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Libya was mired in chaos and corruption. For years, warnings the Derna dams may burst went unheeded

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:28:00 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — The warnings were clear but went unheeded.Experts had long said that floods posed a significant danger to two dams meant to protect nearly 90,000 people in the northeast of Libya. They repeatedly called for immediate maintenance to the two structures, located just uphill from the coastal city of Derna. But successive governments in the chaos-stricken North African nation did not react. “In the event of a big flood, the consequences will be disastrous for the residents of the valley and the city,” Abdelwanees Ashoor, a professor of civil engineering, wrote in a study published last year in the Sabha University Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences.The warnings came true in the early hours of Sept. 11, when residents of Derna woke up to loud explosions before floodwaters pounded the Mediterranean city. They found that two dams had broken, unleashing a wall of water two stories high that wreaked destruction and swept entire neighborhoods out to sea.The deluge proved deadly ...

Underwater teams search for a helicopter that crashed while fighting a forest fire in western Turkey

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:28:00 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Underwater teams are searching a lake for a helicopter that crashed over the weekend while fighting a forest fire in western Turkey, state media reported Monday.Four crew members were aboard the firefighting aircraft when it fell into the waters of the Tahtali dam while battling a blaze in Izmir’s Menderes district.One pilot, a national of Kyrgyzstan, swam to safety following the accident late Saturday. Three other crew – a Turk and two Kyrgyz personnel – remain unaccounted for.The search resumed Monday following Sunday’s unsuccessful efforts, state-run Anadolu news agency said. The night vision-equipped helicopter, which was collecting water to drop on the flames when it crashed, is reported to be stuck in mud 12 meters (36 feet) below the surface.The fire was extinguished Sunday. Summer wildfires are common in Turkey, where dry vegetation and high temperatures and winds create ideal conditions for deadly blazes.The Associated Press

In the news today: Parliament resumes, with focus on housing and food prices

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:28:00 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…Housing, food prices on agenda as MPs returnMPs are returning to the House of Commons today determined to find relief for Canadians feeling the pinch of inflation.While some of the most heated debates this fall will surround bail reform, gun restrictions and climate change, it is housing costs and grocery bills that will likely dominate the agenda. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne will get things moving this morning when he meets with the heads of Canada’s biggest grocery chains, seeking a plan to curb the growing cost of food.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the heads of Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, Costco and Walmart Canada have until Thanksgiving to show a plan to lower prices or the government may step in to force the issue.—Here’s what else we’re watching …Arguments slow ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers’...

Film ‘Bones of Crows’ hits small screen with more story as five-part miniseries

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:28:00 GMT

TORONTO — It was soon apparent to writer and director Marie Clements that a limited miniseries would not be enough to contain the multigenerational tale of an Indigenous family at the heart of her latest project, “Bones of Crows.”The Vancouver-born Dene/Métis filmmaker says the sweeping story was initially envisioned as a four-part TV venture, but plans grew to a five-part miniseries, and then again to a five-part miniseries plus a feature film.That two-hour feature premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival one year ago, and this week the small screen version for CBC and CBC Gem fleshes out characters and relationships for a more fulsome look at an Indigenous family over some 90 years.While the movie focused on the turbulent life of Cree matriarch Aline Spears, Clements says each hour-long TV episode delves into the myriad trials faced by Aline’s siblings and family members, offering an opportunity to explore new layers to the impact of decades of systemic racism.“T...

Officers warned about harassment before former Saskatchewan police chief’s exit: memo

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:28:00 GMT

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Officers with a beleaguered Saskatchewan police force were warned about harassing behaviour in the weeks before their police chief accused members of personal attacks and character assassination, internal documents show.Jonathan Bergen announced he was retiring as chief of the Prince Albert Police Service last May saying he was the subject of “cowardly” attacks. “What I don’t expect from my service and the community I trust and value is the level of aggression, aggressive personal attack and character assassination on me and my leadership team, and the cruel and misdirected emotional assault on my family,” Bergen told media on May 18.Bergen alleged that his wife and daughter had to clean up offensive posters that were put up around the city 138 kilometres north of Saskatoon. He also alleged his daughter was followed by police members.On May 1, a memo was sent to all employees of the force in Saskatchewan’s third-largest city. “It was brought to our notice that...

Housing, food prices top of mind as MPs return to Ottawa following summer break

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:28:00 GMT

OTTAWA — MPs are returning to the House of Commons today determined to find relief for Canadians feeling the pinch of inflation.While some of the most heated debates this fall will surround bail reform, gun restrictions and climate change, it is housing costs and grocery bills that will likely dominate the agenda. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne will get things moving this morning when he meets with the heads of Canada’s biggest grocery chains, seeking a plan to curb the growing cost of food.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the heads of Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, Costco and Walmart Canada have until Thanksgiving to show a plan to lower prices or the government may step in to force the issue.Recent Canada food price reports from Dalhousie University show the average family is expected to pay another $1,065 for food this year.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the meeting is nothing more than a photo op that will do nothing to lower food prices.This report by...

Residents of Hay River and surrounding communities return after month-long evacuation

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:28:00 GMT

HAY RIVER, N.W.T. — Jennifer Coleman has lived in and around Hay River in the Northwest Territories her whole life, but the highway into the community felt like a strange place as she and other wildfire evacuees were allowed to return there Saturday for the first time in over a month.“It’s almost like muscle memory when you drive that highway, it’s almost like you shut your mind off and just drive, and you end up at home,” Coleman said in an interview Sunday.“It wasn’t like that coming up. I didn’t recognize anything. It was quite hard actually.”Coleman and her husband had been staying in Peace River, Alta., since Hay River, as well as the nearby hamlet of Enterprise and K’atl’odeeche First Nation, were evacuated on Aug. 13. They made the six-hour drive home Saturday in separate vehicles when the evacuation order was finally lifted at 9 a.m. She had a podcast playing but turned it down. From the turnoff to Enterprise to abo...

Decision expected in sex workers’ Charter challenge of criminal prostitution laws

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:28:00 GMT

TORONTO — The Ontario Superior Court is expected to release its decision this morning on a constitutional challenge launched by an alliance of groups advocating for the rights of sex workers. The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform argued in court last fall that Canada’s prostitution laws violate the industry workers’ Charter rights.They say the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act brought in by the former Conservative government is fostering stigma, inviting targeted violence and preventing sex workers from obtaining meaningful consent before engaging with clients.That law was passed in 2014, about a year after the Supreme Court of Canada struck down previous anti-prostitution laws after lawyers argued existing provisions were disproportionate, overbroad and put sex workers at risk of harm.Even though prostitution was legal under the previous laws, nearly all related activities — such as running a brothel, pimping and communicating in a public...

Trajectory for ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers’ trial uncertain as third week begins

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:28:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Lawyers on both sides of the trial of key “Freedom Convoy” organizers are working to keep the proceedings from coming to a standstill.Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are facing charges related to their role in the demonstration that had big-rig trucks blocking downtown Ottawa streets to protest COVID-19 public health measures.The Crown had thought it would take about 10 days to present its case in a trial originally scheduled for 16 days.But as the trial begins its third week in an Ottawa courtroom, just two of the Crown’s 21 planned witnesses have appeared so far.Legal arguments over the admissibility and disclosure of evidence has slowed the proceedings, and the lawyers were left wondering last week how best to move forward. Justice Heather Perkins-McVey says the goal is to ensure the trial is fair to everyone, and that they will get there eventually.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2023.The Canadian Press

Calgary hosts global oil-producing nations at 24th World Petroleum Congress

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:28:00 GMT

CALGARY — Hundreds of executives and government officials from oil-producing nations around the world are gathering in Calgary this week, against the backdrop of growing global pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The 24th World Petroleum Congress, one of the largest oil-and-gas conferences in the world, runs from Monday to Thursday. The event, which has not been held in Canada since 2000, will count among its attendees heavyweights such as Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods, Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz and Amin Nasser, the CEO of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company. The congress, which occurs every three years, is taking place at a time when the issue of global energy security remains heightened in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition, Saudi Arabia and Russia recently agreed to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of this year, sending commodity prices higher. Last week, the U.S. benchmark crude price West Texas Intermediat...