French restaurant threatened for selling fries, cheese and gravy snack that sounds like the Russian leader
Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has prompted demonstrations around the world, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to condemn the war.
But anger towards the Russian leader has also ensnared an unlikely casualty: a French-Canadian delicacy of potato fries, cheese curds and gravy.
Continue reading...Demonstrators gathered in cities across Europe, the US and South America to demand an end to Russia’s invasion
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in cities including Santiago, Vancouver Paris and New York in support of Ukraine, demanding an end to Russia’s invasion.
The protesters rallied on Saturday against Russian president Vladimir Putin’s attack, which began on 24 February and appeared to be entering a new phase with escalating bombardment.
Continue reading...Donald Lee claimed he killed a Fannin bighorn sheep in Alaska but an online sleuth and Yukon conservation officers proved he didn’t
When an Alaskan hunter ventured out into the rugged mountains and dropped his target with a single rifle shot, it seemed like the perfect crime.
The only witness lay dead on the rocky landscape.
Continue reading...The Washington Capitals star is popular among Russians who may not usually question their leader. And he has debated the need for war
In 2017, Alexander Ovechkin, inarguably the best Russian hockey player alive or dead and the country’s most famous male athlete, started something called PutinTeam.
“I have never hidden my attitude towards our president, always supporting him,” the Muscovite and captain of the NHL’s Washington Capitals wrote, three years after Russia annexed Crimea. “I am confident that there are many of us, supporting Vladimir Putin. So let’s unite and show everyone a united and strong Russia!”
Continue reading...Researchers say its unlikely that the variant found in deer could bypass vaccines, but urge better monitoring of Covid in animals
Canadian researchers believe they have found the first-ever instance of a deer passing the coronavirus to a human, warning that broader surveillance of wildlife is needed to prevent further mutations from developing and spreading undetected.
In a paper published last week, but not yet peer reviewed, scientists say at least one case of Covid-19 in humans can be traced to a strain of the virus found in hunted deer.
Continue reading...New Brunswick officials say baffling disorder that causes memory loss and cognitive decline is from known neurological condition
After warning medical professionals to be on the lookout for a baffling neurological condition that produced memory loss, muscle wasting and severe cognitive decline, authorities in the Canadian province of New Brunswick have concluded that no such illness exists, a finding that has prompted skepticism and disbelief as families search for answers.
New Brunswick officials last year flagged a possible “cluster” of residents suffering from an unknown neurological syndrome, similar to those of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Symptoms were varied and dramatic: some patients started drooling, and others felt as though bugs were crawling on their skin.
Continue reading...Police release video of attack on workers’ equipment at camp of Coastal GasLink, a 400-mile pipeline opposed by First Nation groups
Police in Canada have released footage of axe wielding attackers as they investigate a “calculated and organised” night-time raid on a remote work camp.
Up to 20 people are believed to have attacked Coastal GasLink’s pipeline construction camp last week on Marten Forest Service Road in British Columbia.
Continue reading...US protest to follow Canadian truckers’ demonstration against pandemic restrictions
The Pentagon is expected to approve the deployment of 700 to 800 unarmed national guard troops to the nation’s capital, a US official said on Tuesday, in the face of trucker convoys that are planning protests against pandemic restrictions beginning next week.
The District of Columbia government and the US Capitol police are requesting the national guard assistance. The troops would be used largely to help control traffic and are expected to come from the district’s national guard and three states, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss aid not yet formally approved.
Continue reading...Prime minister Justin Trudeau says situation ‘still fragile’ after biggest police operation in nation’s history
Canadian lawmakers have voted to extend the federal government’s emergency powers, granting the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, powerful tools to prevent new blockades by those opposed to Covid-19 restrictions.
Despite opposition from rival Conservatives and legal challenges to the decision from civil rights groups, experts expect the decision will have little lasting damage for Trudeau.
Continue reading...Some accounts claiming to support the Canada trucker protests are run by con artists abroad
When Facebook removed dozens of groups dedicated to Canada’s anti-government “Freedom Convoy” protests earlier this month, it didn’t do so because of extremism or conspiracies rife within the protests. It was because the groups were being run by scam artists.
Networks of spammers and profiteers, some based as far afield as Vietnam or Romania, had set up the groups using fake or hacked Facebook accounts in an attempt to make money off of the political turmoil.
Continue reading...Ottawa police have abandoned their policy of de-escalation against anti-Covid mandate demonstrators
Today’s action to cordon off the occupation of parliament’s grounds and prevent it growing might go some way to restoring public confidence in the police, which has appeared to be eroding since the protests began a fortnight ago.
So far, police have pursued a de-escalation strategy, but there have been calls for firmer action. The whole event has raised important questions about the relationship between the police and government, and about police independence and accountability.
The police are an instrument of the crown […] but in the two principal roles of detecting and preventing crime and keeping the Queen’s peace they act independently of the crown and serve only the law.
Continue reading...Three-week occupation over Covid precautions and Trudeau government ends with 76 vehicles towed and 191 arrests
Canadian police on Sunday secured the downtown core of Ottawa with fencing, as city workers cleaned up trash and snow plows cleared streets after two days of tense standoffs and 191 arrests ended a three-week occupation.
Demonstrators used hundreds of trucks and vehicles to block the city center since 28 January, prompting the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to invoke rarely used emergency powers.
Continue reading...Police pushed back protesters in Canada’s besieged capital on Saturday, arresting 170 people and towing away dozens of vehicles. Many more trucks were driven out of the city, raising authorities’ hopes for an end to the three-week protest against the country’s Covid restrictions. Police in tactical gear quickly gained ground on the second full day of one of the biggest police enforcement actions in Canada’s history, for which officers were drawn in from around the country
Continue reading...Large parts of area in capital cleared after more than 191 are arrested and 57 vehicles are towed
When thousands of protesters against Covid restrictions arrived in Ottawa last month, it would have seemed unimaginable that they would take over parts of the Canadian capital with little resistance.
To their own disbelief, the rightwing protesters soon controlled the streets outside parliament, brazenly flouting the law in the belief nothing could or would stop them.
Continue reading...Police chief says ‘occupation is over’ as he vows to clear out those still demonstrating against Covid mandates and Trudeau government
Canadian police deployed pepper spray and stun grenades on Saturday in a continuing effort to break up a blockade of trucks and demonstrators that has occupied downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks in a protest against pandemic protocols.
Reports indicated that authorities escalated crowd control efforts. Police with rifles reportedly approached protesters and smashed truck windows.
Continue reading...At least 21 vehicles towed as police start breaking up protest camp that has paralysed Canada’s capital for several weeks
Police in Ottawa have begun arresting protesters and towing away vehicles in an effort to break up the so-called “freedom convoy” that has paralysed Canada’s capital for weeks and prompted the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to declare a national emergency
By Friday evening, at least 100 people had been arrested, mostly on mischief charges, and at least 21 vehicles had been towed, including all of those blocking one of the city’s major streets, as police exercised emergency powers that Trudeau invoked earlier this week.
Continue reading...Lawmakers including Ron Paul and Ron DeSantis say they would back disruption of a Canadian-style trucker convoy
In the wake of racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd, a wave of Republican lawmakers supported legislation to punish protesters who blocked roads. Now some of those same Republicans are supporting similar tactics from conservative trucker convoys protesting against vaccine mandates.
Last year, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, signed an anti-rioting law that stiffened penalties for protesters who blocked roads and even gave some legal protection to drivers who ran them over. It went so far that in September a federal judge struck down the law, ruling it unconstitutional.
Continue reading...Justin Trudeau says ‘high time these illegal and dangerous activities stop’ after nearly three weeks in Canadian capital
Truckers who have blockaded downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks have defied a growing police presence in the Canadian capital and ignored repeated warnings that they could face steep fines and possible arrest.
Officers had warned of an impending crackdown on Thursday, as busloads of police reinforcements arrived in the city and work crews took the rare step of erecting metal fences outside the senate and parliament.
Continue reading...Public safety minister speaks after arrest of extremists accused of plotting to kill police officers in Canada border town of Coutts
Canada’s public safety minister has warned of ties between protesters occupying the country’s capital and a group of far-right extremists who were charged earlier this week in the border town of Coutts, Alberta, over an alleged plot to kill police officers.
“Several of the individuals at Coutts have strong ties to a far-right extreme organization with leaders who are in Ottawa,” the minister, Marco Medicino, told reporters on Wednesday.
Continue reading...The Galicia-based trawler sank off Newfoundland with just three known survivors from the crew of 24
Spain was in mourning for its worst fishing tragedy in almost 40 years, as rescuers warned on Wednesday that it was unlikely they would find any more survivors from a ship that sank in rough seas off Newfoundland.
Search teams have so far confirmed 10 dead and rescued three survivors from a life raft, and the search continues for 11 others who remain unaccounted for.
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