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Inside Europe’s Parliament of bullies

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:24:21 GMT

EU authorities have repeatedly failed to protect victims of bullying by powerful politicians, amid a culture of indifference toward harassment within the European Parliament, a major POLITICO investigation reveals. A picture built up over four months, based on dozens of interviews and confidential documents, showed a system in crisis that has left junior staffers scarred by years of abuse. Witnesses and victims, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly, described feeling “physically and mentally dead” or even suicidal as a result of harassment, and suffering anxiety and sleep deprivation as they waited for several months — or longer — for their complaints to be processed. One likened the experience of the delays to waiting like “prisoners on death row.” Some insiders said the scale of bullying within the headquarters of EU democracy was “out of control” while others alleged they had suffered sexual harassment and said “mind games” were rife. Often, it was eas...

Here's how you can celebrate Pride Month in San Diego County

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:24:21 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- June 1 means that Pride Month is officially here, with plenty of festivities taking place across the county to celebrate.Pride Month is held every June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which marked the beginning of the movement to overturn discriminatory laws against LGBTQ+ Americans, and celebrate the community at-large.While San Diego's biggest Pride event takes place in July, there's no shortage of things members of the community or allies can do to commemorate the month. San Diego community colleges fly Pride flag for first time Here's a list of Pride Events hosted this month:QTAPI Week: The San Diego Queer APIMEDA Coalition, a group of queer and transgender Asian American Pacific Islander individuals, has ended AAPI Heritage Month and kicked off Pride with a series of events to celebrate those who live at the intersection of the two communities. While a few of the events for QTAPI week have already passed, there are two more set to take place this month:Nig...

Mayor says Coronado's approach to homelessness works, but would it across the bay?

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:24:21 GMT

CORONADO, Calif. -- As homelessness continues to increase in San Diego, there's one mayor in San Diego County who believes he may have the right approach. The latest homeless count from the Downtown San Diego Partnership in April showed a record high number of nearly 2,000. But across the bay, it's a different story.Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey says his city is tough on homelessness, and the latest data reflects it, showing the count is zero there. Were homeless people told to move to the Beverly Hills area? "We have to at least come to an understanding that the policies that have been in place region-wide, and also throughout the state of California, have really failed the homeless population and they've also failed the surrounding communities," he said to FOX 5 on Thursday.Bailey believes his three-step approach could be used in other areas, and that geography isn't one of the solutions. Those steps include:Starting to use real-time data to show where shelter beds are available...

Restoration lags for Syria’s famed Roman ruins at Palmyra and other war-battered historic sites

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:24:21 GMT

PALMYRA, Syria (AP) — At the height of the Islamic State group’s rampage across Syria, the world watched in horror as the militants blew up an iconic arch and temple in the country’s famed Roman ruins in Palmyra.Eight years later, IS has lost its hold but restoration work on the site has been held up by security issues, leftover IS land mines and lack of funding.Other archaeological sites throughout Syria face similar problems, both in areas held by the government and by the opposition. They were damaged by the war or, more recently, by the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck a wide area of neighboring Turkey and also Syria in February.Youssef Kanjou, a former director of Syria’s Aleppo National Museum, said the situation of heritage sites in his country is a “disaster.”Without a coordinated preservation and restoration effort, said Kanjou, now a researcher at Tübingen University in Germany, “We will lose what was not destroyed by the war or the earthquake....

Clashes in Senegal leave at least 9 dead; government bans use of social media platforms

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:24:21 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Clashes between police and supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko left nine people dead, the government said Friday, with authorities issuing a blanket ban on the use of several social media platforms in the aftermath of the violence.The deaths occurred mainly in the capital, Dakar, and Ziguinchor in the south, where Sonko is mayor, Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome said in a statement. Some social media sites used by demonstrators to incite violence, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter have been suspended, he said. “The state of Senegal has taken every measure to guarantee the safety of people and property. We are going to reinforce security everywhere in the country,” Diome said.Sonko was convicted Thursday of corrupting youth but acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. The court sentenced Sonko to two years in prison. He didn’t attend his trial in Dak...

US expands slots for asylum app at land crossings as demand overwhelms supply

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:24:21 GMT

HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) — U.S. authorities on Thursday expanded slots to seek asylum at land crossings with Mexico through a mobile app for the second time in less than a month, seeking to dispel doubts it isn’t a viable option.There are now 1,250 appointments at eight land crossings, up from 1,000 previously and 740 in early May.The increase “reflects our commitment to continue to expand lawful options for migrants,” said Blas Nuñez-Neto, the Homeland Security Department’s assistant secretary for border and immigration policy. “We’ll continue to expand appointments at the border as our operations allow in terms of capacity.”Nuñez-Neto called CBP One a “safe and orderly option” during a visit to Harlingen, Texas. He announced the expansion a week after Texas sued to end what the state government considers an illegal method of boosting immigration.Demand has far outstripped supply from the Jan. 12 start, prompting many to consider crossing the border illegally or givi...

US reopens embassy in Seychelles after 27-year absence

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:24:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has reopened its embassy in the Seychelles after a 27-year absence during which China and other U.S. rivals made significant inroads in the Indian Ocean islands.The U.S. State Department announced the move late Thursday, after having unveiled plans to open a diplomatic mission in northern Norway, which will be its only only such facility above the Arctic Circle. The Seychelles embassy is part of a push to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. is already constructing an embassy in the Maldives and has opened or announced plans to open embassies in the Pacific, including in the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Kiribati. The U.S. Embassy in the Seychelles capital of Victoria was shuttered in 1996 as part of cost-saving measures after the end of the Cold War. American interests in the 115-island archipelago about 1,500 kilometers (800 miles) east of mainland Africa had been handled by diplomats based in Mauritius.“The time is right...

Top American, Chinese defense officials vie for influence in Asia-Pacific

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:24:21 GMT

SINGAPORE (AP) — As the United States and China vie to establish new partnerships and expand influence with Asia-Pacific nations, the top defense officials from both nations are preparing to try to win support this weekend from their regional counterparts, diplomats and leaders at a security forum in Singapore.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country is a stalwart American ally in the Pacific, is to give the keynote address Friday evening to open the dialogue at the Shangri-La Hotel hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank. Albanese, whose country has angered Beijing with its agreement with Britain and the U.S., known as AUKUS, to obtain nuclear-powered submarines to address the perceived rising threat from China, said he would focus on Australia’s deepening engagement, as well as “shared opportunities and challenges” in the region.“We want a region that is stable, peaceful, resilient and prosperous,” he said when his speech was a...

Ukraine says Russian missiles kill two children in Kyiv

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:24:21 GMT

A Russian missile attack on Kyiv killed three people including two children and injured 14 on Thursday, officials in the Ukrainian capital said.The Kyiv military administration said in a statement the attack struck the Desnyanskyi region on the capital's eastern outskirts as well as Dniprovkskyi district, closer to the centre.It was the 18th attack on the capital this month.Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said nine people needed hospital treatment. Emergency crews had extinguished fires caused by falling debris near the sites of the strikes.Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app a medical clinic had been hit. Photographs posted on the city's website showed windows blown out in the clinic and in nearby apartment buildings.Pictures from the scene posted on social media showed rescue teams attending to residents in buildings, with shattered building materials strewn about on the street.City authorities said the impact was from shot-down cruise or ballistic missiles.Air raid alerts in...

Grass-eating goats clear fire-prone brush near Reagan Library

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:24:21 GMT

The Ventura County Fire Department has hired some new four-legged firefighters to help clear brush surrounding the fire prone Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.  The 700 grass-eating goats will be contained by fencing in order to focus their grazing and cover more ground quickly.  According to Ventura Brush Goats, the organization providing the furry firefighters, goats eat about 4% of their body weight each day and are able to clear large swathes of brush, noxious and invasive weeds in a much safer and less expensive way than other methods.  Grass-eating goats seen here grazing on fire-prone brush near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on June 1, 2023. (TNLA)Grass-eating goats seen here grazing on fire-prone brush near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on June 1, 2023. (TNLA)They will also have several K-9 guards who will protect the goats from predators like coyotes and mountain lions.  Officials estimate that it will take...