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Trump chooses Kari Lake to lead Voice of America

Trump chooses Kari Lake to lead Voice of America

The New York Times reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump on Wednesday night chose Kari Lake to lead Voice of America, aiming to put a fierce loyalist who has called journalists “monsters” in charge of a federally funded news outlet that reaches hundreds of millions of people around the globe. Mr. Trump was accused of using his appointees to try to turn Voice of America, whose aim is to offer unbiased news to audiences around the world, into a pro-Trump propaganda…

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It’s time to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria

It’s time to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria

Farah Stockman writes: After more than a decade of war, everything about Syria’s political landscape has changed in the space of 72 hours. Now U.S. sanctions policy must change with it. In 2019, Congress passed the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which cuts non-Americans off from the U.S. financial system if they do business with the Syrian regime. Even normal activities, such as building bridges, drilling for oil or distributing humanitarian aid after an earthquake, risk being criminalized by the…

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It’s time for a bold reset in UK-EU relations

It’s time for a bold reset in UK-EU relations

Mark Leonard, co-founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, writes: February 2022 and November 2024 were two successive hammer blows to what remained of the post-Cold War geopolitical order in Europe. If it was not already abundantly clear that the continent has entered a new era, it is now. Voters in the United Kingdom and the European Union grasp this, and are rethinking old geopolitical assumptions. One of the most striking shifts concerns the relationship between the…

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New set of human rights principles aims to end displacement and abuse of Indigenous people through ‘fortress conservation’

New set of human rights principles aims to end displacement and abuse of Indigenous people through ‘fortress conservation’

Many protected areas, including California’s Yosemite National Park, displaced Indigenous people in the name of protecting wildlands. Matthew Dillon/Flickr By John H. Knox, Wake Forest University For more than a century, conservationists have worked to preserve natural ecosystems by creating national parks and protected areas. Today the Earth faces a global biodiversity crisis, with more than 1 million species at risk of extinction. This makes it even more important to conserve places where at-risk species can thrive. In 2022, governments…

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Syrians, in a triumph of hope, turn the page on the horrors of Assad

Syrians, in a triumph of hope, turn the page on the horrors of Assad

Syrians gather in the heart of Damascus on Dec. 9, 2024, to celebrate the fall of the Assad regime. Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images By Wendy Pearlman, Northwestern University Millions of Syrians are feeling hope for the first time in years. The authoritarian regime of Bashar al-Assad fell on Dec. 8, 2024, after a 12-day rebel offensive. Most commentaries on this stunning reversal of a conflict seemingly frozen since 2020 emphasize shifts in geopolitics and…

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Where is Syria headed?

Where is Syria headed?

By Gilbert Achcar, December 10, 2024 While observing the amazing historical events that unfolded since last Friday, the first thing that came to mind was relief and joy at the images of detainees being freed from the hell of the carceral society that Syria had become under the Assad family’s regime. Our feelings were also overwhelmed by delight at the sight of Syrian families suddenly able to return from nearby exile, whether from another area within Syria or from Jordan,…

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In Aleppo, rebels give a sense of what may come in Syria

In Aleppo, rebels give a sense of what may come in Syria

The New York Times reports: The rebels who are now Syria’s de facto rulers have started to make their mark on the country’s government. They took control of Aleppo just two weeks ago, but already police officers are in the streets sporting new uniforms, administrators are busy in the halls of government and there are posters on lampposts with QR codes directing people to updates on government policy. Gone are the ubiquitous photos of President Bashar al-Assad, whose visage, like…

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Death feels imminent for 96% of children in Gaza, study finds

Death feels imminent for 96% of children in Gaza, study finds

The Guardian reports: A new study of children living through the war in Gaza has found that 96% of them feel that their death is imminent and almost half want to die as a result of the trauma they have been through. A needs assessment, carried out by a Gaza-based NGO sponsored by the War Child Alliance charity, also found that 92% of the children in the survey were “not accepting of reality”, 79% suffer from nightmares and 73% exhibit…

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Netanyahu says Golan Heights will remain part of Israel ‘for eternity’

Netanyahu says Golan Heights will remain part of Israel ‘for eternity’

The Guardian reports: Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel for almost 60 years, will remain part of Israel “for eternity”, amid growing criticism of an Israeli takeover of a previously demilitarised buffer zone in Syrian-controlled territory. Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem, the Israeli prime minister said Israeli control of the high ground “ensures our security and sovereignty” adding “the Golan will be part of the State of Israel for eternity”. Over the weekend,…

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AOC’s Oversight rise marks Democratic generational shift

AOC’s Oversight rise marks Democratic generational shift

Politico reports: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is poised to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, punctuating a huge generational shift in the party’s power centers amid a sudden overthrow of senior leaders. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, and Rep. Gerry Connolly, 74, have been canvassing the entire Democratic Caucus as they compete for the ranking position on Oversight next year — making calls, meeting with influential blocs in the party and laying out their vision for the high-profile panel. But according…

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A new theory of placebos reframes the mind-body problem

A new theory of placebos reframes the mind-body problem

Dien Ho writes: When healthcare researchers test potential new treatments, they use randomized clinical trials. Since the 1950s, placebos have been crucial parts of these trials. The placebo is made to resemble the treatment being tested, but lacks the experimental ingredients. For the treatment to be deemed efficacious, it must outperform the placebo, which is given to a control group. Otherwise, the treatment’s positive effects may be “mere” placebo effects. Advocates of evidence-based medicine consider double-blind randomized clinical trials with…

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The state of the Arctic: High temperatures, melting ice, fires and unprecedented emissions

The state of the Arctic: High temperatures, melting ice, fires and unprecedented emissions

NBC News reports: The Arctic just experienced its second-hottest year on record. And concerningly, the region’s tundra has transitioned from being a sink for carbon to a source of emissions as permafrost melts to release methane. That will only amplify the amount of heat-trapping gases that enter the atmosphere, paving the way for further warming. The findings, shared Tuesday in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Arctic report card, show how climate change is scrambling ecosystems and shape-shifting the landscape…

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Israel carries out over 350 air strikes across Syria in 48 hours

Israel carries out over 350 air strikes across Syria in 48 hours

The Times of Israel reports: Following a major 48-hour bombing campaign in Syria, the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday said it had destroyed most of the former Bashar al-Assad regime’s strategic military capabilities, in an effort to prevent advanced weaponry from falling into the hands of hostile elements. In a statement, the IDF said that its Air Force and Navy had carried out over 350 strikes against “strategic targets” in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime over the…

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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s designation as a terror organisation may soon be removed by UK and others

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s designation as a terror organisation may soon be removed by UK and others

The Guardian reports: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the leading group that overthrew the Assad regime in Syria, is not a direct terror threat to the UK, according to western intelligence assessments. The judgment could mean that the UK, along with the US and EU, will soon remove HTS’s designation as a terror organisation. In the British case, that would help justify direct contact with Syria’s emerging leaders. HTS’s principal focus appears domestic, consolidating its grip and helping to rebuild a country…

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