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Live updates | Fighting outside Gaza’s largest hospital prompts thousands to flee

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:43 GMT

Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants outside Gaza’s largest hospital has prompted thousands of people to flee from the sprawling medical facility, but hundreds of patients and others displaced by the war remained inside, health officials said Monday.World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a day earlier that the UN agency was in contact with Shifa hospital, which he said had been without electricity and water for three days, and noted that gunfire and bombings outside the compound “have exacerbated the already critical circumstances.”“Regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore,” he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.Patients inside the hospital include dozens of babies at risk of dying because of a lack of electricity, health officials at the facility said.More than two-thirds of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes since the war began.Gaza City, the largest urban...

European Commission reveals finalists of the Access City Award 2024

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:43 GMT

Łódź (Poland), Saint-Quentin (France), San Cristóbal de la Laguna (Spain), South Dublin County (Ireland) and Tübingen (Germany) have been chosen as the finalists for the 2024 Access City Award. These cities have demonstrated best practices and highlighted their commitment to ensure accessibility to urban life for all, especially persons with disabilities and older citizens. In practice, this relates to buildings, public transport, facilities, and services as well as information and communication technologies.Values and Transparency Vice-President Věra Jourová (pictured) said: “Accessibility is an essential step towards equality, ensuring that everyone can benefit from the same level of freedom and autonomy. The Access City Award finalists are dedicated to removing barriers and championing inclusivity. I call on other cities to make urban life in Europe  more accessible to all citizens.”Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli said: “Cities across the EU are intensifying their commitment t...

Dear Abby: I brought up my moral issue with the restaurant, and this man exploded at me

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:43 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My father-in-law and I are just cut from different cloth. We are political opposites, although we do get along for the most part.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: These men hijacked our sentimental lunch. Am I wrong to be upset? Advice | Dear Abby: The bride is my best friend, but I’m not comfortable with her plan Advice | Dear Abby: At 3 a.m. there were two strange girls in my house Advice | Dear Abby: My son is in tears when my mother tells him he must walk Advice | Dear Abby: The thoughtless grandchildren won’t be happy about this gift On a family vacation (we were visiting them), we were going out for dinner. My wife and I knew he was going to take us to a restaurant we both have ethical issues with. I handed him a 10% off coupon for a different nearby restaurant and said, “Here’s another option for dinner.” When he responded that he thought we’d go to...

Germany’s support for Ukraine is to be ‘massively expanded’ next year

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:43 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s aid for Ukraine will be “massively expanded” next year, the foreign minister said Monday as Kyiv heads into its second winter since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.Germany has become one of Ukraine’s top military suppliers since the war started in February 2022, sending material that includes tanks, armored personnel carriers, air defense systems and Patriot missile systems.Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said as she arrived Monday at a meeting with European Union counterparts that, even as Europe grapples with the war between Israel and Hamas, it’s still important to “face the geopolitical challenge here.”She said that will include helping Ukraine through the coming winter months and “our support will be massively expanded for next year.”Over the weekend, the Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition wants to increase Germany’s military aid for 2024 from the 4 billion euros initially pla...

In the news today: No Canadians on today’s Rafah crossing list

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:43 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Some Canadians still waiting to cross at RafahAfter 234 Canadians, permanent residents and their eligible family members were allowed to cross from Gaza into Egypt yesterday, a published list of those who will be allowed to cross today doesn’t appear to have any Canadians on it.The General Authority for Crossings and Borders posts a daily list of foreigners cleared to make the journey through the crossing at Rafah, compiled in co-ordination with the Egyptian and Israeli governments.Canadians do not appear to have made the latest list, which was released Sunday, for permission to cross on Monday.Peter Nygard found guilty of 4 sexual assault charges, acquitted on 2 other countsFormer fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been found guilty of four counts of sexual assault, but acquitted of a fifth count plus a charge a forcible confinement.The jury at his trial in ...

US and South Korea sharpen deterrence plans over North Korean nuclear threat

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:43 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and South Korea on Monday updated a bilateral security agreement with the aim of more effectively countering North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.The move followed high-level military talks in Seoul, where the allies also discussed enhancing three-way defense exercises with Japan and improving information-sharing on North Korean missile launches.U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Seoul for annual security talks with South Korean military officials, including Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, which were focused on boosting nuclear deterrence against North Korea. They also talked about how the allies could coordinate over broader geopolitical issues, including Russia’s war on Ukraine and China’s regional assertiveness, Austin said.Tensions between the Koreas are at their highest point in years as the pace of both North Korea’s weapons tests and South Korea’s combined military exercises with the United States have intensifi...

Poland’s newly elected parliament meets for the first time

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:43 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Polish parliament is meeting for the first time on Monday after an election last month heralded a change of course for the Central European nation at a time of war across the border in Ukraine.Following a choreography determined by the constitution, President Andrzej Duda will address the ceremonial opening of the newly elected legislature. The lawmakers will take their oaths and elect a speaker.The outgoing prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki. must resign with his government, though he is expected to remain as a caretaker premier, perhaps for weeks, because Duda has delayed the transition of power.The 460 lawmakers elected to the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, will gather at noon. The 100-seat Senate will follow with its first session later in the afternoon. Both bodies have been chosen for a four-year term.All of the lawmakers were chosen in an election on Oct. 15 collectively won by pro-EU parties ranging from conservatives to the left. They ran sep...

30th Scotiabank Giller Prize to be handed out at televised gala tonight

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:43 GMT

TORONTO — The denizens and dignitaries of CanLit will gather tonight to crown the winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize — and celebrate the 30th anniversary of the prestigious award.One of five writers will receive the $100,000 prize this evening during a televised gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto.The finalists include Sarah Bernstein for “Study for Obedience,” Eleanor Catton for “Birnam Wood” and Kevin Chong for “The Double Life of Benson Yu.”Rounding out the short list are “The Islands: Stories” by Dionne Irving and “All the Colour in the World” by CS Richardson. Funnyman Rick Mercer has been tapped to host the ceremony, which will air on CBC TV and CBC Gem at 9 p.m. ET.The award was first handed out in 1994, a year after the death of its namesake, literary journalist Doris Giller. Her husband, Jack Rabinovitch, founded the prize to further Giller’s legacy. Like his wife, he sought to uplift Canadian litera...

Hundreds of Canadians cross at Rafah on Sunday, but none appear on list for today

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:43 GMT

OTTAWA — After 234 Canadians, permanent residents and their eligible family members were allowed to cross from Gaza into Egypt yesterday, a  published list of those who will be allowed to cross today doesn’t appear to have any Canadians on it.The General Authority for Crossings and Borders posts a daily list of foreigners cleared to make the journey through the crossing at Rafah, compiled in co-ordination with the Egyptian and Israeli governments.Canadians do not appear to have made the latest list, which was released Sunday, for permission to cross on Monday.On Friday, the list was expanded to include 266 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members, meaning some people on the list have not yet made it out.The war, now in its sixth week, began on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking roughly 240 others back into Gaza as hostages. Israel has retaliated with daily air and land strikes, and the Hamas-run ...

UK leader fires interior minister who accused police of favoring pro-Palestinian protesters

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:43 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday fired Home Secretary Suella Braverman, a divisive figure who drew anger for accusing police of being too lenient with pro-Palestinian protesters.The government said Braverman had left her job as part of a Cabinet shuffle as Sunak shakes up his top government team. She was replaced by James Cleverly, who had been foreign secretary.Braverman said “it has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as home secretary,” adding that she would “have more to say in due course.”Sunak had been under growing pressure to fire Braverman — a hard-liner popular with the authoritarian wing of the governing Conservative Party — from one of the most senior jobs in government, responsible for handling immigration and policing.In a highly unusual attack on the police last week, Braverman said London’s police force was ignoring lawbreaking by “pro-Palestinian mobs.” She described demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in Gaza as “hate ...