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Canada expels Indian diplomat as it investigates India’s possible link to Sikh activist’s slaying

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:13 GMT

By ROB GILLIES (Associated Press)TORONTO (AP) — Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that India’s government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist. Trudeau said in Parliament that Canadian intelligence agencies have been looking into the allegations after Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a strong supporter of an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, was gunned down on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia.Trudeau told Parliament that he brought up the slaying with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G-20 last week. He said he told Modi that any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and that he asked for cooperation in the investigation.Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said the head of Indian intelligence in Canada has been expelled as a consequence. “If proven true this would b...

Carmakers and the United Auto Workers are talking. No signs of a breakthrough to end the strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:13 GMT

By DAVID KOENIG (AP Business Writer)The United Auto Workers and Detroit’s Big Three carmakers resumed talks aimed at ending a strike now in its fourth day, and under the threat that the walkout could soon spread.Stellantis said it resumed negotiations with the union Monday and described the talks as “constructive.” A spokesman for General Motors said representatives of the company and the United Auto Workers also were continuing to negotiate.However, UAW President Shawn Fain said on NPR, “We have a long way to go,” and if the companies don’t respond to the union’s demands, “then we will escalate action.”So far the strike is limited to about 13,000 workers at three factories — one each at GM, Ford and Stellantis, the successor to Fiat Chrysler.However, the union’s strategy hinges on its ability to escalate the strike quickly, and the carmakers are warning of potential layoffs as the limited strike reduces the amount of...

No sign of breakthrough in auto strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:13 GMT

The auto workers’ strike against Detroit’s Big Three went into its fourth day with no signs of an early breakthrough and against the threat that the walkout could soon spread.A spokesman for General Motors said that representatives of the company and the United Auto Workers were continuing to negotiate on Monday.So far the strike is limited to about 13,000 workers at three factories — one each at GM, Ford and Stellantis. GM warned, however, that 2,000 UAW-represented workers at an assembly plant in Kansas City are “expected to be idled as soon as early this week” because of a shortage of supplies from a GM plant near St. Louis, where workers walked off the job Friday.Workers at the Kansas City plant build the Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac XT4.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she is hoping for a quick resolution, and that it is too soon to gauge the impact of the strike.“It’s premature to be making forecasts about what it means for the economy....

Sources: Patriots waive QB Matt Corral, release another QB from practice squad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:13 GMT

The Patriots waived QB Matt Corral from the exempt/left squad list and released QB Ian Book from their practice squad, per sources.The Patriots still have quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe on their 53-man roster. Quarterback/wide receiver Malik Cunningham remains on the practice squad.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots awaiting updates on two injured key players after Week 2 loss New England Patriots | Patriots rookie Christian Gonzalez earns Bill Belichick’s praise with ‘outstanding’ play New England Patriots | Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez shines again in tough loss New England Patriots | Matthew Judon gives impassioned state of the Patriots address after loss New England Patriots | Patriots react to rare 0-2 start: ‘Something’s got to happen’ Corral was claimed off waivers from the Panthers late last month. He was placed on the exempt/left squad ...

San Diego becomes most competitive rental market in SoCal for first time in years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:13 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Coming out of the peak season for apartment renting, San Diego became the most competitive rental market in Southern California for the first time in years, according to a new report.The report, conducted by the real estate website RentCafe, analyzed data -- including vacancy rates and number of renters that applied for the same apartment -- from over 130 markets across the country to determine the nation's hottest renting spots from April to June of this year. Nationwide, competitiveness eased between last year's peak season and this year's, with more than half of the markets analyzed seeing a "cooldown." According to the report, this trend is driven by an increase in new apartments and the lingering economic effects from the pandemic. San Diego homeowners are the least likely to sell homes at loss in the nation: study Meanwhile, San Diego's competitiveness in the rental market increased, surpassing Orange County for the first time in two years. The two areas ranked ...

B.C. health officer urges patience on drug crisis; delegates to vote on resolutions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:13 GMT

VANCOUVER — Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is urging patience from British Columbia’s municipal leaders on drug decriminalization, saying more arrests won’t address the complex issues of addiction. However, Henry said she agrees that public drug use should not be accepted in areas when children are present.Henry told politicians at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention on Monday that B.C’s drug decriminalization pilot program is “not perfect,” but statistics show those most at risk of dying from overdoses are men between ages 30 and 59. Henry told convention delegates stigmatization of drug use as a criminal activity has led people to consume and die alone. Decriminalization is meant to “remove that label” from drug users to promote safer use and to save lives, she said.In a later interview on Monday, Henry said she is preparing to release two reports with recommendations to government following reviews of B.C.’s safe...

Lawsuits filed by building owner, victim’s family in Old Montreal fire that killed 7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:13 GMT

MONTREAL — A pair of lawsuits have been filed in connection with a fire in an Old Montreal heritage building that killed seven people in March, including a suit by the owner of the property who is demanding $7.6 million from the city.Emile Benamor’s lawyers say city regulations for heritage properties made it impossible for him to carry out modifications or repairs to the building, which was built in 1890. The lawyers filed the lawsuit last Thursday, a few weeks after Montreal police said they had found traces of accelerant at the site of the fire and that the case had turned into a criminal investigation. “Due to its heritage status, the building is strongly regulated, as well as the work authorized on it, including the fact that certain work is completely impossible to carry out, in particular due to the city, which refuses any modification or alteration that is visible in relation to the original heritage construction,” the lawsuit says.The door to the building,...

Quebec delayed preparation for COVID-19 in care homes, leading to deaths: lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:13 GMT

MONTREAL — The Quebec government’s failure to follow its pandemic-response plan as the novel coronavirus started circulating in other parts of the world in early 2020 led to preventable deaths in long-term care, a Montreal lawyer argued Monday.Patrick Martin-Ménard asked a judge to authorize a class-action lawsuit against the provincial government on behalf of all residents of public long-term care homes that experienced COVID-19 outbreaks in the first two waves of the pandemic, and on behalf of the families of those who died. By failing to implement an existing pandemic-response plan in early January 2020, the Quebec government and its health authorities breached their duty of care to the residents, Martin-Ménard told the Quebec Superior Court.“There was a plan in place since 2006, a road map of what was supposed to be done to prepare the public health-care system for a pandemic, and this plan included a number of measures that could be put in place to protect vulnerabl...

Federal authorities announce plan to safeguard sacred tribal lands in New Mexico’s Sandoval County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:13 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — In an effort to safeguard sacred tribal lands, federal authorities announced a plan Monday to protect more than 4,000 acres (1,619 hectares) within the Placitas area in New Mexico’s Sandoval County.The U.S. Department of the Interior and federal Bureau of Land Management said a proposed mineral withdrawal would bar new mining claims and oil and gas development in the area for 50 years, subject to valid and existing rights.The Pueblos of San Felipe and Santa Ana have long sought protections for the Placitas area, which they consider ancestral and sacred lands.Authorities said the federal proposal would help protect, preserve and promote the scenic integrity, cultural importance, recreational values and wildlife habitat connectivity within the Placitas area near Albuquerque.The proposed withdrawal is on four separate tracts and contains known archaeological resources that range from as early as the prehistoric Paleoindian period through the historic Statehood ...

Migrants burst into southern Mexico asylum office demanding papers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:13 GMT

TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — Migrants, mostly from Haiti, burst into an asylum office in southern Mexico on Monday, demanding papers.Throngs of migrants knocked over metal barricades and rushed into the office in the city of Tapachula, pushing past National Guard officers and police stationed at the office. Some of the migrants were trampled by their colleagues in the rush.Authorities later convinced many to leave, and no injuries were reported. The tension comes as asylum claims in Mexico have skyrocketed, reaching over 100,000 so far this year.Crowds of frustrated migrants, including many from Cuba and Honduras, say they have had to wait for weeks in some cases for an appointment at the office in Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala.At the office, run by the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid, migrants can file claims for asylum in Mexico. Most, however, intend to use the papers to travel more safely and easily to the U.S. border.“It’s very complicated, there are too many p...