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Voter apathy and concerns about violence mark Iraqi’s first provincial elections in a decade

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqis began voting for the first time in a decade Saturday to select new provincial council members, who in turn will appoint governors, with the outcome seen as a bellwether for the parliamentary elections due to take place in 2025.Saturday’s vote was restricted to military and security personnel and internally displaced people living in camps, with the main polling set to take place on Monday. Results are expected to be announced Tuesday.Concerns were raised about a low voter turnout and potential violence spreading in the long-awaited polls taking place in the country’s 18 provinces. The powerful Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr — who officially resigned from politics in 2022 amid a lengthy deadlock over cabinet formation — has called on his supporters to boycott the provincial elections, saying that their participation would reinforce the dominance of a corrupt political class.A widespread boycott would “reduce the legitimacy of the elections in...

Kuwait’s ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, dies at age 86

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait’s ruling emir, the 86-year-old Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, died Saturday. Kuwait state television broke into programming with Quranic verses just before a somber official made the announcement. “With great sadness and sorrow, we — the Kuwaiti people, the Arab and Islamic nations, and the friendly peoples of the world — mourn the late His Highness the emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who passed away to his Lord today,” Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Al Sabah, the minister of his emiri court, read the brief statement. Authorities gave no cause of death.Kuwait’s deputy ruler and his half-brother, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber, now 83, is believed to be the world’s oldest crown prince. He is in line to take over as Kuwait’s ruler.In late November, Sheikh Nawaf was rushed to hospital for an unspecified illness. In the time since, the tiny, oil-rich nation had been waiting for news about his health. State-run news previou...

Bridge: Dec. 16, 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

“It was a Christmas miracle,” Unlucky Louie told me. “Actually, it was a double miracle. When I took the tree lights out of the box I stored them in last year, they weren’t all tangled up. And not only that, they still work!”Louie’s providence didn’t last in today’s deal. After he and North bid to a 28-point slam, West led the queen of diamonds. Louie took dummy’s ace, drew trumps, cashed the A-K of clubs, ruffed a club, went to the king of hearts and ruffed a club. Then the last club was good, but dummy had no more entries. Louie lost a diamond and a heart.CLUB RUFFSLouie makes six spades if he untangles his entries. After winning the first trick, he must start the clubs immediately: ace, king, club ruff. He leads a trump to dummy’s ace and ruffs a club. Then Louie can draw trumps and go to the king of hearts to take the good club for his 12th trick.“I’m hoping for another miracle,” Louie said to me. “Maybe for once, my family won’t get into some kind of argument all day on Christm...

Horoscopes Dec. 16, 2023: Benjamin Bratt, trust your instincts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Hallee Hirsh, 36; Benjamin Bratt, 60; Sam Robards, 62; Billy Gibbons, 74.Happy Birthday: Maintenance will keep you balanced and encourage personal growth and a better understanding of what’s important to you and how to move forward with integrity and peace of mind. Dig deep within for answers instead of relying on outsiders to offer a perspective that doesn’t address what’s necessary or meaningful to you. Trust your instincts, follow your heart and choose your path based on your needs. Your numbers are 7, 15, 23, 29, 32, 37, 43.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Idleness will work against you. Too much time to mull over an incident or situation will lead to confusion and poor decisions. Focus on what others expect of you and how to reach your demands quickly and at a minimal cost. 4 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Think about every matter before you make a move. Someone will give you the wrong information or impression if you don’t questi...

Word Game: Dec. 16, 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — INDIRECT (INDIRECT: in-dih-REKT: Not proceeding straight to the point or object; roundabout.)Average mark 42 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 56 or more words in INDIRECT? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — ALPHABET abate abet ablate able alpha late lath lathe leap leapt palate pale pate path peal peat pelt petal plat plate plea pleat hale halt hate heal heap heat help bale bate bath bathe beat belt beta blah blat bleat table tape tealTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explic...

Ask Amy: Could my mother really believe I owe it to her to have children?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

Dear Amy: My husband and I have been married for several years. We’re really happy, with successful careers, a house we enjoy, and two dogs we love.Related ArticlesAdvice | Ask Amy: I was surprised by my brother’s advice about my girlfriend. Was he right? Advice | Ask Amy: I’m uncomfortable about my husband’s DNA test request Advice | Ask Amy: He says I’m not small enough to marry Advice | Ask Amy: I’m a big tipper, and I want to be thanked for it Advice | Ask Amy: The teachers won’t explain why they call my son disrespectful We honestly love our lives and are not sure about having children. We’re not ruling it out, but we’re also not ruling it in.Lately my mother has been starting to pressure us. This started out subtly, but then the pressure seemed to grow until over Thanksgiving, when she actually said, out loud, “You owe me grandchildren.”I was upset and have becom...

How to Authenticate Large Datasets

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

Unlike any other point in history, hackers, whistleblowers, and archivists now routinely make off with terabytes of data from governments, corporations, and extremist groups. These datasets often contain gold mines of revelations in the public interest and in many cases are freely available for anyone to download. Revelations based on leaked datasets can change the course of history. In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg’s leak of military documents known as the Pentagon Papers led to the end of the Vietnam War. The same year, an underground activist group called the Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI broke into a Federal Bureau of Investigation field office, stole secret documents, and leaked them to the media. This dataset mentioned COINTELPRO. NBC reporter Carl Stern used Freedom of Information Act requests to publicly reveal that COINTELPRO was a secret FBI operation devoted to surveilling, infiltrating, and discrediting left-wing political groups. This stolen FBI dataset also ...

Montgomery Co. deal with biotech company to bring parking garage, affordable housing to Silver Spring

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

A rendering of the upcoming United Therapeutics campus in Silver Spring. (Courtesy Montgomery County)Changes are coming for those who live or work in Silver Spring, Maryland, thanks to a new partnership.Montgomery County announced Friday that it has signed a $100 million deal with United Therapeutics Corporation to expand the company’s development of drug and manufactured organs for transplants research in the county.Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said the project will bring more jobs and housing to the area.The partnership is also set to bring a new public parking garage to Georgia Avenue, a state-of-the art fiber hub and relocate the Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s parking operations facility to a renovated facility at 9150 Brookville Road. The site of the new parking garage includes a plot of land designated for a future affordable housing development in Silver Spring.United Therapeutics will be required to invest at least $50 million toward ...

Kuwait state television says the country’s ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has died at age 86

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait state television says the country’s ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has died at age 86.Source

“La semana pasada teníamos esperanza”: las conmovedoras palabras de las familias de los rehenes a los que el ejército israelí mató por accidente

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

(CNN) — Los familiares de los tres rehenes muertos en Gaza por disparos de las tropas israelíes habían hablado regularmente con la televisión y los sitios web de noticias israelíes desde octubre, compartiendo sus sentimientos y pidiendo la liberación de sus parientes.“Durante el día estoy ocupado con las comunicaciones y las relaciones públicas. Por la noche, en mi cama, desahogo mi dolor”, declaró Avi Shimriz, padre de Alon, al Canal 12 de Israel a principios de esta semana.“Mi mujer la mayor parte del día está sentada llorando”, añadió.La familia Shimriz vivía en el kibutz Kfar Aza, donde Alon fue capturado el 7 de octubre. Muchos de los habitantes de los kibutzim cercanos al perímetro de Gaza habían sido partidarios de la coexistencia con los palestinos, un sentimiento que Shimriz había expresado.“Somos un kibutz que desea la paz. No tengo ninguna duda [de que hay alguien con quien hablar al otro lado]. No todo el mundo es Yahya Sinwar”, ...