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Blast rips through political gathering in Pakistan, killing at least 39

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:14 GMT

(CNN) — At least 39 people died and over 120 were injured after a blast tore through a political convention organized by an Islamist party in northwestern Pakistan, police said.The Inspector General of Police for the region of Bajaur, Akhter Hayat Gandapur, said the injured in Sunday’s suspected suicide blast had been rushed to hospital.The explosion targeted members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party who had gathered in the town of Khar, close to the border with Afghanistan.There has been no initial claim of responsibility for the attack. But the local branch of ISIS has previously targeted JUI-F party leaders as they consider them apostates.The leader of the JUI-F party, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, expressed “deep sorrow and regret” following the blast, in a statement released by his press office.“‎Peace be upon JUI workers,” the statement added. “The federal and provincial government should provide the best treatment to the injured.”One witness said more than 500 people we...

US judge dismisses Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ lawsuit against CNN

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:14 GMT

A federal judge late Friday dismissed Donald Trump’s $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN, in which the former president argued that the cable network’s statements about his false 2020 election fraud claims likened him to Adolf Hitler.In the lawsuit, Trump’s team argued that CNN writers and television anchors’ use of the phrase the “Big Lie,” in five specific incidents, incited “readers and viewers to hate, contempt, distrust, ridicule, and even fear” him. But U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, who Trump appointed in 2019, reasoned that because all of CNN’s statements were opinion, Trump could not legally sue the network for defamation.“Being ‘Hitler-like’ is not a verifiable statement of fact that would support a defamation claim,” Singhal wrote in his dismissal. “CNN’s statements while repugnant, were not, as a matter of law, defamatory.”The phrase “big lie” historically has referred to a propaganda technique so powerful that people who believe in its message could not belie...

German far right picks EU lead candidate, wants European anti-migrant ‘fortress’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:14 GMT

Germany’s increasingly popular far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party elected the controversial MEP Maximilian Krah as its lead candidate for next year’s European Parliament election, while vowing to challenge the EU from the inside and turn it into a “fortress” against migrants.More than 65 percent of the about 600 AfD delegates at a party gathering on Saturday in Magdeburg, in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, voted for Krah as their lead candidate for the European Parliament election, which will take place June 6-9 next year.“We are now the most exciting right-wing party in all of Europe,” Krah said in his speech in Magdeburg. He argued that the AfD — which advocates anti-migration, climate change-denying, Russia-friendly and deeply Euroskeptic positions — would not “adapt” to less radical stances in order to attract more voters or form alliances, as other right-wing parties would allegedly do. Krah, 46, has been...

Macron warns against attacks on French interests in Niger after coup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:14 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron said France will respond “immediately” to any violence against French interests in Niger following the coup in the African country. The French government “will not tolerate any attack on France and its interests” in Niger, Macron said on Sunday, according to media reports. Macron’s comments were in response to thousands of people demonstrating in front of the French embassy in Niamey, the capital of Niger. According to media reports, the crowds in front of the French embassy were shouting “Long live Putin” and “Down with France.” Tensions are running high in Niger after the country’s military last week took the country’s democratically elected president hostage and proclaimed it was in charge. West African leaders were holding an emergency meeting on Sunday in Nigeria to decide what to do about the coup, Reuters reported. The military leaders in Niger claimed the goal of the m...

Christian Barmore returns, Patriots missing 2 rookies at training camp after first off day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:14 GMT

FOXBORO — Sixth-round rookie wide receiver Kayshon Boutte and fourth-round rookie offensive lineman Jake Andrews were newly absent at Patriots practice Sunday.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | NFL notebook: How the Patriots could extend Matt Judon, Kyle Dugger and Josh Uche on fair contracts New England Patriots | What we’ve learned through first three days of Patriots training camp New England Patriots | Source: Patriots host ex-Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott on free-agent visit New England Patriots | Patriots extra points: Bill Belichick touts rookie WR, Matt Judon explains red sleeves New England Patriots | Family affair at Patriots summer camp Boutte and Andrews were among six players missing following the first off day of Patriots training camp. Defensive lineman Christian Barmore returned after missing Friday’s practice following the birth of his new baby. Running back/wide receiver Ty...

Malden man accused of injuring 1-year-old girl after he smashed a car’s windshields has an ‘extensive’ criminal record

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:14 GMT

A Malden man accused of smashing a car’s windshields with a baseball bat and injuring a 1-year-old girl inside is set to appear in court this week, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.Clifford Jones, 66, had been arraigned earlier this month on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (baseball bat) on a child under 14, malicious destruction of property, possession of a class D substance, selling unstamped cigarettes, and selling cigarettes without a license.The judge had ordered Jones held on $7,500 bail. Jones is due back in court on Wednesday for a pre-trial hearing.Boston Police on July 18 at around 6:15 a.m., responded to a call for a possible hit-and-run motor vehicle accident in the area of 150 Camden St., in the South End. Officers were told that the alleged victim was driving after the suspect in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Malden man who tried to ...

A bomb at a political rally in northwest Pakistan kills at least 40 people and wounds nearly 200

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:14 GMT

By ANWARULLAH KHAN and RIAZ KHAN (Associated Press)KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — A powerful bomb ripped through a political rally by supporters of a hard-line cleric and political leader on Sunday in the country’s northwestern Bajur district, police and health officials said. At least 40 people were killed and nearly 200 wounded, including children, in one of the worst attacks in recent years.Senior police officer Nazir Khan said the workers’ convention of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema Islam party was taking place on the outskirts of Khar, the capital of Bajur district, when the explosion took place. AP video showed wounded people being carried from the scene in the chaotic aftermath of the explosion. Bajur used to be a haven for Islamic militants. It is the former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, a militant group that is a close ally of the Taliban government of Afghanistan. The TTP was in recent years evicted ...

Bruins, Trent Frederic $1.5 million apart on salary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:14 GMT

Trent Frederic and the Bruins are $1.5 million apart on annual salary as the sides prepare for the arbitration hearing on Tuesday.The numbers the B’s put forth were for a two-year deal with an annual salary of $1.4 million while Frederic’s camp filed at $2.9 million for one year.The 25-year-old Frederic had a breakout season in 2022-23, notching a career high 17 goals and 31 assists while skating primarily on the right wing with Charlie Coyle and Taylor Hall. Frederic has been mentioned by management as a possible candidate to provide depth at center after the retirement of Patrice Bergeron and the expected departure of David Krejci as well.Meanwhile, the B’s and Jeremy Swayman’s representation were expected to present their cases in arbitration on Sunday. The B’s had offered $2 million while Swayman’s team came in at $4.8 million.The B’s currently have approximately $5.4 million in salary cap space.It also sounds like the B’s could be...

The ‘Barbie’ bonanza continues at the box office, ‘Oppenheimer’ holds the No. 2 spot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A week later, the “Barbenheimer” boom has not abated.Seven days after Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” conspired to set box office records, the two films held unusually strongly in theaters. “Barbie” took in a massive $93 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.“Barbie,” the pink-infused pop sensation, has seen remarkably sustained business following its year-best $162 million opening. Its ticket sales dipped only 43%. “Barbie” has also outpaced Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” to notch the best first two weeks in theaters of any Warner Bros. release. It’s rapidly accumulated $351.4 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, a rate that will soon make it the biggest box office hit of the summer. Every day it’s played, “Barbie” has made at least $20 million.“Oppenheimer,” from Universal Pictures, again landed in second place with an estimated $46.2 million. It, too, held especially strong in its second weekend, with ...

Thousands take to streets in Gaza in rare public display of discontent with Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:14 GMT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Several thousand people briefly took to the streets across the Gaza Strip on Sunday to protest chronic power outages and difficult living conditions, providing a rare public show of discontent with the territory’s Hamas government. Hamas security forces quickly dispersed the gatherings.Hundreds joined marches in Gaza City, the southern town of Khan Younis and other locations, chanting “what a shame” and in one place burning Hamas flags, before police moved in and broke up the protests.Police destroyed mobile phones of people who were filming in Khan Younis, and witnesses said there were several arrests. Young supporters and opponents of Hamas briefly faced off, throwing stones at one another.The demonstrations were organized by a grassroots online movement called “alvirus alsakher,” or “the mocking virus.” It was not immediately known who is behind the movement.Hamas rules Gaza with an iron fist, barring most demonstrations and quickly stamping out publi...