内容摘要：It comes amid reports that Syria's new de-facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has held separate meetings with representatives of the Kurds and Christians in the country – two communities that are most concerned about the potential agenda of the new authorities.

It comes amid reports that Syria's new de-facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has held separate meetings with representatives of the Kurds and Christians in the country – two communities that are most concerned about the potential agenda of the new authorities.

"He became an absolute master of it and this was how he was able to create absolutely groundbreaking and stunning pictures."In one of the earliest examples of his "pictorial" photography, Fading Away, Robinson combined five separate negatives to produce a scene showing a dying girl surrounded by her family.

The image became incredibly popular despite Robinson's technique and subject matter, which was considered too morbid by some."As ever with that sort of genre photography of the time, there's a deeper story around it and you know all sorts of issues around how the Victorians pictured death," Dr Pritchard said.The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York holds a copy of the image and it

that the photo appealed to Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who bought a print and issued a standing order for every major composite photograph Robinson would make.The photographer was also a founding member of the Birmingham Photographic Society and produced a number of books.

"In terms of his importance for photography, I think he's probably a little bit forgotten these days but at the time he was still seen as a very influential figure and someone that had made a massive impact on photography," added Dr Pritchard.

In 1864, when he was 34, Robinson was forced to give up his Leamington studio due to ill health from being exposed to the toxic chemicals used at the time in photography.The same applies for the aid freeze that is causing such chaos in countries and organisations that have long depended on US funding - China may wish to fill the gap, despite an economic downturn.

On his first day back in office,, which is by far the world's biggest aid donor. Hundreds of foreign aid programmes delivered by USAID ground to a halt. Some have since restarted, but aid contractors describe ongoing chaos as the future of the agency hangs in the balance.

Trump's "America First" doctrine could further weaken Washington's position as a global leader, says John Delury, a historian of modern China and Professor at Yonsei University in Seoul."The combination of tariffs on major trade partners and freezing of foreign assistance sends a message to the Global South and OECD alike that the US is not interested in international partnership, collaboration," he tells the BBC.