Belgium questions 2 Israelis at music festival over Gaza crime allegations
In a statement to The Associated Press, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said an Israeli citizen and an Israeli soldier who were on vacation in Belgium 'were taken in yesterday for interrogation and were released shortly afterward.' It said Israeli authorities 'dealt with this issue and are in touch with the two.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
21 minutes ago
- CTV News
Labour ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn says he's starting a new left-wing UK party
Former British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn addresses activists at a 'climate strike' demonstration, part of the global 'Fridays for Future' movement led by Swedish teenage environmentalist Greta Thunberg, in Parliament Square in London, Sept. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/David Cliff, File) LONDON — Labour Party ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn said Thursday that he's forming a new left-leaning U.K. political party to advocate 'mass redistribution of wealth and power' and take on his former colleagues at the ballot box. The new formation has a website — — but doesn't have a name yet. 'It's your party,' Corbyn said. 'We're going to decide (a name) when we've had all the responses, and so far the response rate has been massive.' Corbyn said that he hoped the new party would have its inaugural conference in the fall. Corbyn, 76, led Labour to election defeats in 2017 and 2019, but the veteran socialist campaigner remains popular with many grassroots supporters. The new party has the potential to further fragment British politics. The long-dominant Labour and Conservative parties now have challengers on both left and right, including the environmentalist Green Party and hard-right Reform UK. Plans for a new party emerged earlier this month when lawmaker Zarah Sultana, who has been suspended from Labour for voting against the government, said that she would 'co-lead the founding of a new party' with Corbyn. At the time, Corbyn didn't confirm the news. On Thursday, he denied the party launch had been messy, saying the process was 'democratic, it's grassroots and it's open.' A longtime supporter of Palestinians and a critic of Israel, Corbyn was suspended from Labour in 2020 after Britain's equalities watchdog found anti-Jewish prejudice had been allowed to spread within Labour while he was leader. He was suspended after failing to fully accept the findings, claiming opponents had exaggerated the scale of antisemitism in Labour for 'political reasons.' Corbyn was re-elected to Parliament last year as an independent. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer succeeded Corbyn as Labour leader in 2020 and dragged the party back toward the political centre ground. He dropped Corbyn's opposition to Britain's nuclear weapons, strongly backed sending weapons to Ukraine and stressed the party's commitment to balancing the books. Starmer won a landslide election victory a year ago, but has struggled to maintain unity among Labour lawmakers as the government struggles to get a sluggish economy growing and invest in overstretched public services. He has been forced into a series of U-turns by his own lawmakers, including one on welfare reform that left his authority severely dented. Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
CTV News
21 minutes ago
- CTV News
Rapper GloRilla is arrested on drug charges following investigation of a burglary at her home
GloRilla arrives at the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) Rapper GloRilla was arrested this week on felony drug charges after 'a significant amount of marijuana' was found by police while they investigated a burglary at her home in Atlanta. GloRilla, whose real name is Gloria Woods, voluntarily turned herself in Tuesday and was released on US$22,260 bond the same day, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. Deputies were called to the rapper's home at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday on reports of a burglary. Woods wasn't present, and had performed during halftime of the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday in Indianapolis. Three suspects entered the home and were stealing items when an occupant of the house fired a weapon at the intruders. The suspects fled the scene and did not appear to have been injured, according to the sheriff's office. A drug task force secured a search warrant for the home after deputies noticed a 'strong odor consistent with illegal narcotics' while investigating the burglary. The task force discovered marijuana 'in plain view inside the master bedroom closet,' according to a statement from the sheriff's office. Woods was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. The suspects weren't located, 'despite an extensive search,' the sheriff's office wrote in a statement sent to The Associated Press. The investigation into the burglary is ongoing and detectives recovered physical and trace forensic evidence believed to belong to the suspects, the office wrote. Woods' attorneys, Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, wrote in a statement the suspects took off with 'high value jewelry' when they realized the home wasn't vacant. Woods had family staying at her home who 'were traumatized' by the incident, her lawyers wrote. 'The homeowner is a victim of a serious crime, and we are committed to bringing the suspects to justice,' Sheriff Ron Freeman wrote. 'At the same time, we must continue to uphold and enforce the law in all aspects of this case.' Woods' attorneys said that her arrest is 'a disturbing window into how warped law enforcement priorities have become.' 'When her family members did the right thing and called law enforcement, instead of investigating the violent home invasion and theft at Ms. Woods' home, they instead sought a search warrant,' Findling and Goldberg wrote. 'No arrest warrants have been issued for the violent home invaders. Ms. Woods is a victim, not a suspect. This is our tax dollars at work, absolutely unbelievable.' Itzel Luna, The Associated Press
Vancouver Sun
21 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
Toronto police open hate-crime investigation after ArtHouseTO shares 'Death to the IDF!' image
The Toronto police have opened a hate-crime investigation into an art group after they shared a graphic on Instagram proclaiming: 'Death, Death to the IDF!' The refrain, chanted by British rap duo Bob Vylan during a performance at the Glastonbury Festival in June, was reshared on the social media account of ArtHouseTO alongside a cartoon of a skeleton wearing a military helmet with the Israeli flag and a bullet hole dripping with blood. 'Hell yeah! From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free, will be, Inshallah, it will be free!' says the original post, which was published on June 29 by @ryanazak and then reshared by ArtHouseTO. Toronto, CA 🇨🇦 ArtHouseTO is not just a controversial "art" space, it's a hub for dangerous, pro-Hamas propaganda. In addition to their disturbing and potentially criminal promotion of 'DEATH DEATH TO THE IDF', targeting Israeli soldiers in the only Jewish state with mandatory… On June 30, Facts Matter, an antisemitism watchdog group, reported the matter to the Toronto Police Service (TPS). On July 16, Facts Matter issued a press release announcing a hate-crime investigation had been opened. TPS independently verified the development this week, telling National Post in a brief written statement 'that the Hate Crime Unit is investigating' the matter. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'We applaud the Toronto Police for acting swiftly and taking this matter seriously,' Canadian journalist and Facts Matter founder Warren Kinsella said in the press release. 'Hate has no place in Toronto, and no amount of artistic expression can disguise the promotion of violence and bigotry.' ArtHouseTO co-creator Geoff Doner told the Post in an email on Tuesday that the artwork 'was another artist's (not our work) creative rendering of a chant heard at Glastonbury Festival, artwork we felt culturally relevant at the time. 'Because we take responses to our content seriously, we chose to take down the artwork as it was deemed offensive by some,' Doner said. Although the graphic has been deleted, ArtHouseTO has left several messages of support for the statement on their Instagram feed. On July 2, the communal art group reposted another message defending Bob Vylan's call. 'Chanting 'Death, Death to the IDF' is a morally required rallying cry against a genocidal army that continues to mass murder, starve, torture, rape, displace and maim Palestinians at an unprecedented rate,' reads the post from @jewssaynotogenocide . Two days later, ArtHouseTO reposted a social media message from an Australian commentator bemoaning how 'people opposing genocide are called hateful Nazis, where genocidal soldiers are a protected group and chanting for their death is a hate crime.' Other controversial posts ArtHouseTO has reportedly reshared on Instagram include one from @cakes_stencils, which shows a cartoon stick figure throwing the flag of Israel in the garbage above the caption: 'Zionism will be thrown in same garbage dump of history of exploitative and racist ethno-nationalist ideologies,' listing white supremacy, Nazism and Apartheid South Africa. Doner called Facts Matter's police report a form of 'harassment (which) has made it unsafe for my family and for my neighbours.' 'We were never contacted directly or invited for dialogue by anyone in regards to hearing our perspective and have since been subjected to doxxing and harassment online and in person at our Cultural Hub,' he said, adding that he has also 'initiated a police investigation into the individuals harassing us online and in person at our Cultural Hub.' Corey Herscu, a senior advisor with Facts Matter, expressed no interest in speaking with ArtHouseTO. 'As our name implies, we only deal in facts. And the fact is that group posted, 'Death to the IDF.' They are the author of their own misfortune,' he told the Post in a written statement. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
