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Hamas Terrorists Have Genocide In Their Hearts. They Say So Themselves

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Hamas Terrorists Have Genocide In Their Hearts. They Say So Themselves

Even in the dumbed down age of social media sound bites, certain realities should serve as a wakeup call to anyone with an IQ in the triple digits who has not imbibed the Kool Aid of the immutably anti-Israel, anti-Zionist extreme political left. One of these fundamental truths is that Hamas is, has always been, and will always be a genocidal terrorist organization.

And yet, as inevitably as morning following the night, perceived political correctness far too often overrides not just common sense but fundamental decency. This explains why the Harvard students who wrote a public letter blaming Israel for Hamas’ Oct. 7 barbaric slaughter of more than 1,200 Israeli—read Jewish—men, women, and children epitomize the antisemitic quagmire prevalent at far too many universities and colleges.

“We, the undersigned student organizations,” they wrote, “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

Not a single mention of the Hamas terrorists who rained down thousands of rockets on innocent civilians and who hunted down and literally slaughtered entire families sheltering in their homes. Not an iota of compassion for infants butchered together with their mothers or for the teenagers machine-gunned to death at a music festival. Not even a hesitation that raping and sexually abusing women and girls might not be in accordance with Harvard’s vaunted code of conduct. Not a moment of self-doubt that violently taking hostages, including an elderly Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair, and threatening to execute them violates every norm of civilized behavior. The only concern of these Harvard would-be savants is for what they call “the Palestinian ordeal.” Their perverse world view does not include even an afterthought for the ordeal of murdered, kidnapped, and terrorized Jews. This is antisemitism on steroids.

Blaming the victims while ignoring the crimes of the perpetrators follows the much overused playbook of a host of antisemites and genocide deniers, following the lead of the German ultranationalist historian and politician Heinrich von Treitschke who first used the phrase “The Jews are our calamity” (Die Juden sind unser Unglück) in an 1879 essay. It is a technique perfected by Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels who justified the persecution, oppression, and mass murder of Jews by attacking Jews as archenemies of, and threats to, Germany.

And then there is Harvard President Claudine Gay, who waited three days to distance the university from the student groups’ statement without, however, condemning or even affirmatively rebuking its authors. Gay wrote that “while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group—not even 30 student groups—speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.” I am confident that her language would have been considerably less mealy-mouthed had she been confronted with student groups endorsing the Ku Klux Klan or espousing misogynistic sentiments. But bashing Jews and Israel does not warrant more than a slap on the wrist, and a weak one at that.

Contrast Gay’s namby-pamby (for lack of a better phrase) reaction to that of former Harvard President Lawrence Summers. “In nearly 50 years of @Harvard affiliation, I have never been as disillusioned and alienated as I am today,” he wrote on Monday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, adding, “I am sickened. I cannot fathom the administration’s failure to disassociate the university and condemn this statement.”

Or, for that matter, contrast Gay’s reticence with Jens Ohlin, the dean of Cornell Law School (where I teach) who wrote that the Hamas “terrorist attacks were egregious and shocking violations of human dignity and cannot be justified in any context.” These are the very sentiments that needed to be expressed and heard.

The Harvard students hardly stand alone in their abhorrent willingness to cast Hamas as freedom fighters rather than bloodthirsty terrorists. Equally offensive statements blaming Israel and effectively applauding Hamas abound at other universities and colleges too numerous to list. Take Ryna Workman, the president of the NYU Law Student Bar Association who sent a message to “y’all” expressing “my unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination. Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life. . .. I will not condemn Palestinian resistance.”

Is that what cutting the throats of babies is? Resistance? Really?

Columbia University’s Students for Justice in Palestine, meanwhile, saw fit to sanitize Hamas’ onslaught as nothing more than a “counter-offensive against their settler-colonial oppressor,” crassly implying a moral equivalency between the killers and their victims. And the University of Virginia chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine considers the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas to be nothing more than “a step towards a free Palestine…. We stand in solidarity with Palestinian resistance fighters….”

I do not mean to suggest that praise or support of Hamas is limited to academia. “I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day,” declared Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), ascribing responsibility for Saturday’s carnage exclusively to Israel without bothering to acknowledge that the Israeli “lives lost” were innocent men, women, and children while the Palestinians in question were genocidal killers.

These are only a very few examples of a pervasive mindset rooted in either deep-rooted ignorance or a willingness to condone genocidal actions and other crimes against humanity as acceptable means to an end.

To quote Charles Schulz’s immortal Charlie Brown, “Aargh!”

Lost in the sophistry of disingenuous attempts at evenhandedness is the self-evident truth that Hamas has never wavered from its determination to perpetrate the genocide of Jews living in Israel.

I am not making this up.

“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it,” reads the Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement, more commonly known as the Hamas Covenant, adopted on Aug. 18, 1988. Replete with antisemitic tropes, the Covenant asserts as a premise that “Israel, Judaism, and Jews challenge Islam and the Moslem people.” Quoting from the Quran, it warns “those who believe not, Ye shall be overcome, and thrown together into hell.” The Charter makes abundantly clear that Hamas is determined not just to obliterate the State of Israel but to ravage and kill the Jews living there as it did on Oct. 7.

Hamas leaders have reiterated this non-negotiable intention repeatedly over the years. “Palestine is Islamic, and not an Islamic emirate, from the river to the sea, that unites the Palestinians,” declared Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’ politburo, in 2010. “Jews have no right in it, with the exception of those who lived on the land of Palestine before World War I.” Two years later, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, a co-founder of Hamas who was killed in 2004, reiterated the organization’s genocidal goals. “By God,” he said, “we will not leave one Jew in Palestine. We will fight them with all the strength we have. This is our land, not the Jews’ …”

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Genocide Convention by the United Nations General Assembly. It defines the crime of genocide as any of a number of delineated acts (including murder) “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.”

There can be no doubt whatsoever that Hamas intends to destroy–that is, kill or forcibly evict–virtually all if not all Jews living in the State of Israel. This falls four-square into the Convention’s definition of genocide.

I write these words as a lifelong Zionist (I am a past national president of the Labor Zionist Alliance) and as someone who has been an active and outspoken supporter of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process for more than 35 years. I categorically support the right of the Palestinians to a state of their own alongside Israel, which I firmly believe to be the only viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I also know from countless discussions with Palestinians over the years that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people as a whole any more than the Bosnian Serbs who perpetrated a genocide against Bosnian Muslims in July 1995 represent the Bosnian Serb people as a whole.

I stand in awe of Israeli Arabs such as journalist Lucy Aharish who has declared unambiguously that “we,” including first and foremost herself, “are under an attack of a brutal, barbaric, inhumane terror organization—not an entity, not a government, not a leadership, but a terror organization. Hamas murdered and slaughtered in cold blood innocent babies, children, elderly, women, and men. In their homes, in their beds.”

Hamas must also not be lumped together with the Palestinian Authority which seeks to arrive at a political compromise with Israel. Despite the raw emotions in the aftermath of the Hamas carnage, we should not lose sight of the fact that in the long run, eventually, a negotiated solution, which will inevitably have to be a two-state solution, will have to be reached with those Palestinians who do not identify with Hamas.

But all this does not change the fact that Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organization that must now be eradicated or at least rendered permanently powerless if there is to be any hope for peace in the Middle East.

With a wartime “unity” cabinet that includes former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Benny Gantz in place, Israel is about to embark on an existentialist war against what President Biden unequivocally and accurately termed the “pure, unadulterated evil” embodied by Hamas. As this war, which will inevitably cost thousands of lives, is waged, it is critical for us bear in mind at all times, to quote from Winston Churchill’s first speech as Britain’s prime minister on May 13, 1940, that Israel’s goal, and civilization’s goal, for that matter, is and must be “victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”

Menachem Z. Rosensaft is adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School, lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School, and general counsel emeritus of the World Jewish Congress. He is the author of Poems Born in Bergen-Belsen (Kelsay Books, 2021).

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

Kia debuts three electric vehicles that are coming in the next 18 months

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Kia debuts three electric vehicles that are coming in the next 18 months

Kia’s global electric vehicle (EV) strategy will bring three new models to market in the next 18 months, pushing past traditional style and segment definitions and into the zero-emissions era.

The production-ready Kia EV5, already revealed in photographs, Concept EV3 and Concept EV4 were introduced in a small event enclave east of Seoul, South Korea as part of the company’s first EV Day press gathering.

EV5 is a battery-electric compact SUV that is designed for milennial families. It is destined for Asian and European markets, and will come to Canada. “Kia is considering to export the EV5 to North America starting from 2025. There is no plan to produce the EV5 in North America,” the automaker told Newsweek.

EV5 is slightly smaller than EV6 and delivers a more rugged, EV9-like body style, with urban prowess. It will be offered in a high-performance EV5 GT version, which will debut at a later date.

Chief Kia designer Karim Habib says that EV5 is designed to give its owners, “a life enriching experience that goes beyond the physical boundaries of the car itself.”

The Kia Concept EV4 is a look at the intersection of sedan and crossover, a space clearly inspired by Saab but standing out as “post sedan” in designer speak. It’s smaller than the EV6.

Concept EV3 is an electric compact SUV that’s equal parts “practical and joyful”, the automaker says. It’s slightly larger than Seltos but smaller than Niro in proportion. While its looks are exactly like the EV9 and EV5, they all share similar upright position thanks to traditional SUV styling.

EV3 and EV4 are destined for the U.S. market when they get into final form.

These three vehicles join the Niro EV, EV6 and EV9 as the company’s electric pathway toward future success. The brand aims to sell one million electric vehicles annually by 2026.

By 2030, Kia will sell 1.6 million per year, in a market that is slated to reach 36 million units of sale per year by the same market.

Kia’s EV lineup will have models priced from $30,000 to $80,000, including the recently-announced pricing of the EV9. The EV3, EV4 and EV5 will be priced from $35,000 to $50,000.

Markets that have rapid EV adoption, like Scandinavia, will see the new models come to their dealers first. Regions with slower adoption rates will see the vehicles later, as part of an aim to “diversify product offerings and cater to various customer preferences,” Kia said in a press release.

Some of this rollout is also contingent on the availability of batteries. Joint vehicle battery-making facility build-out is underway in the state of Georgia as part of a partnership with SK On. Hyundai Motor Group, the parent company of the Kia, Genesis and Hyundai brands, plans to spend $5 billion on the facility.

Additionally, Kia intends to establish a total of eight global EV production facilities by 2025. These facilities will have the ability to research, develop, produce and supply countries’ vehicle needs, with Korea serving as the main hub.

Production in Europe will focus on small- and medium-sized EVs. In China, the emphasis will be on mid- to large-sized SUVs. Models for emerging markets will be produced in India while North American production will be diverse in response to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

“Kia’s initial EV focus is on Europe and China, which makes sense in terms of differences in the pace of regional adoption and regional regulatory pressure. But with many automakers taking this logical approach, it could mean the US availability of a wider range of EVs occurs more toward the end of the decade than the middle of the decade,” Stephanie Brinley, associate director of research and analysis at S&P Global, told Newsweek.

“Though the EV5 and the concepts suggested by EV4 and EV3 are priced more affordably, their size and positioning is presented as better suited to China and Europe. These three new EV products should combine with existing EVs to create a robust EV product lineup as a whole—but there don’t seem to be many markets likely to see the whole portfolio.

“Over time, however, if the U.S. is to transition to an EV-dominant market as well as elsewhere, a robust offering smaller and less expensive products must be part of the mix. That may not be until the next decade, despite announced plans moving forward, but it has to happen.”

Ben Shapiro escalates feud with Andrew Tate

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Ben Shapiro escalates feud with Andrew Tate

The feud between Ben Shapiro and Andrew Tate has escalated after the conservative political commentator slammed the former kickboxer on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

The online battle between the two influencers began with a post Shapiro shared to X—the social network formerly known as Twitter—on October 9.

The conservative political commentator, who is Jewish and a staunch supporter of Israel, reposted a clip of the current fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Originally shared by user Mario Nawfal, the footage was accompanied by the caption: “JUST IN: The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Palestine: ‘We are horrified by what is happening and we call for a truce.'”

In the response to the call for peace, Shapiro wrote: “And they can f*** right off.” Tate commented on the 39-year-old’s post, referring to him as “Mr tough guy.”

“Let me assure you as someone who has does his own fighting—as opposed to excitedly encouraging others to do it for him—while sitting at home on a comfy chair,” Tate said. “Peace is always worth a conversation.”

The 36-year-old, who is Muslim and anti-war, has previously expressed support for Palestine and is advocating for a cease-fire.

Replying to Tate’s jibe, Shapiro said: “Let me assure you, as someone who has not pimped women and bragged about it, that morality requires that those who rape women and kidnap children must be eradicated, not negotiated with.”

Shapiro was referencing Tate’s charges for rape and human trafficking in Romania, where he is accused of creating an organized crime group with the aim of sexually exploiting women.

During an interview with Piers Morgan on October 11, Shapiro shared his thoughts on the feud.

“He was tweeting that immediately like as terrorists were still running around in southern Israel, that was on October 10th and he was still tweeting while the bodies were fresh and warm in the streets,” Shapiro said.

“You cannot make peace with people who murdered your children and burned their bodies, you can’t do that… The murder happens and you immediately say ‘okay guys, now truce, now ceasefire.'”

Shapiro believes it is unreasonable for the Israeli government to seek peace with a group that seeks its “direct extermination.”

The author also told Morgan that he would not be “lectured on morality and toughness by Andrew Tate.”

“[His] great idea of toughness and morality is pimping women and then bragging about it on air and trying to quasi-walk it back while simultaneously maintaining many of the same positions, and flexing his biceps,” he said.

Morgan highlighted Tate’s massive online following, asking Shapiro if it’s “dangerous” that the Big Brother star can still post about the conflict.

“Listen, everyone should be able to tweet whatever it is that they want, I’m all for an open discourse, even with people who I think are dead wrong on a lot of these issues,” Shapiro said.

“But Andrew Tate is dead wrong on a lot of these issues and the particularly ridiculous posturing about being a… yes, you’re very tough when you want people to make peace with terrorists who just murdered their children, very very tough.”

Newsweek has reached out to Ben Shapiro and Andrew Tate for comment via email.

Roads can be built on the moon, laser experiment shows

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Roads can be built on the moon, laser experiment shows

Researchers have developed a method that could one day be used to build roads on the moon.

The novel approach, described in a proof-of-concept study published in the journal Scientific Reports, would involve melting lunar soil with focused sunlight to turn it into a more solid substance. This could be used to create paving for roads and other infrastructure like landing pads.

In experiments conducted on Earth, a team of scientists demonstrated the viability of the technique using lasers—instead of concentrated sunlight—to melt a lunar soil substitute. Their findings indicate that the technique could be replicated on the lunar surface, although several challenges remain to be overcome.

The latest study comes in an era when NASA is aiming to establish a long-term presence on the moon as part of its Artemis program, while the space agencies of Russia and China are also planning to develop their own lunar base.

Being able to construct paved roads and landing pads on the moon will be an important component of planned lunar settlements in order to mitigate issues encountered by previous missions. Low levels of gravity at the lunar surface can result in dust floating around when disturbed by exploration vehicles, which can potentially damage equipment.

“The spreading of lunar dust when moving a vehicle on the lunar surface is a major concern for lunar exploration,” Juan Carlos Ginés Palomares, an author of the study with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Aalen University in Germany, told Newsweek.

“Apollo astronauts reported that the dust stuck to their suits and covered all the instruments due to their surface adhesion. In addition, the sharp edges of the dust particles are a risk to the exploration equipment,” he said. “Manufacturing roads is a way to avoid the formation of dust clouds while facilitating the movement of vehicles and rovers.”

In the study, Ginés Palomares and colleagues conducted experiments that involved manufacturing tiles by heating and melting the moon dust substitute. These tiles were then allowed to cool, producing a robust, consolidated piece with an interlocking design that measured around 25 millimeters (one inch) in thickness. Such tiles could be placed alongside each other to cover a wide area of lunar soil, according to the researchers.

Some previous studies have explored the use of solar concentrators or lasers to fabricate parts with lunar materials, but parts of this size have never been fabricated before, according to the researchers.

In the experiments, the scientists used high-powered carbon dioxide (CO2) laser beams to heat the dust substitute, replicating the effects of concentrated sunlight. The spot of the beam had a maximum diameter of 100 millimeters (4 inches) and 12 kilowatts of maximum power, which has never been used before in previous studies.

To reproduce this approach on the moon, the scientists propose the use of a special type of lens measuring over 7 feet across that would focus sunlight like a magnifying glass.

This lens would enable the manufacture of tiles using only sunlight and lunar soil. Such a solution would be simple and low weight—a significant advantage given that transporting construction materials from Earth is costly and logistically challenging.

“This process has some outstanding advantages over other suggested manufacturing methods on the moon,” Ginés Palomares said. “The first is the use of virtually inexhaustible materials and energies: sunlight and moon dust. We consider that paving can be created sustainably with this technique.”

Another advantage is the simplicity of the design and low weight of the required equipment compared to other ideas that have been proposed for the heating of moon dust, such as using microwave or electric ovens.

“This equipment could be easily transported to the moon in a space rocket,” Ginés Palomares said.

Kevin Farries, a structural engineer at the University of Adelaide in Australia, who was not involved in the study but has undertaken similar research, told Newsweek that the latest paper was a “significant” addition to the field.

“The method is very promising, and is probably the most effective demonstration to date,” Farries said.

But the researcher said there are still many unknowns with this method. For example, he said the authors have not been able to produce a complete seal between the interlocking tiles, leaving gaps within and between the units.

“This might still be effective in reducing dust from passing vehicles, but it is not certain it will eliminate it,” he said.

Before this method could be applied to the moon, more research would need to be conducted. For example, the performance of the tiles beneath a rocket thruster would need to be tested, the researchers said. Manufacturing the tiles in low gravity conditions would also need to be addressed. This could be achieved by using parabolic flights that mimic the effects of low gravity in Earth’s atmosphere.

Furthermore, the technology would need to be approved by space agencies, although once this happens the system could be easily transferable to the lunar surface, the researchers said.

“We have laid the foundations for paving roads on the moon, using raw materials widely available on the moon and using relatively simple equipment,” Ginés Palomares said.

Alex Ellery, a researcher in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University in Canada, who was also not involved in the research, told Newsweek the latest study is interesting and that its strength lies in characterizing the properties of the melted lunar soil substitute.

Another positive result was that the tiles displayed superior compressive strength to most concretes, he said.

But Ellery said he is not convinced that a CO2 laser is a good analogue of concentrated sunlight as would be generated by the type of lens used in the study.

“So, I regard this as a valuable material science background study but not a direct simulation of a lunar-specific optical technology,” he said. “However, I think they have shown that developing paving on the moon is a work in progress.”

Update 10/13/23, 4:09 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Alex Ellery.

Humans hunted and butchered a cave lion 48,000 years ago, skeleton suggests

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Humans hunted and butchered a cave lion 48,000 years ago, skeleton suggests

Ancient humans hunted and butchered a cave lion around 48,000 years ago, a study of the prehistoric big cat skeleton has found.

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, describes what researchers say is the first direct evidence of cave lion hunting among Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis)—one of our closest extinct relatives with whom we share a common ancestor.

The findings represent the “earliest direct evidence of a large predator being hunted and killed in human history,” study author Gabriele Russo, a Ph.D. candidate in zooarchaeology at the University of Tübingen’s Institute for Archaeological Sciences in Germany, told Newsweek.

The paper also provides the earliest evidence of Neanderthals exploiting a cave lion pelt around 190,000 years ago, according to the researchers.

The findings of the study shed new light on the interactions between these ancient hominins (the group consisting of all modern and extinct humans) and Eurasian cave lions (Panthera spelaea), an extinct big cat species that resembled modern lions.

Neanderthals emerged in the Middle Pleistocene period, which ran from roughly 780,000 to 126,000 years ago. The earliest known Neanderthal-like fossils date to around 430,000 years ago.

These hominins lived in Eurasia, briefly co-existing and sometimes interacting with our own species, Homo sapiens, before disappearing around 40,000 years ago.

In the study, Russo and colleagues analyzed the almost complete 48,000-year-old remains of a cave lion that is thought to have been about the size of a large modern African lion male and relatively old when it died. This skeleton was originally excavated in 1985 in the municipality of Siegsdorf, in southeastern Germany.

Previous examinations of the cave lion specimen had identified cut marks across several of the bones, including two ribs, some vertebrae and the left femur, suggesting that ancient humans had butchered the big cat after it died.

The study has revealed new details regarding the lion’s demise, describing a partial puncture wound on the inside of the lion’s third rib, which appears to have been made by a wooden-tipped spear. The puncture is angled, suggesting the spear entered the lion’s body through the left side of its abdomen and pierced vital organs before coming into contact with the third rib on the right side.

The nature of the puncture wound bears similarities to others previously found on deer vertebrae that are known to have been made by Neanderthals.

As a result, the authors of the study proposed that Neanderthals killed the cave lion—which was likely in poor condition—with a wooden spear and processed the carcass at the kill site in order to exploit its meat before abandoning it. Thus, the specimen from Siegsdorf provides the earliest evidence of these Neanderthals purposefully hunting cave lions, according to the study.

“Based on our knowledge, they approached the butchering process with care. They began by eviscerating the animal and removing its internal organs without causing damage to the ribs,” Russo said. “Additionally, they extracted the meat from the muscles without disarticulating or breaking any bones for marrow extraction.”

The relationship between early humans and lions is poorly known, despite these animals being a prominent feature of cave art made by prehistoric Homo sapiens.

“These interactions are exceedingly rare. We may be aware of only about 20 sites across Europe that extend back over 350,000 years with evidence of human-cave lion interactions, including those involving Homo sapiens. However, the scarcity of these findings is not unexpected,” Russo said.

“Fossils, in general, are extremely uncommon—fossils of large cats are even more so. As in the case of the lion from Siegsdorf, stumbling upon them often comes down to sheer luck. Furthermore, even after their discovery, they sometimes end up being overlooked or forgotten,” he said. “Previously, our knowledge [of Neanderthal-cave lion interactions] was limited to a scant few instances scattered across time and space, primarily comprising isolated bones of lions bearing cut marks, implying some form of processing.”

The oldest of these instances, dating back to approximately 350,000 years ago, was discovered in Grand Dolina, Atapuerca, northern Spain, and was detailed in a study published in 2010.

“In this case, the evidence includes both cut marks and impact marks, indicating that a lion was definitely butchered and maybe killed, as suggested by the authors. However, there is no direct evidence to support the latter,” Russo told Newsweek.

In the latest study, the researchers also analyzed a set of cave lion paw bones that Russo and colleagues uncovered during excavations at the “Unicorn Cave” in the borough of Herzberg am Harz, in central Germany. These remains date to around 190,000 years ago.

An examination of the bones revealed cut marks consistent with those produced when an animal is skinned. The evidence suggests that the bones were left within the pelt of the lion, which was then abandoned at the site.

These findings may represent the earliest evidence of Neanderthals exploiting a lion pelt, potentially for cultural purposes, according to the study.

The nature of the cut marks indicates that the ancient humans responsible for skinning the animal were careful in their approach, ensuring that the claws remained preserved within the fur. The findings of the study have implications for our understanding of the relationship between ancient humans and these animals.

“The notion that Neanderthals interacted with cave lions holds deep significance,” Russo said. “It reveals that Neanderthals were actively engaged with their environment, which included encounters with formidable creatures like lions.”

“These interactions encompassed not only the cultural use of lion body parts but also the ability to hunt them. Initially, this behavior was exclusively attributed to our species, Homo sapiens. However, Neanderthals were the first in the hominin lineage to gain the upper hand over predators, pioneering cultural relationships with them,” he said.

Wildebeest fear elephants but no-one knows why

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Wildebeest fear elephants but no-one knows why

While you might think that big cats are the kings of the savannah, it turns out that hooved animals are just as scared of elephants as predators like leopards—but we don’t know why.

When researchers played the calls of several animals to wildebeest, nyalas, and impalas—among others—in the Mbuluzi Game Reserve, Mlawula Nature Reserve and Hlane Royal National Park in Eswatini, they found that the prey animals reacted in fear just as strongly when they heard the elephants as then they heard leopards, according to a new paper in the journal Biology Letters.

“To measure the level of fear, we used new technology, we place out motion-triggered cameras that were connected to speakers in the African savanna,” Robert J. Fletcher, an affiliate professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Florida and co-author of the paper, told Newsweek.

When an ungulate—a hooved animal—walked in front of the camera, the camera would start to record a video of the animal. After approximately 20-30 seconds, the camera (which was linked to a speaker system) would then play a vocalization of either a leopard, elephant, or a control sound (a bird).

“The video would then document how the animal responded to the vocalization. We found that some species of ungulates tended to run when hearing an elephant or leopard sound, but not the control sound, including impala and blue wildebeest,” Fletcher said. “We also documented changes in vigilance behavior of the animal if they did not run. In this way, we determined if the animal had its head up, scouting the area (a common measure of vigilance). We found that ungulates were also more vigilant, particularly nyala.”

They found that the levels of vigilance of the ungulates were similar when they heard elephant sounds and leopard sounds. This response did differ between different species of ungulate: the running response to the elephant call was seen in 74 percent of impala running compared with only 39 percent of nyala.

This response may be because the animals are scared of the unknown, with both unfamiliar animal calls representing a threat. Alternatively, these reactions may be due to the ungulates having seen elephants act aggressively in the past, or even because elephants represent competition for food resources.

“These results are important as scientists have increasingly realized that predators can create ‘landscapes of fear’, which can have a wide range of consequences for species and ecosystems,” Fletcher said. “Our work suggests that elephants may have similar impacts. Elephants are large and often aggressive, such that we think that these fear effects we documented are driven by their dominant role in the community, even if they are not predators of other species.”

This study is hoped to help researchers know how best to manage animals in the national parks, by learning more about what scares them.

“Our results suggest that patterns like these may be driven by fear and call for a better understanding of how megaherbivores may alter the behavior of other species and its consequences for communities and ecosystems,” the authors wrote in the paper.

Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about elephants? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.

6 Actionable Tips to Lead With Positivity

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6 Actionable Tips to Lead With Positivity

A leader’s attitude is contagious: If a manager is cynical, they’ll have a team and overall culture that’s cynical of them and their work. Problems tend to hit them like a brick wall, and then they fail. But if a manager shows genuine positivity and enthusiasm — not the toxic kind that makes people deny hardships to the detriment of problem-solving — their team can be much more motivated.

Workers naturally build resilience when they become confident they can overcome their problems. Because optimism spreads, leaders can use intentional tactics and principles to be a central source of positive workplace culture.

A Six-Step Positivity Playbook

Every team has unique characteristics, which will determine what positivity strategies can be most effective for leaders. A younger team might be happy getting skills training because it builds their confidence, while a more experienced team might respond better to direct feedback that guides the confidence they already have. But a few go-to options can improve positivity for nearly any group:

1. Expect and embrace uncertainty. Change is always here. People always have to live with it. But those who win out are the people who see opportunity and adapt in the midst of change. Being willing to let go and learn can be exciting rather than stressful.

2. Control what you can control. There are things a person can control, and there are things a person cares about. Some of these elements will overlap. But often, people worry about issues they can’t influence, and they spend time worrying about fixing those elements. Then, they get overwhelmed and stressed. If people look only at what they can control, the number of points they worry about dramatically decreases. Even though their work might not be easy or fast, they can feel a sense of purpose from the growth and change they support in those areas.

3. Move past failure quickly. No one is perfect; everyone messes up. But when a person makes a mistake, they have a choice: They can either beat themselves up and lapse into a pity party, or they can stay focused on the goal, objectively analyze and learn. They can get up and try again with a different approach as soon as they realize what went wrong. As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” In today’s fast-paced work environments, the ability to recuperate fast translates to competitiveness.

4. Have gratitude and celebrate little wins. To some, a small accomplishment might seem insignificant. But to the worker, it might seem like the world. Leaders must pay attention and know when a win is big for someone.

5. Show faces. People are social creatures designed to respond to physical cues, including facial expressions. Leaving cameras off during remote meetings can leave the other party in the dark and block human connection. When team members are not face to face, request that they put their cameras on if it’s convenient for them.

6. Be spontaneous. Anyone who has had to repeat the same task 100 times can testify that too much monotony is maddening. People need a touch of the unexpected or they’ll likely feel bored, disconnected, and stuck. Something as simple as asking your team one of the questions taken from a book like 3000 Questions About Me can get people talking, and most people enjoy talking about themselves.

Positivity Principles To Remember Along the Way

Looking at the tips above, leaders should be realistic: Directing a team toward positivity takes energy and effort. This can mean that managers need to adopt a service mindset. Simon Sinek expressed this well in his book, Leaders Eat Last. Sinek explains that, in the military, high-ranking officers ensure the people underneath them get their meals first — the high-ranking officers get their meals only once they know others have what they need. So pay attention: Positivity and humility are unmistakably linked.

As leaders increasingly serve their teams, they can not only be good role models but also show empathy for their workers as people. Lending attention to points that are not work-related can have a healthy impact on teams because it communicates that leadership is concerned about the employees’ non-work environment. Most of us don’t operate in an environment that demands instant action. Consequently, managers shouldn’t call, text, or reach out to people at night if they don’t want workers emulating that behavior.

Finally, leaders should either have a mentor themselves or mentor someone outside their group. Having a mentor can give a leader a source of encouragement so they aren’t tempted to give up or fall into negative thinking. But leaders don’t have to have just one mentor. They can have three or four people who serve as their board of directors and offer consistent accountability. And mentoring others can help turn the focus away from the leader’s own problems.

Positive In, Positive Out

Whether a person calls it karma or something else, leaders tend to get back what they put into their teams. So, if leaders want a healthy team that can beat even the worst odds, they must demonstrate positivity and make a conscious effort to build an optimistic culture. Leaning on tactics like embracing uncertainty and being spontaneous can advance this process quickly. Combined with the key principles of service, modeling and mentorship, they’re a reliable path to success.

The Newsweek Expert Forum is an invitation-only network of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience.What’s this?Content labeled as the Expert Forum is produced and managed by Newsweek Expert Forum, a fee based, invitation only membership community. The opinions expressed in this content do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Newsweek or the Newsweek Expert Forum.

Why you should think twice about vaping on a plane: "Don’t be this person"

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Why you should think twice about vaping on a plane: "Don’t be this person"

Think no one will know if you take a quick puff from a vape in a plane bathroom? You should think again.

Vaping on a plane is not only dangerous but a federal offense that could get you a fine of almost $2,000.

“FAA regulations prohibit smoking, including the use of electronic cigarettes, on board airliners,” a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesperson told Newsweek, adding, “Passengers who violate federal vaping laws could face fines up to $1,771.”

In a viral TikTok video shared in late September, Natalie Magee, who is a flight attendant, according to several videos shared on her TikTok profile and her company website, warned passengers against vaping or smoking on a plane. In her post, she wrote, “Please don’t be this person.”

Recalling a recent flight she was on where vaping or smoking was suspected to have taken place on board, she explained the complex ordeal that unfolds if signs of smoke are detected.

Magee said this process includes “a complete overhaul of the systems and the engines,” and the plane is put out of service for several hours. The delay could see you or other passengers miss their connecting flights, she noted.

The FAA spokesperson said vapes and e-cigarettes were “the leading cause for incidents of smoke, fire or extreme heat on aircraft in 2022.”

Among the 55 incidents reported through September of last year, vapes and e-cigarettes accounted for 19 of them. “That’s 35 percent of all incidents in 2022 and triple the incidents reported in 2019,” the FAA spokesperson said.

Why Are Vapes, E-Cigarettes Dangerous on Planes?

The FAA says that vaping is dangerous on a plane because electronic smoking devices contain lithium batteries that pose a fire risk.

Passengers are allowed to bring these devices on the plane, the FAA says, but they must be “appropriately packed” in the following ways:

Vapes, e-cigarettes and spare lithium batteries must only be placed in your carry-on luggage.Vapes and e-cigarettes should be carefully protected to keep the device from accidentally turning on.Place vapes and e-cigarettes in a protective case or remove the batteries and store each battery in its own case or plastic bag to prevent a short circuit.

What Happens if You Vape on a Plane?

FAA regulations do not specify the exact actions the flight crew must take if a passenger is found to be smoking or vaping on a plane.

Magee said in the clip, “When you vape or smoke in the bathroom and you do not identify yourself if you get caught, that airplane is grounded for a minimum of about two hours because they have to do a complete overhaul of the systems and the engines and everything like that.”

Magee is from Alabama but moved to Colorado in 2005 to become a flight attendant, according to the website of Yogi Magee Adventures, a company she launched.

She recalled receiving an “emergency call from the flight deck” in the middle of a recent flight: “We pick up the phone and the captain is like, ‘Who is vaping in the bathroom?'”

In a follow-up video on TikTok, she said the flight deck receives a notification that the smoke alarm has gone off and that smoke has been detected. “They don’t know if that smoke is coming from someone actually smoking…or if it’s coming from a fire in the bathroom.”

The pilots do know “exactly what bathroom it [the smoke alarm] goes off on” and will alert the flight crew to check out what’s happening, she said.

If someone admits to smoking, this allows the team to “know the trigger for the smoke alarm, [and] that’s a lot easier to deal with” than having to “guess what made the smoke alarm go off,” she said.

When no one admits to the act, the plane will have to be grounded so the maintenance team can look into various possibilities.

“They don’t know if the smoke alarm is giving just a false alarm or if there was a fire somewhere else detected,” she said. So they need to “check all the systems to detect where that smoke was coming from.”

Noting that two hours is just a “rough estimate,” she said how long a plane is grounded depends on how long it takes for the maintenance team to go through all the checks, as well as resetting all the smoke alarms.

The plane can also be out of service for a lot longer depending on how far the maintenance team is from the airport, which could be another city, Magee said.

What Happens if You’re Caught Vaping on a Plane?

In the video, Magee recalled a captain telling her about an incident in which a passenger suspected of vaping or smoking was spotted coming out of the bathroom and was confronted.

If the person who vaped or smoked “comes clean and confesses that they’d done so, you’re just basically gonna get berated on the ground” and it won’t become a huge ordeal, she said.

But “if you do not come clean, this airplane is gonna be out of service for two hours, and the next people are gonna miss their connecting flights because you were smoking in the bathroom,” she said.

She warned: “So the moral of the story is: Those smoke detectors do work. Do not smoke or vape in the bathroom. And if you get caught, you absolutely need to come clean.”

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment. This video has not been independently verified.

Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured on Newsweek.

Got holiday plans? Airbnb reveals top destinations from Japan to Bahamas

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Got holiday plans? Airbnb reveals top destinations from Japan to Bahamas

Dreaming of a winter getaway? Airbnb just released its 2023 winter and holiday travel trends, and it shows big interest in South America, the Asia-Pacific and the Bahamas.

After prolonged periods of COVID-related lockdowns and travel bans, the platform’s list notably includes several spots in Japan. Osaka has emerged as a top destination, likely benefiting from Japan’s easing of travel restrictions in October 2022.

U.S. travelers, in particular, are gravitating toward sun-drenched destinations this winter, and domestic travel includes more small-town destinations, according to the Airbnb’s data.

Trending Global Destinations

Here are 10 of the trending worldwide destinations for winter and holiday travel, according to Airbnb’s searches between January 1 and September 2023.

Osaka, JapanHong Kong, ChinaQuebec City, CanadaTaipei, TaiwanRio de Janeiro, BrazilHanover, GermanyWānaka, New ZealandSão Paulo, BrazilMuang Pattaya, ThailandTokyo, Japan

For those taking the whole family out this winter, the top international spots were similar but also included Spain, France and the United Arab Emirates.

Here are 10 of the most globally searched destinations for family Airbnb stays between November 1 and December 31.

Tokyo, JapanQuébec City, CanadaRio de Janeiro, BrazilSão Paulo, BrazilPuerto del Carmen, SpainLa Crucecita, MexicoAbu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesTignes, FranceNassau, the Bahamas

Americans, meanwhile, are looking for warm global getaways, including El Salvador, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.

Domestic Travel

Smaller U.S. cities are gaining traction this winter, including Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Gainesville, Florida, according to Airbnb, reflecting a shift from traditional urban centers.

Here’s are U.S. locations with the highest growth in searches for the 2023 winter season, according to the website.

Fairbanks, AlaskaTuscaloosa, AlabamaGilbert, ArizonaBentonville, ArkkanasUniversal City, CalifonriaColorado Springs, ColoradoNew Haven, ConnecticutRehoboth Beach, DelawareGainesville, FloridaDahlonega, GeorgiaLihue, HawaiiBoise, IdahoGalena, IllinoisBloomington, IndianaDes Moines, IowaKansas City, KansasLouisville, KentuckyBaton Rouge, LouisianaSalem, MaineBar Harbor, MajneOcean City, MarylandAnn Arbor, MichiganSaint Paul, MinnesotaSt. Louis, MissouriStarkville, MississippiBig Sky, MontanaGreensboro, North CarolinaOmaha, NebraskaLincoln, New HamphsireRuidoso, New MexicoLas Vegas, NevadaJersey City, New JerseySyracuse, New YorkFargo, North DakotaCincinnati, OhioTulsa, OklahomaLeavenworth, WashingtonEugene, OregonState College, PennsylvaniaProvidence, Rhode IslandColumbia, South CarolinaSioux Falls, South DakotaKnoxville, TennesseeArlington, TexasBrian Head, UtahLudlow, VermontHampton, VirginaSnowshoe, West VirginiaMadison, WisconsinTeton Village, Wyoming

If you’re traveling across the U.S., time is ticking to score the best deals on holiday travel. For the best deals on Thanksgiving and Christmas trips, travel-booking site Hopper experts say to book by October 14.

Hopper’s lead economist, Hayley Berg, told Newsweek that Thanksgiving flights are down 14 percent and Christmas prices are down 12 percent from last year.

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle break silence on Israel-Hamas war

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle break silence on Israel-Hamas war

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “are supporting our partners and organizations on the frontlines in Israel” after the Hamas attacks, a statement on the couple’s website said.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex broke their silence over the fighting in southern Israel over the weekend, as the Israel Defense Forces prepared for a possible ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and injured over 2,700 after entering Israel, while 1,200 have been killed and around 5,600 wounded since Israel began bombing the Gaza Strip in response, according to Reuters.

“At The Archewell Foundation, with Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, we stand against all acts of terrorism and brutality,” a statement on Harry and Meghan’s website read. “We are supporting our partners and organizations on the frontlines in Israel to provide the urgent aid needed, and to help all innocent victims of this unconscionable level of human suffering.”

King Charles III became the first royal to comment publicly on the crisis on Wednesday, when a spokesperson said: “This is a situation His Majesty is extremely concerned about, and he has asked to be kept actively updated.

“His thoughts and prayers are with all of those suffering, particularly those who have lost loved ones, but also those actively involved. His Majesty is appalled by and condemns the barbaric acts of terrorism in Israel.”

Shortly afterwards, Prince William and Kate Middleton followed up with a Kensington Palace statement: “The Prince and Princess of Wales are profoundly distressed by the devastating events that have unfolded in the past days.

“The horrors inflicted by Hamas’s terrorist attack upon Israel are appalling; they utterly condemn them. As Israel exercises its right of self defence, all Israelis and Palestinians will continue to be stalked by grief, fear and anger in the time to come.

“Their Royal Highnesses hold all the victims, their families and their friends in their hearts and minds. Those The Prince of Wales met in 2018 overwhelmingly shared a common hope—that of a better future.

“In the midst of such terrible suffering, The Prince and Princess continue to share that hope without reservation.”

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.

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