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Israel and Gaza cannot return to ‘status quo,’ US’s Blinken says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:21:28 GMT

As Israel prepares to launch a ground invasion on Gaza more than two weeks after the surprise attack by Hamas, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that Israel has “absolutely no intent” to govern Gaza again.“I think we know two things. We can’t go back to the status quo; they can’t go back to the status quo with Hamas being in a position in terms of its governance of Gaza to repeat what it did,” Blinken said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”“At the same time, what I’ve heard from the Israelis is absolutely no intent, no desire, to be running Gaza themselves.”Since the Oct. 7 incursion during which Hamas militants stormed out of the Gaza Strip and killed more than 1,300 people while abducting as many as 200 more, Israel has commenced an aggressive counterattack, with casualties mounting among the civilian population of Gaza; additional Israelis have died as well.Israel has besieged the densely populated coastal region for almost two weeks, choking the flow of f...

Belgium unveils new security measures, justice chief after Brussels attack

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:21:28 GMT

The Belgian federal government is taking five short-term measures in response to information about the events leading up to last week’s attack in Brussels that left two Swedish nationals dead, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Sunday.The move follows the resignation on Friday of Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, who took responsibility for the failure of Brussels prosecutors to act on a request from Tunisia last year to extradite the attacker, Abdesalam Lassoued, one of its nationals. Lassoued was killed by Belgian police after the October 16 attack.Paul Van Tigchelt, former head of Belgium’s coordinating body for threat analysis, was named as the country’s new justice minister on Sunday.“The government accepts its responsibility,” De Croo said at a press conference announcing the measures to strengthen the country’s security apparatus and ensure a rapid and coordinated response to potential threats.Brussels public prosecutor Tim...

Why the US kept Daylight Saving Time

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:21:28 GMT

(CNN) — It’s almost time for clocks to “fall back” one hour.On the second Sunday of March, at 2 a.m., clocks in most of the United States and many other countries move forward one hour and stay there for nearly eight months in what is called Daylight Saving Time. On the first Sunday of November, at 2 a.m., clocks fall back an hour to standard time.The current March to November system that the US follows began in 2007, but the concept of “saving daylight” is much older. Daylight Saving Time has its roots in train schedules, but it was put into practice in Europe and the United States to save fuel and power during World War I, according to the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.Pro tip: It’s Daylight Saving Time, with singular use of “saving,” not “savings.”Reasons for Daylight Saving TimeThe US kept Daylight Saving Time permanent during most of World War II. The idea was put in place to conserve fuel and keep things sta...

Patriots make another controversial QB change based on Week 7 inactives

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:21:28 GMT

FOXBORO — Patriots rookie Malik Cunningham will not dress for Sunday’s game against the Bills.Cunningham, who served as the Patriots’ backup quarterback behind Mac Jones last week, is listed among this week’s inactives.Bailey Zappe will back up Jones, while Will Grier will serve as the emergency third QB.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick reportedly agreed to multi-year extension with Patriots before season New England Patriots | Sources project value for Patriots’ trade deadline candidates New England Patriots | Patriots activate CB Jack Jones in series of transactions New England Patriots | Four Patriots who should play bigger roles vs. Bills in Week 7 New England Patriots | Patriots-Bills preview: How Bill Belichick can upset Josh Allen and Buffalo QB Malik CunninghamQB Will Grier (3rd QB)WR Kayshon BoutteWR JuJu Smith-SchusterOT Calvin AndersonOLB Josh UcheD...

Red Sox free agent target Yamamoto reaches third straight Japan Series

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:21:28 GMT

The Boston Red Sox need pitching, and over the past year Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto has loomed as one of the most tantalizing arms set to hit the market. The 25-year-old right-hander, a longtime teammate of Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida, has posted preposterous numbers throughout his career and is expected to become among the most highly coveted free agents of the coming offseason.Assuming this is his last hurrah in his native country, Yamamoto is certainly finishing his run in Japan on a high note.The Orix Buffaloes, Yamamoto’s current and Yoshida’s former Nippon Professional Baseball club, are back in the Japan Series for the third straight year. The Buffaloes fell short in 2021 before winning their first championship since 1996 last fall, and now Orix is looking to repeat as NPB champion for the first time since winning three straight titles from 1975-77.At the heart of Orix’s success has been Yamamoto, who is the two-time defending Pacific Leag...

Column: Low expectations are becoming the norm for the Chicago Bulls in Year 3 of the Big 3

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:21:28 GMT

Jerry Reinsdorf’s credo for making fans happy will be put to the test once again as the Chicago Bulls prepare for the 2023-24 season opener.Winning championships is a laudable goal, no doubt, but the key to happiness is being in contention down the stretch, or so says the Bulls chairman.“I think the important thing to fans is, while they want you to win championships, they want to know that when they get down to the last month of the season you still have a shot,” Reinsdorf said at a symposium last spring. “You’re still playing meaningful games. If you can do that consistently, you’ll make your fans happy.”Thus, the quest for “meaningful games” in March begins Wednesday night at the United Center against the Oklahoma City Thunder.No one expects much out of the Bulls, who slid backward last season to a play-in spot and then made only minor changes to the roster in the offseason, signing forward Torrey Craig and point guard Jevon C...

Hezbollah and Israel exchange fire and warnings of a widened war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:21:28 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah announced the deaths of five more militants as clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border intensified and the Israeli prime minister warned Lebanon on Sunday not to let itself get dragged into a new war.The tiny Mediterranean country is home to Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim political party with an armed wing of the same name. Israeli soldiers and militants have traded fire across the border since Israel’s war with the Palestinian group Hamas began, but the launches so far have targeted limited areas. Hezbollah has reported the deaths of 24 of its militants since Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel. At least six militants from Hamas and another militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and at least four civilians have died in the near-daily hostilities. Hezbollah has vowed to escalate if Israel begins a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which is likely, and Israel said it would aggressively retaliate.“If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, ...

Norway’s 86-year-old king tests positive for COVID-19 and has mild symptoms

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:21:28 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Norway’s 86-year-old King Harald V, who has been in frail health in the past few years, has tested positive for the coronavirus and has mild symptoms, royal officials said on Sunday.“His Majesty the King has been diagnosed with corona and is on sick leave until he is symptom-free. The king has cold symptoms and stays at home,” the royal household said in a brief statement.The Norwegian monarch had also tested positive in March 2022 with mild symptoms. Officials have earlier said Harald had received three COVID-19 vaccine shots but it’s not known whether he had received booster shots.Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre wished the king “a speedy recovery” in a comment to the Norwegian news agency NTB, which said Harald’s son and heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, would take over his duties for now.The aging monarch, who has been seen using crutches in various occasions, has been hospitalized several times in recent years.In August 2022, he spent three day...

Frost advisory issued for Toronto and GTA

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:21:28 GMT

A frost advisory has been issued for Toronto and the GTHA.Environment and Climate Change Canada says patchy frost is expected Sunday night into Monday morning as temperatures approach the freezing mark overnight.Temperatures across the GTA are expected to drop to a low of -2 C, feeling closer to -6.“Frost may damage some crops in frost-prone areas. Take preventative measures to protect frost-sensitive plants and trees,” the national weather service said in a statement.

A 5.2 magnitude earthquake in Nepal damages dozens of homes and causes a landslide

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:21:28 GMT

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A 5.2 magnitude earthquake and some aftershocks damaged nearly two dozen houses in the hilly Dhading district near Nepal’s capital Sunday, an official said.The shaking also caused a landslide in the region, Hum Nath Parajuli, a district government administrator, said. Details were not immediately available.The area is nearly 60 kilometers (40 miles) west of Kathmandu, and the earthquake was felt in the Nepalese capital.Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center gave a preliminary magnitude of 6.1. The U.S. Geological Survey provided measurements of a 5.2 magnitude with a depth of 24.7 kilometers (15.4 miles) and an epicenter near Bharatpur.Three tremors of 4.3, 4.1 and 3.8 magnitude also hit the region later Sunday, according to India’s Center for Seismology.The Press Trust of India news agency said the tremors were also felt in Bagmati and Gandaki provinces and caused panic among people. One woman suffered injuries in the Gorkha distric...