World roundup: April 15 2024

Stories from Israel-Palestine, Myanmar, Ukraine, and elsewhere

TODAY IN HISTORY

April 15, 1395: The Battle of the Terek River

April 15, 1947: Jackie Robinson makes his Major League Baseball debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. In doing so, he became the first African-American to play in the MLB, breaking the color barrier that had been entrenched in the league since the 1880s. Two years later he became the first African-American to win his league’s Most Valuable Player award for the 1949 season, and he was inducted in the the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

INTERNATIONAL

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared on Monday that the world has entered another mass coral bleaching event, with reefs in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans showing signs of the condition. This has been feared for some time now, given that the Earth seems to be setting a new high ocean water temperature record every other week. Coral “bleaches,” or releases its protective algae, when stressed by high temperatures in the surrounding waters, which puts it at serious risk of dying off altogether. Bleaching can be reversed if temperatures are reduced, and the current El Niño is forecast to become a La Niña later this year but it’s unclear if that will be enough to stop the process.

MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL-PALESTINE

Eschewing the off ramp that was offered by Iran’s showy but ultimately inconsequential attack over the weekend, the Israeli government has reportedly decided to retaliate and take the chance that doing so might spark a regional war that everyone outside of Israeli leadership seems desperate to avoid. I realize this is perhaps the least surprising news ever, but please bear with me. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that an Israeli attack may be imminent, though right now it seems more likely that Israeli officials will wait at least long enough to make it appear as though they’re approaching this thoughtfully rather than reflexively. They may feel the need to keep up that appearance because the Biden administration has been clear in its desire to avoid further escalation, though it will also keep arming Israel and its rhetoric suggests the US will once again protect Israel from another Iranian retaliation should that be forthcoming. So it’s effectively giving a green light to Israel’s next move, whether the administration is willing to admit that or not.