This is the extraordinary story of how a senior Syrian general in charge of an intelligence branch alleged to have carried out war crimes gained asylum in Europe with the help of Western and Israeli intelligence. It's a wild ride but I'll try to summarise. telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/2… Brigadier General Khaled al-Halabi, was chief of Syrian Branch 335 intelligence in Raqqa from 2009 until 2013, where @CIJAinfo found evidence of “murder, torture, rape, a variety of sexual offences against men and women, crimes against minors,” according to @NermaJelacic.

I've had a few conversations in the past weeks about my favourite books I read in 2019. I'm going to share a few titles here in case anyone wants a repose from the raging deluge of depressing news. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker. Sleep is the greatest performance enhancer known to man. Get your eight hours. Super interesting read. goodreads.com/book/show/3446…