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Even with access to blockbuster obesity drugs, some people don't lose weightThe Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday received the final batch of automated counting machines (ACMs) for 2025 midterm elections. Comelec Chairperson George Garcia personally received the delivery of ACMs at the commission's warehouse in Biñan, Laguna. "We would like to thank Miru Systems because they kept their promise to us that by November, the total of 110,620 machines will be delivered to the Comelec," Garcia said in Filipino. According to Garcia, the final batch, comprising 9,610 ACMs, now completes the total number of 110,620 machines to be used in next year's twin polls. "It took a little longer in our Bureau of Customs, but this only proves their compliance with their obligation in their contract with us," Garcia said. With the early delivery, Garcia noted that Comelec could expedite the hardware acceptance test (HAT). Around 60,000 to 70,000 ACMs have already undergone HAT at the Comelec warehouse. He added that the Department of Science and Technology will also conduct parallel testing on the machines. The Comelec chief said they are eyeing to finish testing all ACMs before December ends, followed by a mock election in January. "Our local Comelec will go to our fellow Filipinos [in each barangay] so that they can use the demo machines and can experience them so they would know how to use them," he added. The Comelec has spent P17.9 billion to lease 110,000 new machines from Miru Systems.Even with access to blockbuster obesity drugs, some people don't lose weight
Middle East latest: Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is set to begin at 4 amThe Patriots elevated rookie tight end Jack Westover and outside linebacker Keshawn Banks from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. The team also did not activate offensive lineman Cole Strange from the PUP list, meaning he won’t play until Week 13 at the earliest. Westover, an undrafted free agent out of Washington, is primed to make his NFL debut. Banks was elevated last week, as well, to play on special teams. The Patriots already have tight ends Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper and Jaheim Bell on their 53-man roster. Westover originally signed as a rookie free agent with the Seahawks. The 25-year-old joined the Patriots in October . Westover caught 87 passes for 849 yards with six touchdowns during his college career. He also added seven carries for 26 yards and a touchdown and made three tackles. Strange returned to practice on Wednesday, focusing his attention on a conversion to center. The 2022 first-round pick spent his first two NFL seasons as the Patriots’ starting left guard. The Patriots are currently starting Ben Brown at center and Michael Jordan at left guard.
Unlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It's a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It's all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person's response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are typically prescribed along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn't happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It's not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn't respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I'm hoping it's slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was fully aware of and actively participated in a coup plot to remain in office after his defeat in the 2022 election , according to a Federal Police report unsealed Tuesday. Federal Police last Thursday formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 other people of attempting a coup. They sent their 884-page report to the Supreme Court, which lifted the seal. The unsealed document provides a first glimpse of several testimonies that describe the former president as one of the key leaders of the plot, and not a mere observer. “The evidence collected throughout the investigation shows unequivocally that then-President Jair Messias Bolsonaro planned, acted and was directly and effectively aware of the actions of the criminal organization aiming to launch a coup d’etat and eliminate the democratic rule of law, which did not take place due to reasons unrelated to his desire,” the document said. At another point, it says: “Bolsonaro had full awareness and active participation.” Bolsonaro, who had repeatedly alleged without evidence that the country's electronic voting system was prone to fraud, called a meeting in December 2022, during which he presented a draft decree to the commanders of the three divisions of the armed forces, according to the police report, signed by four investigators. The decree would have launched an investigation into suspicions of fraud and crimes related to the October 2022 vote, and suspended the powers of the nation's electoral court. The navy’s commander stood ready to comply, but those from the army and air force objected to any plan that prevented Lula’s inauguration, the report said. Those refusals are why the plan did not go ahead, according to witnesses who spoke to investigators. Bolsonaro never signed the decree to set the final stage of the alleged plan into action. Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or awareness of any plot to keep him in power or oust his leftist rival and successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. “No one is going to do a coup with a reserve general and half a dozen other officers. What is being said is absurd. For my part, there has never been any discussion of a coup,” Bolsonaro told journalists in Brazil’s capital Brasilia on Monday. “If someone came to discuss a coup with me, I’d say, that’s fine, but the day after, how does the world view us?” he added. “The word ‘coup’ has never been in my dictionary.” The top court has passed the report on to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet. He will decide whether to formally charge Bolsonaro and put him on trial, or toss the investigation. The former president was formally accused of three crimes: violent elimination of the rule of law, staging a coup d'etat and forming a criminal organization. Rodrigo Rios, a law professor at the PUC university in the city of Curitiba, said Bolsonaro could face up to a minimum of 11 years in prison if convicted on all charges. “A woman involved in the Jan. 8 attack on the Supreme Court received a 17-year prison sentence,” Rios told The Associated Press, noting that the former president is more likely to receive 15 years or more if convicted. “Bolsonaro’s future looks dark.” Ahead of the 2022 election, Bolsonaro repeatedly alleged that the election system, which does not use paper ballots, could be tampered with. The top electoral court later ruled that he had abused his power to cast unfounded doubt on the voting system, and ruled him ineligible for office until 2030 . Still, he has maintained that he will stand as a candidate in the 2026 race. Since Bolsonaro left office, he has been targeted by several investigations, all of which he has chalked up to political persecution. Federal Police have accused him of smuggling diamond jewelry into Brazil without properly declaring them and directing a subordinate to falsify his and others’ COVID-19 vaccination statuses . Authorities are also investigating whether he incited the Jan. 8, 2022 riot in which his followers ransacked the Supreme Court and presidential palace in Brasilia, seeking to prompt intervention by the army that would oust Lula from power. Bolsonaro had left for the United States days before Lula’s inauguration on Jan. 1, 2023 and stayed there three months, keeping a low profile. The police report unsealed Tuesday alleges he was seeking to avoid possible imprisonment related to the coup plot, and also await the uprising that took place a week later. Hughes reported from Rio de JaneiroOften undervalued and ignored even more than their film counterparts, animated shows have always been a television staple. But the confines of both the kids’ and adult animation subgroups have often unfortunately homogenized these series. After all, for those that turn their noses up at animation, how is the crude humor of Family Guy any different from the slapstick comedy of The Simpsons ? How does Rebecca Sugar’s impactful Steven Universe stand apart from the equally moving She-Ra and the Princesses of Power or The Owl House ? But when Arcane debuted in 2021, with the confident audacity to be released in a three-week “act” structure on the typically binge-or-bust Netflix, animated television’s magnum opus dared audiences to try to look away. But, for Netflix, going all in on Arcane was a no-brainer , having a long history of creative, risk-taking animation projects under its belt (and Riot Games footing a lot of the bill, comparatively ). However, the important difference between Arcane and the series that have come both before and since is that Netflix actually let creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee tell the story they set out to tell in its entirety, with little concession. While Netflix has undeniably had its fair share of animated hits over the years ( Bojack Horseman and Big Mouth immediately spring to mind), its animation offerings beyond those standouts are, frankly, scattershot, resulting in a proverbial graveyard of creative animated triumphs and misses that all ultimately failed to stake a strong foothold in the overcrowded catalog of the world’s biggest streamer. Much like everything on Netflix, its animation offerings are mostly a mishmash of “content” thrown at the wall to see what will stick, produced solely to drive subscriptions. The second a series fails to bring new eyes to the service, it becomes expendable. Blue Eye Samurai might be a bona fide hit for now, but it will only become less valuable to the growth-driven streamer over time, likely to result in an untimely cancellation. But unlike abandoned projects like The Midnight Gospel and under-promoted masterpieces like Scott Pilgrim Takes Off , Netflix (uncharacteristically — again, likely with a strong push from collaborator Riot Games) believed in Arcane , enough to propel the series to a number of Emmy wins, consistent viewership from season 1 to season 2, and a stunningly executed story from beginning to end. And, truly, the tale Arcane spins across those paltry 18 episodes is nothing short of brilliant. Following the tragedy of two doomed sisters, Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell) , this series takes the lore of League and transforms it into a moving examination of the basest human emotions contrasted against the most bastardizing, hellish abominations. Where anger and lust and love and grief take center stage, those beacons of mankind battle against greed, warmongering, fear, and artificial homogenization, morphing into a meticulously animated love letter to the messiness and beauty of humanity in a stunning package. The series’ first season opened with heartache and tragedy, and the anguish these central characters endure never truly stops until the credits roll on season 2. But Arcane admirably never becomes wholly masochistic, with the final act of the season allotting as much time to the poignant, moving connections between these complex characters as it does for bloodshed and battle. In the first of Arcane ’s three-episode finale, titled “Pretend Like It’s the First Time,” Ekko (Reed Shannon) and Heimerdinger (Mick Wingert) find themselves trapped in an alternate reality where Vi died during the sisters’ ill-conceived heist, preventing the deaths of their father and their friends, as well as ensuring Powder never morphed into Jinx. What follows is a beautiful dance between Ekko and Powder, as they flirt and bicker within the confines of their working relationship and this odd predicament Ekko has found himself in. The episode as a whole acts as a reprieve, contrasting this pulsating, heartwarming expression of connection and love against Jayce’s (Kevin Alejandro) trek through a hell of his own creation. Arcane has always been about the mystifying power of the Arcane and the larger whims and machinations of war, separation, and greed, but more than that, this series’ voracious commitment to these quiet, humanizing moments between its central players brings this beautifully untouchable world within tangible reach. Like Caitlyn (Katie Leung) states in her final monologue in the aftermath of their hard-fought battle, “With every loss, we found some light, some good worth fighting for.” And it’s Arcane ’s hope and belief in the power of humanity and connection that bleeds into the art that lights up the screen. Much like Ekko and Powder’s endearing dance, Vi and Caitlyn are allowed their own electric moment, once again contrasted against the act’s brutality and nervous anticipation. War-torn tension is replaced by teasing banter as these two are finally able to shed their armor and simply be with one another after outside forces kept them apart. While it may seem like blatant fanservice to toss a sex scene in the middle of the preparation for all-out war, the scene’s meticulous intimacy provides yet another example of what all this bloodshed, heartache, and war is truly for — what’s the point of risking life and limb to protect the sanctity of human connection and emotion if you don’t get to tug on those threads with someone you love? While some dubbed this season “self-indulgent,” throwing digs at the music video-esque moments and the languid pacing of this unavoidable, bloody conflict, Arcane ’s penchant for transforming universal emotions into large, bombastic sequences or heart-wrenching slow-motion tributes is exactly why this series is as captivating as it is. Episode 4’s “Paint the Town Blue” sequence is the distillation of hatred, rebellion, hope, and fear, communicating so much through splashes of blue spray paint and riotous stylization. Caitlyn transforms into a revenge-fueled leader; Isha fans the flames of hope in a newly invigorated people; Jinx becomes a larger-than-life figurehead of a rebellion she never expected — all communicated with no dialogue and a barrage of black-and-white images. And two episodes later, when Isha sacrifices herself to save her newly formed family, the watercolor fluidity of her short life with Jinx backdropped by the aptly titled “Isha’s Song” captures the fleeting beauty of life’s most precious moments. Arcane allots time for these breaks and pauses in its propelling story because they are the series’ most important. Sure, it’s interesting and fun to learn more about the mysterious Arcane, to dive deeper into Zaunian politics or watch as Piltover crumbles to violent regimes. But Arcane ’s insistence on making its audience sit with its characters’ innermost emotions splashed with color and illustrated to perfection showcases this series’ commitment to humanity more than any moving bit of dialogue or lore dump ever could. For every painstakingly animated twitch at the corner of every mouth that graces the screen, for every eyeball that flickers with emotion beneath the painterly, captivating style that has become synonymous with this series, Arcane posits that art itself is humanity, and emphasizes that through the clear love injected into every animated frame. While the three years between seasons 1 and 2 were nothing short of tortuous, the end result is too stunning and too moving to argue with. From the brutality of battle to the tearjerking weight of empathy and sacrifice, Arcane ’s beauty, success, and perseverance — both within its fictional world and beyond — is nothing short of a miracle, delivering unto us blessed viewers a tale combatting the increasing threat of AI and callousness, reminding us all that humanity and kindness is just around every bend for those with keen eyes to see. From beginning to end, Arcane utilized its animated prowess to tell a comparatively small, human story about two sisters who band together and fall apart while trying to make the world a better place, and its artful commitment to its characters, its style, its substance, and its heart transformed it into a singular miracle unmatched by anything else on TV. No matter what comes next for Netflix’s collaboration with Riot Games and the League of Legends lore, Arcane has cemented its place as a genre-defining project, changing animation on television for the better by daring to dream in vibrant, resounding colors. Animation Entertainment Polygon Picks Reviews TV
First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years hailed as 'game-changer'
The Cowboys were already eliminated from playoff contention and without top receiver CeeDee Lamb with a shoulder injury, but it was their defense that struggled. Eagles starting quarter-back Jalen Hurts missed the game due to concussion. Kenny Pickett got the start but had to leave the game in the third quarter with a rib injury with Philadelphia 24-7 up. That meant third-choice Tanner McKee took over under the center and two of his four passes were for touchdowns. The real damage to the Cowboys, who gave up four turnovers, was done by the Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley who put up 167 yards on 31 carries to pass the 2,000 yard mark for the season. Barkley, who has 2,005 yards needs to put up 101 yards next week to break Eric Dickerson's record for the most rushing yards in a season, set for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. The win means the Eagles are guaranteed at least the number two seed in the NFC. The Bills take the second seed in the AFC, behind the Kansas City Chiefs, after taking care of business against the New York Jets. The Bills led 12-0 at the half before their quarterback Josh Allen took total control of the game with touchdown passes to Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman either side of a rushing score from James Cook. Allen, who threw for 182 yards, had opened the scoring with a one-yard rush. Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw two interceptions and was sacked four times. The Indianapolis Colts were eliminated from playoff contention after falling 45-33 to the 3-13 New York Giants. While the Giants had nothing to play for, quarterback Drew Lock enjoyed himself -- he matched his career high of four touchdown passes and rushed for another score as the Giants ended their 10-game losing streak. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept their post-season hopes alive as Baker Mayfield threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-14 rout of the Carolina Panthers. Later on Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings, searching for the top seed in the NFC, take on NFC North divisional rivals the Green Bay Packers. The Washington Commanders would book a playoff berth if they can beat the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday night's game. sev/bb
EUR/USD: Macro and geopolitics align for a downside breakout
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Aden Holloway made eight 3-pointers and scored 26 points off the bench, and No. 5 Alabama overwhelmed South Dakota State with 19 made 3-pointers in a 105-82 victory on Sunday. Labaron Philon added 21 points, six assists and two steals for Alabama (11-2), while Mark Sears had 20 points and five assists. Grant Nelson scored 17 points. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get updates and player profiles ahead of Friday's high school games, plus a recap Saturday with stories, photos, video Frequency: Seasonal Twice a weekFormer President Jimmy Carter, honored more widely for his humanitarian work around the globe after his presidency than for his White House tenure during a tumultuous time, has died. He was 100. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the Carter Center confirmed on Sunday. In November 2023, the Nobel Peace Prize-winner’s wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, also passed away in the modest house they built together in 1961, when he had taken over his father’s peanut warehouse business and was only beginning to consider a political career. In February 2023, he had announced he was ending medical intervention and moving to hospice care. Jason Carter had visited his grandparents at the time of the announcement and said “They are at peace and – as always – their home is full of love,” he posted on Twitter. At peace, perhaps, but still political: The former president vowed he wanted to cast a ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. After serving a single term in the White House, Jimmy Carter became one of the most durable figures in modern American politics. Evicted from the White House at age 56, he would hold the status of former president longer than anyone in U.S. history, and in 2019 he surpassed George H. W. Bush as the nation’s oldest living ex-president. Carter remained remarkably active in charitable causes through a series of health challenges during his final years, including a bout with brain cancer in 2015. He was admitted to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta in November 2019 for a procedure to relieve pressure on his brain, a consequence of bleeding that followed a series of falls. A few months earlier, in May, he had undergone surgery after breaking his hip. In the White House from 1977 to 1981, Carter negotiated the landmark Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt, transferred the Panama Canal to Panamanian ownership, dramatically expanded public lands in Alaska and established formal diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. But the 39th president governed at a time of soaring inflation and gasoline shortages, and his failure to secure the release of Americans held hostage by Iran helped cost him the second term he sought. After losing his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan, and until well into his 90s, Carter continued working as an observer of elections in developing countries, building houses through the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity and teaching Sunday school at the tiny Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, his hometown. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, 22 years after he left the White House. Culled from USA Today
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Hailey Van Lith scored 17 points and Madison Connor made four 3-pointers and added 14 points on Sunday to help No. 11 TCU beat Brown 79-47. Van Lith added five assists, five rebounds and three steals and Taylor Bigby scored 11 points for the Horned Frogs. TCU (13-1) has won four games in a row since an 82-54 loss to No. 3 South Carolina on Dec. 8 at the Coast to Coast Challenge. Grace Arnolie hit three 3-pointers in the first five minutes and Olivia Young added another with 4:34 left in the first quarter to give Brown a 12-8 lead. The Horned Frogs responded with a 9-2 run to close the period, scored 12 of the first 14 second-quarter points to extend their lead to 13 points and took a 34-25 lead into the intermission. Bigby hit a 3 to open the scoring in the third quarter and TCU led by double figures the rest of the way. The Horned Frogs outrebounded Brown 54-28, including 20-6 on the offensive glass which led to TCU outscoring the Bears 27-5 in second-chance points. Isabell Mauricio led Brown with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting Brown (6-7). The rest of the Bears players combined to made 10 of 41 (24.4%) from the field. Arnolie added 13 points. TCU made 11 3-pointers on 27 attempts (41%) and the Horned Frogs' 148 this season are the most in Division I. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketballCong to mark 1-yr in office with Rythu Sadassu in Mahabubnagar on Nov 30
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent successful surgery Sunday to have his prostate removed, hospital officials said, a procedure that came as he manages multiple crises including the war in Gaza and his trial for alleged corruption. Netanyahu, who has had a series of health issues in recent years, has gone to great lengths to bolster a public image of himself as a healthy, energetic leader. During his trial this month, he boasted about working 18-hour days, accompanied by a cigar. But as Israel's longest-serving leader, such a grueling workload over a total of 17 years in power could take a toll on his well-being. Netanyahu, 75, is among older world leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden, 82, President-elect Donald Trump, 78, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 79, and Pope Francis, 88, who have come under scrutiny for their age and health issues. Netanyahu's latest condition is common in older men, but the procedure has had some fallout. The judges overseeing his trial accepted a request Sunday from his lawyer to call off three days of testimony scheduled this week. The lawyer, Amit Hadad, had argued that Netanyahu would be fully sedated for the procedure and hospitalized for “a number of days.” Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center announced late Sunday that the procedure had been “completed successfully.” Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close ally, served as acting prime minister during the operation. Netanyahu is expected to remain hospitalized for several days. With so much at stake, Netanyahu’s health in wartime is a concern for both Israelis and the wider world. A turbulent time in the region As Israel’s leader, Netanyahu is at the center of major global events that are shifting the Middle East. With the dizzying pace of the past 14 months, being incapacitated for even a few hours can be risky. Netanyahu will be in the hospital at a time when international mediators are pushing Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and as fighting between Israel and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels intensifies. Prostate issues are common and, in many cases, easily treatable. Still, the procedure puts a dent in Netanyahu’s image of vigor at a time when he would want to project strength more than ever, both to an Israeli audience navigating constant threats as well as to Israel’s enemies looking to expose its weaknesses. Previous health issues, include a heart condition Netanyahu insists he is in excellent health. His office releases footage of him touring war zones in full protective gear flanked by military officers, or meeting with defense officials on windswept hilltops in youthful dark shades and puffer jackets. But that image was shattered last year when Netanyahu’s doctors revealed that he had a heart condition, a problem that he had apparently long known about but concealed from the public. A week after a fainting spell, Netanyahu was fitted with a pacemaker to control his heartbeat. Only then did staff at the Sheba Medical Center reveal that Netanyahu has for years experienced a condition that can cause irregular heartbeats. The revelation came as Netanyahu was dealing with massive anti-government protests. The news about a chronic heart problem stoked further anger and distrust during extreme political polarization in Israel. Last year, Netanyahu was rushed to the hospital for what doctors said likely was dehydration. He stayed overnight, prompting his weekly Cabinet meeting to be delayed. Earlier this year, Netanyahu underwent hernia surgery, during which he was under full anesthesia and unconscious. Levin served as acting prime minister during the operation. Recovery can be quick According to Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli leader was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection Wednesday stemming from a benign enlargement of his prostate. The infection was treated successfully with antibiotics, but doctors said the surgery was needed in any case. Complications from prostate enlargement are common in men in their 70s and 80s, Dr. Shay Golan, head of the oncology urology service at Israel’s Rabin Medical Center, told Israeli Army Radio. Golan spoke in general terms and was not involved in Netanyahu’s care or treatment. He said an enlarged prostate can block proper emptying of the bladder, leading to a build-up of urine that can lead to an infection or other complications. After medicinal treatment, doctors can recommend a procedure to remove the prostate to prevent future blockages, Golan said. In Netanyahu’s case, because the prostate is not cancerous, Golan said doctors were likely performing an endoscopic surgery, carried out by inserting small instruments into a body cavity, rather than making surgical cuts in the abdomen to reach the prostate. The procedure lasts about an hour, Golan said, and recovery is quick. He said that aside from catheter use for one to three days after the procedure, patients can return to normal activity without significant limitations.
Rebels on a lightning advance through Syria said they were nearing the capital Damascus on Saturday, although the Bashar al-Assad government denied the army had withdrawn from areas around the city. The rebels claimed they had encircled the city. Here's your 10-point cheat sheet to this big story "Our forces have begun the final phase of encircling the capital," said rebel commander Hassan Abdel Ghani, with the Islamist-led alliance that launched the offensive, news agency AFP reported. The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group which has headed the assault, told fighters to prepare to take the seat of Assad's government, just over a week into a renewed offensive in the long dormant conflict. "Damascus awaits you," said HTS's Ahmed al-Sharaa in a statement on Telegram, using his real name instead of his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. Syria's defence ministry said army forces were "present in all areas of the Damascus countryside". "There is no truth to news claiming our armed forces... have withdrawn" from positions near Damascus, it said. Syria's presidency denied reports that Assad had left Damascus, saying he was "following up on his work and national and constitutional duties from the capital". HTS is rooted in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. Proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Western governments, it has sought to soften its image in recent years. As the Islamist rebels seize more territory, they have sought to reassure minority groups living in areas now under their control. "We ask that all sects be reassured... for the era of sectarianism and tyranny has gone away forever," said Abdel Ghani. Since the offensive began last week, at least 826 people, mostly combatants but also including 111 civilians, have been killed. The United Nations said the violence has displaced 3.7 lakh people. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Syria must not be allowed to fall into the hands of "terrorist" rebels fighting the forces of Moscow's ally President Bashar al-Assad. "It's inadmissible to allow the terrorist group to take control of the lands in violation of agreements which exist, starting with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 which strongly reiterated sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of the Syrian Arab Republic," Mr Lavrov said at an event in Qatar, referring to a 2015 UN resolution for a political settlement in Syria. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a "political solution to the conflict", his spokesperson said on Friday, in a call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. US President-elect Donald Trump, however, on Saturday said the US should "not get involved" in the situation in Syria. "Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, and the United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved," Trump said on his Truth Social platform. There has been no public signal that the Biden administration is contemplating such an intervention. Trump has long taken an isolationist approach, and during this year's presidential campaign he often said he could end the Ukraine and Gaza wars "quickly."Insurgents reach gates of Syria’s capital, threatening to upend decades of Assad rulePenguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic scheduled to start against Utah Hockey Club
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