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Netanyahu blames security agencies for intelligence failure, then pulls back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

A social media post by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashing out at military and security chiefs for allowing a deadly Hamas attack on October 7 was promptly deleted on Sunday after triggering negative comments, many from Israel’s own war cabinet.As the post on X unleashed a wave of furious reactions by high-ranking Israeli security officials, exposing deep internal divisions, Netanyahu published a new post saying: “I was wrong.”“The things I said following the press conference should not have been said and I apologize for that,” he wrote. “I give full backing to all the heads of the security arms. I am strengthening the Chief of Staff and the commanders and soldiers of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] who are at the front,” he added in the post. Netanyahu has drawn public criticism for refusing to take any responsibility in not preventing Hamas’ assault earlier this month, when the militant group killed more than 1,400 people and took ...

Trade talks collapse between EU and Australia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

Last-chance negotiations on a trade agreement between Australia and the European Union have fallen through, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said on Sunday. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to make progress,” Farrell said in a video statement after informal discussions between Canberra and Brussels. “Negotiations will continue and I am hopeful that, one day, we will sign a deal that benefits both Australia and our European friends.” The talks, held on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 trade ministers in Japan, were seen as a last-ditch attempt for the two sides to bridge remaining gaps.“The European Commission regrets the lack of progress made during talks in Osaka today. Our negotiating teams made good progress in recent weeks, including in the days leading up to the Osaka meeting. There was optimism that a deal was within reach,” a spokesperson for the EU executive said.“However, ministerial discussions in Osaka did not see the sa...

In Myanmar, a Facebook post deemed inflammatory led to an ex-minister’s arrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A former high-profile Myanmar army officer who had served as information minister and presidential spokesperson in a previous military-backed government has been arrested and charged with spreading false or inflammatory news, a statement from the current military government said Sunday.In a statement sent to journalists, the military’s information office said 64-year old Ye Htut, a retired lieutenant colonel, was arrested for violating Section 505(A) of the penal code, a provision called “incitement,” for writing and spreading false news on his Facebook social media account.His arrest came the same month a Myanmar military tribunal sentenced two high-ranking generals to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of high treason, accepting bribes, illegal possession of foreign currency and violating military discipline.Those sentences appeared to be the harshest so far for the senior members of the military’s administrative bodies that were set up after the army se...

Israeli media, also traumatized by Hamas attack, become communicators of Israel’s message

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

When 85-year-old Israeli woman Yocheved Lifshitz was released from Hamas captivity last week, she was warmly welcomed home. Then she began to speak.Addressing reporters from a wheelchair at a hospital, Lifshitz described a harrowing experience in Hamas captivity but also said she had been fairly treated. Israeli media instantly seized on that nuanced portrayal as a blow to the country’s messaging that Hamas are savages.A flurry of op-eds, social media posts and on-air discussion by Israeli journalists counseled Israeli officials how to manage further hostage releases to ensure Israel’s narrative was being effectively communicated.The episode brought into focus the dual role played by Israeli media following Hamas’ devastating Oct. 7 attack on southern Israeli communities and the war that it set off. Beyond their traditional function as journalists, Israeli reporters are also in many ways acting as public advocates on behalf of the Israeli war effort, showing how deeply the tra...

Son of Canadian hostage in Gaza: “Military actions don’t solve anything”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

OTTAWA — The son of a Canadian woman believed to be among those held hostage by Hamas in Gaza wants the world to push for an end to the fighting and says he fears Israel’s escalating offensive could end all chance of bringing his mother safely home. Yonatan Zeigen’s mother, Vivian Silver, is one of an estimated 229 hostages taken by Hamas during its bloody Oct. 7 rampage in Israel.Hamas fighters breached Israel’s defences and stormed into nearby towns like Silver’s, gunning down civilians and soldiers in a surprise attack that killed at least 1,400 people.Since then, Israel has drastically limited electricity and food in the territory, and this weekend has ramped up air and land assaults ahead of an expected full-scale invasion of the densely populated territory.Zeigen says Silver raised him to believe that peace is the only way to solve the decades of conflict in the Middle East, and he’s worried that hostages will die if there is a ground invasion.Zei...

Colombian police continue search for father of Liverpool striker Díaz

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian police continued their search for the father of Liverpool striker Luis Díaz on Sunday, one day after he was kidnapped with his wife near the country’s border with Venezuela.Luis Manuel Díaz and Cilenis Marulanda were kidnapped on Saturday by gunmen in their city of Barrancas, near the Caribbean. Marulanda was rescued at night, but her husband remains with the criminals, police said.Police director William Salamanca said he told the footballer on the phone he had put all of his efforts to find his father. He also told the Liverpool striker his mother is safe and unharmed.“We will spare no effort in this situation that has moved all of us Colombians,” Salamanca said.Díaz was released from playing at Anfield on Sunday at Liverpool’s 3-0 Premier League victory against Nottingham Forest. Striker Diogo Jota held his teammate’s number seven shirt aloft after opening the scoring.Coach Jurgen Klopp said he removed Díaz from the squad due to...

6 people were killed and 40 injured when two trains collided in southern India

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Two passenger trains collided in southern India on Sunday, killing six people and inuring 40, officials said.The crash happened in Andhra Pradesh state’s Vizianagaram district when an incoming train slammed into a stationary train, leading to derailment of at least three rail cars, senior railway officer Saurab Prasad said.Multiple rescue teams and residents were extracting injured passengers from the wreckage.Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asked authorities to send as many ambulances as possible to the crash site and ordered other relief measures.Train crashes are common in India and are often blamed mostly on human error or outdated signaling equipment.In June, more than 280 people were killed in one of the country’s deadliest rail crashes in decades after two passenger trains rammed into each other in eastern India.More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day, traveling on 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of tra...

Beloved actor Matthew Perry grew up in Canada and is linked to big names in politics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

Matthew Perry’s iconic performance on “Friends” may forever link him with New York City, but the actor behind Chandler Bing described himself as half Canadian and had deep ties to some of the biggest names in Canadian politics.The 54-year-old actor was found dead in his Los Angeles home Saturday.Perry detailed his childhood spent growing up in Canada with his mother in his memoir, published a year before his death.Perry lived between Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto with his Canadian mother, Suzanne Perry, who worked as press secretary for then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau and later as a national anchor for Global News.In a 2017 interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Perry recalled beating up a young Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the schoolyard when he was in Grade 5. Trudeau responded at the time with a social media post inviting Perry to a rematch, quipping, “who hasn’t wanted to punch Chandler?”The prime minister responded to Perry’s death in a tweet late...

Russians commemorate victims of Soviet repression as a present-day crackdown on dissent intensifies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Russians commemorated the victims of Soviet state terror on Sunday, while the Russian government continues its crackdown on dissent in the country.The “Returning of the Names” event was organized by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial.The commemoration has traditionally been held in Moscow on Oct. 29 — the eve of Russia’s Remembrance Day for the Victims of Political Repression — at the Solovetsky Stone memorial to victims of Soviet-era repression, and centers on the reading out of names of individuals killed during Joseph Stalin’s Great Terror of the late 1930s.Since 2020, Moscow authorities have refused to grant a permit for the demonstration. This is allegedly owing to the “epidemiological situation” and a ban on holding public events, though supporters of Memorial believe the refusal is politically motivated.Memorial itself was ordered to close by the Moscow authorities in November 2021. Although it was shut down as a legal entity in Russia, th...

Kentucky Derby winner Mage out of Breeders’ Cup Classic, trainer says horse has decreased appetite

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

ARCADIA. Calif. (AP) — Kentucky Derby winner Mage won’t run in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, his trainer said Sunday.Mage had yet to travel to California for the world championships next weekend at Santa Anita.“He presented a feverish state this morning and we have noticed symptoms of loss (of) appetite,” trainer Gustavo Delgado posted on social media.“We were very enthusiastic about the condition that the horse was going through, and despite how disappointed we feel right now, we are confident in a speedy recovery.”Ramiro Restrepo, a co-owner of Mage, also posted, “Timing stinks but lucky we caught it early. Can’t run at below 100%; horse comes first. Onwards to the Pegasus and his 4YO campaign.”The Pegasus World Cup is Jan. 27 at Gulfstream.Mage, who won the Derby at 15-1 odds, finished third in the Preakness, second in the Haskell and was last in the Travers, his most recent start on Aug. 26.His defection leaves the Classic with just one Triple Crown rac...