San Jose State Universitys womens volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser says she is standing up for herself and her team on The Ingraham Angle as sports journalist Michele Tafoya reacts. Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law that will prevent schools from allowing students of the opposite sex into restrooms and locker rooms. The legislation, the Protect All Students Act, dubbed the "bathroom bill," was sent to DeWine’s desk earlier this month after the state Senate passed the bill 24-7 on a party-line vote . The House version of the bill was passed before the chamber went on summer break in June. The law will take effect in 90 days and will restrict transgender students from using facilities associated with their gender identities. Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law that will prevent schools from allowing students of the opposite sex into restrooms and locker rooms. (Kyle Robertson / USA TODAY NETWORK, left, Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, right.) SJSU TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: TIMELINE OF ALLEGATIONS, POLITICAL IMPACT AND A RAGING CULTURE MOVEMENT It applies to public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. It requires schools to designate separate bathrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations "for the exclusive use" of either males and females, based on one’s gender assigned at or near birth, in both school buildings and facilities used for a school-sponsored event. DeWine’s signature was not guaranteed and Democrats, teachers unions and civil rights groups had hoped that his veto earlier this year to a ban on sex changes for minors and hormone therapies for transgender individuals under 18 would yield a similar course of action. In the end, the state's Republican-dominated Senate voted to override that veto and the ban came into force. DeWine did not release a statement announcing he signed the bathroom bill on Wednesday. "Common sense is on a winning streak in America today," said Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue, which backed the bill, in a statement. "No student should be forced to go into the bathroom or locker room with a student of the opposite sex, and Ohio’s kids are better protected now because of Governor DeWine’s decision to sign this bill." Riley Gaines, a former 12-time All-American swimmer at the University of Kentucky and an advocate of keeping biological males out of female sports, echoed those words. TRANSGENDER ACTIVISTS URGE SUPPORTERS NOT TO ‘VILIFY’ CRITICS AFTER TRUMP WIN, DIP IN PUBLIC SUPPORT: REPORT The "bathroom bill" will take effect in 90 days and will restrict transgender students from using facilities associated with their gender identities. (iStock/gerenme) "Common sense is making a comeback nationwide," Gaines wrote on X. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost thanked DeWine "for siding with biology, history, safety and common sense." The ACLU of Ohio was among the groups that had lobbied for a veto and condemned the measure as a violation of the right of privacy of transgender Ohioans that would make them less safe. "We will always have the backs of our trans community," the organization wrote on X. "Every Ohioan deserves the freedom to be loved, to be safe, to be trusted with decisions about healthcare and to access the facilities that align with their gender identity. We will not leave anyone behind. Trans Ohioans belong." School employees, emergency situations and people assisting young children or someone with a disability are exempted from the restrictions, and schools can still offer single-use or family bathrooms. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The ACLU of Ohio was among the groups that had lobbied for a veto and condemned the measure as a violation of the right of privacy of transgender Ohioans that would make them less safe. (ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images) Various battles regarding the issue of transgender people using bathrooms that align with their gender as well as participating in female sports are playing out across the nation. President-elect Trump has repeatedly vowed to keep men out of women's sports. At least 11 states have adopted laws barring transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s bathrooms in public schools and, in some cases, other government facilities. The laws are in effect in Alabama , Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah. A judge’s order putting enforcement on hold is in place in Idaho. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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Thousands of displaced people started returning to their homes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday in the first hours of a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group , defying a warning from the Israeli military to stay away from previously evacuated areas. The ceasefire brought relief across the Mediterranean nation after days of some of the most intense Israeli airstrikes and clashes during nearly 14 months of fighting. However, many wondered if the agreement would hold, and Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire. The truce marks the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but it does not address the devastating war in Gaza. Israeli strikes overnight on two schools-turned-shelters in Gaza City killed 11 people, including four children, according to hospital officials. Israel said one of the strikes targeted a Hamas sniper and the other targeted militants hiding among civilians. In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people Here's the Latest: JERUSALEM — Israel's army and Hezbollah's militant leaders are both claiming success on the battlefield after the sides entered into a ceasefire Wednesday. Israel said it degraded Hezbollah's capabilities and decapitated its senior leadership , while the Lebanese militant group said it put up a stiff defense to Israel's ground invasion “in support of the steadfast Palestinian people.” Iran-backed Hezbollah claimed “victory” over Israeli forces and said its fighters were “fully prepared” to counter any future Israeli actions. "Their hands will remain on the trigger, in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty,” the statement from Hezbollah's operations center said Wednesday, its first public comments since the ceasefire took effect. Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the army had weakened Hezbollah's ability to launch rockets and drones into Israel, and targeted its ability to resupply and manufacture weapons. “We are also preparing for the possibility of returning to intense combat,” Hagari said in a video statement Wednesday. He said that throughout the nearly 14 months of fighting, Israel struck 12,500 targets across Lebanon, including around 360 targets in Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh. It was not possible to independently confirm battlefield claims by either side. The ceasefire agreement gives Israel and Hezbollah militants 60 days to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon near the border. JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it shot down a drone that had crossed into Israel from Egypt. It says the drone brought down on Wednesday was carrying “four rifles, five cartridges and hundreds of bullets.” It did not provide further details, saying the weapons were being investigated. Israel has long accused Hamas of smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip from Egypt through tunnels beneath the Gaza-Egypt border, which Israeli forces seized in May . Egypt says it destroyed the tunnels from its side years ago. Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, and they have close security ties, but relations have been strained by the ongoing war in Gaza. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Hundreds more Palestinians have fled from war-ravaged northern Gaza as Israel presses ahead with a weeks-old offensive against Hamas militants. The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group leaves the nearly 14-month war in Gaza unresolved . Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and most of the Palestinian population has been displaced inside the besieged and heavily destroyed territory. Many of those fleeing Wednesday had crowded onto donkey carts with their belongings in their arms. Others walked on foot, some holding the hands of their small children. “We left, and here we are sitting, with no shelter or food, and we do not know where to go,” said Umm Saleh al-Adham, one of the women who fled the northern town of Beit Lahiya. She said Israeli troops separated the men from the women and allowed the latter to travel onward to Gaza City. “Here we are, sitting, waiting for God’s mercy,” she said. Israel launched a major offensive in northern Gaza on Oct. 6, saying Hamas had regrouped there. It has isolated Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and the Jabaliya refugee camp, allowing almost no humanitarian aid to reach the area, which experts say might be experiencing famine . The Israeli military has called for a wholesale evacuation. The United Nations estimates that up to 131,000 people have fled the area, with up to 75,000 remaining. The Israeli military said Wednesday that its troops raided a school in northern Gaza overnight and battled Hamas militants there. It said it facilitated the evacuation of thousands of civilians while detaining dozens of suspected militants who were taken to Israel for questioning. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to local health officials, who do not differentiate between fighters and civilians in their toll. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Israel has filed an appeal with the International Criminal Court in a bid to halt its arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza. The court last week issued the arrest warrants, accusing Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of war crimes for actions during Israel’s war in Gaza. Both men have condemned the decision and accused the court of anti-Israeli bias and undermining Israel’s right to self-defense. Netanyahu said Wednesday he discussed the matter with Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is seeking sanctions against the court and countries cooperating with it. Netanyahu's office said it also informed the ICC on Wednesday of “its intention to appeal to the court along with a demand to delay implementation of the arrest warrants.” Later, it filed appeals to two decisions granting the court jurisdiction over the case. Israel is not a member of the ICC and says the court has no jurisdiction. The actual warrants cannot be appealed or suspended, said Tom Dannenbaum, associate professor of international law at Tufts University. “None of this challenges the substance of the warrants at this point in the process,” said Dannenbaum. The court cannot make arrests on Israeli territory. But both men could be subject to arrest if they enter any of the court’s member states, which include allies like the U.K., France and Italy. The court said there was reasonable grounds to believe the two leaders bear responsibility for using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid to Gaza and have intentionally targeted civilians. -- By Molly Quell in the Hague and Josef Federman in Jerusalem JERUSALEM — Israeli authorities say they seized a large cache of weapons originating in Iran and bound for Palestinian militants in the West Bank. A joint statement from the military and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency on Wednesday said the cache included rockets, explosives, mortar launchers, sniper rifles and other weapons. They released photos purporting to show the weapons. The statement did not say where the seizure took place, and the military did not respond to a request for comment. The statement identified two units of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, one purportedly based in Syria, that it said were responsible for the smuggling, and named their commanders. It did not provide further evidence of Iran’s involvement. Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the occupied West Bank in recent years, targeting what it says are militants planning attacks. The violence spiked after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry says nearly 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since then. There has also been a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians want for a future state. JERUSALEM — Israel says its troops arrested four Hezbollah operatives, including a local commander, when they entered what it described as a restricted area in southern Lebanon. The two sides entered into a ceasefire early Wednesday that appears to be holding, but Israel has said it will strike the militant group in response to any violations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the arrests in a statement. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. The statement said Israeli troops have been ordered to prevent people from returning to villages near the border, where the forces are still deployed. The ceasefire agreement gives Israel and Hezbollah militants 60 days to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon near the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers will patrol the area, and an international committee will monitor compliance. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s national security adviser is pushing back on the incoming Donald Trump administration for taking credit for the Lebanon ceasefire coming together. “I would just point out that you know you’ve done a really good thing when other people take credit for it,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a CNN interview on Wednesday. The comments came after Trump’s pick to serve as his national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, in a posting on X on Tuesday said his boss is the reason the two sides came reached the long-sought after agreement. “Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump,” Waltz noted. Sullivan in the deal came together because Israel achieved its military objectives in Lebanon and the stakeholders in Lebanon didn’t want war anymore. He also credited the “relentless American diplomacy” of Biden and White House senior adviser Amos Hochstein. Sullivan also confirmed that he had briefed Waltz on the negotiations as they unfolded. AINATA, Lebanon — In the southern Lebanon border villages of Bint Jbeil and Ainata, where fierce fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants took place, rescuers used excavators to search for bodies under the rubble. A woman in Ainata wrapped in black cried as she held a portrait her grandson, a Hezbollah fighter, who was killed in the fighting, as she waits for rescuers to recover his body from a destroyed home. The smell of death filled the air and several dead bodies could be seen inside houses and between trees. In the town of Kfar Hammam, rescuers recovered four bodies, according to Lebanese state media. JERUSALEM — Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should lead efforts to rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. Israel’s nearly 14-month offensive has devastated large parts of Gaza and displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people. With the war still raging, Israel has not announced a clear postwar plan. But reconstruction is expected to take years and cost billions of dollars. Speaking in Jerusalem, Graham said Wednesday that eventually someone will have to rebuild Gaza and “create an entity in the Palestinian world that would live in peace with Israel.” “The only group that I think has a chance of doing that is the Arab world, led by the (Saudi) Crown Prince and the UAE,” he said. Israel and the UAE established ties in 2020, while Israel had been pursuing a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia before the war against Hamas erupted. Both Arab countries have linked any future reconstruction aid for Gaza to a settlement that includes a path to Palestinian independence. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his hard-line government opposes Palestinian statehood. Meanwhile, Graham said he would work with the incoming Trump administration to sanction “any country” that has targeted Israel in the International Criminal Court. The court last week issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity for actions in the Gaza war. “It’s one thing to sanction the court. We will do that,” he said. “But that’s not enough. If you want to stop the spread of this absurdity, you have to put the civilized world on notice that if you choose the rogue ICC, you do so at your own peril.” BEIRUT — The Lebanese army said it was moving additional troops into the country's south on Wednesday to extend state authority in coordination with the U.N. peacekeeping mission there. “The concerned military units are moving from several areas to the South Litani Sector, where they will be stationed in the locations designated for them,” the Lebanese military said in its first statement since the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire went into effect. Under the ceasefire deal, Israeli troops would pull out of Lebanon and Hezbollah is required to move its forces north of the Litani River, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border. The ceasefire agreement gives Israel and Hezbollah militants 60 days to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon near the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers will patrol the area, and an international committee will monitor compliance. The Lebanese army has largely stood on the sidelines during the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah, although dozens of its soldiers have been killed amid the fighting. BAALBEK, Lebanon — Beside the graves of Hezbollah fighters in eastern Lebanon's Baalbek region, families with tears in their eyes paid respects to the dead and celebratory gunshots could be heard in the background Wednesday, the first day of a ceasefire between the militant group and Israel. “The resistance (Hezbollah) will stay to defend Lebanon,” Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Mokdad told reporters while visiting the graves. “We tell the enemy that the martyrs thwarted their plans for the Middle East.” Several other Hezbollah members of parliament were present. In addition to being an armed group, Hezbollah is also a political party and provides extensive social services. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes on two schools-turned-shelters in Gaza City killed 11 people, including four children, hospital officials said. One strike hit the Tabeen School, killing nine, and another targeted Al-Hureyah School, leaving two dead. Both were sheltering hundreds of displaced people. The Israeli military said it struck Mumin Al-Jabari, a senior fighter with Hamas’ sniper unit. It said he had operated in a room inside the Tabeen School, without providing evidence. The military had no immediate comment on claims that it struck the second school. The military said Al-Jabari carried out attacks against Israeli troops in Gaza and had stored weapons in the room he was operating from. At Al-Ahli Hospital, Saeed Abu Salah, who sought shelter in Tabeen School, said the airstrike killed his daughter and granddaughter. He had already lost four of his children since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, including two whose bodies were still under rubble. “For the millionth time, the Israeli occupation commits crimes against innocent civilians,” he said. Abu Salah held his granddaughter wrapped in a white shroud, while a crying mother nearby held the body of her dead child in her arms. Associated Press footage on Wednesday showed the collapsed roof at the Tabeen School. Dozens gathered outside, some using equipment and bare hands to pull out bodies from under the rubble. One man carried a dead child covered in a blanket. The Israeli military said the strike on the Al-Hureyah School targeted Hamas militants hiding among civilians, without providing evidence. BEIRUT — International aid groups welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah and urge donors to provide funding to help rebuild parts of Lebanon and assist the displaced. The aid groups are concerned about the aftershocks of the war on Lebanon’s already struggling economy. With more than 1.2 million people displaced, they warned that the damage would leave many struggling and without homes. More than 100,000 homes have been either partially or fully destroyed across southern Lebanon, Bekaa and Beirut, the International Rescue Committee said. Mercy Corps said that half of Lebanon’s population now lives below the poverty line. It called on donors to fulfill pledges to support immediate humanitarian efforts and the long-term recovery. “There will undoubtedly be a great deal of grief and trauma. Many will have no homes to return to, no schools for their children, and livelihoods destroyed,” Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary-General Jan Egeland said. MASNAA BORDER CROSSING — Among the Lebanese hoping to return home following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah are thousands who had fled the war to Syria. Families with hastily packed belongings on Wednesday crossed under heavy rain from Syria into eastern Lebanon. The road, heavily damaged by Israeli airstrikes, is under repair. Mariam Mawla, from Bazouria in southern Lebanon, was thrilled to be returning home after two months in Syrian capital Damascus. As she waited in traffic at the crossing, she told The Associated Press that she hoped to find her house intact. “I heard that there might be some damage, but no matter what, we thank God that we are returning home,” Mawla said. PARIS — France says it “intends to continue to work in close collaboration” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite the arrest warrant issued for him by the world’s top war-crimes court. Since the International Criminal Court issued warrants last week, French officials have replied vaguely to questions about whether France would arrest Netanyahu should he visit the country. Prime Minister Michel Barnier told parliament this week that France would “rigorously” respect its obligations according to international law. The position was echoed by France’s foreign minister in a broadcast interview Wednesday morning. But in a subsequent statement, the French Foreign Ministry argued that Netanyahu and others affected by the court warrants benefit from immunity because Israel is not a member of the court. It said this would be “taken into consideration if the ICC was to ask us for their arrest and handing over.” The statement cited “the historic friendship that links France and Israel” and described them as “two democracies committed to the rule of law and respect for professional and independent justice.” TEL AVIV, Israel — As a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appears to hold in Lebanon, fighting raged on in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. The Gaza Health Ministry said 33 bodies had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll in the nearly 14-month-long war to 44,282. The Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says more than half of the dead are women and children. The Israeli military said it struck dozens of Hamas sites in hard-hit northern Gaza, including weapons storage facilities and military structures. It said it warned civilians to evacuate the area beforehand. The military has battled for weeks a resurgence of Hamas in the area, which was an early target of Israel’s offensive. The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire has no direct bearing on the conflict in Gaza, where international mediators have struggled to secure a truce. JERUSALEM — An Israeli security official says Israeli forces remain in their positions hours after a ceasefire took place and will only gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon. The official, speaking Wednesday on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules, would not say when troops would begin the withdrawal but said it would be completed during the 60-day period laid out in the ceasefire agreement. He said the pace of the withdrawal and the scheduled return of Lebanese civilians to their homes would depend on whether the deal is implemented and enforced by all sides. “We need to see the mechanism is working,” he said. “It’s a gradual agreement. It’s a gradual withdrawal.” The official said Israeli soldiers were responding to an immediate threat when they opened fire earlier Wednesday at several vehicles approaching a restricted area in Lebanon. There were no reports on casualties. The official said that Israel was prepared to do so again if troops were at risk. “We will fire when our forces are threatened,” he said. He said non-immediate threats would be reported to the international monitoring committee, but that if no action is taken, “we will enforce it.” — By Josef Federman CAIRO — Hamas says it’s ready to cooperate with any effort to bring about a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah reached a truce to end months of fighting. The deal does not address the war in Gaza. International mediators have repeatedly failed to bring Israel and Hamas to a deal that would end the brutal, 13-month-long war. In a statement, Hamas repeated it would seek the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the return of displaced Palestinians and a “real and complete prisoner exchange deal.” Israel has refused to commit to ending the war under any ceasefire deal and some members of the Israeli government have balked over freeing large number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the roughly 100 hostages still held by militants in Gaza. President Joe Biden said Tuesday he hoped for a renewed international push for negotiations in coming days. BEIRUT — Lebanon’s caretaker government on Wednesday approved a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the militant Hezbollah group and Israel. The move was largely a formality but also signaled the government’s commitment to its part in the deal, including deploying Lebanese soldiers along the border with Israel and cooperating with United Nations peacekeepers. “Today is a new day, where we hope it carries with it peace and stability,” caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a statement following the morning meeting. The agreement is an implementation plan for U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which was passed in 2006 to end the last Israel-Hezbollah war but never was fully carried out. Its goal was for the Lebanese military to be the exclusive armed presence in southern Lebanon alongside U.N. peacekeepers, and for Hezbollah and Israeli forces to withdraw from the area. According to a copy of the ceasefire agreement provided by the Lebanese government, the Lebanese military would gradually deploy in the south and dismantle unauthorized military infrastructure and weapons production facilities. The United States and France, in addition to UNIFIL peacekeepers, will monitor violations and support the process. BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed relief over the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire and called on both sides to stick to the agreement. “Finally, Hezbollah and Israel have agreed on a ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered by our partners USA and France,” Scholz wrote Wednesday on X. “It is important that everyone sticks to what has been agreed, so that people on both sides of the border can live in safety again.” Germany is a staunch ally of Israel, but at the same time home to a Lebanese immigrant community of more than 100,000. BEIRUT — The speaker of Lebanon’s parliament called for another effort to fill the country’s long-vacant presidency just hours after a ceasefire to halt hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect. Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, as its deeply divided parliament has been unable to elect a new head of state. The last effort to elect a president was more than a year ago. Speaker Nabih Berri called for political parties to come together to elect a president “who unites rather than divides.” “I call upon you because a moment of truth in which we must unite for the sake of Lebanon has arrived,” Berri said in a televised address. “This is a test for how we can save Lebanon. How we can build it and how we can bring back life for its constitutional institutions.” The war compounded Lebanon’s economic troubles and worsened tensions between political groups allied and opposed to Hezbollah. Berri spearheaded Lebanon’s negotiation efforts for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah. He’s a top Shiite politician and a key ally of Hezbollah. BAGHDAD — One of the most powerful Iran-backed factions in Iraq said it would continue its operations in support of Gaza despite the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Iraqi militias have repeatedly launched attacks on Israel from Iraq in the nearly 14 months since the Israel-Hamas war broke out. In a statement, the Kataib Hezbollah group said that the ceasefire would not have been possible without the “resilience of Hezbollah fighters and the failure of the Zionists to achieve their objectives, making the decision solely Lebanese.” The group said that a pause by one member of the so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes Iran-backed groups from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, would not undermine the broader “unity of fronts” strategy. The militia also said the U.S. had been Israel’s partner “in all acts of betrayal, killing, destruction and displacement,” and said it “will eventually have to pay for its actions.” TYRE, Lebanon — Mohammed Kaafarani has lived through multiple conflicts with Israel. But he says the past two months were the worst of them all. “They were a nasty and ugly 60 days,” said Kaafarani, 59, who was displaced from the Lebanese village of Bidias, near the southern port city of Tyre. Thousands of displaced people poured into the city Wednesday after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect. Kaafarani said the latest war was the most difficult because the bombardment was so intense. “We reached a point where there was no place to hide. Even buildings were destroyed.” He said Tyre was left almost empty as most of its residents fled. Kaafarani said he hopes his children and grandchildren will have a better future without wars because “our generation suffered and is still suffering.” “The last two months were way too long,” said Kaafarani, whose home was badly damaged in the fighting. He vowed to fix it and continue on with life. HAIFA, Israel — Some people in Israel who have been displaced by fighting with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah say the ceasefire deal doesn’t make them feel secure enough to go home. Some 50,000 people have been displaced from a string of cities, towns and villages along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Those communities have been pummeled by Hezbollah rocket and drone fire for 13 months, with dozens of houses damaged and in need of rebuilding or rehabilitation. Noy Friedman, who was displaced from the town of Shlomi to the city of Haifa, said she wouldn’t feel safe in her hometown. “I am also not ready for my family to return to Shlomi,” said Friedman. Many displaced Israelis have been living in hotels since the fighting began in Oct. 2023 or have tried to reestablish their lives in new areas far from the fighting. Returning could take months because of the damage caused to the communities, but also because of the fears many of the displaced still feel. On a cold, rainy Wednesday morning, the hard-hit Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona was quiet. A handful of people milled about, inspecting damage from rocket attacks, including to the roof of a bus. The town’s shopping mall, which had been hit before, appeared to have new damage. A rocket was seen stuck in the ground next to an apartment building. “I am against the ceasefire,” said Eliyahu Maman, a Kiryat Shmona resident displaced to Haifa who feared Hezbollah could still attack from southern Lebanon. “I am not ready to return to Kiryat Shmona.” AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan on Wednesday welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying it should be followed by an international effort to wind down the war in Gaza. In a statement, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the ceasefire “an important step.” But it said “Israeli aggression on Gaza” must be stopped. Jordan expressed support for Lebanon and stressed the importance of fully implementing the ceasefire. Jordan is a close Western ally that made peace with Israel in 1994. But Israel’s devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, has strained relations. The country has a large Palestinian population which has demonstrated regularly against the war in Gaza. KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Palestinians said Wednesday they hoped there would be a ceasefire in Gaza now that Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a truce. But some feared that Israel would be more heavy handed with Gaza now that its forces were freed up from the fighting against Hezbollah. “The situation will be worse, because the pressure will be more on Gaza,” said Mamdouh Yonis, a man currently living in Khan Younis after being displaced from the southern city of Rafah, told The Associated Press. Palestinians in Gaza are desperately waiting for a ceasefire agreement that would end the war between Hamas and Israel. It’s already killed over 44,000 people according to local authorities, who don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count. The war was sparked when Hamas raided southern Israel in Oct. 2023, killing 1,200 and kidnapping 250, about 100 of whom remain in Gaza. International mediation efforts meant to clinch a deal have faltered repeatedly, and the war is now in its 14th month with no end in sight. “They agree to a ceasefire in one place and not in the other? Have mercy on the children, the elderly and the women. We are sitting in tents and now it is winter,” said Ahlam Abu Shalabi, a woman displaced from Gaza City. ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey welcomed the ceasefire reached between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, expressing hope that it would lead to a lasting truce. In a statement issued Wednesday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also called on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to force it to “strictly comply with the ceasefire and compensate for the damage it has caused in Lebanon.” The ministry also urged the establishment of “permanent and comprehensive” ceasefire in Gaza, calling on Israel to “end its aggressive policies.” TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said Wednesday that its forces opened fire in Lebanon on a number of cars that approached an area it said was restricted, as a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to take hold. The military said the vehicles drove away. It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries as a result. The Israeli military has warned residents of previously evacuated areas of Lebanon that had been evacuated, but displaced people have been streaming south to their homes. The military said soldiers remained in position in southern Lebanon and that the air force was ready to act if needed. It said Israel’s aerial defense array was also at the ready for any ceasefire violations. PARIS — France’s foreign minister underlined his country’s role in brokering an agreement that ended fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group alongside the U.S., saying the deal wouldn’t have been possible without France’s special relationship with its former protectorate. “It’s a success for French diplomacy and we can be proud,” said the minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking hours after the ceasefire went into effect Wednesday. “It is true that the United States have a privileged relationship with Israel. But with Lebanon, it’s France that has very old ties, very close ties,” the minister added. “It would not have been possible to envisage a ceasefire in Lebanon without France being involved on the front line.” France will be involved in monitoring the ceasefire, Barrot noted, with 700 French soldiers deployed as part of the 10,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, that has been patrolling the border area between Lebanon and Israel for nearly 50 years. The minister said France will also work to strengthen Lebanese troops that will deploy in the south of the country as part of the ceasefire, although he didn’t specify what that might include. BEIRUT — The Lebanese military asked displaced people returning to southern Lebanon to avoid frontline villages and towns near the border where the Israeli military is still present until the troops withdraw. Thousands of people have been returning to other previously evacuated areas in south Lebanon in defiance of an Israeli warning to avoid all previously evacuated areas. Many of those areas were hit by strikes just hours before the ceasefire took effect. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Tehran's main militant partner in the Mideast. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei praised the ceasefire in a statement Wednesday morning. Baghaei said that Iran still sought a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. But like Hezbollah, it's dropped the demand that a ceasefire also take place at the same time in the Gaza Strip. He also called for the International Criminal Court to try the “criminals of the occupying regime,” referring to Israel. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s former defense minister. TYRE, Lebanon — Displaced people started returning to the coastal city of Tyre on motorcycles and in cars early Wednesday, defying an Israeli military warning to stay away from previously evacuated areas. Ahmad Husseini said returning to southern Lebanon was an “indescribable feeling” and praised Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, who led Lebanon’s negotiations with Washington. “He made us and everyone proud.” Husseini, who earlier fled a town near the coastal city, spoke to The Associated Press while in his car with family members. Meanwhile, sporadic celebratory gunfire could be heard at a main roundabout in the city, as people returning honked the horns of cars — some piled with mattresses — and residents cheered. A couple of men shouted slogans praising slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September. Hussein Sweidan said he sees the ceasefire as a victory for Hezbollah. “This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shia sect, and for all of Lebanon,” he said. BEIRUT — As dawn broke in Beirut, plumes of smoke were visible rising from places hit by Israeli strikes before the ceasefire took effect at 4 a.m. Residents of Lebanon’s capital and its southern suburbs endured the most intense day of strikes since the war began on Tuesday. BEIRUT — As the ceasefire went into effect early Wednesday, much of Lebanon was quiet for the first time since late September, following weeks of intense overnight strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon. Some celebratory gunshots could be heard in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, battered over the past two months. Israel’s Arabic military spokesperson Avichay Adraee has warned displaced Lebanese not to return to their villages in southern Lebanon, but some videos circulating on social media show displaced Lebanese defying these calls and returning to villages in the south near the coastal city of Tyre. Israeli troops are still present in parts of southern Lebanon after Israel launched a ground invasion in October. Lebanese have also been displaced from other parts of the country, notably the southern Beirut suburbs and the eastern Bekaa province. It’s unclear how long it will take cash-strapped Lebanon to rebuild these bombarded neighborhoods. The war has displaced some 1.2 million people, according to the Lebanese government. JERUSALEM — As the ceasefire took effect early Wednesday, Israel’s military warned people with homes in areas of south Lebanon that it ordered evacuated to stay away for now. Israeli military spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued the warning on the social platform X. “You are prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area,” Adraee wrote, using an acronym for the Israeli military. “For your safety and the safety of your family members, refrain from moving to the area.” There were no immediate signs of renewed fighting as the ceasefire took hold early Wednesday morning. The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants has begun as a region on edge wonders whether it will hold. The ceasefire announced Tuesday is a major step toward ending nearly 14 months of fighting sparked by the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement. The ceasefire calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. An international panel led by the United States will monitor compliance. The ceasefire began at 4 a.m. Wednesday, a day after Israel carried out its most intense wave of airstrikes in Beirut since the start of the conflict that in recent weeks turned into all-out war. Read more here.
Article content A Saskatchewan legislature member says his transgender children were targeted in an election campaign promise about school change rooms and he wants an apology from Premier Scott Moe. Opposition NDP member Jared Clarke told the legislative assembly this week his daughters were subjects of a complaint for using a girls’ change room at a southeast Saskatchewan school. “The premier put a target on the backs of my two 12-year-old kids,” Clarke said in the house. He said a news article of the complaint was published Oct. 16 and later that day a photo of his family was shared on social media linking them to the article. The next day at a campaign stop in Regina, Moe was asked about the complaint and announced he would ban “biological boys” from using girls change rooms at schools if his Saskatchewan Party won the Oct. 28 election. Moe had touted the proposal as his first order of business, but it was not in his party’s campaign platform. “He held a press conference to stoke fear and outrage about two kids at an elementary school, while my children’s picture was circulating on social media, identifying them, while unimaginable hate was raging down on my family,” Clarke told the assembly. “The premier owes my children an apology. He owes all transgender people in this province, especially kids, an apology for how he has made them feel so unsafe over the last year.” Moe’s office said in an emailed statement the premier and former Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill at no point identified the children. “The premier and his campaign consistently stated that, ’the identity of individual minors should never be part of any political debate,” the email said. “We will work with school divisions to ensure that there is a policy in place that supports each and every student.” Moe told reporters a week after the Saskatchewan Party was re-elected the ban would no longer be a legislative priority. Clarke asked if it would be acceptable for the children of other legislature members to be used as political fodder. “What do you think would be going through a 12-year-old’s mind when they hear the premier of their province targeting them?” he told the assembly. He said it wasn’t easy when his children came out as transgender, and that he and his wife had to do a lot of learning, reading, talking and thinking. “As a parent of a transgender child, you are presented with a stark choice: to outright reject the feelings and words of your child when they tell you who they are or to choose to embrace your child and love them with all your heart,” he said. “My wife and I decided to love our kids with all our hearts. “Transgender kids are not scary. Transgender people are not scary. They are not people that we should be afraid of. They are people who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and love.” He said his kids are kind and smart, and they play sports and music. They are also fond of Taylor Swift and airplanes. “They have the incredible strength to live as their authentic selves.” Clarke said it’s the second time the Saskatchewan Party government has gone after transgender kids. Last year, the province passed a law using the notwithstanding clause to require parental consent when children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school. “I don’t expect everyone to understand the journey that we have been on as a family, but I hope that my words today can be heard by those who have an open heart and a willingness to learn about the different lived experience than perhaps their own,” he said. “I hope something good can come from this terrible experience.” The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
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PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 21, 2024-- Mobile-first customer experience company Airship today announced the winners of the 2024 Airship Altitude Awards. Asda, bol, CIMB Singapore, Sally Beauty Holdings and The Vitamin Shoppe each won their respective award categories for exceptional value creation across acquisition, activation, value impact, unified experience and mobile mastery. Acquisition: Online marketplace bol was recognized for its strategies and results in driving app downloads with its “Price Alert Push as Acquisition Strategy.” bol created a price alert push campaign to acquire new app users and gain opt in for alerts when there is a discount on an item in a user’s wish list. The team encouraged customers to download the app, opt-in to notifications and add items to their wish list in the run up to major sales campaigns, like their bol 10 Days Campaign. The effort drove a significant uplift in price alert notifications, driving nearly 3X higher opt-in rates than average, an above average open rate of 27% and a conversion rate of 9%. Activation: Sally Beauty Holdings, a global distributor and retailer of professional beauty products, is honored for “Sally Beauty and CosmoProf Engagement and Opt-in Growth,” which showcased the brand’s ability to onboard new app users, drive ongoing engagement, opt-ins and registrations. Sally Beauty Holdings wanted to grow opt-ins and expand app engagement to provide more value to Sally Beauty and CosmoProf app users. The company implemented Airship’s no-code experiences and cross-channel engagement solutions, including eye-catching native, multiscreen experiences showing videos and quizzes, app store events, early access, sneak-peek programs and exclusive offers. The effort helped the brand increase the number of active users on the Sally Beauty app by 7% and CosmoProf by 16.6% year-over-year. Additionally, Sally Beauty app revenue grew from 12% to 22% of ecommerce revenue and CosmoProf revenue increased from 20% to 32% of ecommerce revenue. Value Impact: Leading ASEAN bank CIMB Singapore won top honors for driving revenue and creating valuable app customer experiences with its entry, “Empowering Simplicity with CIMB Clicks.” The brand’s vision was to make the CIMB Clicks mobile app in Singapore the go-to choice for simple, secure and seamless banking. The team went beyond simple app upgrades and fostered greater collaboration with their team, simplifying processes and reducing development time from months to weeks and days. CIMB Singapore established a dialogue with customers to educate them on security risks like phishing scams and promote new app features. As a result, monthly active users (MAU) grew 162% from early 2023 to early 2024 and 9 out of 10 retail customers now use digital banking with 75% regularly making monthly transactions. Unified Experience: Asda, one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK, was recognized for achieving exceptional customer engagement from cohesive, contextually connected experiences with its “Multichannel Rewards Round-Up” campaign. To strengthen the value exchange among its loyal Asda Rewards customers, Asda wanted to increase awareness and engagement with its loyalty program and build customer anticipation for future cash rewards. The team deployed data-driven multichannel campaigns with push notifications, in-app messages and email marketing to provide relevant, timely and consistent updates of personalized rewards progress across channels. As a result, Asda saw a 100% increase in direct open rates of push notifications and a 50% uplift in customers responding to in-app messages. Additionally, Asda’s 2024 email campaign saw an 8% increase in open rates and 39% growth in click-through rate. Mobile Mastery: The Vitamin Shoppe, a leading retailer of nutritional supplements in the U.S., transformed its mobile app experience to improve customer engagement and e-commerce revenue. The retailer worked diligently to improve every touchpoint along the customer journey, increasing loyalty members and identified users, boosting in-app engagement through gamification, increasing notification opt-in rates, improving conversion rates with an abandoned cart campaign and expanding app traffic with SMS. The Vitamin Shoppe is the first to be recognized in this new award category that celebrates meaningful achievements across the entire customer lifecycle. “This year’s Altitude Award winners represent teams from across the globe that are capturing greater value from mobile customer experiences,” said Brett Caine, CEO of Airship. “From several dozen award entries to an elite group of 12 finalists, all with very impressive results, these five winning brands are helping to define how to get mobile-first customer experience right in ways that matter most for their customers and their businesses.” A distinguished group of industry experts reviewed the 2024 Altitude Award entries and scored them based on overall performance, amplification, innovation and degree of difficulty. This year’s judges included: Pietro Lambert , VP of Product Management at OneFootball; Lauren Hensley , Director of Mobile App Marketing and Lifecycle at VML; Tom Burrell , independent retention marketing consultant formerly with DAZN; and Di Wu , VP of Audience Engagement and Lifecycle Marketing at Pandora. To learn more about the 2024 Altitude Award winners, read the blog post . About Airship Airship helps brands master mobile-first customer experiences to build lasting relationships and accelerate business growth. Since 2009, Airship has enabled thousands of the world’s leading brands to be at the forefront of the customer experience revolution with industry-first support for push notifications, in-app messages and mobile wallet boarding passes — all now the norm in elevating experiences everywhere. Today, the Airship Experience Platform provides an end-to-end solution for unifying experiences across apps, websites and all channels, including email, SMS, mobile wallet and more. Its no-code Experience Editor and Journeys AI solutions enable marketers and product managers to get work done in minutes instead of months, capturing more value across the entire customer lifecycle without ongoing developer support. With the Airship Experience Platform and App Store Optimization technology and expertise, brands now have a complete set of solutions to optimize the entire customer lifecycle – from the point of discovery to loyalty – driving greater value for everyone involved. For more information, visit www.airship.com , read our blog or follow us on X (formerly Twitter) , LinkedIn and Facebook . View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241121113161/en/ CONTACT: Media Contact North America: Deidre Wright Airship +1 415-223-0832 deidre.wright@airship.comKali Myrick Kali Myrick Communications +1 503-580-4645 kali@kalimyrick.comEMEA : Ana Williams Airship +44 (0)20 3405 5160 press@airship.comPauline Delorme Tyto PR +44 (0)20 3934 8882 Airship@tytopr.com KEYWORD: OREGON UNITED STATES SINGAPORE CANADA NORTH AMERICA ASIA PACIFIC EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY MARKETING MOBILE/WIRELESS ADVERTISING SUPERMARKET COMMUNICATIONS FOOD/BEVERAGE COSMETICS HOME GOODS RETAIL FITNESS & NUTRITION FINANCE BANKING ELECTRONIC COMMERCE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES HEALTH SECURITY APPS/APPLICATIONS DIGITAL MARKETING SOFTWARE ONLINE RETAIL INTERNET DATA MANAGEMENT SOURCE: Airship Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 11/21/2024 02:58 PM/DISC: 11/21/2024 02:58 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241121113161/en
Nowadays, in our constant pursuit of individual success, it is easy to overlook the real wealth within our communities. When we talk about children from less fortunate backgrounds, the focus often shifts to what they don’t have – be it resources, opportunities or guidance. However, my time with children at Kelab MyStar has shown me that these young individuals are not lacking. On the contrary, they hold something deeply valuable: they represent the potential and opportunity within our society. These children residing in the public housing areas of PPR Taman Mulia and PA Seri Kota, Kuala lumpur, are more than just participants in a programme; they are the future of our community. Every smile, every question and every spark of curiosity during our STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities serves as a reminder of their boundless potential. Their energy and enthusiasm are not only inspiring but also a powerful signal of what we all gain when we come together to nurture and uplift every member of society. Kelab MyStar is a collaborative effort between Universiti Malaya and Think City under the “Kita-untuk-Kita” (K2K) programme. This initiative is more than an educational outreach; it is proof of what we can achieve when we work together to create better lives for everyone, especially our youth. When we invest in them, we are not just shaping their futures; we are also building a stronger, more inclusive society. Our approach to these children is not one of pity or superiority. Instead, we see their potential and the opportunities they bring – not just for themselves, but for all of us. They challenge us to look beyond our immediate concerns and consider the kind of world we want to create – a world that is generous, where everyone has the chance to contribute and flourish. As a mother, I see in these children the same hopes and dreams I hold for my own. Just as I wish for my children to grow up in a society that cherishes every individual, I envision a world where these young minds are valued, regardless of where they come from or what challenges they face. Charlotte Bronte in Jane Eyre, wrote, “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” This sentiment echoes the desires we all have for our children – to be free to shape their destinies, unbound by limitations imposed by their circumstances. These children, with their boundless imagination and resilience, remind me of the strong-willed characters in classic literature who, despite adversity, dared to dream and persevere. Like Jane Eyre, who rose above her hardships to carve out her place in the world, I want these children to understand that their voices carry weight, that their ideas hold the potential to change their lives and the lives of others. I dream of a society that, like the wise Mr Knightley in Jane Austen’s Emma, recognises the value in each person regardless of status. Mr Knightley said, “There is one thing, Emma, which a man can always do, if he chooses, and that is his duty.” Our duty, as adults and as a community, is to guide the young, to show them that they are not alone, and that their journey, though challenging, is shared by all of us who believe in their potential. In nurturing their voices and supporting their aspirations, we do more than just fulfil our responsibilities – we empower them to grow into individuals who, like the characters of Bronte and Austen, will stand tall and contribute meaningfully to society. These children are not just part of our community; they are its future, and it is up to us to ensure that they walk their path with confidence and hope. It is our responsibility to support these young minds, offering them the tools, guidance and opportunities they need to succeed. By doing so, we are investing in their future and the future of our nation. As Malaysia works towards becoming a leader in the global digital economy, initiatives like Kelab MyStar will ensure that we have a generation ready and capable of meeting the challenges ahead. Let us continue to work hand in hand, drawing on the strength of our community and building a future that is bright and filled with opportunities for all our children, no matter where they are. Prof Dr Siti Nursheena Mohd Zain The author is the lead researcher of Kelab MyStar and professor at Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya