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Gaza destruction is unprecedented, says UN agency as it seeks fresh funds 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:12 GMT

BRUSSELS — The destruction caused by a month of intense fighting in Gaza is unprecedented, a senior official at the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees told POLITICO, as it seeks nearly $500 million in emergency funding to care for 730,000 people who have been driven from their homes.“It’s the scale, the intensity and the speed at which everything is unraveling that is unprecedented here,” Natalie Boucly of UNRWA said in an interview on a visit to Brussels to meet EU lawmakers and officials.UNRWA — the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East — provides food, shelter and medical services in the Gaza Strip. The massive military onslaught launched by the Israeli armed forces in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants has made the agency’s work extremely difficult — and lethally dangerous.Ninety-two U.N. workers have been killed and at least 26 injured in Gaza since the start of hostilities. The Hamas-r...

Right-wing Spanish politician shot in the face in Madrid

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:12 GMT

Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former head of Spain’s Popular Party in Catalonia, was shot in the face in Madrid on Thursday, reported Spanish media.Vidal-Quadra was reportedly struck in the face and neck around 1:30 p.m. in the Salamanca district of the Spanish capital. Spanish news agency EFE reported that he was approached by a motorcyclist and shot at point-blank range. The shooter remains at large. The Spanish politician, a former vice president of the European Parliament and early member of the far-right Vox party, was transferred to a local hospital, where he is currently “stable and conscious,” according to Spanish outlets.Police are investigating the shooting, and the reason for the attack is still unknown.

Macron calls on world to ‘work toward a cease-fire’ in Gaza

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:12 GMT

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron called Thursday for the world to strive to obtain a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, at the opening of a conference on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.In carefully calibrated remarks, Macron went further than before in calling for Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip to halt. “We need to work harder to protect civilians. We need a very quick humanitarian pause and we need to work toward a cease-fire,” he told delegates at the conference at the Elysée Palace.World leaders, ministers and foreign diplomats gathered in Paris for a summit billed as an opportunity to discuss concrete actions to get aid into Gaza and make pledges to fund aid operations. Only a trickle of aid is reaching the displaced populations in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues its retaliatory military operations and bombing campaign against the Hamas militant group.Many around the table called for urgent action and spoke of their con...

Eng Lays Out Plan To Eliminate MBTA Slow Zones By End Of 2024

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:12 GMT

Taking aim at an issue that has plagued service for eight months, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng on Thursday rolled out a comprehensive plan to repair tracks across the system and lift all speed restrictions by the end of 2024.The proposal would deploy nearly two dozen multi-day closures of segments on each of the four subway lines over the next 13 months, ranging in duration from four days to 21 days.Implementing that many closures would represent an unprecedented level of disruption, but it also reflects far more advance notice than MBTA officials have provided to riders in recent years and puts an estimated endpoint on the stretches of slow travel that have hamstrung travel.Altogether, the plan involves 19 days of proposed diversions in November and December, then 188 days of proposed diversions in 2024 to lift all speed restrictions that currently blanket about 23 percent of the system. MBTA modeling estimates that work would eliminate a total of 86 minutes of current delays acro...

Ravens vs. Browns scouting report for Week 10: Who has the edge?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:12 GMT

The Ravens made their case to be called the NFL’s best, dismantling the Seattle Seahawks, 37-3. The Browns smothered the Arizona Cardinals, 27-0. Who will have the advantage when these AFC North rivals meet for the second time this season?Ravens passing game vs. Browns pass defenseLamar Jackson didn’t complete a pass longer than 17 yards but performed efficiently against the Seahawks, completing 21 of 26 attempts for 187 yards while the Ravens’ ground game took center stage. Tight end Mark Andrews was his top target with nine catches on 10 targets for 80 yards. Andrews leads the team with six touchdown catches and 23 grabs for first downs. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. ran a nifty route to the corner of the end zone to catch his first Ravens touchdown from Jackson’s backup, Tyler Huntley, redeeming himself after a careless fumble just before halftime. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman broke free on a pair of deep routes in the first half, but Jackson overthrew h...

3 Chicago Cubs takeaways from GM meetings, including, the rotation after Marcus Stroman’s opt-out and Craig Counsell’s surprising departure

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:12 GMT

The annual MLB general managers meetings lay the groundwork for the rest of the offseason.The Chicago Cubs’ unexpected hiring of manager Craig Counsell added a wrinkle to what should have been an otherwise normal beginning to free agency. But it didn’t change the mission this week for President Jed Hoyer and the Cubs front office: getting an early feel for the free-agent market, the trade landscape and meeting with agents, including Scott Boras.As the Cubs prepare to formally introduce Counsell next week, here are three takeaways from the GM meetings.1. Craig Counsell’s departure to rival a surprise for Brewers GM.Thirty-six hours after the Chicago Cubs named Craig Counsell their manager, Brewers general manager Matt Arnold stated he was surprised by Counsell leaving Milwaukee for a division rival but still spoke highly of his friend.“From our perspective, it’s always been about people, that’s something Craig and I talked about a lot after working...

‘It’s not a well-rounded club’: Chris Getz gives a frank assessment of the Chicago White Sox, and more from the MLB GM meetings

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:12 GMT

General manager Chris Getz gave a frank assessment of the Chicago White Sox in the aftermath of a 101-loss season.“We have a talented group, there is no question,” Getz said Tuesday during the MLB general managers meetings at a resort in Paradise Valley, Ariz. “I don’t like our team, and we have to make some adjustments to improve in 2024.“When I say ‘I don’t like our team,’ we’ve got pieces that are talented and attractive and they can be part of a winning club, but obviously we haven’t gone out there and performed. It’s not a well-rounded club right now and so we’ve got to find players to come in here and help get us in the right direction.”Manager Pedro Grifol echoed Getz’s sentiments during a video conference call Tuesday.“When we talk about team, it’s not about one guy or two or five, it’s about 26 guys really loving to play with each other when that bell rings, and we didnR...

5 things to watch in the Chicago Bears-Carolina Panthers game — plus our Week 10 predictions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:12 GMT

The Chicago Bears will play their second Thursday night game of the season, welcoming the Carolina Panthers to Soldier Field. The teams were partners in the early March trade that sent the No. 1 pick to Carolina in exchange for wide receiver DJ Moore and four other draft selections.Now the Bears and Panthers, with a combined 3-15 record, will meet on the field in a prime-time clash. As kickoff nears, here’s our snapshot look at Thursday’s game.Player in the spotlightDJ MooreThe last time Moore played on a Thursday night, he owned the stage. Eight catches, 230 yards, three touchdowns in a blowout of the Washington Commanders. It was an explosive outing that represented just how good Moore can be and how valuable he is to the Bears offense.This Thursday night show at Soldier Field comes against Moore’s former team, with the 26-year-old receiver predictably downplaying the reunion and dismissing the idea he’ll have extra motivation.“The extra juice comes f...

Canada says it can fight climate change and be major oil nation. Massive fires may force a reckoning

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:12 GMT

FORT MCMURRAY, Canada (AP) — During a May wildfire that scorched a vast swath of spruce and pine forest in northwestern Canada, Julia Cardinal lost a riverside cabin that was many things to her: retirement project, gift from from her husband, and somewhere to live by nature, as her family had done for generations.“That was our dream home,” said Cardinal, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. “It’s like a displacement.”Thousands of wildfires in Canada this year have incinerated an area larger than Florida, releasing into the atmosphere more than three times the amount of carbon dioxide that is produced by Canada in an entire year. And some are still burning.Canadian leaders, including liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have long insisted the country can exploit its natural resources while protecting biodiversity and leading the global fight against climate change. But the seemingly endless fire season is putting a spotlight on two aspects of Canada that increasingly f...

Uzbekistan hosts summit of regional economic alliance

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:12 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — An economic bloc that includes several ex-Soviet nations along with Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey held a summit Thursday, with leaders vowing to further expand trade and economic ties.Members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), who met in Uzbekistan’s capital of Tashkent, discussed plans for speeding regional economic integration.They also talked about the need for increasing the ECO’s global profile through fostering regional and global partnerships. “Our vast region, which is home to half a billion people, has a great potential for developing cooperation in trade, economy, industry, investment, innovation and transport,” the summit’s host, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, said in a speech at the summit.He said it was important to “fully utilize the potential of transcontinental transport corridors that pass through our territories and link us with major markets in the Asia-Pacific region, South Asia, the Middle E...