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Canada sanctions ‘Russian collaborators’ in Moldova including oligarchs, TV stations

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:33:51 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada is sanctioning more citizens of Moldova affiliated with Russian influence in the eastern European country.Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says the nine people and six television stations listed are “Russian collaborators in Moldova.”The people sanctioned include influential oligarchs who are part of the Shor Party, which Ottawa sanctioned in June over efforts to destabilize Moldovan democracy.The six targeted television stations were taken off the air by Moldovan authorities, who say they were disseminating Russian disinformation to justify Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.The sanctions come as Moldova, a fledgling democracy with a pro-western government, aims to co-ordinate international support.Its government claimed in February that Russia-backed elements tried to orchestrate a coup d’état in the country, which borders Ukraine.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2023.The Canadian Press

Toronto police identify victim, name suspect in fatal west-end stabbing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:33:51 GMT

Toronto police have identified a woman found stabbed to death at a west-end home and named the man accused of killing her.Police were called to the area of Davenport Road and Uxbridge Avenue, south of St. Clair Avenue West, just before 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night for reports of a man seen with a knife.When officers arrived they took a man into custody.Information following his arrest led police to a home on Chambers Avenue, near Rogers and Old Weston roads, approximately two kilometres from where the man was arrested.Ana Paula Kitterhing De Sousa, 57, was discovered at the home suffering from stab wounds.She was later pronounced dead at the scene.Police have now charged Michael Calvo, 46, of Toronto, with second-degree murder in De Sousa’s death.Investigators have not revealed if Calvo and De Sousa were known to each other prior to her fatal stabbing.

A new memoir serves up life lessons from a childhood in a Chinese restaurant

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:33:51 GMT

Many parents tell their children never talk to strangers. But Curtis Chin’s parents urged their six kids to ask customers at their Chinese restaurant about their background. It was their way of showing the children a world outside the Detroit restaurant’s four walls.“That is something my parents taught me — not to be afraid of people, not to be afraid to ask questions, not to be afraid of asking for help even,” Chin said in a phone interview from his Los Angeles home. “I would have to say that the Chinese restaurant and my parents are probably my greatest teachers in life.”From co-founding the Asian American Writers’ Workshop to producing documentaries like “Vincent Who?” about the 1982 killing of Vincent Chin, Curtis Chin has been championing other Asian Americans for over 30 years. Now, it’s his turn in the spotlight. His memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant,” comes out Tuesday. The book, his first, has made several fall “must-re...

Final complainant in Nygard trial testifies about aftermath of alleged Toronto rape

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:33:51 GMT

TORONTO — A woman who has accused Peter Nygard of sexual assault is set to continue her testimony at his Toronto trial today.She testified yesterday that she called the former fashion mogul after her alleged rape because she felt she had made an enemy of a powerful figure in the industry she was trying to break into.She says she doesn’t remember much about the conversation but recalls Nygard being angry on the phone. Nygard, the founder of a now-defunct international women’s clothing company, is accused of using his position in the fashion industry to lure women and girls.The 82-year-old has pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in alleged incidents ranging from the ’80s to mid-2000s.The fifth and final complainant, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, alleged Nygard flew her to his Toronto office under the guise of helping with her designer aspirations, but what she thought would be a business meetin...

A Thai construction magnate convicted of poaching protected animals gets early release from prison

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:33:51 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai construction magnate whose conviction on wildlife poaching charges became a rare example of the rich and influential facing justice in the country was freed Tuesday on parole, two months before his prison term ends, authorities said. Premchai Karnasuta, chairman of Italian-Thai Development Plc, one of Thailand’s top construction firms, was convicted of killing protected animals and illegal possession of weapons when rangers in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in western Thailand came across him and a small party of his employees at a campsite in February 2018. They were found with guns and the carcasses nearby of a rare black panther, a kalij pheasant and a barking deer. The black panther, which is a member of the leopard species, been butchered and its meat cooked up for soup.The sanctuary is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that’s listed for its rare flora and fauna. The Corrections Department said the 69-year-old Premchai was among more than 100 prisoners ge...

Martin Scorsese is still curious – and still awed by the possibilities of cinema

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:33:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A moment from years ago keeps replaying in Martin Scorsese ’s mind.When Akira Kurosawa was given an honorary Academy Award in 1990, the then 80-year-old Japanese filmmaker of “Seven Samurai” and “Ikiru,” in his brief, humble speech, said he hadn’t yet grasped the full essence of cinema.It struck Scorsese, then in post-production on “Goodfellas,” as a curious thing for such a master filmmaker to say. It wasn’t until Scorsese also turned 80 that he began to comprehend Kurosawa’s words. Even now, Scorsese says he’s just realizing the possibilities of cinema.“I’ve lived long enough to be his age and I think I understand now,” Scorsese said in a recent interview. “Because there is no limit. The limit is in yourself. These are just tools, the lights and the camera and that stuff. How much further can you explore who you are?”Scorsese’s lifelong exploration has seemingly only grown deeper and more self-examining with time. In recent years, his films have swelled in sc...

Lawsuit over death of autistic man in a Pittsburgh jail alleges negligence, systemic discrimination

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:33:51 GMT

Eleven days after 57-year-old Anthony Talotta arrived at a Pittsburgh jail, he died from what his family says was a treatable and preventable infection from a foot wound. Talotta, who had autism and developmental disabilities, had been brought to the jail after a fight with a staff member at the group home where he lived.In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, Talotta’s family alleges doctors and medical staff at the Allegheny County Jail provided substandard care. The lawsuit claims jail policies prohibiting prisoners with mental illness or developmental disabilities from being housed in the medical unit violate the Americans with Disabilities Act by creating a system that makes it harder for them to get adequate medical care.The lawsuit also notes that at least 17 people died at the medically understaffed jail in a two-and-a-half year timeframe from March 2020 to September 2022, the majority of whom had mental health or chronic medical needs.“This lawsuit is intended not o...

A potential presidential run for Glenn Youngkin would face logistical hurdles and voter skepticism

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:33:51 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Glenn Youngkin was waving off talk about running for the White House back in 2021, before he’d even made it to the Virginia governor’s mansion.Brad Hobbs, a childhood friend, told The Associated Press at the time that his ultimate goal was to see the Harvard-educated Republican businessman run for president. Hobbs said he brought it up nonstop, even in front of others, which irked Youngkin.“He doesn’t commit to that. He looks at me like, ‘Stop saying it; I don’t want to hear that,’” Hobbs said.Conjecture that Youngkin, who is set to host a major donor retreat Tuesday and Wednesday, might make a late entry into the 2024 presidential race has only grown since his victory nearly two years ago. It could further escalate after next month’s high-stakes legislative elections, where he’s aiming for a GOP sweep. At least some of the recent talk is coming from Republican donors still casting about for yet another alternative to former President Donald Trump.But the 56-yea...

Wisconsin Assembly set to approve $545 million in public dollars for Brewers stadium repairs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:33:51 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin state Assembly was set Tuesday to approve a Republican-authored plan to spend more than half-a-billion dollars to help cover repairs at the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium.The team contends that American Family Field’s glass outfield doors, seats and concourses should be replaced and luxury suites and video scoreboard need upgrades. The stadium’s signature retractable roof, fire suppression systems, parking lots, elevators and escalators need work as well. Team officials have hinted the Brewers might leave Milwaukee if they don’t get public assistance for repairs. The Assembly plan calls for the state to contribute $411 million and the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to contribute a combined $135 million. The state money would come in the form of grants. The local contribution would be generated from an existing fee the state Department of Administration charges the city and county for administering local sales taxes. Any ...

Donald Trump returns to his civil fraud trial, but star witness Michael Cohen won’t be there

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:33:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump returned to a New York City courthouse Tuesday to be a spectator at the civil fraud trial that threatens to disrupt his real estate empire, renewing his claims that the case is a baseless and politically targeted distraction from his 2024 campaign. After attending the trial’s first three days earlier this month, the Republican front-runner initially planned a return to coincide with testimony by Michael Cohen, his attorney turned foe. But Cohen’s planned appearance on the witness stand was delayed until at least next week.New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Trump alleges that he and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and inflating his net worth in paperwork used in making deals and securing financing. Trump denies any wrongdoing, says his assets were actually undervalued and maintains that disclaimers on the financial statements amounted to telling banks an...