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Russian president signs legislation marking the final step outlawing gender-affirming procedures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:29 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation Monday which marked the final step in outlawing gender-affirming procedures, a crippling blow to Russia’s already embattled LGBTQ+ community.The bill, which was approved unanimously by both houses of parliament, bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person,” as well as changing one’s gender in official documents and public records. The only exception will be medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies.It also annuls marriages in which one person has “changed gender” and bars transgender people from becoming foster or adoptive parents.The ban is said to stem from the Kremlin’s crusade to protect what it views as the country’s “traditional values.” Lawmakers say the legislation is to safeguard Russia against “Western anti-family ideology,” with some describing gender transitioning as “pure satanism.”Russia’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ people started a decade ago when Putin first proclaimed a...

Police seek 4 youths in arson that caused $3M damage to Newmarket building

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:29 GMT

York Regional Police are trying to identify four suspects, believed to be teens, after an abandoned store was set on fire in Newmarket last weekend, causing $3 million in damage.Emergency crews responded to an abandoned carpet store in the Davis Drive and Main Street area on Saturday, July 22, at around 7:50 p.m.Upon arrival, smoke was billowing from the roof area of the structure.Central York Fire Services extinguished the blaze, but not before it caused millions of dollars in damage.“Fortunately, no one was injured as the building was unoccupied,” police said in a release.Police later received information that several suspects were spotted pouring an accelerant onto the building and lighting it on fire.Two of the suspects were seen running northbound on Main Street, with the other two fleeing eastbound on Davis Drive.They are described as:Suspect 1:Male, white, 15-18 yearsfive foot seven, 130-150 lbs.Long shaggy brown hair with a black sweatband around his headWearing ...

Crop farmers asked to help their ranching neighbours as Prairie drought continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:29 GMT

REGINA — Saskatchewan farmers forced to write off drought-afflicted crops are being asked to consider ways to turn those crops into cattle feed instead.According to Agriculture Canada’s most recent drought monitor report, 76 per cent of the country’s agricultural landscape is either abnormally dry or experiencing moderate to severe drought this summer.Cattle producers in the Prairie provinces have complained of feed shortages as hay and other grazing crops wither and die.The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan says it’s encouraging crop farmers to help their neighbours who have cattle by converting crops to livestock feed.The Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation allows farmers who have had to write off crops this summer due to low yields or grasshopper damage to divert those crops to feed.Farm groups are encouraging producers to allow a neighbour to cut and bale the crop, or even put up temporary fencing around their written-off acres so that they can b...

Russia wants allies, so it’s hosting an Africa summit. Food security and Wagner group top the agenda

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:29 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — As Russia seeks more allies during its invasion of Ukraine, longtime U.S. security partner Kenya might not be an obvious choice. But hours after Russia terminated a deal to keep grain flowing from Ukraine, Moscow’s ambassador saw an opening to appeal to one of the African countries that would feel the effects the most.In an opinion piece for two of Kenya’s largest newspapers, Ambassador Dmitry Maksimychev blamed the United States and the European Union for the deal’s collapse, asserting they had “used every trick” to keep Russian grain and fertilizer from the global markets.“Now, my dear Kenyan friends, you know the whole truth about who is weaponizing food,” he wrote.It’s the kind of brash outreach expected this week at the second Russia-Africa Summit. Grain supplies are in question. The future of the Wagner military group is, too. It’s a notable time for Russia to host nearly 50 African countries that rely heavily on Moscow for agricultural ...

Israeli doctors reveal Netanyahu’s heart problem only after implanting pacemaker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:29 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — After undergoing emergency surgery to implant a pacemaker, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 73, made a video appearance from a hospital near Tel Aviv. Wearing a crisp dark suit, he grinned and declared energetically that he felt “great, as you can see.”But the Sunday photo-op failed to reassure Israelis, who were shocked to learn the same day that their longest-serving prime minister had concealed a long-known heart problem. The admission was a stark contrast to the image of a fully healthy, energetic leader that Netanyahu has gone to great lengths to bolster. A week after a fainting spell, Netanyahu was urgently fitted with a pacemaker to control his heartbeat. Only then did staff at the Sheba Medical Center reveal Sunday night that Netanyahu has for years experienced a condition that can cause irregular heartbeats.Until Sunday, the cardiologists had publicly played down concerns, saying the prime minister was dehydrated and describing his heartbeat as “c...

Ontario rolls out programs to boost health staffing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:29 GMT

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the province is starting three programs aimed at bolstering staffing in the health-care sector.A $40-million fund to encourage health-care providers to better connect patients to services, a program to allow internationally trained physicians to work more quickly, and a nursing mentor program were all previously announced but are now launching.The announcement comes as hospitals across the province grapple with a shortage of nurses that has led to dozens of temporary ER closures – the arbitrator who set hospital nurses’ new contract says there are 9,000 registered nurse vacancies.Related: Ontario boosts pediatric health care funding by $330M a yearThe Models of Care Innovation Fund will give funding to hospitals, family health teams and other health organizations for projects to allow faster access to care and boost health-care worker capacity, such as a staffing pool between hospitals and virtual peer support for ER doctors in rural a...

Authorities search for grizzly bear that killed woman near Yellowstone National Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:29 GMT

WEST YELLOWSTONE, Montana (AP) — Authorities searched Monday for a grizzly bear that attacked and killed a woman on a trail west of Yellowstone National Park along the Montana-Idaho border.The attack happened Saturday morning only a few hundred yards (meters) from a trailhead and private campground. There was no sign that the bear, which was traveling with at least one cub, tried to eat the victim, who appears to have been jogging when she was fatally mauled, said Morgan Jacobsen with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.Authorities could not say for certain whether the victim was preyed upon or whether it was a chance encounter as she traveled alone in a wooded area frequented by grizzly and black bears.A hiker found her body along the trail at around 8 a.m. Saturday. The victim’s name has not been released. She was wearing running shoes and did not have bear spray, a deterrent that wildlife experts recommend people carry in areas frequented by bears.“This person was likely out for a m...

Authorities probing why police dog was deployed on man who was surrendering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:29 GMT

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An investigation has been launched into why an Ohio officer allowed his police dog to attack a truck driver who was surrendering with his hands raised, despite State Highway Patrol troopers urging the officer to hold the dog back.The lengthy pursuit on July 4 and the ensuing attack were captured on a police body camera. Authorities said the chase began on state highway 35, when officers tried to stop a commercial semitruck that was missing a mud flap and had failed to stop for an inspection.State troopers were called in to help with the chase, authorities said. The driver, Jadarrius Rose, 23, of Memphis, Tennessee, who is Black, initially refused to get out of the truck and later defied directives to get on the ground, according to a Ohio State Highway Patrol incident report.“The suspect failed to stop for marked patrol units with lights and sirens activated,” the report said. He eventually got on his knees and raised his hands in the air.The body cam video ...

$10K reward offered in deadly shooting of pastor's grandson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:29 GMT

CHICAGO — At least 16 people were shot — and six killed — over the weekend, the youngest being 16-year-old Rashaun Hood, grandson of South Side reverend and community activist Robin Hood."‘Tiny Man’ as we called him, Rashaun is his name, always was short in stature even when he was little," Hood told WGN Sunday. "Good kid … On the basketball team, baseball team. Just an all around high school kid."According to the Chicago Police Department, a 16-year-old boy who had been shot multiple times in the chest, was discovered on the sidewalk in the 1200 block of West 81st Street around 10:15 p.m. Friday. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 6 dead, 14 injured in reported shootings in Chicago over weekend First responders took him to Comer Children's Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.According to Reverend Hood, who has spent more than 20 years advocating for an end to gun violence across the South Side, Friday night hit too close to home when his grandson became one of the latest casualties of t...

Jury in Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial ends 1st day of deliberations in London

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:29 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Jurors in the sexual assault trial of Kevin Spacey adjourned Monday after deliberating for 2.5 hours without reaching a verdict on allegations by four men that date back two decades.Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including multiple counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.The jury of nine men and three women heard testimony over three weeks in Southwark Crown Court before starting their deliberations, which were scheduled to resume Tuesday morning.Spacey's defense lawyer said during closing arguments last week that three of the men are liars and he suggested jurors should not convict the Oscar winner for making a “clumsy pass” at a fourth man.The prosecutor called Spacey a “sexual bully” who took advantage of his power as a major celebrity and took what he wanted when he wanted it. The acts alleged between 2001 and 2013 range from unwanted touching to aggressive crotch-grabb...