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Now Russia no longer has any obligations to Syria, and they still get to keep their bases there. https://archive.ph/MrFLM

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The revelation raises the prospect of further damaging cuts in so-called unprotected departments that were also hit in the 2010s by the austerity policies pursued by successive Conservative-led governments. Reductions in day-to-day spending, which excludes capital investment, would leave departments that have already been squeezed hardest facing further pain. Those at risk include Local Government, Culture, Justice, the Home Office, Environment, Energy, and Work and Pensions.

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Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the governor of Lower Austria and a politician from the Austrian People's Party (OVP), recently declared in an interview on ORF, Austria's national broadcaster, that the country must "fight against Islam".

Her statement was made in the context of defending her party's sudden shift in stance towards Austria's far-right Freedom Party, with which the OVP had previously ruled out forming a coalition due to the severe corruption scandals that had tainted their earlier partnership. The Freedom Party, founded by former Nazis and SS members after World War Two, was long seen as a party created by Nazis for Nazis.

The governor's statement was left unchallenged during and after the broadcast, exemplifying the normalisation of Islamophobic discourse within Austrian society. Hundreds of media professionals - producers, editors and journalists - had opportunities to question or condemn Mikl-Leitner's rhetoric, yet the silence was deafening.

Such passivity from the network is not merely a failure of journalistic integrity but a tacit endorsement of the dangerous ideologies her words represent. This complacency mirrors Austria's pre-Holocaust era when hateful rhetoric against Jews was allowed to fester unchecked. Then, as now, the media's complicity - whether through active support or passive indifference - played a pivotal role in legitimising hate.

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US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that while difficulties remain in negotiations for the continuation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the second stage of the hostage deal is “absolutely going to begin,” and that the president “wants to see” it happen. He also vowed: “We are not leaving anybody behind.”

Speaking to Fox News, Witkoff said that he held “very productive and constructive” phone calls Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani, and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, in which the leaders discussed “the timing of phase two, the positions of the parties so that we can understand where we stand, and we will continue the talks later this week,” in either Cairo or Doha.

He added that phase two “is a little bit more intricate and complicated in terms of how we bring the two sides together on this,” but clarified that talks on phase two will continue in a “location to be determined.”

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The implications for the rest of Europe are also alarming. Putin wants Nato troops removed from the whole of the former Soviet empire. European officials believe Trump is likely to agree to withdraw US troops from the Baltics and perhaps further west, leaving the EU vulnerable to a Russian army that Nato governments warn is preparing for a larger conflict beyond Ukraine.

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M23 rebels have captured and occupied Bukavu, the second-largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congolese government has confirmed, days after the Rwanda-backed militia launched an attack.

In a statement posted on X, the DRC communications ministry said it was monitoring the situation “marked by the entry of the Rwandan army and its auxiliaries” and it was “doing everything possible to restore order, security and territorial integrity”.

On Friday, M23 fighters entered Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, after advancing south following the group’s capture of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, last month. The militia faced little resistance in its latest march.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26107799

"The mass demonstration in London, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other organizations, followed news that Hamas freed three additional Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for the release of more than 360 Palestinians who were held in Israeli prisons."

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26096849

By Fayha Shalash in Ramallah, occupied Palestine 14 February 2025 15:37 GMT

"The text of the two orders stated that they were issued by Yossi Segal..., to approve a temporary decision on government lands for the purpose of grazing.

Recently, #Israeli settlers have seized large areas of land in the #WestBank under the pretext of grazing their livestock. To impose de facto control, they release cows and sheep into the plains and mountains, control them, and prevent #Palestinians from reaching them.

Pastoral settlement constitutes one of the most serious challenges to Palestinians looking to preserve their land."

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26094740

by Ahmed Abu Artema 13 February 2025 12:00 GMT

[a very moving personal account]

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26088463

Guardian staff and agencies Sun 16 Feb 2025 02.50 EST

The US president has warned of repercussions for neighbouring Egypt and Jordan unless they accept displaced Palestinians in Gaza.

Diplomats say Egypt is leading efforts to propose an alternative within weeks, focused on training a new security force and appointing local Palestinian leaders.

Rubio said he believed Arab states were “working in good faith” but insisted Hamas must have no future role.

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cross-posted from: https://szmer.info/post/6043931

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Russian drone strikes have damaged a thermal power plant in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine overnight, leaving 46,000 consumers without heating as temperatures plunge below freezing, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

“This was done deliberately to leave people without heat in sub-zero temperatures and create a humanitarian catastrophe,” Shmyhal said on the Telegram messenger app.

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