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Far-right Israeli minister was going to an EU event — so they canceled it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:38 GMT

The EU’s mission to Israel announced Monday it was canceling a reception it was hosting in Tel-Aviv after far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would attend and give a speech.“The EU Delegation to Israel is looking forward to celebrating Europe Day on May 9, as it does every year,” the mission said in a statement on Twitter.“Regrettably, this year we have decided to cancel the diplomatic reception, as we do not want to offer a platform to someone whose views contradict the values the European Union stands for,” the statement said.A member of parliament from the ultra-nationalist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, Ben-Gvir became minister last December, after his party entered a coalition with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud to form what has been described as Israel’s most right-wing government ever.Ben-Gvir is a notorious hard-liner on security issues, and known for controversial statements he has ma...

Attleboro police investigate early morning armed robbery at local business

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:38 GMT

Police in Attleboro are investigating an early morning armed robbery and are looking to identify the suspects involved.The police department said a business on Washington Street was targeted around 4 a.m. on Monday in South Attleboro.In a tweet, Attleboro PD provided images of what appeared to be a man with facial hair, a black hoodie and grey pants walking through the business’s front entrance, as well as a figure in a similar hoodie, black pants and a face covering that resembled a ski mask.Image provided by the Attleboro Police DepartmentNo other details were provided.The police department asks that anyone with information on the incident or the suspects contact Detective Lt Brian Kelley at 508-222-1212.https://twitter.com/AttleboroPolice/status/1655566601431687171

‘Stranger Things’ filming halted because of writers’ strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:38 GMT

(CNN) — Plans for filming the fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” has been paused due to the writers’ strike.Co-creators and co-showrunners Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, known as the Duffer brothers, tweeted a statement over the weekend on the account for the Netflix show’s writers’ room.“Duffers here. Writing does not stop when filming begins,” the tweet reads. “While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike,” the Duffers wrote. “We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then — over and out. #wgastrong.”The Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike on May 2 in an effort to seek better compensation and other concessions from studios and streaming companies.

Over 50 dead, hundreds hospitalized and 23,000 displaced by ethnic violence in India’s Manipur

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:38 GMT

(CNN) — Ethnic violence in the Indian state of Manipur has killed more than 50 people, left hundreds hospitalized, and displaced 23,000, according to hospital officials and the Indian army.At least 55 people have been left dead and a further 260 hospitalized since violence broke out between members of the Kuki and Meitei ethnic groups earlier this week, hospital officials in the city of Imphal said on Sunday.The Indian military, meanwhile, said that 23,000 civilians had fled the fighting, with displaced people being housed on military bases and garrisons in the state.The two ethnic groups have been clashing in the streets of Imphal in India’s east and elsewhere.Gunshot wounds are the most common injury, according to officials at Imphal hospitals the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences and Churachandpur District Hospital.“Most of the patients are coming in with severe bullet injuries or having been hit...

More than 29,000 people are evacuated from communities throughout Alberta as wildfires rage in Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:38 GMT

(CNN) — More than 100 wildfires raging across the Alberta region of Canada have forced more than 29,000 people to flee in what officials have called an “unprecedented situation” for the province.In the past 24 hours alone, 16 new fires have ignited in Alberta, Wildfire Information Unit Lead Christie Tucker said during a Sunday evening news conference.Firefighters across the province were battling 108 active wildfires, 31 of which were burning “out of control,” according to Tucker.This type of ferocious wildfire activity isn’t typical this early in the year, and firefighters don’t usually see such a large area burned, Tucker said Sunday morning.But bone-dry conditions, abnormally hot weather and high winds have converged to fuel this “really extreme wildfire activity,” Tucker said.“We could be sort of settling in for a long fight here,” she said.Wildfires have burned a total of 375,000 hectares, about 926,000...

Ontario driver charged for using licence-plate concealing technology

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:38 GMT

A Porshe driver in Ontario was pulled over and charged after police discovered they were using a licence-plate concealing device.Responding officers for the Halton Regional Police Service in Milton pulled a driver over on Sunday evening after it appeared the licence plate was covered.“Investigation revealed that the driver had a licence plate concealing device,” the police unit tweeted. “The driver was charged.”A police spokesperson said the licence plate covering technology was being operated through a button from the driver’s seatThe Milton District Response Unit stopped what they thought was a un-plated vehicle tonight. Investigation revealed that the driver had a licence plate concealing device. The driver was charged. The licence plate could be concealed by pressing a button from the driver’s seat! ^cm pic.twitter.com/WHpGvVmXWv— HRPS Milt HHills (@HRPSMiltHH) May 7, 2023Licence plate covers are illegal in Ontario but have frequently popped u...

Closing arguments start for columnist’s claims against Trump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer told a jury Monday that Donald Trump should be held accountable for sexually attacking an advice columnist in 1996 because even a former president is not above the law.Attorney Roberta Kaplan delivered the first closing argument in the federal civil trial, showing jurors video clips of Trump from his October deposition and replaying the “Access Hollywood” video from 2005 in which Trump said into a hot mic that celebrities can grab women’s genitals without asking.Closing arguments were expected to last all day in the case as the jurors in Manhattan hear final remarks from attorneys about the claims writer E. Jean Carroll brought against Trump.Kaplan recalled Trump’s comment that “stars like him can get away with sexually assaulting women.”“That’s who Donald Trump is. That is how he thinks. And that’s what he does,” Kaplan said. “He thinks he can get away with it here.”She told jurors that it wasn’t a “he said, she said” case but rather...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 14-20

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:38 GMT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 14-20May 14: Guitarist Gene Cornish of The Rascals is 79. Movie director-producer George Lucas is 79. Actor Meg Foster (“Cagney and Lacey”) is 75. Director Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump,” ″Back to the Future”) is 72. Musician David Byrne (Talking Heads) is 71. Actor Tim Roth is 62. Guitarist C.C. DeVille of Poison is 61. Singer Ian Astbury of The Cult is 61. Actor Danny Huston (“John Adams” miniseries) is 61. Musician Fabrice Morvan of Milli Vanilli is 57. Bassist Mike Inez of Alice In Chains is 57. Singer Raphael Saadiq (Tony! Toni! Tone!) is 57. Actor Cate Blanchett is 54. Singer Danny Wood of New Kids On The Block is 54. Director Sofia Coppola (“Lost In Translation”) is 52. Actor Gabriel Mann (“Revenge”) is 51. Singer Natalie Appleton of All Saints is 50. Singer Shanice is 50. Actor Carla Jimenez (“Growing Up Fisher”) is 49. Guitarist Henry Garza of Los Lonely Boys is 45. Singer Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show is 45. Singer-guitarist...

AP source: Biden would veto House GOP bill on immigration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden would veto a House GOP bill that aims to restrict asylum, build more border wall and cut a program that allows migrants a chance to stay in the U.S. lawfully for two years, an administration official said Monday. Republicans are looking to capitalize on the spotlight as immigration surges into the national news this week with the ending of COVID-19 restrictions that allowed border authorities to quickly return many migrants who crossed the border illegally. They aim to vote on their Secure the Border Act on Thursday — the same day the emergency powers expire. Officials have already seen a surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and are bracing for more.The legislation represents the GOP’s first major immigration policy proposal since the Trump era, when hardline immigration opponents controlled the White House. The 213-page bill resurrects a slew of Trump’s policies, such as building barriers along hundreds of miles of border country, and in...

Uzbekistan calls snap presidential election for July 9

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:38 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Uzbekistan’s leader on Monday called a snap presidential election for July, with the announcement coming a week after a constitutional referendum extended the term from five years to seven.President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is in his second term, the maximum allowed by the constitution. But the referendum passage allows him to begin the count of terms anew and run for two more, raising the possibility that the 65-year-old leader could stay in office until 2037. Prior to the referendum, many analysts expected him to begin the count only when his current term would have expired in 2026.It wasn’t immediately clear who would compete in the July 9 presidential election, but Mirziyoyev would have almost no chance of losing. He has dominated Uzbek politics since taking over upon the death in 2016 of longtime leader Islam Karimov.Mirziyoyev has introduced reforms that eased the draconian policies of Karimov, but the country remains strongly authoritarian with n...