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Nobel peace laureate Bialiatski has been put in solitary confinement in Belarus, his wife says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:32 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize laureate and activist Ales Bialiatski has been transferred to solitary confinement at his prison in Belarus, his wife said Tuesday.Natalia Pinchuk told The Associated Press that prison authorities have toughened conditions for the 61-year-old Bialiatski, who is serving a 10-year sentence, despite his chronic illnesses.“Effectively, it’s a prison inside prison,” she said. Prison authorities didn’t allow Bialiatski to meet with his lawyer following his transfer over alleged disciplinary violations, she said.Bialiatski, Belarus’ top human rights advocate and one of the winners of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, was convicted in March with three colleagues on charges of financing actions violating public order and smuggling, accusations he denied.He has been serving his sentence at a prison colony for repeat offenders in the city of Gorki. The facility is known for inmates being beaten and subjected to hard labor.“The prison colony in Gorki ha...

The US sanctions Mexican Sinaloa cartel members and firms over fentanyl trafficking

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday imposed sanctions on 13 members of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel and four Sonora, Mexico-based firms accused of trafficking fentanyl and other drugs into the United States. The latest action follows a series of measures taken this year against members of the Sinaloa cartel, cash couriers and cartel fraud schemes.Included in the sanctions are a manager of cartel operations in Nogales who oversaw the trafficking of multi-ton quantities of drugs, authorities said, as well as members of his family and his associates. Also sanctioned are a restaurant, stone and mining companies and an import-export firm.The sanctions cut them off from the U.S. banking system, cut off their ability to work with Americans and block their U.S. assets.The Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson, said that the U.S. “will aggressively pursue all who are complicit operators and facilitators of thes...

Three arrested after child killed inside suburban home north of Montreal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:32 GMT

BOIS-DES-FILION, Que. — Quebec police say three people have been arrested in connection with the death of a child Monday evening in a suburb north of Montreal.The police force for Bois-des-Filion, Que., about 20 kilometres north of Montreal, says the three suspects are being questioned by investigators.Police say they were called to a home about 5:30 p.m. regarding a young child suffering from serious injuries.Despite attempts to revive the child, whose age and gender were not made public, the death was declared at the scene.Forensic technicians were dispatched to the home Monday night where an investigation began in conjunction with Quebec provincial police.Police said on Monday that provincial police divers were searching the Mille-Îles River for evidence linked to the death.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2023.The Canadian Press

Feds unlock public properties to build homes, say 29,200 units to be built by 2029

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:32 GMT

OTTAWA — As the federal government faces mounting pressure to address a national housing crisis, it announced on Tuesday that it would build more than 2,800 homes on its properties in cities across the country.The latest announcement, which also comes as Liberals face a major dip in the polls, puts the government on track to build about 29,200 homes on public lands by 2029. Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos also said on Tuesday the Canada Lands Corp. is setting a new target to include at least 20 per cent affordable housing across its projects.“This will mean around 5,300 affordable homes in the next five years, which is twice as many as in the last 30 years,” Duclos said at a news conference in Ottawa.“This is a significant acceleration of providing affordable homes to Canadians but we think — and we know — there is more we can do.”Duclos said that the corporation, through agreements with developers, will be unlocking 2,800 additional units by March 2024...

Toothpicks, sewing needle among ‘foreign objects’ found inside Halloween candy in Durham

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:32 GMT

Durham Regional Police say they’ve received reports of “foreign objects” being discovered inside Halloween candy in Ajax and Oshawa — the latest in what has emerged as a concerning trend in Toronto and the GTA. The police force received two reports of dangerous objects located inside the candies handed out on the night of October 31. A spokesperson tells CityNews 680 that the objects include toothpicks, a staple, and a sewing needle.The Halloween candies were collected in the areas of Geta Circle and Pickering Parkway in Ajax and Galahad Drive and Gladfern Street in Oshawa.No injuries were reported. Related: Nail found in Halloween candy in St. Clair West and Lansdowne area “[Durham police] would like to remind all parents to check their children’s Halloween candies thoroughly prior to any consumption,” a spokesperson wrote in a news release.“If any candy seems suspicious, contains material that is not original to the ...

R.E.M. celebrates ‘a very radical departure’ 25 years ago with their album ‘Up’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty-five years ago, an R.E.M. album arrived that didn’t sound like a typical R.E.M. album.“Up,” the band’s 11th album which dropped in the fall of 1998, was a curious and challenging collection that split fans and critics alike but reveals more interesting things with each listen. A newly remastered reissue out Friday offers a chance to reevaluate.“A lot of people may not have liked it because it didn’t sound like ‘R.E.M.,’ whatever that is. But that was not the point. We were not trying to sound like R.E.M. We were trying to sound like the three guys that we were at the time,” Mike Mills, bassist and band co-founder, tells The Associated Press.“Up” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 and was certified gold, while single “Daysleeper” was a Top 20 alternative radio hit. Another single, “Lotus,” peaked at No. 31 on both the alternative and mainstream rock charts.“I think it rewards repeated listenings because there is a depth to it. It is not a surf...

Canada’s emissions reduction plan falling short: environment commissioner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:32 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s detailed plan to reach its greenhouse-gas emissions targets in 2030 is coming up short, the federal environment commissioner said Tuesday in a new audit.Jerry DeMarco did a deep dive into the government’s Emissions Reduction Plan as part of a series of fall audits tabled in the House of Commons.The plan was published last year and is a requirement under the federal net-zero accountability law passed in 2021. It is supposed to lay out a road map for Canada to hit its emissions targets, including the next big one in 2030.DeMarco said Canada has never met any of its previous emissions targets, and this plan still has the country coming up several million tonnes short of hitting the next target in 2030.That target would require Canada to cut its emissions to 40 to 45 per cent less than they were in 2005. To achieve that goal, Canada would need to cut its current emissions by about one-third before the end of 2030.DeMarco found the measures in the Emissions ...

Family looking for missing man last seen at West Town park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:32 GMT

CHICAGO — Family and police are looking for a man who is non-verbal last seen at a West Town park on Monday.Jerzy Machowska, 65, was last seen at Smith Park, located in the 2500 block of West Grand Avenue.Family told WGN News he frequently walks back to their home near Cortez and Campbell, located in Ukrainian Village. His daughter is asking residents in the area to check camera footage.Family was out until 2 a.m. Tuesday searching alleys and streets without any sign of Machowska.He is in need of medical attention and was last seen wearing a black jacket, black pants, white shoes and a black hate with "Holy Trinity" written on it.Anyone with information can contact 911 or police at 312-744-8266.

Live updates | Israel will have 'overall security responsibility' in Gaza after war, Netanyahu says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:32 GMT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza “for an indefinite period” after its war with Hamas and expressed openness to “little pauses” in the current fighting to facilitate the release of hostages.His comments, in an interview that aired late Monday on ABC News, offered the clearest indication yet that Israel plans to maintain control over the territory that is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.Netanyahu ruled out any general cease-fire without the release of the more than 240 captives seized by Hamas in its Oct. 7 raid into Israel, but said he was open to “tactical little pauses.” U.S. President Joe Biden had raised the need for humanitarian pauses directly with Netanyahu on a call earlier Monday, but no agreement was reached, the White House said.The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 10,300, including more than 4,200 children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.In the occupi...

When will frozen iguanas start falling from trees in Florida?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:32 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Temperatures are starting to drop in Florida, and if you've been in South Florida during the winter months, you may see something else dropping once seasons change. In northern states, trees shedding their leaves typically signifies fall is here and winter is near. However, in Florida, iguanas falling from trees means it's time to bust out the jackets. An iguana suns itself on a fence on February 13, 2016, in Islamorada, Florida. (Photo credit: KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images)When it gets cold enough, iguanas become immobilized and freeze, leading the reptiles—which usually hang out in trees—to fall.According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, iguanas slow down when the thermostat dips below 50 degrees. They "freeze" and fall when temperatures drop into the 40s and 30s.Should you move a frozen iguana? While the green reptiles may look dead, it's best to leave them be—and don't bring them into your home because once the temperatures heat ...