Show Comments Load More Events during the Obama administration probably point to the way things will work out again if the attack on Syrian forces continues for more than a few weeks Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in final negotiating session in Geneva over agreement to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons A day after Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon last week the long dormant war in Syria reignited as jihadist forces seized the city of Aleppo and advanced virtually unhindered in its quest to overthrow the Syrian government until finally meeting resistance from the Syrian Army backed up by Russia This is the last chance for neocons in the United States to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad before Donald Trump On the neocon list of ways to make the world safer for Israel “Real men go to Tehran!” was the muscular brag But Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was persuaded to acquiesce in a less ambitious plan — to “do Iraq” and remove the “evil dictator” in Baghdad first As the invaders/occupiers got bogged down in Iraq it seemed more sensible to “do Syria” next With the help of “friendly services,” the neocons mounted a false-flag chemical attack outside Damascus in late August 2013 Obama had called such a chemical attack a red line but, mirabile dictu Russian President Vladimir Putin pulled Obama’s chestnuts out of the fire by persuading Syria to destroy its chemical weapons under U.N Obama later admitted that virtually all of his advisers had wanted him to order Tomahawk cruise missiles into Syria HMS Diamond escorting the merchant ship Ark Futura during the disposal process of Syria’s chemical weapons stock the angry reaction of some of Israel’s top American supporters on Sept when the Russian-brokered deal for Syria to destroy its chemical weapons was announced After doing an interview in Washington on CNN International I opened the studio door and almost knocked over a small fellow named Paul Wolfowitz Bush’s former under-secretary of defense who in 2002-2003 had helped craft the fraudulent case for invading Iraq And there standing next to him was former Sen the Connecticut neocon who was a leading advocate for the Iraq War and pretty much every other potential war in the Middle East Anderson Cooper sought counsel from Ari Fleischer Fleischer and Gergen were alternately downright furious over the Russian initiative to give peace a chance and disconsolate at seeing the prospect for U.S military involvement in Syria disappear when we were oh so close The atmosphere on TV and in the large room was funereal I had happened on a wake with somberly dressed folks (no loud pastel ties this time) grieving for a recently Lieberman expressed hope-against-hope that Obama would still commit troops to war without congressional authorization here’s a fellow who was a senator for 24 years and almost our vice president and he does not remember that the Founders gave Congress the sole power to declare war in Article 1 9 was a bad one for more war and for pundits who like to joke about “giving war a chance.” chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee The neocons would face another humiliation three days later when The New York Times published an op-ed by Putin who wrote of growing trust between Russia and the U.S while warning against the notion that some countries are “exceptional.” then chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an Israeli favorite spoke for many Washington insiders when he said: “I was at dinner Menendez had just cobbled together and forced through his committee a resolution to authorize the president to strike Syria with enough force to degrade Assad’s military That the various groups trying to overthrow al-Assad had ample incentive to get the U.S more deeply involved in support of that effort was clear It was also quite clear that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had equally powerful incentive to get Washington more deeply engaged in yet another war in the area — then NYT reporter Judi Rudoren, writing from Jerusalem had the lead article on Sept. 6, 2013, addressing Israeli motivation in an uncommonly candid way. Her article, “Israel Backs Limited Strike Against Syria,” notes that the Israelis have argued that the best outcome for Syria’s at the time two-and-a-half-year-old civil war horrific as it may be from a humanitarian perspective seems preferable to either a victory by Mr Assad’s government and his Iranian backers or a strengthening of rebel groups ‘This is a playoff situation in which you need both teams to lose a former Israeli consul general in New York hemorrhage to death: that’s the strategic thinking here Instead of Tomahawks, Obama approved (or winked at) covert action to topple Assad. That did not work out very well. An investment of $500 million to train and arm “moderate rebels” yielded only “four or five still in the fight,” as then-CENTCOM commander Gen. Lloyd Austin explained to Congress on Sept Putin told Obama that Russia is sending its forces into Syria; the two agreed to set U.S Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov off to work out a ceasefire in Syria; they labored hard for 11 months A ceasefire agreement was finally reached and approved personally by Obama and Putin The following list of events beginning in the fall of 2015 is instructive in considering how the revived conflict might work out (probably minus U.S.-Russian talks) if the ongoing jihadi attack on Syrian forces continues for more than a few weeks representatives meet to discuss the situation in Syria Putin tells Obama that Russia will start air strikes in Syria; invites Obama to join Russia in air campaign against ISIS; Obama refuses but tells Kerry to get together with Lavrov to “deconflict” U.S and then to work hard for a lessening of hostilities and political settlement in Syria — leading to marathon negotiations 2015: Russia starts airstrikes both against ISIS and in support of Syrian forces against rebels in Syria Oct. 1, 2015 to Sept. 9, 2016: Kerry and Lavrov labor hard to introduce ceasefire and some kind of political settlement. Finally, a limited ceasefire is signed Sept 9, 2016 — with the explicit blessing of both Obama and Putin March 2016: Russian sappers clear liberated areas of Palmyra which had been mined by Islamic State jihadists Sept. 12, 2016: The limited ceasefire goes into effect; provisions include SEPARATING THE “MODERATE” REBELS FROM THE “IMMODERATE ONES.”  Kerry had earlier claimed that he had “refined” ways to accomplish the separation but it did not happen; provisions also included safe access for relief for Aleppo Air Force bombs fixed Syrian Army positions killing between 64 and 84 Syrian army troops with about 100 others wounded — evidence enough to convince the Russians that a renegade Pentagon was intent on scuttling the ceasefire and meaningful cooperation with Russia AND FELT FREE TO DO SO AND THEN MERELY SAY OOPS Sept. 26, 2016: Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said: “My good friend John Kerry … is under fierce criticism from the U.S supported him in his contacts with Russia (he confirmed that during his meeting with President Vladimir Putin) apparently the military does not really listen to the commander in chief.” He specifically criticized Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford for telling Congress that he opposed sharing intelligence with Russia “after the agreements concluded on direct orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S President Barack Obama stipulated that they would share intelligence … It is difficult to work with such partners 2016: KERRY’S HUBRIS-TINGED FRUSTRATION: Apparently Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland had told Kerry it would be easy to “align things” in the Middle East this is how Kerry started off his remarks at an open forum arranged by The Atlantic magazine and the Aspen Institute on Sept (I was there and could hardly believe it; it made me think that some of these stuffed shirts actually believe their own rhetoric about being “indispensable.”) Kerry said: “Syria is as complicated as anything I have ever done in my public life in the sense that there are probably about six wars going on at the same time: Kurds against Kurds Al-Nusra…this is a mixed up sectarian and civil war and strategic and proxies so it is very difficult to be able to align forces.”  Russian and Hezbollah forces beat back the jihadists and liberated Aleppo and other parts of the country in spite of U.S opposition and are being called upon again now to do the same a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington analyst included leading the Soviet Foreign Policy Branch and conducting the morning briefings of the President’s Daily Brief In retirement he co-founded Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) Views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Consortium News We often assume that when there is a conflict But What if there aren’t any “good guys” in any of these these conflicts self-righteous claims that state-sponsored terrorism was/is criminal relative to international law were/are nothing more than deceptive smoke-and-mirrors war propaganda humbug [1] deceptive or false talk or behavior: “His comments are sheer humbug.” I see CNN is broadcasting video snippets from the White Helmets™ Seems to me it seems to me Ray was tongue in cheek with the John Kerry “long labor effort ” comment Just started reading Scott Horton’s book “Provoked” You don’t have to read very far into this 650+ page book with its thousands of references to get the picture of US duplicity in foreign relations Seems the “Deep State” conspiracy obsessed Trumpers are correct Except the cabal is not rainbow flag wavers and inclusive ‘lib’ bureaucrats Whatever it takes to preserve the neolib illusion of controlling a unipolar empire No matter the uncontrolled costs and the huge diversion from domestic programs Anything to the contrary is to be mourned; so yeah “funereal.” Never mind they’re not the ones dying “…believe their own rhetoric about being ‘indispensable.'” Of course they do Told since their teens how superior they are As one Harvard grad replied to my Ivy D characterization: “We’re told we’re the best and everyone wants to be us.” Explains the accuracy of Halberstam’s book //The Best and the Brightest// about how such arrogance produced disastrous results in Vietnam Since our needs are irrelevant to their grand schemes our only role is merely to defer to our betters Despite seeing that our would-be emperors have no clues The context of this Syria action is not just the “interregnum” time frame but also Zelensky’s peril in the face of Putin’s advances in the Ukraine but the zealot Israel Firsters–many of them descendants of Eastern European Jews or Christian Zionist nutcases–will throw their bodies across the tracks to halt that train The MIC and merc contractors also have to make a living off of chaos in both the Ukraine and the ME Those military officials who defied the commander in chief’s orders should have been court martialed the rule of law is dead in the imperial west opposition and are being called upon again now to do the same.” but Trump said he was the one who beat back the jihadists in Syria Americans are ‘not agreement capable’ even among themselves And that’s only for the few who hadn’t noticed all the guns and the sound of gunfire echoing through the nights I’d say “stick your head out the window and hear the gunfire” but I’ve lived in parts of America where such an act could be a fatal mistake Parts of America where you know to drop quickly to the floor at the sound of gunfire and where you are aware of whether the walls are solid brick or only aluminum siding and you need to crawl to a bathtub or stove for cover “This is the last chance for neocons in the United States to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad before Donald Trump but there’s another way to look at it Trump’s impending admin is stuffed full of Israel Firsters much more so than even during his first term Israel could be going for broke now in Syria (the Takiri HTS crazies are greatly supported by Mossad and the CIA see Max Blumenthal’s work on this) in order to leave a steaming pile on Trump’s plate for him to clean up Assad’s been a strong conduit for arms and personnel into Lebanon that fortifies the Hezbollah fighters against Zionist aggression Destroying the current Syrian admin is a logical step before a possible Trump attack on Tehran it eliminates a robust pillar of the Shiite resistance “Not agreement-capable” is a tiny morsel of the terrible ,justified opinion the Russians all the BRICS and any other sentient beings must feel for the USRaeli/ukrainian/Turkiyé behaviour in a world already in a disastrous mess Keep Consortium News going in the tradition of Bob Parry. 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Watch Consortium News Live WINNER OF THE 2017 MARTHA GELLHORN PRIZE FOR JOURNALISM Israeli Arab Evangelical offers insight into plight of Syria’s Christian community Over the past week, the largest part of the world’s already scant media attention on the slaughter in Syria has focused on the Alawite community leaving the plight of the nation's Christians nearly ignored an Israeli Christian with connections to the Christian community in the city of Homs recently spoke to ALL ISRAEL NEWS to provide insight into the complex situation faced by Syria’s Christians under the new Islamist regime Manuel Abu Ali is the founder of Middle East Christian Aid (MECA) a non-profit organization with a mission to support the forgotten Christian communities in the Middle East compared the current situation of Syria's Christians to the ordeal faced by Israeli residents of the Gaza Envelope on Oct “This is a reality they face every single day there are no heroic soldiers coming to defend them A team from MECA was in the process of bringing aid to local Christians in Homs just east of the coastal provinces Latakia and Tartus when the fighting between militants loyal to the ousted Assad regime and troops of the new Islamist government descended into the wanton persecution and murder of civilians “The team found themselves hiding beneath furniture to avoid being shot or kidnapped by militias roaming the streets outside They found themselves caught up in the deadliest period of violence in years – with over 1,000 civilians killed,” Abu Ali explained pitted Alawite militias loyal to Assad against the Islamist forces of the new regime – but civilians were targeted by both sides “A surge in violence and kidnappings erupted and homes and shops were attacked in Homs and surrounding villages Our partners are saying Alawite militias loyal to Assad started this violence,” he told ALL ISRAEL NEWS Additional reports from the Syrian coast suggest that Christians were also among the more than 1,000 civilians who were murdered there While the new government has stated that it wants to impose order and security Abu Ali said the forces “basically have al-Qaeda and ISIS-background with some taking advantage of the situation to clean the area of anyone that's not Sunni.” this story went almost unnoticed in the media coverage of the fighting and the massacres which concentrated on the cities along the coast which are predominantly Alawite – the ethnoreligious group to which the Assad family also belongs Abu Ali emphasized that the MECA team “saw no journalists or any NGOs in the area.” According to a recent report in New Lines Magazine Homs has been shaken by a spree of kidnappings and murders targeting minorities While the city’s new police chief denied the sharp rise of this phenomenon the Syriac Catholic archbishop confirmed that the Christian community is afraid that the horrific situation under the brutal Assad regime might be repeated who have the social and political responsibility but we’ve received no concrete reaction,” Archbishop Jacques Mourad told New Lines “There is a repeat to all the things the Assad regime did before The fate of Syria’s Christians took a sharp turn at the beginning of December 2024 the Islamist rebel group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) broke out of its enclave around the northern city of Idlib bringing the decade-long rule of Bashar al-Assad to an end with a lightning assault the new government headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa HTS leader and former member of ISIS and al-Qaeda has struggled to restore public safety and order Al-Sharaa is attempting to integrate the myriad of armed rebel gangs – including Islamist partly foreign terror groups – into a new Syrian army Ethnic minorities in Syria are often viewed by the former rebels as having supported the Assad regime and its atrocities against the country’s Sunni majority some Christian churches have declared public support for the new government where HTS ruled over Christian and Druze populations While minorities faced harassment and some were murdered they were not expelled and slaughtered wholesale when al-Sharaa (also known as al-Jolani) tried to improve his image in the West HTS began reaching out to these communities “The new government itself is not against Christians publicly but it seems like things went out of their control,” Abu Ali said adding that it has “done virtually nothing to help or protect Syria’s Christians.” The team in Homs met “a Christian community filled with fear and a feeling of abandonment,” he emphasized “Churches have been attacked and Christmas trees burned and gangs are trying to impose sharia law on Christians forcing women to veil on the streets,” Abu Ali continued Christians have been “scared to leave their homes due to fear of attacks on the street or being kidnapped or killed Those with daughters are especially scared as they are a prime target for kidnappings and several reported being forced to veil in public,” he said apart from the government’s Islamist troops and other former terror groups that haven’t yet been integrated Christians in Homs are also being harassed by Alawite gangs About half of those who received aid from MECA were widows who shared heart-wrenching stories "tragically had lost her husband just a month before and he was brutally attacked on the street by a group of men leaving him dead on the street and [her] to raise their two sons alone.” “Another widow came with a heart-breaking story Her husband was kidnapped by Alawites who demanded $8000 in ransom She appealed to other Christians in the community and part of this sum was raised The Alawite group agreed to take this amount They took the money and slaughtered her husband anyway.” These kinds of kidnappings have occurred sporadically since 2011 these militias have been kidnapping Christians for ransom as a way to fund themselves and control the area,” Abu Ali explained stems from their lack of armed protection and their small numbers which deny them “safety in numbers.” This also contributes to the broader issue that their situation is not well known in the “Christian West.” “Many Christians stay silent in the face of persecution out of fear,” Abu Ali acknowledged “They feel that they have no defense and speaking out will only worsen their situation.” Christians are looked upon as ‘Westerners.’ Eastern Christians are close enough to pay the price for hostility towards Western policy Western civilization and Christianity itself.” He concluded that if “Christianity is to survive in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries Christians in the West must acknowledge and educate themselves on the very existence of [these] Christian communities.” “The events this week only drive home the message that it is time to take action to support Middle Eastern Christians on the frontlines before it’s too late Hanan Lischinsky has a Master’s degree in Middle East & Israel studies from Heidelberg University in Germany where he spent part of his childhood and youth He finished High School in Jerusalem and served in the IDF’s Intelligence Corps and he joined ALL ISRAEL NEWS in August 2023 Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker MENA Kamal TabikhaCairoJanuary 22 The city of Al Arish, which had held significant volumes of aid bound for Gaza, finds itself oddly quiet four days after a ceasefire deal allowed the entry of humanitarian assistance to resume The lifting of restrictions under the truce has sparked an increase in aid shipments travelling to the Rafah crossing with lorries lining the roads leading to Egypt's border with Gaza Since the war in Gaza began on October 7 2023 Al Arish has served as the main city for aid destined for the enclave with supplies piling up in warehouses and storage units amid Israeli restrictions on the border “All the action is at Rafah now,” said an Egyptian Red Crescent officer in the city “No more lorries must come and unload or wait here in Al Arish so they usually go straight there and wait outside there instead of coming here.” Shipments of blankets undergarments and winter clothes have continued to enter Gaza through Egypt since Sunday a driver at the Rafah border crossing delivering a shipment of blankets sent to the Egypt-Gaza border since the start of the war have had to endure long wait times at the border due to repeated closures of the crossing by the Israeli military which has been in control of the Rafah crossing since May “It’s a really hard job but it’s only a small part of what we have to do for our Palestinian brothers to whom I want to offer my deepest apologies that we couldn’t do more to stop their suffering I am happy to be a part of getting whatever Palestinians need for them in Gaza Ibrahim Asaad, 34, is parked near the entrance of the Tahya Misr tunnel in Ismailia, which cuts under the Suez Canal and into the Sinai Peninsula He has been waiting in a queue of what he described as “thousands of lorries” for the past two days He is waiting on clearance from Egypt’s General Intelligence Service (GIS) to cross into Sinai Mr Asaad is carrying World Food Programme food packages according to his shipment manifesto which he shared with The National The shipments were sent to Egypt by the WFP on October 2 but have been in storage since due to border closures Clearance from the GIS to enter the Sinai Peninsula is a routine procedure The GIS has been one of the main Egyptian agencies involved in ceasefire talks and handles the movement and security permits of both people and goods in and out of Gaza The drivers of the aid lorries are employed by contractors who are granted rights by the government to distribute aid a company sending WFP food packages to Gaza drivers are given a number and wait before entering Gaza are not entirely clear on who gets to enter first and for what reasons We are sure that it is not on a first come first serve basis because some contractors’ lorries enter with minimal searches while others wait for weeks and months to enter,” said Mr Nasr they are notified by their company and are asked to drive to the crossing where they are searched by the Egyptian military first then once again by representatives of Abnaa Sina – a trading and contracting firm owned by the pro-government Bedouin magnate Ibrahim Al Organi “After the military is done with searching us we drive a little further down where agents in vests that read Abnaa Sina and Al Organi Group search us again These searches are different from the military checkpoints because they are usually searching for contraband being snuck into Gaza that previous checks might have missed,” said Mr Asaad “Many drivers had made a habit throughout the war of smuggling cigarettes into Gaza There had been shortages inside the strip and cigarettes were being sold for US dollars to agents inside Many have been caught by the military or Al Organi’s people,” he claimed the lorries proceed to Israeli inspection points a driver waiting at Rafah with a shipment of shoes said he had been parked at the border for 20 days as part of the group of vehicles awaiting entry into the enclave before the ceasefire Mr Husseiny described the unpredictable nature of the crossing in December with the Israelis allowing only a handful of lorries through each day the Israelis would close the crossing and we would have to wait Other days they would allow a little more or a little less.” After entering through the Awga border crossing on Sunday night and waiting at the inspection unit until Monday morning Mr Husseiny said he was denied entry and was asked to return to the Egyptian side to obtain a new queue number He believes this was due to an altercation with an Israeli soldier who accused him of trying to run him over “The Israeli officer who searched my documents was very rude and aggressive Very rough and always ready to take offence,” he said an intelligence officer reviewed security footage from the incident and cleared Mr Husseiny to rejoin the queue the aid lorries currently unload their cargo at the Karam Abu Salem where it is transferred to UN vehicles for distribution within the enclave as the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing undergoes repairs after damage sustained during Israeli bombardments The Egyptian Red Crescent officer reported that between 10 and 15 lorries carrying construction equipment The crossing is anticipated to be operational by Sunday During a media conference in Rafah on Tuesday North Sinai Governor Khaled Megawer announced that the border crossing was no longer closed he said repairs were necessary before aid shipments could resume to the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing rather than at Karem Abu Salem under Israeli supervision This shift marks a return to the prewar aid delivery process where drivers would cross directly to the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing to unload their cargo without the additional step of passing through an Israeli-controlled checkpoint Profiting from loss: how business in illegal Israeli settlements continues unchecked If coronavirus overwhelms Gaza, there will be few others to blame but Israel As Netanyahu uses coronavirus to consolidate power, Israel's opposition leader has given in '#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/jennifer-archibald-documents-the-life-of-florence-waren\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=5jUo4FFJGr1ZdF7rkM5vEgwLQpD7NotUejxqG8mUVxM-1746487377-1.0.1.1-wUupxzwC41X8.hOWAHCj8xsHOZOvLtJ0sigFPDBxklg" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); Please select what you would like included for 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Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Wirtschaftsnachrichten & Startup-News direkt auf dein Smartphone Startseite |  Newsletter | Newsticker | Mediadaten Abo-Angebote | App | FAQ |  Abo kündigen Impressum & Kontakt |  Datenschutz | AGB | Jobs & Karriere Privatsphäre |  Disclaimer | Widerrufsbelehrung Ihre besten Looks vereinen ihren persönlichen Stil mit einer professionellen Note Sie hat im Laufe der Jahre auch einige kontroverse Outfits getragen Melania Trump ist offiziell wieder First Lady. Sie kehrte am Montag in einem dunklen, marineblauen Outfit ins Weiße Haus zurück und schlug damit einen deutlich anderen Ton an als bei der Amtsübernahme von Präsident Donald Trump im Jahr 2017 Seit sie First Lady ist, hat Melania Trumps Stil oft für Aufsehen gesorgt, da einige ihrer Outfits umstritten waren Werft einen Blick auf einige der besten und schlechtesten Looks die sie während der Amtszeit von Donald Trump getragen hat Lest den Originalartikel auf Business Insider Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information Moscow has benefited from rising global oil prices driven in part by supply curbs from the OPEC+ alliance led by Saudi Arabia and Russia 2023 at 9:39 AM EDTBookmarkSaveLock This article is for subscribers only.Russia’s oil and gas revenue soared in October to the highest since April 2022 due to high oil prices and a pause in government subsidies to refiners Budget proceeds from taxes on oil and gas rose by almost 28% last month from a year ago Levies on crude and petroleum products — which accounted for almost 91% of total hydrocarbon revenues last month — more than doubled brutal – and police see themselves as under siege The fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy of north African descent during a police traffic stop in a Paris suburb and the three consecutive nights of violence and rioting it has triggered have once more thrown a spotlight on France’s policing structures and methods The office of the UN high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR) on Friday became the latest international organisation to criticise French policing saying the shooting was a “moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement” said authorities should ensure that the use of police force “always respects the principles of legality The death of the teenager, identified as Nahel M, was the third fatal shooting by police during traffic stops in France in 2023 There were a record 13 such shootings last year Most of the victims since 2017 have been of black or Arab origin reinforcing claims by rights groups of systemic racism within French law enforcement agencies LiveVandalism and looting continue in France amid protests over police shooting of boy – video report“We have to go beyond saying that things need to calm down,” said Dominique Sopo the head of the campaign group SOS Racisme “The issue here is how we to ensure we have a police force that don’t tend to shout at them [but] use racist terms against them and in some cases shoot them in the head.” Beyond an institutional racism common in many police forces, French policing has a tendency to violence that has been highlighted by groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Council of Europe. Police truncheons, teargas grenades, rubber bullets and larger “flash balls” have inflicted extensive physical injuries during demonstrations Long a taboo subject, French policing – seen by many critics as instinctively repressive and favouring disproportionate force – has become a major political issue, particularly since the gilets jaunes protests of 2018 and 2019 in which an estimated 2,500 protesters were injured At least 1,800 police and gendarmes were injured in the same protests, and French police complain that they are a target of growing violence, some of it expressly aimed at maiming or even killing. Pension reform protests this year led to similarly brutal scenes: 1,000 police were injured in March alone Experts who study policing across Europe point to a fundamental difference of structure and approach that goes beyond strategy and tactics. They say French police and gendarmes see themselves generally not so much as servants of the people but as protectors of the state and government. Consequently, the public’s relationship with the police is different in France than in, for example, Scandinavia, Germany or Britain. This, combined with France’s long tradition of political street protest, produces an explosive cocktail. Researchers say the police see themselves as under siege and reluctant to cede ground. Sebastian Roché, a criminologist, says the French approach, far from aiming to pacify protest, is deliberately confrontational and escalatory. Other researchers use the words chaotic, aggressive, authoritarian, brutal. Roché says French police are “wired to be insulated from society, to respond only to the executive”. He says French police are more heavily armed than most of their European colleagues and deploy weapons that are often banned or used only very rarely elsewhere more extensively – one reason why 36 people have been severely mutilated at demonstrations in France since 2018 and three killed in the last 10 years. Read more“If the police are more respected in Germany, Scandinavia and England than in France, it is because they are respectable,” Roché told Le Monde earlier this year “Pacification and de-escalation are not the fruit of our neighbours’ different cultures but of in-depth work on limiting the use of force.” French politicians – particularly in the interior and defence ministries which control the national police and gendarmerie – have long shielded the forces of law and order from criticism another researcher specialising in police issues says France’s police force now faces “real structural problems in terms of recruitment The system needs to be completely reassessed Subscribe to our action alerts and weekly newsletter Your info is secure with us. Find us engaging media outlets around the world Read our expert reports and recommendations Join us in our community events on and offline Fighting internet shutdowns around the world Keeping watch around key elections around the world Putting people first in digital ID systems #MigrarSinVigilancia #FreeAlaa Transparency Reporting Index #ProtectNotSurveil Fighting the spread and abuse of dangerous spying tools Protecting people’s personal information online We provide 24/7 technical support for activists and human rights defenders around the world Digital safety guide for LGBTQ+ activists in Africa Internet shutdowns and elections handbook Digital safety tips if you are disconnected Defending and extending digital rights of people and communities at risk around the world We bring together key stakeholders to catalyze engagement Meet the experts leading our work around the world We value the diverse perspectives and guidance from our distinguished board Funding & financials Legal Home / Posts / Human rights protections…with exceptions: what’s (not) in the EU’s AI Act deal On Friday, December 8, just before midnight, the European Union’s co-legislative bodies reached a deal on the Artificial Intelligence Act following three days of intense negotiations and almost two-and-a-half years since the AI Act was first proposed in April 2021 Negotiators from all sides of the political spectrum have effusively declared victory in triumphalist press releases and public statements issued since Friday night — but we aren’t celebrating Opening the press conference to announce the deal Spain’s Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence said that there were “two narratives that I don’t want anybody to buy today,” claiming that not only had all outstanding political issues been settled but also that the final text includes “no loopholes” undermining fundamental rights protections why we need to keep scrutinising these final stages of the process and why the fight to protect fundamental rights isn’t over yet.  The political agreement reached in trilogue on Friday does not in fact include a definitive legal text, nor is it set in stone This makes upcoming “technical meetings,” which will finalise the text before it is officially adopted by both the Parliament and Council especially considering some countries still do not consider it a done deal POLITICO reports that the French government says they will “continue discussions to ensure that this regulation While the law’s most controversial and crucial aspects are unlikely to change significantly this still leaves a lot of room for error in how definitions are finalised and exceptions formulated It’s also impossible to say how good or bad even the finalised wording is because it hasn’t been made public As an example, let’s look at the prohibited practices mentioned in the Council of the EU’s press release: namely “cognitive behavioural manipulation the untargeted scrapping [sic] of facial images from the internet or CCTV footage emotion recognition in the workplace and educational institutions biometric categorisation to infer sensitive data such as sexual orientation or religious beliefs and some cases of predictive policing for individuals.”  While this might sound impressive at first glance, the devil is really in the details. When it comes to prohibition on emotion recognition, for instance, Access Now and other civil society organisations have called for a full ban throughout the AI Act negotiations the European Parliament adopted a ban on emotion recognition in just four contexts: education the prohibition on using it in law enforcement and migration contexts was removed from the final text perfectly demonstrating the AI Act’s two-tiered approach to fundamental rights which deems migrant people and already-marginalised people less worthy of protection.  it could lead to racist surveillance of Black students or workers we won’t know how bad this is until we see the final text – which also applies for all the other bans mentioned in the press release.  We also don’t yet know how the AI Act will regulate how law enforcement and migration authorities use dangerous AI systems. As Access Now, PICUM, EDRi, and others have highlighted the AI Act could have been a tool to protect everyone but its power to meaningfully regulate state powers was attacked by member states The following issues thus demand close attention once the AI Act deal text is public: Even as we consider what was won and lost last week we shouldn’t overlook the glaring gaps that have always existed in the AI Act.  Digital guardrails alone are not sufficient to tackle racism and discrimination in our societies But the initial hope for the AI Act was that it would safeguard people against the worst uses and abuses of technology so that AI doesn’t perpetuate or lead to human rights violations on the individual and collective level in that it narrowed human rights protections to a limited number of use cases.  the EU will gloat about being the world’s regulatory trendsetter while plenty of ink will be spilled about the so-called “Brussels effect” and the expectation of inspiring similar legislation around the world it was already a concession to industry and law enforcement and now despite the best efforts of civil society and a group of dedicated MEPs and their staff it promises to protect police and private companies far more than people Crafted by Cornershop Creative Your info is secure with us Betty Waren: "I don't think I could work at any other kind of institution." A series of fateful decisions placed Betty Waren in a perfect position to help children who need help the most 1.: When Waren graduated from Butte High in 2011 she had a few different career paths in mind: Nurse Then she was accepted to all the schools she applied to I  couldn’t have gone to a better school," she said "I felt like I had a little family there with my teachers and nursing cohorts." Her clinical work at school included time at Copper Ridge James -- and a day at the Southwest Montana Community Health Clinic She received her associates in 2014 and her bachelor's degree in 2016 So she went to work at the Community Health Center "I fell in love with the core concept of what we do here at the clinic," Waren says "I love that we treat people regardless of social or financial standing We work really hard making sure they get the help they need "I don't think I could work at any other kind of institution." an opening at the clinic meant that Waren could begin working with pediatrician Dr In addition to seeing children at the clinic Waren also works with Butte's Child Evaluation Center collaborating Montana Child and Family Services and with law enforcement to assess abused and neglected children accepting environment so that secondary trauma can be reduced," she said "Often after something terrible has happened children can be traumatized all over again in their interactions with law enforcement or the healthcare system "If you judge or stereotype them they may never want to talk to you again." She said she takes her work "as an opportunity to make a difference in kids' lives." She says she sees children at the clinic with "every kind of health-care challenge ... every different situation you could possibly imagine." Seeing kids "at their sickest is really important work," Waren said "but it's really great to see them healthy and growing" in subsequent years Waren says that she's learned the importance of "Loving and caring .. being there for patients regardless of what they’re going through however happy or unhappy they are at the time." She stressed that preventative care for children is not emphasized enough "We can help them with the building blocks of their health before things progress .. at a time where good habits will bring better outcomes." Waren says that "part of my self-care" is "reading drawing and playing violin with the Butte Symphony," something she's done for a decade now She has been thinking about going back to school to become a nurse practitioner But she knows her transition to being a medical provider — diagnosing and prescribing — would take her farther away from "the importance of nursing itself." she says the work at the clinic "kind of fell in my lap," but definitely "pediatrics is my place to be," Waren said Email notifications are only sent once a day Cherry could go to trial in August if the incest by accountability and child porn chargers are not dismissed A judge told a Butte man Thursday that even though he was being sent to prison he was fortunate to be alive and so were two Montana troopers … Local law enforcement personnel respond to multiple crimes in and around Butte an unidentified 36-year-old Butte man was seriously injured after crashing into a building while riding his Ha… Thursday on a highway near Henry’s Lake State Park in eastern Idaho near Island Park Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account Das deutsche Parteiengesetz zeichnet sich im europäischen Vergleich durch einen sehr liberalen Finanzierungsrahmen aus der keine Obergrenzen für Spenden kennt und Zuwendungen von Unternehmen und Privatpersonen aus der gesamten Europäischen Union zulässt Auch im Bundestagswahlkampf 2024/25 flossen bisher über 20 Millionen Euro an privaten Spenden den größten deutschen Parteien zu Ein Blick auf die veröffentlichungspflichtigen Großspenden über 35.000 Euro lässt erkennen wer die Spenderinnen und Spender sind und welche Parteien am meisten profitieren Seit November 2024 sind elf Spenden von mindestens einer halben Million Euro eingegangen Zusammengerechnet ergeben sie rund 10,3 Millionen Euro – fast die Hälfte aller Großspenden (Stand 22 In neun der elf Fälle stammen die Spenden von Privatpersonen vier der elf Spenden kommen aus Österreich Die AfD erhielt die höchsten Einzelspenden des Wahlkampfes und profitierte von drei der elf besonders hohen Großspenden Darunter waren eine Sachspende für Wahlplakate im Wert von 2,3 Millionen Euro von einer Privatperson aus Österreich sowie Geldspenden in Höhe von 1,5 Millionen Euro und 0,5 Millionen Euro Insgesamt erhielt die Partei somit 4,8 Millionen Euro – fast die Hälfte der elf größten Spenden und mehr als ein Fünftel aller Großspenden Die Kleinpartei Volt erhielt seit November 2024 lediglich zwei Großspenden darunter jedoch eine der höchsten Einzelspenden des Wahlkampfs Der junge Musiker und Unternehmenserbe Thadaeus Friedemann Otto spendete eine Million Euro wodurch Volt einen Großteil seines Wahlkampfs finanzieren konnte Die FDP erhielt neben der Spende von Bitpanda zweimal eine halbe Million Euro vom ehemaligen Chef des Kofferherstellers Rimowa der 2016 mehrheitlich von der LVMH-Gruppe übernommen wurde Die CDU bekam – zusätzlich zur Spende des österreichischen Krypto-Unternehmens – im Januar eine halbe Million Euro von einem Münchner Unternehmer Das Spendenverhalten zeigt eine deutliche Geschlechterdynamik: Seit November 2024 haben nur fünf Frauen Großspenden getätigt – das entspricht lediglich 2 Prozent aller Großspenden Über den beruflichen Hintergrund und die Herkunft des Vermögens einiger dieser Spenderinnen sind nur wenige Informationen bekannt Eine Spenderin aus Nordrhein-Westfalen überwies 50.000 Euro an die CDU eine weitere aus Österreich die gleiche Summe an die bayerische Schwesterpartei CSU In weiteren Fällen tätigen Ehepaare separate Spenden an dieselben Parteien Brigitte Gotthardt aus Rheinland-Pfalz spendete im Januar 80.020 Euro an die CDU und 100.000 Euro an die FDP Am selben Tag überwies ihr Ehemann jeweils 100.000 Euro an diese Parteien dass Frank Gotthardt an NiUS beteiligt ist – einem 2023 gegründeten Nachrichtenportal das sich als deutsches Pendant zu Fox News versteht und mit rechtspopulistischen Beiträgen Aufmerksamkeit erregt Petra und Stephen Orenstein aus Hessen spendeten jeweils 50.000 Euro an die CDU Während das Ehepaar heute im Immobiliengeschäft tätig ist schloss Stephen Orenstein in den 2000ern Verträge in Milliardenhöhe mit dem US-Verteidigungsministerium zur Versorgung US-amerikanischer Soldatinnen und Soldaten Mitbegründerin des Windenergieunternehmens Ostwind GmbH spendete 150.000 Euro an Bündnis 90/Die Grünen – ihr Ehemann der ebenfalls Mitgründer des Unternehmens ist spendete ebenfalls 50.000 Euro an die Partei Auch die Verteilung der Großspenden auf die wichtigsten politischen Parteien zeigt ein deutliches Ungleichgewicht Deutliche Spitzenreiterin ist die CDU/CSU mit über einem Drittel aller Großspenden – rund 8,4 Millionen Euro – was ungefähr dem zu erwartenden Wähleranteil der Partei entspricht die trotz Umfrageergebnissen unterhalb der 5-Prozent-Hürde etwa 21 Prozent aller Spenden erhielt Erstmals belegte jedoch im Bundestagswahlkampf 2025 die AfD den dritten Platz Mit nur drei Großspenden in Höhe von 2,3 Millionen 1,5 Millionen und knapp einer Million Euro übertraf das Spendenaufkommen der rechtsradikalen Partei damit bis zuletzt sogar das der Liberalen Diese Entwicklung ist umso bemerkenswerter als die Partei nach wie vor keine Zuwendungen von klassischen Großkonzernen und Unternehmerfamilien erhält Da diese aber – anders als in den USA – nur selten Spenden in Millionenhöhe leisten können wenige sehr große Einzelspenden einer Partei einen signifikanten Vorteil verschaffen.  Deutlich schlechter schneiden die Parteien links der Mitte ab Die SPD erhielt mit 2,6 Millionen Euro rund 11% aller Großspenden seit November 2024 und liegt damit deutlich  unter ihrem prognostizierten Wähleranteil Bündnis 90/Die Grünen erhielten mit rund 1,3 Millionen Euro nur 5 Prozent der Großspenden Die europäisch-föderalistische Kleinpartei Volt kam dank einer einzigen Millionenspende auf einen etwa gleich hohen Betrag während sich Linke und BSW im Laufe des Bundestagswahlkampfes mit einem sechsstelligen Betrag begnügen mussten Zwei der fünf ostdeutschen Großspender sind Unternehmen aus Sachsen die jeweils 50.000 Euro an die FDP spendeten Ein Unternehmer aus Sachsen-Anhalt spendete als Privatperson zweimal 50.000 Euro an die CDU ein Unternehmen aus der Holzindustrie überwies die gleiche Summe an die SPD Für Diskussionen sorgte eine Spende aus Thüringen in Höhe von 999.999 Euro an die AfD: Der Spender das Geld als Privatperson überwiesen zu haben dass es sich dabei um eine Strohmannspende handeln könnte (siehe unten) Aus den anderen beiden ostdeutschen Bundesländern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und Brandenburg gab es keine Großspenden Aber auch in den elf westdeutschen Bundesländern kommen die Spender seien es juristische oder natürliche Personen Nordrhein-Westfalen beheimatet das industriestarke Ruhrgebiet während in Hessen zahlreiche Pharma- und Chemieunternehmen ansässig sind Zudem spielen die wirtschaftsstarken Metropolen München und Frankfurt am Main eine zentrale Rolle München ist nicht nur ein bedeutender Finanz- und Technologiestandort sondern auch Sitz zahlreicher DAX-Konzerne Frankfurt am Main wiederum ist als Finanzzentrum mit der Europäischen Zentralbank und der Frankfurter Börse ein zentraler Knotenpunkt der deutschen und europäischen Wirtschaft Diese wirtschaftliche Konzentration spiegelt sich auch in der Verteilung der Großspenden wider In der Öffentlichkeit am meisten diskutiert wurde eine Großspende des ehemaligen FPÖ-Funktionärs Gerhard Dingler der mit 2,3 Millionen Euro in Form von Sachleistungen (Wahlplakaten) die bisher größte Wahlkampfspende an die AfD leistete Außerdem spendete das Krypto-Unternehmen Bitpanda GmbH aus Wien jeweils 500.000 Euro an CDU Eine dritte Privatperson aus Salzburg überwies weitere 50.000 Euro an die CSU Mit insgesamt rund 4,1 Millionen Euro spendeten Österreicherinnen und Österreicher damit etwa viermal so viel wie alle ostdeutschen  Bundesländer zusammen um deutsche Staatsangehörige mit Wohnsitz außerhalb der Bundesrepublik In Deutschland können sich sowohl Privatpersonen als auch Unternehmen an der Parteienfinanzierung beteiligen Rund 40 Prozent der Großspenden kamen in diesem Jahr von juristischen Personen dass ein schwer zu bestimmender Anteil der beteiligten Unternehmen mehrheitlich oder ausschließlich von einer Einzelperson oder von Mitgliedern einer Familie kontrolliert wird – Beteiligungsgesellschaften und Holdings sind unter den spendenden Unternehmen keine Seltenheit.  Ein erheblicher Teil der Großspenden dürfte daher auf die Entscheidung einiger weniger Anteilseigner zurückzuführen sein Eine wichtige Ausnahme bilden dabei Arbeitgeber- und Industrieverbände die für rund 5% aller Großspenden verantwortlich sind Ordnet man jede spendende Einzelperson oder Organisation ihrem Hauptwirtschaftschaftszweig zu so wird die Dominanz einiger weniger Wirtschaftsbranchen deutlich Den größten Beitrag zur Finanzierung des Bundestagswahlkampfes leisteten Personen und Unternehmen aus dem Bereich Finanz- und Versicherungsdienstleistungen mit 19 Prozent des gesamten Großspendenaufkommens – über 80 Prozent davon kamen den bürgerlichen Parteien zugute An zweiter Stelle folgt das verarbeitende Gewerbe mit 18% der Großspenden und einem noch ausgeprägteren bürgerlichen Schwerpunkt Der Wirtschaftszweig „Information und Kommunikation” sowie das Grundstücks- und Wohnungswesen belegen den 3 Hier schneiden FDP und Union deutlich schlechter ab während SPD und Grüne einen höheren Anteil der Spenden erhalten Alle drei Spender begründeten ihre Spenden damit dass sie die Ansichten der AfD zum Krieg in der Ukraine teilten und u.a die Lieferung von Taurus-Marschflugkörpern verhindern wollten Als historisch wirtschafts- und arbeitgebernahe Parteien werden die FDP und die CDU/CSU in der Regel stärker durch Großspenden aus Industrie und Finanzwirtschaft unterstützt Ihr wirtschaftsfreundlicher Kurs spiegelt sich auch in ihrer Programmatik wider: Beide Parteien versprechen in ihren Bundestagswahlprogrammen eine Senkung der Unternehmenssteuern mehr Digitalisierung und Bürokratieabbau.  Auch engere Brancheninteressen beeinflussen offensichtlich das Spendenverhalten: So stammen vier von insgesamt 16 Großspenden an die Grünen von Einzelpersonen oder Unternehmen aus der Windenergiebranche Die bayerische CSU wiederum wurde von regionalen Interessenvertretern unterstützt: Allein durch zwei Großspenden des Verbandes der Bayerischen Metall- und Elektro-Industrie (vbm) erhielt die Partei über 600.000 Euro Der bayerische Arbeitgeberverband spendete zwar auch an die FDP die Beträge waren aber mit maximal 117.000 Euro deutlich geringer als die an die CSU Weniger selektiv gehen eine Reihe von Interessengruppen und Unternehmen vor die sowohl an Union und FDP als auch an die SPD größere Summen überwiesen haben Zu dieser Kategorie gehören das bereits erwähnte Krypto-Unternehmen Bitpanda aus Wien und die Deutsche Vermögensberatung Aktiengesellschaft (DVAG) Auch der Unternehmer und ehemalige SPD-Politiker Harald Christ Vergleicht man die Liste der Spender mit der Liste der 500 reichsten Deutschen die das Manager-Magazin im Jahr 2024 veröffentlicht hat so ergeben sich in rund einem Drittel der Fälle Überschneidungen.Während bei direkten Spenden von Einzelpersonen und bekannten Beteiligungsgesellschaften von einer direkten individuellen Entscheidung auszugehen ist die sich im Besitz einer vermögenden Unternehmerfamilie befinden inwieweit eine direkte Mitwirkung einzelner Personen vorliegt Geht man von einer zumindest indirekten Mitwirkung aus so lassen sich rund 31 Prozent des Gesamtvolumens der Großspenden (rund 7,2 Millionen Euro) auf Personen aus dem Ranking des Manager-Magazins zurückführen – fünfmal so viel wie alle Arbeitgeberverbände zusammen gespendet haben dass die Familien an der Spitze des Rankings verhältnismäßig weniger aktiv sind als andere Personen mit Milliardenvermögen Als reichster Einzelspender im Wahlkampf dürfte der BMW-Großaktionär Stefan Quandt gelten der zehn Tage vor der Wahl 200.000 Euro an die CDU spendete Laut Manager Magazin beziffert sich sein Vermögen auf etwa 34 Milliarden Euro Umgerechnet auf das Durchschnittsvermögen eines deutschen Haushalts (106.600 Euro) entspricht seine Großspende damit einer Spende von nur 0,62 Euro Vergleichsweise viel bedeutender sind zwei Spenden des ehemaligen Rimowa-Chefs Dieter Morszeck der insgesamt eine Million Euro an die FDP überwies Bei einem geschätzten Vermögen von rund 500 Millionen Euro entspricht dies umgerechnet einer normalen Haushaltsspende von 213 Euro Aufgrund der im Verhältnis zum Gesamtvermögen eher bescheidenen Spendensummen besitzen die reichsten deutschen Familien derzeit keine exklusive Vormachtstellung bei der Wahlkampffinanzierung Nach wie vor dominieren Großspenden aus einem etwas weniger vermögenden Kreis von Industrie- und Finanzunternehmern sowie von Interessenvertretern und anderen Unternehmen aus dem In- und Ausland die Spendenlandschaft Gerade deshalb wäre es dennoch theoretisch möglich dass in Zukunft sehr große Spenden den Wahlkampf maßgeblich beeinflussen Elon Musk spendete im US-Wahlkampf insgesamt 288 Millionen Euro – das entspricht etwa 0,7% des Vermögens des reichsten Deutschen Im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen europäischen Ländern gibt es in Deutschland keine Obergrenze für Parteispenden Besonders in Wahljahren führt das zu deutlich höheren Spendensummen als in Nicht-Wahljahren: Zwischen November 2024 und Februar 2025 wurden 23,5 Millionen Euro gespendet – zum Vergleich: Im gesamten Jahr 2023 waren es lediglich 8,8 Millionen Euro Ab einer Summe von 35.000 Euro spricht man von einer Großspende Spenden in dieser Größenordnung müssen seit 2024 umgehend der Bundestagspräsidentin gemeldet werden ­ – zuvor lag die Schwelle bei 50.000 Euro dass Parteien Spendenbeträge über 500 Euro veröffentlichen müssen – dies geschieht allerdings über die Rechenschaftsberichte und damit erst mit einer Verzögerung von zwei Jahren dass Großspenden mittlerweile bereits ab 35.000 Euro veröffentlicht werden müssen current assistant principal at Lesher Middle School is leaving Poudre School District and heading to Severance to serve as Severance High School’s next principal.  Morrow was previously selected as Severance High’s new assistant principal but the district announced Wednesday he had been named principal following three interview panels last week.  “It was clear from these groups that Mr Morrow will engage the entire SHS community — students and parents — to build a clear vision for the school,” read a district press release.  noting that his integrity is based at the intersection of his beliefs and actions a foundation that he intends to bring to SHS.” Weld RE-4 news: Windsor school board rejects proposed charter school's cash offer for district land Morrow is the second school leader to leave PSD in recent days to lead a school in Weld RE-4.  The announcement of his departure comes a little more than a week after the school's principal, Tom Dodd, was announced as the next principal for Windsor High School Morrow has spent the last 15 years at Lesher Middle School He’s served as assistant principal and athletic and activities director for the past 11 years and He has also worked as a math teacher both in PSD and the Weld RE-1 district.  he was named Colorado Association of School Executives’ Assistant Principal of the Year.  Morrow has a master’s degree in educational leadership from Colorado State University and he was a sergeant and crew chief in the Colorado Army National Guard.  Need something to do?: Take in some free summer tunes in Fort Collins, Windsor Molly Bohannon covers education for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @molboha or contact her at mbohannon@coloradoan.com. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. hit by the ripple effect of currency woes in neighboring Lebanon with which it has extensive business and banking ties dealers and bankers said.Traders said it cost close to 4,000 to buy one dollar on the street on Wednesday after anxious dealers watched the Lebanese pound collapse to a new low of 10,000 to the dollar on Tuesday.Two leading Damascus-based licensed exchange dealers said the Lebanese currency's fall dealt a psychological blow to dealers trading its Syrian counterpart which had already witnessed a rapid declines in recent weeks.It has fallen by around 40% this year alone."Businessmen and traders are fretting over fears of a free-fall in coming days and watching if unrest grows in Lebanon and its impact on dealings since Lebanon is our lifeline to the outside world," said one trader who requested anonymity.Syrian investors and businessmen hold billions of dollars of deposits in Lebanon's crisis-hit banks for years a safe haven for investors fleeing sanctions and tight government controls.The Lebanese crisis has choked a major source of dollars for Syria further hurting a currency suffering from years of Western sanctions and a devastating 10-year-old conflict.The Syrian pound's last tumble happened last summer when it hit a psychological barrier of 3,000 to the dollar over fears that tougher U.S sanctions would worsen the economy.The pound's fall has hit business activity with many merchants and trading firms reluctant to sell or buy in a country where many turn to dollar savings to preserve wealth.A banker said adding to the pressures were state withdrawals of hard currency from already depleted reserves to pay for large multi-million dollar imports of commodities and fuel.The authorities' reluctance to intervene to protect its foreign reserves weighed on the pound Further pressure comes from a sharp drop in remittances that are an important source of foreign currency from the tens of thousands of Syrians living in countries hit by COVID-19 he added.The pound's collapse has driven up inflation and aggravated hardship as Syrians struggle to afford food The pound had traded at 47 to the dollar before protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011.Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved The Wir Waren Nachbarn (We Were Neighbors) exhibition is a memorial for the Jewish residents of the Tempelhof and Schöneberg areas of Berlin. It tells the story of the people who were forced to flee Germany, were exiled by the Nazis More than 150 biographies of Jewish people and many firsthand accounts are displayed in a reading room in the Rathaus (City Hall) in Schöneberg For each person or family there is an album containing their personal story and photos—memories that were not always easy to find The organizers tracked down the surviving family members to get their stories Many people were deported and died in Nazi concentration camps but there are also albums of the people who survived This very personal memorial is unique and impressive The reader can get to know each person or family and gets a better understanding of their fears and feelings of hopelessness There are some very courageous and astonishing stories The exhibition includes the stories of some of the more famous citizens of Schöneberg and Tempelhof and others. The collection is continually expanding with the addition of new albums.  The memorial exhibition can be visited all year Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday and Saturdays and Sundays from 10.00 a.m The doors are closed on weekends but just ring the doorbell and someone will open them Created as a "model concentration camp" to hide Nazi atrocities from the international community this former camp-ghetto now holds a museum and memorial honoring the lives lost within This platform is now a memorial dedicated to those who were deported during the Holocaust These Stolpersteine located in Spain honor Republican soldiers who perished at the hands of Nazis after the fall of France The train platform where Jews were sent to concentration camps is now preserved as a Holocaust memorial Brass cobblestones mark the places where individual Holocaust victims were taken from their homes Memorials at a Florence railway station remember the citizens who were deported from Italy and sent to extermination camps An abandoned monument remembering the "Pančevo Holocaust" now stands as a shadow of its former self Tiny memorials honor individual victims of the Holocaust "\/new-ballet-light-in-the-dark-celebrates-jewish-ww-ii-resistance-fighter\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=nUNtdCnZ82FfTfIexs.1P9XmMoFQPfkWbRdgyO.3Mk8-1746487459-1.0.1.1-C604lPjvPue4dcoXmZMxBexLLXZ0I.o2MFPobhbZiaM" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null He led his team to the program's best season in a generation Along with it came postseason hardware that hasn't been seen around the school since before any of the players were born Battle Creek Central's Tony Warren is our choice for the Battle Creek Enquirer Girls Basketball Team Coach of the Year Warren headlines the 2019-20 Enquirer All-City Girls Basketball Team which is made up of members of the six city girls basketball teams and voted on by the city coaches and the Enquirer sports staff MORE: Meet the 2019-20 Enquirer All-City Girls Basketball Team BCC won its first district tournament title since 1987 marking 33 years of waiting for championship hardware to add the school's trophy case the Bearcats also set the school record for wins in a season at 19-5 and reached the regionals in Division 1 before losing to perennial power Holt BCC won 12 games last year in Warren's first season in this stint as a head coach and just six the season before he arrived BCC finished second in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division But the Bearcats beat their city rivals twice on the year and knocked off the Spartans in the district tourney title game Warren is joined on the All-City Girls Basketball Team by three Bearcats: Ka'Maira Armstrong Lakeview won a East Division title and went 16-7 on the year with Addison Hutson Peyton Russell and Brazyll Watkins making the All-City team Harper Creek won its second straight district crown and 20 games overall with the Beavers' Maddie Alexander and Abby Hicks being named All-City Calhoun Christian won that program's first district championship ever and adds Megan Follett and Ali Gummer to the team Philip's Alex Kersten round out the All-City squad the Battle Creek Enquirer All-City Girls Basketball Team would include a time-honored team photo recognizing the efforts of the players and their season due to schools being closed and other complications surrounding the coronavirus pandemic that photo could not be taken at this time Contact Bill Broderick (269) 966-0678 or bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick.  About 400 people were on the bridge in Gujarat to celebrate a Diwali religious ritual when it collapsed The death toll from the collapse of a pedestrian bridge over a river in Gujarat has risen to at least 130 as more stories emerge of the terrifying moment the structure gave way Local officials say about 400 people were on the suspension bridge over the Machchu River in the city of Morbi on Sunday and the atmosphere was festive Families had come out on to the bridge to celebrate a post-Diwali religious ritual in which idols are immersed into the river The bridge is more than a century old and dates back to the British Raj but it had just re-opened on 26 October after extensive repairs carried out over six months by a private company “There were a lot of young children among the dead,” one rescuer told NDTV news channel “It was a Sunday evening so families had come out for a stroll because it’s a popular tourist spot.” Staff at the nearby hospitals where the victims were taken told NDTV that many children died with some couples losing more than one child who swam to the riverbank after falling from the bridge told a local news channel that he had witnessed several children fall into the river “I wanted to pull some of them along with me but they had drowned or got swept away,” he said Another survivor said: “The cables snapped and the bridge came down in a split second People fell on each other and into the river.” The lucky ones were able to swim to safety or were rescued by a 200-strong team including staff from the navy and air force and the National Disaster Response Force people can be seen clinging to the twisted remnants of the bridge that were still above water 0:40Footage shows people swimming to safety after Indian bridge collapse – videoEarly on Monday an official told NDTV the death toll had risen to at least 130 Rescue operations were still under way but the purpose was primarily to find the bodies Rescuers have been hampered by the thick algae lying on the river’s surface “The layer of algae made the search operations in the dark a daunting task,” a local politician told The Times of India About 77 people have been taken to hospital Chaotic scenes were seen at local hospitals as the staff were faced with a sudden and massive influx of victims was built during British rule in the 19th century Gujarat is the home state of India’s prime minister Mr Modi announced compensation of 200,000 rupees (£2,000) to the families of the victims The state government has formed a five-member special investigation team to conduct an investigation into the disaster Gujarat ministers have said those responsible for the collapse will face severe punishment But by blessing the FTC’s theory that a monopoly can harm consumers even when its product is free the judge has signaled that Facebook—and other tech platforms—are not invincible All the government had to do was provide evidence that Facebook has a dominant share of the social networking market “the FTC has done its homework this time around.” Until now, it has been an open question whether these non-price theories will succeed in court. Which is why it’s a big deal that Boasberg seems to have accepted them. “In short,” he wrote, “the FTC alleges that even though Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp did not lead to higher prices, they did lead to poorer services and less choice for consumers.” That’s a pretty dry sentence, but it could turn out to be a milestone. “It is a really prominent, important, and uncommon endorsement of that non-price market idea,” said Rebecca Allensworth, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School. “I think it’s pretty devastating for Facebook.” “The court was not tripped up by the fact that Facebook’s offering is ‘free,’” said Paul Swanson, an antitrust attorney in Denver. “That’s an important principle for antitrust enforcement against Big Tech.” It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Former Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne has purchased CityView Magazine from original founder and publisher Marshall Waren will serve as publisher of the publication CityView will convert into a monthly publication after previously coming out about eight times a year “All communities have great stories to tell,” Chavonne said in a news release “The best communities find a way to tell those stories by engaging readers with words and images that touch the heart CityView is here to tell Fayetteville’s stories.” Chavonne is a long-time Fayetteville businessman and former general manager of The Fayetteville Observer Chavonne announced that former Observer columnist Kim Hasty will be the magazine editor Waren will stay on as an advertising account executive Staff writer Michael Futch can be reached at mfutch@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3529 (NEWSER) – It's been a long-running debate: Is the Shroud of Turin a fake A new entrant in the "no" category emerges from the pages of the journal Meccanica where Italian researchers suggest that an 8.2-magnitude earthquake that rocked Jerusalem in 33AD both formed the image and distorted the results of radiocarbon dating that was done on the shroud in 1988 But no legitimate source of such radiation had been identified But Professor Alberto Carpinteri's research into piezonuclear fission reactions has led him to believe the earthquake would have produced high-frequency pressure waves in the Earth's crust that would have caused those neutrons to be emitted; the particles then "induced the image formation on the Shroud's linen fibers" by interacting with the nitrogen atoms in the fabric he says the radiation would have raised the shroud's level of carbon-14 isotopes giving it an artificially youthful age when carbon-14 dating was done on it But skeptics abound, reports LiveScience but other archaeological and geological material in the ground is not Quotes2nd Lt. 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