UK, France and 23 other countries say the war in Gaza ‘must end now'
The foreign ministers of countries including Australia, Canada and Japan have condemned 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians' seeking food.
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Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers says he won't seek third term in battleground Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's Democratic governor, Tony Evers, announced Thursday that he will not seek a third term in 2026, creating the first open race for governor in the battleground state in 16 years. It will be Wisconsin's highest profile race next year, as Democrats also angle to take control of the Legislature thanks to redrawn election maps that are friendlier to the party. They are also targeting two congressional districts as Democrats nationwide try to retake the House. The Legislature has been under Republican control since 2011, and some Democrats had hoped that Evers, 73, would run for a third term to give him a chance to potentially work with a Democratic-controlled one. Evers often clashes with Republicans Evers has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump's administration, and his tenure has been marked by his often contentious relationship with the Legislature. Before Evers even took office, Republicans convened a lame-duck session to pass a package of laws to weaken his power. Evers angered Republicans during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when he ordered schools and nonessential businesses to close, issued a statewide mask mandate and tried, unsuccessfully, to delay the state's April presidential primary. Republicans broke with tradition to reject 21 Evers appointees. They also blocked many of his proposals, including expanding Medicare, legalizing marijuana and spending more on child care, K-12 schools and higher education. Evers used his broad veto powers to stop Republicans from enacting a wide range of conservative priorities, including making voting requirements more strict, expanding gun rights, growing the private school voucher program and making abortions more difficult to obtain. But Evers did work with Republicans to pass the most recent state budget, which included $1.5 billion in tax cuts prioritized by the GOP and more funding for both K-12 special education and the University of Wisconsin. Evers also worked with Republicans to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee and funnel more money to local governments. Evers pushed for the redrawing of Wisconsin's legislative boundary lines, which the state Supreme Court ordered after liberal justices gained a majority in 2023. The maps drawn by Republicans, which had been in place for more than a decade, were widely regarded as among the most gerrymandered in the country. The new maps drawn by Evers are more favorable to Democrats and helped them pick up seats in last November's election. Democrats are optimistic that they can win control of at least one legislative chamber next year. Evers waited until after he signed the state budget before making his retirement announcement. Possible candidates The open race is sure to attract several Democratic and Republican candidates. Democrats mentioned as potential candidates include Attorney General Josh Kaul, Lt. Gov. Sarah Rodriguez, state Sen. Kelda Roys, Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and suburban Milwaukee businessman Bill Berrien are running as Republicans. Others, including U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and state Senate President Mary Felzkowski, are considering it. The last open race for governor was in 2010, when Democratic incumbent Jim Doyle, similar to Evers, opted not to seek a third term. Republican Scott Walker won that year and served two terms before Evers defeated him in 2018. The only Wisconsin governor to be elected to a third four-year term was Republican Tommy Thompson, who served from 1986 to 2001. He resigned midway through his fourth term. Evers won his first race by just over 1 percentage point in 2018. He won reelection by just over 3 points in 2022. Before being elected governor, Evers worked for 10 years as state superintendent of education after a career as a teacher and school administrator. The folksy governor Evers positioned himself as a folksy governor who would sprinkle the occasional mild swear word into his comments and other Midwestern colloquialisms such as 'holy mackerel' and 'folks.' His mild-mannered demeanor stood in stark contrast to Trump and other political firebrands. 'I think he is the most quintessential Wisconsin politician I've ever seen,' said Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, who has been in elected office since 1991. After winning reelection in 2022, Evers noted that he is frequently described as boring, but said: 'As it turns out, boring wins.'
Business Wire
14 minutes ago
- Business Wire
SES and the Luxembourg Government to Develop and Launch New Defence Satellite for GovSat
LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SES and the Luxembourg Government today announced their plan for development of a second satellite for GovSat (LuxGovSat S.A.), the public-private partnership and 50/50 joint venture between SES and the Luxembourg Government that provides secure, reliable and accessible satellite communication services for governments. GovSat-2 will be positioned over the European satellite arc. It will join GovSat-1 in augmenting reliable connectivity services for government customers over the region. The satellite will be built by Thales Alenia Space on its Spacebus 4000B2 platform. Since launching in 2018, the joint venture's first defence satellite, GovSat-1, operated by GovSat from a secure missions operations centre in Luxembourg, has supported the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence, EU and NATO nations, the U.S. Department of Defense, and other governmental users. It has been providing connectivity for theatres of operation, interconnection of institutional as well as defence sites, border control, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance, and various other types of communications for air, land and maritime missions. The state-of-the-art GovSat-2 satellite will extend the coverage and scale of GovSat, and is designed to address the needs of defence users at the highest Security and Service Assurance Level. The satellite will add new ultra-high frequency (UHF) channels, X- and military Ka-band, and will include other security features such as dedicated hardening, an advanced anti-jamming system, and embedded geolocation. The investment in GovSat-2 is in line with SES's stated financial policy criteria, and also in line with prior combined company CAPEX guidance. The satellite will be co-funded by SES and the Luxembourg Government, subject to approval of the corresponding draft law by Parliament. 'The procurement of GovSat-2 underscores the success of the GovSat public-private partnership to provide Luxembourg, our allies and partners with secure military satellite communications that supplement their national systems and support a wide range of critical military, defence and civilian security applications,' said Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence of Luxembourg. 'With GovSat-2, Luxembourg will once again demonstrate its significant impact in the field of Space.' 'With geopolitical shifts and an increased need for scalable national security and defence capabilities, we are seeing growing demand for secure, reliable geostationary (GEO) connectivity with comprehensive coverage across Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the Mediterranean and the Baltic Seas,' said Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES. 'As governments across Europe look to bolster their sovereign satellite communications for defence and intelligence needs, GovSat-2 gives GovSat additional MILSATCOM capacity to address this strategic area of growth.' 'GovSat-2 reflects the growing demand in military satcom, allowing our GovSat public-private venture to scale and broaden the services we have been providing since 2018. For this brand new satellite, we are adding more frequency bands along with innovative functionalities for it to be well-positioned to address the future connectivity challenges the NATO and partner nations face,' said Patrick Biewer, CEO of GovSat. About SES At SES, we believe that space has the power to make a difference. That's why we design space solutions that help governments protect, businesses grow, and people stay connected—no matter where they are. With integrated multi-orbit satellites and our global terrestrial network, we deliver resilient, seamless connectivity and the highest quality video content to those shaping what's next. Following our Intelsat acquisition, we now offer more than 100 years of combined global industry leadership—backed by a track record of bringing innovation 'firsts' to market. As a trusted partner to customers and the global space ecosystem, SES is driving impact that goes far beyond coverage.
Fox News
14 minutes ago
- Fox News
Beach town bans men's too-short swim trunks, sparking debate and rule flipflop
While some tourists may have a "sky's out, thighs out" attitude toward their swim trunks, one Mediterranean town begs to differ. The mayor of Chetaïbi, Alegeria, called for longer and looser shorts on men — issuing a decree banning them from walking around in Bermuda shorts. "These summer outfits disturb the population. They go against our society's moral values and sense of decency," Mayor Layachi Allaoua said, according to The Associated Press (AP). "The population can no longer tolerate seeing foreigners wandering the streets in indecent clothing," he added. The decision sparked a regional debate over religious and traditional attire as opposed to the habits of more open-minded beachgoers. Officials in the coastal city of Annaba called on the mayor to rescind his order. After two days of controversy, the mayor did reverse the order — saying he wanted to preserve "peace and tranquility" for both locals and tourists and that he was not influenced by Islamist pressure, according to AP. In 2023, 3.3 million people visited the North African country of Algeria, according to the tourism ministry. Islam is Algeria's official state religion, with 99% of residents identified as Sunni Muslims, according to the CIA's World Factbook. Between 1991 and 2002, the Algerian Civil War led to more openly visible religious practices in daily life. "Modesty is a foundational virtue of Islamic culture, which is intrinsically linked to awara," notes a study published in the MAQOLAT: Journal of Islamic Studies. "The idea of awara … refers to the parts of the body that must be covered to maintain privacy and dignity," the study says. Men should cover their bodies from the navel to the knees — while women must cover their entire body aside from face and hands.
