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Israel’s Herzog tells Biden Israel’s democracy remains sound amid US concerns over judicial overhaul

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel’s figurehead president Isaac Herzog sought to assure President Joe Biden that Israel remains committed to democracy amid deepening U.S. concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial plans to overhaul his country’s judicial system and ongoing settlement construction in the West Bank.Sitting by Biden’s side at the start of their Oval Office meeting on Tuesday, Herzog told Biden that Israel’s democracy remains “sound, strong” and “resilient” while acknowledging the country is going through a fractious moment. Herzog’s visit comes a day after Biden spoke with Netanyahu by phone and invited him to meet in the U.S. this fall, although the president expressed reservations about several of the Netanyahu hard-right coalition’s policies. Netanyahu’s government is pushing forward with judicial changes that have sparked widespread protest in Israel and he has authorized the construction of thousands of new housing un...

Belarus arrests a prominent journalist in its continued crackdown on dissent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Authorities in Belarus have arrested a prominent journalist who has written for the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the latest step in a yearslong crackdown on opposition figures, independent journalists and human rights activists.The Belarusian Association of Journalists said Ihar Karnei, 55, was arrested in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on Monday. His apartment was raided, with police seizing phones and computers, his daughter, Polina, told The Associated Press. The authorities have offered no explanation for the arrest and the searches. However, RFE/RL has been labeled extremist in Belarus, and working with it or spreading its content is punishable by up to seven years in prison.Belarus’ oldest and most prominent human rights group, Viasna, reported that Karnei has been placed in the Akrestina pretrial detention center, notorious for its harsh conditions and torture of prisoners. According to Viasna, neither lawyers nor family members have ac...

Lawmakers approve bill allowing French police to locate suspects by tapping their devices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French lawmakers on Tuesday adopted a sweeping justice reform bill that includes a provision to allow law enforcement agents to remotely tap into the cameras, microphones and location services of phones and other internet-connected devices of some suspected criminals.The measure plainly stipulates that the procedure can be executed “without the knowledge or consent of its owner or possessor” but is limited to suspects involved in terrorism, organized crime and other illegal activities punishable by five or more years in prison.The language authorizing eavesdropping was contained in a broader reform bill aimed at “modernizing” penal procedures. Reflecting what polls indicate is a public demand for more law and order, the National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament, adopted two ambitious bills Tuesday that are aimed at bolstering the country’s creaky judicial system.The Senate, controlled by the right, adopted both bills in May. “The goal of this law...

New York prosecutor begins crackdown on illegal cannabis shops with $400K deal with shop owner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City entrepreneur who illegally sold marijuana at a dozen shops across Manhattan must pay more than $400,000 in taxes and proceeds from illicit sales of cannabis, as part of a crackdown on the thousands of unlicensed operations across the city.The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that business owner Rami Alzandani would not face litigation as part of a non-prosecution agreement. He can keep his stores open but can no longer sell cannabis products.The state of New York’s Office of Cannabis Management has now issued more than 250 licenses for entrepreneurs to open storefronts to sell cannabis in all of its forms, including edibles, flowers and vapes.Azandani must pay $103,000 in restitution to the state Department of Tax and Finance and must also forfeit an additional $300,000 in illegal proceeds, the district attorney’s office said.Last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the seizure of $11 million worth of illicit pro...

Amateur soccer player found dead in Argentina after attack on referee goes viral

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A player from an amateur soccer league in Buenos Aires was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head shortly after being charged with attempted homicide for a violent assault against a referee during a match last weekend.Buenos Aires police said Tuesday that the body of 24-year-old Williams Alexander Tapón was found near a train station, a few blocks away from his residence in a suburb south of the Argentine capital. Tapón gained an unexpected level of notoriety on Monday when a video of the brutal assault of referee Cristian Ariel Paniagua went viral on social media. The incident occurred Saturday during a soccer match between La Cortada, Tapón’s team, and El Rejunte in an amateur tournament.The player knocked the referee down with a punch and, while he was on the ground, kicked him in the head, rendering him unconscious. The referee was taken to the hospital in the suburb of Avellaneda.After the victim filed a complaint, Avellaneda prosecutors char...

Trump’s classified documents case set for first pretrial conference before Judge Cannon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge who issued a court ruling last year that critics said was unduly favorable to Donald Trump is set to preside Tuesday over the first pretrial conference in his landmark criminal case concerning the mishandling of classified documents.Prosecutors and defense lawyers are scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to discuss the rules and procedures that will govern how classified evidence is used in the case. It’s a routine subject for any prosecution that concerns classified information, but it’s notable because it will be Cannon’s first time hearing arguments in the case since the Republican former president’s indictment last month. She also directed the parties to be prepared to discuss a dispute over a trial date.The court date is unfolding as Trump disclosed that he had received a target letter from the Justice Department in a separate investigation into efforts by him and his allies to overturn the results of the 20...

Israeli protesters block highways, train stations as Netanyahu moves ahead with judicial overhaul

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesters on Tuesday blocked highways and train stations and massed in central Tel Aviv during a day of countrywide demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul plan.The protests, now in their seventh month, have taken on a sense of urgency in recent days as Netanyahu and his allies in parliament march ahead with the program. The first bill in the package – a measure that seeks to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers – could become law as soon as next week.The unrest also cast a shadow over a visit to the White House by Israel’s figurehead president, Isaac Herzog, who was invited to Washington to celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary.Herzog, a political centrist, has been involved in behind-the-scenes efforts to broker a compromise on the judicial overhaul, which has strained relations between Netanyahu and President Joe Biden. In a meeting with Biden in the Oval Office, Herzog acknowledged that I...

Man firing into the air causes panic on a South Carolina street and is wounded in a police shootout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A man who fired shots into the air on a busy street near South Carolina’s capital was wounded in a shootout with police just before noon Tuesday, authorities said.The gunman, who is a gang member on probation and can’t legally have the handgun he was firing, is expected to survive, Columbia Police Department Deputy Chief Merlon Kelly said.An officer also was hurt and authorities aren’t sure if he was grazed by a bullet or injured some other way, Kelly said at a news conference.The shooting happened near a busy intersection about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the South Carolina Statehouse in downtown Columbia. Police reported wrecks as drivers tried to flee. Dozens of guests were evacuated from a nearby hotel and cancer patients at a clinic had to remain inside behind locked doors until police said it was safe.“He absolutely had no regard for the lives of the members of the public he was shooting at nor the officers that encountered him,...

Alaska volcano’s week-long eruption spews another massive ash cloud

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An ongoing eruption of a remote volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands produced an ash cloud so large Tuesday warnings were sent to pilots about potentially dangerous conditions.The ash cloud with an initial height of around 5.5 miles (8.9 kilometers) was drifting south-southeast from Shishaldin Volcano, the Alaska Volcano Observatory said in a statement. The eruption was described as moderate with ashfall drifting toward the Pacific Ocean, creating a potential concern for air traffic or boats, said Matt Loewen, a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the observatory. The volcano is about 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage and sits near the middle of Unimak Island. The island’s 65 or so residents live about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of the volcano, in the community of False Pass.Shishaldin Volcano began erupting July 11. A U.S. Coast Guard overflight confirmed lava erupted the same day within the summit crater.A signif...

Canadian arrested by U.K. police on suspicion of membership in terrorism group

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

British police have arrested a Canadian man on suspicion of being a member of a terrorist group.The Metropolitan Police in London, England, say counterterrorism detectives arrested a 28-year-old Canadian national at Heathrow Airport shortly after noon.They say the man had just arrived on a flight from Canada and that the investigation related to an earlier arrest of a man in east London.Both men stand accused of membership in a proscribed terrorism organization, which could carry a sentence of up to 14 years in prison if charges are laid.The men are currently being held without a warrant, which can be done for a maximum of 48 hours under the U.K. Terrorism Act.In an email, Metropolitan Police say they are not naming the terrorism group as the investigation is ongoing and would only confirm the identity of the people they arrested if they are charged with an offence.