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Police say arrest in alleged Markham mosque attack not linked to earlier incident

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

A day after officials at a Markham mosque pleaded for help from the federal and provincial governments to make places of worship safer following a disturbing incident, York Regional Police announced charges in another suspected hate-motivated incident at a different Markham mosque.Police say on Sunday, April 9, a man attended the Imam Mahdi Islamic Centre in the Bayview and Proctor Avenues area, blocking the entrance with his vehicle. Police say he then exited the car and yelled derogatory slurs at worshippers.“A crowd formed outside the mosque, and the suspect assaulted several people before driving away,” police said in a release.Police were informed of the incident the next day and arrested a suspect later that night.Mohssen Bayani, 47, of Richmond Hill, is facing three counts of assault and one count of mischief under $5,000.Police don’t believe the incident is connected to one just days earlier at a different mosque in Markham.In that earlier incident, police ...

Chile lawmakers vote to reduce work week from 45 to 40 hours

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile’s Congress on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill to reduce the work week from 45 to 40 hours over five years, a decision hailed by the left-wing government as a breakthrough for workers’ rights.The measure passed the lower house 127-14, after being unanimously approved by the Senate three weeks ago. President Gabriel Boric, who took office in March 2022 after making the measure a campaign promise, was expected to sign it into law before May 1. “Yes, changes can be made to advance workers’ rights,” Labor Minister Jeannette Jara said after the vote, which came six years after the law was initially presented. It was the second time Chile has reduced its work week. The first was in 2005, when it was cut from 48 to 45 hours.Ana Camayo, a 54-year-old manicurist who works in a department store, said “the law is fantastic for women over 30 who have children,” referring to herself and her colleagues. She said the extra free time will be spent with her family....

Abortion questions intensify in US courts, legislatures

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

New court rulings could spark more change for U.S. abortion policy, which has been in flux since last June when the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to an abortion.Courts are considering big changes, including some with broad implications, as state legislatures enact more restrictions or outright bans.Here’s what’s happening:ABORTION PILLS: WHAT’S NEW?The majority of abortions in the U.S. are obtained using a combination of two medications. Anti-abortion groups have been trying to limit access to one of them.In dueling decisions last Friday, two federal courts issued conflicting rulings about whether one of the drugs, mifepristone, should remain available.In a first-of-its kind ruling, a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, blocked the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug, which dates back to the year 2000. The same day, a federal judge in Spokane, Washington, ordered the FDA not to do anything that might block mifepristone’s av...

Dominion can discuss general threats in Fox defamation trial

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The judge presiding over a voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News for airing bogus allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election indicated Tuesday he would allow jurors to hear some testimony about threats directed at the company, but only to a point.Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis granted a motion by Fox to prohibit any reference to specific threats or harassment directed at Dominion Voting Systems. But he said he would allow Dominion to talk generally about threats it had received to show how it has been damaged by the Fox broadcasts.Megan Meier, an attorney for Dominion, argued unsuccessfully that jurors should be allowed to hear details about threats the company has received.“It has decimated Dominion’s ability to attract and retain employees, because the company is under siege,” she said.Meier noted that local election officials throughout the U.S. who are responsible for deciding whether to contract with Dom...

A great read turned into a dream role for Jennifer Garner

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

If you devoured Laura Dave’s novel “ The Last Thing He Told Me,” you’re not alone. The book spent 65 weeks as a New York Times Best Seller and one of those readers who couldn’t put it down was Jennifer Garner.“I read it with my middle child. We kept pushing bedtime later and later because we were just compelled to read one more chapter, two more chapters, three more chapters,” Garner said in a recent interview, where she had a copy of the book next to her on a chair. “I can’t even explain how much I loved it.”Her great read turned into a “ dream role ” when Julia Roberts — who was originally attached to star in a TV show based on the book had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Dave co-created the series, which debuts Friday on Apple TV+, with Josh Singer, her Oscar-winning husband, and wrote the adaptation. Reese Witherspoon, who chose the book for her Reese’s Book Club after its May 2021 release, is also an executive producer.Ga...

Robot police dog returns to NYPD despite earlier criticism

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City officials unveiled three new high-tech policing devices Tuesday, including a robotic dog that critics called creepy when it first joined the police pack 2 1/2 years ago.The new devices, which also include a GPS tracker for stolen cars and a cone-shaped security robot, will be rolled out in a manner that is “transparent, consistent and always done in close collaboration with the people we serve,” said police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, who joined Mayor Eric Adams and other officials at a Times Square press conference where the security robot and the mechanical canine nicknamed Digidog were displayed.“Digidog is out of the pound,” said Adams, a Democrat and former police officer. “Digidog is now part of the toolkit that we are using.”The city’s first robot police dog was leased in 2020 by Adams’ predecessor, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, but the city’s contract for the device was cut short after critics derided it as creepy and dy...

ACTRA and Cossette find common ground after a public call-out of the ad agency

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

TORONTO — Theunion representing Canada’s commercial actors has signed an agreement with Cossette Media that allows performersto work with the ad agency for the remainder of the year. The agreement comes amid an ongoing labour dispute between the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and Institute of Canadian Agencies (ICA), whose members include Cossette.It also comes on the heels of an ACTRA campaign to shame brands that work with agencies represented by the ICA, and a call on the federal government to stop working with Cossette. Cossette and ACTRA said in a statement they signed a “letter of continuance” for the remainder of 2023. Both declined to comment further on the agreement, signed Thursday. In the labour dispute, ACTRA has sought higher pay, protections and benefits for about 9,000 commercial actors it represents. The ICA said last month it has not barred ACTRA members from work.In a statement Friday, ACTRA said they “look forwa...

Man pleads no contest to shooting anti-abortion campaigner

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

IONIA, Mich. (AP) — A western Michigan man who said he accidentally shot an 84-year-old woman campaigning against abortion rights at his home has pleaded no contest to assault and two other charges, records show.The shooting occurred in September in Ionia County. Richard Harvey, 75, said Joan Jacobson was talking to his wife about opposing a constitutional amendment on the November ballot and had refused to leave. Harvey pleaded no contest Monday to assault, careless discharge of a gun and reckless use of a gun, according to online records. A no-contest plea is treated like a conviction at sentencing.Messages seeking comment were left for the prosecutor and Harvey’s attorney Tuesday.Harvey last year told WOOD-TV that his shotgun fired when he tried to knock away Jacobson’s clipboard. Jacobson was treated at a hospital for a shoulder wound.“It was an accident,” Harvey insisted.Jacobson had a different opinion.“I think he knew what he was doing, and I think it was intentio...

Laurentian Bank plans high-interest online chequing account as part of digital push

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

Montreal-based Laurentian Bank is preparing a digital push as it looks to attract more deposits and reach customers outside Quebec. CEO Rania Llewellyn says that while the bank was offering good rates on guaranteed investment certificates last year, it was limited by the fact that customers weren’t able to open accounts without physically going to one of its branches. She said in an interview during the bank’s annual shareholders meeting that within the next few weeks, customers will be able to open a chequing account with a three per cent interest rate online.  Laurentian Bank has had to catch up to more technologically-advanced competitors. When Llewellyn was hired in 2020, it had no mobile application and activating a credit card could take up to 25 days.Llewellyn says the bank exceeded its objectives in 2022, despite inflation and economic disruption caused by the war in Ukraine.Earnings per share increased by 14 per cent in 2022, compared with an initial target of f...

Italy planning 5-figure fines for monument and art vandalism

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italy will push for a law imposing stiff, five-figure fines on vandals who damage monuments or other cultural sites, to help pay for the repairs and clean-up. At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the government approved proposed legislation championed by the culture minister that would impose fines starting at 10,000 euros (nearly $11,000) and as high as 60,000 euros (about $65,000).Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government has a comfortable majority in Parliament, so the proposal is expected to be easily approved and adopted into law.Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said that it recently cost the government 40,000 euros (almost $44,000) to clean the façade of the 15th-century Palazzo Madama, which is home to the Italian Senate, after it was vandalized. Just days ago, activists pressing for more action on climate change dumped black dye into the waters of a monumental fountain sculpted by Bernini at the foot of the Spanish Steps. “The attacks on monuments and ...