Tag: 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake

Did the U.S. really lift sanctions off Syria temporarily?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The “humanitarian exemptions”, on Syrian sanctions, are conditional!

The U.S. Treasury announced a decision on February 9 claiming to allow an easing of sanctions imposed on Syria for the ensuing six months until August 8, as part of “earthquake relief efforts.”
The decision allows for “third parties” to transfer aid to Syria without fear of U.S. sanctions, but should only be intended for aid to earthquake-effected areas. Nonetheless, the sanctions programs applied to Syria for many years, the most severe of which are the Caesar Act (2019) and Captagon Act (2022), provide for “humanitarian exceptions,” but are conditional on U.S. approval.

Did the U.S. really lift sanctions off Syria temporarily?

Related:

Did the U.S. lift sanctions on Syria?

So any earthquake relief effort must take place away from the Syrian state. In other words, it must contribute to undermining the sovereignty of the Syrian state, or it will not take place.

Google to expand misinformation ‘prebunking’ in Europe

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Google to expand misinformation ‘prebunking’ in Europe

The tech giant plans to release a series of short videos highlighting the techniques common to many misleading claims. The videos will appear as advertisements on platforms like Facebook, YouTube or TikTok in Germany. A similar campaign in India is also in the works.

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Google will announce its new German campaign Monday ahead of next week’s Munich Security Conference. The timing of the announcement, coming before that annual gathering of international security officials, reflects heightened concerns about the impact of misinformation among both tech companies and government officials.

Perfect timing!