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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s main airport as a civilian Airbus 320 with hundreds of passengers on board was landing and a U.N. delegation was waiting to leave, the U.N.‘s top humanitarian official in Yemen said Friday. Julien Harneis told U.N. reporters that the most frightening thing about the two airstrikes on Thursday wasn’t their effect on him and about 15 others in the VIP lounge at the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, including the head of the U.N. World Health Organization. Rather, it was the destruction of the airport control tower as a Yemenia Airways plane was taxiing in after touching down. “Fortunately, that plane was able to land safely and the passengers were able to disembark, but it could have been far, far worse,” said Harneis, who was with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the lounge . He said one airstrike landed approximately 300 meters (330 yards) south of the VIP lounge and another about 300 meters to the north around 4:45 p.m., while about five members of the U.N. team were outside the building. “Not only obviously did we have zero indication of any potential airstrikes, but we cannot remember the last time there were airstrikes in Sanaa during daylight hours,” Harneis said in a video news conference from Sanaa. The U.N. said at least three people were killed and dozens injured in the strike. Among the injured was a crew member from the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service, which was about to fly the U.N. delegation of some 20 people out of Sanaa. He suffered a serious leg injury from shrapnel and lost a lot of blood, Harneis said. Immediately after the airstrikes, Harneis said, U.N. security officials moved the delegation out of the VIP building and into five armored cars where they waited for approximately 40 minutes to ascertain what happened and help the injured crew member. He was taken to a hospital in Sanaa and underwent four hours of surgery while the rest of the delegation spent the night in a U.N. compound, Harneis said. The U.N. plane with Tedros and the U.N. team, including the injured crew member, was able to depart for Jordan on Friday afternoon – without an operating control tower. The United Nations said the injured crew member was taken to a hospital in Jordan, and Tedros was heading back to Geneva, where WHO is based, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control Sanaa and much of the country’s north, have gone after Israel since it started attacking Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Gaza’s Hamas militants on southern Israel. The Houthis have attacked ships in the Red Sea, disrupting one of the world’s main maritime routes, and recently stepped up missile and drone attacks on Israel . Israel has escalated its response. The Israeli army said it wasn’t aware that the WHO chief or U.N. delegation were at the Sanaa airport on Thursday. Israel said it bombed the airport because it is used by the Houthis and Iran. Harneis responded, stressing that the airport is civilian, not military, and is used for transporting U.N. and other humanitarian workers, and for one civilian flight — Yemenia to and from Amman, Jordan. The flight operates as a result of an international agreement, and thousands of Yemenis have used the flight to get advanced medical treatment abroad, he said. Yemen is the Arab world’s poorest nation and has been engulfed in a 10-year civil war between the Houthi rebels, who control Sanaa and much of the country’s north, and the internationally recognized government forces in the south. Tedros was in the country to discuss its worsening humanitarian crisis and to seek the release of about 50 people detained by the Houthis since June from the U.N., nongovernmental organizations and civil society. Harneis said 18 million Yemenis — about half the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance this year, and the U.N. expects the number to increase to 19 million next year because of the worsening economy . In addition to airstrikes on the Sanaa airport, Israel has been attacking the country’s key port of Hodeida, in western Yemen. Harneis said Yemen relies on imports through Hodeida for 80% of its food and more than 90% of its medical supplies to the north. A recent Israeli airstrike destroyed two tugboats and is estimated to have reduced the harbor’s capacity by 50%, the U.N. official said, while damage from Thursday’s airstrikes hasn’t been assessed yet. As for the detainees, Harneis said he joined the WHO chief at meetings with the Houthi prime minister, foreign minister and a member of the group’s Supreme Political Council. He said they received commitments on the detainees’ possible release and a pathway to it, and on conditions under which they are being held.Share this Story : Major passion for World Juniors: 13th tournament for superfan Art Benjamin Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Breadcrumb Trail Links News Local News Sports World Juniors Local Sports Major passion for World Juniors: 13th tournament for superfan Art Benjamin The Winnipeg resident admits he has spent "a small fortune" attending Canadian team games at the world junior tournament over the past couple of decades. Get the latest from Marlo Glass straight to your inbox Sign Up Author of the article: Marlo Glass Published Dec 28, 2024 • Last updated 4 minutes ago • 2 minute read Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here . Or sign-in if you have an account. Art Benjamin has travelled around the world to attend more than a dozen IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships since 2005. He's one of thousands of superfans in Ottawa for the 2025 tournament, hoping to see Canada regain its top spot after a disappointing fifth-place finish last year. Photo by Marlo Glass / Postmedia Article content Don’t ask Art Benjamin how much money he’s spent or how many kilometres he’s travelled to more than a dozen IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Article content We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team . Major passion for World Juniors: 13th tournament for superfan Art Benjamin Back to video Article content He says he’d attend every year if only ticket prices weren’t so high. “I’ve spent a small fortune,” he admits, “but it’s worth it.” The first year he attended was 2005, when the tournament was hosted in Grand Forks, N.D. There he saw Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin face off as juniors amid a National Hockey League lockout. Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account Email Address Continue or View more offers If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, online access is included in your subscription. Activate your Online Access Now Article content Benjamin was also in Vancouver the next year and in Ottawa in 2009, where many of Canada’s players went on to become NHL household names, including John Tavares, Jamie Benn and P.K. Subban. Saskatoon was next. Then Buffalo, N.Y. In 2013, Benjamin made the trip to Ufa, Russia, a round trip of more than 16,000 kilometres from his home in Winnipeg. Since then he has also been to Helsinki, Montreal, Vancouver and Ostrava, Czech Republic. Next year, the world junior tournament will be in Saint Paul, Minn., just a 750-kilometre trip down the highway from Winnipeg. In all, this year’s tournament in Ottawa is the 13th Benjamin has attended. Superfan Art Benjamin shows off his jersey listing all of the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships he’s attended since 2005. This year, he’s one of thousands of superfans descending on the nation’s capital, with the hopes of seeing Canada reclaim gold after a disappointing fifth-place finish last year. He keeps coming back, Benjamin says, because of the friends he’s made along the way and the parade of talented Canadian team members developing into tomorrow’s NHL superstars. “They’re kids, they’re just kids and they’re going to the NHL,” he said, “and you get to see them progress. It’s just crazy.” Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content In his travels, he’s made friends from coast to coast. “We see all our friends here,” he said. “And we travel together all over the world.” Benjamin says he prefers to support the IIHF tournament instead of the NHL because of the chance to see promising young players hone their talents before they step up to the big show. The 2005 tournament, for example, saw a powerhouse Canadian team with a star-studded roster filled with players who may have already been playing in the NHL if not for the lockout and drawn-out negotiations that ultimately led to a league-wide salary cap. That year Canada beat Russia in 6-1 in a marquee final, bringing home the gold medal to kick off a five-year tournament winning streak. At this year’s Boxing Day showdown between Canada and Finland at the Canadian Tire Centre, dozens of other superfans donned jerseys bearing the names of legends from Team Canadas of yesteryear: Gretzky, Crosby, Iginla and Bedard. Other rabid Canadian fans wore red morph suits (the full-body Lycra coverings that make people look like cartoon characters) and flew Canadian flags, and at least two spectators dressed as Santa Claus. The Boxing Day game produced a 4-0 win for Canada against Finland, but the following night the home side lost to Latvia in a shocking 3-2 upset capped by an eight-round shootout. Canada next faces off against Germany on Dec. 29, and the tournament hosts will play the defending-champion United States at the Canadian Tire Centre on New Year’s Eve. Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Major passion for World Juniors: 13th tournament for superfan Art Benjamin Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Comments You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments. Create an Account Sign in Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. 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Protected personal information of more than 1 million people — including about 4,700 Social Security numbers — was accessed from Illinois Department of Human Services files in April, the agency confirmed last week. State agencies are required under the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act to notify the news media of certain reportable breaches of security. In a statement, the Illinois Department of Human Services said it experienced a privacy breach on April 25 when a phishing campaign was used to access a number of employee accounts and the files associated with the accounts. Phishing involves sending seemingly legitimate requests for personal or sensitive information such as passwords or account numbers. IDHS said the files that were accessed included Social Security numbers for 4,704 people. In addition, public assistance account information was accessed for more than 1.1 million people. While that information did not include Social Security numbers, it did have names, public assistance account numbers and some combination of addresses, birthdate, Illinois State Board of Education Student Information System identification numbers and cellphone numbers. "Upon learning of the phishing incident, IDHS worked in partnership with the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology to investigate the extent of the breach and to determine which individuals were included," according to the statement. "This was an in-depth forensic analysis, followed by a manual review of all compromised files to determine the nature of the breach. IDHS continues to train its employees on how to avoid and report phishing attempts." Written notices were sent to those whose Social Security numbers were involved and whose current address was on file. Those notices provide details about available actions, including credit monitoring. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realitiesCiting text messages, travel receipts, online payments and testimony, the bipartisan committee paints a picture of a lifestyle in which Gaetz and others connected with younger women for drug-fueled parties, events or trips, with the expectation the women would be paid for their participation. The former congressman, who filed a last-minute lawsuit to try to block the report's release Monday, slammed the committee's findings. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and has insisted he never had sex with a minor. And a Justice Department investigation into the allegations ended without any criminal charges filed against him. "Giving funds to someone you are dating — that they didn't ask for — and that isn't 'charged' for sex is now prostitution?!?" Gaetz wrote in one post Monday. "There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses." Here's a look at some of the committee's key findings: 'Sex-for-money arrangements,' drug-fueled parties and trips The committee found that between 2017 and 2020, Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women "likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use." He paid the women using through online services such as PayPal, Venmo and CashApp and with cash or check, the committee said. The committee said it found evidence that Gaetz understood the "transactional nature" of his relationships with the women. The report points to one text exchange in which Gaetz balked at a woman's request that he send her money, "claiming she only gave him a 'drive by.'" Women interviewed by the committee said there was a "general expectation of sex," the report said. One woman who received more than $5,000 from Gaetz between 2018 and 2019 said that "99 percent of the time" that when she hung out with Gaetz "there was sex involved." However, Gaetz was in a long-term relationship with one of the women he paid, so "some of the payments may have been of a legitimate nature," the committee said. Text messages obtained by the committee also show that Gaetz would ask the women to bring drugs to their "rendezvous," the report said. While most of his encounters with the women were in Florida, the committee said Gaetz also traveled "on several occasions" with women whom he paid for sex. The report includes text message exchanges in which Gaetz appears to be inviting various women to events, getaways or parties, and arranging airplane travel and lodging. Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges in 2021, initially connected with women through an online service. In one text with a 20-year-old woman, Greenberg suggested if she had a friend, the four of them could meet up. The woman responded that she usually does "$400 per meet." Greenberg replied: "He understands the deal," along with a smiley face emoji. Greenberg asked if they were old enough to drink alcohol, and sent the woman a picture of Gaetz. The woman responded that her friend found him "really cute." "Well, he's down here for only for the day, we work hard and play hard," Greenberg replied. 'Substantial evidence' indicates that Gaetz had sex with an underage girl, the committee said The report details a party in July 2017 in which Gaetz is accused of having sex with "multiple women, including the 17-year-old, for which they were paid." The committee pointed to "credible testimony" from the now-woman herself as well as "multiple individuals" who corroborated the allegation. The then-17-year-old — who had just completed her junior year in high school — told the committee that Gaetz paid her $400 in cash that night, "which she understood to be payment for sex," according to the report. The woman acknowledged that she had taken ecstasy the night of the party, but told the committee that she was "certain" of her sexual encounters with the then-congressman. There's no evidence that Gaetz knew she was a minor when he had sex with her, the committee said. The woman told the committee she didn't tell Gaetz she was under 18 at the time and he didn't ask how old she was. Rather, the committee said Gaetz learned she was a minor more than a month after the party. But he stayed in touch with her after that and met up with her for "commercial sex" again less than six months after she turned 18, according to the committee. Gaetz said evidence would 'exonerate' him but provided none of it In sum, the committee said it authorized 29 subpoenas for documents and testimony, reviewed nearly 14,000 documents and contacted more than two dozen witnesses. But when the committee subpoenaed Gaetz for his testimony, he failed to comply. "Gaetz pointed to evidence that would 'exonerate' him yet failed to produce any such materials," the committee said. Gaetz "continuously sought to deflect, deter, or mislead the Committee in order to prevent his actions from being exposed." The report details a months-long process that dragged into a year as it sought information from Gaetz that he decried as "nosey" and a "weaponization" of government against him. In one notable exchange, investigators were seeking information about the expenses for a 2018 getaway with multiple women to the Bahamas. Gaetz ultimately offered up his plane ticket receipt "to" the destination, but declined to share his return "from" the Bahamas. The report said his return on a private plane and other expenses paid by an associate were in violation of House gift rules. In another Gaetz told the committee he would "welcome" the opportunity to respond to written questions. Yet, after it sent a list of 16 questions, Gaetz said publicly he would "no longer" voluntarily cooperate. He called the investigation "frivolous," adding, "Every investigation into me ends the same way: my exoneration." The report said that while Gaetz's obstruction of the investigation does not rise to a criminal violation it is inconsistent with the requirement that all members of Congress "act in a manner that reflects creditably upon the House." Justice Department didn't cooperate with the committee The committee began its review of Gaetz in April 2021 and deferred its work in response to a Justice Department request. It renewed its work shortly after Gaetz announced that the Justice Department had ended a sex trafficking investigation without filing any charges against him. The committee sought records from the Justice Department about the probe, but the agency refused, saying it doesn't disclose information about investigations that don't result in charges. The committee then subpoenaed the Justice Department, and after a back-and-forth between officials and the committee, the department handed over "publicly reported information about the testimony of a deceased individual," according to the report. "To date, DOJ has provided no meaningful evidence or information to the Committee or cited any lawful basis for its responses," the committee said. Many of the women who the committee spoke to had already given statements to the Justice Department and didn't want to "relive their experience," the committee said. "They were particularly concerned with providing additional testimony about a sitting congressman in light of DOJ's lack of action on their prior testimony," the report said. The Justice Department, however, never handed over the women's statements. The agency's lack of cooperation — along with its request that the committee pause its investigation — significantly delayed the committee's probe, lawmakers said.BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s embassy in Lebanon suspended consular services Saturday, a day after two relatives of deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad were arrested at the Beirut airport with allegedly forged passports. Also on Saturday, Lebanese authorities handed over dozens of Syrians — including former officers in the Syrian army under Assad — to the new Syrian authorities after they were caught illegally entering Lebanon, a war monitor and Lebanese officials said. The embassy announced on its Facebook page that consular work was suspended “until further notice” at the order of the Syrian foreign ministry. The announcement did not give a reason for the suspension. Two Lebanese security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the suspension was ordered because the passports belonging to Assad’s relatives — the wife and daughter of one of his cousins — were believed to have been forged at the embassy. Assad’s uncle, Rifaat Assad — who has been indicted in Switzerland on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity — had flown out the day before on his real passport and was not stopped, the officials said. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Saturday that 70 Syrians, including former army officers, were handed over by a Lebanese security delegation to the security forces of the new Syrian government, led by the former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. Three Lebanese judicial officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the report. Regional countries have been quick to establish ties with Syria’s new rulers. Delegations of Libyan and Bahraini officials arrived in Damascus on Saturday on official visits. HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has largely succeeded in calming fears within and outside of Syria that his group would unleash collective punishment against communities that supported Assad’s rule or attempt to impose strict Islamic law on the country’s religious minorities. However, in recent days, sporadic clashes have broken out between the HTS-led security forces and pro-Assad armed groups. The country’s new security forces have launched a series of raids targeting officials affiliated with Assad and have set up checkpoints in areas with significant populations of the Alawite religious minority to which the former president belongs to search for weapons. There have also been ongoing tensions and clashes in northeastern Syria between Kurdish-led forces and armed groups backed by Turkey. Many Kurds have viewed the new order in Damascus, which appears to have strengthened Turkey’s hand in Syria, with anxiety. Ankara sees the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces — a key U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State group — as an affiliate of its sworn enemy, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which it classifies as a terrorist organization. The U.S. State Department said Saturday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to “discuss the latest developments in Syria.” “Secretary Blinken emphasized the need to support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that upholds human rights and prioritizes an inclusive and representative government,” the statement said, adding that they “also discussed the shared goal of preventing terrorism from endangering the security” of Turkey and Syria. On Saturday, hundreds of protesters convened by Kurdish women’s groups participated in a demonstration in the northeastern city of Hasaka to demand women’s rights in the new Syria. Perishan Ramadan, a participant from Hasaka, said the new government “is worse than Bashar” and that its leaders are Islamist extremists who “don’t accept any role for women.” While the country’s new leaders have not attempted to impose Islamic dress or other conventions, it remains to be seen what role women will have in the new order and whether they will hold political or government positions. "Women must be present in the new constitution for Syria,” said Rihan Loqo, spokeswoman for the Kongra Star women’s organization. "... Women’s rights should not be ignored.” Associated Press writers Hogir Abdo in Hasaka, Syria, and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.
DALLAS — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here Things didn't look good when TGI Fridays Inc., a once-iconic casual dining chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November. But new details have emerged about the situation at the North Texas-based restaurant that paint an even starker picture. The company has reportedly vacated its Dallas headquarters and stashed hundreds of boxes of documents and computer equipment in the homes of employees. Circumstances became so bad that four top executives, including the then-chief financial officer, quit in the fall, telling the board that they could not "risk our own personal liability for the company's further operations," according to a copy of a letter obtained by The Wall Street Journal . TGI Fridays did not respond to Dallas Business Journal's request for comment. The Journal provided some helpful history of the chain and highlighted why it was such a big deal for decades. TGI Fridays was founded in 1965 in New York by restaurateur Alan Stillman. It rose to prominence as a fun place for dates and after-work happy hours serving up comforting American cuisine and fun cocktails. The Wall Street Journal noted that scenes in Tom Cruise's 1994 movie "Cocktails" were shot at a TGI Fridays in New York. The chain went public in 1983 but became private again through its 1989 purchase by Carlson Cos. The company continued to grow, especially in other parts of the globe. The company's U.S. sales peaked in 2008 at $1.97 billion. That year, the company had 601 restaurants. But the rise of fast-casual dining slowly ate into the margins of chains like Fridays, and by 2017, the company's sales had fallen 36% from 2008. The company sold stores to franchisees to reduce debt but also borrowed money, including a $450 million deal in 2017 that used a structure known as whole-business securitization, according to the Wall Street Journal. That mean bonds were backed by franchisee royalty payments, which could be claimed by lenders if TGI Fridays missed out on financial metrics like hitting at least $1.5 billion in annual sales. Financial hardships continued to weigh on the business and in 2018 S&P Global downgraded its debt due to seven straight quarters of declining sales. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic was another blow, although Fridays managed to do better than some expected by pivoting to to-go food and cocktails. But by 2024, the number of restaurants had fallen to 163, with a few dozen owned by the company. Thirty-nine locations are going through bankruptcy, according to WSJ. A plan to merge TGI Fridays with its largest U.K. franchisee , Hostmore, and go public on the London Stock Exchange fell apart in September. That led to the top executives quitting and the bankruptcy filing. There's hope TGI Fridays could be revived. Former CEO Ray Blanchette, who started with Fridays as a restaurant manager in Philadelphia in 1989, has since become a franchisee and is trying to buy up more restaurants. He submitted a $30.5 million bid in December to purchase nine of the 39 bankrupt locations, including one at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Blanchette has a positive outlook on keeping the company alive. He said that TGI Fridays does its best business in airports and casinos, representing a need to shift the brand. "I’ve spent the vast majority of my career here. It’s an entire body of work. I don’t want to see the brand go away," Blanchette told WSJ.
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