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Aid groups say Ottawa still hampering work in Afghanistan, despite legislation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:37 GMT

OTTAWA — Canadian aid groups say they are still facing roadblocks from Ottawa in getting aid into Afghanistan, despite Parliament passing legislation this spring intended to keep them from being prosecuted for terrorism offences if they operate in the country.Before that change, paying taxes to the Taliban for labour or goods in the country could be considered financial support for a terrorist group under the Criminal Code. Parliament passed a bill in June to automatically allow aid workers to undertake urgent humanitarian work, and to require Ottawa to eventually put into place a permit process for longer-term projects, such as building schools. But the charity Islamic Relief says Ottawa is giving contradictory information about what projects require a permit, so the organization hasn’t been able to respond to immediate crises such as malnutrition and natural disasters. World Vision Canada says it can’t undertake programs meant to boost women’s rights, because the...

Spike in hate crimes in Toronto since Israel-Hamas war began, police chief says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:37 GMT

Toronto’s police chief says there’s been a “staggering” increase in hate crime reports in the city since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas last month.Chief Myron Demkiw says there have been 38 reports of anti-Semitic hate crimes and 17 anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab hate crime reports since Oct. 7.Other key statistics shared by policeThere is a marked increase in anti-2SLGBTQ+, with five incidents last year and nine reported incidents in 2023.Anti-semitism makes up 49 per cent of incidents across Toronto. Anti-semitism is up 192 per cent compared to this time last year.Anti-semitism makes up 40 per cent of all hate crimes reported.There has been a spike in hate-related graffiti since Oct. 7.In terms of anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab or Islamaphobic incidents, 63 have been reported this year – up two from 2022.Speaking at a Toronto Police Services Board meeting today, Demkiw said the city is experiencing a period of high tensions. H...

S&P/TSX composite higher in late-morning trading, U.S. stock markets closed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:37 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was up in late-morning trading, helped higher by gains in the industrial, technology and financial stocks.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 41.76 points at 20,155.72.U.S. stock markets are closed for their Thanksgiving holiday.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.98 cents US compared with 72.87 cents US on Wednesday.The January crude contract was down US$1.19 at US$75.91 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up two cents at US$3.05 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$1.60 at US$1,991.20 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$3.78 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press

Pension fund opposes Brookfield-led bid for Australian company Origin Energy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:37 GMT

TORONTO — A vote by shareholders of Australian’s Origin Energy Ltd. on a takeover offer by a Brookfield-led consortium of investors and EIG has been delayed after the utility’s largest shareholder voiced opposition to the proposal.Pension fund manager AustralianSuper says it holds a stake of more than 17 per cent in Origin and that it will vote against the offer.The consortium has made a revised offer valued at US$10.6 billion, excluding debt, that would allow institutional shareholders to reinvest in the business. If it is not approved Brookfield has proposed an alternative to buy Origin’s energy markets business, while EIG would buy the other assets.AustralianSuper has called the bid a “lowball offer” that strengthens its view that it “remains substantially below” its estimate of Origin’s long-term value.Shareholders were to vote on the takeover plan Thursday, but Origin said in a statement that based on the proxy votes received to date, t...

Quebec public sector strikes: Premier Legault says ready to increase offer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:37 GMT

Quebec Premier François Legault says he’s ready to increase his government’s offer to striking public sector workers, but he says their unions have to show more flexibility.He made the comments today in Quebec City as unions representing 570,000 teachers, nurses, orderlies and other public sector workers are on strike across the province.Legault says that in exchange for more money, he needs flexibility from nurses to fill undesirable shifts and from teachers about when they are assigned classes.It’s the first time since unions staged a limited strike earlier this month that the premier has stated so clearly that the government is ready to increase its offer.Unions have rejected the proposal for a 10.3-per-cent salary increase over five years, a one-time payment of $1,000 to each worker, and an extra three per cent for certain jobs the province says are priorities. Instead, they want a three-year deal that includes salary increases tied to the inflation rate: two p...

Trump tells Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei he plans to visit Buenos Aires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:37 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has told Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei that he plans to travel to the South American country so the two can meet, Milei’s office said Thursday. The office did not give a date for when Trump intends to be in Buenos Aires. The inauguration of Milei, a right-wing populist who has expressed admiration for Trump, is scheduled for Dec. 10.“The president-elect received a call last night from the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, who congratulated him and pointed out his triumph by a wide margin in last Sunday’s election had a great impact on a global scale,” a news release from Milei’s office said.A local journalist who was first to report the news, Luis Majul, wrote on X early Thursday that the lawmaker son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Eduardo Bolsonaro, was the one who “facilitated” the contact between Milei and the GOP front-runner. “That’s right,” Milei posted in resp...

Ontario police release images of suspect vehicle in Caledon triple shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:37 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) shared images of a suspect vehicle believed to be connected to a triple shooting in Caledon that left a man dead and two others critically injured.Emergency crews were called to a house on Mayfield Road, east of Airport Road, around 11:30 p.m. on Monday for reports of a shooting.Paramedics confirmed a man was pronounced dead at the scene, and two women were rushed to hospital in critical condition.The deceased was identified as a 57-year-old male from Caledon. His identity has not been revealed, OPP said. The other two victims remain in hospital with critical injuries.Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) investigating a triple shooting at a home on Mayfield Road in Caledon, Ont. on Nov. 21, 2023, that took the life of a man. CITYNEWS/Bryan CareyInvestigators believe multiple suspects were involved in the shooting incident. One was last seen entering a black pick-up truck, which then travelled westbound on Mayfield Road. Investigators now believe the truck ...

Man who fatally shot security guard at psychiatric hospital was banned from having guns, records say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:37 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A man who fatally shot a security guard at a New Hampshire psychiatric hospital moments before being killed by a state police trooper was not allowed to have guns, ammunition, or any other dangerous weapons following an arrest in 2016, according to court records.At that time, police seized an assault-style rifle and 9 mm handgun from John Madore, 33. Madore, who was arrested in Strafford on assault and reckless conduct charges, was later involuntarily admitted at New Hampshire Hospital in Concord, according to records. The charges were dismissed in 2017 following a competency evaluation that remains sealed.The weapons ban against Madore was part of bail orders unsealed by a judge Wednesday following a request by the New Hampshire Bulletin.On Nov. 17, Madore had a 9 mm pistol and ammunition when he shot and killed Bradley Haas, a state Department of Safety security officer who was working at the hospital’s front lobby entrance, the state attorney general...

3 children, 1 woman injured in Ireland in suspected stabbing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:37 GMT

Three young children and a woman were injured Thursday in Dublin’s city center in what Irish police have termed “a serious public order incident.”A man also suffered injuries during the violence, which took place outside a school in Parnell Square East shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time. Citing witnesses at the scene, Irish media said some of the casualties were hospitalized with suspected stab wounds.Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar expressed his shock and said a suspect had been detained.Police said one of the children, a girl, and a woman have sustained serious injuries. A man and the two other children sustained less serious injuries.They added that they were “following a definite line of inquiry” and weren’t looking for anyone else in connection with the violence.In a statement posted to social media, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she was “deeply shocked by the appalling attack on three innocent children and a woman in Dublin.” pic.twitter.com/hOP5Pds53h&...

Florida mom on OnlyFans says her kids are being bullied, banned from sports complex

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:37 GMT

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Tampa Bay mom said she and her family have been harassed because of controversial content she has posted online. Sara Cheek provides for her family in an unconventional way, through a site called OnlyFans, where users pay for content, which often features explicit material. "I do OnlyFans," she said. "I'm a content creator. I also do sports talk, I make predictions for a few of the sports networks, and I'm also a Playboy model."She has been doing X-rated work for the past three years, and because of it, she says her children have been bullied."Now that I'm achieving different things, I think it either intimidates others or makes them feel insecure about decisions that they've made," Cheek said. "They take that out on me not knowing that they're taking that out on my kids."Sara and Matt have four children, ages 3 through 11. The couple said back in October, their 9-year-old son, Camden, was playing hockey at the Ellenton Ice & Sports Complex....