All posts tagged: gathers

Assisted Dying Divide Persists Among MPs As Debate Gathers Pace

Assisted Dying Divide Persists Among MPs As Debate Gathers Pace

Published by skeptic

Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox handed a box of letters in support of assisted dying to No10 on Thursday (Alamy) 9 min read46 min MPs are carefully monitoring the national debate and concerns surrounding assisted dying, as some believe the “direction of travel” is moving towards parliamentarians voting in favour of a change in the law. MPs will debate assisted dying in Westminster Hall on Monday after an e-petition requesting a debate reached more than 100,000 signatures. Although no legislation is currently being considered in UK Parliament, the debate is another sign that the campaign in favour of assisted dying has been gathering pace in recent months. In March, Labour leader Keir Starmer said that he personally supported it and pledged to make time for MPs to have a free vote on the issue in Parliament if Labour gets into government, while the current government’s position is also that any change in the law should be led by Parliament. A fresh wave of campaigning was sparked when broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen …

As European dynamism gathers momentum, Elaia and partners double down with new deep tech fund

As European dynamism gathers momentum, Elaia and partners double down with new deep tech fund

Published by skeptic

Deep tech is on the rise in Europe, fueled in part by the match between AI and a local flavor of math excellence. But it’s also benefiting from a growing community, public support and increasing amounts of funding. Elaia‘s third deep tech seed fund, DTS3, is an example: “It is double the size of the two previous funds,” Anne-Sophie Carrese, a managing partner at the French VC firm, told TechCrunch. With a first closing at €60 million, it is set to reach €120 million by the time its fundraising is complete, which she said should happen by early 2025. It’s already identified the first three startups to join its portfolio. While other deep tech funds have emerged across Europe since Elaia’s creation in 2002, the firm puts relationships it built with research institutions over the years to good use. Building these partnerships has proven to be a solid source of dealflow for Elaia — in some cases, it has even gotten priority or exclusive access to projects coming out of certain labs. For instance, partnerships …

‘Won’t back down’: Druze Syrian town gathers after regime kills protester | Syria’s War News

‘Won’t back down’: Druze Syrian town gathers after regime kills protester | Syria’s War News

Published by Sam

Idlib, Syria – Syrian regime forces have shot and killed one protester and injured another in Sweida, a Druze-majority governorate in southern Syria. The Sweida 24 news website reported on Wednesday that Jawad al-Barouki, 52, had succumbed to his injuries from gunshot wounds after security forces guarding a government building opened fire on protesters. The demonstration was to protest against the reopening of a security settlements centre – where people with security reports filed against them have to go to have them “settled” with the authorities. Activists shared photos online showing regime forces firing live bullets to disperse the protesters in and around the Seventh of April Hall, where the centre’s offices are. #شاهد: كاميرا السويداء 24 توثق لحظات اطلاق النار من قوات الأمن لتفريق المتظاهرين في مدينة السويداء، مما أدى لمقتل أحد المتظاهرين وإصابة متظاهر آخر بجروح، اليوم الاربعاء. pic.twitter.com/FJU4j5jOKG — السويداء 24 (@suwayda24) February 28, 2024 The centre had been closed for several months as a result of popular pressure against the government. The news that it was being reopened specifically to monitor …

counter-offensive gathers pace while Wagner Group takes on new role

counter-offensive gathers pace while Wagner Group takes on new role

Published by skeptic

Reports from the front lines of the various conflict zones reveal daily just how difficult Ukraine is finding its summer counter-offensive. Russia has had months to build defensive fortifications and Ukrainian troops are having to fight their way through territory which – according to Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s security council – is liberally seeded with landmines. “The number of mines on the territory that our troops have retaken is utterly mad,” he told Ukrainian television this week. “On average, there are three, four, five mines per square metre.” That said, there is geolocational evidence that Ukraine is gradually pushing back Russian troops in some sectors and there have been suggestions that Ukrainian troops have broken through Russian lines in some area, liberating settlements in the southeast of the country. Chris Morris, an expert in military strategy at the University of Portsmouth, says that, as part of a concerted push before the weather begins to turn, Ukraine is now committing a significant portion of its available forces to achieve progress. That includes a number …