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WASHINGTON (AP) — To his supporters, Alejandro Mayorkas is a thoughtful, driven secretary — a “Boy Scout” — who brings a prosecutor's tenacity and his personal understanding of the immigrant experience in America to running his sprawling agency. But it is the department’s role in immigration that has made Mayorkas a target of impeachment. Mayorkas said his immigrant and refugee background mean that he brings an intense patriotism to the job. Citizenship and Immigration Service, Mayorkas put in place a program giving protection from deportation to migrants brought to the border as children. Since taking the job as DHS secretary, Mayorkas has been subject to often hostile rhetoric over the administration's handling of the border and immigration.

Persons: —, Alejandro Mayorkas, Ali, he’ll, Tom Warrick, ” Warrick, Joe Biden, Biden, Mayorkas, Donald Trump, “, ”, didn’t, Cecilia Munoz, Obama, Munoz, Barack Obama, “ He’s, Mark Green of, impeaching, William Belknap, Ulysses Grant, Brandon Judd, Trump, Judd, Ahilan Arulanantham, Arulanantham, Angela Kelley Organizations: WASHINGTON, Department of Homeland Security, Republicans, Atlantic Council, “, DHS, Republican, Associated Press, Mayorkas, White, . Citizenship, Immigration Service, Democratic, Trump, House Homeland Security, National Border Patrol Council, Security, Border Patrol, Biden, Center for Immigration Law, UCLA School of Law, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Congress Locations: America, U.S, Mexico, United States, Washington, Ukraine, California, Cuba, Los Angeles, Miami, Mark Green of Tennessee

☆ Cuban President Sacks Economy Minister as Controversy Grows Over Price Hikes
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel sacked economy minister Alejandro Gil on Friday, state media reported, as controversy continued to grow over the delay of recently announced measures to hike the price of fuel and transportation fares in the communist-run country. The Council of State, under Diaz-Canel`s direction, has appointed Central Bank president Joaquín Alonso, 60, to replace Gil. The upheaval comes just two days after the government put off an unpopular five-fold hike in gasoline prices planned for Feb. 1, saying a cyberattack from outside Cuba had thwarted implementation. Former economy minister Gil had advocated for the unpopular plan to raise prices for many government subsidized services, and has long been criticized for his management of the country`s near-bankrupt economy. Gil's planned price hikes, initially announced in December and early January, rocked Cuba, where residents have long depended on a vast program of state subsidized food, fuel and medicine.

Persons: Miguel Díaz, Canel, Alejandro Gil, Diaz, Joaquín Alonso, Gil, Elba Rosa Perez, Eduardo Martinez, Alberto Lopez, Manuel Santiago Sobrino, Nelson Acosta, Dave Sherwood, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: of State, Central Bank, Technology, Food Industry Ministry Locations: HAVANA, Cuban, Cuba, Santa Clara

☆ We won't meddle in the 2024 election, China's Xi Jinping told Biden: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised President Joe Biden in a brief in-person exchange in November that Beijing would stay out of the 2024 US election, CNN reported. AdvertisementBiden was the one who broached the subject with Xi, one of the sources told CNN. Foreign election interference has increasingly been in the spotlight in the US, especially in the wake of the Russian hacking controversy in the 2016 election. We oppose making China an issue based on election politics," the Chinese Foreign Ministry told CNN when asked for comment. AdvertisementAt the time, China's Foreign Ministry called the accusations "groundless and fabricated out of thin air."

Persons: Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Xi, Biden, Wang Yi, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, Wang Wenbin Organizations: CNN, Economic Cooperation, Chinese, White House National, Foreign Ministry, Foreign, Ministry Locations: Beijing, Asia, San Francisco, China, Bangkok, United States, Iran, Russia, Cuba

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 31, 2023. WASHINGTON — Members of the House Homeland Security Committee are meeting Tuesday to discuss the Republican-led impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. House Republicans accuse Mayorkas and the Biden administration of disregarding federal laws on immigration and seek to make Mayorkas the second Cabinet official impeached in U.S. history. According to the first impeachment article set forth by House Republicans, Mayorkas "has willfully and systemically refused to comply with Federal immigration laws." The second impeachment article accuses him of breaching the "public trust" and "knowingly" obstructing "lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security."

Persons: Alejandro Mayorkas, Mayorkas, Biden, systemically, Mark Green, Donald Trump, Green, Mayorkas's, Bennie Thompson, Thompson, —, Michael McCaul, Marjorie Taylor Greene, … We're, MAGA, Dan Goldman, Goldman, Joe Biden, President Trump, Glenn Ivey, impeaching, I've, Don Bacon, Nick LaLota, He's, … He's, LaLota, — Rebecca Kaplan Organizations: Homeland, Senate Homeland Security, Government, Capitol, WASHINGTON —, House Homeland Security, Republican, Republicans, House Republicans, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security, Rep, Congress, United, Constitution, Mayorkas, DHS, Democrats Locations: Washington ,, U.S, Texas, D, New York, Cuba

☆ Trump is already flexing strongman power in the GOP
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The ex-president is trying to intimidate Nikki Haley into abandoning the GOP presidential race. Trump’s brisk assertion of his growing power as the likely nominee is a characteristic dismantling of constraints that echoes his behavior in office. But she provoked him by refusing to quickly fold her campaign and endorse him like other GOP candidates, including Florida Gov. But the disdain toward Haley from Trump world is remarkable. It would have essentially joined the party’s forces with Trump while an election involving a rival was still taking place.

Persons: Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, they’ll, Trump’s, anoint, Joe Biden, Trump, Haley, ”, Viktor Orbán, ” Orbán, he’s, ” Trump, Katon Dawson, Kasie Hunt, CNN Max, Dawson, polarize, Nikki, “ Donald Trump, ” Haley, Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, “, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, MAGA, Elise Stefanik, —, Collins, Biden doesn’t, Biden, Republican Sen, Todd Young, Utah Sen, Mitt Romney, who’s, Democratic Sen, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, doesn’t, ” Murphy, CNN’s Manu Raju, Vladimir Putin Organizations: CNN, Republican Party, GOP, South, Republican National Committee, Trump, Biden, South Carolina GOP, CNN International, Palmetto State, Florida Gov, RNC, Republican, Democratic, Capitol Locations: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, genuflect, Manchester , New Hampshire, Hungarian, “ State, Palmetto, Cuba, United States, Charleston, Hampshire, Trump, New York, Indiana, Utah, Ukraine

Prosecutors are still pursuing plea agreements with defendants in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and other cases at Guantanamo. Political Cartoons View All 253 Images“That call dropped our hearts into an abyss, where they remain to this day,” Hall told the commission, with the two defendants in the hearing room. More than two decades later, Hall said, she came to Guantanamo Bay because “it's time for Megan to be recognized, and Megan's demise to be recognized. Chris Snodgrass of Glendale, Arizona, told of struggling with a “toxic” hatred of Muslims since the bombings killed his 33-year-old daughter, Deborah Snodgrass. Reporters watched the proceedings from Guantanamo and by remote link from Fort Meade military base in Maryland.

Persons: ” Matthew Arnold of, Arnold, Bonnie Kathleen Hall, Megan Heffernan, ” Hall, Hall, Megan, Jemaah, Chris Snodgrass, Deborah Snodgrass, “, ”, Mohammed Farik Bin Amin, Mohammed Nazir Bin, Prosecutors haven't Organizations: Prosecutors, State Department, Reporters, Fort Meade Locations: Cuba, Guantanamo, ” Matthew Arnold of Birmingham, England, Bali, Florida, Glendale , Arizona, Maryland, U.S, Indonesia

☆ 2 US Navy SEALS lost at sea were part of a long struggle to stop Iran smuggling deadly weapons to its allies
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

They were helping seize Iranian weapons being sent to the Houthis in Yemen, CENTCOM said. The US Navy and its allies have made attempts to shut down this flow of weapons in the past. Advertisement"One of the main problems with the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aden is the type of states that surround them — Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, and Sudan," Inglis told BI. Inglis predicts there will now be other such operations, with the US Navy targeting more vessels smuggling weapons. AdvertisementBut, he said, "Iran will continue sending weapons to them in the same way that the Soviet Union did to Cuba in the 1960s."

Persons: CENTCOM, —, Michael Erik Kurilla, Mark Cancian, Richard Kouyoumdjian Inglis, Inglis Organizations: Navy, Service, US Central Command, US Marine, Center for Strategic, International Studies, US Navy, Chilean Naval Reserve, Middle East Institute Locations: Somalia, Yemen, Iran, Gulf of Oman, Gulf, Aden, Ethiopia, Sudan, Israel, Soviet Union, Cuba

☆ Lithuania Broke Human Rights Laws in Case Tied to CIA Detention Program, European Court Rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lithuania broke European human rights laws by allowing the CIA to subject an alleged 9/11 suspect to "inhuman treatment" in a secret interrogation center in the Baltic country, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday. Al-Hawsawi is now held in Guantanamo Bay on suspicion of being a facilitator and financial manager of al Qaeda. While held in Lithuania, he experienced an extremely harsh detention regime, according to the press release, including solitary confinement, the continuous use of leg shackles and exposure to noise and light. “While not commenting on the specific case, I’d note that CIA’s detention and interrogation program ended in 2009," a CIA spokesperson said. It came to symbolize the excesses of the U.S. "war on terror" because of harsh interrogation methods that critics have said amounted to torture.

Persons: Mustafa Ahmed Adam al, Hawsawi, George W, Bush, Jonathan Landay, Daphne Psaledakis, Bill Berkrot Organizations: WASHINGTON, CIA, of Human, Convention, Lithuanian, Baltic News Service, Lithuania's, U.S, Senate, Republican, Pentagon Locations: Lithuania, Baltic, Guantanamo Bay, al Qaeda, Lithuanian, Washington, Guantanamo, Cuba, New York

☆ A mysterious note was discovered in the secret pocket of a dress from the 1880s. A decade later, someone finally cracked the code.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An archeologist found a silk dress from the 1800s with a hidden pocket concealing a secret code. "It was a beautiful sort of rust, metallic, bronze silk dress," she told Business Insider, one she'd seen at the shop for years. "For the first time in history, information about the weather could travel faster than the weather itself," Chan wrote. While it's tempting to think Bennet was the owner of the paper, it's not necessarily the case, Rivers Cofield said. AdvertisementWhether the dress's owner sent it out to the laundry or donated it are both possibilities, Rivers Cofield said.

Persons: —, Sara Rivers Cofield, confute, fagan, Rivers, Wayne Chan, Chan, Sara Rivers, Rivers Cofield, Bismark, Leafage, Buck, Bennet Organizations: Service, Calgary Cuba, University of Manitoba's, Earth Observation, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, US Army Signal Corps, NOAA, . Bank Locations: Maine, Calgary, Canada, North Dakota

☆ U.S. Ex-Ambassador Charged as Secret Agent for Cuba
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( José De Córdoba | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Victor Manuel Rocha, pictured in 2001, served as a diplomat in Cuba, Bolivia, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Mexico. Photo: Gonzalo Espinoza/AFP/Getty ImagesA former senior U.S. diplomat who served in U.S. embassies across Latin America was accused of spying for Cuba’s intelligence service for decades in one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting security breaches of the U.S. government, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday. Victor Manuel Rocha, a former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday. The unsealed complaint said that the 73-year-old Rocha had worked for Cuba as a covert agent since at least the early 1980s until now.

Persons: Victor Manuel Rocha, Gonzalo Espinoza, Rocha Organizations: Getty, ., Federal Bureau of Investigation Locations: Cuba, Bolivia, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, U.S, America

☆ US charges ex-ambassador with spying for Cuba over decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Rocha, 73, was arrested and is expected to appear before a federal judge in Miami on Monday. Bolivian President Hugo Banzer shakes hands with Victor Manuel Rocha, the then U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, during a ceremony in the Goverment Palace in La Paz, August 3, 2000. File photo DM/JP/HB Acquire Licensing RightsRocha worked for the State Department from 1981 to 2002, the Justice Department said. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters he was unable to provide details on an ongoing law enforcement matter.

Persons: Victor Manuel Rocha, Merrick Garland, Rocha, Hugo Banzer, Matthew Miller, Miller, Andrew Goudsward, Katharine Jackson, Ismail Shakil, Simon Lewis, Rami Ayyub, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Justice, Justice Department, Cuban, United, Bolivian, HB, State Department, White, National Security Council, . military's Southern Command, Washington, Directorate of Intelligence, Thomson Locations: United States, Bolivia, Cuba, Miami, Goverment, La Paz, Florida, U.S

☆ An ex-US ambassador charged with being a longtime secret agent for Cuba bragged about it to undercover FBI officer, feds allege
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An ex-US diplomat has been federally charged over allegations he worked as a secret agent for Cuba. Feds allege that Rocha even bragged about his work for Cuba as "more than a grand slam." AdvertisementAttorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that Rocha's arrest "exposes one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent." "Those who have the privilege of serving in the government of the United States are given an enormous amount of trust by the public we serve," said Garland. We did more than they thought," Rocha told the undercover fed, the court documents allege.

Persons: Victor Rocha, Rocha, —, Merrick Garland, Garland, Fidel Castro Organizations: Feds, Service, United, Department of Justice, State Department, National Security Council, Justice Department, Cuban, Directorate, Intelligence, Department of State, US Southern Command Locations: Cuba, United States, Bolivia, Miami , Florida, Colombia, Republic of Cuba

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The head of Mexico’s immigration agency has ordered the suspension of migrant deportations and transfers due to a lack of funds amid a record-setting year for migration through the country’s territory. Mexico’s finance ministry suspended payments to the National Immigration Institute in November due to end-of-year budget adjustments, according to the memo. Deportations had precipitously dropped in April following a fire at a migrant detention center in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas. The tragedy threw the immigration agency into chaos and it temporarily closed dozens of its detention centers. Deportations had just picked up again in October, when Mexico began sending migrants back to their countries, including flights to Cuba and Venezuela.

Persons: Francisco Garduño, ” Garduño, ”, Adam Isacson Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Associated Press, National Immigration Institute, National Guard, Washington Office Locations: MEXICO, U.S, Mexico, Ciudad Juarez, El Paso , Texas, Cuba, Venezuela, America, Caribbean

☆ Former U.S. ambassador spied for Cuba for decades, Justice Department says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces that Victor Manuel Rocha, the former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, has been charged with acting illegally as a foreign agent for the government of Cuba, Dec. 4, 2023. Prosecutors say Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, spent more than 40 years spying for Cuba while he rose through the State Department, where he was U.S. ambassador to Bolivia during the Clinton administration. Rocha's case is "one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent," Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday at a press conference. "To further that role, Rocha obtained and maintained employment in the United States government in positions that provided him: (1) access to nonpublic information, including classified information; and (2) the ability to affect United States foreign policy," wrote prosecutors. I have – have created the legend of a right-wing person," Rocha allegedly said, referring to the Cuban intelligence services.

Persons: General Merrick Garland, Victor Manuel Rocha, Clinton, Merrick Garland, Rocha, Rocha's Organizations: State Department, United, Southern, Southern District of, Foreign Government, DOJ, Undercover, Cuban Locations: Bolivia, Cuba, American, Miami, U.S, United States, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, Republic of Cuba, States, Cuban

One of the people said the Justice Department case accuses Rocha of working to promote the Cuban government’s interests. The Justice Department declined to comment. It was not immediately clear if Rocha had a lawyer and a law firm where he previously worked said it was not representing him. Following his retirement from the State Department, Rocha began a second career in business, serving as the president of a gold mine in the Dominican Republic partly owned by Canada’s Barrick Gold. Foley & Lardner said Rocha left the law firm in August.

Persons: —, Manuel Rocha, Rocha, Fidel Castro’s, Evo Morales, “, ″ Rocha, Morales, Rocha’s, ” Rocha, Karla Wittkop Rocha, ”, Canada’s Barrick, he’s, Foley, Lardner, ” Dario Alvarez, ____ Tucker Organizations: MIAMI, Associated Press, Justice Department, AP, Democratic, Republican, Yale, Harvard, Georgetown, Bolivian, National Security Council, State Department, Canada’s, Clover Leaf, Llorente, Cuenca’s Locations: American, Bolivia, Miami, Cuban, America, Cuba, U.S, Colombia, New York City, Argentina, Washington, United States, Italy, Honduras, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Pennsylvania, Spanish, Cuenca, “, Investigative@ap.org

He is expected to have dinner on Sunday with fellow leftist, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, before the consultations on Monday. Scholz was the first foreign leader to visit Lula in Brazil, just weeks after his inauguration. The German Chancellor has been on a quest since taking office in late 2021 to improve ties with the Global South. Scholz will be hoping to avoid a scenario like in January when his visit to Brazil was overshadowed by differences over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lula last month said Israel was "committing terrorism" against Palestinians "by not taking into account that children are not at war, that women are not at war".

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ueslei Marcelino, Lula, Jair Bolsonaro, Olaf Scholz, Scholz, Lukas Koehler, Israel, Andreas Rinke, Sarah Marsh, Toby Chopra Organizations: Central Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Global, European Union, Mercosur, Brazil, EU, Free Democrats, U.S, Latin America, German, Thomson Locations: Brasilia, Brazil, Berlin, America, Germany, China, South, Argentina, Scholz's, Ukraine, Israel

☆ 2023 Hurricane Season Ends, Marked by Storms That ‘Really Rapidly Intensified’
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( William B. Davis | Judson Jones | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

During the Atlantic hurricane season, 20 storms formed, seven of which reached hurricane strength, meaning sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour. Storms that experienced rapid intensification Rapid intensification Atlantic storms Extremely rapid intensification Lee 150 m.p.h. wind speed Hilary Lidia 100 50 0 4 0 6 8 2 10 12 14 16 Days since start of storm Atlantic storms Rapid intensification Extremely rapid intensification Lee 150 m.p.h. Despite its strength, the slightly cooler waters near Mexico’s Baja Peninsula would rapidly weaken Hilary to a tropical storm. The background graphic shows the storm moving from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane before making landfall on Oct. 25.

Persons: El Niño, ” James P, ”, Kossin, Otis, Hilary Lidia 100, Philip Klotzbach, Klotzbach, Hurricanes Lee, Idalia, Hilary, Hurricane Hilary, “, Eric Blake Organizations: Canada New York United States Houston, Canada New York United States, Houston, Canada New York United, Canada New York United States Los, PACIFIC, ATLANTIC, Eastern, OCEAN United, OCEAN United States Los, OCEAN United States Los Angeles Houston mexico Mexico City, Atlantic, University of Wisconsin, El, Pacific, National, Colorado State University, East, Hurricanes, Hurricane, U.S, National Hurricane Center Locations: Canada, Canada New York United States Houston Miami mexico Cuba Mexico, Houston Miami mexico Cuba Mexico, Canada New York United States, PACIFIC OCEAN, Miami mexico Cuba Mexico, Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, OCEAN United States, OCEAN United States Los Angeles Houston mexico Mexico, Eastern, North America, Pacific, Madison, Florida, United States, Florida’s Big Bend, Cuba, Caribbean, Cancun, Gulf, Mexico, Bend, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida , Georgia, North Carolina, California, Peninsula, Baja California, Southern California, Death, Acapulco

☆ Cuban family business produces flour from coconut and yucca amid shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Alien Fernandez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Entrepreneur Gabriel Perez, 38, poses for a photo as he checks slices of banana put to dry in his farmland in the rural outskirts of Havana, Cuba, November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini Acquire Licensing RightsHAVANA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - On a small farm outside Havana, a Cuban family-run business produces gluten-free flour from banana, coconut and yucca, preferring locally-sourced ingredients to pricey imports as Cubans seek innovative solutions to a growing food crisis. His business, Bacoretto, dries and mills yucca, rice, banana and coconut into organic flour preferred by gluten-intolerant consumers, who have only recently been able to find food products tailored to their dietary needs in Cuba. Byproducts of their processes are used to make coconut oil, coconut-fiber rope, vinegar and fermented products and sweets, Perez told Reuters. It produces 6 to 8 kilograms (13.2 to 17.6 pounds) of flour a week, Perez said, in small batches, in addition to byproducts, with a staff of eight people.

Persons: Gabriel Perez, Alexandre Meneghini, Perez, Fidel Castro's, Alien Fernandez, Nelson Acosta, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Havana, Cuba, Rights HAVANA, Caribbean

☆ A teacher who lived in Dubai and Qatar for 10 years to save money shares what it was like — and why moving back to Ireland was a relief
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

She moved to Qatar for a higher salaryCoyle told BI that a lot of people she knew viewed the Gulf states as "scary," particularly for women. Coyle told BI that, in her second year, she was given a rent allowance of 9,000 riyals. Coyle told BI the students would often ask about life in Western countries, such as how people met their spouses and why people drank alcohol. She moved to Dubai insteadCoyle applied for a job at a school in Dubai, in the UAE. She told BI Dubai was more "hectic" than Doha.

Persons: Sorcha Coyle, Coyle, she'd, there's, would've, expats, wasn't, haven't Organizations: Business, United Arab, Qatari, Gaelic football team, Qatar, BI Dubai Locations: England, Ireland, Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Doha, Cuba, China, Israel, London, California

A constitutional court ruling on Nov. 15 against a budget manoeuvre to get around Germany's "debt brake" threw the financial plans of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition into disarray. "As I have long been saying, we must fear that the debt brake becomes ever more a brake on the future," said Berlin mayor Kai Wegner on social media platform X. "The debt brake was implemented when Europe had a debt sustainability issue and Germany wanted to lead by example," he said. "With the debt brake as it is, we have voluntarily tied our hands behind our backs and are going into a boxing match," he said. The Greens' campaign programme ahead of the last election included debt brake reform to allow for greater investments.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Robert Habeck, Christian Lindner, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Reiner Haseloff, Haseloff, Kai Wegner, Friedrich Merz, Carsten Brzeski, Roderich Kiesewetter, Stefan Marschall, Andreas Rinke, Sarah Marsh, Matthias Williams, Holger Hansen, Nick Macfie Organizations: Climate, Finance, BERLIN, U.S, Intel, Reuters, AAA, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, Christian Social Union, CSU, Berlin, Free Democrats, Social Democrats, Greens, ING, SPD, University of Duesseldorf, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Europe's, Ukraine, Saxony, Anhalt, United States, Bavarian, Federal, Germany, Europe, France, Italy, Spain, China

☆ EU human rights envoy in Cuba to discuss aftermath of 2021 protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

European Union's Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, speaks during a meeting with Cuban authorities in Havana, Cuba, November 24, 2023. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, on a visit to Cuba earlier this year, announced Gilmore`s visit but told reporters the EU would not "impose" demands on the island`s government. Rights groups say around 1,000 Cubans were jailed for their political beliefs following the demonstrations and several subsequent protests. "No one is convicted for their political opinions," Cuba`s foreign ministry said prior to Gilmore`s visit on social media. "We call on the Cuban government to respect the human rights of everyone, including the rights of political prisoners and those unjustly detained."

Persons: Eamon Gilmore, Alexandre Meneghini, Gilmore, Josep Borrell, Fidel Castro's, Luis Barrios Díaz, la Torre, Barrios Diaz `, Dave Sherwood, Alien Fernandez Organizations: Human Rights, Cuban, REUTERS, Rights, EU, European Union, U.S, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Havana, Cuba, Rights HAVANA, United States, EU, Cuban

More than 10 intelligence and police officials in five European countries including Britain, Germany and France told Reuters they are increasing surveillance of Islamist militants. A British security official said the war in Gaza was likely to become the biggest recruiter for Islamist militants since the Iraq war in 2003, and that calls for attacks on Jewish and Western targets had risen in Europe. Two Islamist militant attacks in France and Belgium last month killed three people, and these two countries, Austria, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have raised their terrorism threat alert levels. LONE WOLVESSecurity officials say the main danger for Europe is probably from attacks by "lone wolves" — assailants who are radicalised, often online, but have no formal links to more established groups. Although a truce has come into effect in Gaza, both sides have said the war is far from over.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, radicalised, Mark Rowley, al, Jochen Kopelke, It's, Kopelke, Israel, Peter Knoope, Knoope, Iman Atta, Germany's Kopelke, influencers, Europol, Thomas Renard, Juliette Jabkhiro, Angelo Amante, Johan Ahlander, Phil Blenkinsop, Timothy Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, London, British, Islamic State, Islamic, WOLVES Security, Hamas, Dutch National, International Centre for, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, BERLIN, Israel, Britain, Germany, Russia, China, Iran, Gaza, Iraq, Europe, Belgium, Austria, Slovenia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Italy, al Qaeda, Islamic State, Qaeda, Afghanistan, Syria, United States, British, al, West

☆ The top 7 media people in AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Kali Hays | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Camille Carlton, Center for Humane TechnologyCamille Carlton, Center for Human Technology Center for Human TechnologyCarlton describes her path to working on AI policy as "nonlinear." After seeing how divided her family became around the 2016 election, largely due to information they saw on sites like Facebook, Carlton was inspired to study technology and society. She now works at the Center for Humane Technology, advising policymakers on laws and regulations for AI. "I'm most scared about how these systems will further entrench deep power asymmetries and socioeconomic inequality," Carlton said. "We're seeing a few large companies run by a handful of people shaping everything.

Persons: Camille Carlton, Center for Humane Technology Camille Carlton, Human Technology Carlton, Carlton Organizations: Center for Humane Technology, Center, Human Technology, Facebook Locations: Cuba

☆ Cuba stages pro-Palestine march past US embassy in Havana
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Nelson Acosta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] People shout slogans during a march in support of Palestinians, calling for a ceasefire and for charging Israel with committing “genocide” in Gaza, in Havana, Cuba, November 23, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini Acquire Licensing RightsHAVANA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Cubans on Thursday marched in front of the U.S. embassy in Havana charging Israel was committing “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza. Communist-run Cuba has been a strong backer of the Palestinian cause for decades and has trained more than 200 Palestinian doctors. "We are here and it is no coincidence that we have marched in front of the United States embassy," Anet Rodríguez, a university professor, said. Since then, some 14,800 Gazans have been killed by Israeli bombardment, around 40% of them children, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Persons: Alexandre Meneghini, Israel, Miguel Diaz, Fidel Castro, Marc Frank, Anet Rios, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, United, State, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Havana, Cuba, Rights HAVANA, Cuban, Palestine, Israel, Communist, United States

☆ U.S. to Restrict Visas of Charter Operators Flying Migrants to Nicaragua
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Juan Montes | José De Córdoba | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Haitians were waiting to board a flight from Port-au-Prince to Nicaragua in late October as the Haitian government banned all charter flights to the Central American nation. Photo: Odelyn Joseph/Associated PressThe U.S. government said Tuesday it would impose visa restrictions on individuals running charter flights into Nicaragua, flooding the Central American country with tens of thousands of U.S.-bound migrants, mostly from Haiti, Cuba and Africa. The authoritarian government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega , which has strained ties with the U.S., has in recent months allowed several little-known charter airlines and travel agencies to operate flights from Haiti, Cuba and other Caribbean airports to Nicaragua, according to Haitian and Nicaraguan civil aviation data.

Persons: Odelyn Joseph, Daniel Ortega Organizations: Central, Associated Press, Nicaraguan, U.S Locations: Port, Prince, Nicaragua, Central American, American, U.S, Haiti, Cuba, Africa

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