Devastating societies through war and drugs
Down To Earth|November 01, 2023
Generics giant Teva is top among drug firms found guilty of fuelling the US opioid crisis, agrees to pay $4.25 billion
- LATHA JISHNU
Devastating societies through war and drugs

ISRAEL'S SCORCHED earth policy in Gaza has left the world scouring for terms that capture the horror at the barbarism they are witnessing. Humanitarian organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appear to have struggled with their statements of condemnation as the relentless bombing of the small strip of land, which is home to 2.2 million Palestinians, left searing images of the dead and dying in a devastated landscape. Even academics were hard put to describe the holocaust unleashed by the Israeli government; some settled for genocide, as did the Colombian President.

An MSF official described as outrageous Israel's 24-hour notice to over one million people in Northern Gaza to leave their land, homes and hospitals. "Unprecedented" does not even cover the medical humanitarian impact of this order, the official said. ICRC described the situation in Gaza as "abhorrent" as residents scrambled for water and food while health facilities and medical personnel were targeted in the bombing of the world's most densely populated area.

A statement issued by Gaza's authorities after the Tel Aviv regime began a complete siege of Gaza in response to the Hamas attack described the action as "the dirtiest crime of collective punishment against defenceless civilians in modern history". Since half the population of Gaza are children, it did capture the true horror of the bombing. Al Jazeera news agency quoted an Israeli official saying it had dropped 6,000 bombs weighing 4,000 tonnes on Gaza in the first six days of its war, killing vast numbers of children.

The vocabulary of outrage indignation is patently limited for a catastrophe on this scale. Responses also depend on a nation's and an individual's moral compass and political ideology. Sensitivities can be sharpened by a familiarity with a situation.

この蚘事は Down To Earth の November 01, 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Down To Earth の November 01, 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

DOWN TO EARTHのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
CLIMATE SHAPES SPECIES
Down To Earth

CLIMATE SHAPES SPECIES

Gradual changes in a population that lives in a region with environmental shifts give rise to new species

time-read
3 分  |
January 16, 2025
LEAFY GOODNESS
Down To Earth

LEAFY GOODNESS

Leaves of the bottle gourd can be a healthy green addition to the plate

time-read
3 分  |
January 16, 2025
'Story of human origin is still not figured out or over'
Down To Earth

'Story of human origin is still not figured out or over'

Fifty years ago, the discovery of a partial skeleton amid the barren desert landscape of northern Ethiopia transformed our understanding of where humans came from, and how we developed into Homo sapiens. \"Lucy\" was first spotted on November 24, 1974, by the American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson and his student assistant Tom Gray. Named after the Beatles' Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, a popular song in the their team's camp at the time, it was immediately clear she was a female, because of her small adult size, and that she had walked upright, unlike chimpanzees. Lucy was also very old-at almost 3.2 million years, she was anointed as the then-earliest known (distant) ancestor of modern humans. Over the following decades, rather fittingly given her name, she became a \"paleo-rock star\", going on a US tour from 2006 following a deal with the Ethiopian authorities.

time-read
7 分  |
January 16, 2025
Deadly discharge
Down To Earth

Deadly discharge

Residents of an industrial cluster blame effluent and sewage treatment plants for discharging poorly treated water that contaminates the area, causes skin diseases

time-read
4 分  |
January 16, 2025
US drug regulator faces Trump heat
Down To Earth

US drug regulator faces Trump heat

FAILED REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is making more news now than during his doomed attempt to get the party nomination for president. Ramaswamy's decision to throw in the towel and back Donald Trump after his campaign went nowhere showed acumen, the kind he is famous for in the investment world.

time-read
4 分  |
January 16, 2025
Distorted picture
Down To Earth

Distorted picture

India's groundwater recovery may be misleading, as new assessment methods inflate annual recharge figures and discontinue on-ground verification

time-read
2 分  |
January 16, 2025
A MAKE OR BREAK YEAR
Down To Earth

A MAKE OR BREAK YEAR

Expect some stiff targets, radical policy measures and rapid innovations as polycrisis reaches a crescendo this year

time-read
10+ 分  |
January 16, 2025
Commons in crisis
Down To Earth

Commons in crisis

A landmark 2011 Supreme Court ruling to protect shared resources deepens struggles for India's marginalised communities

time-read
5 分  |
January 16, 2025
Europe faces Russian natural gas supply cuts
Down To Earth

Europe faces Russian natural gas supply cuts

UKRAINE'S PRIME Minister Denys Shmyhal said on December 16, 2024, that its gas transit agreement with Russia will expire on January 1, 2025, and will not be renewed. The agreement was to allow transit of natural gas to Europe amid the RussiaUkraine conflict.

time-read
1 min  |
January 16, 2025
Preserving a voice
Down To Earth

Preserving a voice

Non-profit in Madhya Pradesh documents Korku language, makes education accessible for the tribal community

time-read
2 分  |
January 16, 2025