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‘Freedom Convoy’ leaders’ criminal trial goes beyond mischief charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

OTTAWA — The leaders of the “Freedom Convoy” are preparing to answer to criminal charges next week for their part in the massive demonstration that gridlocked Ottawa last year — but the stakes go beyond the actions of two protest organizers.Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were among the most prominent organizers of the protest movement that rolled into Ottawa early in 2022, and they’re scheduled to be the first members of the organizing committee to stand trial on Sept. 5.But that is not where the scrutiny will stop.Lawrence Greenspon, the lawyer representing Lich, told the court earlier this summer that the focus should be on the case at hand.“This should not be the trial of the ‘Freedom Convoy,'” he said.Even so, University of Ottawa criminologist Michael Kempa said the attention paid to the trial could mean that Canadian institutions will also be judged, for how the case is handled and the precedents it could set.The organizers of the “Freed...

US OKs military aid to Taiwan under program usually reserved for sovereign nations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has approved the first-ever U.S. military transfer to Taiwan under a program generally reserved for assistance to sovereign, independent states.The State Department notified Congress of the sale on Wednesday. It said the material would “be used to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities.”The package is modest — only $80 million of what Congress had set aside as a potential $2 billion — but the implications of using the so-called Foreign Military Financing program to provide it will likely infuriate China. Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province, has repeatedly not ruled out the use of force to reunite it with the mainland, and vociferously protests all U.S. arms sales to the self-governing island. However, previous arms sales to Taiwan have been approved under other authorities that do not necessarily imply statehood. U.S. officials were quick to say that the provision of FMF funding to Taiwan did not represent a change i...

UN calls for $15.5 million for aftermath of clashes in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees appealed Wednesday for $15.5 million to respond to the fallout of clashes in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp earlier this month.The agency, known as UNRWA, said the money is needed to repair infrastructure damaged in the clashes in the Ein el-Hilweh camp, provide alternate schooling locations for children who will now be unable to use the schools in the camp, and hand cash assistance to people who have been displaced from their homes.Several days of street battles broke out in the camp between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement and Islamist groups in the camp after Fatah accused the Islamists of gunning down one of their military generals on July 30.While an uneasy truce has prevailed since Aug. 3, clashes could resume if the Islamist groups do not hand over the accused killers of the Fatah general, Mohammad “Abu Ashraf” al-Armoushi to the Lebanese judiciary as demanded by a committee ...

Air Canada slashing routes out of Calgary in face of ongoing pilot shortage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

CALGARY — Air Canada is slashing six major routes out of Calgary this winter, in part due to an industry-wide pilot shortage.The airline confirmed Wednesday it will no longer offer non-stop flights from Calgary to Ottawa, Halifax, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Cancun, or Frankfurt as of the end of October.Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said the cancellations are intended to improve the “overall operational stability” of the airline. “The industry-wide shortage of regional pilots is expected to have a prolonged impact on Air Canada’s regional network,” Fitzpatrick said in an email. “This has resulted in resource pressures as Air Canada has been required to operate certain routes with mainline aircraft that are normally served by its main regional partner.”He added the Montreal-based airline is facing pressure due to supply chain challenges that are making it more difficult for the airline to obtain parts and complete airplane maintenance on time.&...

Missouri Republican seeks exceptions to near-total abortion ban, including for rape and incest cases

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri Republican on Wednesday pitched exceptions to the state’s near-total abortion ban in cases of rape, incest and fatal abnormalities. It wasn’t immediately clear when a fetus would be considered viable under the plan. St. Louis resident Jamie Corley proposed the constitutional amendments to allow the exceptions. Another option would allow abortions until viability, though it’s unclear when a fetus would be considered viable under the proposal. Missouri bans almost all abortions. The only exception is for medical emergencies. Another group of activists have been campaigning to enshrine those rights in the Missouri Constitution. That effort has been tied up in court battles and fights with the Republican attorney general and secretary of state. Missouri is among many states turning to voters after the U.S. Supreme Court last year reversed Roe v. Wade and took away a nationwide right to abortion.Since then, the issue appeared on the ballot in s...

Journalist for top Polish paper allegedly denied medication in Belarusian prison

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A former correspondent for a top Polish newspaper has been denied life-saving heart medication in Belarusian prison, a representative of Belarus’ largest Polish community organization told reporters Tuesday.Andrzej Poczobut, 50, a former reporter with the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, has been put in solitary confinement with no access to lawyers or medical care, Marek Zaniewski from the Union of Poles in Belarus said at a press briefing. The country’s largest and most prominent rights group, Viasna, also reported on its website that Poczobut has been transferred to a one-man “punishment cell” at a prison in Navapolatsk, a city in northern Belarus, where he is serving an eight-year sentence. Poczobut, a prominent member of Belarus’ sizable Polish minority, was found guilty in February of “sowing discord” and harming the country’s national security. His closed trial in the Belarusian city of Grodno was widely seen as part of Minsk’s sweeping crackdown on opposi...

Critical fire weather in arrives Northern California’s interior; PG&E cuts power to 8,400 customers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gusty winds and low humidity brought high risk of wildfires to the interior of Northern California on Wednesday and a utility proactively cut electricity to approximately 8,400 customers to prevent potential ignitions in the blustery conditions.Red flag warnings for critical fire danger were to remain in effect until 8 p.m. in much of the Sacramento Valley and adjacent areas to the west, the National Weather Service said.Pacific Gas & Electric said that shortly before 2 a.m., it began public safety power shutoffs in small portions of eight counties.Customers in the “targeted high-fire-threat areas” were notified in advance Tuesday, the utility said in a statement.The gusty northerly winds were generated in the wake of a trough of low pressure that moved through Northern California on Tuesday, the weather service said.Public safety power shutoffs are intended to prevent fires from starting when power lines are downed by winds or struck by falling trees or win...

B.C. posts $704 million budget surplus for 2022-2023, say audited public accounts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

VICTORIA — An audited public accounting of British Columbia’s financial records shows the province posted a surplus of more than $700 million in the 2022-2023 budget year.Finance Minister Katrine Conroy outlined the province’s financial performance in the government’s public accounts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023.The government’s budget forecasts have been on an up-and-down ride for the past two years, with the 2022-2023 budget originally forecast in February last year to show a $5.5 billion deficit, before that was revised to a surplus of almost $6 billion, then downgraded to a $3.6 billion surplus.The final numbers now show a surplus of $704 million.Conroy forecast three years of consecutive budget deficits last March, with the current 2023-2024 budget projected to bring a deficit of $4.2 billion.She says the audited public accounts show B.C.’s economy grew by 3.6 per cent, tied for fourth highest among the provinces and equal to Canada...

Ontario housing minister violated Integrity Act in Greenbelt land swap: Integrity commissioner

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

Ontario’s housing minister violated ethics rules when the government removed land from the protected Greenbelt for development, the province’s integrity commissioner found in a report released Wednesday.Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake found Housing Minister Steve Clark violated two sections of the Members’ Integrity Act that governs politicians’ ethics, conflict of interest rules and insider information rules.Wake found Clark failed to oversee the land selection process, which led to the private interests of certain developers being furthered improperly.“I have recommended to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario that Minister Clark be reprimanded for his failure to comply with the Act,” Wake wrote.Clark did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Last year, the province took 7,400 acres of land out of the Greenbelt to build 50,000 homes and replaced it with about 9,400 acres elsewhere.That decision led to a public outcry as well as a ...

Dundee-Crown High School placed on lockdown due to 'swatting' call

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. — Dundee-Crown High School was placed on lockdown Wednesday morning due to a false "swatting" call, police said.In a message to parents and students, Supt. Susan Harkin said all students and staff are safe.Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain told WGN News they believe the incident was a false call, known as "swatting." The lockdown was implemented at around 9:10 a.m.The "swatting" call appeared to be originating out of California, according to investigators.Students and staff were outside of the building waiting for it to be cleared by police. Just after 12:05 p.m., the lockdown was lifted.Students and staff have been directed to return into the building."For the remainder of the day, Dundee-Crown will remain open in a shelter in place. Students will remain in the field house, cafeteria, or gym during this time. Support services will be provided to any student who may need them. Food services will be available for students. The school will dismiss at the normal time, ...