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By Emma Farge and Nidal al-Mughrabi (Reuters) – Palestinian health authorities say Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza killed more than 46,600 people, with just over half of identified victims being women, children or older people. Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official briefed on the deal told Reuters on Wednesday, opening the way […]

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland’s two dominant centre-right parties agreed a coalition deal with enough independent lawmakers on Wednesday to return to power for another five years and continue their previous high spending economic policy. Here are some of the key details of their policy programme: ECONOMIC POLICY The incoming government has pledged to run budget surpluses and fund “appropriate” levels of current and capital expenditure growth, while also building up […]

Charlotte FC acquired veteran midfielder Eryk Williamson from the Portland Timbers on Wednesday. The Timbers receive up to $350,000 in general allocation money in exchange and will retain a sell-on percentage if Williamson is transferred outside of MLS. Williamson, 27, recorded six goals and 20 assists in 98 MLS matches (60 starts) with the Timbers from 2019-24. “He competed and broke through here as a young player, overcame difficult moments […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has rescheduled two games postponed due to catastrophic wildfires in Southern California, as well as a game postponed due to a winter storm in Atlanta. The league announced Wednesday that the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jan. 9 home game against the Charlotte Hornets will take place Feb. 19. The Hornets’ visit to the Los Angeles Clippers originally set for Jan. 11 will now be March […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has rescheduled two games postponed due to catastrophic wildfires in Southern California, as well as a game postponed due to a winter storm in Atlanta. The league announced Wednesday that the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jan. 9 home game against the Charlotte Hornets will take place Feb. 19. The Hornets’ visit to the Los Angeles Clippers originally set for Jan. 11 will now be March […]

A hip-hop superstar beef was cranked up another notch Wednesday when Drake sued Universal Music Group for defamation over rival Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.” The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges UMG published and promoted the track even though it included false pedophilia allegations against Drake and suggested listeners should resort to vigilante justice. Lamar is not named in the suit. The result, […]

A hip-hop superstar beef was cranked up another notch Wednesday when Drake sued Universal Music Group for defamation over rival Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.” The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges UMG published and promoted the track even though it included false pedophilia allegations against Drake and suggested listeners should resort to vigilante justice. Lamar is not named in the suit. The result, […]

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government confirmed Wednesday that it will not finalize a deal to hand over sovereignty of the contested Chagos Islands to Mauritius until President-elect Donald Trump’s administration is consulted. The governments of Britain and Mauritius have been negotiating in recent months to complete an agreement to settle the future of the disputed Indian Ocean archipelago, which is home to a strategically important U.K.-U.S. naval and bomber base. […]

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government confirmed Wednesday that it will not finalize a deal to hand over sovereignty of the contested Chagos Islands to Mauritius until President-elect Donald Trump’s administration is consulted. The governments of Britain and Mauritius have been negotiating in recent months to complete an agreement to settle the future of the disputed Indian Ocean archipelago, which is home to a strategically important U.K.-U.S. naval and bomber base. […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government clawed back more than $31 million in Social Security payments that improperly went to dead people, a recovery that one official said Wednesday was “just the tip of the iceberg.” The money was reclaimed as part of a five-month pilot program after Congress gave the Department of Treasury temporary access to the Social Security Administration ‘s “Full Death Master File” for three years as […]