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Denmark bans Quran burnings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:10 GMT

The Danish parliament on Thursday banned Quran burnings over security concerns, after hundreds of incidents this year roiled the country.“This is about the security of Danes and Denmark,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said after the parliament passed the law.Since July, there have been more than 500 reported demonstrations “with the burning of Qurans or flags,” Hummelgaard said Thursday, according to Danish media. “There is no doubt that they have only been held to generate very negative reactions against Denmark,” he added. Under the new law, burning the Quran becomes a criminal offense, subject to a penalty of up to two years in prison, Danish media reported. 94 parliamentarians backed the law and 77 opposed it. Rasmus Paludan, from the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, has been at the forefront of the controversies. The anti-Islam politician has repeatedly burned the Quran in Copenhagen and Stockholm.In January, Swedish med...

Blocking Ukraine aid would be ‘Christmas present’ for Putin, UK’s David Cameron warns US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:10 GMT

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron gave the hard sell on continued United States support for Ukraine as he toured Washington on Thursday.Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, Cameron acknowledged that politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are asking why they should focus on “challenges overseas” amid turmoil at home.But, speaking after Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked fresh funding for Ukraine, the former British prime minister said Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the country marked “the worst example of one state invading and wrecking the sovereignty of another state that we’ve seen since the Second World War.” And he urged Americans to “recognize that European security is also American security” — or risk handing a gift to Russia and China.“We should pass this money to the Ukrainians, we should back them and make sure that it’s Putin that loses — because if that money doesn’t get voted through, there are...

UK’s James Cleverly blasts Meta’s encryption push

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:10 GMT

LONDON — British Home Secretary James Cleverly has some stern words for Meta after the company said it had started rolling out encryption on its Messenger service. Government ministers, law enforcement agencies and some child protection groups have warned the move will make it more difficult to remove child sexual abuse material from the platform and to prosecute child abusers.Cleverly said on Thursday he was “incredibly disappointed Meta has not listened – especially when we have worked together to make great progress in tackling other online harms.” In a statement the minister said that the rollout lacked “appropriate safety measures” and “would empower child sex abusers and hamper the ability of the police and National Crime Agency to bring offenders to justice.” “We know that end-to-end encryption can be implemented responsibly in a way that is consistent with public safety” said Cleverly, but added that the move represents “a significant step back.”When Suella Braverman wa...

Blinken explains his reaction to Biden calling Xi a ‘dictator’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:10 GMT

After President Joe Biden again called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a “dictator” last month, a clip of Secretary of State Antony Blinken appearing to wince at the blunt remark immediately went viral.When asked about the moment on CNN’s “King Charles,” Blinken chuckled and gave a light-hearted excuse for his reaction.“I’m tempted to say that we’d had a really long day, a very important and intense conversation with China. My neck was a little bit stiff. And, you know, that happens,” he told hosts Gayle King and Charles Barkley in a portion of the interview that aired Thursday.Any sarcasm aside, Blinken acknowledged the tension between the two nations.“But look, as I said before, it’s not exactly a secret that we have a very different system from China’s. The president always speaks very clearly, very directly, and he speaks for everyone,” he said.Biden’s remarks on Nov. 15 followed a meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, aimed at calmi...

Suspect accused of killing police officer and utility worker in Waltham arraigned on manslaughter charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:10 GMT

A New Hampshire man accused of killing a police officer and utility worker in Waltham appeared in court to face numerous charges Thursday morning, including two counts of manslaughter after he allegedly caused a fatal crash and led authorities on a pursuit after stealing a police cruiser.Peter Simon, 54, of Woodsville, New Hampshire, stood in Waltham District Court where he was arraigned on charges of manslaughter as well as armed robbery, hours after a deadly multi-vehicle crash on Totten Pond Road he is accused of causing.According to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, it was around 4 p.m. on Wednesday when Simon drove a pickup truck headed eastbound on the roadway when he began to make a U-turn. District Attorney Marian Ryan said Simon then struck a vehicle while trying to make the turn, before then heading further down Totten Pond Road, soon hitting the Waltham police officer and a National Grid worker. The officer, Paul Tracey, 58, had been working a road...

Ariana Madix to star as Roxie Hart in ‘Chicago’ on Broadway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:10 GMT

(CNN) — Ariana Madix keeps checking off her bucket list.The “Vanderpump Rules” star will make her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in “Chicago.” She will play the role for a limited eight-week run starting in January.Madix called it a “dream come true” when she announced the news on “Live with Kelly and Mark.”“It’s just the biggest dream come true,” she said. “I cannot believe this is real life. I’m going to cry.”Madix, who just made the finals on “Dancing with the Stars,” studied musical theatre at Flagler College. Before moving to Los Angeles, where she bartended for Lisa Vanderpump, she lived in New York with the hope of pursuing work on Broadway.Earlier this year, Madix made news when she was part of “Scandoval,” a controversy among cast members on “Vanderpump Rules” which saw her boyfriend of nine years carrying on a seven-month-long affair with her good friend.Since then, she has starred in a Lifetime movie, done multiple commercials, released a ...

A Texas judge ruled that a pregnant woman who sued the state seeking an abortion can legally terminate her pregnancy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:10 GMT

(CNN) — A Texas judge ruled that a pregnant woman who sued the state seeking a court-ordered abortion can legally terminate her pregnancy.The decision marks a significant development in the ongoing debate over the state’s medical exception to its controversial ban on abortions after six weeks.Kate Cox, who is 20 weeks pregnant, filed a lawsuit this week asking the court to temporarily block the state’s abortion ban, because she has been unable to get the procedure due to concerns of violating the law.In an emergency hearing Thursday, a judge granted a temporary restraining order against the state that would allow Cox to immediately have an abortion.“The idea that Mrs. Cox wants desperately to be a parent, and this law might actually cause her to lose that ability is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice,” Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said. “So I will be signing the order and it will be processed and sent out today.”Her lawsuit is believed to be one o...

Teen killed, three others injured in Middleton crash Wednesday night

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:10 GMT

Middleton Police are investigating a fatal crash last night on North Liberty Street that claimed the life of one teenage male and left at least one other victim with suspected life-threatening injuries.Massachusetts State Police said preliminary investigation into the incident indicates that just before 10 p.m. Wednesday a 2008 GMC Sierra pickup truck travelling northbound on North Liberty Street “failed to appropriately negotiate a curve in the road”.The driver lost control of the vehicle which “went off the road into heavy woods, struck multiple trees, and rolled onto its roof.”Four teenagers, two male and two female, were transported to area hospitals where one of the males was pronounced dead. At least one other victim has sustained suspected life-threatening injuries.Middleton Police continue to investigate the crash in conjunction with the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and Crime Scene Services Section.This is a developi...

House votes to censure Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman over fire alarm incident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:10 GMT

(CNN) — The House voted on Thursday to censure Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York for triggering a fire alarm in a House office building when there was not an emergency.Censure amounts to a significant rebuke of a member of Congress, though it does not carry an explicit penalty beyond a public admonition of a lawmaker and is not as severe as expulsion.Censure is typically a rare move by lawmakers, but Republicans have led efforts to censure two other Democrats since June. Bowman is the third censured since the GOP took control of the chamber.Bowman was caught on tape pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building in late September, shortly before the House was scheduled to vote on a government funding bill. The building was subsequently evacuated. The congressman said following the incident that it had been an accident.“I was trying to get to a door. I thought the alarm would open the door, and I pulled the fire alarm to open the door by accident,” Bowman...

Israel and US are at odds over conflicting visions for postwar Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:10 GMT

By JOSEF FEDERMAN and SAMY MAGDY (Associated Press)JERUSALEM (AP) — The United States has offered strong support to Israel in its war against Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. But the allies are increasingly at odds over what will happen to Gaza once the war winds down.Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, this week announced that Israel would retain an open-ended security presence in Gaza. Israeli officials talk of imposing a buffer zone to keep Palestinians away from the Israeli border. They rule out any role for the Palestinian Authority, which was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007 but governs semi-autonomous areas of the occupied West Bank. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.The United States has laid out a much different vision. Top officials have said they will not allow Israel to reoccupy Gaza or further shrink its already small territory. They have repeatedly called for a return of the internation...