Couple have not yet been identified and bear demonstrating ‘aggressive behavior’ was killed by park rangers
Two people and their dog have been killed in a rare grizzly bear attack in Canada’s Banff national park, and the bear was later killed by park rangers.
The couple have not yet been identified but “loved the outdoors and were inseparable”, a family member said in a statement.
Continue reading...A ‘structural failure’ during Sunday service trapped dozens in Santa Cruz church in Gulf coast city of Ciudad Madero
The roof of a church has collapsed in northern Mexico during a Sunday mass, killing at least 10 people and injuring about 60, authorities said as searchers probed the wreckage late into the night looking for survivors and other victims.
Approximately 30 parishioners were believed to have been trapped in the rubble when the roof caved in, officials said. Searchers crawled under the roof slabs and officials brought in dogs to help search for possible survivors.
Continue reading...Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and former defence minister agree to pay for 2003 violence in which 60 protesters were killed
A former Bolivian president and his defence minister have agreed to pay damages to the families of people killed by the military during their government, in a landmark settlement that sets a precedent by which other foreign leaders could face accountability for human rights abuse in US courts.
The settlement concerns events in 2003, when massive protests broke out over then president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada’s plan to export Bolivia’s natural gas. The army was sent to clear blockades in the largely Indigenous and working-class city of El Alto, killing more than 60 protesters and injuring hundreds.
Continue reading...The explorer is widely thought of as an exploiter today, and didn’t know east from west. But a version of his boastful missive is expected to fetch up to £1.2m at auction
In 1493, Christopher Columbus wrote a letter that would change the landscape of the modern world. “I sailed to the Indies with the fleet that the illustrious King and Queen, our sovereigns, gave me, where I discovered a great many islands, inhabited by numberless people,” he wrote after his return to Europe to royal treasurer Luis de Santángel. “Of all, I have taken possession for their Highnesses.”
The events relayed in the letter were “the first report of a voyage that really did change the world”, says Columbus biographer Professor Felipe Fernández-Armesto.
Continue reading...Banco do Brasil, one of country’s biggest banks, under scrutiny as institutions called to account for role in trafficking of Africans
Brazilian prosecutors have launched a civil investigation into one of the country’s largest banks’ historical links to slavery, in an unprecedented move to hold Brazilian institutions to account for their role in the enslavement of millions of Africans.
Banco do Brasil was notified this week of the public inquiry seeking reparations for the bank’s connections with the transatlantic trafficking of Black people.
Continue reading...Suspect, arrested in Peru, allegedly threatened schools after failing to ‘sextort’ nude photos from schoolchildren
A Peruvian man was arrested in Peru for sending more than 150 fake bomb threats to US schools, airports and a synagogue.
Eddie Manuel Núñez Santos, 33, was arrested by Peruvian officials on Tuesday in Lima, according to a press release from the justice department.
Continue reading...Citizens of the island nation were told that power outages of up to 10 hours a day could be expected outside Havana
Cuban officials have warned that blackouts on the island will increase significantly due to a lack of fuel, potentially worsening the country’s plight as it deals with food and medicine shortages.
Local governments have already begun announcing restrictions on power usage at state-run companies and other entities, including moves to postpone sporting events and university classes.
Continue reading...Women make up 51% of the population, and Afro-Brazilians 56%, but no Black woman has ever sat on the highest court
A young Black Brazilian girl dreams of being a pop star, a writer or a world champion in gymnastics, dressing up like the Afro-Brazilian women who have achieved that before her.
But when her mother suggests that she aspire to become a judge on the supreme court, the girl looks incredulous and asks: “Like who?”
Continue reading...Silvia Macías was celebrating 15th birthday of son Santiago when bear appeared and gulped down tacos
A woman in Mexico shielded her son after a bear leaped on to a picnic table, inches from his face, and devoured the tacos and enchiladas meant for his birthday dinner.
Silvia Macías of Mexico City had travelled to the Chipinque Park on the outskirts of the northern city of Monterrey to celebrate the 15th birthday of her son, Santiago, who has Down’s syndrome.
Continue reading...Anthony Rota steps down after meeting with party leaders in Ottawa having invited Yaroslav Hunka to special session
The speaker of Canada’s parliament has resigned after inviting a Ukrainian Nazi veteran to attend a special session of parliament, and then calling the man a “hero” amid two standing ovations.
Anthony Rota stepped down as speaker on Tuesday after meeting with party leaders in Ottawa amid growing cross-party calls for his resignation.
Continue reading...Officials react defensively to Heroico, which has been compared to Full Metal Jacket for its scenes of physical and psychological abuse
Mexico’s national guard has been urging its troops to go to see Héroes, a rousingly patriotic film about a 19th-century US invasion, in an apparent attempt to drown out the similarly named Heroico – a film which paints a much less flattering picture of the armed forces.
Héroes tells the story of the Battle of Chapultepec during the 1846-48 Mexican-American war and the “Child Heroes” – six cadets who refused to retreat and instead fought to the death. The last of them supposedly leapt from the ramparts holding the Mexican flag, to prevent its capture.
Continue reading...Asylum seekers who arrived before the end of July – about 472,000 – will now be able to legally live and work in the US
Venezuelan asylum seekers in the United States have welcomed the news of temporary permission to live and work in the country as a vital “helping hand” after the Biden administration announced that it would extend temporary protected status (TPS) to nearly half a million Venezuelan nationals.
The Department of Homeland Security announced that the TPS extension now includes those who arrived in the US by the end of July, whereas the previous cutoff date was 8 March 2021.
Continue reading...Secretary of state says US takes ‘very, very seriously’ incidents of transnational repression amid dispute over killing of Sikh separatist in British Columbia
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has called on India to cooperate with Canada and ensure “accountability” over the killing of a Sikh separatist, after Ottawa accused Delhi of involvement.
Blinken said the United States has been in touch with both India, with which it has warming ties, and Canada, a close ally, after the two countries engaged in tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president thanks Canada for financial support and says ‘stay with us to our victory’
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged Canada to stay with Ukraine to victory as he went to the Canadian Parliament seeking to bolster support from western allies for Ukraine’s war against the Russian invasion.
“Moscow must lose once and for all. And it will lose,” Zelenskiy said during his address in parliament on Friday.
Continue reading...Court voted against agribusiness-backed attempt to prevent communities claiming land they did not physically occupy in 1988
Brazil’s supreme court has blocked efforts to dramatically strip back Indigenous land rights in what activists called a historic victory for the South American country’s original inhabitants.
Nine of the court’s 11 members voted against what rights groups had dubbed the “time limit trick” – an agribusiness-backed attempt to prevent Indigenous communities claiming land they did not physically occupy in 1988.
Continue reading...‘It was a mistake,’ says Doug Ford to allow development in protected areas of Greenbelt amid scandal that cost him ministers
Ontario’s premier has reversed course on a controversial multibillion-dollar land swap deal, saying it was a “mistake” to allow development in protected areas of the green belt around Toronto. The abrupt reversal comes after the scandal has cost him a pair of cabinet ministers, two damning reports from government watchdogs and mounting public outrage.
“I made a promise to you that I wouldn’t touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise. And for that, I am very, very sorry,” Doug Ford told reporters on Thursday afternoon. “It was a mistake to open the Greenbelt … I’m not perfect. No government is perfect.”
Continue reading...Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Chérizier issued call to arms as US looks to UN to approve Kenya-led mission to stem country’s growing violence
The most severe humanitarian crisis in the Americas has taken yet another dramatic turn after Haiti’s most powerful gang boss took to the streets to call for an armed uprising to overthrow the country’s unpopular prime minister.
Jimmy Chérizier, a police officer turned gang lord nicknamed “Barbecue”, issued his call to arms on Tuesday, as reports suggested the US was preparing to ask the UN security council to approve a Kenya-led intervention designed to address the Caribbean country’s escalating security crisis.
Continue reading...Claims by former Brazilian president’s ex-secretary prompt calls for alleged rightwing conspirators to be brought to justice
Jair Bolsonaro’s former secretary has reportedly told investigators his ex-boss met the heads of Brazil’s army, navy and air force late last year to discuss a “putschist plan” for a military coup.
The claims – reported by two of Brazil’s most important news outlets, O Globo and UOL – prompted calls for the alleged rightwing conspirators to be brought to justice.
Continue reading...Organized crime groups have about 175,000 members and authors say the best way to reduce violence is to cut membership
Organised crime groups in Mexico have about 175,000 members – making them the fifth-biggest employer in the country, according to new research published in the journal Science.
Using a decade of data on homicides, missing persons and incarcerations, as well as information about interactions between rival factions, the paper published on Thursday mathematically modeled overall cartel membership, and how levels of violence would respond to a range of policies.
Continue reading...Announcement of ‘security threats’ follows Justin Trudeau’s claims India was involved in Sikh activist’s killing
Relations between India and Canada have further deteriorated after Delhi announced it was suspending visa services for Canadians due to “security threats” faced by its embassy and consulates in Canada.
BLS International, which runs the Indian visa offices in Canada, put a notice on its website stating that all visa services for Canadians were suspended until further notice, citing “operational reasons”.
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