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Kuwait executes 5 prisoners, including a man convicted in 2015 Islamic State-claimed mosque bombing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:57 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait said Thursday it executed five prisoners, including an inmate convicted over an Islamic State group-claimed mosque bombing in 2015 that killed 27 people. A statement from Kuwait’s Public Prosecution said the five inmates were executed by hanging. Prosecutors said the five include the mosque attacker, three people convicted of murder, and a convicted drug dealer.One of the convicted murderers was Egyptian, another was Kuwaiti, and the drug dealer was from Sri Lanka. The statement didn’t provide the nationality of the mosque attacker or the third convicted murderer, saying only that they were in Kuwait unlawfully.The 2015 bombing struck during midday Friday prayers inside one of Kuwait’s oldest Shiite mosques. The Islamic State group views Shiites as heretics.The attack shocked Kuwait and represented the country’s first militant attack in more than two decades. Within hours of the attack, Kuwait’s then ruler, Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al...

Seattle visits Chicago following Copper’s 37-point performance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:57 GMT

Seattle Storm (4-19, 4-7 Western Conference) at Chicago Sky (9-14, 3-10 Eastern Conference)Chicago; Friday, 8 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Chicago hosts the Seattle Storm after Kahleah Copper scored 37 points in the Chicago Sky’s 107-95 loss to the Las Vegas Aces.The Sky are 4-8 in home games. Chicago has a 4-10 record against opponents over .500.The Storm have gone 2-8 away from home. Seattle ranks second in the Western Conference shooting 35.0% from 3-point range.The teams meet for the second time this season. The Sky won 90-75 in the last matchup on July 23.TOP PERFORMERS: Courtney Williams is averaging 9.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists for the Sky. Copper is averaging 22.4 points over the last 10 games for Chicago.Jordan Horston is averaging eight points and 5.5 rebounds for the Storm. Jewell Loyd is averaging 21.3 points over the last 10 games for Seattle.LAST 10 GAMES: Sky: 4-6, averaging 79.1 points, 33.4 rebounds, 20.1 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while s...

Kuwait says it executes 5 prisoners, including an inmate convicted over a 2015 mosque bombing that killed 27 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:57 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait says it executes 5 prisoners, including an inmate convicted over a 2015 mosque bombing that killed 27 people.Source

Kyiv is said to have launched a major push against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:57 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Kyiv has launched a major push to dislodge Russian forces from southeastern Ukraine as part of its weeks-long counteroffensive, committing thousands of troops to the battle in the country’s southeast, according to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts.The surge in troops and firepower has been centered on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, a Western official said late Wednesday.The official was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.Fighting has intensified in recent weeks at multiple points along the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line as Ukraine deploys Western-supplied advanced weapons and Western-trained troops against the deeply entrenched Russian forces who invaded 17 months ago.Ukrainian officials have been mostly silent about battlefield developments since they began early counteroffensive operations, though Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said troops are advancing toward the city of Melitopo...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian defense minister to discuss military cooperation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:57 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss military issues and the regional security environment, state media said Thursday, illustrating North Korea’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine as the isolated country celebrated the 70th anniversary of an armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim and Shoigu talked Wednesday in the capital, Pyongyang, and reached a consensus on unspecified “matters of mutual concern in the field of national defense and security and on the regional and international security environment.”During the meeting, Shoigu conveyed to Kim a “warm and good letter” signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, KCNA said. The report did not specify the military matters that were discussed.North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the “hegemonic policy” of the U.S.-led West for...

England hopes to be sharper in its next Women’s World Cup match after underwhelming opener

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:57 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Katie Robinson knows England left many unimpressed with its underwhelming 1-0 victory against overmatched Haiti in its opening match at the Women’s World Cup.England is still tied with Denmark atop the Group D standings, regardless of how they played against Haiti, and that’s all that really counts to Robinson.“Every game at a World Cup is going to be difficult,” Robinson said. “Most importantly, we got the three points, and that’s all that matters right now.”Well, what actually matters next is Friday’s match against Denmark in Sydney, where the top spot in the group is up for grabs as both teams try to advance to the knockout round. It is the first meeting between the two teams at the Women’s World Cup, although they faced off three previous times at the European Championship.England defeated Denmark twice in 1984, but the Danes were the winner in 2005, the last time the two nations faced in international play. They met in a frie...

Europe’s central bank is set to pile on another rate increase. Is it the last in a record series?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:57 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank is set to raise interest rates at least one more time to fight inflation, even as worries about recession fuel speculation that Thursday’s hike could be the last in its yearlong campaign to ease price hikes by making borrowing more expensive for companies and consumers.ECB President Christine Lagarde has all but promised an increase as the bank’s governing council meets in Frankfurt, where interest rates are decided for the 20 European Union countries that use the euro. Higher rates, she said last month, are needed to squelch inflation that is proving more persistent than anticipated, underlining that “we cannot waver, and we cannot declare victory yet.” Like the U.S. Federal Reserve, the ECB is approaching the end of its rate increases, leading analysts to focus on whether it will raise rates again at its September meeting or call a halt. The Fed raised its key rate on Wednesday for the 11th time in 17 months, and Chai...

In the news today: New federal cabinet role, Pat Carney dead at 88

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:57 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Specifics of citizens’ services cabinet job murkyPrime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle created a new citizens’ services job for rookie minister Terry Beech, but it still appears unclear exactly what that job will entail.When asked what “citizen’s services” is after he was sworn in, Beech said it will include some elements of Employment and Social Development Canada. But he admitted he hadn’t been fully briefed. The Prime Minister’s Office says the new minister will work across the government to focus on anything that touches Canadians directly, including passport applications. Former senator Pat Carney dead at age 88Former senator, MP and journalist Pat Carney has died at the age of 88.She was first elected to the House of Commons in February 1980 in the riding of Vancouver Centre.Her website says Carney...

What is citizens’ services, and what should be expected from the new minister?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:57 GMT

OTTAWA — As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reorganized his front bench Wednesday in a massive federal cabinet shuffle, he also created a single new job: minister of citizens’ services.But when the minister appointed to the new role was asked what exactly citizens’ services is, he wasn’t entirely clear. “This is really where the rubber hits the road in providing services to citizens right across the country,” newly appointed cabinet minister Terry Beech said Wednesday, less than an hour after he was sworn in. Some elements of Employment and Social Development Canada will be under his purview, as well as “a bit of digital governance,” he said. When pressed for details, he admitted he wasn’t sure on the specifics.“I met with my deputy minister about five minutes ago. She handed me a piece of paper with a whole bunch of bullet points on it,” he explained. “I’m gonna get fully briefed and to provide you much more fuls...

B.C. judge allows cannabis ‘fire sale’ to stave off CRA destruction threat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:57 GMT

A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has approved the bulk sale of more than 1,200 kilograms of cannabis by a company after the Canada Revenue Agency threatened to destroy it. In a ruling released online this week, the court allowed Tantalus Labs Ltd. to move ahead with a hasty sale of its remaining inventory of cannabis flower after the CRA planned to destroy the product at its facility in Maple Ridge, B.C. The agency had earlier declined to renew the company’s excise tax licence due to financial difficulties, which saw Tantalus shed the bulk of its employees at the end of June due to looming insolvency. Without the licence, the company would’ve been unable to sell its remaining inventory and potentially recover more for creditors, including its main lender and the CRA itself. As the date of its licence expiry approached, the company had to go to court for approval of the sale of its remaining inventory on what bankruptcy trustee Ernst & Young called a “fire...