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Live updates | Israel and Hamas prepare for fourth swap as mediators seek to extend cease-fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:16 GMT

Israel and Hamas are preparing for a fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, as mediators seek to extend a cease-fire in Gaza that is set to expire after Monday.On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 more hostages — 14 Israelis and three Thais — in a third exchange under the four-day truce. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners.Of the roughly 240 hostages captured by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that ignited the war, 62 have been released, one was freed by Israeli forces and two were found dead inside Gaza. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. Hamas has also said it hopes to extend the truce, which was mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.With the truce deal has come increased shipments of fuel and supplies into Gaza — though aid groups say it’s still barely enough to dent the needs of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of ...

Representatives of European and Arab countries meet in Barcelona to discuss the Israel-Hamas war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:16 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Delegations from the European Union member states and Middle Eastern and north African countries are meeting Monday in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss the crisis in Gaza where a fragile pause in fighting is set to expire.Forty-two delegations are scheduled to gather at the event hosted by the Union for the Mediterranean, with many represented by their foreign ministers. The meeting is chaired by the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.Israel is not attending the meeting, which in past years has largely become a forum for cooperation between the EU and the Arab world. Monday’s gathering was supposed to focus on the role of the union 15 years after its founding, but the meeting has taken on new significance since the Oct. 7 militant attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing war in the Gaza Strip.Jordan’s Safadi told The Associated Press on the eve of the event that he hopes the talks will help “bridge a gap” between Arab ...

Iran adds sophisticated warship to Caspian fleet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:16 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s navy on Monday added a destroyer capable of launching cruise missiles to its Caspian Sea fleet, state media reported.The 1,400-ton Deilaman destroyer, named for a town in north of Iran, is 95 meters (312 feet) long and 11 meters (36 feet) wide and is able to launch torpedoes while traveling at 30 knots (56 kph, 35 mph), the state-owned IRNA news agency said.Deilaman can detect more than 100 targets, including vessels, drones, helicopters, submarines and aircraft, simultaneously, the report said.During a ceremony marking the inauguration of Deilaman, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, chief of the Armed Forces General Staff called the Caspian a “sea of peace and friendship” and said Iran’s naval power there will serve “peace, security of commercial fleets, confronting terrorists and probable incidents in the future.”This is the sixth warship Iran has commissioned in the Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water in the world, shared by Russia, Azerbaija...

Rescuers attempt manual digging to free 41 Indian workers trapped for over two weeks in tunnel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:16 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in India said on Monday they were set to begin manual digging of what they hoped was the final phase of rescuing the 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the country’s north for over two weeks. This came a day after an attempt to drill vertically — an alternate plan to digging horizontally from the front — started, with the newly replaced drilling machine excavating about 20 meters (nearly 65 feet), according to officials.Devendra Patwal, a disaster management official who is at the accident site, said they were prepared for all kinds of challenges, but hoped they wouldn’t face stiff resistance from the mountain.“We don’t know what the drilling machine will have to cut through. It could be loose soil or rocks. But we are prepared,” he said.So far, rescuers have excavated and inserted pipes — after digging horizontally — up to 46 meters (150.9 feet), welded together to serve as a passageway from where the men would be pu...

Diplomas for sale: $465, no classes required. Inside one of Louisiana’s unapproved schools

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:16 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, La. (AP) — Arliya Martin accepted her high school diploma with relief and gratitude. It was her ticket to better-paying work, she felt, after getting kicked out of high school and toiling for eight years at factory jobs to support her children. “This is a new path for me to get on with my life,” she said. But Martin didn’t take any classes or pass any tests to receive her degree. She got it in July from a school where students can get a high school diploma for $465.Unlike public schools, formal homeschooling programs or traditional private schools, nearly 9,000 private schools in Louisiana don’t need state approval to grant degrees. Nearly every one of those unapproved schools was created to serve a single homeschooling family, but some have buildings, classrooms, teachers and dozens of students.While unapproved schools account for a small percentage of the state’s students, those in Louisiana’s off-the-grid school system are a rapidly growing example of the natio...

French labor minister goes on trial for alleged favoritism when he was a mayor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:16 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt goes on trial on Monday over charges of favoritism related to a 2009 public sector contract passed when he was a mayor.Dussopt is suspected of having favoured a private company, the Saur group, in the awarding of a water contract when he was the mayor of the small town of Annonay in the southeast of France, France’s financial prosecutor’s office said. He has denied any wrongdoing. Speaking on France 3 national television earlier this month, Dussopt said: “I’m going before the court to prove I acted in good faith.”The investigation was launched in 2020 after investigative website Mediapart revealed possible links between Dussopt and a local manager of the Saur company.Dussopt is a key member of the government of President Emmanuel Macron. Appointed labor minister in 2022, he championed the unpopular plan raising raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. The changes prompted months of mass protests at the beginning of the year. ...

A watchdog urges UN Security Council to consider all options to protect Sudan’s Darfur civilians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:16 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — An international watchdog urged the United Nations Security Council on Monday to consider all options to protect civilians in Sudan’s Darfur region after the latest attacks on non-Arabs killed hundreds of civilians.The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which was born out of the notorious Janjaweed militias, has been at war against the Sudanese military since mid-April, when months of tension exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas in the African nation. The conflict wrecked the country and forced more than 6 million people out of their homes, either to safer areas inside Sudan or to neighboring countries.In the first week of November, the RSF and their allied Arab militias attacked the town of Ardamata, a few kilometers (miles) north of Geneina, the provincial capital of West Darfur, Human Rights Watch said. After taking over a military base in Ardamata, the attackers rampaged through the camp for displaced people and other nearby re...

Police arrest suspect in the shooting of 3 men of Palestinian descent near the University of Vermont

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:16 GMT

Police have arrested a suspect in the shooting of three young men of Palestinian descent who were attending a Thanksgiving holiday gathering near the University of Vermont campus Saturday evening. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Jason J. Eaton, 48, while conducting a search of the shooting area in Burlington at 3:38 p.m. Sunday, the Burlington Police Department said in a statement.Authorities collected evidence during a search of Eaton’s apartment in a building in front of the shooting location. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, police said.The attack that injured the three men around 6:25 p.m. Saturday may have been a hate crime, authorities previously said.Two of the men were in stable condition and the other suffered “much more serious injuries,” Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said in a statement Sunday. The three, all age 20, were walking during a visit to the home of one of the victim's relatives when they were confronted by...

Daily horoscope for November 27, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:16 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Gemini.Happy Birthday for Monday, Nov. 27, 2023:You are independent and individualistic. You are also determined and spontaneous. This is the final year of a nine-year cycle, which means it’s time to take inventory of your life. It’s also time to let go of people, places and things from the past that have held you back.ARIES(March 21-April 19)★★It’s easy to fall for the wrong ideas today. It’s also easy for you to be deceived today and jump on the wrong bandwagon. Look before you leap! Don’t believe everything you hear, especially via social media, or any kind of religious or political propaganda that you encounter. Tonight: Conversations.TAURUS(April 20-May 20)★★Postpone important financial decisions, especially about how to divide or share something like an inheritance. Do not discuss these today. Likewise, do not agree or sign important papers about shared ...

Commission announces the winning projects in Spain, Austria, Bulgaria, and Portugal of the 2023 #BeActive Awards supporting initiatives for a healthy and active lifestyle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:16 GMT

Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Commissioner Iliana Ivanova has officially announced the winners of the ninth edition of the #BeActive Awards honouring projects and individuals dedicated to promoting sport and physical activity across Europe.In total, 12 finalists competed for the grand prize in four categories: education, workplace, local hero and across generations. The winner of the #BeActive Education Award is Patronat Municipal de Serveis d'Atenció a les Persones de Martorell (Spain) for its project addressing inequalities in the education system and promoting educational success, equity, and social cohesion. With a project dedicated to supporting an active lifestyle and life-work balance and creating opportunities for its employees, Eversports (Austria) won the #BeActive Workplace Award. The 2023 #BeActive Local Hero Award winner is Kalin Vasilev (Bulgaria), who has managed to inspire and lead thousands of Bulgarians towards a healthier and more active lifes...