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Top EU official lauds Italy-Albania migration deal but a court and a rights commissioner have doubts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:32 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official has endorsed an agreement that would see Albania host thousands of migrants picked up at sea and transferred there by the Italian authorities, just as the Albanian Constitutional Court delayed the deal so legal concerns can be addressed.In a letter to EU leaders, meeting Thursday in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised “important initiatives” on restricting migration by some of the bloc’s 27 member countries, including “the operational arrangement between Italy and Albania.”“This serves as an example of out-of-the-box thinking, based on fair sharing of responsibilities with third countries in line with obligations under EU and international law,” von der Leyen wrote, in a letter outlining the progress made on halting the arrival of people without authorization.Under the five-year deal announced last month, Albania would shelter up to 36,000 migrants for a year, or about 3,000 a month, who try to reach Ital...

Live updates | Israel will keep fighting Hamas ‘until the end,’ Netanyahu says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:32 GMT

Israel will keep fighting Hamas despite international calls for a cease-fire, its prime minister said, after at least nine Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush in one of the deadliest single attacks that Palestinian militants have carried out since the ground invasion of Gaza began.“We are continuing until the end, there is no question,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Wednesday. “I say this even given the great pain and the international pressure. Nothing will stop us.”Heavy fighting has raged for days in Shijaiyah and other areas in and around eastern Gaza City that were encircled earlier in the war. Tens of thousands of people remain in the north despite repeated evacuation orders, saying they don’t feel that anywhere in Gaza is safe or fear they may never return to their homes.Israel has drawn international outrage and rare criticism from the United States over the killing of civilians. More than 18,400 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Mini...

Man seriously hurt after being stabbed in neck multiple times in Leslieville

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:32 GMT

A man has critical injuries after being stabbed multiple times in Leslieville early Thursday morning.Emergency crews were called to the area of Gerrard Street and Greenwood Avenue around 1:35 a.m.Paramedics tell CityNews a man was rushed to hospital after being stabbed in the neck several times. The victim has serious but non-life-threatening injuries.No suspect information has been made available.More to come.

Albanian opposition disrupts parliament as migration deal with Italy taken off the agenda

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:32 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian opposition lawmakers on Thursday disrupted the opening of a new session of Parliament, demanding an investigation into the government for alleged corruption. Bodyguards blocked the entrance to the Parliament building, refusing admission to opposition lawmakers who were punished for previous outbreaks of violence in the assembly. That sparked some friction and opposition lawmakers from the center-right Democrats blocked their Socialist counterparts on the government side from entering the hall. The latter used a back entrance instead.The disturbances in Parliament started in October just before prosecutors accused Sali Berisha, 79, former prime minister and president and now the main leader of the center-right Democratic Party, of corruption over of a land-buying scheme that’s under legal investigation in the capital, Tirana.Opposition parliamentarians regularly pile up chairs, use flares, start small fires and even physically grab microphones when the...

Young Mercedes driver told police he was ‘late for work’ after going more than 200 km/h on GTA highway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:32 GMT

A young driver told police he was just trying to get to work on time after getting clocked at more than double the speed limit on a GTA highway early Thursday morning.Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) clocked a Mercedes at 211 km/h in the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 east of Highway 25 in Milton around 2:15 a.m.In a post on X, the OPP say the 20-year-old driver from Brampton told officers he was speeding because he was “late for work.”Police say the young man is facing stunt driving charges and has had his licence suspended for 30 days. His vehicle will be impounded for two weeks."Late for work" was the excuse this 20 year old driver from Brampton gave for #StuntDriving at 211 km/hr on Hwy 401 in Milton. As a result, they have received a #30DayLicenceSuspension, a #14DayVehicleImpound and a court date to answer to the charge. ^TD pic.twitter.com/eMOvlXJ8GG— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) December 14, 2023

2023: The year we played with artificial intelligence – and weren’t sure what to do about it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:32 GMT

Artificial intelligence went mainstream in 2023 — it was a long time coming yet has a long way to go for the technology to match people’s science fiction fantasies of human-like machines.Catalyzing a year of AI fanfare was ChatGPT. The chatbot gave the world a glimpse of recent advances in computer science even if not everyone figured out quite how it works or what to do with it.“I would call this an inflection moment,” pioneering AI scientist Fei-Fei Li said. “2023 is, in history, hopefully going to be remembered for the profound changes of the technology as well as the public awakening. It also shows how messy this technology is.”It was a year for people to figure out “what this is, how to use it, what’s the impact — all the good, the bad and the ugly,” she said.PANIC OVER AIThe first AI panic of 2023 set in soon after New Year’s Day when classrooms reopened and schools from Seattle to Paris started blocking ChatGPT. Teenagers were already asking the chatbot — re...

Father, stepmother and uncle of 10-year-old girl found dead in UK home deny murder charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:32 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The father, stepmother and uncle of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her U.K. home pleaded not guilty on Thursday to murder charges. Sara Sharif’s body was discovered under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in southern England on Aug. 10. Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 41; his partner Beinash Batool, 29; and his brother, 28-year-old Faisal Malik, are charged with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.The three suspects, who are remanded in a prison, appeared by video link on Thursday at London’s Central Criminal Court to deny the charges ahead of a trial scheduled for September 2024.The trio had left the U.K. for Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, a day before police discovered the girl’s body in Woking, 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of London. Police in Pakistan found the three defendants after an extensive search and put them on a flight to the U.K. on Sept. 13. They were arrested upon arriving at London’s Gatwick Airport.Prosecuto...

Ireland’s prime minister urges EU leaders to call for Gaza cease-fire at their summit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:32 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday that the European Union is losing its credibility because of a lack of a strong position in the war between Israel and Hamas, urging his counterparts to call for a humanitarian cease-fire.Speaking at the start of a EU summit in Brussels focusing more on Ukraine, Varadkar said the EU should condemn “terrorism perpetrated by Hamas,” but also call for justice for the Palestinian people.The 27 EU countries have long been divided in their approach to Israel and the Palestinians. At their previous meeting in October, EU leaders called “for continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures, including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs.” Varadkar said he hopes they will achieve “stronger wording” this time.“I think the European Union has lost credibility because of our inability to take a stronger and more united position on Israe...

Apple to address security vulnerability with new iOS setting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:32 GMT

(The Hill) -- A new iOS setting designed to address security vulnerabilities has been rolled out to beta testers as of Tuesday, according to Fox Business. A security issue has allowed thieves to take over customers’ iPhone accounts, access saved passwords, lock people out of their digital memories and steal money — all of which Apple said the new setting is designed to address.A nationwide series of thefts was reported by the Wall Street Journal in which thieves in New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Minneapolis and other cities watched iPhone users unlock their phones before stealing the devices using the phone passcode. Nearly half of American teens on social media ‘almost constantly’: Study Apple is planning to include Stolen Device Protection in an upcoming software update to combat the attacks. Once the setting is turned on, users will enable their phones to restrict certain settings when the person is away from a location, such as their work or home, that is not recognizabl...

Earliest version of Mickey Mouse, along with Minnie, Tigger to become public domain in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:32 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — M-I-C-K-E-Y will soon belong to you and me.With several asterisks, qualification and caveats, Mickey Mouse in his earliest form will be the leader of the band of characters, films and books that will become public domain as the year turns to 2024.In a moment many close observers thought might never come, at least one version of the quintessential piece of intellectual property and perhaps the most iconic character in American pop culture will be free from Disney's copyright as his first screen release, the 1928 short “Steamboat Willie," featuring both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, becomes available for public use.“This is it. This is Mickey Mouse. This is exciting because it’s kind of symbolic," said Jennifer Jenkins, a professor of law and director of Duke’s Center for the Study of Public Domain, who writes an annual Jan. 1 column for “Public Domain Day.” ”I kind of feel like the pipe on the steamboat, like expelling smoke. It’s so exciting."FILE - An a...