Can Syria’s new leaders fix the broken economy?
After almost 14 years of civil war, Syria’s economy is in ruins. After almost 14 years of civil war, Syria’s economy has been decimated. Most of its oil and gas wells, roads, electricity grids, farmland and infrastructure are damaged. Crippling the economy even further is a wide range of Western sanctions imposed on the nation and on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main group that overthrew Bashar al-Assad and is now leading Syria’s transition. The new administration says lifting those sanctions is vital to help rebuild the country. But will they be removed? Plus, Ukraine has halted Russia’s gas flows to Europe. And sales of foreign smartphones have dropped by almost half in China. Adblock test (Why?)
Former Assad military officers reconcile with Syria’s new authorities
NewsFeed Former Syrian military officers who worked under the Assad regime are registering with the new administration as part of the effort towards a peaceful political transition. Published On 8 Jan 20258 Jan 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Delhi school and LSR College get bomb threats; police rush teams
A dog squad and bomb disposal squad were part of the teams rushed to the spot.
France pushes back on Trump using military pressure to take Greenland, says it’s now ‘survival of the fittest’
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Wednesday flatly said the European Union will not allow President-elect Trump to take Greenland by military force. “It is out of the question that the European Union would let other countries … attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are,” Barrot said on French radio, according to Politico. Barrot added that he doubts Trump would take the extraordinary step of invading Greenland. “If you’re asking me whether I think the United States will invade Greenland, my answer is no. But have we entered into a period of time when it is survival of the fittest? Then my answer is yes,” Barrot said. DANISH PRIME MINISTER HAS BLUNT MESSAGE FOR TRUMP: GREENLAND IS NOT FOR SALE That stark warning comes after Trump made various statements calling the island territory vital to U.S. national and economic security interests and expressing interest in purchasing it from Denmark. He has made similar comments about wresting the Panama Canal from Panama’s control after the U.S. relinquished the canal in 1977. On Tuesday, the incoming U.S. president would not rule out using military force to gain control of Greenland or the Panama Canal when asked about the issue at a press conference. A reporter asked Trump if he could assure the world he would not use military or economic coercion to gain control of the Panama Canal and Greenland. “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two. But I can say this, we need them for economic security,” Trump said. DONALD TRUMP JR ARRIVES IN GREENLAND AS HIS FATHER SAYS DENMARK ‘GIVE IT UP’ Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasized Tuesday that Greenland is not for sale. Frederiksen told a Danish TV station that Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede “has been very, very clear – that there is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either,” according to The Hill. She reportedly told TV 2 that Greenland will choose its own future and said, “We need to stay calm and stick to our principles,” while praising the U.S. as a key Danish ally. TRUMP ESCALATES PLANS TO ACQUIRE GREENLAND AFTER RESIDENT PLEADS: ‘DENMARK’S USING US’ In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said he was “hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA’.” The Republican attached a video that purportedly shows a Greenlander asking the U.S. to buy his country. Trump’s son arrived Tuesday in Nuuk, the Arctic territory’s capital. He met with locals, visited cultural sites and shot video for a podcast. The president-elect posted a video showing a plane emblazoned with the word “TRUMP” landing in Nuuk. “Don Jr. and my Reps landing in Greenland,” Trump wrote. “The reception has been great. They, and the Free World, need safety, security, strength, and PEACE! This is a deal that must happen. MAGA. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!” At Tuesday’s press conference, Trump said of Greenland, “Denmark should give it up.”
Majority of Americans believe Biden will be remembered as below average or poor president: poll
Most Americans believe President Biden will be remembered as a below-average president once he leaves office, according to a Wednesday poll. The new poll from Gallup found that 54% of Americans say Biden will be remembered as either “below average” (37%) or “poor” (17%). Meanwhile, just 19% are confident he will have a positive legacy, with 6% saying he was “outstanding” and 13% saying he was “above average.” Just over a quarter of Americans, 26%, predict Biden will be remembered as an average president, the poll found. Gallup’s poll ranked Biden alongside nine other recent presidents, and only President Richard Nixon proved to be less popular. Nixon received a net positivity rating of -42, compared to Biden’s -35. The next closest president was George W. Bush at -9. ‘FAILED EXPERIMENT’: EXPERTS REVEAL WHY SOROS-BACKED POLICIES TOOK BEATING IN DEEP BLUE STATE Gallup noted that presidents who serve challenging terms like Biden typically see their approval ratings rise in the years after they leave office. The pollster noted that Presidents Jimmy Carter, Trump and Bush all benefited from this trend. President-elect Trump’s first term received a net positivity rating of -4. The most popular president was John F. Kennedy, at +68, followed by Ronald Reagan at +38. BIDEN RIPPED FOR ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’ TO CRIME VICTIMS AFTER AWARDING SOROS MEDAL OF FREEDOM: ‘DISGUSTING’ Gallup conducted the poll from Dec. 2 – 18, surveying 1,003 U.S. adults via cellphone and landline. The poll advertises a margin of error of 4%. The poll came the same day that Biden acknowledged concerns about his age and discussed his legacy in an interview with USA Today in the Oval Office. He still claimed he would have won another term if he’d run against Trump, but he admitted he’s not sure if he could have lasted four more years. “Do you think you would’ve had the vigor to serve another four years in office?” USA Today’s Susan Page asked. “I don’t know,” Biden said. “That’s why I thought when I first announced, talking to Barack [Obama] about it, I said I thought I was the person. I had no intention of running after [my son] Beau died – for real, not a joke. And then when Trump was running again for re-election, I really thought I had the best chance of beating him.” OBAMA ALUMS TRASH ‘STUBBORN OLD MAN’ BIDEN’S ‘FECKLESS’ JAN. 6 OP-ED “But I also wasn’t looking to be president when I was 85 years old, 86 years old. And so I did talk about passing the baton,” Biden added, reflecting on concerns over his age, especially before he dropped out of the presidential race. Biden says his “hope” is that history remembers “that I came in and I had a plan how to restore the economy and reestablish America’s leadership in the world.” “I hope that my legacy is one that says I took an economy that was in disarray and set it on track to lead the world, in terms of the new sort of rules of the road,” he said. The White House declined to comment on the record when contacted by Fox News Digital regarding the poll.
Marjorie Taylor Greene swiftly serves up bill to rename Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America’
On the heels of President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday about renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., swiftly served up legislation to enact the idea. “The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name,” Trump said after declaring that the name would be changed. Greene quickly announced that she would introduce a measure “ASAP” to rename the body of water. Later on Tuesday she released the text of the proposal, indicating in a statement that it would be filed on Thursday morning. ‘BEAUTIFUL NAME’: TRUMP ANNOUNCES GULF OF MEXICO WILL GET NEW, PRO-AMERICA REVAMP “The Gulf of Mexico shall be known as the ‘Gulf of America,’” the text of the proposal reads in part, calling for federal documents and maps to be updated accordingly. “Mexican cartels currently use the Gulf of Mexico to traffic humans, drugs, weapons, and God knows what else while the Mexican government allows them to do it,” Greene said in a statement. “The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime waterways for commerce to be conducted. Our U.S. armed forces protect the area from any military threats from foreign countries. It’s our gulf. The rightful name is the Gulf of America and it’s what the entire world should refer to it as,” she asserted. “We already have the bill written with legislative council and ready to file first thing Thursday morning.” Other lawmakers also jumped on the “Gulf of America” bandwagon after Trump’s announcement. REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE TO VOTE FOR JOHNSON AFTER SEEKING TO OUST HIM FROM SPEAKERSHIP LAST YEAR In a post on X, Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., invited people to “visit our beautiful district and take a dip in the Gulf of AMERICA!” “Proud to represent Alabama’s First District on the beautiful GULF OF AMERICA,” Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala. declared in a tweet. “Alabamians know just how important the Gulf and Gulf Coast are for our great country. The Gulf of AMERICA sounds pretty good to me,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., noted in a post. TRUMP TROLLS CANADA AGAIN, SHARES MAP WITH COUNTRY AS PART OF US: ‘OH CANADA!’ Trump will take office in less than two weeks when he is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
A Texas teenager helped his border community win a $13 million grant to improve the environment
Presidio, northwest of Big Bend National Park, will get dedicated green spaces along bike lanes and pedestrian streets, plant thousands of native trees and establish a high-school run air quality monitoring program.
Some Texas business leaders are apprehensive about Trump’s pledged deportations
“We wouldn’t survive” without undocumented workers, one South Texas produce business owner said. By one estimate, 8% of Texas’ workforce lacks legal status.
Centre to make it mandatory for domestic airlines to share weather data with IMD, call it ‘similar to exit polls’
M Ravichandran, secretary of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, told PTI that his ministry had been in discussions with the civil aviation ministry on the matter, and providing weather data would be “made mandatory for domestic airlines within a year”.
‘Bottom fallen out of Indian economy’: Congress mourns GDP growth, seeks support for poor
In a statement, Jairam Ramesh said the advance estimates released by the Union government for GDP growth in the 2024-25 financial year projected a mere 6.4 percent growth.