A mental health crisis is unfolding in workplaces worldwide, with financial services emerging among the hardest-hit sectors, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing recent research.

Burnout, depression, and anxiety are the main issues that significantly undermine productivity, economists, business leaders, and health advocates have warned.

A survey by global consultancy firm Deloitte revealed that 17% of finance and insurance workers in the UK experience exhaustion, declining performance, and mental distancing, compared to a 12% average across all sectors.

The report noted that the annual cost of poor mental health per employee in financial services amounts to £5,379, more than double that in any of the 14 other industries examined.

Middle East: German delegation meets Syria's HTS
The development from Berlin comes after similar moves from the UK and the EU. Plus, CIA Director Bill Burns is expected in Doha for negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. DW has the latest.

Germany is the latest in a series of countries seeking to re-establish ties with Syria.

The EU has announced it will reopen its representation in Damascus.

Meanwhile, top officials from the US, Egypt and Qatar say they are making progress toward a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza.

This is a rundown of developments from Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Gaza and other parts of the Middle East on December 18, 2024:

Like Trump, Dutton likes to portray himself as a strong man. But appearances are not everything, and Dutton is pretty much an economic policy vacuum.

Ever since he became Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton has seized on the cost-of-living as his key issue, indeed until recently his only economic issue. But on Friday Dutton announced the Opposition’s plans for powering Australia by relying heavily on nuclear energy, rather than renewables, and claimed it would be cheaper.

Since assuming the role of EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy on December 1, 2024, Kaja Kallas has swiftly implemented policies reflecting her firm anti-Russia stance and commitment to supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Moscow. Her policies with regard to Russia have long been harsh, and a number of media outlets have labeled her as a ‘Russophobe’.

On her first day in office, Kallas visited Kiev alongside European Council President Antonio Costa, signaling the EU’s unwavering support for Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict. During the visit, she highlighted the EU’s commitment to bolstering Ukraine’s defense capabilities, announcing a substantial investment of €400 million ($420 million) for the current year and an additional €1.9 billion for the following year to enhance Ukraine’s defense industry.

Rep. Chris Smith (R- N.J.) slammed White House national security spokesperson John Kirby’s statement about the recent mysterious drone sightings on the East Coast. 

“Well, I think it’s very misleading at best,” Smith said in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill” on Monday evening. “If [Kirby] knows something, he should say.”

The Israeli army is preparing to deploy automated, remotely monitored machine guns to protect illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Israeli Army Radio reported on 15 December.

The automated weapons, developed by Rafael Combat Systems, will be installed on watch towers around dozens of settlements and near their entrances. They will be controlled remotely from command centers "to prevent armed attacks and infiltration operations."

National Security Minister Itamar Gen Gvir, along with other Israeli officials, have been preparing Jewish settlers for war to expel Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and eliminate the possibility of a Palestinian state

The coming month of January 2025 is shaping up as Australia Day month. The Coalition has signalled it will be making heavy weather of the weeks leading up to and following Sunday, 26 January. The hubbub will likely focus on Australian flags and an intense determination to stand by the 26th as the day in January sanctified by tradition as the one when the nation contemplates the glories of our history and the impact we make on the world beyond our land of beauty, rich and rare.

For Palestinians in Gaza, there is no room for death, as there is no room for life, due to Zionist crimes and Israeli savagery, writes Refaat Ibrahim from occupied Gaza. “Many die and are turned into body parts, their limbs mixed together and lost… They transport them into Israel, subject them to examination, sometimes steal organs in certain cases, and then return them as remains of many individuals, often mixed together. Thus, these bodies bear no features, and their identities remain unknown, eventually buried in mass graves in a way that degrades human dignity and attacks it even after death…”

Socialism burst on the American political scene with Sanders’ strong bid for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. Not a one-time fluke, Sanders currently ranks at the top of the crowded 2020 Democratic field.

[GUS SPOILER ALERT — BERNIE WAS SHAFTED ONCE MORE IN 2020, THIS TIME BY JOE BIDEN-THE-CROOK AND THE "DEEP STATE". IN 2024, BERNIE SUPPORTED KAMALA (HARRIS) WHO, TO SAY THE LEAST, WAS VERY ENTHUSIASTIC WITH VERY LITTLE ELSE TO SELL THAN ANTI-SEXISM AND ANTI-RACISM]

    By: Paul R. Gregory

General Kirillov, head of Russia’s Radiological Chemical and Biological Defense Forces, gained prominence due to his regular appearances at military briefings, accusing the Kiev regime and its US patrons of operating biolaboratories and using chemical weapons.

Western leaders think they’re chosen by God – Putin
The US and its allies continue their efforts to maintain global dominance, the Russian president has said

Western countries continue to act as if they are God’s representatives on Earth by trying to maintain their global dominance through imposing duplicitous rules, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

Speaking at a meeting of top Russian Defense Ministry officials on Monday, Putin noted that the military and political situation in the world remains complicated and unstable, pointing to the bloodshed in the Middle East and other regions of the world.

Dutton’s nuclear plans provide an opportunity for a campaign Labor could win. But it won’t be won without girding for war. The need for some political alliance is greater given that neither Albanese nor his senior ministers, and the party organisation, have shown themselves up to serious political struggle on climate change.

Hungary agreed not to veto the EU’s latest package of sanctions on Russia after pressuring the bloc to abandon “crazy ideas” such as blacklisting the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said.

EU foreign ministers formally adopted the bloc’s 15th package of economic penalties on Russia at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. The latest tranche of sanctions blacklists 54 people and 30 entities, including Russian military commanders, oil tankers allegedly connected to Russia, Russian defense firms, and “various Chinese actors” accused of supplying electronic components to Russia.

Beijing has long maintained that it does not supply any military goods or components to Moscow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZLfRREmz4

CNN's Jake Tapper sits down with Senator Mitt Romney in an exclusive interview discussing his decades-long political career and President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming term.

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

PLEASE DO NOT BLAME RUSSIA IF WW3 STARTS. BLAME YOURSELF.

After Election Day, the President-elect and various federal and state agencies begin planning for inauguration. An inaugural committee is appointed by the President-elect to be in charge of the presidential inaugural ceremony and activities connected with the ceremony. This committee may accept donations but must file a report with the FEC.