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Suspected Islamic extremists holding about 30 ethnic Dogon men hostage after bus raid, leader says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:50:28 GMT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Suspected Islamic extremists are holding about 30 men from the Dogon ethnic group hostage after ambushing several public transport buses in central Mali earlier this week, a community leader said Friday.Bocar Guindo said that armed men initially kidnapped about 40 people who had been traveling Tuesday between Koro and Bankass. The women aboard, though, were later released, he said.While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, suspicion immediately fell on Islamic extremists who have been operating in the area for years and are known to target public transport. Their growing presence has heightened communal tensions, with members of the Peuhl ethnic group being accused of collaborating with them. Dogon communities, meanwhile, have been targeted for allegedly supporting the Malian army’s counterinsurgency efforts.A similar attack took place in 2021, when armed men identifying themselves as jihadis took dozens of people hostage in the same part of cent...

Kenya doomsday cult leader found guilty of illegal filming, but yet to be charged over mass deaths

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:50:28 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Paul Mackenzie, the Kenyan preacher at the center of a doomsday cult in the country that led to the deaths of more than 400 people, was on Friday found guilty of operating a studio and distributing films without a license.The senior resident magistrate in the town of Malindi, Olga Onalo, found Mackenzie guilty of exhibition of films through his Times Television without approval of the Kenya Film Classification Board.The preacher has been in police custody for more than six months now since he was arrested in April, following the discovery of hundreds of bodies in mass graves in a forested area across his 800-acre property in the coastal county of Kilifi. Prosecutors say Mackenzie ordered his congregants to starve to death in order to meet Jesus.However, he has not been formally charged over the deaths, despite being arraigned in court on numerous occasions since his arrest.On Friday he was acquitted of additional charges of influencing children to not attend sc...

Unifor auto talks: a quiet end to one of the year’s biggest labour clashes

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:50:28 GMT

TORONTO — One of Canada’s most highly anticipated set of labour talks in years wrapped up this week, but there’s no victory parade planned.Unifor’s marathon three months of high profile contact talks with the Detroit Three automakers — where gains and losses often set the tone for other industries — instead ended with a tepid 60 per cent vote of support from Stellantis production workers Monday, before the union quickly moved on to other labour fights in a year that’s been full of them.“It seems like every week we have another strike deadline that we’re facing. This has been a very big bargaining year for us,” said Lana Payne, national president of Unifor in an interview.But while the union has seen some 85,000 members at the bargaining table this year, expectations were especially high for the nearly 20,000 who work at Stellantis, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors.After decades of concessions to the automakers, the combination of high frustration about the rising cost o...

Université de Montréal cancels class taught by man filmed at Israel-Hamas protest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:50:28 GMT

MONTREAL — Université de Montréal says it is investigating after one of its lecturers was filmed appearing to hurl insults during a confrontation linked to the Israel-Hamas war at another university earlier this week.A university spokesperson said a course taught by Yanise Arab was cancelled Thursday as a preventive measure.In a brief video circulating online, a man in a yellow hoodie, later identified as Arab, can be seen yelling “go back to Poland!” followed by another insult during an altercation between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups at Concordia University, in Montreal.Arab’s biography has been removed from Université de Montréal’s website, but a previous version described him as a PhD student and lecturer in the history department who teaches a class on domination and resistance in the Arab world. He could not immediately be reached for comment.Université de Montréal spokesperson Geneviève O’Meara says the school’s information suggest...

New Moschino creative director dies of sudden illness just days after joining Milan-based brand

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:50:28 GMT

MILAN (AP) — The new creative director of Moschino, Davide Renne, has died after a sudden illness, the owner of the Milan-based fashion house announced on Friday.Renne, 46, took over the role of creative director on Nov. 1, and his first collection was to have been shown during Milan Fashion Week womenswear previews in February.“With Davide, we were working on an ambitious project, in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and optimism for the future,’’ said Massimo Ferretti, chairman of Moschino-owner Aeffe SpA. ”Even though he was only with us for a very short time, Davide was able to immediately make himself loved and respected.”Renne arrived from Gucci, where he had worked for two decades, reaching the position of head designer of womenswear. He was taking over for Jeremy Scott, who resigned in March after a decade at Moschino, known for its wacky and ironic collections.The Associated Press

Man, 11-year-old son intentionally shot and killed in parked vehicle: Edmonton police

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:50:28 GMT

EDMONTON — Police say a man and his 11-year-old son were intentionally shot and killed in a vehicle in Edmonton on Thursday.They identified the father as 41-year-old Harpreet Uppal, a high-level gang member involved in the drug trade.Police did not identify the boy.Acting Supt. Colin Derksen says the boy was not mistakenly caught in the line of fire but was deliberately shot.He says a second boy, a friend of the dead child, was in the car and was unharmed.He says there had been previous attempts on the father’s life, including a shooting at a pizza restaurant two years ago.“The landscape has changed,” Derksen told a news conference Friday.“There’s no longer any respect for children, families or innocent bystanders amongst our gangsters when they carry out violence to further their own interests.”This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2023. The Canadian Press

Things to know about efforts to block people from crossing state lines for abortion

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:50:28 GMT

A federal judge and the U.S. Department of Justice this week said that states are going too far by trying to block people from helping others cross state lines for abortion.A ruling in Idaho and the federal government taking sides in an Alabama lawsuit are far from the final word, but they could offer clues on whether an emerging area of abortion regulation may eventfully hold up in court.Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, eliminating a nationwide right to abortion, most Republican-controlled states have implemented bans or tighter restrictions on abortion.Meanwhile, most blue states have taken some action to protect access, as have red states where voters have had a direct say on the issue, including Ohio, where they enshrined abortion rights into the state constitution this week.That’s set up a big policy contrast between the states — and has made travel for abortion a major issue.One survey has found the average monthly number of abortions nation...

Engineers Canada wants Alberta to reconsider change to rules around ‘engineer’ title

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:50:28 GMT

A group representing Canada’s engineering profession is urging Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to reconsider a proposal that aims to loosen restrictions around who can use the “engineer” title.Engineers Canada said Friday that it opposes changes to the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act that would allow technology companies and workers to use the title “software engineer” without holding a professional engineering licence from the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.In a press release and letter to Smith, Engineers Canada chief executive Gerard McDonald said Bill 7, which would carve out an exception and allow software engineers and those with similar roles permission to use the title, undermines the public trust and compromises safety.“This exemption and the open-ended nature of the regulations set a dangerous precedent for other jurisdictions in Canada,” said McDonald.“It risks eroding the established framework of...

Man arrested in Nebraska in alleged assault of former US Sen. Martha McSally

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:50:28 GMT

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A man was arrested early Friday in the alleged assault of former U.S. Sen. Martha McSally of Arizona, who says she was molested as she jogged along the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa.Council Bluffs police said in a statement that the 25-year-old suspect from Papillion, Nebraska, was spotted by officers in Omaha, Nebraska, at 3:23 a.m. and arrested. Police said the man will be extradited back to Council Bluffs.“You picked the wrong target,” McSally wrote of the attacker in a Facebook post. She earlier described the Wednesday morning attack in a video she posted online. “A man came up behind me and he engulfed me in a bear hug and he molested and fondled me until I fought him off,” she said. “I then chased him down. I said a lot of swear words in this moment. I was in a fight, flight or freeze. And I chose to fight.”After McSally chased the man into the brush at Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park, she called police. She lost sight of the man ...

‘Gaping holes’ in the rules demean—and injure—travellers with disabilities: Advocates

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:50:28 GMT

Accessibility advocates are speaking out about unreliable assistance in air travel, pointing to regulatory gaps and scattershot enforcement that can leave travellers with disabilities injured, stranded or demeaned.Community leaders describe damaged mobility aids, seemingly untrained staff and a check-in and boarding process akin to a slow-motion relay that shuttles passengers from one point to another, sometimes waiting hours unassisted.The criticism comes after Air Canada pledged to roll out new measures that improve the experience for hundreds of thousands of travellers living with a disability.Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez summoned Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau for a sit-down in Ottawa on Thursday following reports of passenger mistreatment, including an incident where a man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off of an airplane due to a lack of assistance.Heather Walkus, chairwoman of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said the problems go beyo...