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Bridge: Dec. 17, 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:50:14 GMT

A pessimist sees a tunnel; an optimist sees a light at the end of the tunnel. A realist sees a train approaching. And, according to Cy the Cynic, the engineer sees three idiots standing on the track.When I watched today’s deal in my club’s penny game, Cy became declarer at four hearts. His second bid of three hearts was competitive, not forcing, but North inferred from his spade holding that Cy’s hand was short in spades; so North optimistically raised to game.Alas, Cy’s play was neither optimistic nor realistic. When West led a spade, East won and shifted to his singleton queen of clubs. West took the ace and led the jack, and Cy scowled when East ruffed dummy’s king. Cy ruffed the next spade, led to the ace of trumps and returned a trump. When East followed with the eight and nine, the Cynic consulted the ceiling … and put up his king. Alas, West discarded, and East’s queen won the setting trick.“It was a clean guess in trumps,”...

Japan and ASEAN bolster ties at a summit focused on security and economy amid tensions with China

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:50:14 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Leaders from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, at a special summit in Tokyo on Sunday, adopted a joint vision that emphasizes security and economic cooperation while respecting the rule of law, amid growing tensions with China in regional seas.Ties between Japan and the 10-member ASEAN bloc used to be largely based on Japanese assistance to the developing economies, in part due to lingering bitterness over Japan’s wartime actions. But in recent years the relationship has focused more on security amid China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, while Japan’s postwar pacifist stance and trust-building efforts have fostered friendlier relations.The summit marks the 50th anniversary of official Japan-ASEAN ties, which started in 1973 with trade talks over Japanese synthetic rubber exportsThe leaders, in a joint statement, called for strengthening their “mutually beneficial” partnership and working together for peace and stability in the Indo-Pa...

Los servicios de salud mental de Israel no pueden hacer frente al trauma masivo del 7 de octubre. Los voluntarios están tratando de llenar los vacíos

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:50:14 GMT

(CNN) — Cuando Marina Golan viajó a Ucrania a principios de este año, fue una experiencia emotiva. Ahora, con 42 años y madre de dos hijos, había abandonado el país cuando era adolescente cuando su familia emigró a Israel.Golan formaba parte de una delegación de psicólogos israelíes que se habían ofrecido como voluntarios para apoyar al país devastado por la guerra con su experiencia en el tratamiento del trauma.Mientras estuvieron allí, impartieron talleres a médicos y profesores sobre el manejo psicológico del trauma.“Fue muy emotivo y sentí que estábamos haciendo cosas muy importantes. Nuestros colegas en Ucrania no tenían este tipo de conocimiento, así que nos estaban muy agradecidos”, dijo Golan a CNN en una entrevista telefónica.Apenas unas semanas después, la situación se revirtió. “Cuando comenzó la guerra (Israel-Hamas) recibí mensajes de mis colegas en Ucrania preguntándome si necesitaba su ayuda ahora”, contó Golan.Al igual que otros profesionales de la ...

Putin has ‘no interest’ in attacking NATO, calls Biden’s warning ‘nonsense’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:50:14 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow has “no interest” in attacking a NATO member and called U.S. President Joe Biden’s warning that Russia would do so if it wins the war in Ukraine “complete nonsense.”Biden earlier this month warned that “if Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there,” and will attack NATO countries resulting in “American troops fighting Russian troops.”Putin said Biden’s words were just an attempt to support “mistaken policy” toward Russia and the war in Ukraine.“It is complete nonsense — and I think President Biden understands that,” Putin said during an interview published Sunday by Rossiya state television.“Russia has no reason, no interest — no geopolitical interest, neither economic, political nor military — to fight with NATO countries,” Putin said.In the interview, Putin also warned of “problems” with Finland after the EU country joined NATO.“Did we have any disputes with them? All disputes, including territorial ones in the mid-20th century, ha...

Police: Pedestrian struck, critically injured by commercial vehicle in East Boston

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:50:14 GMT

A police investigation is underway in East Boston after a pedestrian was struck by a commercial vehicle, officials said.Officers responding to the area of Chelsea and Curtis streets around 5:40 a.m. found the victim suffering from life-threatening injuries, according to police.Officers could be seen conducting an investigation in a taped-off section of the roadway.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

UK parliamentarian admits lying about lucrative pandemic contracts but says she’s done nothing wrong

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:50:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A member of Britain’s House of Lords has acknowledged that she repeatedly lied about her links to a company that was awarded lucrative government contracts to supply protective masks and gowns during the coronavirus pandemic.Underwear tycoon Michelle Mone said she had made an “error” in denying connections to the company PPE Medpro and regretted threatening to sue journalists who alleged she had ties to the firm. Her husband, Doug Barrowman, has acknowledged he led the consortium that owns the company.“I did make an error in saying to the press that I wasn’t involved,” Mone said in a BBC interview broadcast Sunday. “Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I wasn’t trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, and I regret and I’m sorry for not saying straight out, ‘Yes, I am involved.’”Mone admitted she is a beneficiary of her husband’s financial trusts, which hold about 60 million pounds ($76 million) in profits from the deal.But she argued that the couple were being made “scap...

Ex-Jesuit’s religious community in Slovenia ordered to dissolve in one year over widespread abuse

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:50:14 GMT

ROME (AP) — The Vatican has decided to shut down a Slovenian-based female religious community founded by a controversial ex-Jesuit artist accused by some women of spiritual, psychological and sexual abuses.The archdiocese of Ljubljana, Slovenia said in a statement Friday that the Loyola Community would have one year to implement the Oct.20 decree ordering its dissolution. The reason given was because of “serious problems concerning the exercise of authority and the way of living together.”The dissolution of the community was the latest chapter in the saga of the Rev. Marko Rupnik, a once-famous Jesuit artist and preacher whose mosaics decorate churches and basilicas around the world.He had founded the Loyola Community in the 1980s with a nun. But recently, former members of the community came forward to say he had spiritually, sexually and psychologically abused them. In 2020, he was declared excommunicated by the Vatican for committing one of the gravest crimes in the church’...

Pope Francis’ 87th birthday closes out a big year of efforts to reform the church, cement his legacy

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:50:14 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis turned 87 on Sunday, closing out a year that saw big milestones in his efforts to reform the Catholic Church as well as health scares that raise questions about his future as pope.Francis celebrated his birthday with cake during a festive audience with children Sunday morning, and there were “Happy Birthday” banners in St. Peter’s Square during his weekly noon blessing.One early present came Saturday, when a Vatican tribunal handed down a mix of guilty verdicts and acquittals in a complicated trial that Francis had supported as evidence of his financial reforms. The biggest-name defendant, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison.“It was quite a year for a pope who’s obviously thinking about legacy and finishing up,” said Christopher Bellitto, professor of history at Kean University in New Jersey.Only seven popes are known to have been older than Francis at the time of their deaths, according to the o...

European diplomacy steps up calls for Gaza cease-fire

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:50:14 GMT

Some of Israel’s closest European allies pressed for a cease-fire in the war with Hamas on Sunday, underscoring growing international unease with the devastating impact of the conflict on Gaza’s civilian population.The concerted push by top European diplomats comes ahead of a visit to Israel on Monday by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is also expected to put pressure on Israeli leaders to end the war’s most intense phase and transit to a more targeted strategy against Hamas.Western allies of Israel have increasingly expressed concern with civilian casualties and the mass displacement of 1.9 million Palestinians — nearly 85% of Gaza’s population — though the U.S. has continued to provide vital military and diplomatic support to its close ally.In a joint article in the Sunday Times, a British weekly, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock called for a cease-fire and said “too many civilians have been killed. The Israeli gov...

Quebec’s electricity ambitions reopen old wounds in Newfoundland and Labrador

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:50:14 GMT

MONTREAL — As Quebec prepares to ramp up electricity production to meet its ambitious economic goals, the government is trying to extend a power deal that has caused decades of resentment in Newfoundland and Labrador.Around 15 per cent of Quebec’s electricity comes from the Churchill Falls dam in Labrador, through a deal set to expire in 2041 that is widely seen as unfair. Quebec Premier François Legault not only wants to extend the agreement, he wants another dam on the Churchill River to help make his province what he has called a “world leader for the green economy.”But renewing that contract “won’t be easy,” Normand Mousseau, scientific director of the Trottier Energy Institute at Polytechnique Montréal, said in a recent interview. Extending the Churchill Falls deal is not essential to meet Quebec’s energy plans, but without it, Mousseau said, “we would have some problems.”The Legault government is enticing global companies, ...