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India’s Supreme Court refuses to legalize same-sex marriage, saying it is up to Parliament

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court on Tuesday refused to legalize same-sex marriages, passing the responsibility back to Parliament in a ruling that disappointed campaigners for LGBTQ+ rights in the world’s most populous country. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also urged the government to uphold the rights of the queer community and end discrimination against them. Earlier this year, the five-judge bench heard 21 petitions that sought to legalize same-sex marriage. Chandrachud said there were degrees of agreement and disagreement among the justices “on how far we have to go” on same-sex marriages, but a majority of the judges agreed that the court cannot grant LGBTQ+ people the right to marry as that is a legislative function. “This court can’t make law. It can only interpret it and give effect to it,” the chief justice said, reiterating that it was up to Parliament to decide whether it could expand marriage laws to include queer unions.One of the petitioners, Mario da Penha, sa...

Police shoot dead suspected extremist accused of killing 2 Swedish soccer fans in Brussels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

Police in Belgium on Tuesday shot dead a suspected Tunisian extremist accused of killing two Swedish soccer fans in a brazen shooting on a Brussels street before disappearing into the night.Hours after a manhunt began in the Belgian capital, Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden posted on X, formerly Twitter, that “the perpetrator of the terrorist attack in Brussels has been identified and has died.”She thanked Belgium’s intelligence and security services, as well as the public prosecutor’s office, “for their swift and decisive action last night and this morning.” The man was shot by police in the Schaerbeek neighborhood near where the rampage took place. The weapon used in the assault was recovered.Amateur videos posted on social media of Monday’s attack showed a man wearing an orange fluorescent vest pulling up on a scooter, taking out a large weapon and opening fire on people getting out of a taxi before chasing them into a building to gun them down. He was also filmed...

Russia is sending more forces to an eastern Ukraine city after its assault slows, analysts say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is throwing more units into its effort to take a key eastern Ukraine city, Western analysts say, after apparent setbacks that have slowed its dayslong onslaught.The attempt to storm Avdiivka, a heavily defended city that stands in the way of Moscow’s ambition of securing control of the entire Donetsk region, is Moscow’s most significant offensive operation in Ukraine since the start of the year, the U.K. defense ministry said Tuesday.The Kremlin’s push to claim Avdiivka comes after months of fending off Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which Kyiv launched some 16 months after Russia’s full-scale invasion.Both sides are looking for battlefield advantages ahead of winter. They are also looking to secure future weapons supplies for what is shaping up as a protracted war of attrition.The Kremlin’s forces deployed to Avdiivka are likely making slow progress and sustaining high casualties in what is proving a costly effort, the U.K. defense ministry said on X,...

Clashes again erupt on the Lebanon-Israel border after an anti-tank missile is fired from Lebanon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Clashes erupted again Tuesday on the border between Lebanon and Israel, where Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza. An anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon landed in the town of Metula in northern Israel Tuesday morning, injuring three people, according to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed. No group in Lebanon has immediately claimed responsibility. It was not clear if the injured were civilians or soldiers, but Israel has ordered civilians to evacuate the area near the border with Lebanon.Israel responded by striking several areas along the border in southern Lebanon with artillery fire and white phosphorus, the state-run National News Agency in Lebanon reported. The Israeli military said its tanks fired back into Lebanon after an anti-tank missile was launched across the border.Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli military said it killed four militants who had attempted to plant...

Polish election marks huge win for Donald Tusk as ruling conservatives lose to centrist coalition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Three opposition parties that vowed to restore democratic standards in Poland together won over 54% of the votes in the nation’s weekend parliamentary election, putting them in a position to take power, according to a complete ballot count reported Tuesday.The conservative Law and Justice party, which has governed the country for eight turbulent years, won slightly over 35% of the votes, making it the single party with the most votes. But the party and its leader Jarosław Kaczyński lost their majority in parliament and appeared to have no way to hold onto power.The official ballot announced by the National Electoral Commission aligns closely with an exit poll released after voting ended Sunday.Turnout was nearly 75%, a record that surpassed the 63% turnout of 1989, a vote that triggered the collapse of the oppressive Soviet-backed communist system. Law and Justice had been taking the country on an illiberal path, taking control of courts in a manner that ...

Aid is held up for a Gaza on the verge of total collapse as Biden heads to Israel and Jordan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The U.S. worked to break a deadlock over delivering aid to millions of increasingly desperate civilians in the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged and under assault by Israel since a brutal attack by Hamas militants, as U.S. President Joe Biden prepared to head to the region.Israeli airstrikes continued to pound Gaza early Tuesday, killing dozens of people in the besieged enclave's south, where Israel told civilians from the north to seek shelter ahead of an expected ground offensive.Wounded people were rushed to the hospital after heavy attacks outside the southern Gaza cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, Gaza residents reported. Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official and former health minister, reported that 27 people were killed in Rafah and 30 were killed in Khan Younis.A Palestinian man inspects the remains of a destroyed house hit by an Israeli airstrike in town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman...

UAlbany coaches react to lacrosse being added to Olympics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Lacrosse will now be a part of the Olympics once again. For the first time since 1908, lacrosse has been added to the Olympic lineup for 2028 in Los Angeles by the International Olympic Committee. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The other sports are baseball, softball, flag football and squash.UAlbany women's and men's lacrosse head coaches Katie Thomson and Scott Marr weighed in on the IOC's decision and believe it benefits the growth and exposure of the sport. "Definitely a day of celebration for Lacrosse to be entered and going to be played in the LA Olympics in 2028," said Thomson. "A lot of our former and current student-athletes here at Albany have participated at the World Lacrosse stage, and it's such an exciting day for that potential for them to play in the Olympics in just a handful of years." Coach Marr has seen his fair share of how much lacrosse has grown over the years and thinks the Olym...

Environment Council: Ministers and commissioners discuss preparations for COP28 and advance EU Green Deal legislation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

On 16 October, Executive Vice President Maros Šefčovič (pictured) as well as Commissioners Sinkevičius and Hoekstra represented the Commission at the Environment Council in Luxembourg. EU Ministers advanced with preparations for the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference, taking place this year in Dubai from 30 November - 12 December 2023. Ministers will discuss the EU's negotiating mandate and the nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.Environment Ministers also discussed the Commission proposal for strengthened CO2 emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles, with the aim to reach a position to start negotiations with the European Parliament. The Commission proposal for new rules on urban wastewater treatment was also on the agenda. The Commission will also present its new proposal on the revision of Waste Framework Directive concerning food and textile waste, introduce the recommendation to improve the rate of return of used and waste mobile phones, tab...

World Medical Association stands firmly for principles of medical neutrality as defined by the Geneva Convention.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

The World Medical Association (WMA) mourns over the loss of lives, especially those of healthcare personnel on both sides of the conflict, and stands in solidarity with all the physicians and healthcare personnel who are on the frontline, risking their lives to provide crucial medical care during these challenging times. We remain committed to our mission of advocating for the ethical practice of medicine and promoting peace and respect for humanitarian principles. The WMA urgently calls upon all parties involved in the conflict to: Respect established International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and not use health facilities as military quarters or depots, nor to target health personnel facilities and vehicles. Provide to health personnel the adequate conditions to treat all patients with humanity and in compliance with the ethical values of their professions, including medical neutrality. Use humanitarian corridors to permit the safe provision of health equipment and humanitarian supplies...

Brussels shooting UPDATE: Police shoot dead attacker who killed two Swedes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

UPDATE: A gunman suspected of shooting two Swedish football fans in a terror attack in Brussels was shot in a cafe after some 12 hours on the run, Belgium’s interior ministry said on Tuesday.He was shot in the chest, before being arrested and taken to hospital. Two people have been shot dead in the Belgian capital Brussels on Monday evening, police have said.Belgium's prime minister later confirmed the victims were Swedish. Prosecutors say they are treating the shooting as terrorism.The Belgium-Sweden Euro 2024 qualifier football match being played in the city has been abandoned, Uefa said.The gunman fled the scene and is still at large. Brussels has increased its terror threat to the highest level.A spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor said another person had been wounded in the attack."Go home and stay at home as long as the threat has not been eradicated," Eric van Duyse told Reuters, adding that the attacker claimed to be inspired by Islamic State.A video posted on ...