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Israel snubs EU-Med summit amid war with Hamas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:28 GMT

Israel accused organizers of an EU-Med summit of putting its war with Hamas at the heart of talks without consulting them. Foreign ministers from the Union for the Mediterranean — which brings together the EU plus Middle Eastern and North African states — are gathering in Barcelona on Monday to discuss the conflict. Except, crucially, Israel won’t be there. The decision to discuss the war “undermines” the purpose of the forum, and “carries the risk of transforming it into another international forum in which Arab states bash Israel,” the Israeli ambassador to the EU, Haim Regev, said. The foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon and Tunisia are expected to attend, in addition to foreign ministers from the EU. The EU and the Spanish presidency of the EU Council decided to go ahead with the get-together despite earlier fears that Arab states or Israel would decline the invitation. Germany’s Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock and France’s ...

UK preps new power to slap energy firms with windfall tax if prices jump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:28 GMT

U.K. ministers will create a fast-action trigger giving them the power to impose new windfall taxes on energy companies if prices spike again in future.The U.K. brought in a 25 percent “Energy Profits Levy” last year as prices soared in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s set to run until March 2028.But, tucked into one of the consultation responses released alongside this week’s Autumn Statement, the government said it would create a “new mechanism” to respond to shock energy price rises once the current windfall tax ends in March 2028. It insisted the use of such a mechanism would be optional.The move tees up the prospect of further charges on energy companies, a potentially contentious move already unsettling some low-tax members of the governing Conservative Party.The document says a “fair return” will be needed for Britain if prices rocket again, while also ensuring commensurate tax hikes happen “in a more p...

Hamas releases Israeli and Thai hostages from Gaza, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:28 GMT

(CNN) — A group of Israeli and Thai hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7 has been released, as part of a deal struck between Israel and the militant group, according to officials.An initial group of 13 Israeli hostages was freed, according to the Israeli prime minister. The Thai prime minister said 12 Thai nationals had also been released.Israel is due to free 39 Palestinian prisoners in return on Friday.The Israeli group is the first to be released through a deal between the two sides, brokered in part by Qatar, that was finalized after weeks of tense negotiations and took several agonizing days to come into effect.The agreement, accompanied by a four-day truce between Hamas and Israel, represents a first major diplomatic breakthrough in the conflict.The released hostages are expected to enter Egypt through the Rafah crossing before returning to Israeli soil, where they will likely be taken to local hospitals.The concurrent halt in fighting began at 7 a.m. local time...

Victims in Niagara Falls border bridge crash identified as Western New York couple

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:28 GMT

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — The two people killed when their car crashed into a border checkpoint in Niagara Falls and exploded in a fiery wreck were identified Friday as a western New York husband and wife whose family owns a lumber business and several hardware stores in the Buffalo area.The Niagara Falls Police Department named the couple as Kurt P. Villani and Monica Villani, both 53, of Grand Island, New York, a leafy Buffalo suburb close to the falls.Online business records indicate the victims’ family owns Gui’s Lumber and seven Ace Hardware locations in western New York. A man who answered the phone Friday at a number listed for the business declined to comment.Authorities have not yet released details on what exactly led to the couple’s crash Wednesday at the Rainbow Bridge, where their car raced through an intersection, hit a low median and was launched through the air before slamming into a row of security booths and bursting into flames.The wreck prompted widespread...

Dorchester 9-year-old gets big break in “Good Burger 2”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:28 GMT

The long-awaited sequel to 1997’s Nickelodeon film “Good Burger” was released on Paramount+ on Wednesday, and it includes a star turn from a budding young local actress.Shot in New England, “Good Burger 2” features nine-year-old Alexis Turner, of Dorchester, alongside stars Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. In the film, Turner plays Ketchup, one of Mitchell’s on-screen daughters.“I’m so excited to see it,” Turner said. “It was a great experience. I loved to be there, I had a really fun time.”Turner told 7News some of her favorite parts of filming included scenes where she ate french fries, ran down hallways, and got into a pillow fight.The young actress, who has been performing since age four, is supported in her career by her mother Antoinette Toney.“I’m very proud,” Toney said. “She’s my best friend and I’m just going to always be there for her. As long as she wants to do it, IR...

What Patriots’ J.C. Jackson learned from recent discipline from Bill Belichick

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:28 GMT

FOXBORO — There are no hard feelings between head coach Bill Belichick and J.C. Jackson after the Patriots cornerback was left home in New England while the team traveled to Germany in Week 10.Jackson admitted to missing “bed check” at the team hotel prior to the Patriots’ Week 9 loss to the Commanders. He was benched for the beginning of that game and then didn’t travel with the team to play the Colts. The Patriots officially listed it as a “personal” matter.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick repeatedly refuses to name Patriots’ starting QB Friday New England Patriots | 10 things that didn’t go as planned for Patriots this season New England Patriots | What makes Matthew Slater an ‘honorary’ Patriots offensive lineman? New England Patriots | Patriots mailbag: Explaining intrigue around third-string QB Will Grier New England Patriots | ...

Baby clinging to life after driver crashes on Route 495 in Andover

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:28 GMT

A 1-year-old girl suffered life-threatening injuries in a one-car crash early this morning when the driver slammed into a tree off Route 495 in Andover, state police report.Preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 3:40 AM a 2017 Toyota Camry with a New Hampshire registration was northbound on Route 495 in Andover when the operator lost control of the vehicle, police said.The Camry went into the grass median, continuing in a northerly direction, police said, then descended an embankment and struck a tree.The infant was transported to Lawrence General Hospital with life-threatening injuries. From there she was transported by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital.The driver, a 33-year-old woman, was transported to Lawrence General Hospital with minor injuries. The woman and infant are both from Nashua, N.H.Troopers are investigating distraction on the part of the operator as a potential cause of the crash.

Bill Belichick repeatedly refuses to name Patriots’ starting QB Friday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:28 GMT

FOXBORO — Bill Belichick started the week telling reporters he would wait until Sunday to name the Patriots’ next starting quarterback.On Friday, he stayed true to his word.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | 10 things that didn’t go as planned for Patriots this season New England Patriots | What makes Matthew Slater an ‘honorary’ Patriots offensive lineman? New England Patriots | Patriots mailbag: Explaining intrigue around third-string QB Will Grier New England Patriots | Callahan: 7 reasons for Patriots fans to be thankful for in a lost season New England Patriots | Thanksgiving: A time for football, awkward conversations at dinner table Belichick repeatedly declined to answer any quarterback-related questions in his Friday morning press conference. He used the same response when asked whether he had decided on a starting quarterback and if Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe had tak...

Qatar confirms release of 24 hostages held by Hamas for 7 weeks in Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:28 GMT

By WAFAA SHURAFA, BASSEM MROUE and DAVID RISING (Associated Press)RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Qatar’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed the release of 24 hostages after seven weeks of captivity in the Gaza Strip.“Those released include 13 Israeli citizens, some of whom are dual citizens, in addition to 10 Thai citizens and a Filipino citizen,” said Majed al-Ansari, the ministry’s spokesman. Qatar was a key mediator in the hostage release.The International Committee of the Red Cross, which delivered the hostages from Gaza into Egypt, also confirmed the release.The hostages, women and children, were undergoing medical checks before they were to be transferred to Israel. They are to be taken to Israeli hospitals and reunited with their families.The hostages are the first of 50 people to be released from Gaza during a four-day truce that began Friday. Israel is to release 39 Palestinian prisoners later Friday, the first of a total of 150 Palestinian prisoners to be freed under the cease-fire....

Live updates | Israel-Hamas truce begins; 24 hostages released as swap begins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:28 GMT

By The Associated PressA four-day cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war began Friday in Gaza as part of an agreement that Qatar helped broker. Twenty-four hostages were freed, including 13 Israeli citizens, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino citizen, Qatar said. The deal includes the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.With the truce deal comes increased shipments of fuel and supplies into Gaza — though still only enough to dent the needs of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, according to aid groups. Israel has agreed to allow the delivery of 130,000 liters (34,300 gallons) of fuel a day into besieged Gaza for humanitarian needs for the duration of the truce. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza after a dayslong pause in its casualty report, which it attributed to the health system’s collapse in northern Gaza makin...