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EU ethics watchdog questions Commission over Tunisia migrant deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:53 GMT

BRUSSELS — The European Ombudsman is probing the European Commission over its controversial migration deal with Tunisia.In a letter from the EU ethics watchdog to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Ombudsman is seeking answers regarding the protection of human rights in the deal, which was agreed in July with Tunisian President Kais Saied’s authoritarian government. The Tunisian strongman has come under fire from the U.N. for his “racist” treatment of sub-Saharan Africans and his violent clampdown on domestic opposition.“Where fundamental rights are not respected, there cannot be good administration,” European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly wrote in a letter addressed to von der Leyen on Wednesday evening, which was made public Friday morning.The inquiry comes amid mounting criticism of the agreement, which promises EU cash to Tunisia in exchange for help stopping migrants from crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.Members of the European Parliament, nongovernmental o...

Hanover football star Ben Scalzi making most of opportunity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:53 GMT

HANOVER – Hanover senior quarterback Ben Scalzi has taken the adage “In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity” to another level.The calm, cool former Hawks wideout is back under center for a second season after being forced into action when former starting quarterback Michael Landolfi left Hanover for Lawrence Academy after the 2021 season.Scalzi had never played quarterback at the varsity level until last season, yet went on to throw for just under 2,800 yards with 27 touchdowns and then added another 535 yards on the ground with five rushing touchdowns.Scalzi led the Hawks to a 9-3 record in his first season and was roughly three minutes away from a trip to Gillette Stadium before Milton rallied to a 32-30 victory in the Div. 3 semifinals.“Last year was a huge opportunity for me with it being my first year starting at quarterback, but I learned a lot,” said Scalzi. “There’s always room for improvement. Every day we are just getting better, and we just have to stay...

Climate protesters around the world are calling for an end to fossils fuels as Earth heats up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:53 GMT

Tens of thousands of climate activists around the world are set to march, chant and protest Friday to call for an end to the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels as the globe suffers dramatic weather extremes and record-breaking heat. The strike — driven by several mostly youth-led, local and global climate groups and organizations, including Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement — will take place in dozens of countries and in hundreds of cities worldwide and continue through the weekend. In one strike in Quezon City in the Philippines, activists lay in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in protest, and held signs demanding fossil fuels — from coal to natural gas — be phased out.A week before the planned protest, the United Nations warned that countries are way off track to curb warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times, as agreed in Paris in 2015. The world has warmed at least 1.1 degrees (2 degrees F...

Nobel Foundation raises the amount for this year’s Nobel Prize awards to 11 million kronor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:53 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Foundation said Friday that it will raise the award amount for this year’s Nobel Prizes by 1 million kronor ($90,000) to 11 million kronor ($986,270) as the Swedish currency has plummeted recently.“The Foundation has chosen to increase the prize amount because it is financially viable to do so,” it said in a brief statement. The rapid depreciation of the Swedish currency has pushed it to its lowest level ever against the euro and the U.S. dollar. Sweden has been struggling with high inflation — it was 7.5% in August, down from 9.3% in July, far from the 2% target set by the Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank. When the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, the prize amount was 150,782 kronor per category, the foundation said.Over the past 15 years, the amount has been adjusted several times, it said. In 2012, it was reduced from 10 million kronor to 8 million kronor as a broad-based program to strengthen the Nobel Foundation’s finances was initi...

Thailand’s opposition Move Forward party to pick new leader as its embattled chief steps down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:53 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The embattled head of the Move Forward party, which finished first in Thailand’s general election in May but was denied power by Parliament, announced his resignation on Friday as its chief so the party can appoint a new member to serve as Parliament’s opposition leader.The constitution requires the leader of the opposition to be an elected lawmaker and a leader of a political party. Pita Limjaroenrat, Move Forward’s 43-year-old leader, is currently suspended from his duties as a member of Parliament pending a court ruling on whether he violated election law.Pita wrote on social media that he decided to resign as Move Forward’s leader because he has to comply with the court’s order of suspension, so he cannot perform his duties as a lawmaker and cannot be an opposition leader “in the foreseeable future.”He did not say when the new party leader would be selected but noted Move Forward will hold its next assembly on Sep. 24.“The role of opposition leader is greatl...

Laos deports human rights lawyer who was fleeing state pressure back to China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:53 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A human rights lawyer who was arrested in neighboring Laos has been deported back to China, his attorney said, despite pleas from rights groups and United Nations experts for his release.Lu Siwei was stripped of his legal license for taking on sensitive cases and was fleeing China when he was arrested in the Southeast Asian country earlier in the summer. According to Lithnarong Pholsena, Lu’s attorney, officials at the prison where Lu was held said Thursday that Chinese police took Lu and two busloads of other Chinese citizens detained in Laos back to China earlier this week.Bob Fu, a Texas-based Christian activist who was assisting Lu, said Laos had violated international law by deporting Lu to China, where family members and activists fear he may be at risk of imprisonment and torture.“We failed,” Fu said. “It’s a shame for the international human rights community.”Lu had a history of taking on sensitive cases, and of navigating the fraught and murky waters of...

Barry Steenkamp, the father of the woman Oscar Pistorius fatally shot, has died at age 80

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:53 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Barry Steenkamp, the father of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman who was fatally shot by Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius, has died, a family spokesperson said Friday. He was 80.Family lawyer and spokesperson Tania Koen confirmed Barry Steenkamp’s death.A foundation set up by the Steenkamp family in memory of Reeva said Barry Steenkamp died in his sleep on Thursday evening.“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden and peaceful passing of Barry Steenkamp,” the foundation said in a statement on its Facebook page. “Barry was a blessing to many, and he will be remembered with love and great fondness.”“We find solace in the knowledge that he is now with his beloved Reeva.”Barry Steenkamp cut a grieving and sometimes angry figure during Pistorius’ murder trial for the killing of 29-year-old Reeva, who was a model and law graduate. Pistorius was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison after ...

In the news today: Alberta premier to address E. coli outbreak at daycares

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:53 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Alberta premier to address Calgary daycare E. coli outbreakAlberta Premier Danielle Smith is to address the E. coli outbreak related to several Calgary daycares during a news conference this morning, a day after parents with children in the daycares sent an open letter asking Smith to do more to deal with the situation.There are 329 lab-confirmed cases of the bacterial infection related to an outbreak that was declared on Sept. 4.Thirteen children are still in hospital, 11 of whom have hemolytic uremic syndrome — a complication affecting the blood and kidneys.Six of those children are receiving dialysis.—Here’s what else we’re watching …Emergency alert system not affected by cyberattackThe Weather Network and MétéoMédia still can’t send weather alerts through push notifications from its app following a “malicious cyberattack&...

Hollywood strikes don’t address unique challenges faced by Canadian BIPOC creators

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:53 GMT

TORONTO — Ongoing strikes by Hollywood actors and writers have kept discussions about fair compensation and job protection at the forefront of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, but Canadian film industry players who are Black, Indigenous and people of colour say that still doesn’t address the larger barriers they face. Canadian BIPOC filmmakers and actors say that while they support the striking members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Writers Guild of America, they’re still fighting for visibility and support on this side of the border.Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, co-founder of the Black female-led Sunflower Studios, director of the film “When Morning Comes,” and co-director of the upcoming series “Bria Mack Gets A Life,” says the strikes, although significant, don’t tackle the issues that lead to the underrepresentation of BIPOC filmmakers in Canada.“When it comes to Canad...

Contract talks held up RCMP team’s response to Saskatchewan killings: emails

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:53 GMT

SASKATOON — A specialized RCMP team that deals with high-risk situations was not immediately available to respond to a stabbing rampage and hunt for a mass killer in Saskatchewan because of contract negotiations, internal emails show.Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show Ottawa’s Emergency Response Team-Special Activities Group, also known as ERT-SAG, was initially offered to help as Mounties responded the stabbing attacks on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon on Sept. 4, 2022.Chaos descended on the community as Myles Sanderson, 32, moved from home to home, busting down doors and attacking people. Eleven were killed and 17 were injured.Sanderson was arrested four days later and died in police custody.Emails between Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, the commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP, and other high-ranking Mounties show officers were working to catch up to Sanderson’s erratic movements. His brother, Damien Sanderso...