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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — Lee Hamilton can still remember the political environment in 1976. The Vietnam War had just ended. Washington was still reeling from Watergate. Inflation and unemployment were rising. It was against this backdrop that Hamilton, then a Democratic Congressman representing southeastern Indiana, first met Jimmy Carter. “He captured the mood of the country,” Hamilton said. “His down-home approach to things, played up the fact that he was from Plains, Georgia.” At the time, Hamilton had already served in Congress since 1965. He had been on the House Foreign Affairs Committee from the beginning and was the chair of the Europe and the Middle East subcommittee. Hamilton said Carter brought a different mentality from his predecessors. He was deeply analytical and thoroughly studied whatever topic was presented to him. “You had to know what you were doing,” Hamilton said of working with him. “If you were invited to the White House to talk to the president, you had to do your homework before you went into the office. If you didn’t, you were very quickly isolated.” Although Hamilton spent little time working with Carter on legislation and was not especially close to him, his committee assignment gave him a front row seat to the foreign policy problems facing the 39th president. He said he worked quite closely with Carter on the Arab-Israeli peace talks that ultimately led to the Camp David Accords. “He had a very visceral feeling toward the Palestinians,” Hamilton said. “It kind of switched the dynamics of Washington because Washington has always been identified as having strong ties with Israel.” Hamilton said Carter’s analytical mind was both his greatest strength and his Achilles heel. He said Carter’s patience was limited, especially for people who were not as well-versed in a particular policy issue or with whom he disagreed. That limited his efficacy at the day-to-day give and take of governance. “He was good at identifying the problem, explaining the problem, articulating the problem,” Hamilton said, “but he had a hard time getting people to come along with him and he had a hard time understanding them.” Carter was out of office from January 20, 1981 until his death on Sunday, the longest post-presidency of any chief executive in U.S. history. Hamilton said Carter redefined what it meant to be an ex-president. “He knew an ex-president had a platform and he exploited that and did it skillfully,” Hamilton said. “His predecessors and successors much less so. They did it to some degree but not like he did. He really made it an art form.” Although Carter’s time on the national political stage was brief, Hamilton said he made several profound changes to policy that impacted all of his successors. He said Carter was the first president to spend a significant amount of time on environmental and energy policy. Perhaps most importantly, Hamilton said Carter was the first president to incorporate human rights into American foreign policy. He said every American president since has addressed human rights in some way in their doctrine. “He made human rights a major plank in American foreign policy. That’s not going to change and Jimmy Carter deserves credit for that,” Hamilton said.SUNNYVALE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 23, 2024 / TechStar Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company listed in Hong Kong, announced that it entered a Business Combination Agreement with Seyond, a solution provider of high fidelity, high-performance LiDAR and intelligent sensing systems. Upon completion of the merger, Seyond is expected to be successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The agreed valuation for this De-SPAC transaction is 11.7 billion Hong Kong dollars. Additionally, Seyond has introduced three PIPE investors with a cumulative investment of approximately 553.1 million Hong Kong dollars. Previously, Seyond has garnered investments from a host of prestigious institutions, including NIO Capital, Temasek, ERVC, Gaorong Ventures, Joy Capital, BAI Capital, Shunwei Capital, and Guotai Junan Venture Capital, among others. Established in 2016, Seyond specializes in providing automotive-grade LiDAR solutions for autonomous driving and a variety of automotive and non-automotive applications. As the first company to achieve mass production of automotive-grade high-performance LiDAR, Seyond ranked first globally in sales revenue of passenger car LiDAR solutions in 2022 and 2023. Rigorously tested with proven automotive-grade reliability and lifetime, Falcon, the flagship 1550nm LiDAR sensor for high-level autonomous driving, is mass-produced, with over 400,000 units delivered globally. Additionally, Seyond achieved a design win for its 905nm wavelength LiDAR products with a leading new energy automotive OEM, becoming the only company in the LiDAR industry with mass production experience in both 1550nm and 905nm products. In addition to the automotive market, Seyond is strategically expanding into the robotic and intelligent transportation markets with combined revenue opportunities of over USD 260 billion globally by 2031, aiming to create a more substantial revenue scale. Seyond is looking forward to embarking on this exciting new journey with its investors, partners, and customers. On January 7-10, the company will exhibit its latest technology at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Attendees visiting Booth #5060 will learn how Seyond's LiDAR solutions power intelligent systems worldwide. About Seyond SeyondTM is a global leader in high fidelity LiDAR solutions, powering a safer, smarter and more mobile world across the automotive, intelligent transportation, robotics and infrastructure industries. Seyond delivers a dynamic portfolio of robust, high resolution LiDAR sensors, perception software, and the Seyond ITS Management Platform (SIMPL). Founded in Silicon Valley with a global footprint, Seyond is dedicated to the highest quality engineering and manufacturing, and unwavering commitment to our customers. About TechStar TechStar is a special purpose acquisition company incorporated for the purpose of effecting a business combination with one or more businesses, with efforts concentrated on companies in new economy sectors, including but not limited to innovative technology, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, life sciences, culture and entertainment, consumer and e-commerce, green energy and climate actions industries. TechStar completed an offering comprising 100,100,000 TechStar Class A Shares at an offer price of HK$10.00 per TechStar Class A Share and 50,050,000 TechStar Listed Warrants on December 23, 2022. CONTACT: Name: Sally Frykman Email: sally.frykman@seyond.com SOURCE: Seyond View the original on accesswire.com

Trump names billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to BritainSubscribe to our newsletter Privacy Policy Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in. Please visit My Account to verify and manage your account. An account was already registered with this email. Please check your inbox for an authentication link. Support Independent Arts Journalism As an independent publication, we rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, consider becoming a member today . Already a member? Sign in here. We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, please join us as a member . BERLIN — At the opening reception of her career retrospective This Will Not End Well at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie on November 22, Nan Goldin delivered a speech that reverberated across the world. “Why can’t I speak, Germany?” she asked, denouncing the country’s silencing of criticism against Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza. Goldin began her speech with several minutes of silence in honor of the tens of thousands of civilians killed in Gaza and Lebanon and the 815 Israeli civilians killed on October 7, 2023. Standing next to museum Director Klaus Biesenbach, s​​he emphasized that her art is inseparable from her activism. Two days later, I sat down with Goldin for an interview, first published in German on November 28 in the Frankfurter Rundschau and reprinted in English for the first time below . In our conversation, Goldin discusses her tense experience with the Neue Nationalgalerie, alleging that the museum censored a slide that she asked to add to her acclaimed 1985 slideshow “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency . ” The slide in question, according to Goldin, included a statement expressing solidarity with the people of Gaza, the Occupied West Bank, and Lebanon, as well as Israeli victims of the October 7 attack. After the interview was published, the museum contested Goldin’s account of censorship, saying in a December 6 statement that the slide was inserted without prior consultation with the museum, did not originally name Israeli victims, and was later removed by Goldin’s own studio team. Get the latest art news, reviews and opinions from Hyperallergic. Daily Weekly Opportunities However, an email correspondence between Goldin and Biesenbach tells a more nuanced and ultimately different story. “You may not have used the word censor, but you used coercion,” Goldin wrote to the museum director on December 3, claiming the Neue Nationalgalerie had warned her that including the original slide could jeopardize the institution’s funding. Goldin says that her repeated requests to include the slide were denied by a museum employee despite its mention of Israeli victims. “In what world are these two incidents not coercion?” Goldin wrote in her email to Biesenbach, attaching a photo of the slide and requesting its reinsertion. In a later conversation I had with Goldin, she objected the notion that she should have pre-cleared “sensitive content” with the museum, calling it “outrageous.” “My slide shows are constantly updated with different credit slides,” she added. “Why would I ever ask a museum if it’s okay to update my own work?” Leaked internal emails following Goldin’s heated back-and-forth with Biesenbach show the director consulting with senior staff at Germany’s Ministry of Culture and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the federal body overseeing the museum. “Could/should/would the slide be inserted, as it now also names the Israeli victims?” he asked. When I asked Biesenbach whether political pressure was leveled to avoid contentious stances on Israel or Palestine, he directed me to a statement by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. The statement reads: “We do not tolerate any anti-Semitic, racist, Islamophobic, or otherwise inhumane statements or symbols. We reject calls for boycotts, threats, insults, verbal violence, or violent acts.” On December 4, the Neue Nationalgalerie confirmed to Goldin that her proposed slide would be included by December 16. Meanwhile, a debate erupted around a symposium organized by the Neue Nationalgalerie in conjunction with Goldin’s show, titled “ Art and Activism in Times of Polarization: A Discussion Space on the Middle East Conflict ” and held on November 24. Led by Israeli-German writer Meron Mendel and Pakistani-German political analyst Saba-Nur Cheema, the symposium was promoted as a nuanced dialogue around issues of antisemitism, racism, artistic freedom, and expressions of political solidarity within the German cultural sector. Speakers ranged from Austrian journalist Andreas Fanizadeh, notorious for going after pro-Palestine artists, to South African artist Candice Breitz, whose exhibition and conference were canceled in Germany last November over her views on Gaza. After calls by the group Strike Germany to boycott the event, accusing it of being “dominated by genocide-denying Zionists,” speakers including Breitz, Hito Steyerl, and Forensic Architecture’s Eyal Weizman withdrew their participation. Goldin says she never gave her approval for the symposium to be timed with her exhibition and didn’t know about it until a friend sent her the press release. The debate underscores a growing crisis over artistic freedom in Germany, which has escalated sharply since October 7, 2023. State-funded cultural institutions have severed ties with multiple international artists deemed politically risky over their views on Israel and Palestine. When asked whether this could jeopardize future collaborations with artists, Biesenbach stated: “The museum stands by the principle of artistic freedom, as long as it aligns with our Code of Conduct.” I met Goldin at a friend’s apartment in Berlin on November 24. Our conversation, excerpts of which first appeared in Frankfurter Rundschau , began with the controversy surrounding her Berlin retrospective and continued into reflections about her lifetime of art and activism. The interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. Hanno Hauenstein: Your speech at the opening of your Berlin retrospective sparked chants in solidarity, but also lots of criticism in Germany. How are you feeling in light of all this? Nan Goldin: I’m so relieved it worked out. I spent an entire year being nervous about this night. Since I got here, all I’ve done is write. The other night, I realized great speeches are like sermons. They have a call-and-response structure. I thought, that’s what I’ll do . Call and response, questions, answers. HH: You started this speech with minutes of silence in commemoration of killed Palestinians, Lebanese, and Israelis ... NG: ... entire four minutes of silence, yes. I was so amazed that close to 1,000 people were standing together in silence. One baby cried. I found all this very touching. HH: Your art and your activism have been inseparable for decades — yet, in your speech you mentioned the museum, the Neue Nationalgalerie, wouldn’t accept this? NG: We told them so many times. But they kept trying all kinds of control methods the entire year leading up to the show. I said, “Klaus, all you have to do is say: She has a right to speak, even if I disagree.” I had no idea they were setting up an entire symposium to prove that. HH: You weren’t aware that this symposium would take place alongside the show? NG: We knew about one panel. Not of a day-long symposium. And even on this one panel, I had told them explicitly it had to be distanced from me. They still used my show and my name for it. They used me, essentially. It was a setup so that they could prove they didn’t agree with my positions. HH: Just to clarify this: You say you feel used by the museum? NG: I felt disavowed by the museum. They knew who they were inviting. I constantly reminded them of my political stance. They worked hard to prove they didn’t support the artist they are showing. They also censored me, by the way. HH: How so? NG: There is a credit slide at the end of the slideshow for [“The Ballad of Sexual Dependency”] in memory of my 43 friends who are in the show and died, mostly from AIDS. I added one more slide there that reads: “In solidarity with the people of Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon. And the Israeli civilians killed on October 7.” HH: What happened with that slide? NG: Well, I was told I had to take it out. It is an analog show. I wanted to leave a trace that would touch people and would hopefully move them. Not just in the form of a speech. Apparently, the museum didn’t want any indication of my politics in the work — or to allow room for mourning inside the show. HH: What were some of the key messages you wanted to get across in your opening speech? NG: That advocating for human rights isn’t antisemitic. And that anti-Zionism and antisemitism aren’t the same thing. HH: In your speech, you refer to what you call Israel’s genocide in Gaza and a climate of repression around that issue in Germany. What, do you think, lies at the heart of this repression? NG: Memory culture is being used in Germany. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance is issuing guidelines that prevent critiques of the Israeli government. Just a few weeks ago, a new government resolution in Germany has reinforced those guidelines. Over 180 artists and cultural workers have been canceled. This climate of repression also goes for making comparisons to the Holocaust — as if there hadn’t been genocides elsewhere. HH: Can you be more specific as to what you mean by that? NG: What’s unique about the Holocaust was the way the killing was done — so planned, so orchestrated. The genocide in Gaza doesn’t have that degree of control. Yes, the Holocaust is unique. But haven’t there been other genocides? Isn’t there a genocide happening in Sudan? The fact that what happens in Gaza is being live-streamed takes it to another level. People can see it. They could still do something about it. HH: As someone who isn’t Jewish and who grew up in Germany, I wonder: Can you understand why some of your positions may be difficult to digest for many Germans? NG: Of course. But the idea that descendants of Nazis would tell me I’m antisemitic is just outrageous to me. That makes me question how ingrained memory culture really is in Germany. Don’t Germans see what is happening in Palestine? I understand feeling guilty about the Holocaust. It’s commendable that Germany has tried to be accountable. But does that give Israel impunity? Why does “Never Again” not count for everybody? HH: Why is it important for you to speak out about these issues in Germany? NG: I wanted to speak out on behalf of all the artists. This issue is so repressed in Germany. One of the most difficult things to me was knowing that many artists and writers have been canceled over Palestine. I saw my opening as a test case. A way to maybe pave a way for others to speak out. HH: What do you expect from Germany? NG: Germany needs to learn how to listen to the public. A large percentage of the German public wants an arms embargo. All this is just so tragic. There’s a genocide happening right now, as we speak. HH: Claudia Roth, Germany’s federal minister of culture, called your speech “unbearably one-sided”; Berlin’s culture senator Joe Chialo described it as “oblivious to history.” What do you make of such comments? NG: Aren’t these kinds of statements just so convenient? Like Klaus Biesenbach reciting his litany on stage, after my speech — to please the powers that be. HH: Has the way in which some politicians and journalists in Germany talked about you and the show hurt you? NG: I care if a friend hurts me. Not these people. HH: What did you make of Strike Germany’s attempt to get the symposium canceled? NG: I myself wanted it canceled, too. Like I said, I never agreed to it in the first place. I first heard about it from people who were invited to be on it. The last time we heard about it was when someone sent me a press release. Museums don’t usually file press releases without letting us see them. HH: Didn’t you have a chance to communicate this to Klaus Biesenbach? NG: All my conversations with him were like, “We’re going to have a beautiful show.” When I wrote to him [about] what happened, he was like, “We’ll talk when we meet.” Well, there was never a discussion. Eventually, Klaus took his name off the show’s announcement just weeks before the opening. We learned that from the invitation. HH: How was your communication with the rest of the museum? NG: One of Klaus’s people asked me on Zoom: “Why are you against Israel?” She tried to paint my positions as a sort of childhood trauma, as if something turned me the wrong way. She implied we were antisemitic. She even started crying! On Zoom, with me and my studio manager Alex, who’s also Jewish. I said, “Sorry, but we can’t work with this person.” Klaus said: “We’re a team.” Ever since, every communication has gone through my Swedish curator, Fredrik Liew. But we suspected the museum wanted me to cancel the show. HH: Did you ever consider canceling it? NG: Many times. HH: What made you go through with it then? NG: The speech. The show is beautiful, but it was secondary to me. HH: Your grandparents fled antisemitic pogroms in Russia, you grew up with this trauma. In your speech, you said this is what you think of when you look at images from Gaza. NG: Undeniably that’s what I think of. I was watching the daily dispatches from Motaz [Azaiza], the Gazan journalist, and Bisan [Owda], this powerful young woman, on Instagram. Now there are less and less images because so many journalists were killed. One hundred and sixty in one year. My algorithms are no longer bringing up these reels. Now it’s mostly just animals. HH: Has being so outspoken affected your position as an artist? NG: For sure. Before signing the Artforum letter [in October 2023], for the first time in my career, I had money. I could give my assistants raises. Since then, things have become more difficult. Many people tried canceling me. I was asked to take my name off that letter. I was asked to apologize. I refused to do any of that. So, this show was huge for me. HH: After October 7, you also began boycotting the New York Times . Why? NG: In the New York Times , people in Gaza just “die” — they’re never killed. They’ve been a propaganda mouthpiece for Israel for the longest time. Even intelligent people around me often don’t fully understand what’s going on in Gaza because to them the New York Times is the paper of record. The media is very responsible for manufacturing consent for the daily deaths we’re seeing on our phones. I worked for the paper for years. When the war on Gaza started, I canceled those gigs. Maybe naively, I thought we could actually stop this. HH: Do you see any parallels to the media’s lack of responsibility during the ACT UP era? NG: Absolutely. The media was very responsible for the AIDS epidemic. They engaged in a campaign of silence and stigmatized people with AIDS. The disease was labeled “gay cancer.” Allegedly, only homosexual men got it. They also made it sound as if those who had it deserved it. This stigma was responsible for thousands of deaths. HH: In Laura Poitras’s film about your life and work, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed , there’s a chapter about a show you curated in New York in the late 1980s titled Witnesses: Against Our Vanishing , for which you collaborated with David Wojnarowicz. That show faced a major backlash. Do you see similarities to what’s happened now in Berlin? NG: I see it as a direct line. It was the first show about AIDS in New York. David Wojnarowicz wrote the catalog piece, in which he called the New York cardinal a “fat fucking cannibal in black skirts.” He also wrote that [former North Carolina Senator] Jesse Helms, who was censoring artists at the time, should be lit on fire. The director of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) decided to pull all the funding. Lots of artists spoke up, it was a huge scandal. In the end, Leonard Bernstein and the Mapplethorpe Foundation gave money. This show was about living with AIDS knowing that there was nothing you could do. There really was nothing at the time. I watched all my friends die. HH: Are you channeling some of that anger today? NG: I don’t need to channel anything, this anger is a big part of me. A couple of years later, when I got an NEA grant myself, I was asked to sign a statement that I wouldn’t photograph gay sex or promote homosexuality. I refused, of course, and didn’t get the money. HH: You also initiated the now-infamous PAIN campaign against the Sackler family’s omnipresence in art collections around the world to highlight their complicity in the opioid crisis. NG: Yes, and that was just 15 of us! Fifteen people bringing down a billionaire family and holding museums accountable. By the way, my battle was never against the drugs. My battle was against the profiteers of the crisis. “Memory Lost,” which is part of the Berlin show, deals with addiction. And how human it is. HH: You’re internationally known as a photographer. This Will Not End Well ventures more into filmmaking ... NG: Well, actually, I’ve been doing slideshows since 1981. But yes, this is the first time I’m having a major show that’s exclusively made of slideshows. My curator Frederik and I had the same vision of this at the same time. Slideshows are what I love and care about. HH: What do you think changes for the viewer? NG: It’s about time and the inability to hold on to an image. It’s closer to life. Many people tell me they find their own story in “Ballad.” HH: “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” is likely the most famous work in the show. But there’s also the film “Sisters, Saints, Sibyls,” which tells the story of your older sister Barbara, who took her own life at the age of 18. What was your intention behind this work? NG: I wanted people to feel trapped. I wanted to create a situation in which you cannot look away. It was a very deliberate decision. The work deals with the myth of the Christian martyr Saint Barbara. It was created for the chapel of the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris in 2004, as an installation with wax figures on the ground. There are two minutes of me burning myself in this film. A lot of people fainted at the initial screening. Jean-Martin Charcot used to do all his famous work on women and hysteria at the Salpêtrière. It was the perfect place for this piece. HH: When you watch “Sisters, Saints, Sibyls” today, what does that do to you? NG: Sometimes it breaks me up. Sometimes I’m just looking at it almost technically. But most of the time it still hurts. Same goes for “Ballad.” The other pieces in the show don’t hurt that much. HH: What draws you to film as a medium? NG: I watch a film a day. My favorite experience of watching a movie is to become who I’m watching. To be fully transported inside. HH: What was it like watching the architecture of the show come together in Berlin? NG: So far, we’ve shown the pavilions only in dark rooms without windows or natural light. It’s exciting to have the city be part of the architecture of the show. I started coming to Berlin in 1984. I always loved that museum so much. HH: Your work addresses topics often still considered taboo. Would it be right to say that your art is part of a struggle against shame? NG: I let the work tell me what it wants to say. But yes, it is a struggle against what cannot be said. Like the stigma around drug use, mental illness and suicide, and around words. I made it my project to fight all that stigma. My work is also about paying homage to the people I’ve loved, and about preserving their memories. We hope you enjoyed this article! Before you keep reading, please consider supporting Hyperallergic ’s journalism during a time when independent, critical reporting is increasingly scarce. Unlike many in the art world, we are not beholden to large corporations or billionaires. Our journalism is funded by readers like you , ensuring integrity and independence in our coverage. We strive to offer trustworthy perspectives on everything from art history to contemporary art. We spotlight artist-led social movements, uncover overlooked stories, and challenge established norms to make art more inclusive and accessible. With your support, we can continue to provide global coverage without the elitism often found in art journalism. If you can, please join us as a member today . Millions rely on Hyperallergic for free, reliable information. By becoming a member, you help keep our journalism free, independent, and accessible to all. Thank you for reading. Share Copied to clipboard Mail Bluesky Threads LinkedIn Facebook

Detail in School Sport Australia policy may see border venues overlooked

WASHINGTON (AP) — has named billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain, a prestigious posting for the Republican donor whose contributions this year included $2 million to a Trump-backing super PAC. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening, announced he was selecting Stephens to be the U.S. ambassador to the Court of Saint James. The Senate is required to confirm the choice. “Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time. I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies,” Trump said in in his post. Stephens is the chairman, president and CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based financial services firm Stephens Inc., having taken over the firm from his father. Trump has already named many of his and high-profile diplomatic posts, assembling a roster of staunch loyalists. Over the weekend, Trump announced he intends to nominate , father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France. During his first term, Trump selected Robert “Woody” Johnson, a contributor to his campaign and the owner of the New York Jets football team, as his representative to the United Kingdom.ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Ethiopia and Somalia agreed on Wednesday to hold “technical talks” to resolve of Somaliland, according to . Turkey has been mediating between the two east African countries as tensions between them have simmered since in January to lease land along its coastline to establish a marine force base. In return, Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland’s independence, which Somalia says infringes on its sovereignty and territory. A joint declaration was reached after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met separately with Somali President Hassan Sheik Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday. It says the sides agreed the talks, which would begin by February 2025 and conclude within four months, would respect Somalia’s territorial integrity while recognizing “potential benefits” of Ethiopia’s access to the sea. The declaration also says the sides would work to “finalize mutually advantageous commercial arrangements” to allow Ethiopia “to enjoy reliable, secure and sustainable access to and from the sea,” under Somalia sovereignity. Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than 30 years ago, but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state. Somalia still considers Somaliland part of its territory. Over the years, Somaliland has built a stable political environment, contrasting sharply with Somalia’s ongoing struggles with insecurity amid deadly attacks by . In November, Somaliland held a for international recognition. With a population estimated at over 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world. Turkey has previously hosted two rounds of talks between the African nations’ foreign ministers but a third round, expected in September, was delayed, raising concerns of escalating tensions. Erdogan, flanked by Mohamud and Abiy, told reporters at a late night news conference in the Turkish capital, Ankara, that the sides have reached an “important stage” in efforts to solve their dispute. The joint declaration, Erdogan said, focuses “on the future and not the past.” “By overcoming some resentments and misunderstandings, we have taken the first step toward a new beginning based on peace and cooperation between Somalia and Ethiopia,” Erdogan continued. He also said he hoped Somalia would take steps to give Ethiopia sea access. Abiy, the Ethiopian prime minister, insisted that “Ethiopia’s aspiration for secure access to the sea is a peaceful venture and one that would benefit all our neighbors.” “I believe that today’s constructive discussions will push us into a new year with this spirit of cooperation, friendship and the willingness to work together instead of against each other,” he said. Somalia’s president said the Horn of Africa is a “very fragile and very volatile region, which needs both Ethiopia and Somalia to work together” for the benefit of both. Turkey has forged close ties with Somalia, and recently also signed deals toward cooperation in defense and oil and gas exploration. It also has economic and trade ties with Ethiopia. A Somaliland opposition leader, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, who had been critical of the deal with Ethiopia, won the November election. He is to be inaugurated on Thursday. Suzan Fraser, The Associated PressOfficers Committee of A.P. and Telangana discuss pending bilateral issues

Some Democrats are disturbed by the Hunter Biden pardonMovate, a key player in digital technology and IT services, has secured a leadership position in the prestigious Everest Group's Digital Workplace Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2024 for mid-market enterprises. The accolade acknowledges Movate's forward-thinking Digital Workplace Service Offering, known for integrating cutting-edge generative AI applications and smart workplace tools to meet modern enterprises' evolving needs. Sunil Mittal, CEO of Movate, highlighted the company's commitment to reimagining the employee experience through smart, AI-driven solutions. The approach has helped Movate become a leader in its sector, especially catering to mid-market enterprises with unique sourcing needs. (With inputs from agencies.)San Jose gives greenlight to scaled down El Paseo redevelopment