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3 Kosovo police officers injured during arrest of alleged organizer of Serb protests

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:20:08 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Three police officers in Kosovo were injured during the arrest of an alleged organizer of Serb protests in the country’s north, including one in which 30 NATO-led peacekeepers were injured, the country’s interior minister said Tuesday.Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said one of the heads of Civil Protection, an organization operating in Serb-majority areas of northern Kosovo, was arrested in the city of Mitrovica. The Kosovar government has accused the group of engaging in criminal activity which “for years has terrorized our citizens.”The minister identified the person arrested as Milun Milenkovic-Llune. After he was taken into custody, a small group of Serbs gathered in Mitrovica hurled objects at police, according to Kosovar media.Petar Petkovic, director of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija, denounced the arrest of “a prominent fighter for Serbian national interests and Serb’s rights” while “surrounded by eigh...

Mayor of Mexican border city of Tijuana living at army base after receiving threats

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:20:08 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The mayor of the Mexican border city of Tijuana said she has decided to live at an army base for her own safety, after she received threats.Mayor Montserrat Caballero announced the decision after confirming that police had found seven dead bodies stuffed in a pickup truck on Monday.Police said they found the pickup truck parked at a gas station in Tijuana with the doors open; on the back seat of the cab lay a body wrapped in a blanket. Hidden under tires and wooden boards were six more bodies.“I have received threats, so I am going to live at the base,” Caballero said. Local media reported the army base is on the southern edge of Tijuana, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the city hall.Caballero did not say who the threats had come from. The Tijuana city government said in a statement the threats were related to her administration’s “strong results in weapons seizures and arrest of violent suspects.”It is well known that several drug cartels are waging turf ...

At least 103 wedding guests killed when boat capsizes in northern Nigeria

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:20:08 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A boat returning from a wedding capsized in northern Nigeria, killing at least 103 people, including children, officials said Tuesday. Residents and police were still searching for dozens of people who were on the overcrowded boat that capsized early Monday on the Niger River in the Pategi district of Kwara state, which is 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Ilorin, the state capital, according to police spokesman Okasanmi Ajayi. He said 100 people had been rescued so far.Most of those who drowned were relatives from several villages who attended the wedding together and partied late into the night, according to Abdul Gana Lukpada, a local chief. They arrived at the ceremony on motorcycles but had to leave on the locally made boat after a downpour flooded the road, he said.“The boat was overloaded and close to 300 persons were in it. While they were coming, the boat hit a big log inside the water and split into two,” said Lukpada.The wedding was held in the village...

Police investigating after missing Toronto man found dead in garbage bin

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:20:08 GMT

Toronto police are investigating a suspicious death after a man that had been reported missing was found dead in a garbage bin last week.First responders were called to the East Liberty Street and Western Battery Road area in the city’s downtown core on Thursday, June 8.Toronto Fire Services confirmed with CityNews that the unit was called for hazardous material in a garbage compactor room at 54 East Liberty, but no medical assistance was required.On Tuesday, police confirmed an investigation has commenced into the suspicious death of a man, identified as 53-year-old Reeyaz Habib of Toronto.A missing persons news release was issued last Friday that mentioned Habib had not been seen or heard from since June 5 and that police were concerned for his safety.His last point of contact occurred in the Western Battery Road and East Liberty Street area. Investigators are now looking into Habib’s activities between June 4 and June 8.Anyone with information or video from the area o...

Toronto man wanted for trying to run over uniformed officer with car

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:20:08 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a man who is accused of trying to run down a uniformed police officer.Just before 2 p.m. on Monday, police responded to a person with a gun call in the Mount Pleasant Road and Eglinton Avenue East area.It’s alleged the suspect met the victim in an underground garage and threatened to harm them and their family.As the suspect was driving away, it’s alleged he drove at a uniformed police officer. He missed the cop but crashed into a marked police car and two other parked vehicles.The uniformed officer was not injured.Police said 22-year-old Mcaium Aarons of Toronto is wanted on numerous charges, including failing to stop for police, attempted murder, dangerous operation of a vehicle, uttering threats to cause death and failing to comply with a release order.Aarons is described as five-foot-ten, around 200 pounds, with black dreadlocks.

Rain should help Quebec firefighting effort as more than 7,200 people still evacuated

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:20:08 GMT

MONTREAL — Rain in the forecast and the pending arrival of dozens of foreign firefighters raised hopes that Quebec’s more than 7,000 fire evacuees would be able to return home in the coming days, the province’s public security minister said Tuesday.François Bonnardel told reporters that rain showers and cooler temperatures were expected to move into northwestern Quebec, where powerful forest fires have threatened the towns of Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Normétal. The rain should provide some relief to firefighters over the next three or four days — and hopefully bring good news for displaced residents eager to return home, Bonnardel said.“People want a little hope,” he told reporters Tuesday in Montreal. “I’m going to try to give them some by telling them that with the weather forecasts for the next hours, we should be able to give you good news in the next 24, 48 hours.” He said there were slightly more than 7,200 evacuees as of Tuesday morning...

Air Canada pilots kickstart bargaining, hot on heels of WestJet crew wage gains

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:20:08 GMT

MONTREAL — Air Canada pilots have kickstarted the bargaining process with their employer in a move that comes days after their fellow union members at WestJet ratified a new collective agreement.Representing about 4,500 employees, the Air Line Pilots Association’s Air Canada contingent said it has provided a bargaining notice to company management, the first step toward hashing out a new deal.The decision comes two weeks after the pilots’ group invoked a clause to end its 10-year collective agreement a year early and launch negotiations for a new one.Key issues include a widening wage gap between Canadian pilots and their U.S. counterparts as well as job security and career progression, said Charlene Hudy, who heads the contingent.“The Air Canada pilots have not been in a meaningful negotiating position since 2014, and in these negotiations we are striving for a historic contract for our Air Canada pilots to address this growing disparity between the United States and Ca...

Blue Jays’ Belt to IL, Jansen activated ahead of pivotal series in Baltimore

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:20:08 GMT

The Toronto Blue Jays have placed first baseman Brandon Belt on the injured list with hamstring discomfort and activated catcher Danny Jansen in a flurry of moves on Tuesday.Belt left Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Twins with the injury, which was later confirmed to be a hamstring ailment.Belt tested out his injured hamstring on the field in Baltimore before the roster move was made. The 35-year-old has been one of Toronto’s hottest hitters of late, slashing .296/.406/.667 with two home runs and four RBIs in June.ROSTER MOVES: ????INF Brandon Belt (left hamstring inflammation) placed on 10-day IL, retroactive to June 11???? RHP Adam Cimber placed on Paternity List???? C Danny Jansen reinstated from 10-day IL and will be active tonight???? INF Ernie Clement and RHP Bowden Francis recalled… pic.twitter.com/cosDMRbwmb— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 13, 2023Jansen hasn’t played since May 24 after being placed on the IL with an injured groin. He’...

Improving transparency ‘not a priority’ for the Trudeau government: info watchdog

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:20:08 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government’s key transparency provision has steadily eroded to the point where it no longer serves its intended purpose, says information commissioner Caroline Maynard.In her annual report to Parliament tabled Tuesday, Maynard said chronic issues continue to plague the access-to-information system, with no solutions in sight. For a $5 fee, Canadians can use the access law to request federal records, from briefing notes and reports to emails and invoices. However, requesters have long complained the system is clumsy, slow and full of loopholes that allow government agencies to refuse to release information. Maynard, an ombudsperson for users of the law, noted that despite calls for meaningful change, a federal review concluded with a report last December that outlined no firm commitments and proposed no legislative change. The commissioner, who took office five years ago, said money to bolster the system has evaporated, commitments to transparency have vani...

Report: Canada’s Atiba Hutchinson retiring from club, international football

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:20:08 GMT

Canada men’s soccer team captain Atiba Hutchinson is retiring from club football and will likely make his final international appearance at this month’s Nations League Finals, according to a report by Joshua Kloke of The Athletic.Hutchinson, 40, has made 104 appearances for his country, including at the World Cup in Qatar this past November where he was the oldest outfield player. The tournament marked just the second time the Canadian men had qualified for the event.The veteran midfielder, who was born in Brampton, Ont., has played in the Turkish league with Istanbul club Besiktas since 2013, but he made just five appearances this past season for the team, scoring once.His club career has seen him play in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, in addition to Turkey and his time in Canada, for a total of 568 games.