In Tokyo for @Bloomberg @opinion after @bpolitics in Delhi. Formerly @smh in Beirut, Cairo, Jerusalem, Sydney. My views
Tokyo & on the road
Joined January 2009
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Kim Jong Un might be the world’s most in-demand leader, but he's harder to pressure the stronger he gets. Gift link here: bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
Ruth Pollard retweeted
The whole world should be paying attention to what is happening in India right now. Computer programs have been used to systematically remove huge numbers of voters from the electoral rolls. But India's Gen Z has cottoned on and the tide is turning...
Bengal is a dangerous example of how democracy was turned on its head. Of the total deleted/removed voters that appealed, 91% of them were restored on the voters list. But state election was over by then and BJP grabbed power. The Supreme Court aided this power grabbing.
How will anything change in the system if your vote doesn’t matter?
Need proof that Mexico is on the winning side of the USMCA trade war? Just take a look at the soaring peso, says @JPSpinetto bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
Ruth Pollard retweeted
They came from different Indias. One dreamed of Disneyland after exam. The other wouldn't buy a phone until he became a doctor. Both died after India's NEET paper leak forced a retest. Their fathers ask the same question: What was their fault? My piece. bit.ly/4hQmVMC
Ruth Pollard retweeted
Egyptian football coach Hossam Hassan used his platform at the World Cup to raise the Palestinian flag and to make a humanitarian plea that the world pay more attention to the situation of Palestinians.
Some claim that this was performative. Here's why that's not true. (1)
Ruth Pollard retweeted
A Turkish journalist at the press conference ahead of Egypt's match against Argentina asked:
"We saw you raise the Palestinian flag after Egypt's match against Australia. How did you feel at that moment, and would you do the same again after the Argentina match?"
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan responded:
"First of all, I welcome you and the Turkish people. Everyone has feelings and emotions.
If there is anyone in the world who does not feel for the Palestinian people, then they are not human. It doesn't matter whether they are Arab, European, or from anywhere else.
Even people in Europe and the United States care deeply about animal rights when animals are mistreated.
So what about human rights, when children and women are subjected to attacks every single day?
We are sitting comfortably in our air-conditioned homes with food and water, while another people are living in the streets with no food, no water, no shelter, and facing destruction.
If we cannot feel for what is happening in Palestine, then we have lost our humanity. It has nothing to do with whether someone is Muslim or Christian, or with their nationality. This is not about religion or citizenship.
To anyone speaking about this issue, I would ask them to imagine living just one day on the streets—with no food, no water, nowhere to keep warm in the cold, and nothing to protect you from the heat in the summer.
It is a disgrace to all of us, and to the entire world, that the Palestinian people are living under such conditions while others live in comfort around them.
I am a human being before I am an Arab or an Egyptian. This has nothing to do with religion or nationality—it is about humanity.
Through football, we are sending a message to the whole world: Please, let the Palestinian people live. Please, let them live."
صحفية من تركيا في المؤتمر الصحفي قبل مباراة مصر والأرجنتين 🎙️
- رأيناك ترفع العلم الفلسطيني بعد مباراة مصر وأستراليا ما هو شعورك وهل ستكرر الأمر بعد لقاء الأرجنتين؟
حسام حسن المدير الفني لمنتخب مصر في المؤتمر الصحفي قبل مباراة الأرجنتين 🎙️
• برحب بيكي والشعب التركي كله .. كل واحد ليه مشاعر واحاسيس
• لكن لو في حد في العالم محسش بالشعب الفلسطيني يبقى مش بني ادم ميبقاش بني ادم .. ايا كان بقى ده عربي او أوروبي أو غيره
• حتى الشعوب في أوروبا و أمريكا بتهتم بحقوق الحيوانات لو حد تعرض ليهم
• ما بالك بحقوق البني ادم وهما بيتعرضوا للتعدي كل يوم أطفال وستات
• احنا شعوب قاعدين في بيوت مكيفة ومعانا الاكل والشرب وفي شعب قاعد في الشوارع ومفيش اكل وشرب ولا مكان يسكن فيه وبيتعرض للدمار
• إحنا لو محسناش باللي بيحصل في فلسطين يبقى الشخص ده مش بني ادم ومينفعش يعيش.. مسلم مسيحي اي ديانه أو أي جنسية .. الموضوع ملوش علاقة بالجنسية
• عايز اي حد بيتكلم اقوله فكر تجرب بس تعيش يوم واحد في الشارع مفيش اكل مفيش شرب وفي البرد مش لاقي حاجه تدفي نفسك وفي الصيف مش لاقي حاجه تهوي عليك
• عار علينا كلنا وعلى العالم كله أنه سايب الشعب الفلسطيني عايش كده والشعوب كلها قاعدة مرتاحه حوالية
• أنا إنسان قبل أكون عربي أو مصري والموضوع لا ليه علاقة بالديانه أو الجنسية.. هو موضوع ليه علاقة بالإنسانية
• احنا من خلال كرة القدم بنبعت رسالة للعالم كله .. ارجوكم خلوا الشعب الفلسطيني يعيش بعد اذنكم خلوهم يعيشوا
Ruth Pollard retweeted
During Ali Khamenei funeral, the Iranian regime recited not-so-subtle verses from the Quran before each foreign delegation, carefully curated to signal how the regime feels about them exactly. Here is a sample:
Hamas: “Among the believers are men who have proven true to what they pledged to God. Some of them have fulfilled their pledge, others are waiting their turn. They have never changed their commitment in the least.”
Hezbollah: “Do not falter or grieve, for you will have the upper hand, if you are true believers. If you have suffered injuries, they suffered similarly. We alternate these days of victory and defeat among people so that God may reveal the true believers, choose martyrs from among you, and God does not like the wrongdoers.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad: "So that God may forgive you for your past and future shortcomings, perfect His favor upon you, and guide you along the Straight Path, and so that God will help you with a mighty victory."
China: “God ordained this only as good news for you and reassurance for your hearts. And victory comes only from God.”
Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi PMUs: "Never say that those martyred in the cause of God are dead; in fact, they are alive! But you do not perceive it."
Saudi Arabia: “There was certainly a sign for you in the two armies that met in battle: one fighting in the cause of God and the other disbelieving. The believers saw their enemy twice their number. But God supports with His victory whoever He wills. Surely in this is a lesson for people of insight.”
Qatar: "So that God may forgive you for your past and future shortcomings, perfect His favor upon you, and guide you along the Straight Path, and so that God will help you with a mighty victory."
Turkey: “God has elevated in rank those who strive with their wealth and their lives above those who stay behind. God has promised each a fine reward, but those who strive will receive a far better reward than the others.”
Pakistan: "And say, 'My Lord! Grant me an honorable entrance and an honorable exit, and give me a supporting authority from Yourself.'"
Egypt: “Their reward with their Lord will be Gardens of Eternity, under which rivers flow, to stay there for ever and ever. God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. This is only for those in awe of their Lord.”
Ruth Pollard retweeted
An absolute gem of a piece by @soutikBBC. Read it if you want to know about akhbar and open the link to find out. That Persian influence again. bbc.com/news/articles/c1dy5y…
Ruth Pollard retweeted
There aren't enough words anymore to express our grief at the ongoing death and devastation in south Lebanon.
-Mona Khalil, ‘guardian of the turtles’ of Mansouri, succumbs to injuries after Israeli strike on her home lorientlejour.com/article/15… via @LOrientToday
The rise of AI resistance tech isn't about nostalgia, writes @cathythorbecke. It's about reclaiming agency bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
Ruth Pollard retweeted
The award-winning historian Elizabeth Thompson, interviewed by @BeirutCalling :
"My first hypothesis is that the investigation of why the Arab world lacks democracy today must start with the extension of European colonization after World War I, not Islamic culture or the behavior of particular dictators since independence.
Second, a related takeaway is to ask new questions about the rise of authoritarian, violent, and religiously radical movements in the region. My current research explores the ways in which such movements were empowered after the violent destruction of democratic movements after World War I. This puts modern Middle Eastern political history in the same analytical frame of studies examining the rise of anti-liberal, anti-democratic movements in Europe during the same period."
Overall, a rich and fascinating interview.
carnegieendowment.org/middle…
Ruth Pollard retweeted
While attention is again focused on Iran, a major shift is unfolding in the West Bank. For the first time since the Oslo Accords, Palestinians are being expelled from Area A, under PA administration. The IDF is seizing land near Jenin to build a military base. Why it matters 🧵
ALT Activestills, Wahaj Bani Moufleh, Nur Shams, West Bank, 10.2.25
Ruth Pollard retweeted
Thursday morning, an Israeli airstrike struck the home of Mona Khalil in Mansouri, South of Lebanon. The home itself was modest. But what it sheltered was extraordinary.
For decades, while many spoke about protecting nature, Mona lived that commitment every single day. From her small house overlooking the sea, she became the guardian of a coastline, the protector of countless sea turtles, and a voice for creatures that could not speak for themselves.
She chose to stay. She stayed through uncertainty, through fear, through danger. She stayed because the beach she watched over was not just a stretch of sand. It was a sanctuary. A place of life. A place worth defending.
Mona was seriously injured and her assistant suffered burns. Both are thankfully in stable condition. Yet the tragedy goes far beyond their wounds.
With war reaching a woman whose life’s mission has been to protect life, something deeper is injured, a part of our humanity is wounded. Violence does not distinguish between a fighter and a conservationist, between a military position and a nest of endangered turtles, between those who destroy and those who dedicate their lives to preserving.
Mona Khalil spent years protecting one of Lebanon’s most fragile treasures. Today, it is Mona who needs protection. And perhaps the greatest tribute we can pay her is to ensure that her courage, her mission, and her love for this land survive long after the smoke has cleared ❤️🇱🇧
#lebanon #humanity #truth #worldenvironmentday2026
Ruth Pollard retweeted
To judge the U.S.-Lebanon-Israel statement on "pilot zones" for deployment of Lebanon's army, we should see what lies behind it: Israel's strategy to bolster its security by exacerbating the insecurity of neighboring countries and societies. Mine at Diwan: carnegieendowment.org/middle…
Read this excellent piece from Arwa Mahdawi theguardian.com/commentisfre…
On the West Bank
Whether or not the Israeli government makes a formal declaration, annexation is a reality on the ground. crisisgroup.org/rpt/middle-e…
What began as satire has emerged as a movement with viral mass appeal, writes @andymukherjee70. The Cockroach Janta Party now has 22 million followers on Instagram alone bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
Ruth Pollard retweeted
I’m back in Beirut, will be covering the Israeli war on Lebanon. Latest from Tyre, southern Lebanon, consecutive airstrikes on the city center. More Israeli attacks on several other town and villages.
