Lebanon's Tripoli building collapse kills 15

Feb 9 (Reuters) - The death toll from the collapse of residential buildings in the Lebanese city of Tripoli rose to 15 after search and rescue ​operations ended, Lebanon's National News Agency said on Monday, citing the civil defence ‌chief.

Civil defence director general Imad Khreiss said rescue teams rescued eight people from the rubble of the collapsed ‌buildings in the northern city's Bab al-Tabbaneh neighbourhood.

Officials said on Sunday that two adjoining buildings had collapsed.

Abdel Hamid Karimeh, head of Tripoli's municipal council, said he could not confirm how many people remained missing. Earlier, the head of Lebanon's civil defence rescue service said the two ⁠buildings were home to 22 ‌residents.

A number of aging residential buildings have collapsed in Tripoli, Lebanon's second-largest city, in recent weeks, highlighting deteriorating infrastructure and years of neglect, ‍state media reported, citing municipal officials.

The Lebanese cabinet said following a meeting that the city's municipal council is set to issue a decision to evacuate 114 buildings at risk of collapse within a ​period not exceeding one month.

Temporary housing assistance would be made available for families being ‌evacuated for one year, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on X.

Karimeh said the issue of unsafe buildings in Tripoli was longstanding and driven by multiple factors, including construction violations, years of disorder, weak oversight and a lack of regular maintenance, partly linked to restrictive rent control laws that discourage owners from investing in repairs.

He said many buildings in ⁠the city were between 60 and 70 years old ​and had exceeded their structural lifespan without undergoing ​essential maintenance, increasing the risk of collapse. The problem, he added, exceeded the capacity of the municipality and residents alone, calling for direct state intervention.

Authorities ‍have begun providing temporary ⁠shelter to displaced families, while Lebanon's Higher Relief Committee is offering housing allowances for up to three months, Karimeh said.

He added that charities, the Ministry of Social ⁠Affairs and international organisations were coordinating to provide assistance, saying the aim was to secure a minimum ‌acceptable level of support for affected households.

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Jaidaa Taha; ‌Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Holmes)

byAdministrator

in

February 09, 2026

Lebanon's Tripoli building collapse kills 15

Feb 9 (Reuters) - The death toll from the collapse of residential buildings in the Lebanese city of Tripoli rose to 15 a...

Read More

NYC nurses reach a deal to end a strike at 2 major hospitals while walkout continues at another

NEW YORK (AP) — Nurses and two major hospital systems in New York City have reached a deal to end anearly monthlong strikeover staffing levels, workplace safety, health insurance and other issues.

The tentative agreement announced Monday by the nurses' union involves the Montefiore and Mount Sinai hospital systems. Nurses remain on strike at NewYork Presbyterian.

The walkout began Jan. 12, prompting the hospitals to scramble to hire legions of temporary nurses to fill in duringa demanding flu season.

The union said members at Montefiore and Mount Sinai hospitals will vote this week on whether to ratify the contracts and return to work.

The three-year deal affects roughly 10,500 of the some 15,000 nurses on strike at some of the city's biggest private, nonprofit hospitals.

"For four weeks, nearly 15,000 NYSNA members held the line in the cold and in the snow for safe patient care," Nancy Hagans, president of the New York State Nurses Association, said in a statement. "Now, nurses at Montefiore and Mount Sinai systems are heading back to the bedside with our heads held high."

The nurses union said the tentative agreement calls for a 12% pay raise over the life of the contract, as well as maintains nurses' health benefits with no additional out-of-pocket costs.

In addition, the proposed pact includes new protections against workplace violence, including specific protections for transgender and immigrant nurses and patients, as well as provisions addressing artificial intelligence in hospitals, the union said.

Nurses at Montefiore and Mount Sinai hospitals will vote to ratify their contracts starting Monday, the union said. If the tentative contract agreements are ratified, nurses will return to work on Saturday.

Mount Sinai said it would comment later on the deal while a Montefiore spokesperson confirmed its nurses will be voting Monday through Wednesday but declined to comment further.

Meanwhile, NewYork-Presbyterian said it agreed over the weekend to a proposal presented by mediators that includes pay raises, preserves nurses' pensions, maintains their health benefits and increases staffing levels. The union reiterated that the strike remains in effect at NewYork-Presbyterian hospitals.

The affected hospitals have insisted theiroperations are running smoothlyduring the walkout, with organ transplants, cardiac surgeries and other complex procedures largely uninterrupted. Many of the medical centers, however, canceled scheduled surgeries, transferred some patients and discharged others ahead of the strike.

The striking nurses priorities vary by hospital, but staffing has generally been a central issue. Nurses complained of being overworked, saying the hospitals held out for weeks on committing to more manageable patient loads. The union said Monday that the tentative agreements would increase staffing and otherwise address those concerns.

The hospitals and nurses also have been at odds over benefits, and the union sought workplace security upgrades and restrictions on the use ofartificial intelligence. Hospital staffers' longstanding security concerns flared into public view when agunman entered Mount Sinaiin November and a manholed up in a Brooklyn hospitalwith a sharp object last month. Police killed both men.

The hospitals said the union's demands were exorbitant. They say unionized nurses' salaries already average $162,000 to $165,000 a year, not including benefits.

The nurses and their political allies, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, countered that top hospital executivesmake millions of dollars a year.

Not every hospital in the three health care systems was affected by the strike, nor were any city-run public hospitals. Other private hospitals reached last-minute deals with the union.

Nurses staged a three-day strike in 2023 in the Mount Sinai and Montefiore systems. They ultimately inked contracts that raised pay 19% over three years and sought to make staffing improvements enforceable by allowing for extra pay if nurses worked short-handed.

byAdministrator

in

February 09, 2026

NYC nurses reach a deal to end a strike at 2 major hospitals while walkout continues at another

NEW YORK (AP) — Nurses and two major hospital systems in New York City have reached a deal to end anearly monthlong stri...

Read More

Jimmy Lai's children look to Trump and other leaders to push China to free their father

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thechildren of Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and China critic, said Monday that a possible visit by President DonaldTrump to Beijing in Aprilcould be "crucial" in securing the release of their 78-year-old father.

Britain Hong Kong Jimmy Lai Family

Lai's son and daughter pleaded for their father's freedom on humanitarian grounds after a Hong Kong court on Mondaysentenced him to 20 years in prisonfollowing convictions under a Beijing-imposed national security law that has virtually silenced the city's dissent.

"The president has said multiple times that this is a case that he cares about," Sebastien Lai said about Trump during a call with reporters. "We are in a situation where the April visit will be, more obviously, be crucial, and, hopefully, my father will still be OK health-wise until that point."

Speaking of his father, the younger Lai said "this is a man who is, unfortunately, is very close to dying. He's a man who has gone through a tremendous amount. His body has deteriorated."

The ruling in Hong Kong is certain to add friction toalready fragile U.S.-China relations, with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to meet this year to keep ties stabilized over thorny issues like tariffs, export restrictions andU.S. arms sales to Taiwan,a self-governed island that Beijing claims is Chinese territory.

While Trump has said several times he will be visiting Beijing this April, China has yet to confirm it.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the decision to sentence Lai to 20 years "an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case." In a statement, Rubio urged Chinese authorities to grant Lai humanitarian parole, noting that Lai and his family "have suffered enough" after a trial lasting two years and his detention for more than five years.

After Lai was convicted in December, Trump said he felt "so badly" and that he had asked Xi to consider releasing Lai, who is the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, which was known for its critical reports about the governments in Hong Kong and Beijing.

"We're hopeful but we don't know," his daughter Claire Lai said of the prospects that Trump would successfully negotiate for her father's release.

Advertisement

Chris Tang, Hong Kong's secretary for security, accused "external forces" of ignoring the facts and making biased criticisms of court decisions. "We will refute baseless allegations and smearing resolutely by presenting the truth and facts for all to see," Tang said.

In an interview with The Associated Press in London, Sebastien Lai said it's time forworld leaders to keep pressure on Beijingwhen they visit China or meet with Xi by bringing up his father's case.

"I could only pray that this pressure helps," the younger Lai said. "I think my father's case is the litmus test to whatever engagement we have with China."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government said he directly raised Jimmy Lai's case with Xi duringa visit to Chinalast month. U.K. officials said they will "rapidly engage further" after Monday's sentencing, but it wasn't clear what that entailed.

Sebastien Lai said he is "incredibly grateful" for Trump's past remarks about freeing his father, which have "given my family a lot of hope."

Now, it's about saving his father's life, the son said.

"It's a 20-year sentence, which is comically large, given that my father's 78. At that point in 20 years, he'll be 100 almost," he said. "But in the conditions he's been kept in ... he might die before then."

Hui reported from London.

byAdministrator

in

February 09, 2026

Jimmy Lai's children look to Trump and other leaders to push China to free their father

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thechildren of Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and China critic, said Monday t...

Read More

NFL WAG Victoria Gibson Lip Syncs About ‘Hard Times’ in Cheeky Instagram Video After Husband’s Super Bowl Loss

Victoria Gibson/Instagram

NEED TO KNOW

• Victoria Gibson, who is married to New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson, posted a dramatic reaction to her team losing the 2026 Super Bowl

• On social media, she shared a video of herself lip syncing about "hard times" while looking out over the field

• The NFL WAG went viral online for her playful coverage of the game

NFL WAGVictoria Gibsontook the New England Patriots' loss in the2026 Super Bowlin stride.

On Sunday, Feb. 8, Victoria, who is married to Patriots running backAntonio Gibson, was in Levi's Stadium watching her husband's team face off against the Seattle Seahawks.

With afinal score of 29-13, the Patriots were unsuccessful in securing the win. Victoria cheekily responded to the news on social media, showing off a good sense of humor.

On Instagram, Victoria shared a video of herself standing in front of the Jumbotron, which displayed the final score with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

In the clip, she dramatically pretended to sob while looking out onto the field.

"I'm crying out to God to help me with these hard times," she lip synced along to Chrisean Rock's "Yahweh" in the video.

Victoria made it clear that she was still proud of the team in her accompanying caption, where she wrote, "Forever faithful and grateful." She included several hashtags, including one that said "#relatable."

Her video resonated with fans, racking up more than 14,000 likes overnight with hundreds of fellow Instagram users responding in the comments section.

"Only you could find the humor in this 😂," one person wrote.

Another person chimed in, saying that Victoria's presence on social media has made them a Patriots fan.

Advertisement

"I was rooting for yall too just because of you," they wrote.

Others praised Victoria for the content that she shared in the lead-up to the big game.

In another video on the app, Victoria recorded herself arriving at the Santa Clara, Calif. stadium for the 2026 Super Bowl. In the post, she showed off her outfit, which featured a red crop top with grey distressed jeans. The WAG finished off her look with a Patriots bandana and a matching jacket, carrying a bag and wearing red heels.

Victoria Gibson/Instagram

"Your favorite NFL WIFE has arrived," she cheekily captioned the clip.

Even after the team's loss, Victoria continued to document her Super Bowl experience, sharing clips of21 Savageperforming at a concert.

Although Antonio is a member of the Patriots, he did not get to play in the game as he is currently on injury reserve after tearing his ACL in October.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE'sfree daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In another clip onInstagram, Victoriahighlighted a perkto her husband missing the game: They were able to share a hotel room.

"With him being on injury reserve, I get to stay in the room with him, which is not typical when NFL players are traveling — they get their own room, stay focused, curfew, sleep, all that stuff," she explained.

Read the original article onPeople

byAdministrator

in

February 09, 2026

NFL WAG Victoria Gibson Lip Syncs About ‘Hard Times’ in Cheeky Instagram Video After Husband’s Super Bowl Loss

Victoria Gibson/Instagram NEED TO KNOW Victoria Gibson, who is married to New England Patriots running back...

Read More