Ebola in Congo: 80% of new cases are of unknown transmission

Just days after fighting between the United States, Israel and Iran began, veterinarian Reza Kiamarzi climbed cliffs near Isfahan. He was looking for nests of saker and peregrine falcons, threatened birds whose breeding season coincided with the bombings. “It’s a long climb. Then we climb rocks to get to the nests,” he said.

Iran is home to unique biodiversity: from humid Caspian forests to arid areas of the Persian Gulf. At least 86 species are at risk, according to the Department of the Environment: the Asiatic cheetah, the Persian fallow deer, the leopard, the brown bear and birds of prey, among others. The country is a key migratory stop between Eurasia and Africa.

Iman Ebrahimi, from the NGO AvayeBoom, warned: “It is a great unknown how much more we will be able to work. We are waiting.” The conflict worsens the economic crisis. The Iranian currency lost more than half its value in a year, fueling falcon smuggling into the Persian Gulf. Ironically, in peace the military zones served as a refuge from poachers.

Jamshid Parchizadeh, an expert on large carnivores, fears that airstrikes will damage cheetah and leopard habitats: “They degrade the soil, contaminate the water and destroy vegetation.” He added: “The bombing drives away the bears and leopards forever.”

Conservation despite everything

AvayeBoom has operated for a decade in mountains, deserts and wetlands. But sanctions prevent receiving international donations. “What worries us most is that the economic crisis will make environmental protection no longer a priority,” Ebrahimi said.

A wildlife photographer, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, has stopped taking images in the Persian Gulf. “One of the dangers is that people lose their connection with nature,” he said. He plans to resume his job if the tension does not escalate.

Despite everything, AvayeBoom made progress. In the Arjan protected area, a campaign with workshops and murals of the cinnamon shelduck—an orange-plumed water bird—raised local awareness. “Most people considered the environment and wetlands very important,” said Fateme Kazemi, director of the NGO.

“Our doors have not closed and we have continued with our work,” concluded Ebrahimi.

The tradwife phenomenon has found figures such as the Spanish Rocío López Bueno (RoRo) on digital platforms, who promotes an ideal of domesticity, elaborate cuisine and aesthetics of the sixties. Behind this trend, which generates debate about gender roles, husbands—the main direct beneficiaries of this dynamic—remain almost invisible to audiences.

The role of husbands

Specialists in cultural analysis and sociology warn that these digitalized representations are a mirage. Many female creators bill for advertising contracts for amounts much higher than the income of their husbands, whom they claim to serve. The figure of the trad husband is projected as a charitable accessory or secondary financial provider. This rigid script generates mutual dependence and perpetuates the absence of emotional and domestic co-responsibility.

At a global level, the disparity of interest is evident: the profiles of the creators accumulate tens of millions of followers, while the accounts of their partners register a much lower media impact, with speeches classified as flat or boring.

Sociologists and researchers regret that this type of content normalizes unequal relationships between young people and deepens the gender gap in the distribution of care tasks, in a context where the statistics of female job resignations after motherhood continue to rise.

Exemptions for ultra-Orthodox in Israel: a political decision with military consequences

Israel’s Parliament (Knesset) passed two laws that, in practice, prevent ultra-Orthodox men from being recruited into the army. The measure, promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeks to ensure the support of religious parties ahead of the October 27 elections.

One of the rules freezes the arrests of those who evade arrest. The other enshrines the study of the Torah as a “founding value” of the State, which provides a legal basis to oppose Supreme Court rulings that consider these exemptions illegal.

Rejection inside and outside the Government

The chief of the General Staff, Eyal Zamir, described the measures as “incompatible” with the needs of the Army. In a letter to Netanyahu and the defense minister, he wrote:

“It is inconceivable that the military system under my command, which demands unprecedented sacrifice from its personnel, would be party to granting mass exemptions from prosecution.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the law is “an absolute desecration of the name of God” and “spits in the face” of soldiers.

Historical context and numbers

The exemptions have existed since Israel’s founding in 1948, but the Supreme Court declared them illegal. The debate resurfaces as the Army faces personnel shortages after almost three years of armed conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Every year, about 13,000 ultra-Orthodox young people turn 18, but less than 10% enlist, according to a parliamentary committee. The prime minister seeks the support of the haredis for the next elections; Analysts point out that he is trying to get them to negotiate only with him after the elections.

For ultra-Orthodox legislator Moshe Gafni, the approval is historic. He stated:

“For thousands of years, the study of the Torah was the force that preserved the Jewish people. This law will be a compass for the values of the State.”

The decision generates tensions even within the ruling party and opens a debate about the balance between tradition and defense needs.