Frederiks Ozols

Qatar’s fashion empire: Famous brands controlled by Doha Through high-profile acquisitions like Valentino and Balmain, Qatar’s sovereign fund blends cultural influence with geopolitical strategy while facing scrutiny

As part of Qatar's geopolitical strategy through its royal family’s investment firm Mayhoola, Qatar became a key power in global luxury fashion, uniquely owning iconic brands and prestigious department stores— granting it major economic and cultural leverage.
www.ynetnews.com/culture/arti...

Qatar’s fashion empire: Famous brands controlled by Doha Through high-profile acquisitions like Valentino and Balmain, Qatar’s sovereign fund blends cultural influence with geopolitical strategy while facing scrutiny

Ein weniger bekannter Aspekt von Katars Wirtschafts- und Soft-Power ist sein erheblicher Einfluss in der Welt der Luxusmode. Katar besitzt einige der einflussreichsten Marken sowie zwei legendäre Kaufhäuser.
www.ynetnews.com/culture/arti...

Estland, Lettlands guter Nachbar und Verbündeter, hatte stets ein exzellentes Gespür für Design. Heute zieht die estnische Botschaft von der Skolas-Straße direkt ins Herz der Rigaer Altstadt, nahe dem Rigaer Schloss. Ihr Design ist einfach geschmackvoll. (Fotografie von Tõnu Tunnel)

I'll remind of the obvious - Trump has not yet achieved peace in Ukraine, nor has he made Ukraine to sign anything, nor has he initiated peace talks. All he has done is kick the ball to the other side of the Atlantic. Now it will be Europe's decision whether and by what means to continue the war.

Libya Deports 613 Migrants Headed for Europe Libya deported more than 600 men from Niger last month as North African countries — financed by the European Union to tackle migration — have ramped up expulsions of sub-Saharan Africans.

Ja, es ist eine Lösung für Europa. Es erfordert jedoch Länder – darunter auch solche mit wenig demokratischen Strukturen –, die Migranten daran hindern, in die EU zu gelangen.
Es ist uns bisher nicht gelungen, menschliches Leid und Tragödien zu vermeiden.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/w...

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨

Freed hostage Emily Damari’s wounded hand swiftly becomes symbol of Israeli defiance Ex-captive's mom shares photo showing her daughter's unbandaged hand after she lost two fingers in Oct. 7 attack; Emily and her supporters use 'rock on' emoji to celebrate her return

"Ex-captive’s mom shares photo showing her daughter’s unbandaged hand after she lost two fingers in Oct. 7 attack; Emily and her supporters use ‘rock on’ emoji to celebrate her return"
www.timesofisrael.com/freed-hostag...

We went back to Sednaya prison again today. So many people with missing loved ones. The anger there was real, some chanted death to the Alawites [Assad's sect], who represent only about 10% of the population. You can't but suspect another sectarian meltdown may be returning to the Levant.

Eric Trump Promises the ‘Most Pro-Crypto President’ in History Speaking at a Middle East conference, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s son said his family had embraced cryptocurrency because some banks stopped doing business with them after Jan. 6.

Trump dignitaries traveled to Abu Dhabi to promote cryptocurrency & the family’s new company, World Liberty Financial.

Speakers included Eric Trump + newly named Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff & Paul Manafort.

“There’s a lot of exciting times ahead,” Manafort said.

Polish police took initiative in Jewish killings, new book explores Polish police murdered Jews during the Holocaust with gusto and even without Nazi orders, according to new resesarch.

“The interesting thing is that there is no record of any penalty given to someone who refused to kill a Jew, except maybe some sneers by your colleagues”
"They killed friends and schoolmates without remorse, even in places where no Germans ever came to check up on them"
www.jpost.com/diaspora/ant...

Nikki Giovanni, Poet Who Wrote of Black Joy, Dies at 81 Ms. Giovanni tackled race, gender, sex, politics and love. She was a celebrity poet and public intellectual who appeared on television and toured the country.

Breaking News: Nikki Giovanni, the poet who wrote, irresistibly and sensuously, about race, politics, gender, sex and love, has died at 81.

Toppling of Assad transforms Middle East after year of chaos The stunning collapse of Syria's regime has sent tremors throughout the Middle East and wider world

"Both Russia and Iran with Assad's toppling have now lost their main logistical hub for producing, transferring, and storing weapons, training their militias, and threatening Israel with another front."
www.axios.com/2024/12/09/s...

E.P.A. Bans Perc and T.C.E., Two Chemicals Used In Dry Cleaning The two solvents, known as Perc and TCE, cause kidney cancer and other ailments, and have been the subject of years of controversy.

Breaking News: The EPA banned two solvents found in everyday products and used in dry cleaning that can cause cancer and other serious diseases.

I recall Aslan Abashidze of Georgia's Ajaria region and Ukraine's Yanukovich also taking refuge in Russia, similar to Assad's family. Historically, even some Kurdish opposition figures during the Soviet era sought shelter there. It would be fascinating to track their subsequent whereabouts.

Nano-Pearls: The Stunning Discovery That Challenges How We See the Brain New research challenges traditional views on axon structure, presenting a "pearls-on-a-string" model where action potential speed is influenced by nano-pearl size changes due to local factors like cho...

A traditional view on nerve endings' - axon structure challenged by the 'pearl-on-a-string' model. The size of the pearls is crucial and it is affected by local factors such as cholesterol. Could significantly advance our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases
scitechdaily.com/nano-pearls-...

A book. ‘Paganism Persisting: A History of European Paganisms since Antiquity’ by Robin Douglas & Francis Young. A receipt from Book People in Austin is visible at the top.

Excited to get into this one.

Bashar al-Assad in 2014: “I am not Yanukovych and I will not go anywhere.”

2024: Assad and family have arrived in Moscow, Tass reports

as clear as a day

It cannot be last time by default, because viruses reformulate all the time and include elements of the DNS from the different hosts. Hence virtually endless opportunities. Most, however, are dead ends and only some spell out a real trouble to people. So it has been and so it will be.

WHO deploys a team of experts to Congo to help investigate mysterious disease The agency's regional director for Africa said "all efforts are underway" to identify the illness that has killed 143 people.

"Extremely concerning" outbreak in Congo. The World Health Organisation is deploying a team of experts to help local health authorities investigate a mysterious, flu-like disease that has infected nearly 400 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/h...

A doorway draped in a large green wreath covered with lights and ornaments is pictured as part of holiday decorations at the White House. Headline reads: "A Final, Whimsical Holiday for the Bidens." Photo credit: Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times.

President Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, offered a goodbye message in their letter introducing the holiday season at the White House. “It has been the honor of our lives to serve as your president and first lady,” they wrote. nyti.ms/41hr30c

Ukraine struggles to recruit new soldiers as desertions rise Prosecutors opened 60,000 cases against troops abandoning positions in 2024 — almost double number of past two years

Ukrainian prosecutors opened 60,000 cases between January and October this year against soldiers for abandoning their positions, almost twice as many as they initiated in 2022 and 2023 combined. @ikoshiw.bsky.social reports on the rise of desertions. www.ft.com/content/9b25... v @financialtimes.com

Study confirms face masks' effectiveness in reducing disease transmission, calls for improved public understanding Researchers reviewed the benefits, practicalities, and harms of masks and masking, finding that masks are effective in reducing respiratory disease transmission despite some adverse effects, and empha...

When the mask mandate was lifted from Mass General Brigham in May '23, hospital transmission of resp virus went up. When the mandate was re-instituted in Jan '24, infection rates went down. www.news-medical.net/news/2024052...