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Emirati leaders invite Israel’s Netanyahu, Herzog, to join COP28 climate conference in Dubai

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:14 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Emirati leaders extended a long-sought invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend the U.N climate conference, known as COP28, in November.The United Arab Emirates’ President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also invited Israel’s figurehead President Isaac Herzog and dozens of other leaders including Syrian President Bashar Assad to COP28, in Dubai. The Israelis did not immediately accept the invitation, but Netanyahu thanked the Emiratis for the gesture.The invitation falls short of the high-profile bilateral visit Netanyahu has sought. But a trip to the Gulf Arab country would nonetheless give an important boost to the Israeli leader who has established official ties with the UAE as part of the 2020 Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between the two countries. Netanyahu has repeatedly called for closer ties with Arab countries across the region, but has yet to pay the ...

4 people arrested on suspicion of hanging Vinícius Junior effigy off bridge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:14 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Four people suspected of hanging an effigy of Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior off a highway bridge in Madrid in January have been arrested, Spanish police said Tuesday.The arrests come two days after the latest case of racial abuse against the Brazil forward in a Spanish league game against Valencia.The effigy was hanged by the neck the morning of a derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey. Along with it was a banner with the words “Madrid hates Real.”Vinícius, who is Black, has been subjected to repeated racist taunts in Spain.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Spanish police arrest 4 people on suspicion of hanging an effigy of Vinícius Junior off a highway bridge in January

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:14 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police arrest 4 people on suspicion of hanging an effigy of Vinícius Junior off a highway bridge in January.Source

Man accused of sexually assaulting transgender woman in Miami bar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:14 GMT

A male was taken into custody after, police said, he sexually assaulted a transgender woman in a bathroom.Luigi Andre Cavani, 25, faces charges of sexual battery, according to an arrest report from the City of Miami Police Department.The 31-year-old victim stated that she entered the restroom alone at the Sweet Caroline Karaoke Bar, at 1111 SW 1st Ave., when Cavani allegedly grabbed her hand and forcibly pulled her into a single-stall bathroom, and proceeded to unbutton her pants.According to the report, the victim repeatedly told Cavani to stop and attempted to push him away. Later, the victim’s friends confronted Cavani, to which he reportedly responded, “I’m sorry, I thought it was cool.”Following the victim’s report of the sexual assault, Cavani voluntarily visited a police station and informed officers that he believed the encounter had been consensual. He also expressed his intention to clarify what had transpired on Friday night, emphasizing that...

Sunak’s former deputy Raab latest Tory to head for the hills as election looms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:14 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak’s former Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is planning to stand down as an MP, as an exodus of big-name Conservatives quitting before the next election continues.According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Raab has informed his local Tory association that he doesn’t plan to stand in his Esher and Walton constituency at the next nationwide vote, expected next year.In a letter to the association, Raab — who quit government last month after a bruising inquiry into claims he bullied civil servants — wrote that he has “become increasingly concerned” about the impact of the job on his young family, the Telegraph reported.Raab is only the latest senior Tory figure to announce they won’t stand at the next election, as the Conservatives fret over polling that puts the opposition Labour Party well ahead. The former deputy PM’s Esher and Walton seat is particularly vulnerable, and he defeated his Liberal Democrat challenger by just 2,74...

OBF: For Celtics, more questions than answers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:14 GMT

Instead of raising Banner 18, the Celtics have opted to wave a white flag.Boston trails Miami 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 4 is in South Florida tonight.Miami’s airport abbreviation is MIA. The Celtics have been all that in more during this series. Boston was DOA 10 minutes into Game 3. By the start of the fourth quarter, it was RIP for this run to the NBA Finals. Afterward, the entire basketball universe asked “WTF?”In 2023, the DNA of the Celtics no longer includes winning championships. It’s been 15 years. This version lacks heart, hustle, and muscle. They are more 1998 than 2008. They’ve replaced “Ubuntu” with “Oh, not you, too?”The good news? According to ESPN Analytics, the Celtics still have a 114% chance to win this series.The motto of these Celtics has morphed from “Unfinished Business” to “Next Question.”There will be so many this offseason.Will the coach be fired? Will they offer Jaylen Brown a max contract? How much more Marcus Smart can anyone take? Has an...

Israel demolishes home of Palestinian behind Tel Aviv attack that killed 1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:14 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army said on Tuesday it demolished the home of a Palestinian involved in an attack in Tel Aviv that killed one and wounded two others last March.Video footage of the attack shows a man the army says was Moataz Khawaja, 23, shooting three men from behind, including one in the head — in one of Tel Aviv’s busiest streets — before being shot and killed by Israeli police. Hamas claimed him as a member of its armed wing.On Tuesday, the army destroyed Khawaja’s home in the town of Naalin, northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. The army said people burned tires, threw stones and shot fireworks at Israeli forces who were razing the site.Israel demolishes the homes of attackers in an attempt to deter others, a tactic critics say amounts to collective punishment. Khawaja’s attack came after months of relentless violence in the West Bank, where the Israeli military has been conducting near-nightly raids in response to Palestinian attacks ...

Germany detains 3 more suspects linked to far-right coup plot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:14 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that criminal police have detained three more suspected far-right extremists who are linked to an alleged plot by the Reichsbuerger, or Reich Citizens, movement to topple the country’s government.The three suspects, who were only identified as Johanna F.-J., Hans-Joachim H. and Steffen W. in line with German privacy rules, were detained Monday evening in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.The defendants are suspected of membership in a terrorist organization, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. In December, German police detained 25 people including a self-styled prince, a retired paratrooper and a former judge who are accused of plotting the violent overthrow of the government.Adherents of the Reich Citizens movement reject Germany’s postwar constitution and have called for bringing down the government.Authorities say the three people who were arrested Monday evening were lin...

Hong Kong leader condemns unusual uptick in registration withdrawals from organ donation system

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:14 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee condemned an unusual rise in the number of withdrawal requests to the city’s organ donation system, saying Tuesday that police would investigate suspicious cases. According to the government, the city’s centralized organ donation registration system received nearly 5,800 withdrawal applications in the five months since December, when the government raised the possibility of establishing an organ transplant mutual assistance program with mainland China. More than half of the withdrawal applications were found to be invalid, either as duplicate applications or coming from people who had never opted in.At a regular press briefing, Lee pointed to those who withdrew their applications without ever registering, calling the moves suspicious. “I severely condemn those who attempt to cause damages to this noble system which saves lives through organ donations,” he said. “This is a shameful act.” Hong Kong, a former British colony that retur...

In The News for May 23, 2023: Is a public inquiry into foreign interference coming?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:14 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Tuesday, May 23, 2023 …What we are watching in Canada …The man charged with recommending how best to deal with foreign interference in Canada’s federal elections will finally say whether he believes a public inquiry is necessary. Former governor general David Johnston, the special rapporteur appointed in March by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will issue an interim report Monday on what he considers the best way forward. Parliament Hill has been seized for months with whether Johnston will advise a public inquiry into whether the governing Liberals did enough to confront claims that China meddled in the 2019 and 2021 elections.But his mandate allows for broader recommendations as well — and Johnston will announce his preferred courses of action during a long-awaited news conference at noon ET. In addition to...