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Every phone call is a goodbye, says Vancouver resident with family in Gaza

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:19 GMT

Omar Mansour says every phone call with his family in the Gaza Strip might be the last. So during those few minutes when he is able to talk to his parents, brother and sisters, the Vancouver resident makes sure he tells them he loves them.“I ask them how they are. But it’s mostly goodbyes, you know? Mostly goodbyes, and I love you,” he said. “And I thank them for what they’ve done for me. Because it might be the last call, the last time I hear their voice.”Five of his cousins were killed by Israeli snipers over the past week when they went to look for food and water, he said. “That’s only the family I got to know about. I lost touch with most of my 60 cousins after the war began.”Israel pounded areas of the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and artillery on Saturday, a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for the first time invoked...

14-year-old arrested in vicious assault against woman at Brampton mall

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:19 GMT

A 14-year-old is under arrest in connection with the violent assault of a woman inside a Brampton mall back in October.Peel Regional Police said at around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 a woman was at Bramalea City Centre shopping mall in the area of Queen Street and Central Park Drive when she was approached by an unknown suspect who accused her of filming him.The woman attempted to walk away when the suspect slapped the phone out of her hand and punched her several times before leaving the store.While the woman was shaken up, she did not require medical attention.Employees of the Urban Planet store where the attack took place told CityNews that the woman came to them saying she was being followed and harassed and to call security.Police told CityNews the woman was not recording the individual and that she was on a FaceTime call with one of her friends.On Friday, police arrested a 14-year-old from Brampton and charged him with assault.Under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the n...

A British Palestinian surgeon gave testimony to a UK war crimes unit after returning from Gaza

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:19 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — A British Palestinian surgeon who spent weeks in the Gaza Strip during the current Israel-Hamas war as part of a Doctors Without Borders medical team said he has given testimony to a British war crimes investigation unit.Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic surgeon specializing in conflict medicine, has volunteered with medical teams in multiple conflicts in Gaza, beginning as a medical student in the late 1980s during the the first Palestinian uprising. He has also worked in other conflict zones, including in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.Abu Sitta crossed from Egypt into Gaza on Oct. 9, two days after the war began and remained in the besieged enclave for 43 days, working mainly in the al-Ahli and Shifa hospitals in northern Gaza.The war was triggered by a deadly Hamas-led incursion on Oct. 7 into southern Israel in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Since then, Israel has launched a punishing air and ground campaign that has killed more than 17,700 people i...

Liz Magill, University of Pennsylvania president, resigns as antisemitism testimony draws backlash

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:19 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The University of Pennsylvania’s president has resigned amid pressure from donors and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy.The departure of Liz Magill, in her second year as president of the Ivy League school, was announced by the school late Saturday afternoon. The statement said Magill will remain a tenured faculty member at the university’s Carey Law School. She has agreed to keep serving as Penn’s leader until the university names an interim president.Calls for Magill’s resignation exploded after Tuesday’s testimony in a U.S. House committee on antisemitism on college campuses, where she appeared with the presidents of Harvard University and MIT.Universities across the U.S. have been accused of failing to protect Jewish students amid rising fears of antisemitism worldwide and fallout from Israel...

RCMP in Surrey, B.C., ends Amber Alert for two-month-old girl

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:19 GMT

SURREY, B.C. — Mounties in Surrey, B.C., have cancelled an Amber Alert for a two-month-old girl.The alert was first issued around 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Police had said the girl’s father was believed to have abducted the infant from Surrey.Mounties said the pair were believed to have been travelling in a 2002 Chevy Suburban four-dour SUV. They had asked for the public’s help in finding the baby.The update came about an hour and a half after the Amber Alert was first issued.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2023.The Canadian Press

Israel presses on with its Gaza offensive after US veto derails Security Council efforts to halt war

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:19 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel's military pushed ahead with its punishing air and ground offensive in Gaza on Saturday, bolstered by a U.S. veto derailing U.N. Security Council efforts to end the war and word that an emergency sale of $106 million worth of tank ammunition had been approved by Washington.Unable to leave Gaza, a territory 25 miles (40 kilometers) long by about 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide, more than 2 million Palestinians faced more bombardment Saturday, even in areas that Israel had described as safe zones.The sale of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition was announced a day after the U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, a measure that had wide international support. The U.S. said Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that “an emergency exists” in the national interest requiring the immediate sale, meaning it bypasses congressional review. Such a determination is rare.A day after Israel confirmed ...

Fears of a NATO withdrawal rise as Trump seeks a return to power

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:19 GMT

For 74 years, the NATO has been America’s most important military alliance. Presidents of both parties have seen NATO as a force multiplier enhancing the influence of the United States by uniting countries on both sides of the Atlantic in a vow to defend one another.Donald Trump has made it clear that he sees NATO as a drain on U.S. resources by freeloaders. He has held that view for at least a quarter-century.In his 2000 book, “The America We Deserve,” Trump wrote that “pulling back from Europe would save this country millions of dollars annually.” As president, he repeatedly threatened a U.S. withdrawal from the alliance.Yet as he runs to regain the White House, Trump has said precious little about his intentions. His campaign website contains a single cryptic sentence: “We have to finish the process we began under my administration of fundamentally reevaluating NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission.” He and his team refuse to elaborate.That vague line has generated enormous uncertain...

7 deaths linked to small magnets found in toys, U.S. warns

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:19 GMT

A federal safety agency warned this past week that small, powerful magnets have been linked to seven deaths after they were ingested, announcing one company’s voluntary recall of a toy set that contained such magnets and issuing warnings about six other companies with similar toys.The agency, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said Thursday that it was aware of seven deaths, including two outside the United States, and about 2,400 emergency room visits between 2017 and 2021 linked to ingesting the small, high-powered magnets.The danger is that they could easily attach with magnets or other metal objects, making them an even greater hazard if swallowed along with another object. Even swallowed alone, the small magnetic balls pose a risk of perforation to or blockage of the intestines, blood poisoning or death, the commission said.Last year, the commission approved a new safety standard for small magnets, requiring that products be either too large to swallow or weak enough ...

Cody Jinks to perform at the Palace Theatre

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:19 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Palace Theatre announced they will be hosting a performance by country singer and songwriter Cody Jinks. The show is scheduled for February 8, 2024. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! The independent outlaw country star has released eight studio albums across his career, with his upcoming record "Change the Game" set to release in March 2024. He is backed by his band The Tone Deaf Hippies. Jinks will be joined for the performance by folk singer-songwriter Calder Allen. The show is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Hank Williams Jr. to perform at SPAC The Palace Theatre is located at 19 Clinton Avenue in Albany. You can buy Cody Jinks tickets online by visiting the venue's website. Tickets go on sale on December 15 at 12 p.m.

Silver Dollar City's "An Old Time Christmas" named America's Best Holiday Event

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:19 GMT

BRANSON, Mo. (KNWA/KFTA) — Silver Dollar City's "An Old Time Christmas" was named America's "Best Theme Park Event" by USA Today's 10Best, according to a news release.The Branson-based theme park collected the most votes among the 20 nominees including Busch Gardens, Legoland Parks, Disney Parks, Universal Studios and SeaWorld. Silver Dollar City announces record-setting roller coaster “We sincerely thank our friends and fans from all around the globe who took time out of their busy schedules to vote every single day,” said Silver Dollar City Company President Brad Thomas. “Christmas is such a special time for us, and we’re so grateful to our fans for highlighting The City as the nation’s must-visit holiday destination.”This is the sixth time that Silver Dollar City has been given this award, winning in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, according to a Facebook post.SDC's "An Old Time Christmas" runs through December 30.