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Premier Eby condemns rise in hate crimes in B.C. stemming from Israeli-Hamas conflict

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:18 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia Premier David Eby is condemning the rise in hate crimes in the province, driven by the Israeli-Hamas war.Eby says in a written statement that his office has heard “directly” about a number of acts of antisemitism, such as the vandalism of a rabbi’s home and two Jewish women being threatened with violence after a rally.He says there are also increased reports of hate incidents from Muslim organizations in the province, including an incident where two women were attacked in Vancouver.Eby says there is equally “no place for Islamophobia or anti-Palestinian hate” in B.C. as there is “no place for antisemitism or anti-Israeli hate.”More than 1,400 people have died in Israel since the deadly incursion by Hamas on Oct. 7, while authorities in Gaza say the death toll has passed 7,300 in the territory since the war began.Both Israeli and Palestinian supporters have held large-scale public rallies in British Columbia since ...

The Teresa Group helps support Toronto children, families impacted by HIV and AIDS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:18 GMT

In the heart of Toronto’s Downtown Yonge East neighbourhood, The Teresa Group is doing important work with children and families impacted by HIV and AIDS by providing vital support to families that can be hard to come by elsewhere.The Teresa Group was founded in 1990 by Penelope Holeton. It was born out of a need to help children during at a time of crisis.“Children were equally being affected with HIV. A lot of parents were giving birth to children who are positive. The medical technology was not advanced,” Rajesh Pisharody, the executive director of The Teresa Group, said while reflecting on progress made in treatments.He noted it would take a cocktail of drugs 30 years ago to provide treatment while today it’s mostly a pill a day.“The standard of living has improved accessibility to medical professionals medical technology, coverage of medications, all of that has come a long way. People are leading much more healthier lives,” Pisharody said.&#...

Ex-MP Roméo Saganash referred to restorative justice program in sexual assault case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:18 GMT

OTTAWA — The Manitoba government says former NDP MP Roméo Saganash, who is facing a sexual assault charge, has been referred to a restorative justice program.A provincial spokesperson confirmed today that the matter has been sent to diversion, and the Manitoba Restorative Justice Centre has accepted Saganash and “placed him in programming.” The complainant in the case alleges that she was sexually assaulted on May 1, and Winnipeg police say they arrested Saganash on June 27.Saganash’s lawyer, Ethan Pollock, said in an email earlier today that he was not at “liberty to discuss this matter until there is finality.”None of the allegations have been tested in court, and Pollock said in August that his client is presumed innocent and requested that his privacy be respected.Saganash represented the northern Quebec riding of Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou from 2011 to 2019.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2023. The Canadian Press

Judge in Young Dolph case removes himself based on appeals court order

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:18 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A judge removed himself from the Young Dolph murder case Friday after he was ordered to do so by a Tennessee appeals court, which questioned whether he could be impartial to a man charged with killing the rapper two years ago.Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee asked the court clerk to assign a new judge in the high-profile case. The Tennessee Court of Appeals issued its order Sept. 28 after Coffee refused to step down at the request of the lawyer for Justin Johnson, who is charged with two other men in the fatal shooting of Young Dolph in November 2021.The lawyer, Luke Evans, had argued that Coffee could not be impartial after the judge failed to inform him about an order limiting Johnson’s ability to communicate with people outside the jail other than Evans.Johnson and Cornelius Smith have pleaded not guilty in the killing of Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr. The rapper, producer and independent music label owner was gunned down i...

Salman Rushdie could confront man charged with stabbing him when trial begins in January

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:18 GMT

MAYVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Author Salman Rushdie could take the stand against the man charged with repeatedly stabbing him before a lecture when the defendant goes on trial early next year, a prosecutor said Friday.“He is on the people’s witness list right now heading into trial,” Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said, following a court hearing in which the judge scheduled the trial for Jan. 8.Hadi Matar, 25, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and attempted murder. Authorities said the New Jersey resident left the audience and rushed the stage where the “The Satanic Verses” author was about to speak in August 2022, stabbing him more than a dozen times before onlookers intervened. Rushdie, 76, who was left blinded in his right eye and with a damaged left hand, wrote about the attack in a memoir: “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” due out April 16.Matar has been in custody since immediately after the attack at the Chautauqua Institution, an arts and ...

Intel unit focused on analysis, not criminal investigations, RCMP employee tells jury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:18 GMT

OTTAWA — An RCMP employee who worked in the same intelligence unit as a man charged with revealing classified information to targets of the force says the unit was not involved in criminal probes, surveillance or undercover work. Gregory O’Hayon told Ontario Superior Court that Operations Research, as the RCMP unit was known, focused on intelligence and analysis. The Crown alleges Cameron Jay Ortis, who once led the unit, anonymously sent secret information in 2015 to people who were of investigative interest to the national police force. Ortis, 51, has pleaded not guilty to violating the Security of Information Act by allegedly revealing secrets to three individuals and trying to do so in a fourth instance. Ortis’s lawyers have indicated they will try to persuade the jury their client had the authority to take the actions he did. Reporters and the general public were excluded from the courtroom for O’Hayon’s appearance on Wednesday despite objections from me...

Northwest Side store burglarized twice in an hour. Workers say CPD was slow to respond

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:18 GMT

CHICAGO — A grocery store on the Northwest Side was burglarized twice in about an hour, apparently by the same three intruders. According to employees of a food mart in Albany Park, Chicago police's delayed response after the first break-in may have led to the second burglary."They took everything: the cigarettes, the tobacco products, and some merchandise," said worker Mohammad Imran.SEE ALSO: Motorized smash-and-grab thieves target another high-end Chicago sneaker storeA little after 3 a.m. Friday, surveillance video shows three suspects breaking into Mona Food Mart on the 3300 block of W. Lawrence. The suspects are seen walking away with a handful of items. About an hour later, the group, believed to be the same individuals from earlier, returned. Seeing no one inside, the group made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.Imran told WGN it took police more than an hour to arrive at the scene. The store's alarm system allegedly alerted police to the initial broken g...

ISP anti-human trafficking operation lands 6 behind bars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:18 GMT

CHICAGO — An anti-human trafficking operation spearheaded by the Illinois State Police (ISP) has landed six people behind bars this week.Officials say the human trafficking suppression operation was conducted in the Will County area between Oct. 25 and 26, and led by the ISP Division of Criminal Investigation Trafficking Enforcement Bureau. Cook County deputies announce 10 arrests in connection with sex trafficking, prostitution & child pornography Authorities provided the following list of individuals arrested, all of whom have been charged with indecent solicitation of a minor and traveling to meet a minor:31-year-old Enrique Garcia, of Chicago, Illinois.56-year-old Mario Lucas Garcia, of Joliet, Illinois.27-year-old Carlos Mejia, of Chicago, Illinois.56-year-old Raymond Peterson, of Lockport, Illinois.55-year-old Ismael Ruiz, of Bolingbrook, Illinois.63-year-old Yousef Saad, of Lombard, Illinois.According to ISP, the operation, which focused on "identifying individuals seek...

NW suburban taekwondo instructor arrested on child pornography charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:18 GMT

LAKE IN THE HILLS, Ill. — Parents are set to gather for an emergency meeting tonight after a martial arts teacher at a Northwest suburban taekwondo academy was arrested earlier this week and charged with several counts of child pornography.The meeting is set to take place at Ha's Taekwondo Academy on Randall Road in Lake of the Hills, where 29-year-old Allen Nguyen worked before being arrested Tuesday morning by the Huntley Police Department.According to Ha's, the meeting will be an opportunity for parents to express their concerns as the martial arts school emphasizes its commitment to regaining the community's trust by bringing in a professional and implementing new security programs. Residents near Amundsen Park continue speaking out against proposal to house migrants Huntley police said Nguyen is facing four felony counts of possession of child phonography after the department completed a four month investigation into the matter, but police also said the arrest bears no connec...

'Lives lost, voices silenced:' 22 Palestinian journalists killed, power blackout from Israeli airstrikes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:18 GMT

CHICAGO -- Twenty-two Palestinian journalists have been killed and communication has been cut off with the outside world due to Israeli bombardments, in efforts to silence the reality in Gaza, a Chicago journalist says. About 27 journalists are confirmed dead, 22 Palestinian, 4 Israeli and one Lebanese. Eight more journalists were reported injured, and nine others are missing or detained, according to data collected by the Committee to Protect Journalists. All the deaths are reported as 'dangerous assignments' on their website as opposed to 'murderer or in crossfire combat,' which Chicago-based Journalist Deanna Othman says is a disparity in the reporting of Palestinian journalist deaths -- despite heavily targeted Israeli attacks. "Some of them are not even receiving the support from their workplaces after they have been killed," Othman said.Issam Abdullah, a Beirut-based videographer for Reuters was killed in an Israeli shelling attack near the Lebanon border on Oct. 13. In this p...