I could literally watch the video of that guy handing Pope Leo peeps in St. Peter's Square on a loop for the rest of my life.

I’m sorry but the rest of your life is going to be spent finding out about some new weird annoying guy, and then finding out he died

Orbangeddon

'Such carnage defies belief': Lebanon, crushed by Israeli bombs, counts its dead A few hours after the announcement of a ceasefire between the US and Iran, around 100 airstrikes targeted several neighborhoods in central Beirut, its southern suburbs, and in towns and villages in eastern and southern Lebanon on Wednesday. At least 254 people were killed, according to the civil defense.

'Such carnage defies belief': Lebanon, crushed by Israeli bombs, counts its dead

Thus mingled still with wealth and state,
Croesus himself can never know;
His true dimensions and his weight
Are far inferior to their show.

Pope Leo XIV carried the cross across all fourteen stations for over an hour.

The prayers named children who had been “taken away and imprisoned during protests, deported by policies devoid of compassion, shipwrecked on desperate journeys of hope, killed in war zones, and wiped out in death camps.”

I guess boycotting Harry Potter feels pretty trivial to me, because I'm an adult. if someone told me I shouldn't eat Gerber's baby food, I'd be like, that is no problem. I'm way ahead of you

…and the Houthis have made their (arguably inevitable, the longer this thing dragged on) entry into the wider conflict.

The Ghosts of Al-Shifa Hospital Months into a supposed ceasefire in Gaza, doctors still have to smuggle in basic medical supplies—and treat new casualties of war.

I’ve been a journalist for 27 years. I’ve reported major stories about mass surveillance, torture, war, the military-industrial complex, police black sites, etc.

But this is the most important story I’ve ever had the horror/honor to work on. For it is a story about the current phase of a genocide.

Today, New America relaunches our brand and website, strengthening how we advance independent research and bold solutions for a new America.

📍 newamerica.org

“We are forced to stay despite the danger, when we defend our land, and we do so peacefully. None of us carries weapons. All of us carry peace and goodness and love.”

These were the words of Father Pierre al-Rahi one day before Israel killed him in Lebanon today on March 9.

Lebanon Emergency Relief Arabic, Dutch, French, and Spanish below:

A group of activists in Lebanon who have been operating since Oct 2023 to help displaced people get food, shelter, and medicine have just created a new fundraiser. Please donate what you can.
www.chuffed.org/project/1719...

Carol Burnett is a national treasure.

Question remains whether this speaks for all of the STC's leadership (Aiderous al-Zubaidi, of course, is still at large) or just a faction but in any case, another blow for a group that seemed ascendant just a few weeks ago.

Yemeni television currently announcing that the STC has agreed to dissolve itself.

All this being said, would be loath to underestimate:
-risks of a power vacuum in Aden and other parts of the country previously under STC control
-the extent that this risks deepening decades old resentments and feelings of marginalization across the formerly independent south (STC or no STC).

Not since Icarus has there been as potent a parable about the dangers of flying too close to the sun…

An STC delegation is theoretically in Riyadh for a Saudi-led "South-South dialogue;" Zubaidi was supposed to join but appears to have skipped the flight.

The inter-PLC conflict--which, of course, interplays in the escalation of wider UAE-KSA frictions overnight--continues to escalate, with STC leader Aiderous al-Zubaidi sacked from the PLC and charged with treason as Saudi airstrikes reportedly target allied forces in the STC stronghold of al-Dhale.

(In a statement on bluesky, Adam Baron announces a moratorium on "wow, I guess Yemen is off to quite a start on 2026" jokes)

In a televised statement, STC leader Aiderous al-Zubaidi has announced a plan for a two-year transitional period ending in a referendum on a return to independence in South Yemen.

Post-strike videos coming out of Hadramawt at the moment are quite nuts, as one would expect.

The Nordic countries simultaneously gave the world a model of Democratic Socialism, Acne Studios and Noma.

This whole line "Democratic Socialism means you can't have nice things" argument is so dumb.

STC-aligned media reporting three apparent Saudi airstrikes on their positions in Saiyun, Wadi Hadramawt (Yemen).

Reports of Saudi strikes on STC-held military positions in Saiyun.

Gird your loins for an intense 2026 i guess.

(26 is thirteen tiwice so I guess the numbers were warning us).

The situation in Hadramawt has resembled a slow motion car crash for at least the better part of a year: everyone knew the escalation was coming; key stakeholders remained either inert or quietly fanned building flames.

Either way, here we are.

More escalation in Yemen today, with reports of airstrikes amidst clashes between (Saudi-backed) National Shield forces and (UAE-backed) STC-aligned fighters in Hadramawt.

APNewsAlert: DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — United Arab Emirates says it will withdraw its remaining forces in #Yemen.

Tensions between the UAE and Saudi over Yemen (and other regional files for that matter) have been building for quite a while.

Hard not to see today's Saudi strike on a UAE weapons shipment in Mukalla as a rubicon being crossed.

The traditional Christmastime Yemen escalation is off the chain this year.