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Gaza’s main hospital goes dark in intense fighting as Israel’s attacks put it at odds with allies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s prime minister pushed back Saturday against calls from Western allies to do more to protect Palestinian civilians, as troops encircled Gaza’s largest hospital where doctors said five patients died, including a premature baby, after the last generator ran out of fuel.Israel has portrayed Shifa Hospital as Hamas’ main command post, saying militants were using civilians as human shields there and had set up elaborate bunkers underneath it. In recent days, fighting near Shifa and other hospitals in the combat zone of northern Gaza has intensified and supplies have run out.“There is no electricity. Medical devices stopped. Patients, especially those in intensive care, started to die,” said Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa, speaking by phone over the sound of gunfire and explosions. Abu Selmia said Israeli troops were “shooting at anyone outside or inside the hospital,” and prevented movement between the buildings in the comp...

Word Game: Nov. 11, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — ANEURYSM (ANEURYSM: AN-yuh-riz-am: A bulge of a blood vessel from weakening of the artery wall.)Average mark 37 wordsTime limit 50 minutesCan you find 49 or more words in ANEURYSM? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — PROFUSION pious poison poor porous pouf pour prison proof roof rosin ruin onus oops opus orison ours four fusion upon sirup snip snoop soon soup sour spin spoof spoon spoor spun spur spurn sunroof surf info iron noirTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are ...

Horoscopes Nov. 11, 2023: Demi Moore, say no to temptation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Leonardo DiCaprio, 49; Calista Flockhart, 59; Demi Moore, 61; Marc Summers, 72.Happy Birthday: Set the stage for what you want to accomplish this year. A systematic approach will eliminate doubt and encourage swift action. Don’t let situations you cannot control slow you down. Use kindness and consideration, and you’ll get your desired response to reach your goal. Dedication and hard work will help you say no to temptation and interference. Know what you are up against and set high standards. Your numbers are 7, 18, 21, 25, 33, 42, 47.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Free thinking will get you where you want to go. An unusual financial opportunity, contract or pursuit will give you hope for a better future. A joint venture will turn out better than anticipated. Love and personal gain are on the rise. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Put your energy where it counts. Leave nothing unfinished, and steer others in a direction that is useful to you and...

Bridge: Nov. 11, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

When several thousand bridge players congregate for 11 days, strange things can happen. Expert Mark Aquino reported today’s deal from the Summer NABC. He was North.West’s opening bid showed a strong hand, not necessarily clubs. Aquino’s 1NT showed length in both minors. He often would have held a weaker hand, but if South bid diamonds, Aquino planned to bid clubs next to suggest strength. When South gritted his teeth and bid two clubs, Aquino thought his side might have a game – probably at notrump – if South held anything at all. So Aquino jumped to three spades.STOPPERWell, South’s Q-9-8 of spades looked like a stopper, so he did what he thought he was supposed to do: He bid 3NT. All passed. West led the jack of spades, and South won, let the ten of clubs ride and claimed nine tricks. They scored it up as plus 600 and went on to the next deal.If you think something is wrong with this picture, you’re right. West’s opening lead was perhaps unwise but definitely illegal. South bid 3N...

Ask Amy: I told the bride she was free to exclude me, but I’m hurt by how she did it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

Dear Amy: I’d like your input regarding a family drama.Related ArticlesAdvice | Ask Amy: We ended up with a near-stranger’s dog, and it feels very wrong to me Advice | Ask Amy: I want flower gremlins at my wedding, and my family is furious Advice | Ask Amy: I’m devastated by the wedding snub, and my husband doesn’t have my back Advice | Ask Amy: My sneaky co-workers are stressing me out Advice | Ask Amy: I wake up to a startling noise from my dear old neighbor My sister and I have not been speaking to each other for quite a while. My niece (her daughter) is getting married, and I reached out to this niece, saying that if it would cause unhappiness between her and her mother by inviting me to the wedding, I would understand if she chose not to issue the invitation to me.Well, I just found out from family members that I am not being invited, however my niece didn’t call and let me k...

Anti-Defamation League Maps Jewish Peace Rallies with Antisemitic Attacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

On October 27, several thousand Jews and their allies shut down the main terminal of Grand Central Station during rush hour in New York City, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. Organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, the activists at the peaceful sit-in wore black T-shirts that read “Not In Our Name.” “It’s the largest sit-in protest the city has seen in over two decades,” Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman said. About 400 people were arrested, including rabbis. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jewish Voice for Peace (@jewishvoiceforpeace)The Anti-Defamation League has classified the event — and dozens of other protests led by Jewish groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow — as “anti-Israel,” according to an analysis by The Intercept, and added them to their database documenting rising antisemitism across the U.S.“We’re seeing a genuine rise in antisemitic attacks and white nationalist, white supremacist, antisemitic hate and violence,” Eva Borgwardt, ...

Sunny but Warm Veterans Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to those who have served or currently serve, and the weather is looking great this Saturday to honor our veterans!Similar as yesterday, lots of sunshine is in the forecast along with warm, humid and mostly dry conditions. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 80s, which could near records, especially in Miami.Sunday will be a similar day with highs well above average with just a few more clouds around.Increasing clouds will be the story early next week as a weather system begins to enter the picture from the Gulf Coast and Southeastern US. This will create more of a hazy and filtered look to our skies on Monday. Conditions on Monday should still be warm and mostly dry, but rain chances start to rise on Tuesday.That is courtesy of a very weak front forecast to reach South Florida on Tuesday, leading to the possibility for scattered showers and thunderstorms.Wednesday has the highest potential to be the wettest and stormiest day with scattered to ...

Lawmakers, countries clinch deal on 2024 EU budget

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU struck a deal late Friday on the bloc’s budget for next year. Under the agreement, the budget includes commitments of €189.4 billion for 2024. EU lawmakers said they secured additional funding, on top of the European Commission’s draft budget, for some of the Parliament’s priorities, such as humanitarian aid, the bloc’s R&D program Horizon Europe and the Erasmus exchange program. Spain, current holder of the rotating Council Presidency, stressed that there is “enough financial leeway to respond to unforeseen circumstances.” The budget will help to address “the most urgent consequences of the crisis in the Middle East in the countries concerned, as well as in Europe and its neighborhood,” the Commission said in a statement on the deal. While there is a deal on the EU’s 2024 budget, talks are still ongoing for a review of the EU’s longer-term budget, the m...

Macron: Meta, Google ‘don’t deliver’ on handling of hate speech

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized tech companies’ handling of hate speech on their platforms. In an interview with the BBC, Macron took on Meta and Google specifically, saying that they “simply don’t deliver” on their engagements around content moderation on their platforms. Macron made the remarks in the wake of the Christchurch Call Summit, an initiative involving world leaders and tech companies that was launched after the online live-streaming of a terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019. The aim is to stop the spread of terrorist and violent content online. Meta and Google didn’t send representatives to Friday’s Christchurch Call gathering in Paris, which Macron said shows that “they don’t want to play anymore.” Other companies, such as X, Amazon, Microsoft and OpenAI had representatives there. Many platforms also don’t have sufficient moderators capable of handling the French langua...

Germany’s Scholz backs Calviño for EIB top job

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

MÁLAGA, Spain — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave his backing to Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nadia Calviño to take over the running of the European Investment Bank next year.“I worked together with Nadia Calviño intensely when I was the finance minister of Germany and it’s my perspective that she would be a very good president of the EIB,” Scholz said Saturday at a meeting of top European Socialist leaders in Spain. Germany’s public support to Calviño is a blow to the other major contender Margrethe Vestager, the Danish executive vice president of the European Commissioner who took unpaid leave from her EU job in order to run for the EIB position. There are also candidates from Italy, Poland and Sweden.A decision must be taken by the end of the year when current EIB President Werner Hoyer will leave.The EU bank hands out billions of euros a year for major infrastructure projects and is expected to play a crucial role in the rebuilding of Ukraine....