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Spanish turmoil hits EU stage as PM’s camp trades blows with conservatives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:08:11 GMT

A political struggle over Spain’s future is spilling onto the EU stage as socialist allies of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hit back at European conservatives, who accuse him of undermining the rule of law in the bloc via an amnesty offer for Catalan separatists.Following months of political stalemate since a July election, Sánchez announced last week he would seek to form a minority government backed by the Catalan separatist Junts party, whose leader Carles Puigdemont has been living in exile in Belgium since leading a failed independence bid in 2017.Sánchez’s willingness to amnesty Puigdemont and other convicted Catalans in exchange for Junts votes has caused an uproar in Spain, where thousands have joined protests called by the center-right Partido Popular. The head of Europe’s conservative parties, Manfred Weber, waded into the fray on Monday, accusing Sánchez of using the amnesty to weaken the independence of Spain’s judiciary. Weber’s center-right camp ...

David Cameron’s shock return divides UK Tories

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:08:11 GMT

LONDON — David Cameron’s astonishing, global-headline-grabbing comeback has already divided the Conservative Party.In a surprise appointment Monday, Cameron, who served as prime minister of the U.K. between 2010 and 2016, was made foreign secretary in Rishi Sunak’s Tory government.It was the biggest development in a major ministerial reshuffle that saw Sunak sack right-wing firebrand Suella Braverman as home secretary and appoint many of his closest allies to top jobs.Cameron, who resigned after losing the Brexit referendum in 2016, becomes the U.K.’s top diplomat. He has been handed a seat in the unelected House of Lords to allow him to take the job.From Cameron’s perspective, leading the foreign office has obvious appeal as an opportunity to rebuild his battered reputation after having triggered a Brexit referendum that he lost, and facing stinging criticism of his post-government lobbying work.But Sunak’s decision to bring him back in from the cold has provoked sharp disagreement...

Netanyahu: Will he stay or will he go?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:08:11 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe. JERUSALEM — Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid of the centrist Yesh Atid party is doing something that doesn’t come easy to most politicians — he’s avoiding politics.Lapid has so far abstained from joining the handful of other party leaders demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quit. (Even the once loyal Yisrael Hayom newspaper published a column urging he step aside once military victory has been secured.) And the question for most Israelis now, it seems, isn’t whether Netanyahu should go, but whether he should go sooner rather than later.“I’m just running out of creative ways of not answering this question,” Lapid smiled.As a former journalist and amateur boxer, the opposition leader knows how to sidestep trouble. “Since you are here and this isn’t a telephone interview and we are sitting together, which means we have been under the same sirens, let me say: We have soldiers fighting and being killed in Gaza; we have ...

Tatum scores 35, 17 in the fourth, to lead the Celtics to a 114-98 win over the Knicks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:08:11 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 35 points, Jaylen Brown added 22 and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 on Monday night against the team that drafted him to lead the Boston Celtics to a 114-98 victory over the New York Knicks.Tatum scored 17 in the fourth quarter, when Boston turned a 91-88 edge into a 17-point lead. After missing seven of his first eight 3-point attempts, he hit four straight in the last eight minutes, one on a 4-point play after the Knicks cut the deficit to three points.Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and Julius Randle had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who had won three in a row since opening the season 2-4, including a loss to Boston in their opener. New York was without RJ Barrett, who missed the second night of a back-to-back with a migraine headache.The Knicks led by eight with 75 seconds left in the second quarter before Boston made three straight baskets, scoring nine of the last 11 points of the half and cutting it to 53-52 on Brown’s 3-pointer at th...

Henrik Lundqvist leads goalie-heavy 2023 class into Hockey Hall of Fame

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:08:11 GMT

Henrik Lundqvist played a starring role at Madison Square Garden for 15 seasons. The New York Rangers legend fed off the energy inside the world’s most famous arena — and a city where many athletes have wilted under the same spotlight’s intense glow. “The passion I had, and still have, for the game of hockey really helped me stay focused,” Lundqvist said recently of Broadway’s pressure-packed, distraction-filled environment. “When you have that passion and determination … it helps you stay the course.” It also led the Swede into the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Lundqvist headlined a goaltender-heavy 2023 class inducted Monday that also featured Mike Vernon and Tom Barrasso — the first time three netminders have entered together in more than 60 years.The man known as “The King” in the Big Apple, reflected on a journey that began on a frozen playground in a small town.“Seven-by-thr...

Bernstein wins $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize in gala upended by protest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:08:11 GMT

Sarah Bernstein won the Scotiabank Giller Prize in a 30th anniversary bash upended by protesters.The Montreal-born, Scotland-based author accepted the $100,000 award remotely from Scotland, where she had a baby just 10 days ago.Just as her name was called at the Toronto gala, a protester interrupted the live telecast with anti-war slogans, forcing organizers to repeat the announcement.The protester was escorted out but the CBC broadcast kept cameras off the incident for viewers at home.The celebrations were also interrupted early in the broadcast when several protesters jumped onstage. They were quickly escorted out by police.Jurors lauded Bernstein’s second novel, “Study for Obedience,” published by Knopf Canada, as an incandescent modernist experiment.The Giller awards $100,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel, graphic novel or short story collection published in English.

Canadian feared taken hostage in Hamas attack dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:08:11 GMT

A Canadian peace activist believed to have been taken hostage during the Hamas attack in Israel five weeks ago is dead, her son says.Vivian Silver’s son Chen Zeigen says Israeli authorities told him the remains of the 74-year-old woman had earlier been found in the kibbutz where she lived but were only identified now. Zeigen told reporters in Ottawa last month that his mother was born in Winnipeg and moved to Israel in 1974.He said she dedicated her life to peacebuilding and fostering understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.Silver also volunteered to help children in Gaza access medical care in Israel. Global Affairs Canada says officials are in contact with Silver’s Canadian family members and are providing assistance.“It is with deep sadness that the Government of Canada has learned that Canadian-Israeli citizen Vivian Silver is deceased,” Global Affairs said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this diffi...

Canadian feared taken hostage in Hamas attack dead in Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:08:11 GMT

OTTAWA — A Canadian peace activist believed to have been taken hostage during the Hamas attack in Israel five weeks ago is dead, her son says.Vivian Silver’s son Chen Zeigen says Israeli authorities told him the remains of the 74-year-old woman had earlier been found in the kibbutz where she lived but were only identified now. Zeigen told reporters in Ottawa last month that his mother was born in Winnipeg and moved to Israel in 1974.He said she dedicated her life to peacebuilding and fostering understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.Silver also volunteered to help children in Gaza access medical care in Israel. Global Affairs Canada says officials are in contact with Silver’s Canadian family members and are providing assistance.“It is with deep sadness that the Government of Canada has learned that Canadian-Israeli citizen Vivian Silver is deceased,” Global Affairs said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this diffic...

McDonald's and Crocs releasing shoes inspired by Grimace, Hamburglar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:08:11 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- McDonald's has announced a partnership with Crocs to release shoes inspired by McDonald's characters, including Grimace and the Hamburglar. This marks the first time that the footwear company and fast-food giant are teaming up for a collaboration, McDonald's said in a press release. Why does Olive Garden give out mints after every meal? The new line, which debuts Tuesday afternoon, will be available on the Crocs website, as well as Crocs retail and wholesale locations while supplies last. The line includes Grimace, Birdie, Hamburglar and classic McDonald's-style Crocs. (Photo courtesy of McDonald's)The shoes, which come with Jibbitz charms, are priced between $70 to $75 per pair. Socks will be available for $20, according to the release.McDonald's said it will celebrate the new partnership with Crocs by making a donation to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Neighbor says family of five lived in south Austin home where hostage situation took place

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:08:11 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) --- KXAN is learning more about the family that neighbors said lived in the home where the Austin Police Department responded to a hostage situation. TIMELINE: APD describes events leading to officer line-of-duty death in south Austin Saturday morning, APD was called out for a reported stabbing on Bernoulli Drive in south Austin. It turned into a hostage situation that ultimately ended in the deaths of four people: an APD officer, two other victims and the person police identified as the suspect. ‘Died doing what he loved’: Dozens rally in honor of APD officer killed in hostage situation 'What triggered this?'A woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said so many questions remain."What triggered this?" she asked. "Did somebody just flip? I don't know if it's a mental health issue. I don't know."She lives near the home where this happened. She said a quiet family of five lived in the home where this happened: a father, mother and three adult children. "We never had...