live casino in philadelphia WASHINGTON (AP) — A lead organization monitoring for food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north Gaza under what it called Israel's “near-total blockade,” after the U.S. asked for its retraction, U.S. officials told the Associated Press. The move follows public criticism of the report from the U.S. ambassador to Israel. The rare public dispute drew accusations from prominent aid and human-rights figures that the work of the U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning System Network , meant to reflect the opinion of unbiased international experts, has been tainted by politics. A declaration of famine would be a great embarrassment for Israel, which has insisted that its 15-month war in Gaza is aimed against the Hamas militant group and not against its civilian population.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — The first woman to command Canada's military called out a U.S. senator on Saturday for questioning the role of women in combat. Gen. Jennie Carignan responded to comments made by Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch , the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who was asked on Friday whether President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth , should retract comments that he believes men and women should not serve together in combat units . “I think it’s delusional for anybody to not agree that women in combat creates certain unique situations that have to be dealt with. I think the jury’s still out on how to do that," Risch said during a panel session at the Halifax International Security Forum on Friday. Carignan, Canada's chief of defense staff and the first woman to command the armed forces of any Group of 20 or Group of Seven country, took issue with those remarks during a panel session on Saturday. "If you’ll allow me, I would first like maybe to respond to Senator Risch’s statement yesterday about women in combat because I wouldn’t want anyone to leave this forum with this idea that women are a distraction to defense and national security," Carignan said. “After 39 years of career as a combat arms officer and risking my life in many operations across the world, I can’t believe that in 2024, we still have to justify the contribution of women to their defense and to their service, in their country. I wouldn’t want anyone to leave this forum with this idea that this is that it is some kind of social experiment.” Carignan said women have participating in combat for hundreds of years but have never been recognized for fighting for their country. She noted the women military personnel in the room. “All the women sitting here in uniform, stepping in, and deciding to get into harm’s way and fight for their country, need to be recognized for doing so," she said. “So again, this is the distraction, not the women themselves." Carignan received a standing ovation at the forum, which attracts defense and security officials from Western democracies. Hegseth has reignited a debate that many thought had been long settled: Should women be allowed to serve their country by fighting on the front lines? The former Fox News commentator made it clear, in his own book and in interviews, that he believes men and women should not serve together in combat units . If Hegseth is confirmed by the Senate, he could try to end the Pentagon’s nearly decade-old practice of making all combat jobs open to women. Hegseth’s remarks have generated a barrage of praise and condemnation. Carignan was promoted to the rank of general during the change-of-command ceremony this past summer, after being chosen by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to become Canada’s first female defense chief. Carignan is no stranger to firsts. She was also the first woman to command a combat unit in the Canadian military, and her career has included deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Syria. For the last three years, she has been the chief of professional conduct and culture, a job created as a result of the sexual misconduct scandal in 2021. Her appointment this year comes as Canada continues to face criticism from NATO allies for not spending 2% of its gross domestic product on defense. The Canadian government recently said that it would reach its NATO commitment by 2032. Risch said Friday Trump would laugh at Canada’s current military spending plans and said the country must do more.

ROBERT HARDMAN: Raw emotion, even tears, as tractor convoy of despairing farmers besieges Westminster By ROBERT HARDMAN FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 22:20, 11 December 2024 | Updated: 22:25, 11 December 2024 e-mail 13 View comments Behind the banners, bravado and competitive horn-honking, there was plenty of raw emotion on display again at yesterday's latest show of agricultural strength in the heart of Westminster. Inside Parliament, we saw the president of the National Farmers' Union, Tom Bradshaw, close to tears as he told MPs that some farmers were even contemplating suicide because of the 'awful, awful, unacceptable position' created by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves , and her surprise imposition of inheritance tax on family farms. It was not about money, Mr Bradshaw explained. 'This is a lifetime of work. It's the heritage and the custodianship...' An awkward silence hung over the Environment Select Committee as he ran out of words. Outside Downing Street , farmers laid a wreath at the gates. This was, they explained, in memory of the handful of farmers whose recent deaths at their own hands have been linked to the turmoil induced by Labour 's plans. Nor was this a stunt, whatever cynical urban Lefties might say. Those who work on the welfare side of this solitary and financially precarious industry predict more tragedies. I spotted one woman in floods of tears as the wreath was laid. Behind the banners, bravado and competitive horn-honking, there was plenty of raw emotion on display again at yesterday's latest show of agricultural strength in the heart of Westminster. Pictured: Tractors fill Whitehall today to protest inheritance tax Outside Downing Street, farmers laid a wreath at the gates. This was, they explained, in memory of the handful of farmers whose recent deaths at their own hands have been linked to the turmoil induced by Labour's plans. Pictured: Farmer's daughters Amy and Ellie Deacon from St Alban's nside Parliament, we saw the president of the National Farmers' Union, Tom Bradshaw (pictured), close to tears as he told MPs that some farmers were even contemplating suicide because of the 'awful, awful, unacceptable position' created by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and her surprise imposition of inheritance tax on family farms Three weeks ago, the UK's rural workforce had staged their first protest against the Budget – on foot. Yesterday, they brought the hardware. The most stirring sight of the day was simply that of hundreds of tractors packed the full length of Whitehall. By the time Sir Keir Starmer rose for Prime Minister's Questions at noon, these growling green workhorses were five-abreast from Trafalgar Square all the way up to Sir Winston Churchill on Parliament Square. They then embarked on a slow processional loop around London SW1 in first gear, blasting their horns all the way. Who knew tractors could be quite so tuneful? Several had rigged up airhorns to barp 'Old MacDonald had a farm' or 'Ten Green Bottles'. The most impressive was one monster which managed to play the opening bars of Rossini's William Tell Overture. Having initially tried to merge this lot with the buses and London traffic, the police decided there were so many tractors that it would be wiser just to divert everything else. Whitehall's work-from-home brigade thus had the perfect excuse for another day in their pyjamas. The machinery had started assembling from first light, with some being driven from as far away as Exmoor and Lancashire. Three tractors had made the crossing from the Isle of Wight. The oldest on parade was a 1967 David Brown 990 driven by Ely arable farmer Matt Golding, 46. With no cab, his machine looked more like a lawn mower among all these 21st-century giants with their heated cabs and flashing lights. Yet apparently this sturdy tiddler is still doing chores on the family's 200 acres, now in the hands of the third generation. But for how much longer can it remain in the family? A sign hangs on the back of a tractor, during a demonstration in support of farmers, in London, Britain, December 11, 2024 Farmers sit and stand on a tractor as they pose for pictures during a stop 'the death of British Farming' demonstration, to protest against changes to inheritance tax rules for land ownership for farmers, in Whitehall, central London, on December 11 That was the question everyone was asking yesterday. The oldest protester was Diana Baskervyle-Glegg, 93, from Burford in the Cotswolds. The youngest was Florence Cookes, aged five months, in the arms of her father, Birmingham sheep farmer Phil Cookes, 38. He had left the family's 1,200 sheep and 50 cattle in the care of his father for the day. In due course, he and his wife would like to transfer custody to Florence, but fear Labour's plans could scupper that idea. Mr Cookes told me that he favoured tougher action than this. 'We're all being a bit too nice,' he said. 'The French get it right with these things. We'd be better off shutting down London and the ports next time.' Others urged a less combative, more strategic approach, including the Reform leader, Nigel Farage, out for an early stroll through the tractor ranks. 'Just look at those 100 Labour MPs in rural areas with majorities thinner than a cigarette paper and they are starting to panic like crazy,' Mr Farage told me. 'We need a consistent campaign, bringing on board all those small family businesses which are going to get hit by these taxes – and then we could get a result on this.' Elsewhere in the crowd, I spotted everyone from ex-Foreign Secretary James Cleverly – 'Labour just see farmers as easy targets with loads of cash' – to Jeremy Corbyn's conspiracy theorist brother Piers. Wild of both hair and eye, he warned that farmers were the victims of a worldwide land grab by dark forces. Having initially tried to merge this lot with the buses and London traffic, the police decided there were so many tractors that it would be wiser just to divert everything else British MP and deputy leader of the Reform UK political party, Richard Tice gestures while holding onto a tractor today At least his megaphone was audible, unlike that of the main organisers, Kent-based Fairness For Farmers and Wiltshire's Save British Farming. This demonstration was so homespun that its leaders ended up simply having to shout from the back end of a pick-up truck parked outside Downing Street. 'We're not militant people,' yelled Maidstone market gardener, David Catt, 67, 'but we could bring this country to a standstill in minutes.' Canterbury farmer Jeff Gibson warned the crowd that just because Britain has not had a famine since 1623 and has never had cheaper food, it should take nothing for granted. The key message: this is just the start. Many of these farmers will be back again next week. On my way home, I again bumped into Tom Bradshaw outside Parliament. He explained he is still trying to persuade the Government to rethink its policy altogether 'and not just make a bad policy less bad'. As we spoke, a tractor slowed down and a farmer leaned out. 'You need to start turning it up, mate!' the man shouted at Mr Bradshaw. 'That's what I've been doing in there,' he replied. For how much longer can the countryside maintain this united, broadly level-headed front before the militants decide to take a lead? On yesterday's showing, those days seem to be numbered. 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This Government is putting people first by backing Britain’s buildersORLANDO, Fla. — Blue Origin continued to prep for the maiden flight of its massive New Glenn rocket as it went vertical on the launch pad Thursday ahead of an upcoming hot fire test needed before a launch attempt that is targeting before the end of the year. “Up we go! The steel launch table that New Glenn sits on weighs 1.7 million pounds (roughly 726 metric tons), including the clamps that connect to the vehicle’s aft ring,” the company posted on social media after the rocket was lifted into a vertical position at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 36. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

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