Britain, Germany, France, Italy and several other European countries said Monday they would freeze all pending asylum requests from Syrians, a day after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad. While Berlin and other governments said they were watching the fast-moving developments in the war-ravaged nation, Austria signalled it would soon deport refugees back to Syria. Far-right politicians elsewhere made similar demands, including in Germany -- home to Europe's largest Syrian community -- at a time when immigration has become a hot-button issue across the continent. Alice Weidel, of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, reacted with disdain to Sunday's mass rallies by jubilant Syrians celebrating Assad's downfall. "Anyone in Germany who celebrates 'free Syria' evidently no longer has any reason to flee," she wrote on X. "They should return to Syria immediately." World leaders and Syrians abroad watched in disbelief at the weekend as Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus, ending Assad's brutal rule while also sparking new uncertainty. A German foreign ministry spokesman pointed out that "the fact that the Assad regime has been ended is unfortunately no guarantee of peaceful developments" in the future. Germany has taken in almost one million Syrians, with most arriving in 2015-16 under ex-chancellor Angela Merkel. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said many Syrian refugees "now finally have hope of returning to their Syrian homeland" but cautioned that "the situation in Syria is currently very unclear". The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had imposed a freeze on decisions for ongoing asylum procedures "until the situation is clearer". She added that "concrete possibilities of return cannot yet be predicted and it would be unprofessional to speculate in such a volatile situation". Rights group Amnesty International slammed Germany's freeze on asylum decisions, stressing that for now "the human rights situation in the country is completely unclear". The head of the UN refugee agency also cautioned that "patience and vigilance" were needed on the issue of refugee returns. In Austria, where about 100,000 Syrians live, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer instructed the interior ministry "to suspend all ongoing Syrian asylum applications and to review all asylum grants". Interior Minister Gerhard Karner added he had "instructed the ministry to prepare an orderly repatriation and deportation programme to Syria". "The political situation in Syria has changed fundamentally and, above all, rapidly in recent days," the ministry said, adding it is "currently monitoring and analysing the new situation". The French interior ministry said it too would put asylum requests from Syrians on hold, with authorities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway announcing similar moves. Britain's interior ministry said it was taking the same measure "whilst we assess the current situation". The Italian government said late Monday after a cabinet meeting that it too was suspending asylum request "in line with other European partners." The leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, a coalition partner in the government, said residence permits for Syrian refugees should now be "reviewed". "Destructive Islamist forces are behind the change of power" in Syria, wrote their leader Jimmie Akesson on X. "I see that groups are happy about this development here in Sweden. You should see it as a good opportunity to go home." In Greece, a government spokesman voiced hope that Assad's fall will eventually allow "the safe return of Syrian refugees" to their country, but without announcing concrete measures. In Germany, the debate gained momentum as the country heads towards February elections. Achim Brotel, president of a grouping of German communes, called for border controls to stop fleeing Assad loyalists reaching Germany. The centre-right opposition CDU suggested that rejected Syrian asylum-seekers should now lose so-called subsidiary protection. "If the reason for protection no longer applies, then refugees will have to return to their home country," CDU legislator Thorsten Frei told Welt TV. CDU MP Jens Spahn suggested that Berlin charter flights to Syria and offer 1,000 euros ($1,057) to "anyone who wants to return". A member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats criticised the debate as "populist and irresponsible". Greens party deputy Anton Hofreiter also said "it is completely unclear what will happen next in Syria" and deportation talk was "completely out of place". Many Syrians in Germany have watched the events in their home country with great joy but prefer to wait and see before deciding whether to return. "We want to go back to Syria," said Mahmoud Zaml, 25, who works in an Arabic pastry shop in Berlin, adding that he hopes to help "rebuild" his country. "But we have to wait a bit now," he told AFP. "We have to see what happens and if it is really 100 percent safe, then we will go back to Syria." burs-fz/rlp/phz/gv/givIsrael and Lebanon's Hezbollah start a ceasefire after nearly 14 months of fighting
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California, home to some of the largest technology companies in the world, would be the first U.S. state to require mental health warning labels on social media sites if lawmakers pass a bill introduced Monday. The legislation sponsored by state Attorney General Rob Bonta is necessary to bolster safety for children online, supporters say, but industry officials vow to fight the measure and others like it under the First Amendment. Warning labels for social media gained swift bipartisan support from dozens of attorneys general, including Bonta, after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to establish the requirements earlier this year, saying social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people. “These companies know the harmful impact their products can have on our children, and they refuse to take meaningful steps to make them safer,” Bonta said at a news conference Monday. “Time is up. It’s time we stepped in and demanded change.” State officials haven't provided details on the bill, but Bonta said the warning labels could pop up once weekly. Up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 say they use a social media platform, and more than a third say that they use social media “almost constantly,” according to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center. Parents’ concerns prompted Australia to pass the world’s first law banning social media for children under 16 in November. “The promise of social media, although real, has turned into a situation where they’re turning our children’s attention into a commodity,” Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who authored the California bill, said Monday. “The attention economy is using our children and their well-being to make money for these California companies.” Lawmakers instead should focus on online safety education and mental health resources, not warning label bills that are “constitutionally unsound,” said Todd O’Boyle, a vice president of the tech industry policy group Chamber of Progress. “We strongly suspect that the courts will set them aside as compelled speech,” O’Boyle told The Associated Press. Victoria Hinks' 16-year-old daughter, Alexandra, died by suicide four months ago after being “led down dark rabbit holes” on social media that glamorized eating disorders and self-harm. Hinks said the labels would help protect children from companies that turn a blind eye to the harm caused to children’s mental health when they become addicted to social media platforms. “There's not a bone in my body that doubts social media played a role in leading her to that final, irreversible decision,” Hinks said. “This could be your story." Common Sense Media, a sponsor of the bill, said it plans to lobby for similar proposals in other states. California in the past decade has positioned itself as a leader in regulating and fighting the tech industry to bolster online safety for children. The state was the first in 2022 to bar online platforms from using users’ personal information in ways that could harm children. It was one of the states that sued Meta in 2023 and TikTok in October for deliberately designing addictive features that keep kids hooked on their platforms. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, also signed several bills in September to help curb the effects of social media on children, including one to prohibit social media platforms from knowingly providing addictive feeds to children without parental consent and one to limit or ban students from using smartphones on school campus. Federal lawmakers have held hearings on child online safety and legislation is in the works to force companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm. The legislation has the support of X owner Elon Musk and the President-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr . Still, the last federal law aimed at protecting children online was enacted in 1998, six years before Facebook’s founding. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
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AP Trending SummaryBrief at 6:04 p.m. ESTTimberwolves lose in Boston for 18th straight timeMeta Description: Amazon founder and tech titan Jeff Bezos saved nearly $1 billion in state taxes by relocating from Seattle to his billionaire bunker in Florida. For most people, deciding where to live comes down to factors like affordability and access to employment. Then again, billionaires like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos aren't most people. Although Bezos has the money to live wherever he wants, many people suspect finances played a role in his decision to relocate to the infamous "billionaire bunker" in 2024. Keep reading to learn why that move may have saved Jeff Bezos almost $1 billion in taxes. Like many billionaires, Jeff Bezos' life has become the subject of intense public speculation. Almost every move Bezos makes becomes news and his announcement in late 2023 that he would relocate to Florida is no exception. Bezos announced the move on his Instagram page, listing several motivating factors, including being closer to his parents and his fledgling aerospace company, Blue Origin. Don't Miss: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — you can become an investor for $0.80 per share today. If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it ? Bezos moved from Seattle, where he had lived for many years, to Indian Creek Village in early 2024. Indian Creek Village is an exclusive community outside of Miami known as the "billionaire bunker." Business Insider describes this as more than just a swanky gated community. It is its own city, with only 89 residents and a police department whose sole job is keeping nonresidents out. Indian Creek Village is a private island and the only way in is to cross a bridge patrolled by its Police Department. The same department has a fleet of boats and aggressively patrols the surrounding waters. Even Before Bezos moved in, Indian Creek Village was home to an ultraexclusive crowd that included Tom Brady, Ivanka Trump and Carl Icahn. It's even rumored that the Emir of Qatar has a place there. See Also: Unlock the hidden potential of commercial real estate — This platform allows individuals to invest in commercial real estate offering a 12% target yield with a bonus 1% return boost today! This explains why most of the media attention revolved around the sheer size of Bezos' acquisitions. He didn't just buy one place on the island; he bought three. According to an article in the Robb Report, Bezos spent almost $250 million on them. Ownership of the three properties gives Bezos control over 7.5% of Indian Creek Village's 40 residences. It's not hard to imagine why Indian Creek Village's combination of exclusivity and privacy would appeal to someone like Jeff Bezos. However, astute financial observers began to speculate on another reason for Bezos' abrupt move from Washington to Florida. Forbes magazine has reported that Bezos has sold nearly $13.6 billion in Amazon stock since moving to Indian Creek Village. Washington’s capital gains tax law taxes capital gains over $250,000 at 7%. Florida, by contrast, doesn't tax income or capital gains. Forbes estimates Bezos would have owed about $954 million to the state of Washington if he had still been living in Seattle when he sold his Amazon stock. Looking at it that way, spending $250 million on property saved Jeff Bezos $700 million. Read Next: Wondering if your investments can get you to a $5,000,000 nest egg? Speak to a financial advisor today. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you up with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. Warren Buffett once said, "If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die." Here’s how you can earn passive income with just $100. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.