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EU pledges crackdown on ‘brutal’ migrant smuggling during visit to overwhelmed Italian island

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:30 GMT

MILAN (AP) — EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged the swift return of irregular migrants and a crackdown on the “brutal business” of migrant smuggling Sunday during a visit with Italy’s premier to a tiny fishing island overwhelmed with nearly 7,000 arrivals in a single day this week. “We will decide who comes to the European Union, and under what circumstances. Not the smugglers,” von der Leyen declared after touring the island’s hotspot. The Red Cross said 1,500 migrants remained in the center built to accomodate hundreds. Tensions have spiked on the island, which is closer to Tunisia than the Italian mainland, with residents expressing impatience with the constant flow of migrants trying to reach Europe from North Africa arriving on their shores — not just this week but for decades. In the face of the new crisis, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has pledged tougher measures and is calling for a naval blockade of North Africa to prevent migrants ...

A Supreme Court redistricting ruling gave hope to Black voters. They’re still waiting for new maps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s decision siding with Black voters in an Alabama redistricting case gave Democrats and voting rights activists a surprising opportunity before the 2024 elections.New congressional maps would have to include more districts in Alabama and potentially other states where Black voters would have a better chance of electing someone of their choice, a decision widely seen as benefiting Democrats.It’s been more than three months since the justice’s 5-4 ruling, and maps that could produce more districts represented by Black lawmakers still do not exist. Alabama Republicans are hoping to get a fresh hearing on the issue before the Supreme Court. Republican lawmakers in Louisiana never even bothered to draw a new map.Khadidah Stone, a plaintiff in the Alabama case, said the continuing opposition was “appalling” but “not surprising.” She noted that Alabama is where then-Gov. George Wallace blocked Black students from integrating the University of...

Four in hospital after stabbing in Adelaide and Simcoe area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:30 GMT

Four people have been transported to hospital after a stabbing in the Adelaide and Simcoe Streets area on Sunday morning.At approximately 3:09 a.m. police responded to reports of a stabbing. Paramedics transported two male victims to hospital with stab wounds in life-threatening condition, who are now in serious but non-life-threatening condition.There were two other male victims assaulted with a weapon and transported to hospital, one with minor injuries and one with non-life-threatening injuries.A suspect description is unknown at this time.

One dead due to single vehicle collision on Highway 401 near Markham Road

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:30 GMT

A 19-year-old motorcycle rider from Pickering has been pronounced deceased after single vehicle collision on Highway 401 near Markham Road on Sunday. The eastbound Express lanes are detoured at Kennedy Road and expected to be closed until 10:30 a.m. Any witnesses of the incident are asked to call Toronto OPP.

UN committee votes to list ruins near ancient Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:30 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A U.N. conference voted Sunday to list prehistoric ruins near the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine, a decision likely to anger Israel, which controls the territory and does not recognize a Palestinian state.Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities on earth, and is in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that is administered by the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. The listing refers to the Tel es-Sultan archaeological site nearby, which contains prehistoric ruins dating back to the ninth millenium B.C. and is outside the ancient city itself.The decision was taken at a meeting of the U.N. World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. Israel quit UNESCO in 2019, accusing it of being biased against it and of diminishing its connection to the Holy Land. Israel also objected to UNESCO’s ...

After castigating video games during riots, France’s Macron backpedals and showers them with praise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:30 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is extending an olive branch to video gamers after previously linking computer games to rioting that rocked France earlier this year.Posting on social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, Macron backpedaled on remarks in June where he blamed video games for having “intoxicated” some young rioters. Those comments dismayed some in the gaming community, even beyond France. Japanese game director Kastuhiro Harada tweeted in response that “blaming something is a great way to escape the burden of responsibility.” Macron started his unusually lengthy post this weekend with a mea culpa, saying; “I startled gamers.” He then sought to clarify his thinking and showered video games and the industry with praise. “Video games are an integral part of France,” Macron declared.“I expressed my concerns at the end of June because delinquents had used video game habits to trivialize the violence on social networks,” he said. “It is thi...

Group hopes to resurrect 128-year-old Cyclorama of Jerusalem, near Quebec City

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:30 GMT

MONTREAL — The last cyclorama in Canada has been hidden from public view since it closed in 2018, but a small group of people are hoping to revive the unique Quebec-based attraction.The Cyclorama of Jerusalem — a 360-degree painting 14 metres high by 110 metres around — has sat across the street from the renowned basilica in Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré, northeast of Quebec City, since 1895. The panorama depicts what the city of Jerusalem may have looked like at the time of the Crucifixion of Jesus. But the fate of the attraction has followed the waning interest in religion among Quebecers, and in 2018 the local family that owns the site closed it because it was unprofitable and needed repair. Attempts to sell it were unsuccessful. But the following year, the Quebec government declared the cyclorama a heritage property.Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré resident Annie Lévesque is among a group of volunteers working to find a way to have the massive panoramic painting opened to the public once more.“I...

Debate over pronouns pits parental rights against the rights of children, experts say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:30 GMT

OTTAWA — Politicians and others who support policies that would require parental permission for teachers to use a student’s preferred pronouns at school say they are about including parents in the lives of their children. Those opposed say the issue is not about the rights of parents at all, but rather the protection of children — particularly transgender and nonbinary students who may not feel safe revealing their gender identities at home.The answer to what “parental rights” mean in the context the ongoing debate lies somewhere in the middle, experts say. And rushing to push forward legislation could have dire effects on transgender and nonbinary children.Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, takes issue with the framing of these policies. “That’s an easy sell,” she said. “They’ve set a trap with ‘parental rights’ as a political argument.”She said using ...

The economic roller-coaster of a small Ontario town fuelled by chocolate and cannabis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:30 GMT

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. — A small eastern Ontario town that was once known as the province’s chocolate capital is preparing for the sweet return of Hershey’s.“It’s like an old friend coming home after being gone for 15 years,” said Smiths Falls Mayor Shawn Pankow.That return is the latest in a slew of changes around a facility that has been essential to the town’s identity and economic prosperity. For 45 years, Hershey’s operated a factory in the community of around 9,000 people, which is located about 75 kilometres southwest of Ottawa.There was an image of a chocolate bar on the water tower. School groups making field trips to the capital to see Parliament often sweetened the deal with a stop at the Hershey’s visitor centre. The factory employed about 400 locals, including Richard Kirkwood, who worked there for 35 years.“It was a good place to work. It paid my mortgage for 30 years,” he said, reminiscing about family barbecues,...

State of Texas: The lasting impact of the Paxton impeachment trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:30 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- The Texas Senate on Saturday acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton on all articles of impeachment he faced during a nearly two-week trial, salvaging a political career admired by conservatives nationwide but mired in years of legal concerns. COMPLETE COVERAGE: Paxton impeachment trial Senators voted to find Paxton not guilty on every charge, mostly on a 14-16 vote.Only two Republicans -- North Texas' Kelly Hancock and Jacksonville's Robert Nichols -- voted to convict Paxton on any of the charges. All other Republicans voted to find Paxton not guilty on every charge.The Texas Senate has 31 members, comprised of 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats. Here's a look at the partisan breakdown for each article of impeachment. As a reminder, Paxton's wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, was present but not allowed to vote.Here's a look at how each senator voted on each of the 16 articles of impeachment against Ken Paxton.Senators only weighed 16 of the 20 original articles of impeachm...