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Ex-UN head Ban Ki-moon urges army to end Myanmar violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:34 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged Myanmar’s ruling military to take the initiative in finding a way out of the country’s violent political crisis, including releasing political detainees, after a surprise meeting with the army leader who seized power two years ago.Ban met Monday in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw with the leader of the military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, and other top officials. His mission was made on behalf of a group of elder statesmen that engages in peacemaking and human rights initiatives around the world.Ban is the deputy chair of the group, which calls itself The Elders.A statement released Tuesday by the group quoted Ban saying “I came to Myanmar to urge the military to adopt an immediate cessation of violence, and start constructive dialogue among all parties concerned.” He described his talks as “exploratory.”“With patient determination, I believe a way forward can be found out of the current crisi...

Liberal, Conservative campaign operatives to testify on foreign election meddling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:34 GMT

OTTAWA — Members of the Liberal and Conservative backrooms will step into the spotlight to testify today before a parliamentary committee that’s probing allegations of foreign election interference. The committee on procedure and House affairs is set to hear from Jeremy Broadhurst, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who served as the Liberals’ campaign director during the 2019 federal vote. Also set to appear is Azam Ishmael, the Liberals’ national director and the person who oversaw the party’s campaign during the most recent federal election in 2021. The Conservative party’s national campaign manager in 2021, Fred DeLorey, is also set to appear along with Hamish Marshall, who held the same role in 2019.The committee recently heard from Trudeau’s longtime chief of staff, Katie Telford, who repeatedly told MPs that national security provisions prevented her from divulging details about briefings on interference.  Concerns about Chin...

‘Missing in action’: gun-control groups chide NDP over noncommital stance on bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:34 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal New Democrats are coming under pressure from gun-control advocates to support the Liberals in enacting a permanent ban on assault-style firearms.In a pair of open letters, various groups pushing for stronger restrictions on guns urge the NDP to come out decisively in favour of enshrining a definition of firearms that belong solely on the battlefield.In response, NDP public safety critic Peter Julian says the party will always be a willing partner when working to keep people safe from gun violence.Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is set to appear later today at the House of Commons public safety committee, where MPs are studying gun-control legislation introduced almost a year ago.The appearance comes two months after the Liberals withdrew a late November amendment to the bill that would have spelled out in law the various models covered by the assault-style gun ban.The Liberals billed the definition as an evergreen measure that would cement in legislation ...

Mental-health services come too late, experts say, after uptick in violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:34 GMT

VANCOUVER — Recent cases of violence across Canada demonstrate a clear need to treat mental illness early instead of waiting until a serious crime happens, says an executive with the Canadian Mental Health Association.Jonny Morris, the CEO of the B.C. division of the association, said the emphasis now is on people having to reach a particular point in their illness before receiving treatment.“We want to be able to intervene early and actually prevent crisis – including a crisis where violence is present – from ever happening in the first place.” His comments come after apparent random violence in Ontario, B.C. and Alberta, including stabbing deaths. Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld told a news conference following two transit attacks in the city this month that police leaders across Canada have cited an increase in calls related to mental health.He said there has been a recent focus on treating the calls as public-health issues rather than criminal justice matters, but ...

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visiting B.C’s Lower Mainland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:34 GMT

VANCOUVER — Germany’s president is visiting the Lower Mainland today on the third day of his four-day trip to Canada.Frank-Walter Steinmeier is slated to take a tour of the Burnaby fuel cell company Cellcentric before going to Vancouver for a roundtable discussion with German and Canadian business representatives. He will later be greeted by Premier David Eby, will tour Vancouver Harbour by boat and visit the University of B.C.’s Smart Hydrogen Energy District – a soon-to-open hydrogen fuelling station. Steinmeier was in Ottawa on Monday when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a German plane airlifted 58 Canadians out of Sudan as a conflict escalated in the country’s capital.At a reception in Ottawa, Steinmeier said growing global autocratic rule is putting inclusion and the rule of law at risk, and democracies must secure and protect those values against attack. Steinmeier will travel north to Yellowknife and Tuktoyaktuk on Wednesday for events, including meetings ...

Baffinland requests further production increase at Nunavut iron ore mine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:34 GMT

POND INLET, Nunavut — The owner of an iron ore mine on the tip of Baffin Island says it needs to again increase production to prevent job losses, and several federal cabinet ministers are calling on a Nunavut environmental assessment agency to prioritize the request. Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. wants to increase the amount of ore it’s allowed to truck and ship from its Mary River mine to six-million tonnes, from 4.2 million, for both 2023 and 2024. It says the increase is needed to ensure a stable supply of iron ore to customers and that if it’s not granted, it will have to scale back operations, including reducing employment. The company is also requesting that, beyond the six-million tonnes, it be allowed to ship ore that was stranded at the Milne port last year, as well as any that could be left behind at the end of this year’s shipping season due to “unexpected circumstances.” It said that last year, large volumes of early sea ice in Milne Inlet res...

For N.S. welfare recipients, budget freeze by Tories in inflationary times hurts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:34 GMT

HALIFAX — Sandra Page wonders how the Nova Scotia government expects her to remain healthy after its recent budget froze welfare payments despite more than a year of high inflation.“I sometimes go to ask for help out on the street — panhandling — which I shouldn’t have to do,” she said during a recent interview when asked how she manages to pay her monthly costs. The 59-year-old Halifax resident said a hand injury prevents her from working and that she relies on monthly income assistance of $950 — along with a special payment of about $220 to cover medical and dietary needs for a thyroid condition. But after rent is paid, there’s not enough to buy the healthy food her condition requires, she said.The Progressive Conservative government has emphasized fixing health care as its prime focus, and its March budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year kept welfare rates at 2021 levels. But cases like Page’s are raising criticisms that the government is too harsh on th...

Long days of gravediggers tell story of Ukraine’s war dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:34 GMT

KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine (AP) — The graves are dug in the morning. Four plots, each two meters deep in the section of a cemetery in a central Ukrainian city devoted to the nation’s fallen soldiers.The day begins for Oleh Itsenko, 29, and Andrii Kuznetsov, 23, shortly after dawn, when the two diggers report for the grueling work. A day in their lives tells the story of Ukraine’s mounting war dead. They won’t be finished until sunset.With a tractor equipped with an earth auger they bore into the ground. Armed with shovels, they go about carving out perfect rectangles with precision, the final resting place for the country’s soldiers killed in fierce battles on Ukraine’s eastern front. There will be four funerals today in the main cemetery of Kryvyi Rih, an iron-mining city 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the capital, Kyiv. “It’s hard,” says Itsenko, a former metal worker. “But someone’s got to do it.”In Ukraine, even the business of death has become routine as funerals are held for soldier...

Daily horoscope for April 25, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:34 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Cancer.Happy Birthday for Tuesday, April 25, 2023:You are strong-minded, energetic and imposing. You dismiss small talk; you focus on the practical. This is the final year of a nine-year cycle for you, which means it’s time to let go of people and things that are holding you back. Do some internal and external housecleaning.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★You mean business, which is why this is an excellent day for productivity. Financial discussions are serious, especially about behind-the-scenes research and private matters. An older family member (probably female) has wise advice. Tonight: Family surprise.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Today you have an orderly state of mind and a strong sense of self-discipline. You will pay attention to detail, overlooking nothing. It’s an excellent day to make future plans or to study and learn something new. Listen to the advice of someone olde...

Two people die, 10 hurt in Madrid restaurant blaze

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:34 GMT

Two people were killed and 12 injured by a fire in a restaurant located in Madrid’s capital, the emergency services reported on Saturday (22 April).The fire started on Friday evening at Burro Canaglia Bar & Resto in central Salamanca.The mayor of Madrid, Luis Martinez Almeida, told reporters outside the building on Saturday that one of the victims was a restaurant worker and the other a client.El Pais reported that an eyewitness said the fire began after a server flambeed pizza, and the flames ignited the ceiling and walls.Emergency services reported that diners had difficulty escaping the fire, which started near the main exit.The police are investigating the cause of fire.