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Macron says ‘total destruction of Hamas’ would take a decade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:15 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron said Israel “must more precisely define” what it seeks to accomplish in its war on Hamas as the full elimination of the Palestinian militant group would take a decade. “We are at a moment when Israeli authorities must more precisely define their objectives and their final goal: the total destruction of Hamas — does anyone think it is possible? If this is the case, the war will last 10 years,” Macron said on Saturday.Macron told a press conference at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai: “There is no lasting security for Israel in the region if its security is achieved at the cost of Palestinian lives.” Macron made the comments after the Israeli military intensified its bombing of the Gaza Strip, on the second day after a truce between Israel and Hamas collapsed, with Israel accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the agreement.A Palestinian official familiar with the truce efforts told the BBC the negotiations a...

Israel steps up pounding of Gaza, targets southern areas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:15 GMT

The Israeli military on Saturday stepped up its bombing of Gaza Strip, intensifying its renewed offensive on the second day after a truce between Israel and Hamas collapsed, with Israel accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the agreement.Israel pounded targets in the crowded southern areas of Gaza and ordered more neighborhoods designated for attack to evacuate, driving up the death toll as the United States and others urged more be done to protect civilians.The prospect of further pauses in the fighting in Gaza appeared bleak, as Israel recalled its negotiators and Hamas’ deputy leader said any further swap of Gaza-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel would only happen as part of ending the war.“We will continue the war until we achieve all its goals, and it’s impossible to achieve those goals without the ground operation,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address Saturday night.The Israel Defense Forces IDF said on X on Saturday that Israeli strikes h...

More Canadians have been approved to leave Gaza through Rafah crossing with Egypt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:15 GMT

More Canadians have been approved to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt.A new document published by Gaza’s General Authority for Crossings and Borders shows 165 names under the “Canada” heading.Israel’s military on Sunday ordered more areas in and around Gaza’s second-largest city of Khan Younis to evacuate, as it shifted its offensive to the southern half of the territory where it says many Hamas leaders are hiding.Heavy bombardments were reported overnight and into Sunday in the area of Khan Younis as well as Rafah itself.Many of the territory’s 2.3 million people are crammed in the south after Israeli forces ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the 2-month-old war.The war was sparked by an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other militants that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2023.— with files from The Ass...

Earth is running a fever. And UN climate talks are focusing on the contagious effect on human health

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:15 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — With Planet Earth running a fever, U.N. climate talks focused Sunday on the contagious effects on human health.Under a brown haze over Dubai, the COP28 summit moved past two days of lofty rhetoric and calls for unity from top leaders to concerns on health issues like the deaths of at least 7 million people globally from air pollution each year and the spread of diseases like cholera and malaria as global warming upends weather systems.World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was high time for the U.N. Conference of Parties on climate to hold its first health day in its 28th edition, saying the threats to health from climate change were “immediate and present.”“Although the climate crisis is a health crisis, it’s well overdue that 27 COPs have been and gone without a serious discussion of health,” he said. “Undoubtedly, health stands as the most compelling reason for taking climate action.”After two days of speec...

Israel widens evacuation orders as it shifts its offensive to southern Gaza amid heavy bombardments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:15 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military on Sunday ordered more areas in and around Gaza’s second-largest city of Khan Younis to evacuate, as it shifted its offensive to the southern half of the territory where it says many Hamas leaders are hiding.Heavy bombardments were reported overnight and into Sunday in the area of Khan Younis and the southern city of Rafah, as well as parts of the north that had been the focus of Israel’s blistering air and ground campaign.Many of the territory’s 2.3 million people are crammed in the south after Israeli forces ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the 2-month-old war.With the resumption of fighting, hopes receded that another temporary truce could be negotiated. A weeklong cease-fire, which expired Friday, had facilitated the release of dozens of Gaza-held Israeli and foreign hostages and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.“We will continue the war until we achieve all its goals, and it’s impossibl...

Militants open fire at a bus in northern Pakistan, killing 9 people and injuring over 20 others

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:15 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants opened fire at a bus in northern Pakistan, killing nine people including two soldiers, and injuring over 20 others, local police said.The attack happened Saturday night on the Karakoram Highway in northern Gilgit Baltistan region, police officer Azmat Shah said. The highway connects Pakistan with China and also passes through the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which has been a hotbed of terrorism in the past due to the presence of Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups in the area.The bus was carrying passengers from Gilgit to the city of Rawalpindi when it was shot at, causing the driver to lose control and crash into a truck, which in turn caught fire. Both drivers were killed on site.At least 26 people were injured — including a local Islamic cleric, Mufti Sher Zaman — and transferred to local hospitals, as police helped reroute traffic in the area after condoning off the site, officials said.The home minister of Gilgit Baltistan, Shams Lone,...

Wet Sunday morning then cloudy. Temps to climb in the week ahead. Antarctic iceberg on the move

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:15 GMT

If you are planning to put up outdoor holiday decorations on Sunday, you'll find better conditions later in the day.Rain showers are likely through the morning hours, including a 70% chance at 10 A.M. The chance for rain decreases in the afternoon, but it doesn't go away.  When temperatures reach 40 degrees in the mid-afternoon, there's a 30% chance for rain. Late in the afternoon, and more likely early in the evening, the chance for rain goes away and we're just left with clouds. So if you plan to light up your yard and home tomorrow, you will find some time to get the work done.We could have a little bit of slushy snowfall possibly from Waukegan to Peru and off to the northwestern areas.Check out this slideshow presentation from NASA's Earth Observatory website:CONTINUE READING

Dear Abby: My son’s wife and mother-in-law are ganging up on him

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:15 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My youngest son married and moved across the country to the West Coast. They did this because his wife is very controlling — her mother lives there and she pressured him into it.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: I am furious that the bride disinvited my little girl from the high-profile wedding Advice | Dear Abby: My husband invites his friends and waltzes away from the hassle Advice | Dear Abby: Should my children forgive my cheating ex-wife? Advice | Dear Abby: I accidentally opened my son-in-law’s mail. Should I tell what I learned? Advice | Dear Abby: I’m tired of older people sneering about smartphones They then had three children, who, because we live on the East Coast, we unfortunately rarely see.My son is now having serious marital issues because his wife and mother-in-law have teamed up against him after his father-in-law died from COVID. He wants to leave his wif...

Finishing strong: Los Gatos dominates second half to win program’s first NorCal championship

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:15 GMT

LOS GATOS — The Los Gatos football team won the first Northern California championship in the storied program’s history Saturday with a 14-6 win over El Cerrito.The Wildcats will play Central Valley Christian, a 55-38 winner over Simi Valley, for the CIF 2-A state championship next weekend in Southern California.“I’m in shock a little bit, you know, like what are we really doing?” Los Gatos coach Mark Krail said. “I’m just happy for the guys, that’s the emotion. This run we’ve been on is just incredible. That’s a great group of kids. I know every coach says that about their group, but this one is truly that group.”Los Gatos’ Jaylen Thomas (3) holds a flag with his team prior to a game against El Cerrito at the CIF Division 2-A Regional Bowl Game in Los Gatos, Calif., on Saturday Dec. 2, 2023. (Brandon Vallance for the Bay Area News Group) The win certainly did not come easily. El Cerrito took the opening kickoff ...

Walters: Gavin Newsom’s hypocritical move to change voting rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:15 GMT

After Ohio voters approved a state constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom chided Ohio’s Republicans for trying to change voting rules to thwart the abortion measure.GOP political figures had placed a measure on an August election ballot that would have raised the minimum vote needed to pass an abortion rights amendment from a simple majority to 60%, but it had been defeated.What happened — or rather didn’t happen — in August was pivotal to what happened three months later. The abortion rights amendment was passed with 56.6% of the votes cast. In other words, had the anti-abortion Republicans succeeded in raising the approval threshold to 60%, November’s measure would have failed.“Here’s a tale of a party out of touch with the American people,” Newsom declared on X, formerly Twitter. “Ohio Republicans were so desperate to block abortion access they tried to change the rules in a special election and require 60% support...