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Damage to Gaza War Cemetery shows challenge of caring for monuments in conflict zones

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:49:51 GMT

This Remembrance Day, the Gaza War Cemetery – where nearly two dozen Canadians are buried – is closed to visitors as the Israel-Hamas war enters its sixth week. So are all other cemeteries and memorials in the Palestinian territories and Israel maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which has been taking care of monuments around the world for more than a century. “The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is concerned by the recent damage at the Gaza War Cemetery, where 3,217 Commonwealth casualties from the First and Second World War are commemorated,” a spokesperson for the commission told The Canadian Press in an email. “We are monitoring the situation closely and are working to support all our dedicated colleagues and their families in the region. Their safety remains our foremost concern.”The extent of the damage to the cemetery located in Gaza City is unclear. The commission said that it’s “currently not in a position to comment”...

‘It still haunts me’: Military veterans keen to share their history as numbers drop

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:49:51 GMT

CALGARY — The time around Remembrance Day is tough for Second World War veterans like Hank Jackson, who turns 103 in January. “It’s the only time you really stop and think about all the poor buggers that didn’t make it,” said Jackson, a former tail gunner on a Halifax bomber. Jackson flew 32 combat missions from the United Kingdom. All members of his crew received Distinguished Flying Crosses from the United States Armed Forces.“They’ve all disappeared. My father and my brother were both in the army overseas — my father in the First World War — and all three of us made it back. So we did above average. We gotta remember a lot of those guys that didn’t.”Bill Cook, who is 98 and was also a tail gunner in the Second World War, flew a dozen missions over Europe.“My crew have all passed away. It still haunts me.”More than one million Canadians served in the Second World War. More than 45,000 died and another 55,000 were wounded....

Daily horoscope for November 10, 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:49:51 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Libra.Happy Birthday for Friday, Nov. 10, 2023:You are self-aware. You know your strengths and weaknesses, which gives you a realistic advantage in life. You are warm, kind and reliable. This year is the beginning of a new cycle for you, which means you can expect adventure and major changes in your life. Open any door!ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★Avoid controversial subjects like politics and religion, because you will quickly be fighting. The definition of prejudice is “a preconceived opinion not based on reason or actual experience.” Therefore, an appeal to reason to deal with someone’s prejudice is very difficult. Tonight: Listen.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★Today you might have disputes with someone about shared property, taxes, debt, mortgages, inheritances or any kind of agreement that deals with wealth and possessions. This might even be a disagreement about responsibi...

Tourism trips recover strongly, business travel struggles

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:49:51 GMT

In 2022, EU residents made 1.08 billion tourism trips with at least one overnight stay, indicating a +23% (+202 million) increase compared with 2021, the same percentage raise also registered between 2020 and 2021. Out of the total, most of the trips in 2022 (976 million, representing 91% of the total) were made for personal reasons and the remaining 100 million were professional trips. Both sectors grew from the previous year: +43% in business trips (+30 million) and +21% on trips for personal reasons (+171 million). However, compared with 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, the recovery was faster for personal trips (-4%) than for business travel (-20%). Compared with 2013, trips for personal reasons went up by 6% (+55 million), while trips for professional reasons decreased by 15% (-18 million). Source dataset: tour_dem_tttotEU residents spent an average of €87 per night on overnight staysIn terms of expenditure, EU residents spent an average of €87 per night w...

Harriette Cole: Ever since I committed to being happy, my life has been a trainwreck

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:49:51 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: Since August, I have committed myself to peace and happiness. Unfortunately, since doing this, every trial and trouble has been presented at my doorstep.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: Does my husband’s full-time job exempt him from child care? Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m staggered by my boyfriend’s rule for living together Advice | Harriette Cole: How can I extract myself from my teen romance? Advice | Harriette Cole: She told a lie about me that broke our friendship. How do I deal with this? Advice | Harriette Cole: Nobody is doing anything about my abusive boss What are the best ways to handle tribulations while trying to remain in a positive and serene place mentally and emotionally? Any advice will be helpful.— Searching for HappinessDEAR SEARCHING FOR HAPPINESS: I believe there is a Bible verse that says that the closer you get to being in union wit...

Miss Manners: I was at the game, too, but I lied to my friend about it

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:49:51 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a fan of a local sports team, and I have a friend with season tickets. Any time they are unable to attend, they offer to sell me the tickets.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: My neighbor is convinced I’m making this noise. How do I get him to drop it? Advice | Miss Manners: My wife rebuked cinema patrons who walked in front of us. Who was rude? Advice | Miss Manners: The host seemed put out by the guests’ sober dress. Were they rude? Advice | Miss Manners: Should I have done something about this shopper’s bad behavior? Advice | Miss Manners: How do I keep my wife’s art off our walls without a blowup? The problem is that they want to sell them to me at full price, when I can easily go online and purchase tickets on the secondhand market for much cheaper. This makes me feel taken advantage of.When we come together later to talk about the game, I am uncom...

Dear Abby: At 3 a.m. there were two strange girls in my house

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:49:51 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My husband is deceased. I have two grandsons (42 and 39) and a great-grandson (24) living with me. None are married. I do not allow overnight guests.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: My son is in tears when my mother tells him he must walk Advice | Dear Abby: The thoughtless grandchildren won’t be happy about this gift Advice | Dear Abby: I like to video people who are behaving badly Advice | Dear Abby: The rest of the book club is appalled by the woman I invited Advice | Dear Abby: My sister-in-law always has ‘other plans.’ Should I stop asking? This morning at 3, I heard a girl come upstairs from the downstairs bedroom to get another girl. I was livid.Am I wrong to give them walking papers? I’ve told them before this was a no-no.They thought I was asleep. (I was reading.)— CAUGHT ‘EM IN ILLINOISDEAR CAUGHT ‘EM: If you prefer not to have men mating ...

France blames Russia for a digital effort to whip up online controversy over Stars of David graffiti

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:49:51 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France says it has been the target of a Russian online destabilization campaign that used bots to whip up controversy and confusion about spray-painted Stars of David that appeared on Paris streets and fed alarm about surging antisemitism in France during the Israel-Hamas war.The 250 or so quickly erased blue stars are now the subject of French police investigations seeking to determine whether the graffiti were antisemitic, as Paris’ police chief and others initially suspected, and if they were organized from outside France. The stars’ stenciling on walls in Paris and its suburbs last month quickly fomented debate and alarm on social media and concerns about the safety of France’s Jewish community, the largest in Europe.Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, triggering their latest and deadliest war, French authorities have counted more than 1,150 antisemitic acts. That’s nearly three times more than all acts against French Jews in 2022, the Int...

British judge says Prince Harry’s lawsuit against Daily Mail publisher can go to trial

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:49:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British judge ruled Friday that a lawsuit by Prince Harry, Elton John and five other celebrities accusing a newspaper publisher of unlawful information-gathering should go to a full trial.The claimants, who include John’s husband David Furnish and actors Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, accuse the publisher of the Daily Mail of paying private investigators to illegally bug homes and cars and to record phone conversations.Harry said the publisher targeted him and the people closest to him by unlawfully hacking voicemails, tapping landlines, obtaining itemized phone bills and the flight information of his then-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy.The publisher, Associated Newspapers Ltd., asked the judge to throw out the case. At hearings in March its lawyers argued that the claims -– which date as far back as 1993 — were brought too late and that claimants were relying on confidential evidence the papers turned over to a 2012 public inquiry into tabloid wrongdoing.Judge Matthew N...

Drinks giant Diageo sees share price slide after warning about sales in Caribbean and Latin America

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:49:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Spirits and beer giant Diageo PLC saw billions wiped off its market value on Friday after it warned that a sharp slowdown in its business in Latin America and the Caribbean was hitting sales and potential profits.In early trading in London, the company’s share price was down by 14% after it told investors that it expects growth in the first half of the current financial year to be slower than the previous half-year. It blamed a “materially weaker” outlook in Latin America and the Caribbean as a result of “macroeconomic pressures” and customers downtrading to cheaper products. The region accounts for around 11% of Diageo’s total sales.That was a surprise for investors as the company, which counts Johnnie Walker whisky, Captain Morgan rum and Guinness among its stable of brands, had previously indicated a “gradual improvement” in sales growth.The group highlighted that it still expects an improvement in growth in North America, while its businesses in E...