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Israeli Basketball Team Wins EuroCup Game in Spain Despite ‘High’ Risk Anti-Israel Protest, Flag Burning
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv vs Gran Canaria on Jan. 2, 2025, in a EuroCup match at the Gran Canaria Arena located in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. Photo: YouTube screenshot
The Israeli basketball team Hapoel Tel Aviv won a round 13 EuroCup match in Spain’s Canary Islands on Thursday, despite a scheduled anti-Israel demonstration outside of the stadium that Israel warned supporters about and the burning of an Israeli flag in protest of the game.
Under head coach Dimitris Itoudis, Hapoel Tel Aviv won an 87-64 victory in a matchup against their Spanish rivals, Gran Canaria, at the Gran Canaria Arena in Las Palmas. The Israeli team secured a lead in the first half 51-25 and ended the game with an 8-5 record. Gran Canaria played its worst first half ever by scoring a mere 26 points. The Spanish team lost its second straight game for a 9-4 record and also dropped to 5-2 in home games.
Earlier this week, activists from the pro-Palestinian group Canarias Insumisa burned an Israeli flag outside of the stadium in opposition to Israel’s military actions during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and the Jewish state’s participation in the EuroCup game.
Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism published a “high” risk level alert about two Spanish far-left, pro-Palestinian groups promoting an anti-Israel demonstration on Thursday outside the Gran Canaria Arena in protest of the basketball game. The groups included Canarias Insumisa and Partido Comunista del Pueblo Canario, which is also known as the Communist Party of the Canarian People (PCPC).
The Israeli ministry said the two groups promoted the protest against Hapeol Tel Aviv on social media, and it was shared by other Spanish far-left, anti-Israel groups and individuals. Many of the same anti-Israel activists expressed support on social media for the flag burning that Canarias Insumisa organized earlier in the week, including Spanish far-left journalist Javier Espinosa.
“While the protest on January 2, which was shared with a large following, has garnered relatively low online traction thus far … the publicity surrounding the flag burning incident may increase the likelihood of violence or disorderly conduct among participants,” said Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism.
The Canarias Insumisa collective and the PCPC group both organize anti-Israel demonstrations, rallies, and other activities. The latter is also involved in the campaigns in Spain that support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. PCPC posted on Telegram on Dec. 30 a message that promoted the protest against Hapoel Tel Aviv.
“On January 2nd, we’ll see you in the streets to show our rejection of the Israeli basketball team Hapoel Tel Aviv. The Canary Islands say NO to Zionism!” the message read. The post included an image of a bloody basketball with a blue Star of David on it, along with text that reads, “Zionists Out of the Canary Islands!” and “No to the whitewashing of genocide through sports.”
The post Israeli Basketball Team Wins EuroCup Game in Spain Despite ‘High’ Risk Anti-Israel Protest, Flag Burning first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Canada Is Evaluating Ties With Israel After Qatar Attack, Foreign Minister Says
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand speaks during a High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at UN headquarters in New York City, US, July 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Canada is evaluating its relationship with Israel after the attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar, foreign minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of unhappiness with the Israeli government.
Anand reiterated that Canada considered the attack to be unacceptable, especially given Qatari attempts to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Anand made her comments when asked whether Canada might follow the lead of the European Commission, which said it would propose the suspension of trade-related measures in a European Union agreement with Israel.
“We are evaluating our relationship with Israel,” Anand told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the ruling Liberal Party in Edmonton.
Asked specifically whether Canada was considering any kinds of sanctions against Israel, she replied: “We will continue to evaluate our next steps.”
Canada has noticeably hardened its line on Israel under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau in March. Carney announced in July that Canada would recognize Palestinian statehood, angering Israel.
Trudeau was generally supportive of Israel‘s campaign against Hamas, while occasionally criticizing actions of the Israeli military.
Carney on Tuesday condemned the Israeli airstrike, calling it “an intolerable expansion of violence” that risked escalating conflict throughout the region.
He said last month that Israel‘s plan to take control of Gaza City was “wrong”.
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Iran Says More Talks Needed to Bring About IAEA Inspections
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
A new agreement between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog does not guarantee inspectors’ access to Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran wants further talks on how inspections are carried out, the country’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached a deal on Tuesday on resuming inspections at sites including those bombed by the US and Israel but gave no specifics, and Tehran said the deal was off if international sanctions were re-imposed.
“I have to reiterate the agreement does not currently provide access to IAEA inspectors, apart from the Bushehr nuclear plant,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state TV in an interview.
“Based on reports that Iran will issue in the future, the nature of access will have to be discussed at an appropriate time,” he added.
Diplomats said the devil would be in the details of Tuesday’s agreement. No joint press conference was held in Cairo to provide details on what the IAEA has been calling “modalities” regarding the resumption of inspections.
The agreement comes against the backdrop of an ongoing threat by European powers to re-impose international sanctions against Iran that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers.
The IAEA‘s Grossi said in a statement on Wednesday that the “technical document” agreed provided for “a clear understanding of the procedures for inspection, notifications, and implementation.”
“These include all facilities and installations in Iran and also contemplates the required reporting on all the attacked facilities, including the nuclear material present at those.”
While Iran‘s enrichment sites have been badly damaged or destroyed, it is less clear what has happened to the stockpile, which includes uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity, a short step from the roughly 90 percent required for weapons-grade.
Araqchi said the IAEA‘s board of governors’ meeting on Wednesday would be crucial concerning how cooperation with the IAEA develops.
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Israel Attacks Sanaa, Al-Jawf in Latest Strikes on Houthis in Yemen
Smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in Sanaa, Yemen, Sept. 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Israel struck the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the northern province of al–Jawf on Wednesday, with the Iran-backed Houthis rebels who control much of Yemen saying it killed nine people and wounded 118 others in an initial toll.
The strikes are the latest in a series of attacks and counterstrikes between Israel and Houthi terrorists in Yemen, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had struck military camps, the headquarters of the Houthi military “propaganda” department, and a fuel storage site.
The Houthi’s military spokesperson denied in a statement later that Israel targeted missile launchers. “Its strikes targeted purely civilian targets,” he said.
He added that two newspapers were targeted, with journalists and passers-by falling between dead and wounded.
Sanaa residents told Reuters the attack was on a hideout between two mountains that is used as a command and control headquarters. The extent of any damage was not immediately clear.
The Israeli strikes also targeted the Houthi defense ministry, witnesses said.
The attack came days after an Aug. 30 strike on Sanaa killed the prime minister of the Houthi-run government and several ministers, in the first such assault to target senior officials.
“The strikes were carried out in response to attacks led by the Houthi terror regime against the State of Israel, during which unmanned aerial vehicles and surface-to-surface missiles were launched toward Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, an internationally designated terrorist group, have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
They have also fired missiles towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port.