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Thousands of Muslims take to the streets to express outrage over Quran desecration in Sweden

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:49 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Thousands of people took to the streets in a handful of Muslim-majority countries Friday to express their outrage at the desecration of a copy of the Quran in Sweden, a day after protesters stormed the country’s embassy in Iraq.The protests in Iraq, Lebanon and Iran that followed weekly prayers were controlled and peaceful, in contrast to scenes in Baghdad on Thursday, when demonstrators occupied the Swedish Embassy compound for several hours and set a small fire.The embassy staff had been evacuated before the storming, and Swedish news agency TT reported that they were relocated to Stockholm for security reasons.For Muslims, any desecration of the Quran, their holy text, is abhorrent. Under scorching heat Friday, thousands gathered in Baghdad’s Sadr City, a stronghold of influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr, some of whose followers took part in the attack on the Swedish Embassy. They brandished Qurans, burned the Swedish flag and...

Opposition parties disrupt India’s Parliament for 2nd day to protest ethnic violence in northeast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:49 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Deadly ethnic clashes in India’s northeast rocked the country’s Parliament for a second straight day Friday, with the opposition blocking proceedings and demanding the sacking of the top elected official of Manipur state, where more than 130 people have been killed since early May. The official, Biren Singh, belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.The opposition shouted slogans demanding that all other parliamentary business be postponed and that a debate be launched on the violence, starting with a statement by Modi.On Thursday, Modi broke more than two months of public silence over the ethnic clashes, telling reporters that mob assaults on two women as they were paraded naked were unforgivable, but he did not refer directly to the larger violence.The government refused the opposition demand that Modi participate in a debate, and presiding officer Rajendra Aggarwal adjourned the lower house of Parliament until Monday.The near-civil w...

Economics website is filled with racist and sexist speech, some blame the nation’s top universities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Anonymous comments with racist, sexist and abusive messages that were posted for years on a jobs-related website for economists originated from numerous leading U.S. universities, according to research released Thursday. Some economists have long condemned the website, Economics Job Market Rumors, for its toxic content. The site, known by its acronym EJMR, is run by an anonymous individual and is not connected to a university or other institution. That fact had fed speculation that those who posted hateful messages on it were mostly online cranks who might not be economists. Yet the new research indicates that users of the website include individuals at top-tier colleges and universities, including Harvard, Stanford and the University of Chicago, and many others.“Our analysis reveals that the users who post on EJMR are predominantly economists, including those working in the upper echelons of academia, government, and the private sector,” the paper concluded. It wa...

Russian authorities detain a hard-liner who accused Putin of weakness in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:49 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A prominent Russian hard-liner who accused President Vladimir Putin of weakness and indecision in Ukraine was detained Friday on charges of extremism, a signal the Kremlin has toughened its approach with hawkish critics after last month’s abortive rebellion by the Wagner mercenary company.Igor Strelkov, a retired security officer who led Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and also was implicated by the Netherlands in the downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet that year, has argued that a total mobilization is needed for Russia to achieve victory and recently criticized Putin as a “nonentity.”The detention of the 52-year-old Strelkov, whose real name is Igor Girkin, was reported by his wife, who posted the news on his messaging app channel. She said he apparently faces charges of extremism.The move comes nearly a month after a short-lived mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin that saw his Wagner troops capture military headqu...

Authorities call off Berlin lioness alarm, saying they’ve found no evidence of a predator

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:49 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities determined on Friday that there is “no acute danger” to people in an area on the edge of Berlin where a potentially dangerous animal was spotted, saying they no longer believe that a lioness is at large and calling off the hunt.A search turned up no sign of such a predator and experts who analyzed a video have concluded that it was likely a wild boar, they said.Police were first alerted to the animal in Kleinmachnow, just outside Berlin’s city limits, around midnight on Wednesday when people reported what appeared to be a big cat chasing a wild boar. The informants also provided the video. Based on that and a subsequent sighting of their own, police initially concluded that the animal was apparently a lioness. But it proved elusive in searches Thursday and Friday in the flat, wooded area on the boundary between Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg. Several reported sightings went unconfirmed; in one case on Friday, police only found a family of w...

International officials, groups warn Bosnian Serbs new libel law is contrary to proclaimed EU path

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:49 GMT

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Top international representatives in Bosnia on Friday warned that a newly-approved law in the Serb-run entity, which makes libel a criminal offense, stands contrary to the Balkan nation’s proclaimed European Union path.“Changes to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska that recriminalize defamation represent an attack on civil liberties characteristic of authoritarian regimes,” said the Office of High Representative, or OHR. “These changes are also a step backward on the path towards EU membership, as it is not in line with the 14 key priorities outlined in the European Commission’s opinion,” the statement added. The law was passed in the parliament of Republika Srpska on Thursday, championed by pro-Russian Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who has faced U.S. and British sanctions for his separatist policies.It amends the existing criminal law to reintroduce fines of up to 60,000 euros ($64,000) for libel — far beyond what most peop...

Weekend need to know: Women’s World Cup, cultural festivals; road/TTC closures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:49 GMT

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicked off on Thursday, which included a scoreless draw between Nigeria and Canada.Matches between different countries are happening all weekend, and several bars and restaurants are hosting viewing parties. Many of those bars will offer liquor service as early as 7 a.m. because of the time difference involved.A bunch of cultural festivals are also happening in the GTA, including a new festival at Ontario Place.There are no scheduled subway closures this weekend, but there is a late opening on Line 2. Also, GO trains won’t be running on the Lakeshore East line starting on Friday night.Road closures due to construction and events will also be in effect, in particular, closures on a section of the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway for the Toronto Triathlon Festival on Sunday. Scroll below for more details.Here’s what to do this weekend:Top eventsWomen’s World CupCanada opened their FIFA Women’s World Cup run in...

Teenager dies after car crash at sandwich shop in Hinsdale

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:49 GMT

CHICAGO -- The teenager hit by a jeep Monday in Hinsdale has died. Several others were hurt when the jeep then crashed into a sandwich shop.Some people are leaving flowers and candles in a small memorial to the 14-year-old outside the sub shop that is still boarded up from Monday's crash. The 14-year-old whose name has not been made public yet was one of several people hurt Monday. A driver came out of the car wash across the street apparently losing control and crashing into the sandwich shop. ‘That was my baby’: Mother remembers daughter killed by grandparents Three other people were also hit and are recovering from their injuries. According to social media, the teen was getting ready to join his three siblings at Bennet Academy this upcoming school year. The Fuller family who owns the car was told WGN in a statement:"The entire family is deeply saddened and shaken by this loss. We will continue to hold his family who has suffered an unimaginable tragedy in our hearts and praye...

Alabama executes man for beating 75-year-old woman to death; 1st execution since pause

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:49 GMT

(The Hill) -- The Supreme Court early Friday morning allowed Alabama to move forward with its first lethal injection since the state paused executions last year over concerns about the procedure.Convicted murderer James Barber, 64, was pronounced dead at 2:56 a.m. ET, according to the state's Department of Corrections, nearly two hours after the justices rejected Barber's emergency request to halt the execution.The court denied Barber's request over the public dissents of the court's three liberals, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, who said Alabama was using Barber as its "guinea pig."After the state experienced issues securing the necessary IV access in three lethal injections last year, two of which were canceled, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) paused executions and ordered a “top-to-bottom” review.Alabama then added new personnel to the IV team and expanded the time frame the prison system has to complete an execution. But attorneys for Barber, who...

Tony Bennett, Grammy-winning vocalist, iconic musical stylist, dies at 96

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:49 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" graced a decadeslong career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday.Publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed Bennett's death to The Associated Press, saying he died in his hometown of New York. There was no specific cause, but Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016.The last of the great saloon singers of the mid-20th century, Bennett often said his lifelong ambition was to create "a hit catalog rather than hit records." He released more than 70 albums, bringing him 19 competitive Grammys — all but two after he reached his 60s — and enjoyed deep and lasting affection from fans and fellow artists.Bennett didn’t tell his own story when performing; he let the music speak instead — the Gershwins and Cole Porter, Ir...