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Israel intensifies Gaza strikes and scours south for Hamas fighters as death toll nears 1,200

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military scoured the country’s south for Hamas fighters and guarded breaches in its border fence with tanks on Monday, as it pounded the Gaza Strip from the air and mustered for a campaign its prime minister said would destroy “the military and governing capabilities” of the militant group.More than two days after Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion from Gaza, the military said the fighting had largely died down for now. The attack caught Israel’s vaunted military and intelligence apparatus completely off guard, bringing heavy battles to its streets for the first time in decades.Israel formally declared war on Sunday, portending greater fighting ahead, and a possible ground assault into Gaza — a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties.Civilians are already paying a high price. Around 700 people have been killed in Israel — a staggering toll by the scale of its recent conflicts. Nearly 500 have been killed in Gaza, a...

Jeremy Corbyn says Israel must ‘end occupation’ after declining to condemn Hamas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the U.K.’s opposition Labour Party, defended his decision not to condemn Hamas in the wake of deadly attacks on Israel by the Palestinian militant group.Corbyn — who led the party from 2015-2019 but is no longer allowed to sit as a Labour MP — drew flak over the weekend after issuing a statement which did not directly condemn the Hamas militants who killed hundreds of Israelis and took numerous captives in the latest round of bloodshed.The row has once again demonstrated splits on Middle East policy in Labour, which hopes to form the next British government.In his weekend statement, posted on Twitter, Corbyn described events in Israel and Palestine as “deeply alarming,” and called for “an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation.”Referencing Israel’s long-running blockade of Gaza, Corbyn said “ending the occupation is the only means of achieving a just and lasting peace.”That prompted immediate criticism fr...

Brutal decision: Commission recommends landmark status for City Hall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

The Boston Landmarks Commission has recommended the City Hall’s exterior and interior main lobby space be designated as a landmark in a report released last week.The move to landmark City Hall, which has landed on lists of the ugliest public buildings for years, and ranked number 4 in the world in a Buildworld analysis in January, started after a public petition was submitted to the commission back in April 2007.City officials began to prioritize urban renewal in the 1950s, with Boston losing roughly 100,000 people, mainly in middle-class families during the decade, according to the report.“Not only the architectural significance, which is undeniable, but we also have to think of the moment that this building was built in,” Nicholas Armata, senior preservation planner for the commission told the Herald.Boston’s Scollay Square, at the time, was flooded with tattoo parlors and burlesque houses, businesses that drove out those families, according to the report. The area wou...

Columbus Day debate continues in Massachusetts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

More than 300 cities and towns across Massachusetts will be recognizing Columbus Day on Monday, while around two dozen will be celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day.But Indigenous people and their allies say the divide between what towns and cities formally recognize on the second Monday of October should not exist. They are behind a push at the State House to establish it as Indigenous Peoples Day, doing away with Columbus Day.Opponents, on the other hand, say Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, is worthy of a holiday because they believe he represents a part of Italian heritage.An Indigenous Peoples Day bill, pending in the state Legislature for the third straight session, would recommend residents observe the day with “appropriate exercises in the schools and otherwise, to acknowledge the history of genocide and discrimination against Indigenous peoples, and to recognize and celebrate the thriving cultures and continued resistance and resilience of Indigenous peoples and the...

Business confidence returned to pessimistic territory to close out summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

After a strong summer showing, confidence about the future among the state’s businesses slipped into pessimistic territory in September.On the heels of a narrowly averted government shutdown, according to the Monthly Business Confidence Index published by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, confidence slipped 2.6 points to 49.8%, dropping into pessimism for the third month this year.“The decline was driven by weakening views of both the Massachusetts and US economies. The US Index measuring conditions throughout the country fell 6.5 points as Congress drew the nation within hours of a government shutdown,” the Association wrote with the release of their monthly report.Confidence climbed above the 50% mark, the level that indicates optimism, through July and August after falling into negative territory for the first time in years in May and June. September’s confidence index came in a full 4.1 points lower than was reported 12 months ago.According to AIM, business senti...

Nobel economics prize goes to professor for enhancing understanding of women’s labor market outcomes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel economics prize has been awarded to Claudia Goldin, a professor at Harvard University, “for having advanced our understanding of women’s labor market outcomes.”Hans Ellegren, Secretary-General, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the award Monday in Stockholm. Goldin is only the third woman to win the prize.The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma at the award ceremonies in December in Oslo and Stockholm.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, the final prize of this year’s Nobels season, is set to be announced in Stockholm on Monday.The winner or winners unveiled by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences follow the awards in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace that were announced last week.The economics award was created in 1968 by Sweden’s ...

At least 15 people have been killed in floods set off by heavy rains in Cameroon’s capital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — At least 15 people were killed and more than 50 were injured in floods set off by heavy rains in Cameroon’s capital, authorities said Monday as rescuers searched for those missing following the deluge the previous day. The rains unleashed floodwaters in the district of Yaounde 2 of the country’s capital on Sunday, sweeping away buildings and reducing many to rubble. Rescue workers are still digging through the mud and rubble “with the hope of saving lives,” Daouda Ousmanou, the top government official in the district, said Monday. Floodings have been frequent in Cameroon in recent years, with experts often blaming climate change, and their impact has been exacerbated by shoddy construction that often circumvents regulations. In the city’s Mbankolo neighborhood, at least 30 houses were swept away while several collapsed on residents inside, Ousmanou said. Others drowned as they were swept away by floodwaters. Ernest Zebaze, a 24-year-old universit...

Evacuations ordered as remnants of Typhoon Koinu hit southern China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — People have been moved to shelters and nearly 2,000 boats recalled to port as the remnants of Typhoon Koinu slammed into southern China on Monday after leaving one dead and over 300 injured in Taiwan. The storm bore down on the southern Chinese island province of Hainan on Monday, just south of the financial center of Hong Kong and the key manufacturing regions in the surrounding area on mainland China. The Hong Kong Observatory said on its website that Koinu was weakening from a typhoon into a tropical depression as it moved southwest along the coast of China’s Guangdong province.Air and rail services have been suspended as Koinu, meaning puppy in Japanese, rolled into the region. Koinu arrived a month after southern China and Hong Kong were lashed by Typhoon Saola, which triggered Hong Kong’s highest storm signal on a scale of 11. A week later, Guangdong province and Hong Kong were hit with the heaviest rains in almost 140 years. The storm also broke a winds...

Viladecans, Vilnius, and Treviso win 2025 European Green City awards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

The winners of the European Green Cities 2025 Awards were announced yesterday afternoon. Vilnius (Lithuania) will be the 2025 European Green Capital, and the title of European Green Leaf 2025 for smaller cities went to Viladecans (Spain) and Treviso (Italy). This year's European Green Capital, Tallinn, hosted the Awards ceremony.Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius said: “Bravo to Vilnius, Viladecans and Treviso! Welcome to the European Green Cities group. You have been working hard to make your cities greener, healthier and more pleasant places to live. Climate change will exacerbate extreme weather events such as droughts and floods that we faced this summer. The answer to those has to be greener cities – cities with lower pollution, which care more for citizens' well-being. That is exactly what today's winners are doing.”The expert jury crowned Vilnius as the 2025 European Green Capital Winner for its commitment to a sustainable future, including ...

Word Game: Oct. 9, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — TRAVAIL (TRAVAIL: truh-VALE: A physical or mental exertion; a work of a painful or laborious nature.)Average mark 16 wordsTime limit 30 minutesCan you find 19 or more words in TRAVAIL? The list will be published tomorrow.SATURDAY’S WORD — SECTION scent scion scone sect sent since sine site snit snot sone sonic stein steno stoic stone cent cento cite coin cone cosine cost cote tine tone tonic icon insect inset into once onset otic nest nice nicest noes noise nose note noticeTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or ...