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German authorities raid properties linked to group suspected of promoting Iranian ideology

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German police raided 54 locations across the country on Thursday in an investigation of a Hamburg-based center suspected of promoting Iranian ideology and supporting the activities of Hezbollah, the government said.The Interior Ministry said the Islamic Center Hamburg, or IZH, has long been under observation by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. It said the activities of the group are aimed at spreading the “revolutionary concept” of Iran’s supreme leader. Authorities are also looking into suspicions that it supports banned activities in Germany by Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, which has repeatedly traded fire with Israel across the Israel-Lebanon border since Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza last month.The IZH runs a mosque in Hamburg. The Interior Ministry said German intelligence believes it exerts significant influence or full control over some other mosques and groups, and that they often promote a “clearly antisemitic and a...

Turkish parliamentary committee to debate Sweden’s NATO membership bid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs committee was scheduled on Thursday to start debating Sweden’s bid to join NATO, drawing the previously non-aligned country closer to membership in the Western military alliance.Once green-lighted by the committee, Sweden’s accession protocol will need to be ratified by Parliament’s general assembly for the last stage of the legislative process in Turkey.Turkey has stalled ratifying Sweden’s membership in NATO, accusing the country of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara regards as threats to its security, including Kurdish militants and members of a network that Ankara blames for a failed coup in 2016.Turkey has also been angered by a series of demonstrations by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in Sweden as well as Quran-burning protests that roiled Muslim countries.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lifted his objection to Sweden’s bid during a NATO summit in July and sent the acc...

No Canadians on updated exit list for the Rafah border crossing, hundreds still stuck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

There are no Canadians mentioned in an updated list of foreign nationals who are being allowed to leave the Gaza Strip today. The General Authority for Crossings and Borders published the latest document on its Facebook page early this morning.Global Affairs Canada said Wednesday that a total of 367 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and family members have been able to get out, including nine people who left without the Canadian government’s help.Two more people were able to travel to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday, and 10 made the trip on Monday. The Canadian government says it cannot determine when or how many people can cross each day, but 386 more people connected to Canada are looking to leave the besieged Palestinian territory.They are fleeing the war that started on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking roughly 240 others back into Gaza as hostages.Israel has since retaliated with airstrikes ...

Stock market today: Asian shares wobble and oil prices fall after Biden’s meeting with China’s Xi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares have retreated after Wall Street added a bit more to its big rally from a day before, while U.S. futures and oil prices were lower. Any lift in sentiment from a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping appeared to fade after Biden, pressed by a reporter on whether he trusted Xi, said he believed in trusting but verifying and conceded that China’s leader is a dictator.“He is a dictator in a sense,” Biden said.Biden and Xi emerged from their first face-to-face meeting in a year vowing to stabilize the fraught relationship between the world’s two biggest economies. They showcased modest agreements to combat illicit fentanyl and re-establish military communications. Rifts on economic competition and global security threats persist, but Biden said they agreed to “pick up the phone” and talk if urgent issues arise. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4% to 17,832.82 and the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.7% at 3,050.93. In othe...

Daily horoscope for November 16, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

Moon Alert: After 2:55 a.m. EST today, there are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The Moon is in Capricorn.Happy Birthday for Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023:You are intelligent, perceptive and full of purpose. You are also caring and have the best interests of others at heart. This is a year of learning and teaching. Explore philosophies that will give you better self-awareness and get you closer to the true meaning of your life.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★This is a good day to talk to bosses, parents and people in authority, because you look successful. Not only that, you have solid, realistic plans, and are able to forecast practical realities. Others will be impressed! You appear trustworthy and reliable. Tonight: You’re noticed.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★★This is an excellent day to travel. It’s also an excellent day to study or explore opportunities in publishing, the media, medicine or the law. All aspects of higher education will flourish because you...

Commission funds 171 new LIFE projects in environment and climate across Europe with over €396 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

The European Commission has approved 171 new projects across Europe under the LIFE Programme for environment and climate action, worth more than €396 million. Thanks to the programme's co-funding requirements, it will mobilise a total investment of more than €722m, which represents a 28.5 % increase compared to last year. Projects from almost all EU countries will benefit from EU support under the following sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity; circular economy and quality of life; climate change mitigation and adaptation; and clean energy transition.LIFE projects contribute to reaching the European Green Deal's broad range of climate, energy and environmental goals, including the EU's aim to become climate-neutral by 2050. They support biodiversity and nature restoration, improve the quality of life of Europeans by reducing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, increase circularity in the economy and climate resilience, and accelerate the transition to clean energy across Eur...

Dear Abby: After decades of gaslighting me, my mother refuses to admit what she did

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I was born 40 years ago and raised by my mother to believe that her husband was my birth father.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: The co-worker who was supposed to leave is still here, and things are not getting better Advice | Dear Abby: I don’t know what’s in my husband’s trailer, but I want it gone Advice | Dear Abby: I brought up my moral issue with the restaurant, and this man exploded at me Advice | Dear Abby: These men hijacked our sentimental lunch. Am I wrong to be upset? Advice | Dear Abby: The bride is my best friend, but I’m not comfortable with her plan She divorced him and raised me while receiving court-awarded child support, based on her insistence to all involved that she had not had an affair.As the years went on, it became increasingly evident this wasn’t true, so I took a genetic test. The result came back with a 99% likelihood that I had a d...

Four-bedroom home in Los Gatos sells for $2.3 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

220 Mary Alice Drive – Google Street ViewA 1,579-square-foot house built in 1961 has changed hands. The property located in the 200 block of Mary Alice Drive in Los Gatos was sold on Nov. 3, 2023, for $2,280,000, or $1,444 per square foot. This single-story home provides a generous living space with its four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. Additionally, the house includes a two-car garage, offering generous space for vehicles and storage requirements.Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby:A 1,598-square-foot home on the 200 block of Jo Drive in Los Gatos sold in May 2023, for $2,111,000, a price per square foot of $1,321. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In March 2023, a 1,357-square-foot home on National Avenue in Los Gatos sold for $1,700,000, a price per square foot of $1,253. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On National Avenue, Los Gatos, in November 2022, a 2,386-square-foot home was sold for $2,600,000, ...

International summit in Fort Lauderdale addresses alarming rise in antisemitism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

In a historic move, an international summit addressing antisemitism is taking place for the first time in the United States, right here in South Florida. As leaders gather to discuss this pressing issue, heartbreaking stories emerge from the recent Hamas attacks on Israel.On Oct. 7, the world witnessed the terrifying moments as 239 hostages were kidnapped from Israel and taken to Gaza during what was supposed to be a music festival for peace. For Natalia Casarotti and Diego Engelbert, these are the moments that changed their lives forever. “People cannot go to dance and be killed because they go to dance,” Casarotti said.Casarotti’s son, Keshet, was missing for four and a half days after attending the Supernova Festival. The murder of her son, whose name means “rainbow” in English, has given her the strength to share his legacy. “The day after the funeral of my son, I felt inside, kind of a commitment to tell the story to make something meaningful...

Voting begins in Madagascar presidential election boycotted by most opposition leaders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — People in Madagascar trickled to polling stations Thursday as voting opened in a presidential election boycotted by the majority of candidates following weeks of unrest and court battles.In the capital of Antananarivo, where a night-time curfew ended two hours before voting started, many people said they were heeding calls by a collective of 10 candidates to stay away from voting booths. Opposition leaders and civil society groups had also called for a postponement of the election.The situation was calm in the capital despite weeks of unrest, but tension was palpable at some polling stations where some people refused to talk to journalists. At one polling station, people warned each other against making comments after being approached by an Associated Press journalist.Voters’ choices were limited to three men after 10 candidates announced they were pulling out of the election this week, alleging that conditions for a legitimate and fair vote haven’t b...