A history of American political scandals that have shaped American politics as it is today. Resourced and researched through American freedom of information act and with Political History Majors and Professors from Columbia university.
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Israel’s military barrier in the West Bank limits access for Palestinian communities
Get you up to speed: Israel’s ‘Crimson Thread’ military barrier is strangling the West Bank
Israeli forces have intensified their operations in Ras al-Ahmar, occupied West Bank, restricting access and destroying local infrastructure as part of the ‘Crimson Thread’ military barrier project. Israeli authorities confirmed the destruction of three wells belonging to local Palestinians on July 14, amid ongoing tensions and road closures in the area.
Israeli authorities announced plans for the ‘Crimson Thread’ military barrier to ultimately span 500km, having already begun construction on a 22km section. Since a Supreme Court ruling in June cleared the way for the project’s continuation, operations have intensified with reported destruction of Palestinian irrigation infrastructure and near-daily military actions in the area.
Israeli military authorities have issued warnings to Palestinian residents in the northern Jordan Valley, advising them to evacuate their homes in anticipation of a complete takeover of the area. The local al-Maleh village council has reported the displacement of approximately 130 families, while ongoing operations by Israeli forces involve severe restrictions on water access and the destruction of agricultural infrastructure, effectively decimating local livelihoods.
What remains unclear — The full extent of the long-term socioeconomic impacts on Palestinian communities affected by the ‘Crimson Thread’ barrier is yet to be assessed.
Israel’s military barrier in the West Bank limits access for Palestinian communities
Features|Israel-Palestine conflictIsrael’s ‘Crimson Thread’ military barrier is strangling the West Bank
A new military barrier in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley is cutting off Palestinian communities from their land, with settlers reaping the benefits.
Published On 18 Jul 202618 Jul 2026
Ras al-Ahmar, occupied West Bank – The drive to Thaer Bisharat’s home should take less than 10 minutes from the main road. Instead, it took three hours.
Every gate leading into Ras al-Ahmar, in the northern Jordan Valley, is shut these days. Such road closures have become the norm rather than the exception, patrolled in shifts by Israeli soldiers and settlers whose roles on the ground have become increasingly difficult to tell apart. The sole access point that remained was a single, winding dirt road, passable only by four-wheel drive vehicles and requiring drivers to evade the roving Israeli patrols.
During the drive to Thaer’s house, Israeli forces had the area under an even greater lockdown than normal as they were nearby in the al-Buqaia plain, destroying three wells belonging to local Palestinians – including one owned by a relative of Thaer’s.
This is some of the most fertile land in the occupied West Bank, where farmers normally tend rows of banana trees alongside crops such as grapes, olives and potatoes. But along the dirt road leading to Thaer’s isolated home, the farms stand half-abandoned, with plastic greenhouse doors open and flapping in the breeze, as crops go thirsty after water was cut off in the area weeks ago by Israeli authorities.
“I can’t even run an errand,” said Thaer. “From Tamun, the village, it used to take me ten minutes. Now, with the current [dirt] road… it takes an hour, at best.”
He was spending the afternoon alone – his brother and sister-in-law had gone into town that morning for basic necessities. Left by himself, it was easy to feel like a sitting duck.
“Just this morning, there was a car – two people in it, dressed in military gear, army-backed,” he said. “They went to the people living near the banana houses. They took down ID photos, names, phone numbers. And they tell them, ‘You’ve got 24 hours to leave. Otherwise we’re coming to confiscate everything you’ve got’.”
In recent weeks, that pressure has escalated from long-standing “closed military zone” orders issued by the military into outright seizures of private land, alongside the destruction of irrigation pipes, water wells and greenhouses in the barrier’s path – the sharpest expression yet of an advancing takeover in which settler-outpost expansion and land seizure now work in tandem to squeeze out the Palestinians who remain.
“They cage us in and suffocate us,” Thaer said.
![Thaer Bisharat is always fearful of attack by Israeli settlers or soldiers [WTX News]](https://wtxnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Thaer-Bisharat-beside-his-home-1784311543.jpg "Israel’s military barrier in the West Bank limits access for Palestinian communities WTX News")
Thaer Bisharat is always fearful of attack by Israeli settlers or soldiers [WTX News]
A trench, an outpost and a series of seizure orders
That tightening isolation is the result of one of Israel’s newest infrastructure projects in the occupied West Bank: the ‘Crimson Thread’ barrier. Announced in 2025, the first part of the project combines a trench and military road running roughly 22km between the Ein Shibli and Tayasir checkpoints – severing the northern Jordan Valley from Tubas to the north and Nablus to the south. Israel says it is intended to prevent weapons smuggling from Jordan, but the route runs several kilometres inside the occupied West Bank rather than along the already-fenced Jordanian border.
The plan is for the barrier to eventually run for 500km, splitting Palestinians from thousands of hectares of land and creating a barrier that – in its consequences – mirrors the separation wall on the other side of the West Bank.
On March 8, Israeli military commander Gilad Shriki visited several Palestinian communities, and, in their words, warned residents they should leave in preparation for a complete Israeli takeover of the area.
Then, last month, an Israeli Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for construction of the ‘Crimson Thread’ barrier to proceed. Since then, the Israeli Civil Administration has moved aggressively. Roughly three kilometres of trenches have already been dug, destroying Palestinian infrastructure in its path – including irrigation pipes, farmland and greenhouses, all while severing farmers from land on the other side.
The route of the ‘Crimson Thread’ project was stitched together with nine land seizure orders – a “clear escalation” of a decades-long effort by Israeli authorities to remove Palestinians in the area, according to Dror Etkes, who tracks Israeli land policy for Israeli NGO Kerem Navot. What started as checkpoints, settlement building and the designation of Palestinian lands as military firing zones “have in recent years become much more aggressive – through settler attacks, military raids, confiscation of property and denial of access to firing zones”.
Now, such military land seizure orders allow Israeli authorities to “seize whatever land it deems necessary” for security purposes, says Etkes.
According to the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, Israeli authorities issued 49 military land-seizure orders in the first half of this year – already exceeding the 47 issued in all of 2025.
Thaer scoffs at the official rationale. “It’s not a military road,” he said. “You don’t dig a trench two and a half, three metres deep for that.”
![Israel’s ‘Crimson Thread’ barrier has broken irrigation pipes and damaged wells that are vital to local Palestinian populations [Courtesy of Thaer Bisharat]](https://wtxnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Locals-observe-leaking-irrigation-pipes-due-to-crimson-thread-pic-courtesy-of-thaer-1784311720.jpg "Israel’s military barrier in the West Bank limits access for Palestinian communities WTX News")
Israel’s ‘Crimson Thread’ barrier has broken irrigation pipes and damaged wells that are vital to local Palestinian populations [Courtesy of Thaer Bisharat]
‘Effectively in a prison’
Etkes said the barrier accomplishes two things at once: “blocking Palestinians’ ability to enter everything east of the barrier” – where most of their farmland is – while linking existing illegal settlements to a new outpost being built along the route, on Jabal Tamun, that he expects to further impact 8-9,000 dunams (8 to 9sq km) of Palestinian agricultural land, most of it in Area B.
“The majority of communities aren’t there anymore – they’ve been forced to leave, which convinced [Israeli authorities] that the time was right for the next move,” said Etkes, listing emptied communities such as Khirbet Samra and Khirbet Yarza.
A Kerem Navot map shows the ‘Crimson Thread’ barrier route curling around Khirbet Yarza – but by the time construction reached it, Khirbet Yarza was already gone, with its residents displaced by settlers months earlier.
Mahdi Daraghmeh, who heads the al-Maleh village council, has watched the same pattern unfold throughout the hamlets he oversees. “Settler terror and fear have pushed many families to leave,” he said. “In the communities here, 130 families have been displaced – they’ve abandoned their structures, their homes, their land. And now they’ve lost their livelihoods – they have nothing left to live on.”
Since the June Supreme Court ruling, Israeli authorities have carried out near-daily operations in the area, cutting water supplies, destroying tanks and confiscating tractors and other farming equipment.
“They confiscated the tractors and water tanks from us here,” said Thaer. “So they claim these tractors and tanks are a threat to their security. A threat to your security, how?”
At the same time, settlers brought caravans into the area east of Ras al-Ahmar, positioning themselves inside territory expected to be cut off from Palestinian communities.
On June 16, bulldozers demolished livestock infrastructure at the home of Bilal Bani Oudeh, a friend of Thaer’s, and warned him to leave within 24 hours. He refused, so that night, settlers returned and brutally assaulted him.
“He nearly died,” Thaer said. “After they attacked him, they talked about tying him to a rope behind a vehicle. They took everything he owned.”
With authorities working assiduously to keep observers from documenting or photographing the ‘Crimson Thread’ operation, excavation has uprooted hundreds of olive and grape trees while repeatedly severing irrigation pipelines serving tens of thousands of dunams. On the morning of July 14 alone, Israeli authorities destroyed three wells in al-Buqaia – including one belonging to Bisharat’s relative – and confiscated pumps and equipment.
The Atuf village council – one of those affected by the new barrier – put that single day’s damage at more than four million shekels ($1.3m).
Already, this destruction has decimated the local economy in weeks, wiping out the summer harvest. “There’s no agricultural season to speak of,” Daraghmeh said. “Most of the land hasn’t been cultivated and what has been cultivated is for the settlers’ benefit.”
When the trench is finished, cutting communities off from each other and their farmland, residents fear it will mark the end of a Palestinian presence here. “Our communities will have no services, no infrastructure whatsoever,” said Daraghmeh. “No hospital, no emergency centre, no schools; for all of that, people have to go to the neighbouring town and that will be impossible.”
“Once this trench cuts people off,” he said, “the people here will effectively be in a prison.”
![A long-established illegal Israeli settler outpost located right above a Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley [WTX News]](https://wtxnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Long-established-settler-outpost-located-right-above-another-Palestinian-in-the-area-1784311895.jpg "Israel’s military barrier in the West Bank limits access for Palestinian communities WTX News")
A long-established illegal Israeli settler outpost located right above a Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley [WTX News]
‘Give us the rights of the animals’
With Israeli authorities having shut off water into the area for weeks, one tank now costs Thaer more than 300 shekels ($100), more than triple the previous price. But even transporting water is a perilous pursuit; his brother was recently beaten and held at gunpoint by marauding settlers, who he said stole his phone and robbed him of his money.
Thaer estimates that agricultural production in the area has collapsed by as much as 90 percent, while many families have already lost half their livestock because they can no longer reach grazing land.
But among neighbouring communities now erased, Thaer has seen this playbook before: once Palestinians are removed, he says, the settlers take over their lands. “Then suddenly there’s no more ‘firing zone,’” Thaer said. “A road appears, water arrives, sheep arrive. Life comes back to the place, thank God!
“So why do I get told it’s all a military zone?”
Thaer looked out at the Israeli settlement farms, lush and green in the distance. Around his own property, the ground was parched, littered with half-abandoned equipment. “Under their ‘law’, we are treated like animals,” he remarked.
Thaer paused. “Israel always talks about ‘rights’, ‘rights’, ‘rights’,” he said. “When someone hits a dog, suddenly, there’s animal rights advocates everywhere.”
“So actually, we don’t even want human rights,” he said. “Just give us the animal rights they talk so much about. At this point, we’d settle for living under that.”
Osoyoos Band in negotiations with B.C. government over sacred sites
Get you up to speed: Osoyoos Band seeks return of sacred sites in discussions with B.C. government
The Osoyoos Band is collaborating with the province of British Columbia on a land claim swap after years of negotiations. This agreement may alter the boundaries of the reserve.
The Osoyoos Band and the province of British Columbia are finalising discussions regarding a land claim swap that has been in progress for several years. This agreement aims to redefine the boundaries of the reserve, although specific timelines for completion remain undisclosed.
The Osoyoos Band is engaged in negotiations with the province of British Columbia regarding a land claim swap, which may alter the boundaries of the reserve. Following this development, both parties are expected to hold consultations with local communities to ensure transparency and gather feedback on the proposed changes.
What remains unclear — The specific details of the land claim swap and its implications for the reserve boundaries are yet to be disclosed.
Osoyoos Band in negotiations with B.C. government over sacred sites
After years of negotiations, the Osoyoos Band is working with the province of British Columbia on a land claim swap that could re-draw where the reserve starts and ends
Trump administration claims 250,000 non-citizens registered to vote in four states
Get you up to speed: What to know about the Trump administration’s claim that 250K non-citizens are registered to vote in 4 states
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that the Trump administration estimates more than 250,000 non-citizens are registered to vote in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada. This claim follows a news conference focused on election security, although officials have not confirmed the accuracy of these figures.
The Department of Homeland Security has requested collaboration from California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada to verify voter registration lists following allegations of non-citizen registrations. Investigations into claims of non-citizen voting in these states remain ongoing, with state officials expressing scepticism about the accuracy of the federal estimate.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has sent letters to the secretaries of state in California, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania urging them to “collaborate with DHS in order to ensure free, fair, and honest elections.” The states’ responses have varied, with Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt affirming the integrity of voter rolls while Nevada’s Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar dismissed the claims as “wildly speculative.”
What remains unclear — The Trump administration has not disclosed the methodology behind the estimate of 250,000 non-citizens allegedly registered to vote.
Trump administration claims 250,000 non-citizens registered to vote in four states
Washington — Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Friday continued to amplify President Trump’s assertion that more than a quarter of a million non-citizens were registered to vote in four states, though the administration has yet to provide details of how it arrived at that figure.
In a news conference following Mr. Trump’s address to the nation Thursday that focused on election security, Mullin said the alleged 250,000 non-citizens that it believes were registered to vote were in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada. Those four states have not complied with the Trump administration’s demands to provide voter data to the federal government.
In 23 states that are working with the Trump administration and ran their voter records through an overhauled centralized federal database, Mullin said an additional 28,000 non-citizens were registered to vote.
But WTX US News found that the claims from Mr. Trump and Mullin about the prevalence of non-citizens registering to vote could be exaggerated.
The estimate that there are 250,000 non-citizen registered voters across four states was based on an analysis of commercial databases, a White House official told reporters Thursday. That method is likely to lead to false positives, significantly overestimating the number of potential non-citizens on voter rolls, David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said during a WTX US News special report Thursday.
“I guarantee you, that data includes a ton of people, maybe even a majority of people, who are absolutely eligible voters, and states would probably be breaking the law if they remove those voters from the rolls,” Becker said.
The Center for Election Innovation and Research has found that allegations of non-citizens casting ballots or registering to vote typically “appear to arise from misunderstandings, mischaracterizations, or outright fabrications about complex voter data.” When those claims are scrutinized and investigated, the number of alleged instances of non-citizens identified on voter rolls drops, the group said. Confirmed cases of non-citizens voting are exceedingly rare.
The president has long claimed without evidence that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him, though dozens of lawsuits seeking to reverse the outcomes in key battleground states were tossed out, and the Justice Department said at the time there was no evidence of widespread fraud. Still, amid the president’s grievances about his loss to former President Joe Biden nearly six years ago, Mr. Trump has tried to expand the federal government’s role in U.S. elections across his second term.
As part of those efforts, Mr. Trump has signed two executive orders that would tighten the rules for mail-in ballots and require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, among other requirements, though they have been blocked by the courts. And the Justice Department is suing dozens of states to hand over their voter rolls. The president has also been pressuring Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require Americans to show a photo ID to cast a ballot and present proof of citizenship in person to register to vote.
His election security-focused speech comes months before the November midterm elections, which will determine whether Republicans maintain their control of the House and Senate.
Here is what to know about the Trump administration’s claims about non-citizen voting:
How does the 250,000 figure compare to the total number of registered voters?
Neither Mullin nor Mr. Trump said that the 250,000 non-citizens who are allegedly registered to vote in the four states actually cast ballots. The administration has also not made public its methodology for that estimate.
Still, that figure represents a small percentage of the total number of Americans who were registered to vote in the last two general elections.
A survey conducted by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission found that there were more than 209 million active registered voters for the 2020 contest, and more than 161 million people cast ballots that were counted.
For the 2024 general election, the Election Assistance Commission said there were more than 211 million active registered voters and more than 158 million ballots were cast and counted.
That means the 250,000 non-citizens that the Trump administration claims are registered to vote in Nevada, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are roughly 0.1% of all registered voters nationwide. The figure represents 0.6% of the nearly 40 million people who were registered to vote across the four states in question in 2024.
Federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections, and no state allows non-citizens to vote in statewide contests, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Municipalities in just three states and the District of Columbia allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, like for school board.
How have the 4 states responded?
The Department of Homeland Security said Mullin sent letters to the secretaries of state for California, New Jersey, Nevada and Pennsylvania that called on them to “confirm their intentions to collaborate with DHS in order to ensure free, fair, and honest elections.”
It claimed that “preliminary reviews” of the four states’ records showed that there may be up to 190,832 non-citizens registered to vote in California, 35,152 in New Jersey, 15,903 in Nevada and 14,576 in Pennsylvania.
In response to the administration’s claims, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt, a Republican, said the state’s voter rolls are “properly maintained and updated.” But he said the state will review any information provided by DHS to evaluate its claims.
“In Pennsylvania, every voter must take steps to verify their identity before they cast a ballot, including providing proper identification every time they register to vote, vote by mail, or vote at a new polling place,” he said in a statement. “All evidence has shown that noncitizen voting is extremely rare across the country, including in Pennsylvania.”
Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, a Democrat, refuted the Trump administration’s allegations that up to 15,903 non-citizens were registered to vote in the state.
“These numbers are wildly speculative at best and the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t shared anything that backs it up,” he said.
According to data provided to The New York Times, of Nevada’s 2.1 million active registered voters, just 138 did not provide a state driver’s license or Social Security number when they registered to vote. Those 138 voters, though, may have used another acceptable form of ID to register.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, said her state will review the federal government’s methodology for identifying the purported 190,000 non-citizen voters to assess its claims. But she expressed skepticism.
“We welcome legitimate best practices that comply with state and federal law while protecting Californians’ personal information,” she said in a statement. “However, the information provided during the President’s remarks and on the White House website, do not inspire any level of confidence in the methodology used or the conclusions reached.”
What have other state audits found?
Several other states have conducted audits of their voter rolls in recent years and found some potential non-citizens were registered to vote, though such instances are extremely rare.
In Georgia, a citizenship audit done in 2024 found that just 20 of the state’s 8.2 million registered voters were not citizens, according to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican. An additional 156 people required further investigation into their citizenship status.
Ohio also conducted a citizenship verification audit in 2024 and identified 597 non-citizens who had registered to vote, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Of those, 138 people appeared to have cast ballots and were referred to the attorney general. The state said there were roughly 8.2 million registered voters in Ohio.
In Texas, a state with more than 18.6 million registered voters as of the 2024 presidential election, officials found 2,724 potential non-citizens who were registered to vote, according to its secretary of state.
Louisiana identified 390 non-citizens who had registered to vote after conducting an investigation into the citizenship status of people on its voter rolls. Secretary of State Nancy Landry said in September that of those 390 non-citizens, 79 voted in at least one election. As of July 1, there were more than 2.9 million people registered to vote in Louisiana, according to data from the state.
Iowa identified 277 confirmed non-citizens who were registered to vote and found 35 cast ballots that were counted in the 2024 general election. Five non-citizens tried to cast ballots but they were rejected. There were more than 2.1 million people registered to vote in Iowa as of July 2, according to data from the secretary of state.
What actions has the Trump administration taken?
Since Mr. Trump returned to the White House, his administration has mounted a multi-pronged push aimed at non-citizen voting. Claims that people who are not U.S. citizens are registered to cast ballots underpin the president’s push for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a package of voting regulations.
The president signed an executive order last year that seeks to require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. But federal courts have prohibited the Trump administration from implementing that requirement, finding that the Constitution does not give the president any specific authority to regulate federal elections.
DHS also overhauled its Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlement, or SAVE, system, to effectively allow state and local officials to verify citizenship or immigration status of people trying to register to vote.
Several states have said they ran their voter records through the SAVE database to identify non-citizens on their voter rolls.
The modified SAVE system draws on records from the Social Security Administration and DHS, and was created in response to Mr. Trump’s executive order. But a federal judge in Washington, D.C., found the Trump administration acted unlawfully when it created the centralized database, and said the clearinghouse had been used by some states to incorrectly remove U.S. citizens from their voter rolls.
The Justice Department has also sought to obtain full copies of voter registration lists from nearly all 50 states and Washington, D.C. More than a dozen states have cooperated with the Trump administration in its requests for their unredacted voter rolls, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has filed lawsuits against 30 states and D.C. in an effort to force them to turn over the requested information, which includes voters’ names, addresses, partial Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers.
Judges across the country have dismissed 16 of those lawsuits. One federal appeals court so far has said that the Justice Department is not entitled to the unredacted voter registration list from Michigan.
Seven Greek islands declare drought emergencies this summer
Get you up to speed: The seven Greek islands that have declared drought emergencies this summer | News World
Seven Aegean islands, including Astypalaia, Tinos, and Karpathos, are declaring drought conditions due to dry weather, with Astypalaia relying entirely on bottled water for drinking. Mayor Nikos Komineas noted the island received minimal rain this past winter, stating, “If we collected all the water dropped throughout the year in a bucket or in a washbowl, it would be 2.5 centimeters deep.”
Astypalaia is entirely reliant on bottled water due to low rainfall this winter, obtaining only 2.5 centimetres of precipitation throughout the year. Greece’s Environment Minister Stavros Papastavrou has allocated 15 million euros for initiatives including desalination and water infrastructure improvements on nine islands, aimed at enhancing water resilience amid rising tourism pressures.
Greece’s Environment Minister Stavros Papastavrou has allocated €15 million for desalination projects and water infrastructure improvements on nine islands to address the ongoing drought conditions. Meanwhile, local hotel owners are responding by incentivising guests to conserve water, with Maria Alkalai offering €5 vouchers for those who opt out of daily cleaning services, a move that has been positively received.
What remains unclear — The specific measures that will be implemented to address water scarcity on the seven affected islands have not been detailed.
Seven Greek islands declare drought emergencies this summer
One island is using bottled water as a standard (Picture: Getty)
The summer is in full swing as thousands of tourists embark on a journey to Greece, hoping to soak up the sun and enjoy the water.
But seven Greek islands in the Aegean Sea are beginning to declare drought conditions to preserve water, and one is relying on bottled water entirely.
Astypalaia, Tinos, Alonissos, Leros, Patmos, Symi and Karpathos are all facing dry conditions this summer, which they fear could impact the number of tourists the islands see each year.
Astypalaia relies on bottled water for drinking and didn’t receive much of the rain which drenched the rest of Greece this winter.
Nikos Komineas, mayor of the island, said: ‘If we collected all the water dropped throughout the year in a bucket or in a washbowl, it would be 2.5 centimeters deep.’
Some hotels are offering vouchers to guests who don’t use cleaning services (Picture: Getty)
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Hotel owner Maria Alkalai, 42, said she’s incentivising guests to save water by offering vouchers.
Anyone who skips the daily cleaning service receives a 5 euro coupon – ‘Clients have embraced it,’ she said.
Greece’s Environment Minister Stavros Papastavrou has approved 15 million euros ($17 million) for desalination, grid upgrades, and water tanks on nine of Greece’s islands.
Water resilience is becoming a major issue in Greece, however, potentially stunting economic growth and locals if not addressed soon.
In 2025, to tackle some of the water scarcity, hotels said they would fill their pools with seawater.
Despite tourists’ complaints, Greece is under increasing pressure to reimagine tourism in a sustainable way amid climate change and rising visitor numbers.
Greece has long been a popular tourist destination but the number of visitors has exploded in recent years. In 2023, Greece saw record highs with 33 million foreign visitors in total.
But this rise in tourism has sparked protests across several Greek islands, where locals are increasingly concerned about the impact of overtourism.
In the summer, several protests were held across the Cyclades, a collection of Aegean islands that includes popular tourist destinations like Santorini and Mykonos.
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Protesters clash with police as American ambassador visits Venice
Protesters clash with police as American ambassador visits Venice
Tilman Fertitta moored his luxury yacht in St. Mark’s Basin, Venice, as part of the Coastal Diplomacy 250 tour celebrating American independence.
Protests highlight growing discontent over American cultural influence in Venice, underscoring tensions in Italy regarding the intersection of tourism, local economy, and international diplomacy.
“I like Italians; we Americans respect freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest,” said Tilman Fertitta, addressing the demonstration during his visit to Venice.
‘Make America Read Again’: Venice protesters greet US ambassador with protest signs
Protesters greeted the American ambassador’s luxury yacht in Venice on Friday with inflatable water toys, beach balls and a sign reading “Venezia non si USA,” a play on words meaning “Venice is not to be used.”
Several hundred protesters marched against Tilman Fertitta’s arrival, briefly clashing with riot police as they neared the vessel.
Activists described his visit as an unwelcome display of American wealth and influence at a time when many Italians see the Trump administration as upending the post-World War II international order.
During the protest, people raised their hands to show they were peaceful as they approached a double line of riot police. Officers pushed them back with shields after demonstrators refused to stop, while inflatable toys were thrown through the air.
Following the brief clash, protesters shouted “Shame!” at the ambassador, the mayor and the police.
A tour of 13 Italian coastal regions
Fertitta arrived in Venice earlier Friday, mooring in St. Mark’s Basin as part of a coastal diplomacy tour marking the 250th anniversary of American independence.
As he arrived, protesters carried signs reading “Make America Read Again” and “Oligarch in saor,” a play on the traditional Venetian sardine dish sarde in saor.
The so-called Coastal Diplomacy 250 tour of 13 Italian coastal regions on a super yacht is intended to celebrate “our shared history, our economic partnership, and the cultural bonds that make the U.S.-Italy relationship so special,” Fertitta said in a social media post.
Fertitta issued a short statement supporting the right to protest. “I like Italians, we Americans respect freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest; Coastal Diplomacy celebrates our nation’s founding and these fundamental rights”.
“It’s arrogant to think he can do what he wants in a city that is ever more sold to the single culture of tourism,’’ organizer Stella Morion told The Associated Press.
She said protesters are also opposed to President Donald Trump’s international politics, including US strikes on Iran, which she said have prompted a spike in energy prices.
“It is the umpteenth slap in the face of a city and all of the people in Venice who struggle to reach the end of the month due to an increase in prices caused by Trump’s war,” she said.
Details of who Fertitta will meet while in Venice have not been released, but he is expected to attend the famed Redentore festival on Saturday, which commemorates the end of the plague in 1576 culminating with celebratory fireworks over St. Mark’s Basin.
Additionally Italians are becoming concerned with influx of Israelis relocating in north and south of the country. Italians want to see their history to ensure they have not commitment any war crimes and not looking to settle or takeover Italy.
Donald Trump addresses election security in primetime speech
Media Lens: Donald Trump addresses election security in primetime speech
Donald Trump delivers primetime address on election security.
Donald Trump delivered a primetime address focused on election security. The address included information about widely available voter files, according to NBC News and The Washington Post.
What happened
Donald Trump recently delivered a primetime address focusing on election security, discussing issues related to voter files and foreign interference. His speech garnered attention as it raised concerns about the integrity of upcoming elections.
In related articles, experts have analyzed the contents of Trump’s address, emphasizing key takeaways and the implications of the data he referenced. Commentary from various news outlets highlights the significance of transparency in election processes and the public’s trust in electoral systems.
Key facts
- Donald Trump delivered a primetime address focusing on election security.
- The address discussed various aspects of election integrity and claimed issues related to foreign interference.
- The speech was analyzed by multiple news outlets for its accuracy and implications.
- There is ongoing debate about voter data and its accessibility in relation to Trump’s claims.
Where coverage differs
- NBC News emphasizes President Trump’s address, focusing on voter data and election security, while The Washington Post focuses on the implications and public reception of Trump’s address.
- The White House (.gov) foregrounds the administration’s perspective on election integrity rather than the criticisms from the media.
- The Atlantic prioritizes the political strategy and challenges facing Trump in the upcoming elections over the specifics of his claims made during the address.
One story, four angles
NBC News – Voter files explained: Demystifying the widely available data Trump cited in his speech
Publication: NBC News | Primary framing pattern: legal | Tone: informative | Intensity: 6/10 | Sentiment: neutral | Legal precision: high
Expand
Espresso Shot: NBC News focuses on clarifying the legal aspects of the voter file data used by Trump in his address. The article outlines the legitimacy and availability of this data, aiming to inform readers about what’s at stake in electoral matters.
Publication emphasis: The article simplifies complex legal concepts related to voter file data.
Framing analysis: The foregrounding of legal validation contrasts with the background topic of political rhetoric.
Bias: Selection: Focuses on the legality of data usage. Language: Clear terminology used to explain legalities. Omission: Lacks insight into emotional reactions to Trump’s claims.
Assessment: The outlet aims to demystify legal issues surrounding voter data, contributing to an informed public discourse.
The Washington Post – Four takeaways from Trump’s prime-time address
Publication: The Washington Post | Primary framing pattern: political | Tone: analytical | Intensity: 7/10 | Sentiment: slightly negative | Legal precision: moderate
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Espresso Shot: This article provides an analytical breakdown of Trump’s address, identifying key themes and political implications. It highlights the address’s context in the current electoral landscape while also critiquing Trump’s approach.
Publication emphasis: Focuses on the political ramifications of Trump’s statements rather than the content itself.
Framing analysis: Emphasizes political consequences, downplaying specific legal or technical details.
Bias: Selection: Prioritizes assessment of political strategy. Language: Employs evaluative language regarding Trump’s tactics. Omission: Minimal focus on factual correctness of claims made.
Assessment: The article critiques the political effectiveness of Trump’s address, indicating a skeptical viewpoint on his strategies.
The Atlantic – Trump’s Plan for November Is Failing
Publication: The Atlantic | Primary framing pattern: consequence | Tone: critical | Intensity: 8/10 | Sentiment: negative | Legal precision: low
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Espresso Shot: The Atlantic critiques Trump’s election strategy, arguing it fails to resonate with voters and is fraught with risks. The article frames upcoming challenges and potential pitfalls in Trump’s plan for November, emphasizing consequences for his campaign.
Publication emphasis: Focuses on the impending failures of Trump’s electoral strategy.
Framing analysis: Highlights negative outcomes and consequences, sidelining any legal discussions related to election integrity.
Bias: Selection: Prioritizes strategic failures over successes. Language: Uses charged wording to convey urgency and criticism. Omission: Lacks detail on what aspects of his plan might succeed.
Assessment: The article provides a pointed critique of Trump’s strategy, positioning it as unlikely to yield favorable results.
Food for thought
NBC News presents the strongest legal framing, emphasizing Trump’s assertions about election security through a lens of potential judicial scrutiny, thereby grounding its narrative in constitutional implications. In contrast, The Washington Post adopts a more escalatory tone, framing Trump’s election security address as symptomatic of a pervasive climate of distrust, suggesting that his remarks could incite further political polarization. Both outlets examine Trump’s speech, yet they diverge sharply in focus: NBC underscores legal accountability, while The Washington Post warns of escalating societal tensions. The facts do not change. What changes is where scrutiny lands.