| | It took nine years for Darlingtina Tucker and her family to escape the Sierra Leone Civil War and reunite in the United States. Now, with her organization New Breed, she seeks to give the young people of Sierra Leone an opportunity to become change agents through events that inspire community service and social engagement. Her incubator program helps young entrepreneurs “receive financial investments, a peer network and a mentor to guide them along the process,” explains Darlingtina. New Breed will harness new technologies and the ingenuity and energy of young people to incentivize entrepreneurship to reach a more “interdependent and efficient” economy. |
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| IMPORTANT | | Incoming | Peru’s Day of Political Drama Ends With First Female President Vice President Dina Boluarte took over from Pedro Castillo after he was impeached Wednesday. Castillo, who is fending off corruption allegations, earlier announced an “exceptional emergency government” to replace Congress and imposed a curfew. Several government officials resigned after the announcement, which was condemned by international leaders. Castillo was later arrested by police on allegations of fomenting a rebellion. It’s part of a long-running political dispute in Peru that has seen infighting and dissolutions of parliament wreak havoc since 2016. “What I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country,” Boluarte said shortly after she was sworn in. (Sources: BBC, AP) |
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| | | Fringe No More | Germany Arrests 25 in Far-Right Coup Plot “The suspicion exists that an armed attack on constitutional organs was planned,” Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said, after a series of raids across the country Wednesday. The suspects are members of the ‘Reich Citizens,’ a homegrown right-wing group that believes the post-war government is invalid. The movement has long operated on the fringes in small cells, but this thwarted plot is a sharp escalation in ambition. Around 21,000 Germans are believed to be linked to the group, with around 5% described as right-wing extremists. “The investigation offers an insight into the depths of the terrorist threat within the Reich Citizens milieu,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said. (Sources: DW, BBC, AP) |
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| | Forgotten Homework | Two More Classified Documents Turn Up in Trump Team Search The documents were found in a Florida storage unit and handed over to the FBI. The unit was one of four locations — including Trump Tower in New York, an office in Florida and the Bedminster golf club — searched by a team hired by former President Donald Trump. The search was prompted by concerns from within the Justice Department that not all classified documents in Trump’s possession had been located. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, said he and the legal team have been cooperative “despite the unprecedented, illegal and unwarranted attack against President Trump and his family by the weaponized Department of Justice.” (Sources: NYT, CNN) |
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| | Alert, Not Alarmed | China Quietly Optimistic as It Learns to Live With COVID After a three-year battle under Beijing’s “zero-COVID” policy, China is ready for a holiday. Flight sales and hotel bookings have skyrocketed after the sudden shift in policy last week. But others are wary that the country, with low rates of previous exposure to the virus, will soon see a boom in case numbers. PCR test requirements have largely been dropped, leading some epidemiologists to suspect undetected cases may already be moving through communities. For many, it’s time to move on. “It’s impossible to kill this virus completely, maybe just live with it and hope it will evolve into flu,” one Beijinger said. (Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg) |
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| | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: On tour. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived for a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia for talks expected to focus on shoring up economic cooperation and energy deals between the nations. Xi will meet with other Gulf leaders while in Riyadh. (Source: France24) Egged. An unidentified British man has been charged with a public offense after hurling an egg in the direction of King Charles during a visit to Luton Tuesday. The man will appear in court in January. (Source: The Guardian) Capital punishment. Iran announced it had executed Mohsen Shekari, who was arrested early in the protests and convicted of blocking a street in Tehran. It is the first-known execution in relation to the protests. (Source: DW) |
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| | INTRIGUING | | No Big Spender | More Fake News? Alex Jones Says He Can’t Pay Up Jones has less than $12 million to pay the $1.5 billion in damages to families of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre, his lawyers told a bankruptcy court in Houston Wednesday. He aims to settle with the families, who sued Jones in a series of cases for peddling the conspiracy theory that Sandy Hook was a hoax. Jones has previously flagged an appeal of the earlier verdicts if he is unable to settle. “We’re here because Mr. Jones’s stock in trade is lies, not truth,” David Zensky, an attorney for the families, said and questioned the true state of Jones' finances. (Source: Reuters) |
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| | You Can Never Leave | Welcome to the Hotel Twitter in California Photos released by a former Twitter employee show that under Elon Musk’s reign the social network office space has been converted into sleeping and living space. Musk last month told remaining workers they “will need to be extremely hardcore” to improve Twitter and hold on to their jobs. That appears to mean effectively living in Twitter HQ, as Musk reportedly has done since finalizing his buyout in October. San Francisco city officials are investigating the setup for potential building code violations. California state Sen. Scott Wiener also weighed in, suggesting Musk “doesn’t care about the people who work for him.” (Source: BBC) |
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| | Fresh Leadership | This 18-Year-Old Is Ready to Lead in Arkansas “My mom can’t stop crying,” Jaylen Smith said. He’ll lead the small Arkansas town of Earle after winning 235 votes. His challenger — longtime public servant Nemi Matthews Sr. — garnered 183 votes. Smith credits the young people of Earle for turning out and supporting him. They’ve seen his work before — he was president of Earle High School’s student government for three years. Smith will balance his mayoral duties with classes at Arkansas State University Mid-South and has no plans to leave for higher office elsewhere: “Why should I have to be great somewhere else when I could be great in Earle, Arkansas?” (Source: WaPo) |
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| | Scratching the Surface | Hurricane Nicole Unearthed a Mysterious Shipwreck in Daytona Huge coastal erosion caused by Hurricanes Nicole and Ian in recent months revealed the wreckage, which had lain hidden for centuries. Archaeologists working with officials in Florida uncovered a 20-foot portion of a vessel that they think was used for hauling cargo down the coast in the 19th century. We may never know exactly which ship it is, said Chuck Meide of the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program, because of the volume of ships — and therefore, shipwrecks — during that era, but he is trying. “We have a big database of shipwrecks and we can see which ones went down in this area,” he said. (Source: Click Orlando) |
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| | | Nil-Nil | Qatar’s World Cup Visitor Windfall Falls Short Doha welcomed just over 765,000 visitors in the first 17 days of the tournament, well below the anticipated 1.2 million. The first two weeks are typically the peak time for visitors as teams are knocked out and sent home. Tournament organizers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, also noted more than half have already returned home. The Middle East’s first-ever World Cup is the most expensive ever for both accommodation and tickets, while the sale of alcohol has been restricted. Officials hope special flights, like one arranged by Morocco ahead of its Tuesday bout with Spain, could see fans arrive for finals. (Source: Reuters) |
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| | NOW STREAMING FROM OZY STUDIO | Uniting and celebrating women in sneaker culture and creating a space for everyone who loves dope kicks and fly 'fits. Check out Sneaker Fiends, hosted by The Notorious KIA -- new episodes drop every Thursday. Would you like to hear the stories of brave women who have turned hardship into crusades of love? Join the former Mayor of San Juan, C. Yulin Cruz, as she brings you these compelling stories in OZY Studio's new podcast Sheroics! |
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| COMMUNITY What else are you curious about? Share your questions or thoughts with us at OzyCommunity@Ozy.com |
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| ABOUT OZY OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on “the New and the Next.” OZY creates space for fresh perspectives, and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. Curiosity. Enthusiasm. Action. That’s OZY! |
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