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Ireland: Israel is overreacting on Varadkar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:14 GMT

Israel’s decision to summon the Irish ambassador over comments by Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is “an overreaction,” Ireland’s Education Minister Simon Harris said on Monday.Over the weekend, Varadkar triggered Israeli outrage when he quoted a verse from the Bible’s Parable of the Prodigal Son — “was dead, and is alive … was lost, and is found” — to commemorate the release of Emily Hand, an Irish-Israeli girl, aged 9, who had been kidnapped by Palestinian militant group Hamas.The post and the prime minister’s choice of words were criticized by Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who accused Varadkar of trying to “legitimize and normalize terror,” remarks which were echoed by Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy.“This is how you describe a little girl who went missing during a stroll in a forest, then gets discovered by a friendly hiker. Not a girl brutally abducted by death squads that brutally massacred her neighbors. But this explains the extent of Ireland’s contribut...

‘We’ve never seen a cat quite like this’ MSPCA-Angell looks to find home for special kitten dubbed ‘Gumby’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:14 GMT

Staff at the MSPCA-Angell are hoping to find a loving home soon for a special kitten living with a unique leg deformity.Dubbed “Gumby” by officials, the MSPCA-Angell said the 11-week-old kitten arrived in their care from the SPCA of Texas earlier in November.According to the org’s Lead Clinician of Community and Shelter Medicine, Dr. Rebecca Fellman, the kitten has severe deformities in both of his rear legs, but is still able to get around.Image provided by the MSPCA-Angell“We’ve never seen a cat quite like this,” Fellman said in a statement. “Both of Gumby’s back legs are severely deformed with muscle contracture that limits his joint mobility, but he still manages to get around—often on all fours.”The animal shelter added that Gumby is not only able to walk, but also use a litterbox with his special condition.“At this point, he isn’t developing any sores, and it looks like surgery may not significantly improve his mobility, so it doesn’t make sense to put him th...

Missiles fired from Yemen toward US warship that responded to attack on commercial tanker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:14 GMT

(CNN) — Two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi rebel-controlled Yemen toward a US warship in the Gulf of Aden, after the US Navy responded to a distress call from a commercial tanker that had been seized by armed individuals, the US military said Sunday.The tanker, identified as the Central Park, had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid when its crew called for help that “they were under attack from an unknown entity,” the US Central Command said in a statement.The incident comes after Iran-backed Houthi forces launched numerous attacks against US interests in the region, and Israel, since the October 7 Hamas attacks, as fears continue to ripple across the region that the Israel-Hamas war could widen.The Houthis are a Shia political and military organization in Yemen that have been fighting a civil war in the country against a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia. They have voiced support for the Palestinians and organized protests in Yemen against Israel’...

Panthers fire Frank Reich in his first season with team off to NFL-worst 1-10 record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:14 GMT

By STEVE REED (AP Sports Writer)CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers fired Frank Reich on Monday following the team’s NFL-worst 1-10 start in his first year at the helm.Panthers owner David Tepper announced the move hours after several news outlets reported that he used a profanity as he was leaving the locker room following a 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.Tepper hired Reich to fix one of the league’s worst offenses over the past few seasons and develop Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick whom he gave up four draft picks and top wide receiver D.J. Moore to acquire this past offseason in the hopes of winning multiple Super Bowls.Instead, the Panthers are assured of a sixth straight losing season since Tepper bought the team in 2018 for $2.275 billion.Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will take over as interim head coach.Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will take over as the team’s play caller, with senior Jim Caldwell serving as hi...

President Joe Biden plans to skip U.N. climate talks beginning this week in Dubai

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:14 GMT

By COLLEEN LONG (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to skip the annual climate talks in Dubai this week, an event that is expected to draw heads of state and diplomats from roughly 200 nations and the Vatican. He has attended twice before.The White House said it was sending a climate team, including Special Envoy John Kerry, climate adviser Ali Zaidi and clean energy adviser John Podesta.“Although we don’t have any travel updates to share for the president at this time, the administration looks forward to a robust and productive COP28,” said White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández, adding that Biden’s team would continue to build on the administration actions “to tackle the climate crisis.” Biden had also pledged to visit Africa before the end of the year, but that trip doesn’t appear to be happening, either. The White House offered no reasons, but the president has been deeply engaged in bo...

Boston man charged in alleged rampage through sacred, historic sites

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:14 GMT

A Boston man has been arrested after leaving an alleged trail of destruction overnight Saturday at historic and religious sites across the city, including the Holocaust Memorial and even Paul Revere’s grave.Police arrested Lawrence Hawkins, 46, at the Southampton Street shelter and charged him in multiple incidents of vandalism after reviewing video surveillance that traced his alleged spree of destruction along sites closely aligned with the Freedom Trail.An initial call came in to police just before midnight on Saturday when they received a report of a breaking and entering at Charles Street South. Upon arrival, police found the front door smashed and a brick inside the business.There was video surveillance from that incident and police broadcast the clip of the suspect.Shortly after midnight, an officer reporting for duty arrived at his cruiser and found his front windshield smashed. Again, there was video of the suspect and police broadcast a description.Another report came in f...

1 dead in fire at Toronto Plaza Hotel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:14 GMT

One person is dead after being pulled from a fire at a unit on the fourth floor of the Toronto Plaza Hotel on Monday morning. When fire crews removed the person they were without vital signs, and declared dead a short time later.It’s not clear how the blaze started at the hotel at 1677 Wilson Ave., near Jane Street.The building has been used to accommodate people experiencing homelessness since 2016, including refugees and refugee claimants, the City’s website states.The same address was the location of a sudden death on Saturday that is still being investigated, but is considered non-suspicious by police at this point.

A Dutch museum has sent Crimean treasures to Kyiv after a legal tug-of-war between Russia, Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:14 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Historical treasures that were stored for years at an Amsterdam museum during an ownership dispute sparked by Russia’s annexation of Crimea have been safely transported to Ukraine, the museum announced Monday.Their transport ends a nearly decade-long legal tug-of-war over the artifacts including a solid gold Scythian helmet from the 4th century B.C. and a golden neck ornament from the second century A.D. that weighs more than a kilogram (two pounds).“This was a special case, in which cultural heritage became a victim of geopolitical developments,” Els van der Plas, director of the Allard Pierson historical museum, said in a statement.The museum displayed the 300 artifacts from four museums in Crimea in an exhibition that opened a month before the Russian annexation in 2014.Both the Ukrainian government in Kyiv and the four Crimean museums that had loaned bronze swords, golden helmets, precious gems and other artifacts to the Allard Pierson demande...

Russian FM says he plans to attend OSCE meeting in North Macedonia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:14 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that he plans to travel to North Macedonia later this week to attend a conference, a trip that would mark his first visit to a NATO member country since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine. Russia is one of the 57 members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, set up during the Cold War to help defuse East-West tensions. North Macedonia, which holds the group’s rotating chairmanship, last week invited Lavrov to an OSCE meeting that starts Thursday in Skopje, the capital of the small, landlocked Balkan country.NATO members banned Russian flights after Moscow launched its military action in Ukraine in February 2022. To reach North Macedonia, Lavrov’s plane would need to fly through the airspace of Bulgaria or Greece, which also belong to the Western military alliance.Speaking at a foreign policy conference in Moscow on Monday, Lavrov said Bulgaria apparently has given permission for an overflig...

Montreal police investigating after ‘Molotov cocktail’ thrown at Jewish centre

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:14 GMT

Montreal police are investigating after an incendiary object was allegedly thrown against the door of a Jewish community centre early this morning. The Jewish Community Council says its building in the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood was hit with a Molotov cocktail.Montreal police media relations officer Julien Lévesque says emergency responders were called at about 1 a.m. to a building whose location matches that of the Jewish Community Council of Montreal.Lévesque says firefighters transferred the investigation to the police’s arson squad, adding that no one was injured and there was only minor damage to the building.The executive director of the Jewish Community Council issued a statement condemning what he described as a frightening rise in antisemitism and the recent crimes targeting Montreal Jewish institutions since the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7 in Israel.Previous incidents in the city include firebombings that caused minor damage at a synagogue and a Jewish organizat...