Headlines
  • False or misleading informations are spread by organizations posing as legitimate media outlets in an attempt to twist public opinion in favor of a certain ideology.
  • On social media,watch out for fake messages,pictures,Videos and news.
  • Always Check Independent Fact Checking Sites if You Have Some Doubts About the Authenticity of Any Information or Picture or video.
  • Check Google Images for AuthThe Google Reverse Images search can helps you.
  • It Would Be Better to Ignore Social Media Messages that are forwarded from Unknown or Little-Known Sources.
  • If a fake message asks you to share something, you can quickly recognize it as fake messege.
  • It is a heinous crime and punishable offence to post obscene, morphed images of women on social media networks, sometimes even in pornographic websites, as retaliation.
  • Deepfakes use artificial intelligence (AI)-driven deep learning software to manipulate preexisting photographs, videos, or audio recordings of a person to create new, fake images, videos, and audio recordings.
  • AI technology has the ability to manipulate media and swap out a genuine person's voice and likeness for similar counter parts.
  • Deepfake creators use this fake substance to spread misinformation and other illegal activities.Deepfakes are frequently used on social networking sites to elicit heated responses or defame opponents.
  • One can identify AI created fake videos by identifying abnormal eye movement, Unnatural facial expressions, a lack of feeling, awkward-looking hand,body or posture,unnatural physical movement or form, unnatural coloring, Unreal-looking hair,teeth that don't appear natural, Blurring, inconsistent audio or noise, images that appear unnatural when slowed down, differences between hashtags blockchain-based digital fingerprints, reverse image searches.
  • Look for details,like stange background,orientation of teeth,handsclothing,asymmetrical facial features,use reverse image search tools.

More Details

Efforts to Rebuild Raqqa Continue After Islamic State

Sirwan Kajjo & Reber Kalo

More than one year after its recapture from Islamic State (IS) militants, Raqqa, the former de facto capital of the Islamic State’s so-called caliphate, is still struggling to recover from a war that devastated all aspects of normal life. Efforts are underway, though, to rebuild the city’s major bridges.

Raqqa was liberated from the terror group by U.S.-backed forces in October 2017.

During the 3-month-long battle, the city’s infrastructure was mostly destroyed, including dozens of bridges vital for traffic and transportation of goods.

Reconstruction efforts are focusing on one major bridge over the Euphrates River, which will reduce traffic congestion by more than 50 percent, experts said.

“The project is expected to be completed on Jan. 1, 2019,” Abdulrahman Hasan, an engineer who oversees the reconstruction progress of al-Hukoumiya Bridge, told VOA.

“Hopefully by then the bridge will be safe for pedestrians and traffic. It will carry loads up to 4 tons,” he added.

Boats and makeshift bridges

Raqqa residents hope that other bridges also will be rebuilt soon. But for now, they rely on boats and makeshift bridges to cross the river and channels.

“Most people go to the other side of the city through the river,” Mohammed Saho, a Raqqa resident, told VOA as he was preparing to get on a small boat with other passengers. “But crossing the Euphrates with these old boats is very risky. A lot of people have drowned in the past few months.”

He added that “transportation fees are expensive, especially since most people don’t work so they can’t afford these fares.”

Local officials say the damage that has been done to the bridges is so severe that it will take a long time to rebuild them.

“Repairing the bridges is actually beyond the capabilities of our council,” said Abdullah al-Aryan of the Raqqa Civil Council, the civilian body that is now responsible for running the city.

“There are about 37 bridges across the city over channels and two big ones over the Euphrates River,” Aryan told VOA.

Infrastructure damage

While rebuilding bridges is seen as an important step, it is not the only obstacle hindering Raqqa’s recovery, according to experts.

“Nearly 80 percent of Raqqa’s infrastructure was destroyed during the liberation battle,” said Jowan Hemo, a Syrian economist who closely follows the stabilization process in the city.

“It could be possible to implement projects, such as rebuilding residential houses, hospitals and schools, in a relatively short period. It would be a lot harder to take on bigger projects such as the power sector,” Hemo said.

The United States in August announced that it was cutting about $230 million in stabilization funding to northeast Syria, saying it would instead rely on financial contributions from countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and other members of the anti-ISIS global coalition.

But despite those cuts, the U.S. remains one of the main donors in the recovery of Raqqa. U.S. stabilization efforts have helped 150,000 Raqqa residents return to their homes, U.S. officials say.

Mahmoud A., a program coordinator at the Early Recovery Team, U.S.-funded organization that operates in Raqqa, said his group hasn’t been affected by the U.S. funding cuts, “although many local organizations panicked when the announcement was first made.

“Our projects are still ongoing in many parts of Raqqa. We have three main priorities at the moment, which include purifying drinking water, repairing the sewage system, and improving the environment for the education system to recover,” he told VOA.

Long-term stabilization

As the war on IS dwindles, the focus in Raqqa and elsewhere should be on long-term stabilization efforts, U.S. officials say.

“We talked about transitioning to a new phase, really focusing on the stabilization and sustainment effort,” Brett McGurk, U.S. special envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, told reporters in October during an annual meeting in Washington on countering violent extremism.

In November, the Syria Recovery Trust Fund (SRTF), a multidonor initiative that includes the U.S. and several European, Asian and Middle Eastern countries, approved a $3 million project as part of its stabilization efforts in Raqqa.

“The assistance will benefit beneficiaries in Raqqa Governorate, complementing ongoing SRTF support to farmers in the same area,” the SRTF said in a statement.

“The intervention will benefit 2,000 households in the targeted area, increasing health and WASH services to the civilians recovering from the destruction caused during the conflict with Daesh,” the group added, using an Arabic acronym for IS.(VOA)

Related Article

Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on…

Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina who has spent 14 years on death row in Indonesia, will be coming home b ...
November 21, 2024

Myanmar Junta Airstrike Kills Vhildren Playing…

Myanmar’s air force bombed a church where displaced people were sheltering near the border with Ch ...
November 18, 2024

Bangkok Court Clears Thai Woman of…

A Bangkok court on Thursday acquitted a Thai woman accused of supporting two Chinese ethnic Uyghur m ...
November 8, 2024

Residents of Kamala Harris’s Ancestral Indian…

At the Hindu temple in Thulasendrapuram, the ancestral village of Kamala Harris, in Tamil Nadu, Indi ...
November 7, 2024

TikTok Deletes Videos Related to Uyghur…

Authorities in Xinjiang have banned Uyghurs from using social media apps, including Chinese-owned ...
November 6, 2024

In Post-Hasina Bangladesh,Awami League Faces Uncertain…

With its leaders in jail or fleeing from justice, the party that led Bangladesh to independence and ...
October 29, 2024

Other Article

Video Report

Despite Risks,Unaccompanied Child Migrants Keep Crossing…

One of the top entry points for migrants under the age of eighteen who enter the United States witho ...
November 22, 2024
News & Views

Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on…

Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina who has spent 14 years on death row in Indonesia, will be coming home b ...
November 21, 2024
Video Report

Trapped in Lebanon, African Migrants Face…

Many of the estimated 176,000 migrants living in Lebanon are African women who are working menial jo ...
Pick of the Day

Permanent Representative of France Briefs Press…

Nicolas de Rivière,Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, briefs reporters after ...
November 20, 2024
Video Report

The Impact on a Ukrainian Family…

This week marks 1,000 days of fighting in Ukraine.For millions of Ukrainians, including 32-year-old ...
Pick of the Day

UN Security Council Meets to Discuss…

James Kariuki,Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and Presid ...
November 19, 2024

[wp-rss-aggregator feeds="crime-more-world"]
Top