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EU halts Palestinian funding following Hamas attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:48 GMT

BRUSSELS — The EU has put funding for the Palestinian Authority on hold following this weekend’s terror attack by Hamas in Israel.EU Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi announced that the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio — totaling €691 million — under review, with all payments immediately suspended.“The foundations for peace, tolerance and co-existence must now be addressed. Incitement to hatred, violence and glorification of terror have poisoned the minds of too many,” the Hungarian commissioner said. “We need action and we need it now.”The move comes as Germany and Austria announced the suspension of aid to the Palestinian territories.The surprise attack by Hamas — the armed Palestinian group that has been designated a terrorist organization by the EU — caught much of the world by surprise, killing some 700 Israelis, with 400 Palestinians killed in retaliation strikes.The EU announcement opens a debate that has long been a concern for Israel — ou...

Chicago Blackhawks aim for stability with new broadcast teams, but they’re also ready to ‘spice it up’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:48 GMT

Before every Chicago Blackhawks home game, they show the team’s starting lineup on the big video board.Last season, Hawks fans watching from home could’ve used a lineup for the TV booth and studio crew.Would play-by-play announcer Chris Vosters be joined by Patrick Sharp or Troy Murray?Would Murray be in the TV booth or on the radio with John Wiedeman?Would Wiedeman share the radio booth that night with Caley Chelios, or would she be in the NBC Sports Chicago studio with Pat Boyle?You could find Colby Cohen either in-studio, between the benches or, on occasion, in the booth. Did he get to claim mileage on his legs?Former Hawks goalie Scott Darling may have occupied the same chair in the studio, but his role on the broadcast was a moving target.No local TV lineup is the same for all local broadcasts, but even the Hawks and members of the crew admit they struggled for continuity and chemistry, so the changes they made in the offseason amount to more than just a few tweak...

Powerball jackpot grows to $1.55 billion for Monday; cash option worth $679.8 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:48 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1.55 billion for Monday night’s drawing after no one matched the game’s six numbers for the giant prize Saturday.The $1.55 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 30 years. Most jackpot winners opt for cash, which would be an estimated $679.8 million.The jackpot is now the fourth-largest U.S. lottery prize after rolling over for 34 consecutive drawings, since the last time someone won the top prize on July 19. That streak trails the record of 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022. The largest U.S. jackpot ever was a $2.04 billion Powerball prize hit by a player in California in November 2022.The scarcity of Powerball jackpot winners reflects the game’s long odds of 1 in 292.2 million, which are designed to make winning rare so that grand prizes can grow huge.Federal taxes eat into the winnings, and some states also tax big lottery prizes..Powerball is played in...

Is Mar-a-Lago worth $1 billion? Trump’s winter home valuations are at the core of his fraud trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:48 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — How much is Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago worth? That’s been a point of contention after a New York judge ruled that the former president exaggerated the Florida property’s value when he said it’s worth at least $420 million and perhaps $1.5 billion.Siding with New York’s attorney general in a lawsuit accusing Trump of grossly overvaluing his assets, Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump consistently exaggerated Mar-a-Lago’s worth. He noted that one Trump estimate of the club’s value was 2,300% times the Palm Beach County tax appraiser’s valuations, which ranged from $18 million to $37 million.But Palm Beach real estate agents who specialize in high-end properties scoffed at the idea that the estate could be worth that little, in the unlikely event Trump ever sold.“Ludicrous,” agent Liza Pulitzer said about the judge citing the county’s tax appraisal as a benchmark. Homes a tenth the size of Mar-a-Lago on tiny ...

2 Pakistani soldiers and 5 insurgents are killed in a shootout on the border with Afghanistan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:48 GMT

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A group of Pakistani Taliban ambushed troops during an operation against insurgents on the border with Afghanistan on Monday, triggering a shootout that killed an army major, a junior officer and five militants, the military and a militant spokesman said.The shootout happened in the district Zhob in Baluchistan province, the military said in a statement.Pakistani Taliban in a statement claimed responsibility for attacking the troops.The Pakistani Taliban are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and are a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who in August 2021 seized Afghanistan as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban, who have stepped up attacks against police and troops across the country, including Baluchistan. TTP also enjoy backing from local separatist groups who have also waged a low-level insurgen...

Deal struck on contentious road in divided Cyprus that triggered an assault against UN peacekeepers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:48 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in ethnically split Cyprus said Monday that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots have reached an “understanding” over a contentious road inside a U.N.-controlled buffer zone whose construction had stirred up tensions not seen in years.U.N. envoy Colin Stewart said a “few modalities” were still being discussed, although the framework of the deal would take effect right away.Cyprus government officials said the deal meets the Turkish Cypriot demand for construction of the road linking the village of Arsos, in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, inside the buffer zone and abutting the Greek Cypriot south, where the island’s internationally recognized government is seated.But Turkish military guard posts inside the buffer zone will be removed, there will be no Turkish or Turkish Cypriot military or police presence permitted there and the U.N.’s jurisdiction of t...

Police to expand presence downtown ahead of planned protests around Israel-Hamas war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:48 GMT

Demonstrations are expected on Monday in downtown Toronto as the war in the Middle East intensifies.Police announced officers will be present at Mel Lastman Square and Nathan Phillips Square to ensure the crowds stay safe and the demonstrations are peaceful.Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue will provide an update on the planned demonstrations at 11:30 a.m. Monday.Drivers and pedestrians are advised to expect traffic delays and congestion in the city because of the large gatherings.Israel formally declared war on Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for the surprise attack on Saturday.More than 1,100 people have been killed and thousands wounded on both sides. Major airlines have suspended flights to Israel.Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow issued a statement, saying she is aware of the unsanctioned rally at Nathan Phillips Square.“The Government of Canada has rightly listed Hamas as a terrorist organization and we simply must ...

1 man injured in shooting at Brampton home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:48 GMT

One person is in hospital following a shooting at a Brampton home on Sunday night.Police were called to a residence on Remembrance Road around 9:30 p.m.Officers found a man with serious injuries and he was taken to a trauma centre for treatment.Another man has been arrested.It is unclear if the two men were known to each other and no further details about the victim are available at this time.

Bob Odenkirk used to make up zany poems. He and his daughter Erin have turned them into a kids’ book

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:48 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bob Odenkirk has known he wanted to immortalize the playful poems he created with his kids since they were first scribbled down years ago.The Emmy-nominated actor always assumed “Zilot & Other Important Rhymes,” hitting shelves Tuesday, would be a project he completed once his son and daughter had long been out of the house. “Maybe when I was a grandpa,” he mused.But when the entire family hunkered down under the same roof for the better part of 2020, he and his daughter Erin, the younger of the two siblings, wanted to create something that fosters wonder and joy in children in the midst of abundant despair.“We tried to make the most of the limitations, the situation. But you know, that was a hard time for everyone in the country,” Odenkirk recalled of the coronavirus pandemic. “Erin’s an illustrator and an artist. And I thought, ‘Let’s just get to work on that book.’”So they dusted off the whimsical rhymes they had collaborated on nearly two decades ago. Oden...

Man sexually assaulted girl, 9, as she shopped with her mother: Toronto police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:48 GMT

Toronto police are trying to identify a man wanted in the alleged sexual assault of a young girl as she shopped with her mother at Dufferin Mall.Investigators were notified of a sexual assault just after 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 7, in the Dufferin Street and Bloor Street West area.Police said a mother and her 9-year-old daughter were shopping when an unknown man approached the girl from behind and sexually assaulted her.The girl’s mother confronted the man, who then fled.The man is described as 40 to 50 years old, around six feet, with long brown hair in a ponytail, unshaven facial hair and black teeth.He was last seen wearing a black shirt, jeans, and light-coloured running shoes with green soles.Police have released images of the suspect.