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Von der Leyen condemns Turkish Cypriot attack on UN peacekeepers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:42:34 GMT

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen joined the U.K., France and the U.S. in expressing shock and disapproval over an assault on U.N. peacekeepers on Cyprus by Turkish Cypriots.“I strongly condemn the attacks on @UN_CYPRUS peacekeepers by Turkish Cypriot personnel. Threats and assaults on UN peacekeepers are unacceptable,” von der Leyen said late Friday on social media.U.N. forces on the divided Mediterranean island on Friday morning blocked Turkish Cypriot construction workers who were building a road near the village of Pyla/Pile that encroached on the U.N. enforced buffer zone. The zone divides the southern half of the island, which is controlled by Greek Cypriots, from the breakaway Turkish north.Video obtained by the Telegraph showed bulldozers picking up U.N. vehicles and tossing them across the landscape. Angry physical clashes reportedly left three U.N. personnel — two Brits and a Slovak — in need of hospital treatment.“Threats to the safe...

Five things to watch in Patriots-Packers preseason game Saturday

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:42:34 GMT

It was an eventful two days of joint practices between the Patriots and Packers in Green Bay that quite possibly saw significant growth for the hometown team.The Patriots struggled at times on Wednesday as the Packers went deep for big plays of the team’s young cornerbacks. While quarterback Mac Jones and the Patriots offense was effective in moving down the field at times, they couldn’t match Green Bay’s electricity on offense.Things shifted in a major way Thursday. The Patriots’ defense amped up the intensity. Fights erupted. Linebacker Anfernee Jennings was ejected for laying out a Packers rookie defender on a punt drill. Safety Jabrill Peppers was jawing at the Packers all day. And most importantly, Jones was hitting his receivers deep, and cornerbacks Jack Jones and Christian Gonzalez weren’t allowing big plays.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots have another potential emerging starter from 2023 NFL Draft class New England Patriots | Patri...

Pakistani police seek to arrest father of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who died in the UK

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:42:34 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police are seeking to arrest a man in connection with the death of his 10-year-old daughter in the U.K, officers in the eastern Punjab province said Saturday.Sara Sharif was found dead at her home in Woking, on the southern outskirts of London, on Aug. 10, U.K. police said in a statement. They identified her father, Urfan, his partner, Beinash Batool, and Urfan’s brother, Faisal Malik, as people they want to speak to as part of their investigation.An autopsy didn’t establish a cause of death but did show that Sara had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries, which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time,” the police statement said. Urfan Sharif travelled to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad with Batool and Malik on Aug. 9. There are five children with them, ranging from 1 to 13 years of age, the statement added.Sharif’s family home is in Jhelum, Punjab, around 135 kilometers (84 miles) from the capita...

Russian missile attack kills 5 in northern Ukrainian city as Zelenskyy visits NATO candidate Sweden

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:42:34 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Sweden on Saturday, his first visit to the country since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, while at home a missile strike in the center of a northern city killed five people and wounded dozens.The Swedish government said Zelenskyy will meet officials in Harpsund, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Stockholm. He will also meet Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at a palace in the area.Sweden abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine with weapons and other aid in the war against Russia. It also applied for NATO membership but is still waiting to join the alliance.A Russian missile strike killed five people and wounded 37 others on Saturday in the city center of Chernihiv, the regional capital of the northern province of the same name, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.Zelenskyy condemned the attack, which he said hit buildings including a thea...

Veterans, advocates want to see changes at Veterans Affairs under new minister

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:42:34 GMT

OTTAWA — It’s been just over three years since Veterans Affairs Canada released a strategy to tackle its 23,000 backlogged benefits applications, and that file has landed on the desk of a new minister for the first time.Ginette Petitpas Taylor has taken over from longtime minister Lawrence MacAulay, and she says finishing the job by 2024 — the department’s stated target — is among her top priorities.“We absolutely want to eliminate that backlog to make sure that we can meet our service standards,” she said in an interview.Her other top issues: developing an employment strategy and commemorating the events of the past.Advocates say they want Petitpas Taylor to tackle a range of other problems, from housing and education to the kind of culture change that’s underway at the Department of National Defence. As for the backlog, the department’s service standard is to complete 80 per cent of benefits applications within 16 weeks, allowing more time for w...

Federal underfunding Indigenous housing leads to years-long wait-lists, frustration

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:42:34 GMT

OTTAWA — Stefania Giesbrecht was hoping that by the time she finished her studies, she could move back to her community of Saugeen First Nation.But after nine years on a wait-list, the single mother of three said she has no idea when she will be able to make the move to the community on the shores of Lake Huron near Owen Sound, Ont.“I put myself onto the waiting list, and my mother went on the waiting list and my sister went on the waiting list,” she said.“And none of us have got any updates.”Giesbrecht said she wants to live on-reserve to immerse her children in their culture. That is something her mother couldn’t do as a child of the ’60s Scoop, when Indigenous children were forcefully removed from their families and placed in foster homes by child-welfare authorities.Giesbrecht said she doesn’t blame the community leadership, often referred to as band office officials, for the lengthy wait.But she does hold the federal government accounta...

Decathlete Trey Hardee’s mental health struggles began after celebrated career ended

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:42:34 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A year ago, Trey Hardee found himself alone in a hotel room, hitting rock bottom.Struggling to cope with the realities of life in the aftermath of a successful track career, the father of three, a two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist in the decathlon, was thinking about ending his life.“I read my journal entry from that night,” the 39-year-old told The Associated Press in phone interviews this summer from Austin, Texas, where he lives. “I don’t know who that was.” His darkest moment came in July 2022 at last year’s world championships in Oregon, as he was gearing up for another day in his role as a TV analyst. At this year’s world championships, which open Saturday in Hungary, Hardee will again be behind the microphone, but much more at peace, and hoping his story might serve as a cautionary tale for the hundreds of athletes who struggle with mental health. “I went and sought out counseling and figured out a way to mature in ...

Ask Amy: Neighbors might wonder about son’s incarceration

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:42:34 GMT

Dear Amy: My son is in prison. In a few months his sentence for drug possession and a probation violation (for possession) will be completed.His charges are nonviolent offenses, and he has worked hard to get control over his addiction.My son and his fiancée have a 3-year-old child together.The fiancée and child live in our second home in another state — the same state where he is serving his sentence.We are at our second home four months out of the year.I need help with what to say to neighbors who are curious about why our son’s fiancée lives in our home with their child (for three years) and then — my son shows up.I’m sure they’ll ask since they seem very curious about her situation but have, so far, not asked any direct questions of her or us.Our neighbors are very conservative, older, and talk often about the perceived “crime” wave due to the homeless and addicted.Do you have any suggestions for the questions that (I feel) are bound to arise: such as, “Where has your...

Bridge: Aug. 19, 2023

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:42:34 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on improving basic technique and logical thinking.Few people are willing to put all their eggs in one basket, even if they’re able to keep an eye on the basket. Declarers must be the same way; with several chances for your contract, try them all.At today’s 3NT, South took the queen of diamonds and immediately let the jack of spades ride. Alas, East produced the king and returned a diamond, and West ran the suit. Down one.SPADE FINESSESouth put all his eggs in one leaky basket. He can count seven sure tricks. If the missing clubs break 3-3 and the queen of hearts falls under the A-K, South will have nine tricks and won’t need the spade finesse.South should lead to the queen of clubs at Trick Two, then take the A-K. When the suit breaks 3-3, he cashes the A-K of hearts next with a gratifying result. If the clubs failed to break, South would be in his hand to finesse in spades, hoping for three spades, three clubs, a diamond...

Word Game: Aug. 19, 2023

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:42:34 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — CARELESS (CARELESS: KARE-les: Showing a lack of consideration; negligent.)Average mark 38 wordsTime limit 45 minutesCan you find 48 or more words in CARELESS? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — BELLWETHER beer beet beetle bell belle belt belter beret berth betel bethel blew brew ether ewer leer lethe well welt welter were whee wheel wheeler where whet tell teller thee there thew three threw treble tree heel heeler hell herb here rebel reel retellTo 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 sexually e...