Elbahrain.net Political tensions between USA and Canada have dominated headlines for weeks.

However, tensions ignited on the ice between the two longtime rival nations at the 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada on Saturday.

The United States defeated Canada 3-1 in an electric showdown which featured a little bit of everything a hockey fan would want to see.

After Canadian fans booed the US national anthem, the friction came to a boiling point within seconds of puck drop.

American brothers, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, set the tone by getting into two consecutive fights within the first three seconds of the game starting.

It did not stop there.

As fans roared in excitement and disbelief, American JT Miller and Canadian Colton Parayko dropped the gloves to make it three fights in nine seconds.

Minutes later, the Canadian fans were cheering for something else.

It remained a 2-1 game until Guentzel added an insurance empty net goal with just over a minute left in the game.

With the win, the United States improves to 2-0-0 in the tournament and clinches a spot in the championship game on Thursday at the TD Garden in Boston.

The 25-year-old Brady Tkachuk, who plays for the Ottawa Senators, a rival of the Montreal Canadiens, said he and his teammates embraced the “villain” role coming into the game.

“I feel like a lot of unhappy people here, especially Montreal,” Tkachuk told the ABC broadcast. “…As a group, we were all coming in with that villain mindset that we weren’t going to be liked tonight and we just found a way to win.”

The older Tkachuk, Matthew, did not play most of the third period but Brady said “he will be good to go” for the team’s next game on Monday against Sweden as the tournament shifts to their home soil in Boston.

Earlier on Saturday, Sweden faced Scandinavian rival Finland in a pivotal game. After each team lost their opening round robin game earlier in the week, both sides were in desperate need of a win, but it was Finland that came away with a dramatic 4-3 victory in overtime.

Sweden struck first in Montreal with a goal from Mika Zibanejad to give his team an early advantage in the opening period. But Finland bounced back with a goal from Anton Lundell on an odd man rush and and another tally from Mikko Rantanen on the power play to take a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

Sweden came out of the intermission hot, scoring a pair of goals in quick succession to retake the lead. First, Rasmus Dahlin pushed the puck home off a one-handed assist from Joel Eriksson Ek on a chaotic sequence in front of the goal, then Erik Karlsson’s wrist shot put Sweden in front 3-2.

In the closing minutes of the second period, Finland’s Aleksander Barkov made easy work of the pinpoint assist from teammate Olli Maatta to knot the game at 3-3.

After a tense and scoreless third period the game headed to overtime, and it didn’t take long for the sparks to start flying.

Less than two minutes into the 10-minute overtime period, Finland goaltender Kevin Lankinen made a nice save, but then lost track of the puck and almost inadvertently kicked it into his own net.

After the puck trickled through the crease, it came to forward Mikael Granlund, who rushed it up the ice. Granlund deked as if he was going to pass the puck off, but instead slotted a wrist shot between the legs of Sweden goalie Linus Ullmark for the game-winner.

All four teams will be in competition again on Monday as Finland meets Canada and Sweden clashes with USA to wrap up the round robin phase.

Elbahrain.net Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to “finish the job” against Iran with the support of US President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu was speaking alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is visiting Israel in his first official trip to the region since assuming the role.

“Over the last 16 months, Israel has dealt a mighty blow to Iran’s terror axis. Under the strong leadership of President Trump… I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job,” Netanyahu said.

Rubio said that there “could never be a nuclear Iran.”

“It’s important to constantly point that whether we talk about Hamas or we talk about Hezbollah, we talk about violence in the West Bank, or we talk about destabilization in Syria, or we talk about any of these issues the militias in Iraq, they all have behind them one common theme – Iran,” Rubio added.

“That must be addressed,” he added.

US intelligence agencies recently warned both the Biden and Trump administrations that Israel will likely attempt to strike facilities key to Iran’s nuclear program this year, according to sources familiar with the assessments.

Israel’s willingness to use military force runs counter to President Donald Trump’s current desire for a peace deal with Tehran, and the recent US intelligence cautions that major strikes on Iranian nuclear sites could increase the risk of a wider war breaking out in the Middle East.

Overall, Israel is also still pursuing the broader goal of causing regime change in Iran, one of the recent US intelligence reports says.

The Israeli leader said he has a common strategy with Trump on Gaza and its future, vowing to open the “gates of hell” if all hostages are not released.

Trump this month proposed the US taking ownership of Gaza and moving Palestinians out of the devastated strip permanently, triggering a storm of protest.

“It may have shocked and surprised many,” Rubio said in reference to the plan, “but what cannot continue is the same cycle where we repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place.”

Netanyahu said on Sunday he knew about the plan before the US president announced it.

“This didn’t come as a surprise, we knew about it and discussed it beforehand,” the Israeli prime minister said.

Speaking to leaders of American Jewish organizations, Netanyahu said the plan was “the only viable plan to enable a different future for the people of Gaza, for Israel, and for the region.”

The head of Gaza’s Government Media Office Salama Maroof criticized the US decision to send the heavy bombs. “Instead of sending food, medicine, water, or shelter and building materials to the victims in the Gaza Strip, even with a humanitarian motive, the United States of America, the first democracy in the world and a pioneer of human rights, as it describes itself, supports the criminal occupation army with 1,800 heavy MK bombs,” Maroof said.

Rubio landed in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, where he was greeted by Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on the first leg of his trip to the region. He met with Netanyahu at his office in Jerusalem Sunday morning.

It comes a day after three Israeli hostages were released by Hamas as part of a US-mediated ceasefire agreement, although the fragile nature of the truce was underlined again Sunday when Hamas said an Israeli strike killed three police officers in Gaza, in what it called a “serious violation.”

And amid uncertainty about the future of the deal, Netanyahu’s office said he would discuss its second phase with his political-security cabinet on Monday. Meanwhile, an Israeli delegation will go to Cairo Monday for discussions on phase one of the deal.

After a phone call with Netanyahu and top officials from Egypt and Qatar – the other mediating countries – US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News on Sunday that he was confident phase two of the deal would take place.

Phase two of the ceasefire would include the return of 19 Israel Defense Forces soldiers, whom the US believes to be alive, as well as others, including American citizen Edan Alexander.

Before his meeting with Netanyahu, Secretary Rubio attended mass at the historic Church of the Holy Sepulchre, according to a State Department official.

Due to record-high

Due to record-high cocoa prices, chocolate prices are up 20% for Valentine’s Day.

This Valentine’s Day, it will be more difficult to find delicious chocolate offers. Actually, the price of chocolate may leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

According to David Branch, sector manager at Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute. Because the price of cocoa has more than quadrupled since the beginning of 2024.

Expect prices for chocolate delicacies to climb by about 10–20% this Valentine’s Day compared to last year.”

In December, the price of cocoa reached a record high of $12,646 per metric ton. Production has been hindered by the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease and years of unfavorable weather in. Due to record-high cocoa-producing region of West Africa.

According to the Producer Price Index. The cost of making chocolate has gone up by about 167% in the past two years.

“It is a complete mess,” Branch remarked.

In consequence, chocolate prices have increased at retailers.

According to Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt’s 2024 report, the year was “difficult. Marked by record-high cocoa costs, hefty price rises, and weakening customer mood.”

According to the corporation, it increased its prices and anticipates doing so again in 2025. Lindt Valentine’s heart chocolate candy truffles are $21.99. A 5.7-ounce package costs that much.

According to Hershey’s, the price of chocolate at the store on. Valentine’s Day will not reflect the price of cocoa today because it purchases it almost a year in advance. The price of a 1-pound Hershey’s chocolate bar is $14.99.

“To make sure we provide a range of goods that fit the appropriate occasions and price points for our customers. We continue to work with our retail partners,” Hershey’s said in a statement.

In the business’s 2024 fourth quarter financial report, Dirk Van de Put, CEO of Mondelez International, the parent company of Cadbury and Toblerone, referred to this year’s “record cocoa cost escalation.”

By purchasing chocolate manufactured with cocoa powder, consumers may be able to avoid paying higher rates. A higher amount of cocoa is found in more expensive chocolate.

In a study outlining this year’s costs, Wells Fargo stated.

“Think about shopping for sweet delights that contain less cocoa; this could mean going for the non-cocoa items or grabbing an item that has a filler and is not 100% cocoa, which would make it cheaper.”

According to Branch, the market’s estimate of the value of the upcoming cocoa harvest, known as cocoa futures, has increased by 143% in the past year.

In West Africa, the future shifts every time it rains. People are keeping a careful eye on it. It is simply insane. “This exchange has a lot of money on the table,” Branch stated.

The Intercontinental Exchange said that cocoa futures on Monday were trading at less than $10,000 per metric ton. However, Branch cautions that those costs are subject to sudden changes.

“With rising demand continuing to rise, there is still a lot of concern in the market as to whether the harvests will be sufficient to eliminate this shortfall,” he stated.

According to Branch, 70% of the world’s cocoa is produced in Ghana and Ivory Coast. However, because to disease and erratic weather, production in these West African nations has became less consistent over time.

According to Branch, this creates chances for other nations, such as Ecuador, to participate in the cocoa industry.

The catch is that after planting, it takes four to six years for a cocoa tree to be harvested.

Branch stated, “(It’s) a long-term answer, but not an immediate fix.”

Elbahrain.net Two years ago, two days of protests were enough to force Georgia’s government into an embarrassing U-turn. It had tried to introduce a “foreign agents” bill – which critics likened to legislation passed by President Vladimir Putin to stifle dissent in Russia – but backed down after fierce demonstrations sparked by the bill’s first reading.

“We fought it off like hell, used every instrument at our disposal,” recalls Ana Tavazde, one of tens of thousands who demonstrated against the bill, which would have forced media and other organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence” or be fined.

But the protesters’ victory was short-lived. The government revived the bill last year – and this time would not back down. The parliament approved it in May, despite huge opposition on the streets.

After the ruling Georgian Dream party – which declared victory anew after a disputed election in October – delayed the country’s long-awaited European Union membership bid until 2028, Tavazde was one of thousands of Georgians to take to the streets once again. The government invested in water cannons, according to local media reports, and started making mass arrests.

Since then, Georgia’s government has shown little sign of shifting its course, which many in the former Soviet country feel is taking the country back into the Kremlin’s orbit. And with the protest movement now approaching its third month, it is not clear what can break the stalemate.

Multiple opposition politicians have been publicly beaten, some in broad daylight. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested, of whom more than 300 allege suffering beatings, torture and other ill-treatment at the hands of law enforcement, according to Amnesty International. The police’s presence at rallies has been bolstered by masked men, who do not wear uniforms displaying their department and rank.

The Georgian government has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on the allegations of ill treatment of protesters and the introduction of new laws restricting the right to protest.

Georgian Dream has been in control since 2012, but protesters told CNN that recent years have felt like a rapid shift toward authoritarian rule.

Lincoln Mitchell, a political analyst who teaches in Columbia University’s political science department and is a former adviser to Georgian Dream, agreed. “As late as February 2024, you could have said: At the end of the day, they’re not really doing anything about democratic reforms, but they’re kind of leaving the people alone enough that they’ll win the election,” he told CNN.

“Today, almost a year later, you would say this has become a really nasty authoritarian regime.”

Zelensky warns days of guaranteed US support for Europe are over, as Kellogg says Europeans won’t be at table for peace talks

Ukraine’s president has warned the days of guaranteed US support for Europe are over, as he urged the continent to band together to create a united army and foreign policy.

Volodymyr Zelensky spoke in a week when a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump raised fears in Kyiv that it was being frozen out of negotiations, with the White House also downplaying the prospects of Ukraine joining NATO.

“A few days ago, President Trump told me about his conversation with Putin. Not once did he mention that America needs Europe at that table. That says a lot,” Zelensky said in a robust speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on stage at the security conference, Zelensky conceded that he was “not happy” that Trump’s first call was with Putin. The Ukrainian leader warned that it would be even “more dangerous” however if Trump meets with the Russian president before him.

Trump hasn’t provided any commitment to meeting Zelensky first, the Ukrainian president told CNN. The US president did however understand the need to “meet urgently” to discuss “concrete plans” to end the war, Zelensky added.

Push for a European army
The Ukrainian leader spoke the day after US Vice President JD Vance eviscerated America’s European allies at the security conference, in a speech that barely touched on the issue of Ukraine and a potential settlement with Russia.

“Yesterday here in Munich, the US vice president made it clear – decades of the old relationship between Europe and America are ending. From now on, things will be different, and Europe needs to adjust to that,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president called for a united European army, as he acknowledged that the United States may not continue to provide military support as it once did.

“Let’s be honest – now we can’t rule out the possibility that America might say ‘No’ to Europe on issues that threaten it. Many leaders have talked about Europe that needs its own military – an Army of Europe,” he said.

Later in his speech, Zelensky accused Putin of playing a “game” by pursuing one-on-one talks with Trump and leaving Ukraine out of negotiations.

“Next Putin will try to get the US president standing on Red Square on May 9 this year, not as a respected leader, but as a prop in his own performance, we don’t need that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zelensky also said he hadn’t let one of his ministers sign the first draft of an agreement with the US that would open up Ukraine’s mineral deposits in return for future military aid from Washington DC.

“The agreement is not ready to protect us or our interests,” he told reporters at the conference, noting that he did not see how the draft agreement provided security guarantees for Ukraine.

‘I told Trump that Putin is afraid of him’
In an exchange which prompted laughter from the crowd, Zelensky also admitted to having told Trump that Putin is afraid of him.

“I told Trump that Putin is afraid of him and he heard me. And now Putin knows,” Zelensky said wryly.

The Ukrainian president added that Putin appears to be the biggest influence on NATO and reiterated that peace talks on ending the conflict could not go ahead without Kyiv’s involvement.

“Right now, the most influential member of NATO seems to be Putin – because his whims have the power to block NATO decisions,” Zelensky said

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also poured cold water on the suggestion of NATO membership for Ukraine, and said that a return to the country’s pre-2014 borders, before Russia invaded Crimea and eastern Ukraine, “is an unrealistic objective.”

Following Zelensky’s speech on Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Europe “urgently needs a plan of action” concerning Ukraine, or risk other global players deciding its future.

“This plan must be prepared now. There’s no time to lose,” Tusk said in a post on X.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also poured cold water on the suggestion of NATO membership for Ukraine, and said that a return to the country’s pre-2014 borders, before Russia invaded Crimea and eastern Ukraine, “is an unrealistic objective.”

Following Zelensky’s speech on Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Europe “urgently needs a plan of action” concerning Ukraine, or risk other global players deciding its future.

“This plan must be prepared now. There’s no time to lose,” Tusk said in a post on X.

Elbahrain.net Buried deep in a Welsh landfill, beneath layers of years-old garbage, there is a hard drive that holds the key to almost $800 million in bitcoin – or so James Howells believes, after accidentally throwing the drive away in 2013.

And now, after years of battling the local authority in court to retrieve the hard drive, Howells has come up with a new plan: to simply buy the landfill.

“Am considering purchasing a landfill site. Funding secured,” he wrote Thursday on X, echoing comments by him that were widely reported in the UK media on Monday, though he didn’t say who was providing the funding.

CNN has reached out to Howells for comment.

Howells has tried almost everything to access the Docksway Landfill in Newport, a city 12 miles (19 kilometers) northeast of the Welsh capital, Cardiff, including offering Newport City Council more than $70 million in 2021 for permission to dig up the site.

His latest plan comes after a British High Court judge stopped his case from going to trial, issuing a judgment in January that dismissed his attempts to force the council to allow him to search the landfill.

Howells accidentally threw out that crucial hard drive in August 2013 when he was clearing out his house, thinking it was a blank drive that contained no data. He put it in a trash bag that he left in the hallway for his then-partner to take to the garbage dump, before he realised, as the value of the bitcoin rose, that he had disposed of the wrong one.

Since then, the value of the bitcoin Howells says is loaded onto the hard drive has skyrocketed from around $9 million to almost $800 million, as prices of cryptocurrency have soared in recent years

Without knowing the private key, Howells can’t access the bitcoin he mined all those years ago, when the cryptocurrency was little known beyond the tech world.

Newport City Council, which plans to close the landfill site sometime in the 2025/26 financial year, according to local media, has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment. It told CNN in 2021 that it is not permitted to excavate the site.

“The council has told Mr Howells on a number of occasions that excavation is not possible under our licencing permit and excavation itself would have a huge environmental impact on the surrounding area,” a spokeswoman said at the time.

“The cost of digging up the landfill, storing and treating the waste could run into millions of pounds – without any guarantee of either finding it or it still being in working order.”