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Alabama to carry out first lethal injection after review of execution procedures

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama plans to execute an inmate on Thursday for the 2001 beating death of a woman as the state seeks to carry out its first lethal injection after a pause in executions following a string of problems with inserting the IVs. James Barber, 64, is scheduled to be put to death Thursday evening at a south Alabama prison. It is the first execution scheduled in the state since Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey paused executions in November to conduct an internal review. Ivey ordered the review after two lethal injections were called off because of difficulties inserting IVs into the condemned men’s veins. Advocacy groups claimed a third execution, carried out after a delay because of IV problems, was botched, a claim the state has disputed. “Given Alabama’s recent history of botched executions, it is staggering that James Barber’s lethal injection is set to take place,” Maya Foa, director of the anti-death penalty group Reprieve, said. “Three executions in a row went horri...

Ex-Israeli security chief backs reservists’ protest as Netanyahu allies advance judicial overhaul

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The former head of Israel’s internal security agency voiced support on Thursday for military reservists refusing to serve in protest of the government’s planned judicial overhaul, drawing fierce criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultranationalist allies days before parliament was set to vote on a key piece of legislation.A parliamentary committee approved late Wednesday a bill that would curtail the high court’s remit in using the “reasonability standard,” a legal yardstick allowing judges to overturn decisions made by elected officials deemed beyond the pale. The bill, which will come up for a final vote in parliament next week, is one of several keystone pieces of the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul plan, which seeks to curb what he and his allies consider excessive powers of unelected judges. Critics of the plan say the legislation will concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and his allies and unde...

The UK’s governing Conservatives are braced for a drubbing from voters in 3 special elections

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Voters went to the polls Thursday in three electoral districts of England, with the governing Conservative Party braced for a drubbing over a cost-of-living crisis and a morale-sapping string of political scandals.The elections for House of Commons seats are being closely watched because they let voters in three distinct areas of England — a small town in the north, the rural southwest, and the London suburbs — deliver a verdict on the party that has governed Britain since 2010, ahead of a national election due next year.Three opinion polls this week gave the left-of-center Labour Party a lead of at least 15 points over the Conservatives nationwide.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Conservative lawmakers the three by-elections would be a “tough battle,” but said he still thought the party could win the next general election.“I promise you we can do this, but we can only do it together as one team,” he told the fractious Conservative caucus on Wednesday evening.The specia...

Teen boy killed after dirt bike crashes into car in Durham Region

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

A teenage boy is dead after the dirt bike he was riding crashed into another vehicle near the Pickering-Uxbridge border on Wednesday night.The collision happened around 9:30 p.m. on Townline Road, between Sideline 26 and Sideline 28.Police say a 16-year-old boy was riding a dirt bike and crashed into a car. The boy was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and was later pronounced dead.There is no word what caused the crash.The roads in the area have reopened.

China doesn’t want a trade war with the US but will retaliate against further curbs, ambassador says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

China does not want a trade war with the United States but will retaliate against any further U.S. restrictions on technology and trade, the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. said.Ambassador Xie Feng criticized U.S. curbs on the sale of microchips and chipmaking equipment to China that were imposed last year by the Biden administration. Beijing has described the measure as part of an effort to “contain” China.“China does not shy away from competition, but the definition of competition by the U.S. side I think is not fair,” Xie said Wednesday at the Aspen Security Forum, a security and foreign policy conference in Aspen, Colorado. “The United States is trying to win by keeping China out,” he said, referring to measures to curb U.S. technology sales to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei over security concerns.“This is like restricting the other side to wear outdated swimwear in a swimming contest while you yourself (are) wearing a Speedo,” he said.China earlier this month imposed ex...

Man in 20s dead in shooting at townhouse complex in Etobicoke

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

A man in his 20s is dead following a late night shooting in north Etobicoke.Emergency crews were called to a townhouse complex on Orpington Crescent, in the area of Kipling Avenue and Albion Road, around 11:45 p.m. Wednesday.Paramedics tell CityNews a man in his 20s was pronounced dead at the scene.There is no word on any suspect information.Orpington Crescent is closed in both directions at Kendleton Drive for the investigation.

2 suicide bombers in Pakistan attack police and government compound, killing 2 and injuring 15

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Two suicide bombers attacked a sprawling compound housing a police station and government offices in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least two police officers and wounding 15 other people, police and rescue officials said.The attack occurred in the Bara neighborhood in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat said. Rescuers said part of the compound collapsed after the bombing, burying a police officer whose body was later retrieved.The explosive vest on one of the suicide bombers detonated when police opened fire after coming under attack, Hayat said.Gunshots were heard after the bombing, said Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the provincial emergency service, and an exchange of gunfire followed. The wounded people included police officers and civilians, officials said.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack. In a statement, he praised the police officers, saying they “thwarted the evil intentions of t...

Pop star Shakira is to face a second tax probe from Spain

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Pop star Shakira is facing more trouble from Spain’s tax office after a court near Barcelona said Thursday that it had agreed to open an investigation into a second case of alleged tax fraud by the Colombian singer.Shakira is already set to face trial at a date to be determined for allegedly failing to pay 14.5 million euros ($13.9 million) in taxes on income earned between 2012 and 2014. The entertainer has denied any wrongdoing.Now, a Spanish judge has agreed with state prosecutors to probe two possible cases of tax fraud by Shakira from 2018. The court said it had no information on how much money was in question.Both cases are being handled by a court in the town of Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona.The first case that is set to go to trial hinges on where Shakira lived during 2012-14. Prosecutors in Barcelona have alleged the Grammy winner spent more than half of that period in Spain and should have paid taxes in the country, even though her official...

Biden pushes a strong role for unions in tech jobs, even as potential strikes are on the horizon

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is courting unions as a cornerstone of the country’s economic future with a speech at a Philadelphia shipyard on Thursday — just as some major unions are weighing strikes that could disrupt the growth he wants to campaign on in 2024.Tensions are rising between unions and companies about a rapidly evolving economy in which artificial intelligence, clean energy and e-commerce are rewriting some of the basic rules of work. Biden is trying to allay those concerns by saying unions should be part of that future. But the Democratic president also knows from past experience that a strike could harm his reelection chances.Biden has long called on businesses to hire unionized workers, saying that the premium paid will lead to higher quality work. But companies seem reluctant to meet unions’ terms in separate contract talks with script writers, actors, autoworkers and UPS employees. In a speech last month about his economic vision, Biden recall...

A Croatian firefighter has died in a storm that swept the Balkans, bringing the toll to 6 dead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — A Croatian firefighter has died during a deadly storm that swept the Balkans after a heatwave, brining the death toll to six, officials said Thursday.Emergency services in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia scrambled Thursday to restore electricity and clear the debris left over after Wednesday’s chaos.Meteorologists said the storm was extremely powerful as it was formed after a string of very hot days. Experts say extreme weather conditions are likely fueled by climate change.Elsewhere in Europe, a continuing heat wave caused wildfires and public health warnings. Throughout the Balkan region, authorities reported hundreds of injured, including some seriously, from fallen trees, roof parts or other object blown off by the swirling winds.The firefighter in the eastern Croatian town of Tovarnik died “tragically’ during the storm, the his unit said, revealing no other details.Three more people died on Wednesday in Croatia, one in Slovenia and ...