Defiant Jewish settlers march to evacuated West Bank outpost

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:51:12 GMT

Defiant Jewish settlers march to evacuated West Bank outpost JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israelis led by at least seven Cabinet ministers marched Monday to an evacuated West Bank settlement, in a defiant signal that Israel’s most right-wing government in history is determined to accelerate settlement building on occupied lands despite international opposition.The march also poses a new test for Israel’s security forces after days of unrest fueled by tensions over a contested Jerusalem holy site.Israeli police and army forces were being deployed to the northern West Bank — the scene of frequent tensions in recent months — to secure the march, which comes after days of fighting in Jerusalem and along Israel’s northern and southern fronts. The planned demonstration added to the already combustible atmosphere in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank that has accompanied the overlapping of major Jewish and Muslim holy days. Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have reached a fever pitch in recent weeks surrounding the Jerusalem shrine. The ...

In Ukrainian village, a family lives under cloud of shelling

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:51:12 GMT

In Ukrainian village, a family lives under cloud of shelling BOHOYAVLENKA, Ukraine (AP) — In a small village in eastern Ukraine the sounds of war echo in the distance while 10-year old Khrystyna Ksenofontova plays. She pets the neighborhood cats, paints and, like everyone else here, hopes the fighting will end soon.The small village of Bohoyavlenka, in Donetsk province, lies 20 kilometers (13 miles) from the active front line. Khrystyna’s days are spent scrounging the bits of childhood she still can. Her family refuses to evacuate and lives under a cloud of constant shelling. She wears headphones to block out the booms of the explosions. ”(I feel) fear, trembling,” she says. The explosions resound at night most of the time, she says, brushing aside her sandy blond hair. But sometimes they come in the morning, too.Her mother, Yulia, and grandmother chose not to leave the village, which had a pre-war population of 1,400, after her father died from a brain injury suffered in an attack that destroyed one of their homes. They prefer to bear the br...

Pakistanis living abroad sent $2.5 billion home in March

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:51:12 GMT

Pakistanis living abroad sent $2.5 billion home in March ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistanis living abroad have sent $2.5 billion home in March, responding to the cash-strapped government’s appeal for more hard currency remittances, the country’s central bank said Monday. The sum represents a 27.4% increase compared to February and is the highest in seven past months, according to a tweet by the State Bank of Pakistan. The announcement offered some hope for improving Pakistan’s ailing economy, officials said. The remittances came mainly from Pakistanis living in the United States, Britain and the Middle East. Pakistan is grappling with one of its worst economic crises, exacerbated by last summer’s devastating floods that killed 1,739 people, destroyed 2 million homes and caused $30 billion in damages. The impoverished country also has been hit by a wave of violence, which last week prompted top political and military leaders to order new operations against the Pakistani Taliban, a militant group that is separate but allied with ...

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania to seek 4th term

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:51:12 GMT

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania to seek 4th term HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey will seek a fourth term in office, bringing the power of incumbency and unmatched name recognition in Pennsylvania politics to his party’s defense of a seat in a critical presidential battleground state.The announcement by Casey, the longest-serving Democratic U.S. senator in Pennsylvania history, gives Democrats a boost ahead of a difficult 2024 Senate map. They must defend incumbents not only in red states — Montana, Ohio and West Virginia — but also in multiple swing states.Casey, who will turn 63 in a few days, is a key ally of labor unions and President Joe Biden. In Congress, Casey, a moderate Democrat, has backed all of Biden’s top priorities and forged a close relationship with the president, at least in part because the men also have a bond that goes beyond politics: They hail from the same hometown of Scranton.In running for reelection, Casey’s message sounds similar to how Biden’s campaign for a second term may sound. Casey...

Roughly 40,000 customers remain without power as Hydro-Quebec works to finish repairs

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:51:12 GMT

Roughly 40,000 customers remain without power as Hydro-Quebec works to finish repairs Hydro-Quebec is warning that some of its remaining repairs to lines damaged by last week’s deadly ice storm may not be completed until Tuesday.Roughly 40,000 customers remain without power across Quebec as of 4 a.m. Monday morning, with the majority in the Montreal, Outaouais, Monteregie, and Laval regions.Regis Tellier, the utility’s vice-president of operations and maintenance, told reporters Sunday morning that power has been restored to over 90 per cent of the more than one million customers who lost electricity — including 180,000 who saw the lights come back on Saturday.Tellier said most of Quebec’s remaining outages affect only a handful of customers, noting hydro workers are reconnecting fewer customers even though they’re working at the same pace.Officials are also warning people not to use fuel-burning appliances inside after a number of reports of carbon monoxide poisoning.Montreal public health said Sunday that 180 cases of carbon monoxide p...

Dan Donahue's defense a key factor for Union

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:51:12 GMT

Dan Donahue's defense a key factor for Union SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Union Men's Lacrosse team is in a tough stretch right now. The Dutchmen are coming off a tough loss against No. 3 RIT. Despite that, there's a bright spot that has been keeping them in tight games all season long. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Junior goalie Dan Donahue recorded 15 saves in the game and had six big ones in the fourth quarter that helped the Dutchmen close the gap against the Tigers. Head coach Derek Witheford believes his play-making ability is something they rely on a lot, especially during this crucial time in the season."Our goalie is fantastic this year," Witheford said. "He's keeping us in games, he's saving a lot of goals, and we really trust him with some of those shots, so he's playing well past his ability, he's making stops he's supposed to stop, and he's stopping some that should be goals so, we're really happy with the way he's playing, and we just gotta clean...

A Russian trace is likely to undermine Head of the Ukrainian central bank Andriy Pyshnyy's future

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:51:12 GMT

A Russian trace is likely to undermine Head of the Ukrainian central bank Andriy Pyshnyy's future EU Reporter already published an investigation about the new head of the Ukrainian National Bank, where we quoted famous Ukrainian journalist Serhyi Lyamets. After the publication, S.Lyamets submitted to us his separate article about suspicions of some banking malpractices, which are important as we talk about the head of the central bank and the family of Ukrainian businessmen strongly associated with former Russian president Medvedev. In times of Russian invasion and European sanctions, these moments hardly can be left unnoticed."There was an episode in the activities of the current head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), which was once widely reported by the Ukrainian mass media. In 2020, while Andriy Pishny headed the state-owned Oschadbank, he carried out a rather suspicious financial transaction. Several years have passed, and these transactions have not been properly investigated. Moreover, Pishny has become the head of the NBU.One could say that in the time of the Russia...

Ask Amy: I asked for money and she gave me a painting. What do I do now?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:51:12 GMT

Ask Amy: I asked for money and she gave me a painting. What do I do now? Dear Amy: I recently arranged and paid for an activity for a small group of friends with the clear understanding that each of them would repay me for their portion of the total.One of the friends, who is an amateur artist, painted a picture, had it framed, and presented it to me as payment for her inclusion in the activity.I appreciate the gesture, but money is tight for me, and I expected monetary compensation.How do I return the artwork and request payment in legal tender, without creating a rift within this friendship? In NeedDear In Need: I don’t think it’s necessary to return the painting, although – depending on your friend’s reaction – you could offer to do so.Contact your friend and speak frankly: “Thank you so much for the painting. It was so thoughtful of you to give it to me. I know I mentioned this to everyone, and I really do need to be reimbursed for the cost of the activity. I’m circling back to remind you. Are you able to send me a check?”Dear Amy: My brother (age 60...

Harriette Cole: I felt so awkward on this trip with a co-worker

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:51:12 GMT

Harriette Cole: I felt so awkward on this trip with a co-worker DEAR HARRIETTE: I went on a business trip with a colleague who is a fitness buff.Every morning, he got up early and worked out at the gym before coming to meetings. All of his meals were super health-conscious, which was inspiring — but after a while, I began to feel paranoid.I slacked off big time during the pandemic and never was very fit anyway.This guy’s routines got me feeling self-conscious and uncomfortable. I don’t know if he meant to do that, but he did. I know I should do more to take care of myself, but I didn’t like feeling awkward every time I was around him.How do you handle being around people with different habits than your own? Out of My Comfort ZoneRelated ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: My truculent husband makes my home life miserable Advice | Harriette Cole: I’d get more pay with this new job, but I worry about the employer Advice | Harriette Cole: My co-worker blatantly shuns me, even whe...

Europa no debe seguir ni a EE.UU. ni a China en la política hacia Taiwán, dice Macron

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:51:12 GMT

Europa no debe seguir ni a EE.UU. ni a China en la política hacia Taiwán, dice Macron (CNN) — El presidente de Francia, Emmanuel Macron, afirmó que Europa no debe seguir los pasos de Estados Unidos ni de China, sino que debe trabajar para lograr una autonomía estratégica en la política hacia Taiwán, en declaraciones publicadas este domingo por el medio local francés Les Echos.Macron afirmó que una escalada de la tensión en el estrecho de Taiwán no beneficia a Europa, y añadió que sería una “trampa” para Europa quedar “atrapada en una perturbación del mundo y en crisis, que no serían las nuestras”.¿Por qué la presidenta de la Comisión Europea acompañó a Macron a China?“Lo peor sería pensar que los europeos debemos convertirnos en seguidores en este tema y adaptarnos al ritmo estadounidense o a una sobrerreacción china”, en lugar de eso, Europa podría convertirse en un “tercer polo”, le citó Les Echos.Macron y la presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen, acaban de finalizar una visita a China en la qu...