Thursday’s News & Ideas - 3/19/2026

UN rights report condemns displacement of Palestinians in West Bank
The Associated Press: The U.N. human rights office Tuesday expressed concerns about possible “ethnic cleansing,” denouncing an acceleration of Israeli settlements and displacements of thousands of Palestinians in large parts of the occupied West Bank that has grown “more relentless” in recent months.

Mamdani put Ramadan at the center of NYC’s cultural life, bringing joy — and a backlash
NPR: When Mayor Zohran Mamdani took the stage at the Museum of the City of New York last week, he was surrounded by city workers invited to share iftar, the dinner held after sunset to break the daily Ramadan fast.

Joseph Duggar of ‘19 Kids and Counting’ faces child sex abuse charges*
The New York Times: Joseph Duggar, a former star of the TLC reality series “19 Kids and Counting,” which followed a large Arkansas family guided by conservative Christian values, was arrested on Wednesday on charges accusing him of molesting a 9-year-old girl in Florida in 2020, the authorities said.

Acclaimed 20th century philosopher Jürgen Habermas dies at 96
NPR: Throughout his career, he stressed the importance of confronting the Nazi era as uniquely criminal, insisting that postwar-German democracy must recognize and reckon with its guilt.

Inside Malta’s sacred heritage: St. Paul, Caravaggio and a Christian legacy
Religion Unplugged: For travelers drawn not just to the sun and sea, Malta also offers a chance to go back in time. Nowhere in Europe does Christianity feel so rooted than on this small archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea situated halfway between Italy and North Africa.

The Spark

Climate change to identity: The vital lessons in Metamorphoses, Ovid's 2,000-year-old poem
Its tales of desire and deceit reveal surprising parallels with contemporary concerns, from climate change and the refugee crisis to gender-based violence and identity, the BBC says.

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