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Canada dusts off sanctions law on corrupt officials, joins allies to target 7 abroad

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada is using a rarely invoked sanctions law that targets corrupt office holders to join peer countries in taking aim against officials in Russia, Iran and Myanmar.The sanctions target officials whom Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. accuse of having a role in long-standing human-rights violations.Those listed for sanctions include two senior Iranian officials accused of overseeing the torture of Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in custody in 2003.Canada has also joined its allies in sanctioning four Russians accused of helping a violent anti-gay crackdown in Chechnya, such as by overseeing the kidnapping and torture of LGBTQ+ people.Those sanctioned also include Myanmar’s commander-in-chief, who oversaw a coup d’état against a democratically elected government in 2021.The new sanctions come under the Magnitsky Act, legislation aimed at punishing corrupt officials that has only been used twice since its passage 2018.Senators have argued that...

Council to again consider renaming stadium at Centennial Park after Rob Ford

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

Toronto city council will again consider the previously rejected idea of renaming the stadium at Centennial Park ‘Rob Ford Stadium’ in honour of the controversial late former mayor.The item, which will be considered by council at its upcoming meeting on Wednesday, was put forward by councillor Paul Ainslie and seconded by councillor Shelley Carroll.The motion outlines Ford’s considerable career in municipal politics, serving on Toronto City Council for nearly 15 years, with 10 as councillor for Etobicoke North, before serving as mayor for four unforgettable years.His tenure as mayor was marked by controversy as he dealt with addiction issues that seeped into the public eye. At the same time he was beloved by many who applauded his refreshing frugality and dedication to responding to his constituents’ issues, however minor.He also patrolled the sidelines for 10 years at Don Bosco as football coach. Related: Video: Rob Ford’s love of sports, especial...

Extremely rare white leucistic alligator is born at a Florida reptile park

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — An extremely rare white leucistic alligator has been born at a Florida reptile park.The 19.2-inch (49 cm) female slithered out of its shell and into the history books as one of only seven known leucistic alligators, Gatorland Orlando said Thursday. Three of the seven are at the park, officials there said.“This is beyond rare. It is absolutely extraordinary,” Mark McHugh, president and CEO of Gatorland, said in a statement.The park is asking for the public’s help in the naming the alligator, which is descended from a nest of leucistic alligators discovered in the swamps of Louisiana in 1987. The blue-eyed newborn is the first solid white alligator ever recorded to have descended from those original alligators, McHugh said.Leucistic alligators are the rarest genetic variation in the American alligator. They differ from albino alligators, which have pink eyes and a complete loss of pigment, according to Gatorland.Park visitors will be able to see the leucis...

Scottish court upholds UK decision to block Scotland’s landmark gender-recognition bill

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Scotland’s highest civil court on Friday upheld the British government’s move to block a landmark gender-recognition law passed by the Scottish parliament, underscoring the growing divide over local control of legislation in the nations of the United Kingdom.The ruling by the Court of Session in Edinburgh is a setback for Scotland’s semi-autonomous government, which overwhelmingly approved a bill allowing anyone 16 or older to change the gender designation on their identity documents by self-declaration, removing the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.The legislation set Scotland apart from the rest of the U.K., where the minimum age is 18 and a medical diagnosis is required.Britain’s central government blocked the law, invoking for the first time a section of the 25-year-old act that gave the Scottish parliament control over most of its own affairs. Section 35 gives U.K. authorities the power to prevent the implementation of measures that interfere with ...

2 nurses, medical resident injured in attack at New Jersey hospital, authorities say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

NEWARK N.J. (AP) — Two nurses and a medical resident were stabbed Friday inside a New Jersey pediatric intensive care unit, suffering cuts, and a woman has been arrested and charged in the attack, authorities said. It unfolded about 7 a.m. Friday at Newark Beth Israel Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, arising from a “domestic dispute” involving two visitors to the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit, according to a statement posted on social media by the hospital.Firdousi Abdul-Hakim, 37, then attacked the hospital workers, who are in stable condition, according to Fritz Fragé, Newark’s public safety director. Abdul-Hakim faces aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes charges. Abdul-Hakim was arrested immediately, and no patients or family members were injured, the hospital said.The injured nurses and the medical resident were not identified. The 655-bed facility is a teaching hospital with more than 800 doctors a...

Peel dissolution will leave Brampton with $72 million deficit every year: new report

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

As the Ford government considers whether to reverse its decision to dissolve Peel Region, there is a new, yet-to-be-released report that shows breaking up Peel would have severe financial consequences for Brampton.It is being described by CityNews’ source as “the messiest divorce you’ve ever seen.”Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has been publicly lobbying to try and stop the break up of Peel since it was first announced earlier this year by the province.Last week, he released data from an updated Deloitte report that he maintains concludes if Peel were dissolved, property taxes would rise by 17 per cent in Mississauga, 34 per cent in Brampton and 256 per cent in Caledon.For this new report, Brown hired KPMG to examine the consequences for Brampton. Using publicly available data, it concludes that if Brampton becomes an independent municipality, it would have a budget hole of nearly $72 million, every year.Brown tells CityNews he hasn’t seen even seen the report ...

Between burger bites, Christmas card-writing and constant voting, MPs lose a work day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

OTTAWA — Members of Parliament have now lost an entire day of work in the House of Commons as they continue with a voting marathon forced by the Conservatives, after sneaking in bites of burgers and Christmas card-writing overnight.The non-stop voting on 135 spending measures, which is happening both in person and online, began at 6 p.m. on Thursday and has pushed other agenda items off the table until next week. Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer says his party will not let up unless the government removes federal carbon pricing from all home heating, farmers’ activities and First Nations.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat in the House overnight for the votes, and when asked today whether he’d “axe the tax,” as Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre puts it, he said he wouldn’t. Government House leader Karina Gould says what the Tories are doing is silly and will not accomplish anything.By the time voting is expected to end this evening, MPs will have been a...

U.S. sanctions officials from Afghanistan to China on declaration of human rights anniversary

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the U.S. on Friday imposed sanctions on 20 people, from Afghanistan to China to Haiti to Iran, accused of violating human rights in their respective nations. Included in the sanctions are two Afghanistan government ministers accused of repressing women and girls, by restricting access to secondary education; two Iranian intelligence officers who the Treasury says plot violence against Iranian regime opponents beyond the nation’s borders and two Chinese officials accused of torturing Uyghur ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region of China. “Our commitment to upholding and defending human rights is sacrosanct,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. “Abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms—wherever they occur in the world—strike at the heart of our shared humanity and our collective conscience,” she said. She said the agency’s human rights sanctions “underscore...

French actor Gerard Depardieu is under scrutiny over sexual remarks and gestures in new documentary

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French actor Gerard Depardieu’s behavior toward women came under renewed scrutiny in France after a documentary showed him repeatedly making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea. The footage, filmed by a professional crew that covered Depardieu’s visit during the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s formation, was included in an investigative documentary that aired Thursday on national TV channel France 2. It had never been shown before to the public. Some excerpts quickly went viral on the social media.Depardieu, 74, is among France’s most well-known stars. He was put under investigation in December 2020 for rape and sexual assault, reportedly at his Paris home, following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould in 2018. The investigation is ongoing.Depardieu has denied any criminal conduct.In the video recorded in North Korea by an unnamed video production company, Depardieu can be seen making groaning sounds and sexual comments in front o...

Pope Francis makes his first public appearances since being stricken by bronchitis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Thursday made his first public appearance outdoors since being stricken by bronchitis two weeks ago, which forced him to cancel a planned trip to the COP-28 climate conference in Dubai.The pope has been steadily recovering, and for the Dec. 8 holiday devoted to Mary kept a traditional appointment to pray at the Spanish Steps. He arrived in a black car, and blessed a crowd of onlookers before taking a seat in a chair facing a statue of the Madonna.The pontiff prayed for Mary’s mercy for “all the people oppressed by injustice and poverty, tried by war,’’ adding a special prayer for “the tormented Ukrainian people,” as well as Palestinians and Israelis “who have fallen back into a spiral of violence.”Francis also addressed violence against women, a topic that has resonated in Italy in recent weeks following the killing last month of a 22-year-old female student in northern Italy. “Mary, we need you as a woman, to entrust all of the women who have suffered vi...