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What Europe’s role should be in Israel-Hamas war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:59 GMT

Julien Barnes-Dacey is the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Hugh Lovatt is a senior policy fellow at ECFR.The brutal terror Hamas unleashed upon Israeli civilians on October 7 has rightly provoked full European solidarity. The scenes of horror have deservedly been condemned in the strongest terms, with the European Union backing Israel’s right to self-defense.As the bloc continues to provide strong political backing for Israel, it should also be using its diplomatic channels to prevent dangerous regional escalation. But it must be clear that this isn’t a blank check for a war of annihilation on Gaza — which all prior experience indicates would be counterproductive in addressing the threat posed by Hamas — and the collective punishment of all Palestinians.European leaders should use today’s extraordinary European Council meeting to unite behind this message, putting aside the divisions that have characterized th...

Biden to travel to Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:59 GMT

President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday in what is likely to be a dramatic show of solidarity with a nation reeling from Hamas’ deadly attack.The announcement of Biden’s impending trip was made by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday. Blinken himself was in Israel, where he had held hours of meetings with the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.“The President will reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security,” Blinken said.The trip by Biden could come on the cusp of Israel launching a ground invasion of Gaza, a backdrop that has left some administration officials worried. Biden will be going to Tel Aviv. But he will also stop in Amman, the capital of Jordan, where he will meet with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt and King Abdullah II of Jordan.Netanyahu invited Biden to visit when the two men spoke on Saturday, officials said.Bi...

SNP conference: 5 things to watch in Humza Yousaf’s big speech

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:59 GMT

ABERDEEN, Scotland — Push back a resurgent Labour, define yourself and save Scottish independence. All in a day’s work, Humza Yousaf hopes.The embattled Scottish first minister will give his first annual conference address to the Scottish National Party as its leader on Tuesday afternoon. It comes as Yousaf is dealing with a painful personal crisis: Members of his family remain trapped in Gaza as Israel considers its response to deadly attacks by Hamas militants.The early stages of Yousaf’s leadership were largely overtaken by events. His predecessor at the helm of Scotland’s devolved government, Nicola Sturgeon, had abruptly resigned — and was among senior SNP figures caught up in a police probe into the party’s finances. More recent months have been dominated by concern over a Scottish Labour comeback in the polls — and a hearty dose of internal warfare, including an MP defection and continued grumbling about the party’s strategy for achieving its ult...

What happens next in Poland? 5 things you need to know after a landmark election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:59 GMT

WARSAW — After eight years of rule by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, Polish voters on Sunday chose change — giving three opposition democratic parties enough seats to form a new government.So now is the way is clear to bring Poland back into the European mainstream after dallying as an illiberal democracy?Not so fast.The country’s likely ruling coalition faces years of very hard political graft to undo the changes wrought by PiS since 2015.Here are five main takeaways from an election that will shake Poland and Europe.1. Job No. 1 — creating a new governmentThe result puts PiS in first place, with 36.1 percent, according to a preliminary vote count, and 196 seats, but that’s too few for a majority in the 460-member lower house of parliament.“We will definitely try to build a parliamentary majority,” said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.The first move belongs to President Andrzej Duda, a former PiS member who has always been loyal to the party....

EU capitals fume at ‘Queen’ von der Leyen 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:59 GMT

For many of her international allies, Ursula von der Leyen is Mrs Europe — a truly presidential figure who steered the bloc through the COVID-19 pandemic and kept it unified in the face of Russia’s war on Ukraine.But the German politician’s glowing reputation abroad is increasingly belied by a malaise within the central institutions and capitals of the 27-country European Union. In private conversations in Brussels, diplomats, lawmakers and her own European Commission staffers complain “VDL” is overstepping her job description, cutting EU governments out of her decision-making and ruling with a small group of advisers by decree.The criticism came to a head last weekend when she made an unscheduled trip to Israel, prompting a furious reaction from European diplomats.Several told POLITICO they were unhappy that von der Leyen, who voiced solidarity with the victims of the Hamas attacks, had not relayed their calls for Israel to respect international law in Gaza during ...

Police respond after 2-year-old boy found with mother near Mass. & Cass encampment in Boston

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:59 GMT

Boston police were called to the intersection of Mass. Ave. and Melnea Cass Boulevard last week after a 2-year-old boy was spotted with his mother in the area of a homeless encampment that is known as a problem area for drug use and crime.Police say the boy’s mother may have been doing drugs at the time he was spotted by outreach volunteers on Friday morning. The volunteers said it was about 45 degrees outside and he was not appropriately dressed for the weather.The two first encountered police when they were sleeping in a car in a nearby parking lot, according to a report. The car was later towed for having an expired registration sticker.Evelyn Abreu, Director of Miracle Mile Ministries, said never in her time on Mass. and Cass has she come across a child.“I’ve never heard of one being out there,” she said. “This is their little, their little town, their friends, their neighbors, I could see why she could feel like bringing in a child the people there...

5 things we learned from the Chicago Bulls’ preseason loss in Denver, including Patrick Williams’ explosive offense

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:59 GMT

The Chicago Bulls traveled to the home of the reigning NBA champions to face the Denver Nuggets in their third preseason game Sunday.The Bulls lost 116-102 as coach Billy Donovan gave extended playing time to the young core of the secondary rotation.Here are five things we learned from Sunday’s game.1. Patrick Williams flexed offensive aggressiveness — but rebounding remains a lingering issue.Any fans looking for signs of a more aggressive Williams were rewarded in the first quarter, when the fourth-year forward scored 10 points.Williams showed flashes of a more aggressive version of himself throughout his 25 minutes on the court, scoring 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. His best play was a simple yet decisive isolation combination in the second quarter on which he collected a pass behind the 3-point line, dropped his shoulder to take two dribbles toward the paint before faking, spinning and pulling the trigger on a midrange stepbac...

San Marcos couple returns after harrowing trip in Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:59 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Calif. -- A local couple who were on vacation in Israel and got stuck there after Hamas unleashed its attacks has made it home.Patty Kolb and her husband are back in San Marcos, arriving in San Diego Sunday night after a harrowing trip to Israel.“We have to use the experiences of the last eight days for a greater good and we believe that that's the purpose of why we were there,” Kolb said.They were there for about a week visiting friends and touring sites when everything changed with Hamas’ terror attacks.“Potentially at anytime, we could have been I guess bombed, at no time was I fearful,” Kolb said.But getting out was not easy.The couple’s flight home was canceled, rescheduled, then canceled again. Eventually, they found a Saturday flight from Tel Aviv to Athens. Man arrested after machete attack, SWAT standoff in Oceanside “We spent a lot of time in bomb shelters including about 15 minutes before we left our Airbnb to go to the airport and a half hour before we boar...

1 dead, 2 injured by gunshots near a pro-democracy protest in Guatemala

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:59 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — One person died and at least two more were injured by gunshots near a pro-democracy demonstration in Guatemala on Monday, local authorities said.Victor Gomez, spokesman for the volunteer firemen in Malacatan, near the border with Mexico, said it was not clear whether the victims were protesters themselves, or just caught nearby.The incident marked the beginning of a third week of demonstrations against Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who protesters accuse of attempting to undermine a popular vote for progressive President-elect Bernardo Arévalo.Videos from Malacatan circulating on social media painted a chaotic picture. Some appear to show civilians and police officers fleeing as bursts of gunfire are heard. In one recording, a vehicle and a police patrol are burning. It is not clear who fired the shots. In response to the incident, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said authorities were “carrying out corresponding investigations” and promised more de...

Trudeau says three Canadians could be among Hamas hostages; Tories say no ceasefire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:59 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on Hamas to immediately release hostages in Gaza, which he says may include at least three missing Canadians, while the Opposition Conservatives warned his Liberal government against calling for a ceasefire. Trudeau spoke in Parliament for the first time Monday since fighters stormed into Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, killing hundreds of people and taking a reported 199 people hostage.“Five Canadians were murdered by Hamas terrorists. Three Canadians are reported missing and may be hostages,” he told MPs in the House of Commons. He continued in French, saying, “Canada asks Hamas to free all the hostages immediately.” Canada has listed Hamas as a terrorist entity since 2002. In his address to Parliament, Trudeau reiterated how militants with the group are not “freedom fighters” as some supporters and protesters have suggested in demonstrations staged in Canadain the wake of the ...