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Bangladesh’s ruling and opposition parties hold rallies over who should oversee the next election

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:52 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh’s governing and opposition parties held separate rallies in the capital on Friday over who should oversee the next general election, expected to be held early next year. Despite huge crowds, both rallies were peaceful, with a large security presence. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hopes to return to power for a fourth consecutive term, while the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is making its strongest effort to drive Hasina out of office. Zia and Hasina are archrivals and have led the country at different times since 1991.Hasina says the election should be held under her government’s supervision as specified in the constitution, but Zia’s party and its allies say Hasina must step down to allow the installation of a non-party caretaker government to ensure a free and fair vote. Zia’s party has threatened to boycott the balloting if it is held under Hasi...

Canfor Corp. reports $43.9M loss in second quarter amid tough pulp, lumber conditions

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:52 GMT

VANCOUVER — Wildfires in Western Canada continue to disrupt Canfor Corp. operations as the company reported a loss of $43.9 million in the second quarter.With new records set in both Alberta and B.C. for total hectares burned, the company said operational constraints are expected to continue well into the third quarter of 2023. The extreme conditions are also disrupting the company’s access to fibre as well as harvest and hauling activities, Canfor said.“While it is too early to determine the long-term fibre supply impacts, we have seen significant short-term disruptions to our operations, including a three-week curtailment of our facility in Fox Creek, Alberta in the second quarter,” said Canfor president and CEO Donald Kayne on a call with analysts. The company said it will assess the full extent of the fires’ impact on its operations, including sustainable timber supplies and future harvesting plans, over the coming months. The loss in the second quarter w...

With affirmative action out, North Carolina’s flagship school bars use of race, sex in admissions

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:52 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down their school’s race-conscious admissions plan as violating the Constitution, the board of North Carolina’s flagship public university has voted to strictly bar the use of “race, sex, color or ethnicity” in admissions and hiring decisions.The Board of Trustees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill approved the resolution Thursday, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported.In a pair of decisions announced June 29, court majorities struck down affirmative action in college admissions, ruling against UNC-Chapel Hill and Harvard University, the nation’s oldest public and private colleges, respectively. “I’m confident that we’re taking all the necessary steps to fully comply” with the decisions, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz told the audience at the board’s meetings this week in what was the first in-person board gathering since the rulings.Still, while schools nationwide are now looking f...

Teen girl arrested for allegedly stabbing another teen at TTC station

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:52 GMT

A teenage girl has been arrested and is facing several charges after a stabbing at a Scarborough subway station this past weekend.The incident occurred in a bus bay at Warden Station around 4 p.m. on Sunday.Police told CityNews a teenage girl was stabbed in the torso and taken to a local trauma centre. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries.In a release sent out Friday, police said they arrested a 16-year-old girl and charged her with assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and assault.The suspect was due in a Toronto courtroom on Tuesday morning. She cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.Anyone with additional information is being asked to contact Toronto Police Services.

Yorkshire punished for extremely serious misconduct over racism experienced by ex-player Azeem Rafiq

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Yorkshire has been fined and docked points in two formats of cricket over the club’s “extremely serious” misconduct in relation to the racism experienced by former player Azeem Rafiq.The English club was fined 400,000 pounds ($515,00) on Friday — 300,000 pounds of which is suspended for two years — and lost 48 County Championship points and four in the T20 Blast from this season’s competitions by an independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel after admitting four charges.Yorkshire released a statement accepting the sanctions. The punishment means Yorkshire drop from sixth to bottom of division two in the championship, all but ending its promotion chances, while the club goes from fifth to eighth in the North Group of the already-completed 2023 Blast, a competition where it failed to qualify for the knockout stages.Rafiq initially spoke out in 2020 about the racism and bullying he experienced across two spells at the county, between 2008 and 2014 and between 2...

Manitoba energy strategy includes wind power, time-of-day rates for electricity

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:52 GMT

WINNIPEG — Manitoba is looking at boosting wind power and encouraging conservation as part of a new long-term energy strategy at Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro.The utility says it will need to at least double its current generating capacity in the coming decades as demand grows for clean electricity.Manitoba Hydro board chair Edward Kennedy says new generating stations are not the solution in the medium term, but more wind power and more capacity to store energy are key parts of the answer.Kennedy also says there will be a new push to encourage people to use energy outside peak periods.He says that could include smart meters and charging people different rates at different times of the day.Premier Heather Stefanson says Manitoba Hydro’s debt is already significant, and attracting new businesses and growing the economy will help pay it off.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2023The Canadian Press

IMF agrees to release $7.5 billion to cash-strapped Argentina as its economy reels from drought

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:52 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The International Monetary Fund said Friday that it reached an agreement with Argentina that would open the door for the cash-strapped South American country to receive $7.5 billion over the next few months as part of an existing program.The agreement, which was under negotiations for weeks, still needs approval from the IMF Executive Board, which is scheduled to meet in the second half of August, the international financial organization said in a news release.The deal officially combines the fifth and sixth reviews of a 30-month $44 billion loan program that was agreed to in 2022. The sixth review of the agreement, which Argentina is partly using to pay back existing debt with the IMF, had been scheduled for September.With the terms announced Friday, the IMF seeks “to support Argentina’s policy efforts and near-term balance of payments needs, including obligations to the fund.”By combining the fifth and sixth program reviews, Argentina won’t have to g...

Mexico’s navy finds boat but not missing US sailor

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:52 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s navy located the boat of a missing American sailor off the country’s southern coast, but the Maryland man who had been piloting it solo wasn’t found, authorities said Friday.Donald Lawson’s capsized trimaran was found Thursday night by a patrol boat involved in the search 356 nautical miles (about 410 miles or 660 kilometers) southwest of the resort city of Acapulco, according to the navy’s press office.The navy said that it would continue its search for Lawson, 41, an experienced sailor.A plane had reported spotting a boat similar to the description of Lawson’s on July 23 about 320 nautical miles (370 miles or 595 kilometers) south of Acapulco. The navy sent boats to the area, but it wasn’t until Thursday night that they found it.Port authorities in Acapulco said that Lawson had arrived on Jan. 26 for repairs to a motor and hull of the boat. After the repairs were completed, Lawson left Acapulco on July 5, headed for the Panama Canal, w...

Enbridge, Bad River Indigenous band both appealing Line 5 court ruling in Wisconsin

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:52 GMT

WASHINGTON — Both sides in the ongoing dispute over the Line 5 cross-border pipeline are appealing last month’s court decision in Wisconsin. That’s where a district court judge gave Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. three years to reroute the controversial pipeline around Indigenous territory south of Lake Superior. The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa, however, insists the pipeline should be shut down sooner and wants the three-year timeline overturned. Enbridge, which is also unhappy with the decision, has already filed its notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Lawyers for Bad River did the same on Thursday, arguing in court documents that the two appeals should be consolidated. Judge William Conley concluded in his ruling last month that Enbridge had effectively been trespassing on band territory since 2013, a finding the company opposes.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2023.The Canadian Press

New justice minister arrives amid bail debate, vows fresh look at judicial vacancies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:52 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s new justice minister says he plans to tell his staff and department to move “expeditiously” on addressing judicial vacancies, an issue that dogged his predecessors. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau picked Arif Virani to replace David Lametti when he unveiled his new cabinet this week, in a shuffle meant to renew the Liberal benches after nearly eight years in government. Trudeau says he assembled the team to respond to economic headwinds, but the changes come when more Canadians are worrying about crime and a lack of judges affects proceedings in courtrooms across the country. Virani was first elected in the Toronto riding of Parkdale-High Park when the Liberals swept to power in 2015, and went on to serve as parliamentary secretary to both Lametti and his predecessor, Jody Wilson-Raybould. The issue of judicial vacancies persisted under both, with Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner writing a personal warning to Trudeau earlier this...