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Around 70 Canadians stuck in Gaza, government officials say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:49:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Around 70 Canadians are stuck in the Gaza Strip and have asked for help, federal government officials said Wednesday, but the Canadian government has no way of reaching them without a humanitarian corridor.For Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families seeking to leave Israel as violent clashes continue, military flights from Tel Aviv to Athens could begin as early as Thursday evening. Officials who spoke with reporters on background Wednesday afternoon said approximately 1,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank have asked for consular help and about 700 of them want to get on a flight out. The government has taken the highly unusual step of offering military flights even though the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv was still open. Speaking earlier Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the government felt it needed to step in because many commercial flights were cancelled or delayed.“Usually when the...

Ex-Quebec junior hockey league players plead guilty to sexual assault of teen

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:49:00 GMT

QUEBEC — Two former Quebec junior hockey players have pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a minor in June 2021.Massimo Siciliano and Nicolas Daigle, both 21, are former Victoriaville Tigres players who were charged with the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl who was an employee at a Quebec City-area hotel where the team was staying during the 2021 playoffs.The assault occurred on June 6, 2021, as the team celebrated at the hotel after winning the league championship in Quebec City.Siciliano and Daigle both pleaded guilty today to sexual assault, while Daigle also pleaded guilty to two charges of filming and exhibiting a video of the act.The pair were charged in October 2021 and their trial was scheduled to begin this week before Quebec court Judge Thomas Jacques.The case will return to court on Oct. 20 to set a date for sentencing.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2023.The Canadian Press

Families in Israel and abroad wait in agony for word of their loved ones taken hostages by militants

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:49:00 GMT

TEL AVIV (AP) — One of those taken hostage is a grandmother who learned Arabic in hopes of building bridges with her neighbors. Others include 11 members of an extended family, one an elderly man in a wheelchair who requires hospital care. Still another is a nurse who delivered thousands of babies over the years to parents both Israeli and Palestinian.All are among roughly 150 people abducted by Hamas militants early Saturday during sweeping raids on Israeli towns and villages near the heavily fortified border with the Gaza Strip. They include citizens of Brazil, Britain, Italy, the Philippines and the United States, as well as many Israelis. The number of hostages, provided by Hamas and Israeli officials, has not been independently confirmed.Militants have vowed to start killing hostages if Israel’s airstrikes target civilians inside Gaza without first providing a warning allowing them to flee. It has placed the families and friends of those taken in a terrifying and desperate situ...

What was Hamas thinking? For over three decades, it has had the same brutal idea of victory

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:49:00 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — In the three and a half decades since it began as an underground militant group, Hamas has pursued a consistently violent strategy aimed at rolling back Israeli rule — and it has made steady progress despite bringing enormous suffering to both sides of the conflict.But its stunning incursion into Israel over the weekend marks its deadliest gambit yet, and the already unprecedented response from Israel threatens to bring an end to its 16-year rule over the Gaza Strip.Israel’s retaliation for the Hamas assault, in which over 1,200 people were killed in Israel and dozens dragged into Gaza as hostages, will likely bring a far greater magnitude of death and destruction to Gaza, where 2.3 million Palestinians have nowhere to flee and where 1,100 have already been killed.Hamas officials say they are prepared for any scenario, including a drawn-out war, and that allies like Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah will join the battle if Israel goes too far.“I don’t t...

‘Turtleboy’ blogger charged with witness intimidation in murder case in Massachusetts

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:49:00 GMT

STOUGHTON, Mass. (AP) — A confrontational blogger known as “Turtleboy” was charged Wednesday with witness intimidation and conspiracy related to a criminal case against a woman accused of running over and killing her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, with her vehicle.Aidan Timothy Kearney wore a hoody emblazoned with the message “Free Karen Read” when he was led handcuffed into a courthouse to be arraigned on multiple counts of intimidation of a witness, juror or law enforcement official, and a single count of conspiracy.Kearney, who pleaded not guilty, was released on personal recognizance — with a requirement that he not have contact with people tied to Read’s murder case.Saying his client “vehemently denies” the accusations, Kearney’s lawyer told the judge Wednesday that Kearney’s opinions were protected by the First Amendment.The charges in Stoughton District Court stemmed from Kearney’s advocacy on behalf of Read, who’s accused of running o...

Purchase of old ship yard from port operator put on hold amid questions from state financing panel

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:49:00 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Plans by the Port of South Louisiana to purchase what was once a major New Orleans area shipyard for construction of military vessels have been delayed. The port announced in January its intent to purchase the old Avondale Shipyard site from the current owner, port terminal operator T. Parker Host. However, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported Wednesday that the purchase has been put off after port officials faced questions last month from the state Bond Commission. Members of the commission, which must approve government debt, had noted that the port had not provided detailed accounts of Host’s revenue at Avondale for previous years. Host bought the site in 2018, roughly four years after the shipyard that once employed thousands was shuttered. The proposed purchase would require more than $400 million in public financing.“With the full cooperation of the seller, we believe the delay is warranted to thoroughly consider points raised by the state Bo...

Leaks of secret information ‘happen often,’ lawyer for ex-RCMP official tells court

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:49:00 GMT

OTTAWA — A lawyer for a former RCMP intelligence official accused of breaching Canada’s secrets law is suggesting federal leaks of sensitive information happen often.Mark Ertel, who represents Cameron Jay Ortis, made the comments while cross-examining RCMP Sgt. Peter Neily, who took part in the police force’s investigation of Ortis.Ortis, 51, is charged with violating the Security of Information Act by allegedly revealing secrets to three individuals in 2015 and trying to do so in a fourth instance, as well as breach of trust and a computer-related offence.He has pleaded not guilty to all charges in Ontario Superior Court.Neily told the court today about how he personally followed up with business people who allegedly received offers of secret information from an unknown sender.The Crown is trying to make the case that Ortis was behind the overtures, ultimately breaching the Security of Information Act.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2023.T...

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy joins a meeting of global defense leaders to make a direct plea for military aid

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:49:00 GMT

For the first time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined a meeting of more than 50 defense leaders from around the world, making a personal pitch Wednesday for military aid in the face of lagging political support in the United States and new pressure on allies to send weapons to bolster Israel’s war with Hamas.His presence underscored growing concerns about cracks in what has been staunch international backing for Kyiv in its war against Russia’s invasion, and worries that Ukrainian forces haven’t made measurable progress in the counteroffensive as winter closes in.Asked about concerns that Ukraine could get less military support because of the Mideast conflict, Zelenskyy said there is a “very understandable volume” that the U.S. and Europe can provide. Zelenskyy said he has asked that question himself, adding he thinks nobody really knows but he is still assuming U.S. and European support.As for the Israel complication, “of course, everybody’s afraid, and I t...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits fire-ravaged parts of Northwest Territories

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:49:00 GMT

HAY RIVER, N.W.T. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has begun a tour of parts of the Northwest Territories that were ravaged by a record wildfire season.Trudeau, along with local politicians, walked up residential driveways in the community of Enterprise to see the burned-out remains of homes and melted vehicles.Chaal Cadieux, a foreman with the hamlet of about 100 people, told the prime minister that everyone got out safely.A fast-moving wildfire in August tore through Enterprise, destroying nearly all its homes and structures.About 20 people have returned, but many are staying elsewhere in the territory and other parts of Canada.Cadieux says his family is now renting a place about 40 kilometres away in Hay River, where Trudeau is set to visit later in the day.As Trudeau and Cadieux walked over to a charred skidoo trailer and swing set, Trudeau asked about something on the ground. Cadieux said it was for a zip line.“I know that hitch,” Trudeau said Wednesday.The territory saw nearly ...

Major Canadian grocers won’t confirm discounts, price freezes feds promised last week

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:49:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Major grocers in Canada are not yet confirming whether they have committed to special promotions to stabilize grocery prices, as was recently promised by the federal government. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced last week that the grocers have presented initial plans to stabilize prices, which include discounts, price freezes and price-matching campaigns.The Canadian Press has reached out to the grocers —  Loblaw, Empire, Metro, Walmart and Costco — to confirm what exactly each of them has promised to do. Metro declined to comment, while Loblaw, Empire and Costco have not responded to requests for information. In a written response, a spokeswoman for Walmart Canada said the company plans to keep offering “every day low prices,” which refers to Walmart’s strategy of offering low prices on a regular basis, rather than on promotion only. “Last week, we shared with the government how we will continue to deliver every day low prices ...