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Rwanda says Rusesabagina of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ fame to be freed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:22 GMT

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda’s government has commuted the sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda” for saving hundreds of countrymen from genocide but was convicted of terrorism offenses years later in a widely criticized trial.Government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told The Associated Press on Friday that the 25-year sentence was commuted by presidential order after a request for clemency.Rusesabagina, a 68-year-old U.S. resident and Belgian citizen, is expected to be released on Saturday, she said.“Rwanda notes the constructive role of the U.S. government in creating conditions for dialogue on this issue, as well as the facilitation provided by the state of Qatar,” Makolo said. President Paul Kagame earlier this month said discussions were under way on resolving the issue.The case had been described by the United States and others as unfair. Rusesabagina disappeared in 2020 during a visit to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and appeared days later...

The latest developments on U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Ottawa

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:22 GMT

OTTAWA — The latest developments on U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Ottawa with first lady Jill Biden on Friday. All times eastern.10:30 a.m. The two Canadians who were imprisoned in China for nearly three years will be in attendance today as Biden addresses Parliament. Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig will also attend the gala dinner tonight.It will be the first public appearance for the two since they were released by China in September 2021, after spending more than a thousand days in prison.Ukraine’s ambassador in Canada, as well as ambassadors from the European Union and other G7 countries are also on the guest list for the address — as are a Ukrainian immigrant to Canada and workers from several Canadian companies, including steel giant Dofasco and rare earth elements mining company Cheetah Resources.–––10:05 a.m. Two university students from the state of Virginia who were jogging in front of the Parliament Buildings had no idea their president was in town, an...

‘Canada I am so sorry’, anthem singer forgets O Canada lyrics before Leafs game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:22 GMT

If you tuned in to the Toronto Maple Leafs game in Florida on Thursday night you may have noticed something was a little off with the Canadian national anthem.Ryan Michael James sang both the American and Canadian anthems before the game against the Panthers at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida. James appeared to forget some of the words during the first half of his rendition of O Canada, needing some assistance from the Canadian snowbirds in attendance to keep the song afloat.He tells Kiss 92.5 he was a last minute replacement and only found out he was singing hours before the puck dropped between the two teams.“I found out two hours before that I was actually going on,” he said. “I had two hours to learn the national anthem for Canada, of which I was not familiar with before doing the gig.”The replacement singer posted a shirtless selfie on Instagram approximately one hour before the game, with the caption: “Still trying to learn the words to ‘...

4 ex-officers in Tyre Nichols case barred from police work

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:22 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Four of five former Memphis police officers charged with murder in the beating death of Tyre Nichols cannot work as law enforcement officers again in Tennessee, a state panel decided Friday.The Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission, or P.O.S.T., voted to decertify Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith during a meeting Friday morning. It also approved the decision by Desmond Mills to surrender his certification.The former officers have 30 days to appeal.The Memphis Police Department has requested the decertification of seven former Memphis officers, including one who retired before he could be fired.Mills’ attorney said his client has been wrongly indicted and is “focusing on his freedom.”“It’s a waste of time,” attorney Blake Ballin said. “It is meaningless to him at this stage in his life.”Neither the fired officers nor their attorneys showed up for a hearing Thursday in their cases in front of the panel. They were also not presen...

Canada facing fresh U.S. pressure to agree to review cross-border mining toxins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:22 GMT

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to add today to the pressure on Canada for a bilateral investigation into toxic mining runoff in a key cross-border watershed. Activists, experts and Indigenous leaders in both Canada and the U.S. want an investigation into toxins from B.C. mining operations they say have been polluting the Kootenay River basin for decades. The “reference,” as it’s known, would be overseen by the International Joint Commission, a bilateral body established by the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Both countries must agree to a reference — and Canada has been reluctant, despite pressure from Indigenous groups, conservationists and even the U.S. State Department. Erin Sexton, a University of Montana research scientist who specializes in Canada-U.S. transboundary rivers, calls Canada’s reticence “confounding.”Sexton says the White House will push for a reference, which she calls an ideal way to address the issue, since it al...

Police say it’s ‘improbable’ there are more than seven missing in Old Montreal fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:22 GMT

Montreal police say they don’t think they’ll find more than seven bodies in the rubble of an Old Montreal building that caught fire eight days ago.Police told reporters today they don’t have reports of more people missing, adding that it’s “improbable” there are more than seven victims.Searchers have pulled four bodies from the rubble, and only one victim has been identified: a 76-year-old woman who had lived in the building for decades.Insp. David Shane says officials are working to identify the other three.Police say three people reported missing are likely still in the charred remains of the building.The cause of the fire remains under investigation.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2023.The Canadian Press

Why executions by firing squad may be coming back in the US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:22 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The image of gunmen in a row firing in unison at a condemned prisoner may conjure up a bygone, less enlightened era. But the idea of using firing squads is making a comeback. Idaho lawmakers passed a bill this week seeking to add the state to the list of those authorizing firing squads, which currently includes Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Fresh interest comes as states scramble for alternatives to lethal injections after pharmaceutical companies barred the use of their drugs. Some, including a few Supreme Court justices, view firing squads as less cruel than lethal injections, despite the violence involved in riddling bodies with bullets. Others say it’s not so cut-and-dry, or that there are other factors to consider. A look at the status of firing squads in the United States: WHEN WAS THE LAST EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD? Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed at Utah State Prison on June 18, 2010, for killing an attorney during a courthouse escape a...

Ukraine using Soviet-era choppers to pummel Russia from afar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:22 GMT

DONETSK REGION, Ukraine (AP) — Skimming the treetops, three Soviet-era attack helicopters bank and swoop down on a field after an early-morning mission to the front lines in the fight against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Each day, they might fly three or four sorties, says the commander, whose two-crew Mi-24 helicopter, built about 40 years ago, is older than he is.“We are carrying out combat tasks to destroy enemy vehicles, enemy personnel, we are working with pitch-up attacks from a distance from where the enemy can’t get us with their air defense system,” said the commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity for operational security reasons, in line with military regulations. The conflict in Ukraine is largely an artillery war, with territory being fought for inch by inch under a barrage of shells and missiles. But Ukraine’s aviation capabilities play a significant role in the fight, the pilot said.“The importance of the helicopters is huge,” said the commander, who is part of ...

EU leaders play down bank risks as economy weakens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:22 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders Friday played down the risk of a banking crisis developing from recent global financial turbulence and hitting the economy even harder than the energy crunch tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine.After a meeting in Brussels, the EU government heads said lenders in Europe are generally in sound health and in a position to weather a combination of rising interest rates and slowing economic growth.“The banking system is stable in Europe,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters after the summit. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: “Generally, I think we are in good shape.”The EU deliberations came in the wake of U.S. regulators’ shutdown of two U.S. banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, and a Swiss-orchestrated takeover of troubled lender Credit Suisse by rival UBS. The emergency actions on both sides of the Atlantic revived memories of the 2008 global financial meltdown and the ensuing EU sovereign debt crisis, which almost broke apart the euro ...

Stocks slip as worries rise about Deutsche Bank, other banks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are slipping on Wall Street Friday as worries about banks on both sides of the Atlantic tug markets lower. The S&P 500 was 0.5% lower in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 192 points, or 0.6%, at 31,913, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower.Markets have been turbulent on worries that banks are weakening under the pressure of much higher interest rates. That’s led to rising concerns about a possible recession and heavy uncertainty about what the Federal Reserve and other central banks will do with interest rates going forward.On Friday, much of the focus was on Deutsche Bank, whose stock tumbled 9.6% in Germany. Earlier this month, shares of and faith in Swiss bank Credit Suisse fell so much that regulators brokered a takeover of it by rival UBS.Credit Suisse faced a relatively unique set of longstanding troubles. But the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history earlier this month ha...