646-ph For many across the Middle East, the came as a relief: the first major sign of progress in the region since war began more than a year ago. But for Palestinians in Gaza and families of hostages held in the territory, the only to inaugurate a newer, grimmer period of the conflict there. For them, it marked yet another missed opportunity to end fighting that has stretched on for nearly 14 months. Palestinians had hoped that any ceasefire deal with Hezbollah would include a truce in Gaza as well. The families of people kidnapped when in October 2023, meanwhile, wanted part of the agreement to include returning their loved ones. Instead, the ceasefire was . “We feel this is a missed opportunity to tie in the hostages in this agreement that was signed today,” said Ruby Chen, whose son, Itay Chen, was taken hostage from an Israeli military base and has been declared dead. As much as they were intertwined, the two wars have been very different. In Lebanon, Israel said its aim was to drive Hezbollah back from the countries’ shared border and end the militant group’s barrages into northern Israel. The ceasefire is intended to do that. In Gaza, Israel’s goals . Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been resolute in insisting that Hamas must be completely destroyed and Israel must retain lasting control over parts of the territory. Months of talks have failed to get Netanyahu to back down from those demands — or to convince Hamas to release hostages under those terms. For Palestinians in Gaza, that means continuing misery under an Israeli campaign that has and driven almost the entire population from their homes. Hundreds of thousands while living in squalid tent cities as the second winter of the war brings cold rains and flooding. ”They agree to a ceasefire in one place and not in the other? Have mercy on the children, the elderly and the women,” said Ahlam Abu Shalabi, living in tent in central Gaza. “Now it is winter, and all the people are drowning.” Palestinians feel resigned to continued war The war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants attacked Israel from Gaza, killing around 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has rained devastation on the Palestinian territory, killing over 44,000 people, according to local health officials. The officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and fighters in their count, say over half of the dead are women and children. Hezbollah began firing into Israel a day after Hamas’ attack in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group. The two sides have exchanged near-daily barrages since. Moving thousands of troops to its northern border, Israel ramped up bombardment of southern Lebanon and launched a ground invasion there two months ago, . Palestinians now fear Israel’s military can return its full focus to Gaza — a point that Netanyahu made as he announced the ceasefire in Lebanon on Tuesday. “The pressure will be more on Gaza,” said Mamdouh Younis, a displaced man in a central Gaza tent camp. Netanyahu, he said, can now exploit the fact that “Gaza has become alone, far from all the arenas that were supporting it, especially the Lebanon front.” Israeli troops are already engaged in , where a two-month offensive has cut off most aid and caused experts to warn . Strikes all over the territory regularly kill dozens. In signing onto the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah reversed its long-held position that it wouldn’t stop its barrages across the border unless Israel ends the war in Gaza. “This could have a psychological impact, as it will further entrench the understanding that Palestinians in Gaza are alone in resisting against their occupiers,” said Tariq Kenney Shawa, a U.S. policy fellow at Al-Shabaka, a Palestinian think tank. Hamas may dig its heels in It also leaves Hamas — its capabilities already severely damaged by Israel’s offensive — to fight alone. Hamas official Osama Hamdan appeared to accept Hezbollah’s new position in an interview Monday. “Any announcement of a ceasefire is welcome. Hezbollah has stood by our people and made significant sacrifices,” Hamdan told the Lebanese broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, which is seen as politically allied with Hezbollah. Khalil Sayegh, a Palestinian analyst, said the ceasefire could make Hamas even less popular in Gaza, by proving the failure of its gambit that its attack on Israel would rally other militant groups to the fight. “It’s a moment where we can see the Hamas messaging become weaker and weaker, as they struggle to justify their strategy to the public,” said Sayegh. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire could help force Hamas to the negotiating table because it would show the group that the “cavalry is not on the way.” But Hamas experts predicted that it would only dig in both on the battlefield and in talks. Hamas has insisted it will only release all the hostages in return for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. “I expect Hamas will continue using guerrilla warfare to confront Israeli forces in Gaza as long as they remain,” said Shawa. Hostage families lose hope Dozens of Israelis thronged a major highway in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night, protesting for the return of the hostages as the country waited to hear if a ceasefire in Lebanon had been agreed. Around 100 people taken hostage are still held in Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Most of the other hostages seized by Hamas were released during a ceasefire last year. Ricardo Grichener, the uncle of 23-year-old hostage Omer Wenkert, said the ceasefire with Hezbollah showed how the Israeli government was openly disregarding the hostages. Even though Israel has inflicted greater damage on Hamas in Gaza than on Hezbollah in Lebanon, he said “the decision to postpone a deal in Gaza and release the hostages is not based on the same military success criteria.” The most recent effort to wind down the war stalled in October. U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday he would begin a renewed push, but his administration is now in its waning days after the reelection of former President Donald Trump. “This ceasefire doesn’t concern our hostages. I believe that Netanyahu forgot about them, and he just wants to keep fighting in Gaza,” said Ifat Kalderon, clutching a photo of her cousin, Ofer Kalderon, who is a hostage and a father to four. “Ofer yesterday had his 54th birthday. His second birthday in Gaza,” she said. “It’s unbelievable that he’s still there.”

Middle East latest: Israel bombs Lebanon's capital as Netanyahu considers a ceasefire with Hezbollah

After spending over half a decade at the top with seven straight state championships, Governors football had one of their most interesting seasons in recent memory in 2024. “The adversity this year was way different than any other year,” senior captain Elijah Boutchee said. “We’ve had very good teams the last few years, and this year, losing four games and still making it that far made it that much better.” Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Looking for hard-to-find bottles of Kentucky bourbon to toast the holidays or add to a collection? Get your bids ready as the Bluegrass State launches its first online auction of confiscated alcohol. Whiskeys up for sale include two bottles of Old Rip Van Winkle, a Blanton’s Single Barrel Gold in box with Japanese markings and a bottle of Four Roses Small Batch Barrel Strength 2011. The sale is the result of a new Kentucky law, which allows alcohol confiscated from closed criminal investigations by the state's alcoholic beverage control agency to be auctioned. Online bidding opens Wednesday and closes at midnight on Dec. 11. Proceeds will support programs promoting responsible alcohol use by adults and awareness programs for youths. “This is a really good auction,” Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, said by phone Tuesday. “There are some hard-to-find and rare bottles on there.” No estimate has been given on how much the auction might raise. “We look forward to seeing the response to this auction and have started planning additional auctions for 2025,” said Allyson Taylor, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The auction features 32 bottles of alcohol and includes a “stock the bar” bundle with bottles of wine, vodka, rum and whiskey, the agency said. But the stars are the hard-to-find and rare bourbons up for sale. “It’s not every day you go to a liquor store and find a bottle of Blanton’s Gold," Gregory said. “You never go to a liquor store and find a bottle of Four Roses 2011.” The lineup includes bottles of E.H. Taylor bourbon, Blanton’s Single Barrel, Eagle Rare 10 yr., Weller Antique 107, Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Rye, Michter’s, an Old Forester gift set and more. A link to the online auction is available at ABC.ky.gov . Auction items cannot be shipped, so winning bidders must pick up items in Frankfort, the state said. The auctions will become a “can't miss opportunity” for bourbon connoisseurs, Gregory said. Previously, confiscated bourbon or other spirits could end up being destroyed, he said. “We don't like to see good bourbon poured down the drain,” Gregory said. Kentucky distillers produce 95% of the global bourbon supply, the Kentucky distillers’ group says.Stocks closed higher on Wall Street at the start of a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% Monday. Several big technology companies helped support the gains, including chip companies Nvidia and Broadcom. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1%. Honda’s U.S.-listed shares rose sharply after the company said it was in talks about a combination with Nissan in a deal that could also include Mitsubishi Motors. Eli Lilly rose after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Major stock indexes rose on Wall Street in afternoon trading Monday, after a choppy start to a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered from an early slide to gain 29 points, or 0.1% as of 3:40 p.m. Eastern time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.8%. Gains in technology and communications stocks helped outweigh losses in consumer goods companies and elsewhere in the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, rose 3.3%. Broadcom climbed 5.5% to also help support the broader market. Walmart fell 2% and PepsiCo slid 1.2%. Japanese automakers Honda Motor and Nissan said they are talking about combining in a deal that might also include Mitsubishi Motors. U.S.-listed shares in Honda jumped 13.4%, while Nissan slipped 0.2%. Eli Lilly rose 3.5% after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first and only prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Department store Nordstrom fell 1.6% after it agreed to be taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal. The Conference Board said that consumer confidence slipped in December. Its consumer confidence index fell back to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Wall Street was expecting a reading of 113.8. The unexpectedly weak consumer confidence update follows several generally strong economic reports last week. One report showed the overall economy grew at a 3.1% annualized rate during the summer, faster than earlier thought. The latest report on unemployment benefit applications showed that the job market remains solid. A report on Friday said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than economists expected. Worries about inflation edging higher again had been weighing on Wall Street and the Fed. The central bank just delivered its third cut to interest rates this year, but inflation has been hovering stubbornly above its target of 2%. It has signaled that it could deliver fewer cuts to interest rates next year than it earlier anticipated because of concerns over inflation. Expectations for more interest rate cuts have helped drive a roughly 25% gain for the S&P 500 in 2024. That drive included 57 all-time highs this year. Inflation concerns have added to uncertainties heading into 2025, which include the labor market's path ahead and shifting economic policies under an incoming President Donald Trump. "Put simply, much of the strong market performance prior to last week was driven by expectations that a best-case scenario was the base case for 2025," said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.59% from 4.53% late Friday. European markets were mostly lower, while markets in Asia gained ground. Wall Street has several other economic reports to look forward to this week. On Tuesday, the U.S. will release its November report for sales of newly constructed homes. A weekly update on unemployment benefits is expected on Thursday. Markets in the U.S. will close at 1 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday for Christmas Eve and will remain closed on Wednesday for Christmas.

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Swansea boss Luke Williams thought his side were second best for the majority of the contest despite earning a 2-1 win at Derby. The Swans stunned Pride Park into silence with less than two minutes on the clock when Zan Vipotnik sent a bullet past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom before Ronald slotted home his first of the season in the 14th minute. Cyrus Christie brought Tom Barkhuizen down inside the box and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing dispatched the resulting penalty to cut the deficit in half and, despite piling on the pressure, Derby succumbed to a second home defeat of the season. Williams told a press conference: “We started the game very well, we were good up until we scored the second goal then we lost the grip on the game and I thought Derby were the better team. “The next thing for us we have to be able to maintain that level throughout the game and we weren’t able to do that to be quite honest today. “They made it difficult, reacted very well after the second goal and didn’t go under, far from it.” Swansea leapfrogged their opponents into the top half of the table with their sixth win of the season and took three points back to south Wales following two last-minute defeats by Burnley and Leeds heading into the match. Williams added: “We’ve recently conceded late goals but they’re a very resilient group and we saw it out in the end. “We’ve dominated games a lot but probably failed to score when we’ve been that dominant and tonight we managed to score the goals when we were dominant. “We scored the goals at the right time today.” Derby had been unbeaten in their last three matches coming into this one but Paul Warne put defeat down to a poor start. He said: “We conceded two and didn’t get close enough, weren’t aggressive enough, not enough body contact and looked soft, that’s my fault. “Maybe I didn’t message it properly. Sometimes it doesn’t come down to shape and tactics but I thought that was what the difference was. “Credit Swansea for the win but after the 25 mins it looked like we would score. I really enjoyed it, that’s the truth. I had 70 minutes of a team giving everything, I don’t think we’ve had that many attempts in the Championship this season. “It’s a rude awakening, last year we would’ve won that 4-2.”

Nabil Attar sprinkles sesame and pomegranate over creamy mutabal, a roasted eggplant dip from his native Syria — one of his mother's many recipes now featured at his restaurant, Narenj. A plate of stuffed grape leaves sits nearby, ready for the swelling lunchtime crowd. The tiny kitchen where he works seems an unlikely place for Attar, once a successful Damascus businessman specializing in electronic fund transfers. That was before Bashar al-Assad's regime kidnapped one of his sons, nearly a decade ago. "It was so complicated," recalled Attar, describing extortive practices wielded by the state to fill its coffers. "I paid a lot of money to get my son back." In 2015, Attar and his family joined the hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing their war-torn country for Europe. He settled in the Loire Valley city of Orleans, an hour's train ride from Paris and best known for its historical ties to France's patron saint Joan of Arc. Then came news earlier in December that the Assad era was over. "I never imagined in my lifetime it could happen," Attar said, scrolling through videos of himself and fellow Syrians in Orleans, rejoicing in the dictator's downfall. "Now Syria is free." For a growing number of European Union countries, Assad's ouster is triggering more than celebrations. Amid growing anti-immigration sentiment across the region, several have suspended Syrian asylum claims on grounds that the reasons that triggered them no longer exist. That's the case of Germany, which took in nearly a million Syrian asylum-seekers at the peak of the refugee influx, in 2015-16. While Chancellor Olaf Scholz says those "integrated" were welcome, one opposition Christian Democratic Union lawmaker suggested paying Syrians roughly $1,040 apiece to go home — a position already adopted by neighboring Austria. Hardening attitudes are also evident in France, despite its having only about 30,000 Syrian refugees. A CSA poll this month found 70% of French supported suspending new asylum claims. French authorities say they are studying the matter. "Since we hear that Syrian refugees are rejoicing in the fall of dictator Assad, let's engage in sending them home," Jordan Bardella, president of France's far-right National Rally, told a cheering crowd recently. "And let's hope Europe shuts the door after they leave." For Syria's diaspora in Europe and rights advocates, the vanishing welcome mat is triggering alarm. In interviews across the region, many refugees say they fear returning. "The situation in Syria is extremely volatile, extremely unpredictable," said Olivia Sundberg Diez, the European Union migration and asylum advocate for Amnesty International. "What is most important should be the safety of Syrian refugees and people that are seeking protection — this has to be prioritized over political interests." "Rushing the return of millions of Syrians would put even more pressure on Syria at an extremely fragile moment and would undermine the prospect of a successful transition," warned Will Todman, deputy director and a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based research group, in a commentary. The debate is echoed among the Syrian community around Orleans. "I'm worried about the country, I'm worried about the future," said Ramez Ghadri, a Syrian gynecologist who settled in France decades ago. Of Syria's new leaders, he added, "they're extremists." Ehad Naily, a Syrian rights lawyer living outside the city, is also concerned. Like Attar, he arrived in France in 2015 and set up a local association to support fellow refugees. "You can't say 'the regime is destroyed, you can now live in Syria,'" Naily said, describing shattered infrastructure and towns, and a tangle of religious and ethnic tensions simmering in his homeland. After nearly a decade living in France, his 15-year-old daughter does not speak Arabic. "You can't force people to leave host countries if there's no stability there," he said. Attar is more optimistic about Syria's near future. "I believe that Syria will be better — much, much better than before," he said. Like other Syrians here, he described Orleans residents as welcoming the newcomers. His older son, who was kidnapped, is now a pilot. His youngest is still in school. "We never had any problem" in France, Attar said. After receiving asylum, he learned how to run a restaurant. In 2018, he and his wife opened Narenj, which means "bitter orange" in Arabic. "He's well-known here. He's got lots of loyal customers," said Sophie Martinet, Attar's former French teacher who has now become a friend. "He's undeniably talented. And people like Nabil." Throughout the years, however, Assad's secret service kept tabs on him, Attar said, demanding money to leave him alone. "This regime, they keep tracking everyone," he said. "It was a business, a network. It was organized crime." Now a French citizen, Attar doesn't have worry about being sent back to Syria. But he believes other refugees here with legitimate reasons to stay in France have nothing to fear. "People who are working, who are doing their best, who are well integrated in society — they will not be affected by what's happening in Syria," he said. Attar himself is eager to return to a post-Assad Syria. "I would like to go back, visit my family, my friends," he said. "See the streets where I worked, where I lived." But not for good. Today, Attar said, his life and future are in France.None

DANIA BEACH, Florida (AP) — Border Patrol agents are tasked with enforcing hotly contested immigration policies as many Americans at both ends of the political spectrum look askance at the border — and the agents. That's taking a mounting toll, so the agency is training more among its ranks to become chaplains and provide spiritual care for their fellow agents on and off the job. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

Australian cricket legend Mark Taylor has sent a serious warning to Pat Cummins and his team ahead of the first Test in Perth . With the Border-Gavaskar Test series against India blasting off today (Friday), the former captain is telling the Australians to keep their mouths zipped. Head here to watch Australia v India live and free on 7plus Sport Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today In particular, Taylor thinks the Aussies should not poke the bear ... the bear being 36-year-old superstar Virat Kohli. The veteran batter has struck just two centuries in his past 60 Test innings and was restricted to just 93 runs at an average of 15.5 during India’s shock 3-0 loss to New Zealand in India. But it is a sensitive topic for India and Taylor says now is not the time to start sledging. “I reckon that can backfire, particularly on Kohli,” Taylor said on 2GB. “If I was the Aussies, I’d be staying pretty quiet (and) just hitting a wide length around off stump and seeing if they can keep him under wraps by nicking balls. He has been doing this of late. “(But) I wouldn’t be saying too much to Virat. “He loves that combativeness of Test match cricket and that’s why he loves playing against the Aussies. “I remember interviewing him 10 years ago when he came over. He was really looking forward to the series and having the Australians in his face — bowling quick, bowling bouncers. He seems to thrive on that. “That’s going to be one of the great contests of this series. “I always fear someone like Virat Kohli when they’re out of form because he’s just too good of a player for this sort of slump to continue. “He does love playing here, he does love pace and bounce on the ball so he enjoys our conditions and averages 54 against Australia. “So, he’ll be up for it. There is no doubt. “He’s been worried about his form, he’s been working really hard over here from all reports to try and get it right, so Australia need to keep him down.” Meanwhile, stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah believes there are “ominous” signs that Kohli is returning to his best. “He is one of the greats of the game,” Bumrah said. “He’s the utmost professional that we have in our team. He’s got a lot of success. “He’s one of the leaders, I made my debut under him, so he knows what he’s doing. “OK, one or two series here and there can go up and down, but the confidence that he has at this moment, I have no doubts ... and he’s mentally switched on. “He’s looking to contribute. And the way I’ve seen him at training ... the signs are ominous. “I don’t want to jinx it by saying anything else, but yes, he’s looking in very good shape.” India have held the Border-Gavaskar trophy since 2016/17. They have pulled off two series wins in Australia since then, but their hopes of doing it again have been dealt a number of blows in the lead-up to the latest showdown. Regular skipper Rohit Sharma will miss the first Test in Perth after remaining in India for the birth of his second child. Young star Shubman Gill will also be absent after injuring his thumb at training last week, while veteran paceman Mohammed Shami is still building his fitness following an ankle injury. Indian fans are still struggling to digest their team’s dismal performance against NZ on home soil, but Bumrah said the players are primed to bounce back. “The beauty about cricket is even if you win, you start from zero, and even if you lose you start from zero,” Bumrah said. “So that’s how I look at the game. The first Test begins on Friday, November 22 and is scheduled to run through to Tuesday, November 26. For the very first time Australians can stream the cricket live and free on 7plus Sport on any device — anytime and anywhere. Seven’s coverage kicks off at 12.30pm AEDT each day ahead of the first ball at 1.20pm AEDT. - With AAP

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The Swans stunned Pride Park into silence with less than two minutes on the clock when Zan Vipotnik sent a bullet past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom before Ronald slotted home his first of the season in the 14th minute. Cyrus Christie brought Tom Barkhuizen down inside the box and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing dispatched the resulting penalty to cut the deficit in half and, despite piling on the pressure, Derby succumbed to a second home defeat of the season. Williams told a press conference: “We started the game very well, we were good up until we scored the second goal then we lost the grip on the game and I thought Derby were the better team. “The next thing for us we have to be able to maintain that level throughout the game and we weren’t able to do that to be quite honest today. “They made it difficult, reacted very well after the second goal and didn’t go under, far from it.” Swansea leapfrogged their opponents into the top half of the table with their sixth win of the season and took three points back to south Wales following two last-minute defeats by Burnley and Leeds heading into the match. Williams added: “We’ve recently conceded late goals but they’re a very resilient group and we saw it out in the end. “We’ve dominated games a lot but probably failed to score when we’ve been that dominant and tonight we managed to score the goals when we were dominant. “We scored the goals at the right time today.” Derby had been unbeaten in their last three matches coming into this one but Paul Warne put defeat down to a poor start. He said: “We conceded two and didn’t get close enough, weren’t aggressive enough, not enough body contact and looked soft, that’s my fault. “Maybe I didn’t message it properly. Sometimes it doesn’t come down to shape and tactics but I thought that was what the difference was. “Credit Swansea for the win but after the 25 mins it looked like we would score. I really enjoyed it, that’s the truth. I had 70 minutes of a team giving everything, I don’t think we’ve had that many attempts in the Championship this season. “It’s a rude awakening, last year we would’ve won that 4-2.”