Category: News
Chicago schools, transit, public housing remain rudderless under Mayor Brandon Johnson
Chicago’s schools, its train and bus system and its public housing agency have all been without permanent leaders for at least a year now under Mayor Brandon Johnson, complicating their mission to deliver essential services without someone setting clear goals and funding priorities at the top.
As Johnson is about to reach the three-year mark in his first term, he has not named heads of the Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Housing Authority or Chicago Transit Authority, amid political challenges and sea changes in governance structures.
It has been several mayoral administrations since these jobs leading among the most powerful and important public agencies in the city have been vacant at the same time for so long. Personnel appointments have proven some of the mayor’s most difficult issues as he’s transitioned from a firebrand union organizer to a chief executive tasked with selecting trustworthy people to advance his progressive agenda.
Johnson said last week he intends to change that “as soon as we find individuals that fit the mold.”
“The interim process does not prevent us from executing government,” he said when pressed on his timeline at a City Hall news conference. “It’s not indicative of whether or not we can continue to accomplish our goals. It just shows you how thorough I am.”
The CTA’s last president, Dorval Carter, resigned at the end of January 2025. Ex-CPS CEO Pedro Martinez was fired in December 2024, though he stayed on as a lame-duck schools chief for six months. And the CHA’s CEO spot has been vacant since Tracey Scott stepped down in October 2024.
Ald. Jeanette Taylor, who once spoke out about getting off the CHA voucher waitlist after 29 years, said she is frustrated there is land owned by the CHA that could be used to build public housing in her South Side 20th Ward that is “all being wasted.”
Chicago Housing Authority-owned land is seen at 63rd Street and Calumet Avenue on Feb. 2, 2026, Ald. Jeanette Taylor’s ward. Taylor is frustrated that land owned by the CHA that could be used to build public housing in her ward is “all being wasted.” (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
“They are not moving, because they have not put anybody in the seat,” Taylor said, rattling off vacant CHA-owned lots in Washington Park. “We got homeless people. We got people who on the CHA waiting list still waiting 10, 20, 30 years later. And what have we developed in these communities? … So they better figure it out, and they better figure it out fast.”
Johnson, for his part, argued to reporters that “government does not get halted as we go through a full vetting process,” noting that the CTA secured critical funding from Springfield last fall under an interim president. He also said the searches for the next CHA and CPS chiefs have not stymied “how public housing has to show up for working people” or labor groups from securing new contracts, respectively.
Internally, concerns linger over the rudderless status of these agencies and its impact on hiring for other critical positions within them.
A high-level official in one of the agencies told the Tribune the more months roll by with no resolution to who their top boss will be, the more difficult it is to answer candidate inquiries on what’s taking so long.
“It’s killing us. We’re just keeping the lights on,” said the staffer, who asked for anonymity to speak openly. “It’s impossible to effectively steer the ship if you don’t know who’s going to be here in a few months. … By some miracle, we still have candidates.”
Publicly, officials for the three agencies have noted they are making progress. CPS leaders announced latest academic gains during a December update on the district’s five-year plan, which was approved under Martinez and Johnson’s first handpicked school board, though they said more work must be done.
The CHA and the CTA are also in the midst of five-year capital improvement plans that include construction on new mixed-income units and expansion of bus and train service. The latest figures show the CHA built or revamped 249 units last year, compared with 247 in 2024, 280 in 2023 and 161 in 2022. Another 360 units are still under construction.
But the leadership limbo also makes it hard to set long-term agendas, another top official with one of the agencies said.
“We can make sure we’re treading water and fulfilling our day-to-day business operations,” the official said. “A permanent (leader) comes in with a roadmap and a longer term plan to execute against a multiyear strategy. This is the difference between offense and defense, and we need to do both.”
The publicity surrounding the Johnson administration’s handling of that agency’s search process has also turned off finalists, they added.
“People don’t want to come into a situation where the mayor has been very vocal about not wanting them there,” the official said. “Time is passing. Life has happened.”
The CPS chief education officer — the executive office’s No. 2 spot — has been held by an acting official since last June. The district’s chief financial officer, budget director, chief information officer, chief schools officer and chief portfolio officer are also all filled on an interim basis. The chief intergovernmental affairs and chief health officer roles are vacant.
Mayor Brandon Johnson chats with CTA acting President Nora Leerhsen on a CTA Green Line train on March 31, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
The staffing at the CTA, where interim head Nora Leerhsen has been gunning for the permanent appointment, appears more stable, though there is no permanent general counsel at the moment. At the CHA, the general counsel, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, head of property and asset management and chief of development are held by acting heads. Some employees are wearing multiple hats, too.
Johnson has pushed back on controversies over his struggles to fill key roles in city government by questioning why his predecessors had the right to fire and hire as they pleased, but his moves are suddenly challenged.
The messy firing of Martinez dominated much of the mayor’s second year in office, but the Chicago Board of Education’s search for his replacement has been bumpy as well. The mayor last fall distanced himself from the contenders — which did not include interim CEO Macquline King after she rejected Johnson’s latest push to borrow more money to cover the district’s budget shortfall.
An earlier campaign against Carter saw Johnson defending the embattled CTA president against transit advocates, who later protested Johnson’s potential appointment of his former chief operating officer, John Roberson, to the role.
Meanwhile at the CHA, the appointment of Johnson’s close ally, ex-Ald. Walter Burnett, remains in jeopardy as the public housing agency’s board has made clear it does not recommend him for the job. Johnson defended Burnett as “the strongest candidate” in December, noting he grew up in the Cabrini-Green housing complex, though he would require a waiver from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development due to possible conflicts.
With about a year left until the next mayoral election, the attacks from Johnson’s opponents attempting to preemptively paint him as a lame-duck mayor could also turn off candidates worried about job stability, but their contract specifics would vary by agency.
By the time the current term ends in 2027, the CPS board will be fully independently elected, instead of its current hybrid makeup of elected and mayorally appointed members.
Local transit leadership will be governed by a new board created by Springfield that removes mayoral control of the CTA, though Johnson still has the power to choose the next president free from oversight before June. The CHA board is appointed by the mayor, but requires City Council approval; currently, four of the 10 members’ terms have expired.
Asked whether he was still in the running for the CHA job last week, Burnett responded, “No idea.” Johnson’s spokesperson Cassio Mendoza confirmed Friday that he was.
Chicago Board of Education President Sean Harden, a Johnson appointee, did not respond to questions about the superintendent search. Mendoza said the mayor’s office was expecting the board to move on “new recommendations” soon.
Taylor said she urged the mayor against Burnett because of the gentrification that took place in his ward, though she stressed the final decision is Johnson’s alone. As chair of the council’s Education Committee, she also disagreed with King being eliminated from the CPS superintendent search.
Interim CPS CEO Macquline King greets staff at her former school, Courtenay Language Arts Center, in the Uptown neighborhood on the first day of school on Aug. 18, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
“She didn’t get time. This wasn’t her budget,” Taylor said, noting King just came in after Martinez left. “But, of course, we’re not great at listening to Black women, are we? … And so we continue to play politics with the education of our young people.”
Other key positions in City Hall have also languished without permanent appointments. The City Council Zoning Committee, for one, has been led by an interim chair, Ald. Bennett Lawson, 44th, roughly as long as under Johnson’s chosen leaders, Burnett and former 35th Ward Ald. Carlos Ramírez-Rosa, combined. The mayor has faced challenges with hammering out a compromise between the Black and Latino caucuses for the influential role; now Lawson, who is white, could be poised to clinch the spot.
Ald. Matt Martin, 47th, said last week a vacancy on the city’s board of ethics has contributed to meetings not occurring due to lack of quorum, leading to allegations of campaign finance violations and other problems being punted. “When you’re not meeting, you are not doing the work of the city,” Martin said.
Some of this impasse could just be that “we are in a little bit of uneasy times than what we’ve been used to here in the city of Chicago,” said Johnson’s former chief of staff, Rich Guidice. But, he added, there’s a reason these are critical decisions.
“You have to lead with common strategies from the administration,” said Guidice, a City Hall veteran who served four mayors before retiring just under a year into the Johnson administration. “If it’s lacking a leader, you run the risk of people giving them the ability to manage themselves. And it may not always be in the direction that is best for the city.”
The Tribune’s Jake Sheridan and Talia Soglin contributed reporting.
Second Iranian Diplomat In Europe Defects, Seeks Asylum, Amid US Pressure Campaign
Second Iranian Diplomat In Europe Defects, Seeks Asylum, Amid US Pressure Campaign
Trump’s repeated threats to bomb Iran seem to have resulted in some Iranian officials abandoning ship. There have been reports of two such recent instances.
In the latest, Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Vienna, Gholamreza Derikvand, abruptly abandoned his post and is reportedly seeking asylum in Switzerland for himself and his family.
Source: Sharif University of Technology
The Iranian government has not confirmed this, however, and Iran’s Foreign Ministry has simply said amid the speculation of the diplomat’s sudden absence that it is “avoiding discussing the case or claiming ignorance due to fear of intelligence agencies.”
Derikvand’s colleagues told Iran International that Derikvand was widely seen as a rising figure within Iran’s diplomatic corps and could have been promoted to ambassador had he stayed on. His résumé includes a previous stint as chargé d’affaires at Iran’s embassy in the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2014.
The story broke Tuesday in Iran International – an online news portal which has long been accused of having links to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. This means all initial claims should be taken in context and with a critical eye.
Israeli media itself has reviewed of the London-based outlet falling under suspicion:
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry claimed to have found a broadcast studio belonging to London-based anti-regime outlet Iran International in Tel Aviv, Iranian media reported this week.
The ministry also claimed to have identified “a number of individuals working at, or with,” the outlet, as well as their alleged residences.
…Iran International is designated as a “terrorist broadcaster” by Tehran, which alleges that it works alongside Mossad to “destabilize” the Islamic Republic.
But as for an Iranian top-level diplomat defecting while the Islamic Republic faces massive US political and even military pressure – this makes sense and there is precedent, also on the heels of last month’s deadly protests in Iran where thousands died.
A prior alleged defection surfaced in headlines just last month, as Newsmax recalls:
The report follows another recent case in Switzerland involving an Iranian diplomat assigned to the United Nations’ European headquarters in Geneva.
On Jan. 18, Iran International reported that Alireza Jeyrani Hokmabad, described as a senior official and deputy head of Iran’s mission to U.N. agencies in Geneva, left his workplace and applied for asylum with his family.
If this becomes a trend, it would be highly embarrassing for the Iranian government and its diplomatic corps. This alone gives motive for Tehran wanting to keep it quiet, and so will probably hold off commenting.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 02/04/2026 – 05:45
The best estrogen supplement for hormonal balance support
Which estrogen supplement is best?
From hot flashes to mood swings to poor sleep, the symptoms of menopause can be debilitating. For years, doctors prescribed hormone replacement therapy to relieve these symptoms, but for some people, the risk of side effects outweighs the benefit. Fortunately, estrogen supplements are now available over the counter. These medications contain either lower doses of naturally occurring estrogen or other compounds that prompt the body to produce more.
Nature’s Way Dim-Plus Supplement is a bioidentical form of estrogen that can help relieve the symptoms of menopause.
What to know before you buy an estrogen supplement
If you are taking supplements for other symptoms of menopause (e.g., sleep supplements), then you may have already experienced just how many choices there are out there. There are a few things to know when buying the best estrogen supplement for you.
Form
Estrogen supplements are available in two primary forms: capsules and creams.
Capsules are convenient and taken orally, and estrogen cream is a topical preparation. Creams can be delivered vaginally or on other areas of the skin and are easily absorbed into the system.
Amount of estrogen
Because each body with female reproductive organs is different, the drop in estrogen during perimenopause, menopause or other hormonal shift will be different. The amount of estrogen or estrogen-producing compounds in your supplement is important.
Type of estrogen or estrogen-increasing sources
All body chemistries process supplements differently, and there are a wide variety of estrogen supplements that contain different types of estrogen or estrogen-increasing sources.
These include:
Phytoestrogen: These compounds are similar to estrogen and are found in a variety of foods, including cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and kale.
Isoflavones: This is a specific phytoestrogen found in soy products.
Diindolylmethane: Diindolylmethane is naturally produced in the body, but may drop during perimenopause and menopause.
Bioidentical estrogen: These compounds are lab-created, available without a prescription and closely mimic the body’s natural estrogen.
Other estrogen supplements might include herbal remedies in their formulations. Although less familiar to some, these natural medications can help treat the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause and include:
Black cohosh
Maca root
Kava
Wild yam
Valerian
Vitamin E
St. John’s Wort
Evening primrose oil
Dong quai
Chastetree berry
What to look for in a quality estrogen supplement
Good bioavailability
Bioavailability refers to how a supplement is used in the body. A supplement with good bioavailability means that the majority of the supplement is able to be utilized. You do not want to spend your money on an estrogen supplement that is filtered by the kidneys and removed from the body.
Free from allergens
Regardless of the type of estrogen or natural remedy in your supplement, it should be free from allergens. Look for estrogen supplements without gluten or nut products. If you are allergic to soy, you should naturally choose a soy-free supplement as well.
Vegetarian
Estrogen supplements can be made in capsules that are vegetarian or vegan. If sticking to a plant-based diet is important to you, look for estrogen supplements that are clearly labeled as plant-based.
How much you can expect to spend on an estrogen supplement
The price of your estrogen supplement is based on the form and the volume of the supplement itself. Expect to spend $15-$30 for a 30-day supply of cream or capsules.
Estrogen supplement FAQ
What are the potential benefits of estrogen supplements?
A. Estrogen supplements are primarily used to relieve all of the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. These symptoms include:
Night sweats
Hot flashes
Mood swings
Poor sleep
Weight gain
Vaginal dryness
Pain during intercourse
Thinning hair
Some prescription estrogen supplements may also help preserve bone health, but the research on over-the-counter supplements in this regard is low.
What is the proper dosage of estrogen supplements?
A. The proper dose of estrogen supplements is highly individual. Even the directions on over-the-counter packages may not reflect your true needs.
For the best answer about estrogen supplement dosing, talk to your doctor. They can help you figure out how to safely use estrogen to relieve symptoms of menopause or perimenopause.
Do over-the-counter estrogen supplements interact with other medications?
A. Because each estrogen supplement has a different formulation, there is a chance that some may interact with other medications. For example, people taking antidepressants should not take St. John’s Wort, a common herbal remedy found in some estrogen supplements.
Your doctor or pharmacist can help you figure out if there is a potential for drug interaction with estrogen supplements. The good news is that there is a wide variety of supplements available, so if one is not advised, you may find relief with another.
What are the best estrogen supplements to buy?
Top estrogen supplement
Nature’s Way Dim-Plus Supplement
What you need to know: This is one of the highest-rated estrogen supplements on the market.
What you’ll love: Contains 100 mg of diindolylmethane and 100 mg of “protectamins” (extracts of estrogen-promoting vegetables like broccoli and cabbage). It has no added salt or sugar and comes in a light-blocking white capsule to keep the supplement from being damaged by sunlight.
What you should consider: Some users reported headaches when taking this product.
Top estrogen supplement for money
One A Day Women’s Menopause Multivitamin
What you need to know: This multivitamin is packed with isoflavones that help promote the production of beneficial estrogen.
What you’ll love: One tablet a day contains 100% of 15 crucial vitamins and minerals, plus soy isoflavones that increase the production of beneficial estrogen. This supplement is gluten-free and does not contain any artificial ingredients.
What you should consider: The isoflavones are soy-generated. If you are avoiding soy for other health reasons, this is not the supplement for you.
Worth checking out
BioLabs All-Natural Bioidentical Estrogen
What you need to know: Try this estrogen cream if you’d prefer a topical application.
What you’ll love: It contains lab-created estriol and estradiol without a prescription for relief of menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. Use one or two pumps daily on the skin. This is processed according to FDA standards and also includes skin-softening MSM, shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, aloe vera and lecithin.
What you should consider: It is labeled “unscented,” but some users report a slight odor.
Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.
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https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/04/the-best-estrogen-supplement-for-hormonal-balance-support/
EEUU y ONU lanzan un fondo humanitario de 700 millones de dólares para Sudán
Associated Press
EL CAIRO, Egipto (AP) — Estados Unidos y Naciones Unidas buscan apoyo internacional para la ayuda humanitaria a Sudán, devastado por la guerra, y abrieron un nuevo Fondo Humanitario para Sudán con 700 millones de dólares en contribuciones de Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Estados Unidos.
El gobierno de Donald Trump anunció que contribuiría con 200 millones de dólares a la iniciativa, procedentes de una provisión de 2.000 millones que se reservó a finales del año pasado para proyectos humanitarios en todo el mundo. Emiratos señaló que aportaría 500 millones de dólares. Arabia Saudí y varios otros participantes prometieron donaciones, pero no concretaron la cuantía.
“Hoy indicamos que la comunidad internacional trabajará junta para poner fin a este sufrimiento y garantizar que la ayuda vital llegue a las comunidades que la necesitan con tanta tanta urgencia”, dijo Tom Fletcher, jefe humanitario de la ONU como director de la Oficina de Coordinación de Asuntos Humanitarios, OCHA.
Fletcher copresidió el evento de recaudación de fondos celebrado el martes en Washington junto al principal asesor de la Casa Blanca para asuntos árabes y africanos, Massad Boulos.
Según Fletcher, se ha fijado el inicio del Ramadán, el 17 de febrero, como fecha “para lograr avances visibles en esta labor”.
Por su parte, Boulos manifestó que Estados Unidos ha presentado una “propuesta integral” para una tregua humanitaria que podría acordarse en las próximas semanas.
Sudán está en guerra desde 2023, cuando comenzaron los combates entre la Fuerza de Apoyo Rápido paramilitar y el ejército sudanés por el control del país. La ONU estima que más de 40.000 personas han muerto debido al conflicto, pero se considera que la cifra real podría ser mucho mayor.
El conflicto ha provocado la mayor crisis humanitaria en el mundo, con más de 14 millones de desplazados y con una declaración de hambruna en varias regiones.
Los combates se han centrado recientemente en las regiones de Kordofán, después de que las FAR se hicieron con el control de el-Fasher, uno de los últimos bastiones del ejército en la Darfur. Pero el ejército ha estado ganando terreno en Kordofán al romper el asedio a Kadugli y a la ciudad vecina de Dilling. El martes, el ejército anunció la apertura de una carretera crucial entre Kadugli y Dilling.
Kadugli estaba bajo asedio de las tropas paramilitares desde el inicio de la guerra. La Clasificación Integrada de Fases de Seguridad Alimentaria declaró una hambruna allí en noviembre.
Las FAR lanzaron el martes un ataque con drones que alcanzó un centro médico en Kadugli y mató a 15 personas, incluyendo siete menores, según la Red de Médicos de Sudán, que monitorea la guerra.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Today in Chicago History: CTA derailment in the Loop during rush hour kills 11 people
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Feb. 4, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Front page flashback: Feb. 5, 1977
Authorities said a crash occurred about 5:25 p.m. on Feb. 4, 1977, when an eight-car westbound Lake-Dan Ryan CTA train (now parts of the Green and Red lines) rounded the curve at Lake Street and Wabash Avenue and struck the rear of a Ravenswood train (Brown line). More than 160 people were injured, and 11 were killed. (Chicago Tribune)
1977: A bystander called it “a slow-motion horror.” The Tribune called it the worst crash in Chicago Transit Authority history. Eleven people were killed and scores injured when a CTA elevated train struck the rear of a standing train at Lake Street and Wabash Avenue, sending multiple cars plunging to the street during the evening rush hour.
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
High temperature: 59 degrees (1890)
Low temperature: Minus 14 degrees (1996)
Precipitation: 1.26 inches (1924)
Snowfall: 4.3 inches (1932)
Brian Urlacher walks off the field after Super Bowl XLI in Miami on Feb. 4, 2007. (Jim Prisching/Chicago Tribune)
2007: Super Bowl XLI began encouragingly for the Chicago Bears as Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown on a rainy evening in Miami. Making their first Super Bowl appearance in 21 years, the Bears trailed 22-17 going into the fourth quarter before the Colts’ Kelvin Hayden intercepted a Rex Grossman pass and returned it 56 yards for the clinching touchdown.
Grossman completed 20 of 28 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown but threw two interceptions as Peyton Manning claimed his first Super Bowl championship. Final score: Colts 29, Bears 17.
2015: After the Illinois Supreme Court approved a long-awaited pilot program allowing cameras in courtrooms in December 2014, the program began at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. The first case to be photographed/televised was the sentencing of two men in the killing of Chicago police Officer Thomas Wortham IV.
The sentencing of co-defendants Paris McGee and Toyious Taylor in the death of Chicago police Officer Thomas Wortham IV on Feb. 4, 2015, was the first test of cameras in Cook County criminal courtrooms. No restrictions had been placed on what a video cameraman and two still photographers, including one from the Tribune, stationed in the jury box could show. (Chicago Tribune)
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https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/04/february-4-chicago-history/
Today in History: TheFacebook launched
Today is Wednesday, Feb. 4, the 35th day of 2026. There are 330 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Feb. 4, 2004, Facebook had its beginnings as Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched “TheFacebook.”
Also on this date:
In 1789, electors unanimously chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States.
In 1801, John Marshall took office as chief justice of the United States, a position he would hold for 34 years.
In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.
In 1974, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst, 19, was kidnapped in California by the radical Symbionese Liberation Army. Hearst was caught on camera participating in a bank robbery with the extremist group that April and subsequently found guilty of bank robbery and sentenced to seven years in prison. (President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence, and she was later pardoned.)
In 1976, more than 23,000 people died when a severe earthquake struck Guatemala with a magnitude of 7.5.
In 1997, a civil jury in Santa Monica, California, found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, ordering Simpson to pay $33.5 million to the victims’ families.
In 2013, British scientists announced that skeletal remains they had discovered during an excavation beneath a Leicester, England parking lot were, beyond reasonable doubt, the remains of 15th century monarch King Richard III.
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Today in Chicago History: 5 women slain inside Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park
In 2023, the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, saying it was equipped with high-tech gear for a military-linked aerial surveillance program. China denied the balloon was used for spying on sensitive North American military sites, insisting the flyover was an accident involving a weather balloon.
Today’s birthdays: Former Argentine President Isabel Peron is 95. Rock singer Alice Cooper is 78. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is 73. Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor is 67. Country singer Clint Black is 64. Boxing Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya is 53. Singer Natalie Imbruglia is 51. Rapper Cam’ron is 50. Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw is 49. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Carly Patterson is 38. Actor Edvin Ryding is 23.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/04/today-in-history-thefacebook-launched/
The Government Is Obsessed With Making Britain’s Countryside ‘Less White’
The Government Is Obsessed With Making Britain’s Countryside ‘Less White’
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,
The British countryside is under siege from diversity mandates that aim to transform it into a “less white environment,” with officials in areas of natural beauty like the Chilterns and Cotswolds pledging to draw in more ethnic minorities under Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) guidance.
This push stems from reports warning that rural spaces risk becoming “irrelevant” in a multicultural society, dominated by the “white middle class,” prompting commitments to outreach, diverse staffing, and even dog control measures to make the outdoors more appealing.
The Telegraph reports that National Landscapes—formerly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)—and local councils have adopted diversity targets following Defra-commissioned studies.
?LABOUR LAUNCHES PLAN TO MAKE THE COUNTRYSIDE ‘MORE DIVERSE’
Country pubs are TOO WHITE according to the latest report and now they want to ‘fix’ this problem.
It isn’t a problem
It never was
These people are obsessed with replacing white brits pic.twitter.com/lhZj2fiPia
— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) February 2, 2026
In the Chilterns, proposals include community outreach to attract Muslims from nearby Luton, recruiting diverse staff, and producing marketing materials featuring ethnic minorities in “community languages.”
Research cited suggests tighter dog controls, as some groups fear them.
“Diversity drive to make Britain’s countryside ‘less white’”
This is just racist.
https://t.co/qQBnZAM2Zr
— Steven Barrett (@SBarrettBar) February 2, 2026
Malvern Hills National Landscape stated: “Many minority peoples have no connection to nature in the UK because their parents and their grandparents did not feel safe enough to take them or had other survival preoccupations.”
It added: “While most white English users value the solitude and contemplative activities which the countryside affords, the tendency for ethnic minority people is to prefer social company (family, friends, schools).”
The area plans to “develop strategies to reach people or communities with protected characteristics such as people without English as a first language”.
Diversity drive to make Britain’s countryside more welcoming to minorities after report found it was ‘too white’ and ‘middle class’ https://t.co/FfVPtwIaT9
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) February 2, 2026
Nidderdale in North Yorkshire warns of barriers for ethnic minorities, including “concerns about how they will be received when visiting an unfamiliar place”, and vows to “develop more inclusive information to reflect more diverse cultural interpretation of the countryside”.
Cranborne Chase will also target “people or communities with protected characteristics such as people without English as a first language”.
Surrey Hills notes “some demographics are still under-represented in our countryside”, while Suffolk and Essex Coast Heaths expresses concerns about “some sections of society that are under-represented when looking at the composition of visitors”.
Dedham Vale pledges to “identify and seek to address barriers facing under-represented and/or diverse groups which limit equal access to the Dedham Vale National Landscape”.
These efforts trace back to a 2019 Defra report by Julian Glover, which claimed: “We are all paying for national landscapes through our taxes, and yet sometimes on our visits it has felt as if National Parks are an exclusive, mainly white, mainly middle?class club.”
Oh no, how awful, in a country where over 80% of the population is white.
It warned: “Many communities in modern Britain feel that these landscapes hold no relevance for them. The countryside is seen by both black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and white people as very much a ‘white’ environment.
“If that is true today, then the divide is only going to widen as society changes. Our countryside will end up being irrelevant to the country that actually exists,” the report continued, adding that a key proposal is “New long?term programmes to increase the ethnic diversity of visitors.”
The government responded by committing to “expand community engagement including with reference to increasing the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of visitors”.
A 2022 Defra report, costing £108,000 found “perceptions of protected landscapes as being for white people and middle-class people could be a powerful barrier for first-generation immigrants”.
It noted ethnic minorities associate visiting with “white culture” and see “the English countryside as a white space, to which they did not belong”.
Concerns included rural facilities catering to “white English culture”, such as “traditional’ pubs, which have limited food options and cater to people who have a drinking culture. Accordingly, Muslims from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi group said this contributed to a feeling of being unwelcome.”
The Cotswolds plan references this, aiming to review provisions for the “widest possible demographic”.
This insane DEI drive echoes earlier claims we covered, where wildlife charities like the RSPCA, WWF, and National Trust labeled the countryside “racist” because it’s dominated by “white British cultural values” and influenced by “racist colonial legacies”.
Wildlife and Countryside Link, a charity umbrella group whose members include the RSPCA, WWF and National Trust, made the claim in evidence provided to Parliament on racism and its influence on the natural world.
The country’s green spaces are “dominated by white people” and are influenced by “racist colonial legacies” that are frightening away ethnic minorities from visiting them, the report claims.
Non-whites cannot ‘enjoy the outdoors’ because of the perception that the countryside is a “white space,” it adds.
“Cultural barriers reflect that in the UK, it is White British cultural values that have been embedded into the design and management of green spaces, and into society’s expectations of how people should be engaging with them,” states the report.
As we highlighted, such groups demanded the government create “legally binding target for access to nature” in order to address “structural racism”.
The Muslim Hikers group has also claimed that rural areas are seen as unwelcoming to minority communities, with the people who live there seemingly wanting to avoid the issues that “minority communities” bring with them.
These DEI initiatives coincide with a surge in rural degradation from fly-tipping, turning protected sites into wastelands.
We previously reported on 20 tonnes of rubbish dumped in Dorset’s Holt Heath nature reserve, blighting a Site of Special Scientific Interest and threatening wildlife.
Similarly, a Welsh mountain in Treorchy became a “stream of rubbish visible for miles,” devastating farmer Katie Davies’ land and endangering her sheep.
Davies called it “devastating” and “horrendous,” stressing the need for a “long-term solution”.
These incidents reveal how imported chaos and lax enforcement are eroding Britain’s rural heritage, now compounded by forced diversity schemes that risk further alienating natives while importing urban issues to green havens.
As mass migration reshapes society, preserving the countryside’s traditional appeal—without mandates that dilute its cultural roots—remains essential to keeping Britain’s landscapes relevant and intact for all who respect them.
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Tyler Durden
Wed, 02/04/2026 – 05:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/government-obsessed-making-britains-countryside-less-white
El arbitraje solicitado por firma hongkonesa por su contrato en el Canal de Panamá podría tomar años
Por KANIS LEUNG
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong, CK Hutchison Holdings dijo el miércoles que su subsidiaria inició procedimientos de arbitraje contra Panamá después de que la Corte Suprema panameña dictaminara que una concesión para que la subsidiaria operara los puertos del Canal de Panamá era inconstitucional.
Hutchison expresó su fuerte desacuerdo con el fallo de la semana pasada, y China advirtió que Panamá pagaría “un alto precio” si persistía. El presidente de Panamá ha asegurado a la población que los puertos operarían sin interrupción tras el fallo, que avanzó un objetivo de Estados Unidos de bloquear cualquier influencia de China sobre el canal que une los océanos Atlántico y Pacífico.
La subsidiaria de Hutchison, Panama Ports Company, comenzó los procedimientos de arbitraje el martes de acuerdo con las reglas de la Cámara de Comercio Internacional con sede en París, dijo la empresa en un comunicado.
Las reglas están supervisadas por la Corte Internacional de Arbitraje de la cámara, un organismo independiente, y no está claro cuál sería el impacto de los procedimientos. La oficina del presidente de Panamá y el Ministerio de Comercio no respondieron de inmediato a las solicitudes de comentarios el martes por la noche.
Un proceso que puede llevar años
Los analistas creen que la empresa probablemente gane tiempo con procedimientos legales, como la nueva solicitud de arbitraje, mientras busca alternativas para el acuerdo portuario más amplio.
Yueming Yan, profesor de derecho de la Universidad China de Hong Kong, dijo que si se constituye un tribunal arbitral, las audiencias futuras podrían celebrarse fuera de París o Nueva York, aunque el acuerdo especificaba que la junta de arbitraje debería estar en Nueva York. El calendario es difícil de predecir, pero un arbitraje que involucra contratos de concesión relacionados con inversiones puede extenderse durante varios años.
Aunque no anula las decisiones de cortes nacionales, el fallo del tribunal sería vinculante y abordaría si el gobierno panameño incumplió sus obligaciones y debe compensación. Pero un resultado favorable a CK Hutchison podría plantear preguntas sobre su reconocimiento o ejecución, dijo.
“No se puede evaluar con certeza el enfoque que los tribunales nacionales en Panamá podrían adoptar en cualquier procedimiento de reconocimiento o ejecución en esta etapa”, afirmó.
Robbert van Trooijen, fundador de la consultora Inception Partners con sede en Panamá, dijo que hay poco que CK Hutchison pueda hacer para anular directamente el fallo de la Corte Suprema de Panamá.
El fallo provoca una reacción de China
El fallo del tribunal ha provocado una reacción de China, y las tensiones pueden complicar el plan de Hutchison de vender sus activos portuarios en docenas de países a un grupo que incluye a la firma de inversión estadounidense BlackRock Inc.
La venta planificada ya se ha visto atrapada en las tensiones entre Beijing y Washington. El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, quien ha alegado que China interfiere con el canal, inicialmente reaccionó de forma positiva a ese plan. Sin embargo, aparentemente enfureció a Beijing y provocó una revisión por parte de las autoridades chinas antimonopolio.
El martes por la noche, la oficina de Beijing que supervisa los asuntos de Hong Kong criticó el fallo de la corte panameña como legalmente infundado y ridículo, diciendo que el fallo reflejaba que las autoridades panameñas se estaban sometiendo a poderes hegemónicos. No especificó los países, pero mencionó a políticos de algunos países que habían dicho que estaban “alentados” por el fallo, en una aparente referencia velada al secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, Marco Rubio.
En un comunicado compartido en la plataforma de redes sociales WeChat, la oficina dijo que China nunca se someterá al hegemonismo y tiene medios y herramientas suficientes, así como capacidad, para defender la justicia en el orden económico y comercial internacional.
“Las autoridades de Panamá deberían reconocer la situación y corregir su rumbo”, dijo. “Si persisten en su propio camino y se niegan a ver la razón, pagarán un alto precio tanto política como económicamente”.
La Panama Ports Company dijo en un comunicado separado el miércoles que el arbitraje siguió a sus esfuerzos por consultar y evitar disputas, pero el estado panameño ignoró de forma sistemática las comunicaciones y solicitudes de aclaración. La empresa dijo que reclama daños y perjuicios basados en datos y el alivio necesario y reiteró su invitación a Panamá para obtener claridad y consultas.
La empresa dijo que, aunque el fallo del tribunal aún no ha entrado en vigor, el estado realizó visitas inesperadas al sitio y le ordenó proporcionar acceso sin restricciones a la propiedad física, comercial e intelectual, información y empleados.
El portavoz del Ministerio chino de Exteriores Lin Jian reafirmó la postura de China el miércoles, diciendo que China “protegerá firmemente los derechos e intereses legítimos y legales” de las empresas chinas.
“¿Quién está buscando monopolizar el canal de Panamá? ¿Y quién está socavando las leyes internacionales en nombre del Estado de derecho? Eso está bastante claro en la comunidad internacional”, dijo Lin en Beijing.
La empresa se ve atrapada en las tensiones entre EEUU y China
La subsidiaria de Hutchison ha operado puertos en ambos extremos del Canal de Panamá desde 1997. La incómoda posición en la que se encuentra Hutchison destaca los desafíos que enfrentan las élites empresariales de Hong Kong al manejar las expectativas de lealtad nacional de Beijing, especialmente en un clima de tensión entre Estados Unidos y China. CK Hutchison es propiedad de la familia del hombre más rico de Hong Kong, Li Ka-shing.
La empresa dijo en julio pasado que estaba considerando buscar un inversor chino para que se sume como miembro significativo del consorcio bajo su plan de venta, un movimiento que algunos interpretaron como una forma de complacer a Beijing, pero CK Hutchison no ha dicho más al respecto desde entonces.
El consorcio también incluye a la subsidiaria de BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, y Terminal Investment Limited, que está presidida por el heredero naviero italiano Diego Aponte, cuya familia, según se informa, tiene una arraigada relación con la de Li.
En mayo pasado, el codirector general de Hutchinson, Dominic Lai, dijo a los accionistas que Terminal Investment era el principal inversor.
El gobierno de Panamá ha mantenido que tiene pleno control sobre el canal y que la operación de los puertos por parte de Hutchison no supone control chino sobre él. Pero Rubio dejó claro que Estados Unidos veía la operación como un asunto de seguridad nacional.
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Chan Ho-him contribuyó a este despacho.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Saif Gaddafi, Prominent Son Of Ex-Libyan Leader, Assassinated By Unknown Gunmen
Saif Gaddafi, Prominent Son Of Ex-Libyan Leader, Assassinated By Unknown Gunmen
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the the most prominent son of Libya’s late long-time ruler, has died, according to his family on Tuesday. His adviser, Abdallah Othman Abdurrahim, also confirmed his death but without giving details. “Seif al-Islam has fallen as a martyr,” his cousin, Hamid Kadhafi, has told Libyan TV. Emerging reports point to what appears an assassination.
Four unidentified men reportedly entered his property and shot him in a garden execution-style. “Four armed men stormed the residence of Seif al-Islam Kadhafi after disabling surveillance cameras, then executed him,” according to a statement. There have long been reports and rumors that he was attempting a return to national politics after previously being barred from any top office.
The killing took place in Zintan, in northwestern Libya – though he had long kept himself hidden from public view amid Libya’s fractured politics and current state of internecine civil war. He’s said to have been based in Zintan for much of the last decade.
Despite never holding an official post, the younger Gaddafi effectively served as his father’s number two from 2000 until 2011, operating as a key power broker inside Libya until Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed by by NATO-backed Islamist ‘rebels’ – bringing an end to decades of stable rule.
It was on October 20th 2011 that Col. Gaddafi was dragged from a drain pipe outside his hometown of Sirte, tortured and killed. He was sodomized with a bayonet, before being shot – with much of the brutal death captured on grainy cell phone footage. Western officials celebrated the war crime and summary execution.
His son Saif was captured in 2011 while attempting to flee the country and was subsequently imprisoned in Zintan. He remained in detention for years before being released in 2017 under a general amnesty, and quietly returned to living in Libya, but at times was in and out of the news, also as competing powers vied to form a new government.
Al Jazeera reviews of Saif’s life and background:
A Western-educated and well-spoken man, Gaddafi presented a progressive face to the oppressive Libyan regime run by his father – and he played a leading role in a drive to repair Libya’s relations with the West, beginning in the early 2000s.
He received a PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2008, with his dissertation looking into the role of civil society in reforming global governance.
Gaddafi remained prominent throughout the violence that gripped the country in the wake of the Arab Spring.
Speaking to the Reuters news agency at the time of the popular uprising in Libya in 2011, he said: “We fight here in Libya, we die here in Libya.”
Saif Gaddafi spent time as a political prisoner after his father’s overthrow and killing.
The same report features quotes from Saif which seem spot on, referring to the US-led NATO war under then Preisent Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:
He warned that rivers of blood would flow and the government would fight to the last man and woman and bullet.
“All of Libya will be destroyed. We will need 40 years to reach an agreement on how to run the country, because today, everyone will want to be president, or emir, and everybody will want to run the country,” he said.
Was this hit an act of anti-Gaddafi revenge? Were there fears of Saif’s growing popularity in Libya? Since the Gaddafi government overthrow, Libya has remained divided into at least two major rival governments, reflecting also a geographical East-West divide.
“America is the reason for chaos in Libya”…
a Libyan who bought into US-NATO-Israeli-Saudi-UAE propaganda and took up arms against Ghaddafi thinking he was actually fighting for freedom, democracy and “true Islam”, reflects on what he did after his fall: “If Ghaddafi were alive now, I would fight for him.” Syria soon. pic.twitter.com/zgNhRaesf3
— ☀️👀 (@zei_squirrel) December 7, 2024
At times there have existed even three or up to four governments in sectors of the country, largely commanded by warlords – and yet the media has largely forgotten ‘Obama’s war’.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 02/04/2026 – 04:15
Fuego israelí mata a 17 en Gaza y disparos de insurgentes hieren a soldado de Israel
Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Franja de Gaza (AP) — El fuego israelí en la Franja de Gaza se cobró la vida de al menos a 17 palestinos, la mayoría mujeres y niños, dijeron el miércoles funcionarios hospitalarios. Israel, por su parte, reportó que disparos de insurgentes causaron lesiones a uno de sus soldados.
Fueron las últimas muertes palestinas desde la entrada en vigor de un alto el fuego —interrumpido por ataques mortales israelíes— el 10 de octubre de 2025.
Más de 530 palestinos han muerto por fuego israelí desde que entró en vigor el acuerdo, según el Ministerio de Salud gazatí.
Los ataques y el creciente número de muertos han hecho tambalear la tregua respaldada por Estados Unidos y han llevado a los palestinos en el sitiado enclave palestino a decir que no sienten que la guerra haya terminado.
“La guerra genocida contra nuestro pueblo en la Franja de Gaza continúa”, afirmó el doctor Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director del Hospital Shifa, en una publicación en Facebook. “¿Dónde está el alto el fuego? ¿Dónde están los mediadores?”.
Los mediadores han condenado los ataques y Hamás los ha calificado como violaciones del acuerdo, pero el ejército de Israel sostiene que responde a los incumplimientos por parte de Hamás o a los ataques insurgentes contra sus soldados. Al menos tres soldados han muerto desde el inicio de la tregua.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
