The ICJ Israel Genocide Case, US-UK Yemen Strikes, and Conflict in Ecuador
On this episode of American Prestige, we go over the crises erupting all over the globe, from Miyanmar to the Middle East.

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On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek come off the hottest year on record with the new year’s cold, hard facts. This week, South Africa brings a genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) (2:39) while Antony Blinken tours the region (8:48); Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani is looking to request the withdrawal of U.S. forces (19:09); the Israel-Hizbollah border battles continue to escalate (22:23); the U.S. and U.K. launch strikes on Yemen (25:31); rebels in Myanmar take the border city of Laukkaing (28:49); Ethiopia looks to make a deal with the unrecognized state of Somaliland (33:56); Ukraine is running out of air defenses and shifting to a defensive posture (37:12); armed battles and chaos break out in Ecuador (40:23); 2023 was indeed the hottest year on record (43:55).
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A funeral ceremony is held for Palestine TV correspondent Mohammed Abu Hatab, who was killed along with his family members in an air strike on his home in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on November 3, 2023.
(Abed Zagout / Anadolu via Getty Images)On this episode of American Prestige, we come off the hottest year on record with the new year’s cold, hard facts. This week, South Africa brings a genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) (2:39) while Antony Blinken tours the region (8:48); Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani is looking to request the withdrawal of US forces (19:09); the Israel-Hizbollah border battles continue to escalate (22:23); the US and UK launch strikes on Yemen (25:31); rebels in Myanmar take the border city of Laukkaing (28:49); Ethiopia looks to make a deal with the unrecognized state of Somaliland (33:56); Ukraine is running out of air defenses and shifting to a defensive posture (37:12); armed battles and chaos break out in Ecuador (40:23); 2023 was indeed the hottest year on record (43:55).

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
We don’t have whatever they were giving JFK to power through the Cuban Missile Crisis, but we’re keeping up here. This week’s news: in the Iran War, the U.S. prepares to use Kurdish proxy forces against the Islamic Republic (1:26) while offering shifting timelines and contradictory explanations for the war (6:32), plus Iran searches for a new supreme leader (11:54); Hezbollah launches rockets into Israel after months of being bombarded, so Israel escalates its strikes across Lebanon (16:24); Afghanistan and Pakistan exchange airstrikes and artillery fire as fighting along their border displaces tens of thousands (19:26); Turkey considers reentering the F-35 program as part of new energy negotiations with the U.S. (22:56); Nepal holds a major election following last year’s protests (26:40); fighting intensifies in Sudan’s Kordofan and Blue Nile regions (28:05); M23 launches drone strikes deeper into the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the United States sanctions Rwandan military officials (31:56); a Russian LNG tanker is sunk in the Mediterranean amid suspicions of Ukrainian involvement (34:40); France proposes expanding its nuclear umbrella over Europe (38:01); the U.S. launches a new military operation targeting drug cartels in Ecuador (40:20); Congress strikes down legislation that would halt the Iran war (41:46); and the Trump administration moves ahead with new global tariffs while the courts order billions in refunds for the last batch that were struck down (44:41).
Grab a copy of Danny and Michael Brenes’ edited volumeCold War Liberalism: Power in a Time of Emergency. Use the discount code BESSNER26.
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