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Fragile Gaza truce is back on track after an hourslong delay in a hostage-for-prisoner swap

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:58:51 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The tense cease-fire between Israel and Hamas appeared to be back on track early Sunday after the release of a second group of militant-held hostages and Palestinians from Israeli prisons, but the swap followed an hourslong delay that underscored the truce’s fragility.In a separate development, Hamas announced Sunday that one of its top commanders had been killed, without saying when or how.The exchange was delayed Saturday evening after Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement, which has brought the first significant pause in seven weeks of war marked by the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades, vast destruction and displacement across the Gaza Strip, and a hostage crisis that has shaken Israel.Qatar and Egypt, which mediate with Hamas, announced late Saturday that the obstacles to the exchange had been overcome. The militants released 13 Israelis and four Thais, while Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners.Thousan...

Israeli-linked oil tanker seized off the coast of Aden, Yemen, private intelligence firm says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:58:51 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An oil tanker linked to Israel has been seized off the coast of Aden, Yemen, by an unknown force, a private security firm said Sunday. The Central Park, managed and owned by Zodiac Maritime, was seized in the Gulf of Aden, private intelligence firm Ambrey said. It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the attack. Aden is held by forces allied to Yemen’s internationally recognized government and a Saudi-led coalition that has battled Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for years. The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, which patrols the Mideast, did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press. Ambrey said that it appeared that “U.S. naval forces are engaged in the situation and have asked vessels to stay clear of the area.” The Central Park seizure comes after a container ship, CMA CGM Symi, owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack Friday by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean as Israel wages war o...

Winner of the Booker Prize for fiction set to be announced in London

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:58:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The winner of the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction will be announced on Sunday. If bookmakers are right, the victorious writer will be named Paul.Three of the six books competing for the 50,000 pound ($63,000) award are by authors of that name: American novelist Paul Harding’s historical novel “This Other Eden,” Irish writer Paul Lynch’s dystopian story “Prophet Song” and his compatriot Paul Murray’s tragicomic family saga “The Bee Sting.”The other finalists are Canadian author Sarah Bernstein’s “Study for Obedience,” U.S. writer Jonathan Escoffery’s “If I Survive You” and British author Chetna Maroo’s “Western Lane.”The winner will receive their trophy during a dinner ceremony in London. British bookmakers ranked Lynch as the favorite to win, followed by Harding and Murray, according to comparison website Oddspedia.There have been two previous winners named Paul: Paul Scott in 1977 and Paul Beatty in 2016.Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize is open to novels origina...

Many voters are weary about a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024. Third parties hope they can fill the gap

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:58:51 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — The 2024 presidential election is drawing an unusually robust field of independent, third party and long shot candidates hoping to capitalize on Americans’ ambivalence and frustration over a likely rematch between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump. Those looking to blaze a new path to the White House range from members of Congress to a prominent academic and a scion of one of the county’s most prominent political families. Their odds are exceedingly long. George Washington was the only person to win the presidency without a party affiliation. An incumbent hasn’t lost his party’s presidential nomination since Democrats passed over Franklin Pierce in 1856. Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860 marked the last time someone from a new party — in his case, the Republican Party — won the White House. But with the United States deeply divided and somewhat anxious about the prospect of another Biden-Trump campaign, third party candidate...

Republicans want to pair border security with aid for Ukraine. Here’s why that makes a deal so tough

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:58:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Congress returns to session this week, lawmakers will be trying to forge an agreement on sending a new round of wartime assistance to Ukraine. But to succeed, they will have to find agreement on an issue that has confounded them for decades.Republicans in both chambers of Congress have made clear that they will not support additional aid for Ukraine unless it is paired with border security measures to help manage the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Their demand has injected one of the most contentious issues in American politics into a foreign policy debate that was already difficult. Time is short for a deal. A small, bipartisan group in the Senate is taking the lead and working to find a narrow compromise that can overcome a likely filibuster by winning 60 votes. But even if they can reach a modest agreement, there is no guarantee it would pass the House, where Republicans are insisting on wholesale changes to U.S. border and immigration policies...

Montreal music venues call for rule changes as noise complaints choke industry

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:58:51 GMT

Montreal bar and live music venue Turbo Haüs is doing everything it can to mitigate noise and be a good neighbour, says co-owner Sergio Da Silva.The punk rock institution moved in 2018 from a mostly residential neighbourhood to the lively downtown theatre district known as the Quartier des Spectacles. It spent thousands of dollars soundproofing the new space and pays an extra $3,200 in rent each month to keep the two apartments above it empty. So a warning from the city last week to reduce noise came as a shock.“Nice to know it’s illegal to have des spectacles in the … Quartier des Spectacles,” Turbo Haüs lamented in a widely circulated social media post alongside a screenshot of the city notice, which threatens fines of up to $12,000.“It’s a bit surprising and pretty frustrating to be honest,” Da Silva said in a recent interview.He’s one of several club owners calling on Montreal to update noise bylaws and development rules to better protec...

Pope Francis says he has lung inflammation but will go to Dubai this week for climate conference

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:58:51 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday revealed that he has a lung inflammation but will go later this week to Dubai to address the climate change conference. Francis skipped his weekly Sunday appearance at a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, a day after the Vatican said he was suffering from a mild flu. Instead, Francis gave the traditional noon blessing in an appearance televised live from the chapel in the Vatican hotel where he lives. “Brothers and sisters, happy Sunday. Today I cannot appear at the window because I have this problem of inflammation of the lungs,” Francis said. The pontiff, whose 87th birthday is next month, added that a priest, sitting beside him, would read out his day’s reflections for him. In those comments, Francis said he was going to the United Arab Emirates for the COP28 gathering on climate change and that he would deliver his speech, as scheduled, on Saturday to the participants. He described the climate change problem as a s...

South Korea, Japan and China agree to resume trilateral leaders’ summit, but without specific date

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:58:51 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Meeting for the first time in about four years, the top diplomats from South Korea, Japan and China agreed Sunday to revive cooperation among the Asian neighbors and resume their leaders’ trilateral summit — but without a specific timing. Closely linked economically and culturally with one another, the three countries together account for about 25% of the global gross domestic product. But efforts to boost cooperation have often hit a snag because of a mix of issues including historical disputes stemming from Japan’s wartime aggression and the strategic competition between China and the United States.“We three ministers agreed to restore and normalize three-nation cooperation at an early date,” South Korean Foreign Minister told reporters after his meeting with Japan’s Yoko Kamikawa and China’s Wang Yi in Busan, South Korea. Park said the three ministers affirmed an earlier agreement by lower-level officials to restart the summit “at the earliest mutually c...

Special needs Texans waiting on improved services after education bill fails

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:58:51 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Amy Litzinger's educational journey was harder than most.She doesn't write with her hands, move with her feet, or live independently of dedicated caregivers — daily challenges of a life with quadriplegic cerebral palsy. She has, however, thrived throughout her life. Excelling in class and on stage, earning her college degree, and working the halls of the Texas Capitol are all proud accomplishments her diagnosis could not deter."It has been something that I've lived with and thrived with since I've been in education," she said. "Your diagnosis doesn't always define your potential."Litzinger credits her success to the support of abundant special education services — the public school paraprofessionals who helped her become a gifted and talented student in advanced placement courses, the family and friends determined to help her accomplish anything her able-bodied classmates could. She worries, however, that today's special needs students are not getting that same h...

Mullen star Jordan Leslie, a Dartmouth football commit, intent on making Mustangs basketball relevant again

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:58:51 GMT

Jordan Leslie is ready to empty his basketball tank, because he knows there’s no hardcourt left ahead of him after this winter.The Mullen multi-sport star was one of the top scorers in Class 6A last year at 22.7 points per game. Now this winter, he finds himself headed to play college ball… only in a different sport than the one he always envisioned himself in at the next level.Leslie is committed to play football at Dartmouth. It was a 40-year decision over a four-year one: Leslie believes the educational opportunities, networking and doors opened at an Ivy League institution far outweigh the Division II interest he was receiving in hoops.“I’m still trying to bring (these emotions) in, and control them, and harness them in my play,” Leslie said. “Ever since my freshman year I thought for sure I’d be playing college basketball. And choosing between football and basketball was tough. So this is new to me to have the feeling of a season where,...