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Masked assailants attack journalist and lawyer in Russia’s Chechnya province

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:18:07 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Unidentified masked assailants in the Russian province of Chechnya attacked and beat a journalist and a lawyer on Tuesday, a violent incident that continued a pattern of rampant human rights abuses in the region.Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov had just arrived in Chechnya to attend the trial of Zarema Musayeva, the mother of two local activists who have challenged Chechen authorities.Just outside the airport, their vehicle was blocked by several cars and they were beaten by several masked assailants, who put guns to their heads and broke their equipment.Novaya Gazeta said that Milashina sustained a brain injury and had several fingers broken and Nemov had a deep cut on his leg. They were taken to a hospital in Chechnya’s main city, Grozny, where Milashina repeatedly lost consciousness, according to her newspaper.Milashina has long exposed human rights violations in Chechnya and has faced threats, intimidation and attacks. In 20...

Modi uses speech to Russia-China-led group to swipe at Pakistan, avoids mentioning Ukraine

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:18:07 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s prime minister on Tuesday took a veiled swipe at rival neighbor Pakistan and avoided mentioning the war in Ukraine while addressing a group of Asian countries led by China and Russia.In his opening speech to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the group should not hesitate to criticize countries that are “using terrorism as an instrument of its state policy.”“Terrorism poses a threat to regional peace and we need to take up a joint fight,” Modi said without naming Pakistan. India regularly accuses Pakistan of training and arming insurgent groups, a charge Islamabad denies.Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif are scheduled to address the day-long virtual summit.Modi also warned of global challenges to food, fuel and fertilizer supplies. Trade in all three has been disrupted by Russia’s 14-month-long war in Ukraine, but SCO members h...

British Columbia port strike enters day four

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:18:07 GMT

VANCOUVER — The strike at British Columbia ports enters its fourth day after talks between the two sides stalled on Monday.More than 7,000 workers who load and unload cargo at more than 30 B.C. ports have been on strike since Saturday morning.Representative for the BC Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada negotiated over the long weekend before the association issued a statement Monday saying it says it didn’t think more bargaining is going to produce a deal.It said the union’s demands were “outside any reasonable framework for settlement.”The union, meanwhile, has accused the association of changing its position on a key issue at the last minute to “muddy the waters” and News of a strike at the ports, including Canada’s largest, the Port of Vancouver, led many business groups to raise red flags, suggesting it would have far-reaching implications for Canada’s economy. This report by T...

Russia says it foiled Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow as Kyiv’s counteroffensive grinds on

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:18:07 GMT

Russian air defenses on Tuesday foiled a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow that prompted authorities to briefly close one of the city’s international airports, officials said, as a Western analysis said Russia has managed to slow Kyiv’s recently launched counteroffensive. The drone attack, which follows previous similar raids on the Russian capital, was the first known assault on the Russian capital since an abortive mutiny launched 11 days ago by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. His Wagner troops marched on Moscow in the biggest — though short-lived — challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in more than two decades of his rule.Authorities in Ukraine, which generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, didn’t say whether it launched the drone raid.The Russian Defense Ministry said four of the five drones were downed by air defenses on the outskirts of Moscow and the fifth was jammed by electronic warfare means and forced down.Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin ...

In the news today: B.C. port strike enters its fourth day

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:18:07 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…B.C. port strike still unresolvedThe strike at more than 30 British Columbia ports enters its fourth day this morning.Talks between the B.C. Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada stalled yesterday.The employers say the union’s demands were “outside any reasonable framework for settlement,” and the union claims the employers have “sabotaged the process.”A key issue for the 7,400 striking port workers appears to concern the definition and scope of maintenance work.Former AFN chief seeking reinstatementThe former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations wants her job back — and she’s calling on supporters to tell their chiefs and councils to make it happen. RoseAnne Archibald posted a five-minute video to Facebook on Monday from her car in a parking lot on B.C.R...

Lac-Mégantic mayor, residents fear ‘monster trains’ will bring another rail disaster

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:18:07 GMT

LAC-MÉGANTIC, Que. — Ten years after a runaway train derailed and killed 47 people in Lac-Mégantic, Que., residents are still waiting for a promised railway bypass, and they fear the increasing number of railcars carrying hazardous materials through their town will lead to another disaster.Mayor Julie Morin says the trains transporting such things as propane, diesel and sulphuric acid have got longer, threatening to turn the city’s downtown area once again into a mess of charred ruins and twisted metal.“We see it with our own eyes,” she said about the growing length of the trains travelling through the area, where on July 6, 2013, a train carrying 72 tank cars filled with crude oil derailed and exploded, killing 47 people and destroying entire city blocks.If a derailment occurs, first responders have access through a mobile application to a detailed description of the materials inside the railcars and the associated risks. But Morin says city council wants advance ...

Corrections head questioned how Mendicino was kept in dark over Bernardo transfer

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:18:07 GMT

OTTAWA — Days after Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino shared his outrage on social media over the transfer of notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison, the head of Canada’s federal prison system asked the department whether the politician had been told of the move.Anne Kelly, the commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, also reached out to Mendicino directly to let him know that she had seen the tweet in which he voiced his concern over the move and offered to arrange a meeting. The back-and-forth emails between federal officials and Mendicino himself in the days leading up to and after Canadians learned of the transfer were released to The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act.The public safety minister and his staff have been under heavy scrutiny over the past month as more details have emerged about the timeline of the prison transfer. Questions have also swirled around who knew what when, with the Opposition Conservat...

Daily horoscope for July 4, 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:18:07 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or important decisions from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. EDT today (9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Capricorn into Aquarius.Happy Birthday for Tuesday, July 4, 2023:You are passionate about your beliefs and like to work with others toward a common goal. You are dedicated and loyal. This year is the last year of a nine-year cycle, which means it’s time to let go of people, places and things that are holding you back.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★★Today you will enjoy the company of friends as well as groups, clubs and organizations. Despite the fact that your strong focus is on home and family at the moment, you are nevertheless eager to socialize with others. Tonight: Home.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Today you are high-viz, whether you are aware of this or not. In fact, some people might know personal details about your private life. Nevertheless, with lucky Jupiter in your sign now, you have divine protection. Enjoy warm bond...

Ukraine reports Russian attacks in east, progress in south

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:18:07 GMT

Ukrainian forces are resisting a Russian onslaught in eastern areas of the front and face difficulties in the northeast, but are making progress near the shattered city of Bakhmut and in the south, the deputy defence minister said on Sunday (2 July).Russian accounts of the front line said Moscow's forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks near villages ringing Bakhmut and in areas further south, particularly the strategic hilltop town of Vuhlear. They also reported success in containing Ukrainian troops in the northeast.Reuters could not confirm any of the battlefield accounts.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meanwhile, presented awards to troops in the port of Odesa and vowed: "The enemy will in no way dictate its terms in the Black Sea!"Ukraine's military have been engaged in a counter-offensive to recapture areas of the east and south seized in Russia's 16-month-old invasion. The initial Ukrainian advances have focused on securing clusters of villages in the south.Deputy Ukra...

CEEC participates in Lancang-Mekong energy cooperation under BRI

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:18:07 GMT

Participants of the 2023 Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Media Summit visit China Energy Engineering Corporation on 28 June, 2023. (People’s Daily Online/Li Shiqi)China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC), a Chinese multinational corporation providing solutions and services for global energy and power, infrastructure and green low-carbon development, actively participates in high-quality energy development in the Lancang-Mekong countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, while deeply cultivating the Southeast Asian market under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), write Cai Hairuo and Li Shiqi People's Daily Online.The five Lancang-Mekong countries are key markets for CEEC’s overseas business. CEEC subsidiaries entered Vietnam and other countries in the 1980s and were among the first Chinese companies to begin operating in the Lancang-Mekong countries. After more than 30 years of development, over 30 subsidiaries have set up branches i...