Djokovic stomped on the set and mockingly kissed the audience as he sat down.

However, as he began to get agitated, Djokovic pleaded with the umpire to do more to quieten the crowd as the pro-Fritz supporters welcomed their man back into the game.

Fritz broke to nudge 3-1 ahead and force a fourth set before his attention dipped for a moment. Before Djokovic and Fritz fought it out, they were awarded two match points.

Fritz fought valiantly to save both, but Djokovic won the match and scored the winning goal in the final four.

Djokovic and Fritz shake hands.
[Clive Brunskill/Getty Images via AFP] Djokovic, left, shakes hands after losing to Fritz in their quarterfinal match.

Alcaraz demolates Lehecka.

On Arthur Ashe Stadium earlier on Tuesday, Alcaraz defeated Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinals. Alcaraz has not dropped a set at Flushing Meadows in 2025.

Alcaraz delivered yet another almost flawless performance, firing off 28 winners with the palm of his hand.

Alcaraz broke in the opening game, which was assisted by two Lehecka double faults, and the Spaniard won the game with a backhand winner that slammed past the Czech in a thrilling cat-and-mouse game.

Lehecka became apparent agitated as he went down another break with a double fault in the seventh game, but the 2022 champion kept the momentum going in the second set when he converted a break point at the net in the first game.

Alcaraz&nbsp grinned in disbelief as he drilled a number of precise shots to set the break point in the seventh game of the final set, but Lehecka held on.

Alcaraz used his golf swing to delight fellow Spaniard and 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia, who was present, as he rallied 12-shots to win the ninth game.

He said, “I just played a really, almost, perfect match.” “I’m just feeling great and determined to make it.”

The five-time major champion, who hasn’t broken one record so far in the tournament, may try to avoid thinking about it while he regains the top spot in the world over Jannik Sinner from Italy.

He said, “I don’t want to put pressure on myself if I think about the number one spot too much, and that’s what I don’t want to do.”

Carlos Alcaraz in action.
Alcaraz, age 22, is the ninth time in the semifinals to reach the grand slam. Before turning 23, only Rafael Nadal had 10 or more.

Hundreds of US military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges

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According to officials, hundreds of military and civilian attorneys working for the US Department of Defense (DOD) will temporarily serve as immigration judges as part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s latest move to involve the military in US domestic affairs.

By presiding on immigration hearings, these DOD attorneys will increase existing resources, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell in a statement on Tuesday.

Military attorneys are not properly trained to act as immigration judges, according to a US official who told Reuters news agency.

Up to 600 military attorneys will be able to hire them as part of the plan, according to a memo that The Associated Press news agency reviewed.

According to the memo, the military will begin sending groups of 150 lawyers “as soon as practicable,” according to the memo, with the attorneys initially slated to serve as immigration judges for 179 days, according to Reuters.

The plan, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s head, is comparable to having a “cardiologist perform a hip replacement.”

It is absurd to anticipate fair decisions from law-trained judges. According to Ben Johnson, the organization’s executive director, this careless action violates due process and further undermines the integrity of our immigration court system.

Defense Secretary Hegseth criticized military attorneys in his book The War on Warriors from the year 2024, claiming that most “spend more time prosecuting our troops than putting out bad guys.”

The Trump administration is turning to military support for its crackdown on illegal immigration, including the expansion of troops patrolling the US-Mexico border, the arrival of National Guard personnel in US cities, detaining prisoners at military installations prior to deportation, and using military aircraft to carry out deportations.

OpenAI announces parental controls for ChatGPT after teen’s suicide

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In response to growing controversy over how artificial intelligence is affecting young people’s mental health, OpenAI has announced plans to implement parental controls for ChatGPT.

The California-based AI company stated in a blog post on Tuesday that it would be rolling out the features in response to families’ requests for assistance “in setting healthy guidelines that fit a teen’s unique stage of development.”

Parents will be able to link their ChatGPT accounts with those of their children under the changes, modify certain features, including memory and chat history, and set up the chatbot’s “age-appropriate model behavior rules” to respond to queries.

According to OpenAI, parents will also be notified when their teen displays signs of distress, adding that the organization will seek expert advice before implementing the feature to “support trust between parents and teens.”

The changes, which were announced last week as part of a series of measures designed to improve safety for vulnerable users, were scheduled to take effect within the month.

The business claimed that “these actions are just the start.”

“We will keep getting better and better at using ChatGPT as much as we can, under the guidance of experts.” In the upcoming 120 days, we’re eager to share our progress.

A California couple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging responsibility for the suicide of their 16-year-old son, a week after the company made the announcement.

In their lawsuit, Matt and Maria Raine claim that ChatGPT legitimated Adam’s “most harmful and self-destructive thoughts” and that his death was a “predictable outcome of deliberate design decisions.”

In its announcement on parental controls, OpenAI, which previously expressed its condolences over the teen’s passing, did not specifically mention the case.

In their lawsuit, Raine family attorney Jay Edelson criticized OpenAI’s planned changes as an attempt to “shift the debate.”

According to Edelson, “they say the product should just be more sensitive to people in crisis, be more helpful, and show a little more empathy,” according to a statement from Edelson.

We are aware, strategically, that OpenAI cannot respond to Adam’s actual circumstances. Because Adam’s case involves a product that actively coached a teenager to suicide, it is not about ChatGPT being “helpful” in any way.

In light of their widespread adoption as a substitute therapist or friend, people who suffer from severe mental distress have become more concerned about using AI models.

Researchers found that ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude adhered to best-practice guidelines when responding to questions about suicide with “intermediate levels of risk,” but that they did not when responding to queries with “intermediate levels of risk.”

These findings suggest that LLMs can be safely and effectively used for the distribution of mental health information, particularly in high-stakes scenarios involving suicidal ideation, according to the authors.

China’s Xi oversees massive military parade with Putin, Kim in attendance

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China displayed its most recent generation of stealth fighters, tanks, and ballistic missiles amid a highly choreographed cast of thousands at a massive military parade in Beijing to honor the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also the leader of the country’s military and the Chinese Communist Party, was in charge of the parade through Tiananmen Square on Wednesday morning.

Xi moved on to welcome Chinese military veterans before occupying his place at the center of the conversation, joining Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In a crowd that included mostly non-Western nations, Putin and Kim were just two of the 26 world leaders who showed up at the parade.

Before addressing the 10,000 assembled People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Navy, and Air Force members, Xi stated that China would continue to “adhere to a path of peaceful development” by watching the parade from the Gate of Heavenly Peace.

He thanked foreign governments for their assistance as he described China’s victory over “Japanese aggression” in the “world anti-fascist war.” Despite playing a significant role in bringing an end to World War II, Xi did not name the United States by name.

The Chinese leader claimed that the war’s lessons are still relevant today.

According to an official read-out of his speech, “Humanity is again faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and win-win outcomes or zero-sum games.”

On September 3, 2025, PLA Air Force members march in Beijing, China, during a military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end.

The Chinese people will stand firm on the side of human progress and the right of historical development, follow the peaceful development path, and work together with the rest of the world to create a community with a shared future for humanity, he declared.

He added that China’s military still has a significant influence on the country’s revival, which is one of Xi’s and Xi’s main ideological pillars.

It’s difficult to understate how much of this is a part of the Communist Party’s national psyche, which means that before World War II, China was oppressed, invaded, and humiliated by foreign forces, according to Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Beijing.

Yu remarked, “I believe Xi Jinping is making a point that this will never happen again.”

Before the parade began down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue, a major thoroughfare in the Chinese capital, Xi took a tour of Tiananmen Square while standing in a car and greeting soldiers with salutations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stands in a car to review the troops during a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, September 3, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang REFILE - QUALITY REPEAT
On September 3, 2025, China’s President Xi Jinping addresses the troops at a military parade in Beijing, China, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

A new generation of hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles, fighter jets, early warning aircraft, and aircraft jamming systems were the most popular weapons in the parade.

Long-range intercontinental missiles, which can launch nuclear weapons, were also prominent during the parade alongside en masse of military personnel unison marching in concert before a crowd of 50 000 spectators.

According to Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, “the purpose is to reinforce the notion that the People’s Republic of China, PRC] has emerged as a formidable power under his leadership.”

The parade’s lineup of leaders, he said, adds that the PRC is unafraid of pressure and bullying, especially from the United States.

The Chinese air force conducted a flyover above the parade, complete with helicopters carrying banners stating “Justice will prevail,” “Peace will prevail,” and “The people will win.”

US President Donald Trump questioned Xi’s readiness to acknowledge the role the US played in World War II before wishing him well as the military parade on social media began.

The big question that needs to be answered is whether or not President Xi of China will mention the enormous support and “blood” that the United States of America gave China to aid in securing its FREEDOM from a hostile foreign invader, according to Trump.

“Many Americans lost their lives in China’s struggle for victory and glory,” Xi said.