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'Trial of Iran prison official in Stockholm: Conflict between opposition, regime has non-international character'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:27:48 GMT

During the appeal trial concerning the life sentence handed down by a lower court to a former Iranian regime prison official, new light was shed on the longstanding internal conflict in Iran. Evidence presented during the proceedings revealed that there has been an ongoing struggle between the resistance and the ruling theocracy since 1981, writes Shahin Gobadi.Kenneth Lewis, the attorney representing several plaintiffs in the appeal trial of Hamid Noury, a former prison official charged with participating in the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in the summer of 1988, asserted that the confrontation between the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the Iranian regime does not constitute an international armed conflict. Noury, he argued, should be tried for crimes committed during a non-international armed conflict. Lewis highlighted that this internal strife between the MEK and the Iranian authorities began on June 20, 1981, with the quelling of peaceful prote...

Dear Abby: I like to video people who are behaving badly

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:27:48 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I have some advice for your readers who write regarding problems with how others behave badly or are verbally abusive or inappropriate toward them. Hopefully, it will help someone.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: The rest of the book club is appalled by the woman I invited Advice | Dear Abby: My sister-in-law always has ‘other plans.’ Should I stop asking? Advice | Dear Abby: I haven’t told my wife what I know. Should I stick around? Advice | Dear Abby: I just wanted to sit in their house for a few hours, and they wouldn’t let me in Advice | Dear Abby: I just learned my brother knew a secret that would have changed my life I suggest recording video of the offending individual while it’s happening, and then showing them the video later when they are calm/sober/receptive. If the behavior is drug- or alcohol-driven, this can show the person they’re not fun a...

Sale closed in Dublin: $2.5 million for a five-bedroom home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:27:48 GMT

4619 Westwood Court – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 4600 block of Westwood Court in Dublin was sold on Sept. 29, 2023 for $2,521,000, or $665 per square foot. The house, built in 1999, has an interior space of 3,790 square feet. This single-story house boasts a generous living space with five bedrooms and four bathrooms. In addition, the home includes a three-car garage.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:On Woodrose Circle, Dublin, in November 2022, a 3,678-square-foot home was sold for $2,275,000, a price per square foot of $619. The home has 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.In March 2023, a 4,002-square-foot home on Woodrose Circle in Dublin sold for $2,375,000, a price per square foot of $593. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.A 2,460-square-foot home on the 5300 block of Aspen Street in Dublin sold in June 2023, for $2,035,000, a price per square foot of $827. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Japan and UK ministers discuss deeper security ties on the sidelines of G7 meeting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:27:48 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese and British foreign and defense ministers met Tuesday to discuss deeper military cooperation under a new security pact that allows their militaries to enter each other’s territory for joint exercises.Japan and Britain have expanded their cooperation in recent years as concern has grown over China’s increasing influence. Japan, whose only treaty ally is the United States, has signed Reciprocal Access Agreements with Australia and the U.K., making them semi-allies.The talks in Tokyo among Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defense Secretary Grant Shapps are the first since the RAA took effect in mid-October. They met on the sidelines of a gathering of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Tuesday and Wednesday that is expected to focus on the Israel-Hamas war, the Russia-Ukraine war and tension in the Indo-Pacific region. The four ministers’...

Russian forces kill Georgian citizen near breakaway region’s border

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:27:48 GMT

Russian border guards shot and killed a Georgian national on Monday evening near the border with the Moscow-backed breakaway South Ossetia region, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced Monday evening. “The incident once again confirms the difficult security environment on the ground and speaks of the severe consequences of the occupation,” Garibashvili said in a statement.This is the first deadly incident in the vicinity of the South Ossetia border since a brief war between Russia and Georgia in 2008.After the war, Russia unilaterally recognized South Ossetia — where Russian forces have been deployed since the 1990s — and another region, Abkhazia, and has since threatened to annex them.The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell on Tuesday condemned the shooting.“The EU strongly condemns the killing of a Georgian citizen and the detention of another one by the Russian border guards in Kirbali,” Borrell wrote on X, formerly Twitter, a...

Place beyond words: Herald views footage of merciless Oct. 7 Hamas killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:27:48 GMT

“Why am I still alive?”A young boy helplessly cried that out after his father had just been killed in a kibbutz by marauding Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7.Death, at that point, was the only escape.It’s one of a series of heart-wrenching clips compiled by the Israel Defense Forces viewed by the Herald Monday in a downtown Boston office along with other journalists. In about 43 minutes of footage, you see “138 murders,” said Ambassador Meron Reuben, consulate general of Israel to New England.It’s not the social media snippets making the rounds. It’s graphic, unsettling, and turn-away carnage that shines a light on just how unforgiving the terrorists were. Many tried to hide, but they died. The Hamas killers were armed with what appeared to be newer assault rifles and plenty of hand grenades.Yes, babies were killed and burned. Women were tortured. A group of about a dozen teenage girls were cornered. A man had his head chopped off by a Hamas terro...

Kenya declares a surprise public holiday for a national campaign to plant 15 billion trees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:27:48 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Kenyan government announced Monday a surprise public holiday on Nov. 13 for a nationwide tree planting day, part of its ambitious plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki made the announcement via a gazette notice posted on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, following a cabinet meeting held last week and chaired by President William Ruto.“The Government has declared a special holiday on Monday, November 13, 2023, during which the public across the Country shall be expected to plant trees as a patriotic contribution to the national efforts to save our Country from the devastating effects of Climate Change,” said Kindiki. Kenya’s current forest cover currently stands at about 7% but the government has set aside more than $80 million this financial year, as it bids to increase tree cover to more than 10%.Trees store carbon, one of the main drivers of global warming. In contrast, deforestation accelerates climate ch...

In the news today: Canadians in Gaza could soon cross into Egypt after list published

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:27:48 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…Canadians in Gaza could soon cross into EgyptCanadians looking to flee Gaza might soon be able to cross into Egypt, after a new document containing names of Canadians was published by the General Authority for Crossings and Borders in Gaza.The document, containing lists of “foreign passports”, potentially allows for Canadians in Gaza to cross into Egypt through the Rafah land border.The border crossing into Egypt is the only exit point for foreign nationals wishing to leave the Palestinian territory, which has been under constant bombardment since Israel launched retaliatory attacks for the Oct. 7 incursion by Hamas. Closing arguments expected in Peter Nygard’s trialThe jury in Peter Nygard’s sexual assault trial is expected to hear closing arguments from Crown and defence lawyers today. The 82-year-old former fashion mogul has pleaded n...

Small businesses still hoping for CEBA loan forgiveness extension as time runs out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:27:48 GMT

OTTAWA — As the deadline to repay pandemic loans and receive partial forgiveness approaches, small businesses are still hoping the federal government will reverse course and extend it for another year.Nearly 900,000 organizations applied for and received a Canada Emergency Business Account loan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal program offered up to $60,000 in interest-free loans to help businesses and non-profits survive related shutdowns and slowdowns.A total of $49.2 billion was disbursed through the program.Up to one third of the loans can be forgiven if businesses pay back the outstanding amount by Jan. 18, 2024.Those that miss that deadline would lose out on the forgivable portion and see their debts converted to a three-year loan with interest of five per cent annually.Businesses were offered the chance to refinance their loans with a financial institution instead. Those that did were given until March 28, 2024, to get that in order and still be eligible for the forgi...

Funding for housing, food banks expected in Quebec economic update today

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:27:48 GMT

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard is scheduled to present the province’s fall economic update this morning.Girard has said he plans to address issues of housing, homelessness and climate change adaptation in the update.Unlike last year’s economic update, Girard’s office has said this year’s economic update won’t include direct payments to Quebecers in order to offset the effects of inflation.Girard is expected to announce that some tax credits will be indexed to inflation and to announce funding for housing and food banks, as well as money to make up public transit deficits.The Opposition Liberals are calling for tangible measures to help Quebecers dealing with rising prices, including tax changes to reduce the cost of buying properties. The update comes one day after hundreds of thousands of public sector workers walked off the job for several hours, the first in an escalating series of strike actions announced after unions representing government wo...