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Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinian militants in West Bank

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:30 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian militants Sunday who opened fire on troops in the occupied West Bank, the military said, the latest bloodshed in a year-long wave of violence in the region.The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed offshoot of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, claimed the men killed as members. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the men were killed by Israeli fire near the city of Nablus and identified them as Jihad Mohammed al-Shami, 24, Uday Othman al-Shami, 22 and Mohammed Raed Dabeek, 18.The military said it confiscated three M16 rifles from the militants after the shootout and that one gunman turned himself in and was arrested.The deaths Sunday bring to 80 the number of Palestinians killed since the start of the year, as Israel has stepped up arrest raids in the West Bank. A spasm of Palestinian attacks against Israelis has killed 14 people in 2023. The fresh violence follows an Israeli military raid last week...

Daily horoscope for March 12, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:30 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Scorpio.Happy Birthday for Sunday, March 12, 2023:You will rise to any challenge. You’re competitive and determined, and you love adventure. Simplicity is the key to your life this year. It’s important to create solid foundations right now. Take charge of your health. Stay grounded and levelheaded. It’s a good time to work or build something.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★This is the perfect day for important discussions about shared property, inheritances or private, personal matters that might concern you. You know that people will listen to you with respect and there will be a sense of mutual concern and sympathy. Tonight: Financial truth. This Week: Start downsizing and streamlining your life.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★★This is a wonderful day to schmooze with friends as well as groups and organizations because not only will you be heard, likewise, you are willing to l...

Silicon Valley Bank collapse: Mark Cuban says Fed should 'immediately' take this action

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:30 GMT

Entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has demanded the Federal Reserve take action and assume responsibility following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) Friday."The Fed should IMMEDIATELY buy all the securities/debt the bank owns at near par, which should be enough to cover most deposits," Cuban wrote as part of a lengthy Twitter chain Friday. "Any losses paid for in equity and new debt from the new bank or whoever buys it. The Fed knew this was a risk. They should own it." "If the Fed doesn’t own it, trust in the banking system becomes an issue," Cuban argued. "There are a ton of banks with more than 50 pct uninsured deposits.""What would be best practices to protect from a future run if your company writes millions in checks weekly?"SILICON VALLEY BANK CUSTOMERS LINE UP OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA LOCATION AMID FRANTIC RUSH TO WITHDRAW MONEYThe Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced Friday that it would close Silicon Valley Bank...

Russian Schemes for Instability in the Caucasus: Georgia and Karabakh

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:30 GMT

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and partly due to a decreased interest in the West, Russia has managed to become a regional superpower, exerting its influence over the other post-Soviet countries. writes James Wilson.Russian attempts to cling to “past glory” has involved making other republics bend to its will and interests. Some tried to oppose it. Prime examples are Georgia, which Russia invaded in 2008, and Ukraine, chunks of which Russia occupied in 2014 before invading again in 2022. With Georgia’s mass protests in Tbilisi making today’s headlines across the world, over a controversial bill that the Georgian government it is trying to pass, Russia has once again reverted to its strategy of destabilisation and issuing official threats.The proposed bill, named “Transparency of Foreign Funding”, would require non-governmental organisations in Georgia to register as "agents of foreign influence" if the funds they receive from abroad amount to more than 20% of the...

Turning Hot Ahead of Strong Front

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:30 GMT

A more active weather pattern has returned to South Florida. A weak front neared the area on Saturday, sparking isolated showers along with warmer temperatures. That front just missed us and has moved offshore, keeping us warm. It’s not until Tuesday when a stronger front with cooling arrives.At least in the short term today, expect mostly sunny skies this Sunday with highs in the mid to upper 80s to mark the start of Daylight Saving Time. A warm, southerly wind flow which will be gusty at times will lead to moderate humidity levels along with a high risk for rip currents at our east coast beaches. It will remain dry into tonight with slightly warmer temperatures ranging from the upper 60s to mid 70s.On Monday, the heat will be turned up by a couple more degrees with a forecast high of 90F for Miami. As the cold front approaches, that will cause winds to veer out of the southwest and therefore promoting further warming. Monday will feature increasing clouds throughout the day ...

French Senate adopts pension reform as street protests continue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:30 GMT

The French Senate voted in favor of the controversial pension reform overnight, paving the way for a potential final adoption of the law on Thursday, as thousands of people continue to demonstrate across the country.The widespread opposition to the retirement overhaul is a political test to French President Emmanuel Macron, whose liberal party has been struggling to pass the reform ever since it lost its majority in parliament last summer.“A decisive step to bring about a reform that will ensure the future of our pensions. Totally committed to allow a final adoption in the next few days,” French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne tweeted after the vote.The French government wants to change the retirement age from 62 to 64, with a full pension requiring 43 years of work as of 2027. The right-leaning Senate adopted the reform with 195 in favor and 112 against the measure. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across France on Saturday, and protests were expected to cont...

MIAA Statewide scoreboard and highlights from Saturday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:30 GMT

SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTSBOYS BASKETBALLDavid Brown scored 27 points as defending Div. 3 state champion St. Mary’s advanced to the state semifinals with an 83-71 win over seventh-seeded Tech Boston. Omri Merryman (15), Nick Sacco (13) and JJ Martinez (12) all scored in double figures for the Spartans, who improved to 18-7 on the season. … Jaydan Exalus scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 4 Cardinal Spellman (18-4) rallied from a double-digit halftime deficit to defeat No. 21 Bishop Stang, 59-50.In the Div. 1 quarterfinals, Zach Wolinski netted 27 points as No. 9 North Andover (16-7) edged No. 17 Waltham 47-46. … Henry Bickford scored 14 points, including the game-winner with 21.1 seconds left, as No. 5 Needham (22-2) edged fourth-seeded Central Catholic, 43-41.Cam Hoekstra scored a game-high 22 points as No. 2 David Prouty (23-0) defeated 10th-seeded Roxbury Latin 70-42 in a Div, 4 state semifinal.GIRLS BASKETBALLOlivia Gamberoni scored 32 points as No. 3 Wahconah (20-3) adv...

Orioles World Baseball Classic roundup: Anthony Santander homers in Venezuela’s win over Dominican Republic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:30 GMT

Anthony Santander didn’t waste any time making his presence felt at the World Baseball Classic on Saturday.In his first plate appearance in Venezuela’s WBC opener, the Orioles’ right fielder smacked a solo home run in the second inning to help lead Venezuela to a 5-1 victory over the Dominican Republic.The blast tied the score at 1 after the Dominican Republic took the lead in the first inning. Santander turned on a 99 mph sinker from Sandy Alcántara, who was pitching in his home stadium in Miami’s LoanDepot Park, and deposited it 393 feet to right field.The long ball wasn’t Santander’s only highlight of the game, though. In the eighth inning, he made a crucial diving catch that stymied a potential Dominican Republic rally. The Dominican Republic had runners on first and second with one out, but Santander’s grab robbed Jeimer Candelario of a likely RBI hit.Santander then tripled in the bottom half of the eighth and scored on a single fr...

NFL Notes: Casting some doubt on Bill Belichick’s strategy with in-house free agents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:30 GMT

Over the years, Bill Belichick has had an interesting approach to dealing with the Patriots’ best in-house free agents.In short, it’s called rolling the dice.Instead of working out a deal before they officially hit the market, Belichick typically tells them to find their best offer, and come back before signing on the dotted line elsewhere. If the player returns, Belichick decides if he’ll increase his offer to either match or come close, and then it’s take-it-or-leave-it time for the player.“Their M.O. is always the same,” one agent told the Herald recently. “They’ll let a guy get close to free agency, and see what the market is. A lot of teams don’t like doing that. But the Patriots have never minded going that route.”In the past, Belichick’s strategy most notably worked with Devin McCourty, Dont’a Hightower, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater and David Andrews, to name a few.In McCourty’s case, it came down to the wire in 2015. It was nail-biting time. The Eagles, Giants ...

Howie Carr: Former Congressman Brian Donnelly, not a bad guy and worth remembering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:30 GMT

I don’t know how many people will even read this column, because I’m not sure if more than a handful of people even remember Brian Donnelly anymore.He was a former congressman and state rep from Dorchester who died last week, just a few days short of his 77th birthday.I hadn’t seen Donnelly in more than 30 years, and I’m not the only one who’d lost track of him. He left the US House in 1993 and served as an ambassador under Bill Clinton. In 1998 he came back to Massachusetts to run for governor and finished third in the Democrat primary with only 17 percent of the vote.It was the first time he’d ever lost an election, and it was his last. At the age of 52 Brian vanished, more or less, at least from public life. He’d been living in East Dennis, on the Brewster line.Like everyone who knew him, I liked Brian Donnelly, even though I didn’t know him very well. You couldn’t not like the guy. He was affable, unaffected, totally normal.They’re not making Democrats like Brian Donnelly anymor...