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‘Enough is enough’: Thorncliffe Park tenants call for May 1 rent strike

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:27 GMT

On Sunday afternoon, tenants of 71, 75 and 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive held a rally, kicking off what they describe as a rent strike as they plan to withhold rent starting May 1.The tenants contend that the building’s owners – Starlight Investments and PSP Investments – have been seeking rent increases of 4.2 per cent in 2022 and 5 per cent or more in 2023. “We can’t afford the kind of rent increase they are asking for,” rally organizer Abdelaziz Dardake tells CityNews. “And we’re trying to send a message to the landlord that enough is enough.“People they are barely surviving and the economy is very, very bad, very expensive.”Tenant Khalil Aldroubi says the rising costs have forced many to do whatever they can just to make ends meet. “We wait patiently for the flyers to come out from Food Basics and Costco to save some money for the end of the month. And all that saving, in the end, is not enough.”Several tenants ...

Paraguay’s long-ruling party takes big lead in early returns

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:27 GMT

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay (AP) — The long-governing Colorado Party appeared headed to extending its hold on Paraguayan politics as early returns from Sunday’s election gave a substantial lead to its presidential candidate, Santiago Peña.With almost two-thirds of voting places reporting, Peña had almost 45% of the vote, compared to nearly 28% for Efraín Alegre, the candidate of the Pact for a New Paraguay, a broad-based opposition coalition that hoped to end Colorado’s reign.Before the vote, analysts said the race looked to be tight because of public discontent and predicted Alegre could have a chance of unseating South America’s longest-governing party, which has essentially ruled Paraguay uninterrupted since 1947. Paraguay doesn’t have a runoff, so whoever of the 13 candidates received the most votes would be the next president. Voters were also casting ballots for members of Congress. “Today is the day we have to be protagonists in the construction of the future of the nation...

Brazilian police probe deadly shooting on Indigenous land

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:27 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s federal police said Sunday they are investigating a shooting that killed one and wounded two Yanomami Indigenous people, saying the main suspects were illegal gold miners working in that area of Roraima state.A police statement said in a statement that the incident took place Saturday and added that the government sent members of the ir force and the Indigenous issues agency FUNAI to help with the probe. Earlier this year, Brazil’s government pushed illegal gold miners out of Yanomami territory, saying their mining had caused widespread river contamination, famine and disease for one of the most isolated groups in the world.Brazil’s government estimated about 20,000 people were engaged in illegal mining in February, often using toxic mercury to separate out gold. Since then, several federal police and military raids have made it harder for gold miners to reach that area. An estimated 30,000 Yanomami people live in Brazil’s largest Indigeno...

Ontario Line forces 4.5-year partial closure of Queen Street, TTC launching 2-phase diversion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:27 GMT

As construction of the Ontario Line ramps up in downtown Toronto, part of Queen Street is set to be closed for at least four-and-a-half years in order to build a major interchange station.Queen Street will be closed to vehicles between Bay and Yonge streets as well as Yonge and Victoria streets as of May 1. However, Metrolinx officials said pedestrian access along the affected parts of Queen Street will be maintained as will vehicular traffic on Yonge Street.“We understand that that’s a long stretch of time. But by doing it this way with a full closure, we’re actually going to speed up construction of the Ontario Line Queen station by about a year,” James Wattie, a spokesperson with Metrolinx, told CityNews when asked about the lengthy closure.“Instead of going and doing partial closures, like you might see with other construction projects where it’s closed one weekend or closed for a few days here and there, this gives our construction teams time...

Founding member of BTO dies, Randy Bachman confirms through manager

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:27 GMT

A founding member of the Canadian rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Tim Bachman, has died.Randy Bachman confirmed the death of his brother through his manager on Sunday.Tim Bachman’s son, Paxton Bachman, posted on Facebook that his father died Friday, explaining that he got a call last week from the care home where his father was staying, telling him that his dad’s condition had worsened and that later tests revealed cancer throughout his brain.The Winnipeg-based BTO released its first album in May 1973 and the band’s second album, Bachman-Turner Overdrive II, released in December 1973, became a huge hit in the U.S. and Canada, with hit singles “Let it Ride” and “Takin’ Care of Business.” Tim Bachman, who played guitar and sang, left BTO in 1974 but had rejoined BTO for tours over the years.His death follows that of his brother Robbie Bachman, another co-founder of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, in January at the age of 69.This report by The Canadian...

Rally decries lack of federal regulation targetting shipbreaking operations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:27 GMT

A Vancouver Island community is sounding the alarm about the lack of federal and provincial regulations targetting boat-dismantling operations that may leak pollutants like asbestos and heavy metals into Canadian waters.Several residents of Union Bay, B.C., located about 180 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, voiced their opposition to one such local operation during a rally on Sunday, decrying the lack of specific rules that would prevent boat-dismantling on the shores of nearby Baynes Sound.The rally’s organizers, The Concerned Citizens of Baynes Sound, say Deep Water Recovery has been dismantling barges at a Union Bay site for the last two years, and there is fear among local residents that the operation may release hydrocarbons, raw sewage and cadmium into the marine environment. Baynes Sound is where 50 per cent of B.C.’s harvested shellfish come from and is also the location of the last commercial coastal herring fishery in the Georgia Straight, they added.But Cana...

Russian citizens lead anti-Putin protest in the Loop

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:27 GMT

CHICAGO — A small, but powerful protest took place on Michigan Avenue Sunday near the Chicago River, directed at Vladimir Putin and Russia's repressive tactics trying to silence dissenting viewpoints in his war on Ukraine."We are here to stand against Putin and his regime," said Elena Kaspirovich. "We are protesting against his war in Ukraine."Many of those who gathered were members of the organization 'Voice of Free Russia' and are Russian citizens, like Ana Voronovsky, who originally came to the United States as a student."Russians in Russia who are against Putin’s regime, they can't come to the streets to protest," Voronovsky said. "They will be imprisoned, they can face a life in prison. That’s why we are here, we are speaking for them as well."Meanwhile, the 14-month-long war continues to rage in Eastern Europe.On Friday, a missile attack on an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Uman left at least 20 people dead, including six children. AP: Relatives bury children ki...

Twins to shut down Tyler Mahle for at least a month due to elbow injury

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:27 GMT

When the Twins dealt for Tyler Mahle at last year’s trade deadline, they imagined him as a rotation stalwart for their 2022 playoff push in addition to being an important piece of their rotation for this current season.But instead, his early tenure with the Twins has been marred by injury and the latest, a posterior impingement and flexor pronator strain in his right elbow, will shut him down for the next month at least, the club announced on Sunday.“He’s going to be down and resting for four weeks and then he’s going to be re-evaluated at that point,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.In the early period after he was forced to exit his start early — Mahle experienced soreness in his fourth inning of work on Thursday night along with dramatic dips in his velocity — the starter said “no one’s really concerned about it” and that he thought he would be OK after sitting back and letting it calm down over the next few days.But testing — the Twins sent Mahle for both magnetic resonance imaging ...

Napheesa Collier ready to lead Lynx ‘in the right direction’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:27 GMT

There is no more living in the past for the Minnesota Lynx.The 2022 Lynx were put together with the hopes of one last championship run with future Hall of Famer Sylvia Fowles. That didn’t go so well, as Minnesota stumbled badly out of the gate and ultimately had to watch the postseason, rather than participate.The 2023 version is expected to focus around a core player who’ll be available all season.There is no doubt that this is Napheesa Collier’s team.A two-time All-Star, she became a mother last May and pushed hard to return for the season’s final few games. Now, the Olympian has a full offseason of conditioning under her belt and is ready to be the focal point.“I feel like it’s a good pressure,” she said after the team’s first practice Sunday. “Obviously this is a dynasty organization so to have that be on my shoulders now I take it really seriously and I definitely want to appreciate the people who came before me and make sure I’m leading the team in the ...

Pope speaks of secret peace 'mission,' help for Ukraine kids

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:27 GMT

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday revealed that a secret peace “mission” in Russia's war in Ukraine was under way, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.“I’m available to do anything,” Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. “There’s a mission that’s not public that’s underway; when it’s public I’ll talk about it.”Francis gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary.Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do “all that is humanly possible” to reunite families.“All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don’t help,” F...