In preparation for plan, Ontario has indemnified itself from liability if cyclists are killed on streets that once had bike lanes
Removing bike lanes from busy city streets will increase traffic congestion, according to a Canadian government document leaked amid a furious row over urban infrastructure.
The findings, which come as the province of Ontario goes to war over cycling infrastructure in Toronto, undercut claims that the dedicated routes contribute to urban gridlock.
Continue reading...Government protests ‘unfriendly and inappropriate’ comments by French president caught on camera
Haiti’s government has summoned the French ambassador to the country to protest about “unfriendly and inappropriate” comments from Emmanuel Macron, who was caught on camera calling the country’s leaders “morons”.
The French president had on Wednesday described the decision of the Caribbean country’s transitional presidential council to oust the prime minister earlier this month amid an escalation in gang warfare as “completely dumb”.
Continue reading...Trudeau adviser shuts down foreign ministry’s allegations that Indian government was behind intimidation plot
Canada, which expelled six Indian diplomats over allegations they were involved in a plot against Sikh separatists, has denied it has evidence Narendra Modi was linked to violence on Canadian soil.
The Canadian foreign ministry last month alleged Amit Shah, considered the number two in Modi’s government, was behind a campaign of intimidation in Canada. Ottawa says it has evidence linking Indian government agents to the 2023 murder of the Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
Continue reading...Viktor Orbán says he will not enforce ICC decision that requires court members to detain Israeli PM if he enters their country
Hungary’s illiberal prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has said he will invite his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, to visit in defiance of an international criminal court arrest warrant, as world leaders split over the ICC’s momentous decision.
The world’s highest criminal court issued warrants on Thursday for Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant and the Hamas commander Ibrahim al-Masri, commonly known as Mohammed Deif, who is believed to be dead, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Continue reading...Police accuse 37 people of crimes including conspiracy and trying to tear down one of world’s largest democracies
The former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and some of his closest allies are among dozens of people formally accused by federal police of being part of a criminal conspiracy designed to obliterate Brazil’s democratic system through a rightwing coup d’état.
Federal police confirmed on Thursday that investigators had concluded their long-running investigation into what they called a coordinated attempt to “violently dismantle the constitutional state”.
Continue reading...For the first time in over 30 years Médicins Sans Frontières halts activity leaving 2 million people in Port-au-Prince without vital healthcare
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has said its aid workers are “heartbroken” after the medical NGO was forced to suspend all of its healthcare services in Port-au-Prince for the first time in three decades, leaving Haitians in the violence-ravaged capital without a critical lifeline.
The international non-profit said it had no choice but to halt all operations on Wednesday after staff were repeatedly attacked and received death threats from armed vigilantes and the national police.
Continue reading...Randy Boissonnault to ‘step away from cabinet’ after being accused of ‘pretendianism’ and improper business dealings
Canada’s employment minister has resigned from the cabinet after weeks of scrutiny over both his business dealings and his shifting claims of Indigenous ancestry.
Moments before question period on Wednesday, prime minister Justin Trudeau’s office said Randy Boissonnault would “step away from cabinet effective immediately” and will “focus on clearing the allegations made against him”.
Continue reading...Council in Yukon territory deadlocked, citing the crown’s tarnished relations with Indigenous peoples in the region
The council of a town in Canada’s Yukon territory has been locked for weeks in bureaucratic standstill after its members refused to swear a mandatory oath of allegiance to King Charles, citing the crown’s tarnished relations with Indigenous peoples in the region.
The standoff, which threatens to cost them their seats, reflects a complicated view of the country’s head of state, who lives thousands of miles away, and increasingly serves as a reminder to a history of violence and broken promises
Continue reading...Communities on Paraná River fear privatisation of waterway operations will destroy way of life
River communities in Argentina fear that Javier Milei’s plans to privatise operations on a key shipping route could lead to environmental damage and destroy their way of life.
Since taking office almost a year ago, the self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” president has pledged to privatise a number of the state’s assets. The latest is the Paraguay-Paraná waterway – a shipping route of strategic importance for Argentina and its neighbours.
Continue reading...Legacy of African Brazilians honored on 329th anniversary of resistance leader Zumbi’s death by Portuguese forces
During the more than 350 years during which slavery was legal in Brazil, harsh conditions prompted a string of uprisings, often resulting in the establishment of quilombos – independent communities formed by escaped Africans who were formerly enslaved, and their descendants.
None were more prominent than the one known as Palmares, where, in the 17th century, as many as 11,000 people lived in a string of communities across parts of the north-eastern states of Alagoas and Pernambuco.
Continue reading...Antony Blinken makes statement months after President Nicolás Maduro claimed to have won July contest
The US government has recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as the “president-elect” of the South American country, months after President Nicolás Maduro claimed to have won the July contest.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, recognized González in a post on X in which he also demanded “respect for the will” of Venezuelan voters.
Continue reading...Scholz, Starmer, Trudeau and Macron among leaders who say communique finalized by Lula ‘not strong enough’
Ukraine’s western allies have criticised the final G20 communique as inadequate for failing to highlight Russia’s invasion of its neighbour in 2022 as the conflict enters its 1,000th day.
The final agreed text from the summit in Brazil was significantly weaker than that of the previous year, only highlighting humanitarian suffering in Ukraine and the importance of territorial integrity.
Continue reading...Armed groups clash with residents and police after plans for attack on Pétionville area announced on social media
Gangs have launched a fresh attack on Haiti’s capital, targeting an upscale community in Port-au-Prince where people with guns clashed with residents who fought side by side with police.
The attack on Pétionville was led by the Viv Ansanm group, whose leader, former police officer Jimmy Chérizier, had announced the plan in a video posted on social media.
Continue reading...UK prime minister was condemned by Iain Duncan Smith, who is on Beijing’s sanctions list
Keir Starmer has twice declined to directly condemn the jailing of dozens of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy figures, less than 24 hours after meeting China’s president at the G20 summit.
The UK prime minister was asked both during a BBC interview and at his press conference in Rio de Janeiro to respond to the jailing of the activists, including being asked if he would condemn the sentences directly, but he reiterated the importance of building bridges with China for the sake of economic growth.
Continue reading...Summit leaders have reshoot in Rio after Biden, Justin Trudeau and Giorgia Meloni were no-shows the day before
The first time G20 leaders took their photo together at a summit in Rio, they forgot Joe Biden. On Tuesday, they had a reshoot – with the outgoing US president firmly back in the frame.
Biden; the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau; and the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni all missed the photo on Monday due to what US officials called “logistical issues”.
Continue reading...Army killing of six priests, their housekeeper and her daughter was one of civil war’s most notorious crimes
A court in El Salvador has ruled to bring a former president and retired military officials to trial for their alleged roles in the prominent murder of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter during the country’s civil war 35 years ago.
The former president Alfredo Cristiani, a former congressman and nine retired military officials are charged with murder and acts of terrorism over one of the most notorious crimes committed during El Salvador’s 12-year civil war, which left 75,000 civilians dead and only formally ended in 1992.
Continue reading...Four military personnel and a police agent held on suspicion of plan to prevent inauguration of president
Brazil’s federal police have arrested four special forces military personnel and one of their own agents on suspicion of planning the assassination of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 15 December 2022 to prevent his inauguration after his victory over the then president, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro.
According to the police, the plot also included plans to assassinate the vice-president, Geraldo Alckmin, and the supreme court justice, Alexandre de Moraes, who at the time was already leading investigations into the so-called “hate cabinet,” as Bolsonaro mobs had become known.
Continue reading...Scientists are racing to understand what a hospitalized teen’s case of bird flu may mean for future outbreaks
The teenager hospitalized with bird flu in British Columbia, Canada, may have a variation of the virus that has a mutation making it more transmissible among people, early data shows – a warning of what the virus can do that is especially worrisome in countries such as the US where some H5N1 cases are not being detected.
The US “absolutely” is not testing and monitoring bird flu cases enough, which means scientists could miss mutated cases like these, said Richard Webby, a virologist at St Jude children’s research hospital’s department of infectious diseases.
Continue reading...Activists condemn law and liken it to civil society crackdowns in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Hungary and Russia
Opposition parties and human rights organisations in Paraguay have condemned an “alarming” new law giving the government powers to shutter NGOs who fail to comply with onerous additional audits – and suspend their directors and staff for up to five years.
Amnesty International warned that the deeply controversial bill – signed into law by President Santiago Peña late on Friday – violated freedom of expression, and likened it to civil society crackdowns in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Hungary and Russia.
Continue reading...Tehran alleged to have targeted retired politician, 84, who is also human rights activist and critic of Iran
Canadian authorities foiled an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate a former justice minister and rights activist who has been a strong critic of Tehran, the Globe and Mail newspaper has reported.
The 84-year-old was justice minister and attorney general from 2003 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2015 but has remained active with many associations that campaign for human rights around the world.
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