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UN urges Security Council to extend Turkey border crossing into northwest Syria for 1 year

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:39:58 GMT

IDLIB, Syria (AP) — The U.N. secretary general is hoping that the Security Council will vote later this month to keep a key border crossing from Turkey to Syria’s rebel-held northwest open for critical aid deliveries for a period of one year instead of six months, a U.N. official said Tuesday.Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib is home to some 4 million people, many of whom were earlier displaced during the 12-year civil war, which has killed nearly half a million people. Hundreds of thousands live in tent settlements and rely on aid that comes through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing. The Security Council is expected to vote in the coming days, as the current six-month opening period expires on July 10. The situation got worse after the Feb. 6 earthquake that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving many more homeless and in need of aid.In the past, Russia, the main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, abstained on or vetoed reso...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelling to Latvia and NATO summit in Lithuania

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:39:58 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will travel to Europe next week for the annual NATO leaders’ summit.The two-day summit in Lithuania starts July 11 and comes as the alliance has agreed to extend the term of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg by another year.NATO also recently expanded its membership to include Finland and Canada and other nations are pushing to allow Sweden to join as well.Before the summit Trudeau will stop in Latvia where he will meet with the Latvian president and prime minister in Riga on July 10.Canada’s largest overseas mission is as the leader of an 11-nation NATO battle group in Latvia.Defence Minister Anita Anand recently committed to adding a tank squadron and around 130 troops as part of an effort to expand that battle group into a combat-ready brigade. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2023.The Canadian Press

Defined benefit pension plans improve in second quarter: Mercer

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:39:58 GMT

TORONTO — The health of Canadian defined benefit pension plans continued to improve in the second quarter of 2023, according to consulting firm Mercer. The company said that the median solvency ratio of defined benefit plans in its database ticked upward to 119 per cent at the end of June, meaning more than half had a surplus of funds. That’s despite the U.S. debt ceiling scare and the lingering effects of the banking crises south of the border, Mercer said. Pension funds’ investment returns were mostly positive in the second quarter, it said, and increases in bond yields helped reduce plan liabilities. The company estimated that 85 per cent of the plans in its database were in a surplus position at the end of the second quarter, up from 83 per cent in the previous quarter. “The question that should now be on plan sponsors’ minds is how best to manage this surplus, and potentially locking it in, in order not to re-experience the dark days of significant pension def...

Hockey Canada names former Curling Canada exec Katherine Henderson as president, CEO

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:39:58 GMT

Hockey Canada is appointing Katherine Henderson as its next president and chief executive officer.She spent the last seven years as Curling Canada’s CEO.Hockey Canada is coming off a scandal-filled year related to the national sport organization’s handling of sexual assault allegations and settlement payouts.WATCH: Where does Hockey Canada go from here?  Federal and corporate funding was slashed as scandals mounted. Public faith in the organization took a significant hit.The board of directors resigned last October along with interim board chair Andrea Skinner. President and CEO Scott Smith also left the organization.Related stories: Nicholson tells parliament he should’ve done more as Hockey Canada CEOHockey Alberta may withhold fees if Hockey Canada doesn’t take actionTim Hortons removes Hockey Canada sponsorship for men’s 2022-23 seasonRetired judge Hugh L. Fraser was later named Hockey Canada’s new chair and a new board of director...

Canada urged to look into best-before date system in bid to reduce grocery waste

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:39:58 GMT

There are calls for Canada to look into best-before dates and whether they worsen food waste and food insecurity.A report on grocery affordability from a House of Commons committee on agriculture and agri-food quotes the CEO of Second Harvest Canada as saying Canadians’ misconceptions about best-before dates lead to an excess of food waste.Lori Nikkel says people treat the dates like expiry dates when in fact, they are just what they state: the date before which food is at its freshest.The committee suggests the government investigate “how the elimination of ‘best–before‘ dates on foods would impact Canadians.”Kate Parizeau, a professor at the University of Guelph who studies food waste, said Tuesday she supports the call, particularly when it comes to foods that don’t go bad quickly.RELATED: Canadians to receive one-time grocery rebate this week. How much and when?Foods expected to go bad within 90 days, such as eggs and milk, are legally r...

Georgia condemns Ukraine for its protests over health of former president Saakashvili

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:39:58 GMT

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s Foreign Ministry criticized Ukraine on Tuesday for urging the Georgian ambassador to return to Tbilisi for consultations over the poor health of imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who is also a Ukrainian citizen.The Foreign Ministry called Ukraine’s action “an extreme form of escalation.”Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry had summoned Georgian Ambassador George Zakarashvili to express its protest over the apparent significant deterioration in the health of Saakashvili, who was convicted of abuse of power while he was president in 2004-2013.“The decision of the Ukrainian authorities causes serious damage to the strategic relations between the two countries and represents a direct interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state,” Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said in its statement.Saakashvili appeared severely emaciated Monday during a videolink testimony to a court considering a new abuse-of-power case against him.Saakashvili...

Joly concerned for safety of India’s diplomats, calls protest poster ‘unacceptable’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:39:58 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Tuesday she is concerned about the safety of India’s diplomats following what she called an “unacceptable” poster for an upcoming protest in Toronto.The poster is the latest in a string of problems in recent weeks that have increased tension between Ottawa and New Delhi over Sikh separatists in Canada.The upcoming protest is planned in memory of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was killed last month in a shooting in Surrey, B.C. Niijar was a vocal opponent of India and supporter of an independent Sikh state, but police say they have found no link to India in their investigation.The protest is to begin Saturday at the Great Punjab Business Centre in Mississauga, Ont. and end at the Indian consulate near downtown Toronto.A poster for the event circulating on social media includes photos of India’s top two diplomats in Canada — High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and Toronto Consul General Apoorva Srivasta...

Competition Bureau movie ticket price-dripping case should be dismissed: Cineplex

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:39:58 GMT

TORONTO — Cineplex Inc. says a case launched by the Competition Bureau against the theatre chain over movie ticket fees should be dismissed because it’s based on a “mischaracterization.”The case launched by the competition watchdog in May is based on the premise that fees applied to some Cineplex movie tickets bought online constitute price dripping, a deceptive practice where customers are drawn into a purchase without full disclosure of the final cost.The bureau has alleged that consumers can’t buy tickets online at advertised prices because there is a mandatory $1.50 fee for booking online.However, in a response filed with the Competition Tribunal on June 30, Toronto-based Cineplex said the bureau’s claims are “without merit” and should be thrown out with costs awarded to Cineplex. “Cineplex denies each and every allegation in the application,” the company said.“Cineplex denies any wrongdoing at all.”Cineplex’...

South Carolina woman dies after alligator attack near golf course lagoon

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:39:58 GMT

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina woman died Tuesday after she was attacked by an alligator while walking her dog near a golf course, authorities said.The 69-year-old woman, who has not been named, was found dead in the Spanish Wells community of Hilton Head Island, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.The woman was found at the edge of a lagoon bordering a golf course. An alligator appeared to be guarding the woman, interrupting emergency rescue efforts, the sheriff’s office said.The alligator was safely removed and the woman’s body was recovered. An autopsy is pending. This is the second fatal alligator attack in Beaufort County in the past year, sheriff’s officials said. An 88-year-old Sun City woman was attacked by an alligator at a lagoon near her home in August 2022.The Associated Press

Suspect in fatal shooting at a New Mexico movie theater will remain jailed until his trial

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:39:58 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A man accused in a deadly movie theater shooting in Albuquerque will remain in jail until trial, a judge ruled. Enrique Padilla is being held on multiple charges including first-degree murder, shooting at an occupied building, conspiracy and tampering with evidence, according to authorities.The 19-year-old was arrested after an argument over seating at an Albuquerque movie theater on June 25 escalated into a shooting that left a 52-year-old man dead and sent frightened filmgoers scrambling.Witnesses told police that a man, later identified as Padilla, arrived at the theater with his girlfriend and found another couple in at least one of their reserved seats.According to a criminal complaint, theater staff attempted to help resolve the dispute but it escalated with a hurled bucket of popcorn, shoving and ultimately, gunfire.Authorities said Michael Tenorio was shot twice and died at the scene.Padilla has no previous criminal record, but a judge on Monday gran...