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Journalist freed in Mali welcomed in France by Macron

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:40 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French journalist Olivier Dubois, who was held hostage by Islamic extremists for nearly two years in Mali, was welcomed home by French President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday, one day after he was released. Dubois was kidnapped in April 2021 from northern Mali, a region of the country wracked by jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.Leaving the plane at the Villacoublay military airport, southwest of Paris, with a big smile on his face, Dubois was applauded by the group of people waiting for his arrival. He was greeted with great joy by his sister and father, and then hugged Macron. The conditions of Dubois’ release, including whether it involved a ransom, have not been disclosed.Reporters Without Borders, also known by its French acronym RSF, thanked French authorities on Monday for “having implemented the necessary means to obtain his release,” without elaborating.Dubois’ release took place on the same day that an American aid worker was freed in Ma...

Here’s a list February inflation rates for Canadian provinces

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:40 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s national annual inflation rate was 5.2 per cent in February, Statistics Canada says. Here’s what happened in the provinces (previous month in brackets):— Newfoundland and Labrador: 5.4 per cent (5.5)— Prince Edward Island: 6.7 per cent (7.0)— Nova Scotia: 6.5 per cent (6.9)— New Brunswick: 5.9 per cent (6.5)— Quebec: 5.6 per cent (6.2)— Ontario: 5.1 per cent (5.6)— Manitoba: 6.4 per cent (6.9)— Saskatchewan: 5.7 per cent (6.0)— Alberta: 3.6 per cent (5.0)— British Columbia: 6.2 per cent (6.2)This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2023.The Canadian Press

Boris Johnson says ‘partygate’ untruths were honest mistake

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:40 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged Tuesday that he misled Parliament about rule-breaking government parties during the coronavirus pandemic — but insisted he never intentionally lied. Britain’s boisterous former leader is set to be grilled by lawmakers on Wednesday over whether he lied when he denied there had been parties in his Downing Street offices in violation of COVID-19 lockdown rules. If found to have lied deliberately, he could be suspended or even lose his seat in Parliament.In a dossier of written evidence to the House of Commons Committee of Privileges, Johnson acknowledged that “my statements to Parliament that the Rules and Guidance had been followed at all times did not turn out to be correct.”But he said his statements “were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the time. I did not intentionally or recklessly mislead the House.”The committee will quiz Johnson in person on Wednesday afternoon about...

Japan, China push opposing visions in top-level visits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:40 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asia’s stake in Europe’s war was made crystal clear Tuesday when the leaders of the region’s two richest countries sat in the capitals of Russia and Ukraine in strong shows of support for the opposing sides.With the world’s eyes were on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first talks in Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid a surprise visit to Kyiv on the other side of the front lines. The visits came as tension has been growing between the two regional rivals and top economic powers. China is seeking to expand its influence, and Japan has responded by increasing its defense spending and deepening ties with the United States and its allies. While Xi’s trip is meant to send a message to the West that its efforts to isolate Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine have fallen short, the contemporaneous visit to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Kishida, whose country holds the Group of Seven presidency of...

Russia targets Nobel Peace Prize rights group with raids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:40 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian authorities on Tuesday raided the homes and offices of multiple human rights advocates and historians with the prominent rights group Memorial that won the Nobel Peace Prize last year. The wave of searches, after which police took Memorial activists in for questioning, is part of a steady and sweeping crackdown that the Kremlin has unleashed against dissent in recent years. It has intensified after Moscow invaded Ukraine more than a year ago.The group says the raids and the interrogations are connected to a criminal case that Russia’s Investigative Committee launched against the activists earlier this month. The investigation was opened on the charges of rehabilitating Nazism, punishable by up to five years in prison. Memorial runs a database of victims of political repressions, and among the names are three people who were convicted in Soviet times over collaboration with Nazi Germany. The group said that authorities are using those names on th...

Tensions over CUSMA ahead of Biden’s Ottawa visit: In The News for March 21

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:40 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of March 21 …What we are watching in Canada …It’s been less than three years since the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaced NAFTA as the law of the land in continental trade, and there are already hints of the existential anxiety that preceded it.That’s because of the so-called “sunset provision,” a clause that reflects the lingering working-class distrust of globalization in the U.S. that helped Donald Trump get elected president back in 2016. Article 34.7 of the agreement, the “review and term extension” clause, establishes a 16-year life cycle that requires all three countries to sit down every six years to ensure everyone is still satisfied. That clock began ticking in the summer of 2020. If it runs out in 2026, it triggers a self-destruct mechanism of sorts, ensuring the agre...

Wall Street trends higher as regional banks bounce back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:40 GMT

BEIJING — Wall Street is poised to open higher Tuesday ahead of a decision by the Federal Reserve this week on whether to raise interest rates again despite heightened anxiety over the stability of the global banking system.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and futures for the S&P 500 each rose 0.8%.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.9% on Monday after U.S., European and Japanese central banks announced measures to ease strains on the financial system, including lending more dollars if necessary.Mid-sized banks, rattled by the collapse of two tech-focused banks, are bouncing back. Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, failed on March 10 after depositors rushed to withdraw money amid anxiety over the bank’s health. It was the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Regulators convened over the following weekend and announced that New York’s Signature Bank also had failed. U.S. regulators said that all depositors at both ...

Man shot, killed during Rogers Park home invasion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:40 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was shot and killed during a home invasion early Tuesday morning in Rogers Park.Just after 3:30 a.m., police responded to the report of a shooting in the 7600 block of North Sheridan. Police said a 45-year-old man was in his residence when an unknown suspect began knocking on the back door and then pushed the door open.The suspect continued to make entry and the 45-year-old man was shot in the living room. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and died at the scene. CPD: Woman stabbed during argument in River North Police said the suspect ran northbound in an alley and a witness in the apartment called 911. No further details were given.No one is in custody. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.

Firefighters rescued after ceiling collapses during house fire on Far Southeast Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:40 GMT

CHICAGO — Four firefighters were injured while battling a house fire on the Far Southeast Side.The fire started around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 2200 block of East 100th Street. When firefighters arrived to the scene the fire had spread from the home to two adjacent townhomes.Fire officials said two firefighters had to be rescued after a second-floor ceiling collapsed while they were inside the townhouse. One of them was trapped for several minutes.Those two firefighters, along with two others, were transported to an area hospital and treated for minor injuries.The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. It is also unknown if the home had any working smoke detectors. Looking to avoid the Kennedy Expressway construction? Here’s what you should know No other injuries were reported.The fire department reports six to eight people were displaced due to the fire.

Teen driver in NY crash that killed 5 children didn't have a permit, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:40 GMT

SCARSDALE, N.Y. (WPIX) - New details are emerging about what happened in a fatal crash in New York that killed a 16-year-old driver and four children who were his passengers.The 2021 Nissan Rogue SUV driven by Malik Smith, 16, was driving "at normal speed" at 12:20 a.m. Sunday on the Hutchinson River Parkway, Westchester County Executive George Latimer said at a news conference. However, just past the Mamaroneck Road overpass, the SUV, which was rented, "continued in a straight line [and] hit a boulder and a tree head-on," according to Latimer. The crash also set the SUV on fire. Officials identify 5 Connecticut children killed in ‘horrific’ New York crash The impact killed five of the six people on board. Smith, the driver, died from blunt force trauma, according to an autopsy. Investigators found the other deaths were from the same cause. Investigators have concluded that Smith had either been distracted while driving or had fallen asleep, Latimer said. He'd been driving from so...