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NEW YORK (AP) — Growing up in the West Bank, Leqaa Kordia was separated from family in Gaza by Israeli restrictions on movement between the territories. So aunts and uncles in Gaza would call from the beach there, allowing Kordia to share her cousins’ laughter and glimpse the waves.Now many of those relatives are dead, killed in the war that has destroyed much of the Strip. And more than 200 days after Kordia was swept up in the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters, she despairs over being unable to give her family a voice.“Most days I feel helpless,” said…

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — A prominent cleric in Armenia was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday after being found guilty of calling for an overthrow of the government.Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan was arrested in June and accused of being part of an alleged coup plot against the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The cleric was found guilty on Sept. 24 of calling for the government to be overthrown. His lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan, condemned the verdict as being politically motivated.Ajapahyan was prosecuted for merely expressing an opinion, said Zohrabyan, who vowed to appeal the verdict. The Armenian Apostolic Church…

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota regulators voted unanimously Friday to approve an investment group’s takeover of a power company over the objections of the state attorney general, big industrial electricity buyers and consumer advocates.In voting for the takeover of Duluth-based Minnesota, the five members of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission said they believe the conditions imposed on the deal will protect the public interest and shield customers from rate increases. Opponents warned that the private equity group is only interested in squeezing bigger profits from regular ratepayers. The approval came as electricity bills are rising fast across the U.S., and growing…

After Israel intensified bombing and expulsion orders in Gaza City, Palestinian cameraman Sami Dawoud packed up his belongings and moved south in search of safety. He took shelter with his family in a tent in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, an area considered among the least dangerous in the famine-stricken Palestinian enclave. But within a week, an Israeli fighter jet struck the area. A bomb hit Dawoud’s tent, killing him, his daughter, and several other Palestinians. “Sami was deeply committed to keeping his wife and children safe and as comfortable as possible wherever they stayed,” his friend and colleague, photographer…

MANCHESTER, England — Ruben Amorim has launched a staunch defence of his system and insisted Manchester United are not losing games because of his tactical set-up.Amorim is facing mounting pressure ahead of Sunderland’s visit to Old Trafford on Saturday.The Portuguese coach has been criticised for sticking with his 3-4-3 formation instead of switching to a back four.But he is adamant that poor results, including last weekend’s 3-1 defeat to Brentford, are not down to the formation.”If we lost to Arsenal because of the system, it is your job [the media] to make the opinion,” Amorim told a news conference on…

Before Qatar became a resource-rich oasis lined with skyscrapers and fancy shopping malls, the arid peninsula was inhabited by nomadic tribes that travelled across its golden sand dunes on camelback, herding livestock and sleeping in tents.  Some of these tribes engaged in seasonal trade along the coastline, while others lived exclusively inland, with their livelihoods fully dependent on the vast desert.  Although the Qatar National Museum in Doha holds many ancient Qatari relics and prides itself in displaying magnificent exhibitions on the country’s history and culture, the earliest images of Qatar’s Bedouin life are found in Denmark.  Taken by female Danish…

Chelsea, meanwhile, are set to be without ‘seven or eight players’ for the visit of Liverpool, explained head coach Enzo Maresca.Among their absentees is the injured Cole Palmer and suspended Trevoh Chalobah.Tosin Adarabioyo, Levi Colwill, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Wesley Fofana and Andrey Santos have been sidelined for the Blues.“I think it’s a fact that I really trust the young players, not just the young players we have signed, but the young players from the academy,” said Maresca when he spoke to the media on Friday.“We gave games last season to Josh Acheampong ahead of senior players who were on…

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot believes he benefited from the aura of Jurgen Klopp in his first season, but knows the situation has changed now that they are the defending Premier League champions.Slot believes opponents felt they could capitalise on his first season, coming from the Eredivisie to manage in England for the first time and succeeding the highly successful German, and were keen to exploit a perceived weakness. However, that played into Liverpool’s hands as a squad which – apart from the hardly used Federico Chiesa – had been founded on Klopp’s methods took advantage of more attacking opposition…

The chief of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, has warned that Israel labelling 250,000 civilians in Gaza City “terrorists or terror supporters” suggests they are planning “large-scale massacres”.  In a post on X, Philippe Lazzarini warned the Israeli statement could mean “killing more women, children, elderly and vulnerable people unable to move out”. “No one has the licence to kill civilians,” he said.  “Ongoing international crimes in Gaza cannot continue to be implicitly tolerated.” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Palestinians remaining in Gaza City were being given a “last opportunity” to flee south, or would…

FIFA on Friday defended its pricing strategy for next year’s World Cup after an England fan group criticised the “astonishing” cost of tickets — which could rise further with demand.Tickets first became accessible on Wednesday to those selected in a draw held last month, with The Athletic reporting that $60 tickets — which FIFA said would be the cheapest on offer — were extremely scarce.FIFA has not confirmed starting prices for the tickets beyond the cheapest group stage ticket and the most expensive for the final, but the England Fans’ Embassy estimates that a fan attending every England match if…