circus fest
Syrian Kurdish groups have welcomed the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, viewing it as a historic opportunity for change after 54 years of rule by the Assad dynasty. However, concerns remain among Kurdish communities about potential opposition to Kurdish rights from the Islamist rebels who led the regime's overthrow. Following Assad's fall on Sunday, Mazloum Abdi, the top commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, said, "This change is an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantee the rights of all Syrians." The SDF is the military arm of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), which governs a significant portion of the country. On Thursday, the AANES announced its decision to raise the new Syrian flag adopted by the rebels. Both the SDF and AANES have expressed their readiness to engage in dialogue with the new authorities in Damascus over the status of Syrian Kurds and other ethnic and religious minorities in territories under their administration. Kamal Akif, a spokesperson for the AANES, confirmed in a statement on Friday that "the autonomous administration currently works to prepare for the dialogue period." Syrian Kurds, who constitute nearly 15% of Syria's population of 24 million, have long faced persecution under successive governments in Syria. Their oppression intensified under the Baath party's rule, which began in 1963, stripping Kurds of basic civic, linguistic and cultural rights. In the wake of Syria's civil war, which erupted in 2011, Kurdish forces established control over their region in northeast Syria, eventually becoming a key partner of the United States in the fight against Islamic State group militants. Preserving autonomy Salih Muslim, a senior Kurdish politician with the Democratic Union Party, the de facto ruling party in northeast Syria, said the governing institutions that have been set up in recent years should be preserved. "We have established a sophisticated governing system in our region, so we will not accept returning to the pre-2011 status," he told VOA in a phone interview. "We are ready to start a dialogue process with the new rulers in Damascus, who have so far been saying positive things about inclusiveness and coexistence in Syria." The offensive that led to the overthrow of Assad's regime was headed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Following the capture of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city with a significant Kurdish population, the HTS political affairs office issued a statement saying that "Syrian Kurds have the full rights to live in dignity and freedom, as do all the Syrian people.” "We stand with the Kurds as we stand with all segments of the Syrian people and society in building the future Syria in which justice and dignity prevail for all," the statement said. Other groups that participated in the anti-regime offensive are backed by Turkey, which views the SDF as a terrorist organization. These armed groups have intensified their attacks on Kurdish forces in recent days. Salih Muslim said Kurds "fear that these groups will continue attacking our forces and further destabilizing our region." Yerevan Saeed, director of the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace at American University in Washington, said Kurdish unity is crucial at this critical juncture in Syria to safeguard Kurdish rights. "For Kurds to preserve their autonomy in the region, the most effective course of action for the Syrian Democratic Forces in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Kurdish National Council is to negotiate a preliminary agreement and present a unified, credible and legitimate front in Damascus," Saeed told VOA. The Kurdish National Council, or ENKS, a coalition of Kurdish parties that has often been at odds with the AANES, is aligned with the Turkey-based national Syrian opposition. "This unified representation would be essential to securing Kurdish rights in the new Syrian constitution, much like the successful strategy employed by the Kurds in Iraq in 2003," Saeed added, referring to the unified Iraqi Kurdish front in Baghdad following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Amy Austin Holmes, a professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, emphasized that the most effective approach for the SDF and its civilian component is to engage with all sides. "Besides HTS, they should also reach out with other rebel factions, for example those in the southern front, as well as the ENKS," she told VOA. The oil factor The areas under SDF control in northeast Syria contain most of the country's oil and natural gas fields. Ahed al-Hendi, a Syrian affairs analyst based in Washington, said that this dynamic presents both opportunities and challenges for Syrian Kurdish groups. "For the Kurdish administration, controlling oilfields could be the biggest leverage point and the most vulnerable one at the same time," he told VOA. "Controlling the oil means all eyes will be on the Kurds, including different hostile powers such as Turkey and the many Syrian rebel groups." Hendi added that Kurds could leverage their control over oil resources if they successfully manage to integrate with the new Syrian state and demonstrate a willingness to contribute to the country's new phase. "Controlling oil is a sovereignty matter. It belongs to the Syrian state," he said. "The Kurds can negotiate a proportional share of oil revenues as part of their integration."Boeing 787 Dreamliner Returns: Inside American Airlines Widebody Operation Between Miami & Los Angeles
New study explores financing green hydrogen ironmaking in emerging economies – SEI
It's harder now than ever to win on the PGA Tour. The depth of professional golf has only grown in recent years, and a new wave of young stars enters the sport every year and makes their mark on the PGA Tour. In 2024, there were 15-first-time winners, meaning almost 33 percent of all Tour events were won by first timers. Then there was Scottie Scheffler, who won seven PGA Tour events in addition to his win at the Olympics and Hero World Challenge. Xander Schauffele won a pair of majors. Rory McIlroy won the Wells Fargo for the fourth time. However, not every star has lifted a trophy recently. Some are adding the years since they won. Here's a look at some PGA Tour stars who are looking to end lengthy win droughts in 2025. It's coming up on two years since Burns took down good friend Scottie Scheffler in the semis at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in 2023 before a thrilling final against Cam Young, but the 19th ranked golfer in the world has yet to win since. Perhaps 2025 can be the year he gets PGA Tour win No. 6. The eight-time PGA Tour winner captured the 2022 BMW Championship, defending his title at the event. But heading into 2025, Cantlay is creeping up on three years without a victory and recently fell outside of the top 10 in the OWGR for the first time since June of 2021. Finau went through a stretch in 2022-23 where he won four times in 19 starts, including three wins in a seven-start stretch the latter half of 2022. But he hasn't won since the 2023 Mexico Open and is recovering from recent knee surgery. Hovland won the FedEx Cup and Tour Championship in 2023, and since then, it has been a spiral. He missed the cut in three of the four majors in 2024, though he seemed to find his groove toward the end of the year. He recently broke his pinky toe, however, and will try to play through the pain at The Sentry. Homa won on the DP World Tour late last year and had a strong week defending earlier this month, but his last PGA Tour win came nearly two years ago at the 2023 Farmers. Perhaps the West Coast Swing can result in another win for the California kid. It's hard to believe, but Adam Scott is coming up on five years since his last PGA Tour win at the 2020 Genesis Invitational. He's ranked 18th in the world thanks to a strong stretch of golf in 2024, but does the Aussie have a few more Ws in him? Who knows what to expect from Spieth in 2025 after wrist surgery in late August. He hasn't won since the 2022 RBC Heritage, including a playoff loss to Matt Fitzpatrick in the same event a year later. Last but not least, Thomas hasn't won since capturing his second major at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills. However, of all golfers on this list, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him win early in 2025. His last two starts of 2024? T-2 at the Zozo and solo third at the Hero.Realty Income Corp. stock rises Wednesday, still underperforms market
Burt died over the weekend, the Crocosaurus Cove reptile aquarium in Darwin, Australia, said. He was at least 90 years old. “Known for his independent nature, Burt was a confirmed bachelor – an attitude he made clear during his earlier years at a crocodile farm,” Crocosaurus Cove wrote in social media posts. The aquarium added: “He wasn’t just a crocodile, he was a force of nature and a reminder of the power and majesty of these incredible creatures. While his personality could be challenging, it was also what made him so memorable and beloved by those who worked with him and the thousands who visited him over the years.” A saltwater crocodile, Burt was estimated to be more than 16 feet long. He was captured in the 1980s in the Reynolds River and became one of the most well-known crocodiles in the world, according to Crocosaurus Cove. The 1986 film stars Paul Hogan as the rugged crocodile hunter Mick Dundee. In the movie, American Sue Charlton, played by actress Linda Kozlowski, goes to fill her canteen in a watering hole when she is attacked by a crocodile before being saved by Dundee. Burt is briefly shown lunging out of the water. But the creature shown in more detail as Dundee saves the day is apparently something else. The Internet Movie Database says the film made a mistake by depicting an American alligator, which has a blunter snout. The Australian aquarium where Burt had lived since 2008 features a Cage of Death which it says is the nation’s only crocodile dive. It said it planned to honour Burt’s legacy with a commemorative sign “celebrating his extraordinary life and the stories and interactions he shared throughout his time at the park”.
Stocks shook off a choppy start to finish higher Monday, as Wall Street kicked off a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 ended 0.7% higher after having been down 0.5% in the early going. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also recovered from an early slide to eke out a 0.2% gain. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 1%. Gains in technology and communications stocks accounted for much of the gains, outweighing losses in consumer goods companies and elsewhere in the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, rose 3.7%. Broadcom climbed 5.5% to also help support the broader market. Walmart fell 2% and PepsiCo slid 1%. Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan said they are talking about combining in a deal that might also include Mitsubishi Motors. U.S.-listed shares in Honda jumped 12.7%, while Nissan ended flat. Eli Lilly rose 3.7% after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first and only prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Department store Nordstrom fell 1.5% after it agreed to be taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal. All told, the S&P 500 rose 43.22 points to 5,974.07. The Dow gained 66.69 points to 42,906.95. The Nasdaq rose 192.29 points to 19,764.89. Traders got a look at a new snapshot of U.S. consumer confidence Monday. The Conference Board said that consumer confidence slipped in December. Its consumer confidence index fell back to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Wall Street was expecting a reading of 113.8. The unexpectedly weak consumer confidence update follows several generally strong economic reports last week. One report showed the overall economy grew at a 3.1% annualized rate during the summer, faster than earlier thought. The latest report on unemployment benefit applications showed that the job market remains solid. A report on Friday said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than economists expected. Worries about inflation edging higher again had been weighing on Wall Street and the Fed. The central bank just delivered its third cut to interest rates this year, but inflation has been hovering stubbornly above its target of 2%. It has signaled that it could deliver fewer cuts to interest rates next year than it earlier anticipated because of concerns over inflation. Expectations for more interest rate cuts have helped drive a roughly 25% gain for the S&P 500 in 2024. That drive included 57 all-time highs this year. Inflation concerns have added to uncertainties heading into 2025, which include the labor market's path ahead and shifting economic policies under an incoming President Donald Trump. "Put simply, much of the strong market performance prior to last week was driven by expectations that a best-case scenario was the base case for 2025," said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.59% from 4.53% late Friday. European markets closed mostly lower, while markets in Asia gained ground. Wall Street has several other economic reports to look forward to this week. On Tuesday, the U.S. will release its November report for sales of newly constructed homes. A weekly update on unemployment benefits is expected on Thursday. Markets in the U.S. will close at 1 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday for Christmas Eve and will remain closed on Wednesday for Christmas.
- Previous: circus characters
- Next: circus festival
