TELL, West Bank (AP) — Israeli settlers vandalized a mosque in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Monday, spray-painting offensive phrases and setting a fire, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Worshippers arriving for the day’s first prayers found the damage and a smoldering fire that spewed black smoke across the entrance of the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in the town of Tell, near Nablus, and stained the ornate doorway.

“I was shocked when I opened the door,” said Munir Ramdan, who lives nearby. “The fire had been burning here in the area, the glass was broken here and the door was broken.”

Security camera footage showed two people walking toward the mosque carrying gasoline and a can of spray paint, and running away a few minutes later, Ramdan said.

The attackers spray-painted graffiti denigrating the Prophet Muhammad, as well as the words “revenge” and “price tag.” In “price tag” attacks, hard-line Israeli nationalists attack Palestinians and vandalize their property in response to Palestinian militant attacks or perceived efforts by Israeli authorities to limit settlement activity.

The ministry said settlers vandalized or attacked 45 mosques in the West Bank last year.

The latest incident occurred as Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan.

“The provocation is directed especially at the person who is fasting, because you are fasting and entering a month of mercy and forgiveness from God,” said Salem Ishtayeh, a resident of Tell. “So they like to provoke you with words. It’s not that they are attacking you personally, they are attacking your religion, the Islamic faith.”

The Israeli military and police said they responded to the incident and were searching for suspects. The military said it “strongly condemns” harm done to religious institutions.

Palestinians and rights groups say Israeli authorities routinely fail to prosecute settlers or hold them accountable for violence.

There has been a recent surge in violence by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. Last week, settlers killed a Palestinian-American man, Nasrallah Abu Siyam.

According to information released by Israel’s military last month, there were 867 attacks by settlers against Palestinians and security forces in 2025, an increase of 27% over 2024.

The number of serious settler attacks including shootings, arson and other violent crimes has increased sharply each year since far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who spent his law career defending Jews who attacked Palestinians, became national security minister. The number of serious attacks increased from 54 in 2023 to 83 in 2024 and 128 in 2025.

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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Thomas Mason, 28, is accused of slapping and strangling the woman during the alleged offence at the Welsh music festival

A woman was raped in her tent at Green Man Festival by a man who slapped and strangled her while she was forced to lie on her stomach, a court has heard. The man denies rape and claims sexual activity between the two of them was consensual.

Thomas Mason, 28, is accused of raping the alleged victim and of sexually assaulting her by penetration at the annual music festival in Crickhowell, Powys. The complainant was later heard crying in her tent and fears the defendant may have taken an image of her on his phone.

A trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Monday heard Mason and the complainant were not known to each other, but met while dancing in a tent. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here.

The woman said she had been drinking alcohol and had taken ecstasy that night.

She and the defendant began kissing and they agreed to go back to her tent.

They had consensual sexual intercourse but the complainant found it painful and asked Mason to stop, which he did.

But after a while she felt the defendant touch her between her legs and said he slapped her to the face and to her breasts.

It is alleged he then put his penis inside the complainant’s vagina and raped her. She was in pain and told him to stop, but she says he refused.

In her opening, prosecutor Clare Wilks said: “(The complainant) described her body feeling limp and was confused about what was happening. She told him to stop and she was frightened as she was worried he would become more violent. She felt like a ragdoll and dissociated.”

The court heard Mason placed the complainant on her front and put his hands around her neck before allegedly raping her again.

The woman said the defendant then spat on his finger and inserted it into her. Mason was then accused of ejaculating on the complainant.

Speaking in a pre recorded video interview played to the court, the complainant said: “I didn’t want to aggravate or antagonise him, he’d already been getting too angry. During he was slapping me around my face and boobs and he strangled me but not so hard I lost consciousness.

“When he finished he was on his phone. I couldn’t see him, I was facing down, but I saw the light from the screen on his phone and heard the sound it makes when you send a text. He started shining his phone light. When he was looking for his boxers, he was getting quite angry about that because he couldn’t find them. He shone his torch between my legs and spread my cheeks and shone a torch there.”

She told the interviewing officer she felt she had no choice but to “wait for it to stop”. She added: “I knew I couldn’t get out, I was trapped in a tent and he was raping me. I just wanted to keep my eyes closed because I didn’t want to see his face.”

After Mason left the tent, the complainant’s friend heard her crying and calling for her. She told her friend “He raped me”.

They went to the security and medical tent and the police were called. She was found to have suffered a linear laceration to her vagina.

The complainant gave a description of Mason and an efit image was publicised.

The defendant and his mother saw the appeal, and contacted the police which led to Mason being arrested.

During his police interview, he said he and the complainant had engaged in consensual sexual intercourse and sexual activity, and he stopped when she told him she was in pain.

He denied raping the woman or sexually assaulting her, and denied slapping her or being violent towards her.

Mason, of John Williams Close, Brockley, London, has pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault.

The trial continues.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Air traffic is coming to a standstill in much of the northeastern U.S. as a powerful storm brings heavy snow and strong winds across the region.

Thousands of flight disruptions piled up Monday morning. As of around 9:30 a.m. ET, nearly 5,500 flights in or out of the U.S. were canceled, according to online tracker FlightAware. Hundreds of others were delayed.

New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport had the highest numbers of cancellations Monday — followed by airports in Boston, Newark, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

The National Weather Service called travel conditions “extremely treacherous” and “nearly impossible” in areas hit hardest by the storm.

Beyond air traffic, millions of people are stuck at home under road travel bans amid blizzard warnings. On Sunday night, cellphones across New York City received wailing push alerts announcing a ban on non-emergency travel on all streets through noon Monday, due to “dangerous blizzard conditions.” Rhode Island and New Jersey implemented similar restrictions.

Castra Park promises a range of luxurious, energy-efficient two, three and four bedroom homes on the outskirts of York City Centre.

David Wilson Homes will also be contributing £3.5 million to the surrounding area and community, as part of its planning approval agreement with City of York Council. This includes funding improvements for education, infrastructure, sport and travel.

Sarah Hanna, Senior Sales Manager at David Wilson Homes Yorkshire East, said: “We’re excited to launch Castra Park. The development is the ideal setting for families, first-time buyers and those looking to balance city and country lifestyles.

RECOMMENDED READING:

“We encourage prospective buyers to visit Castra Park and speak to our team about upcoming homes.”

Castra Park promises plenty of green space and all essential amenities within a two-to-three-mile radius.

The developers also highlight easy access to Vangarde Shopping Park, Monks Cross, plus York City Centre and its railway station.

For more information about the development, visit the website at Castra Park.

For more information about developments in the county, visit the website at David Wilson Homes North Yorkshire.

Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni has received a provisional one-match suspension after Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr reported alleged racist abuse during last week’s Champions League meeting.

Vinicius told referee Francois Letexier that he had been racially abused by the Argentina winger during the first leg of their Champions League knockout play-off tie in Lisbon last Tuesday.

Uefa announced the provisional ban on Monday following the appointment of an ethics and disciplinary inspector to investigate the incident.

The European governing body said further punishment could be handed out once the investigation is completed.

Real Madrid and Benfica meet for the second leg in the Spanish capital on Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

North Yorkshire Police said it happened on the Ripon Road in Killinghall around 12.15pm on Thursday, February 19.

A force spokesperson said: “A small dark blue car crashed with a white Vauxhall Vivaro van causing damage and narrowly avoided the vehicle owner stood to the side of it in orange hi-viz clothing.

“The blue car was damaged and its wingmirror was left at the scene.”

North Yorkshire Police said any witnesses to the crash should get in touch by emailing fiona.wilding@northyorkshire.police.uk and quoting reference 12260030922.

The tireless efforts of human rights campaigners in Bangladesh have finally paid off: children born in the brothels and streets there are now able to hold a birth certificate. Undocumented children, many born in the sprawling Daulatdia brothel, had previously been denied a birth certificate, and all the rights that come with it. Without official documentation, children cannot attend school and are vulnerable to trafficking. 

This week it was revealed that more than 700 children have now received a birth certificate, thanks to organisations such as anti-slavery organisation Freedom Fund, which identified an ‘overlooked stipulation in the law’. Since 2018, it has in fact been permitted for a birth to be registered, even in the absence of information on the parents. Government officials, however, were not recognising this.  

“When I first came to know about [this stipulation], we massively disseminated this information with our partners,” Khaleda Akhter, Bangladesh programme manager for Freedom Fund, told the Guardian. Akhter has seen firsthand how a birth certificate can be life-changing for children there. “These documents are not just a tool,” she said, “it’s about survival.”

Image: Shafin Ashraf

Mananchaya Wanitthanawet, 42, is currently serving a nine year jail sentence for exploiting her two victims in the sex trade.

A woman who trafficked her fellow Thai countrywomen to Scotland to work as prostitutes was today ordered to hand over £3815 to settle a proceeds of crime action brought against her.

Mananchaya Wanitthanawet, 42, is currently serving a nine-year jail sentence for exploiting her two victims in the sex trade. Prosecutors raised an action to strip her of crime profits and a judge at the High Court in Edinburgh was told that a settlement has now been reached in the case.

Advocate depute Bryan Heaney said that it was agreed under the settlement that Wanitthanawet’s benefit from criminal conduct amounted to £123,000, but the available amount for a confiscation order was £3815.

Wanitthanawet offered to help the women find work in the UK but forced them to provide massage and sexual services to repay alleged debts. Victims worked from addresses in Dundee, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness dealing with up to 15 men a day to pay off the debt.

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One victim said she felt like her “hands were tied”. She said: “In my heart, I wanted to escape from that situation, but I had no money, no passport and spoke no English, so then I cry.”

Wanitthanawet was convicted of recruiting and transporting the women, featuring them in adverts for sexual services and forcing them into prostitution between July 2019 and July 2022, following a trial at the High Court in Dundee.

The trial judge, Lord Scott, told her: “This involved the deliberate degrading of fellow human beings. What you put them through was dehumanising.”

“It deprived them of the ability to act as they wished or in their own interests. They were valued only as a source of profit,” said the judge.

Lord Scott told Wanitthanawet: “You are clearly an intelligent person, as evidenced by your degree in business and economics.”

“Unfortunately, you have chosen to use your intelligence and business skills in the exploitation of two vulnerable young women who found themselves trapped into prostitution in a foreign country thousands of miles from their homes and families.”

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