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Missing Israeli with ties to Canada dead, Joly calls for Canadians to leave Lebanon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:42 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says an Israeli with ties to Canada who had been missing is now confirmed dead, amid the continued fallout from Hamas’s recent surprise attacks on Israel. Joly is offering condolences to the family of Tiferet Lapidot, who she said was one of three Canadians reported missing after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people and setting off a war that has left more than 4,000 dead on both sides. The minister says that during her recent trip to Israel, she met with Lapidot’s Canadian father in Tel Aviv, as well as Lapidot’s uncle, who described her as a “brilliant, beautiful young woman.”The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs described Lapidot as an Israeli woman with Canadian parents, saying in a statement that her family asked that news of her death be shared with media. Joly says two Canadians remain missing, and two more flights arranged by Canada’s military are leaving...

Quebec labour unions in health care, education vote 95 per cent for strike mandate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:42 GMT

MONTREAL — A common front of four major Quebec labour unions has voted 95 per cent for an unlimited general strike mandate.The unions are negotiating as one and represent 420,000 public sector workers in health care, education and social services.Éric Gingras, president of the CSQ union, says the strong mandate announced today shows members are fed up and want better working conditions.François Énault, vice-president of the Confederation of National Trade Unions, says if workers choose to strike, it likely won’t happen before November.The unions are seeking a three-year contract with annual increases tied to the inflation rate — two percentage points above inflation in the first year, three points higher in the second and four points higher in the third.The Quebec government is offering an increase of nine per cent over five years, as well as a lump-sum payment of $1,000 in the first year and other targeted increases that bring the total offer to 13 per cent over five years.Th...

Sweden reports damage to an undersea cable to Estonia, after Finland cites damage to a gas pipeline

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:42 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden on Tuesday reported partial damage to an undersea telecom cable in the Baltic Sea running to Estonia that authorities believe happened at the same time as damage to an undersea gas pipeline and telecom cable from Finland to Estonia.Finland launched an investigation into possible sabotage after reporting the damage to its gas pipeline to Estonia last week. Sweden’s Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said Tuesday that the damage to the cable between Sweden and Estonia appeared to happen at the same time, but that it’s unclear what caused it.“It is not a total cable break. There is a partial damage on this cable,” Bohlin said. “We cannot assess what caused the damage.”Estonia’s economy ministry said the disruption in the Swedish-owned cable was in Estonian territory, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) off the island of Hiiumaa in northern Estonia, the Baltic News Service said. Service was restored within a few days, the agency sai...

4 Hezbollah fighters have been killed as tensions flared along the Lebanon and Israel border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:42 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Tensions flared Tuesday along the Lebanon-Israel border, leaving four Hezbollah fighters dead, the largest number in a single day since the militant group and Israeli military started clashing last week. Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza between the Israeli military and the Hamas militant group.The escalation comes amid fears that the war could spread into Lebanon, where Hezbollah has expressed strong support to the militant Palestinian group. Israel considers heavily-armed group in Lebanon as its biggest threat, which has said a ground incursion into the blockaded Gaza Strip would lead to an escalation. So far, artillery exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel have been limited to several towns along the border. Israel has threatened that if Hezbollah opens a new front, all of Lebanon will suffer the consequences. Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006 th...

Ukraine uses US-provided long-range ATACMS missiles against Russian forces for the first time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has quietly delivered the long-range ballistic missiles that Ukraine said it urgently needed and that President Joe Biden promised last month, U.S. officials said Tuesday, and Ukraine has already begun using them on the battlefield against Russia.The missiles arrived in Ukraine within the last few days, one of the officials said. Their delivery to the warfront gives Ukraine a critical ability to strike Russian targets that are farther away, allowing Ukrainian forces to stay safely out of range. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter before an official announcement and spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity.The delivery of the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, was shrouded in secrecy, with the expectation that the first public acknowledgement would come when the missiles were used on the battlefield. Because of lingering U.S. concerns about escalating tensions with Russia, the ATACMS version that went to ...

Wisconsin Republicans withhold university pay raises in fight over school diversity funding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:42 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Leaders of the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature withheld pay raises for Universities of Wisconsin employees while approving raises for other state workers on Tuesday in an ongoing fight over the school system’s diversity, equity and inclusion spending.Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who co-chairs the Legislature’s employment relations committee, has promised to block pay raises for UW employees until the school system cuts its so-called DEI spending by $32 million.“We’re only doing half our job today,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard said. “We are denying pay increases to half of our state workforce because of one person’s resistance to inclusion on our campuses.”While writing the budget in June, Republicans slashed UW’s funding by $32 million because they estimated that’s what the system’s 13 campuses put towards DEI efforts over two years. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers used his veto power to save 188 DEI p...

Sweden’s players take overnight flight home and return to clubs after deadly shooting in Belgium

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:42 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Sweden’s players returned to their clubs Tuesday after taking an overnight flight from Brussels following the suspension of their European Championship qualifying soccer match against Belgium at halftime because a gunman killed two Swedish nationals before kickoff.European soccer governing body UEFA said a moment of silence will be observed at all Euro 2024 qualifiers on Tuesday to honor the Brussels victims.It remained unclear whether the Belgium-Sweden match would be completed at a later date. UEFA said it was too early to make any decision and that “further communication will be made in due course.”Belgium and Austria have qualified for next year’s tournament in Germany but both teams can still win Group F.The Sweden squad went directly to the airport and flew back home once they were allowed to leave King Baudouin Stadium, which was locked down for 2 1/2 hours for security reasons before officials began an evacuation process around midnight.It was abo...

Vigil to be held Tuesday for 6-year-old boy fatally stabbed in apparent hate crime

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:42 GMT

PLAINFIELD, Ill. — The Plainfield community will continue to remember and honor the 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy who was killed over the weekend in what prosecutors said was a hate crime.The vigil Tuesday night will not only honor Wadea Al-Fayoume, but show a united front in rejecting hate. It comes just a day after the boy's funeral.Hundreds made their way to a Bridgeview mosque Monday to pray and say goodbye to Wadea, who was fatally stabbed more than two dozen times over the weekend.According to the Will County Sheriff’s Office, authorities responded to the 16200 block of South Lincoln Highway in unincorporated Plainfield Township on reports of a woman being attacked by her landlord with a knife Saturday morning. Funeral held for 6-year-old boy killed for being Muslim 71-year-old Joseph Czuba allegedly attacked Hanaan Shahin, 32, with a large blade following an argument about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Shahin suffered over a dozen stab wounds...

Pedestrian struck and killed on DuSable Lake Shore Drive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:42 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was struck and killed by a vehicle after attempting to cross all lanes of DuSable Lake Shore Drive Tuesday morning.Police said it happened around 5:25 a.m. in the 800 block of North Lake Shore Drive when two men attempted to cross Lake Shore Drive, not in a crosswalk.One of the men was struck by a BMW X-3 that was traveling southbound. He was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.According to police, the second male pedestrian was not injured. Woman, 40, fatally shot during altercation on South Side The 63-year-old male driver of the BMW remained on the scene. Police said the driver was not injured, but was transported to Northwestern Hospital for panic symptoms.The crash is under investigation.

WATCH LIVE: Jim Jordan faces Speakership test on House floor — Live coverage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:42 GMT

NEXSTAR (The Hill) — The House is set to vote Tuesday for Speaker, but it appears GOP nominee Jim Jordan (Ohio) doesn't have the votes — at least on the first ballot.Today's session of the U.S. House of Representatives, which is expected to include the vote for Speaker, will be livestreamed within this story beginning shortly before 12 p.m. ET.Jordan gained some major momentum on Monday, picking up endorsements from four key players who had initially said they would not vote for him: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (Ala.), along with Reps. Ann Wagner (Mo.), Ken Calvert (Calif.) and Vern Buchanan (Fla.). Holdouts could blunt Jordan’s momentum as House braces for Speaker floor vote But at least six Republicans on Monday said they did not intend to vote for Jordan on the floor — enough to keep him from the gavel, assuming every member of the House votes — and others remained coy about their plans.The vote is expected to take place at noon.Follow along for liv...