Similar to the Olympic athletes, the cyberwarriors who are important for the Paris Games‘ success are training hard for the event.
They asked nice hackers to test their online security, like boxers practicing with partners to get ready for a big fight. They have looked carefully at their opponents’ strengths, tactics, and weaknesses. These people could be teenagers who show off, criminals who hack into computer systems and demand money, or Russian soldiers who have a history of doing harmful things online.
Unlike the 10,500 athletes going to Paris in July for the Olympics, the cybersecurity engineers working on the Games want to avoid attention. For them, the biggest achievement will be completing the Olympics and Paralympics without any big problems. This would mean that their digital defenses are strong enough to stop any attempts to shut down important computer and information systems for the Games.
Jérémy Couture, who leads the Paris Games organizers’ cybersecurity hub, hopes that at the Olympics, there won’t be any talk about technology and cybersecurity. This would mean that they are not a problem. The job of finding, studying and dealing with cyberdangers is really important for the Games to be successful, so the event organizers are keeping its location a secret.
The people responsible for stopping cyberattacks during the Games expect to be kept busy by hackers this summer, but they don’t want to share too many details about their work. These people could be cybercriminals, teenagers looking for thrill, or Russian military intelligence with a history of causing damage in cyberattacks.
Goals for the Games include more than just the events. They also include important things like transportation and supply systems.
Attackers might be activists who hack to make a political point, or they could be people trying to steal money through cyber extortion. These days, it’s hard to tell if a cyber attacker is working for a government or is simply a hacker activist.
Most dangerous online enemies
Some of the most dangerous cyber enemies are countries that want to embarrass France and the International Olympic Committee by using their proven hacking skills to cause trouble and cost them money. Russia is at the top of the list of people who might have done it.
Due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Olympic organizers have stopped Russia from participating in team events at the Paris Games. Some individual Russians will be allowed to compete as neutral players. Russia is upset with France because they are giving weapons and training to Ukraine. Also, France is one of Russia’s biggest critics in Europe.
Vincent Strubel, the person in charge of France’s national cybersecurity agency, called the level of cyber threats facing the Games very serious and unlike anything seen before.
“There will be computer attacks during the Games and the Paralympics,” Strubel said at a meeting on Friday. “Some people won’t take it seriously. ” Some people will take it seriously, but it won’t make a difference in the Games. And maybe some things will be important and could affect the Games.
He said the agency has trained a lot and more than ever before, so things will go well. “I believe we have been able to outsmart the attackers. ”
Strubel said Russia sometimes attacks France, but it’s not helpful to only focus on Russia. “We are getting ready for everything. ”
Western countries blame a very aggressive part of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency called Sandworm for using a harmful computer program called “Olympic Destroyer” to mess up the start of the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea. This group is accused of causing problems for Ukraine’s power grid and creating a virus that cost over $10 billion in damages.
The cybersecurity teams in Paris are talking to technicians who worked in Pyeongchang to learn from their experiences.
The cybersecurity company Outpost24, based in Sweden, gave a positive review of Paris’ preparations for the Games in a report this week. However, they also found some weaknesses in the online infrastructure for the Games. The rating was like winning a silver medal, not quite a gold.
The report said that just like pickpockets and people who sell fake tickets target tourists, cybercriminals will also be aware of more people going online for the Paris 2024 games and will try to take advantage of it.
Author: Chris Kodo
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French cyberwarriors set to put defences against hackers to test during Olympics
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Chinese driver receives recognition after efforts in minimising number of deaths in highway collapse
A Chinese truck driver is being praised for parking his truck across a highway to stop more cars from falling down a hill. This happened after a road in the mountainous south of China collapsed, and at least 48 people died.
Wang Xiangnan was driving on a highway in Guangdong province, which is an important place for business in southern China, on Wednesday. At about 2 am, Wang saw some cars going the other way on the highway and another driver told him about the road collapse, according to the local news.
Wang, a former soldier, quickly used his truck to block the highway and stop many vehicles from entering danger, according to Jiupai News. At the same time, his wife left the truck to tell other drivers about what was happening.
“I didn’t really think about it. ” I wanted to make the cars stop,â Wang said to the Chinese news organization.
Wang’s brave actions were praised by people on social media in China and he also received recognition from the China Worker Development Foundation.
The organization said on Friday that it gave Wang 10,000 yuan (US$1,414) with the help of a car company. A charity project connected to Alibaba Group Holding, a big tech company, also gave the same amount to Wang, according to the newspaper Dahe Daily. Wang said he will give the money to the families of the people who got hurt in the accident.
The local news also said that another man had bent down to stop cars from going on the highway.
The accident happened after a month of lots of rain in Guangdong. Some of the 23 cars fell into a deep hole and caught on fire, making a lot of smoke.
Around 30 people had to go to the hospital. On Saturday, someone left the hospital, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The others were getting better, but one is still very sick.
On Saturday, the government of Meizhou city in Guangdong announced that they will be checking all highways, railways, and mountain roads in the city. A group headed by the local governor is looking into why the collapse happened, according to Southcn. com
The Chinese government sent a leader to make sure recovery efforts are going well and to ask for better safety measures. This happened after President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party asked for it. Two government officials, Premier Li and Qiang, are working quickly to deal with the tragedy.
Zhang Guoqing, a member of the ruling Communist Party, was sent to deal with the disaster because they are worried about public anger. This is the latest in a series of deadly failures in infrastructure. -
Kremlin detractors claim Russia is murdering its enemies abroad
The soldier who left the army was shot many times and then hit by a car in Spain and the leader of a group was hit many times with a hammer in Lithuania. The journalist got sick from possible poisoning in Germany.
Ever since President Vladimir Putin started the war in Ukraine, Russians in Europe and other places have been targeted with attacks and harassment, and Moscow’s intelligence agents are being blamed for it.
Even though Western governments try to stop Russian spies, experts say that the Russian government can still go after people they see as traitors in other countries to stop them from speaking out. People who are against Putin are more and more worried about the power of Moscow’s security forces, even in places they used to feel were safe.
“We got out of Russia and felt like we had escaped from jail,” said Irina Dolinina, a journalist at the Important Stories news outlet in Prague.
Dolinina and her coworker Alesya Marokhovskaya were bothered in 2023, making them worried that someone was watching them. They got scary messages in the comments on a website and were told not to go to a conference in Sweden. To emphasize, the threat had their airplane ticket details, where they would sit, and their hotel reservation.
“We were wrong to think we were safe here,” Dolinina said to The Associated Press.
The Kremlin is often blamed for attacking its enemies outside of Russia, even though it denies it.
Some well-known cases are the death of Leon Trotsky, a former Soviet revolutionary who was killed in Mexico in 1940 by a Soviet agent, and the death of Georgi Markov, a dissenting worker for the BBC’s Bulgarian service, who died in London in 1978 after being attacked with a poisoned umbrella.
Britain was where other poisonings were caused by Russian security services under Putin’s rule. Alexander Litvinenko, a defector and former spy, died in 2006 after drinking tea that had been poisoned with a radioactive substance. In 2018, former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter got very sick after being attacked with an old Soviet-era nerve agent, but they eventually got better. The Kremlin kept saying they weren’t involved in the British cases.
Currently, many of the people who oppose the government in Russia, along with journalists and activists, have left the country because of the government’s strong actions against them. Many people think that Moscow is focusing more on them, and officials are saying it too.
Russian authorities are looking for many people, even if they seem unimportant, because they think these people could come back to Russia and cause a lot of harm. This was explained by security expert Andrei Soldatov.
Many people who have been forced to leave their home countries are being treated badly in many places, including former Soviet countries with a lot of Russian people and also in Europe and other places.
People who speak out and reporters who work on their own have said they are feeling sick and believe they may have been poisoned.
Journalist Elena Kostyuchenko got sick on a train from Munich to Berlin in 2022. German authorities are looking into it as a possible murder attempt.
Natalia Arno, the leader of the Free Russia Foundation in the U. S, told AP that she is still dealing with nerve damage after a suspected poisoning in Prague in May. She thinks Russian security tried to “quiet” her because she supports democracy.
In a really violent attack, pilot Maksim Kuzminov’s body with lots of bullet holes was found in La Cala, Spain, near the eastern port of Alicante. He was shot and then run over by a car. Threats came in after he stole a Russian helicopter and flew it to Ukraine.
Kuzminov, who is 33 years old, was called a “moral corpse” by Sergei Naryshkin, the leader of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, as soon as he started planning his “bad and awful crime. ”
In March, Leonid Volkov, who works for a politician named Alexei Navalny, got his arm broken in a hammer attack in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Lithuania’s security service thinks the attack was likely planned and carried out by Russians. On April 19, Polish police arrested two people for allegedly attacking Volkov under orders from a foreign spy agency.
For many years, Putin has been in charge, and the Kremlin has repeatedly said that it is not trying to harm its enemies within Russia and in other countries. It has not said anything about the suspected poisonings. Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, refused to talk about Volkov’s situation, saying it is Lithuania’s Interior Ministry’s problem.
Even new anti-war groups are being targeted by Moscow.
Russians in Stockholm, Sweden, made a group to support Ukraine and political prisoners. They burned a fake person that looked like Putin outside the Russian Embassy, calling him a “war criminal”.
Six months later, the Russian government said the group was bad and could punish its members with fines and jail. Police visited their family in Russia and their private information was shared without their permission, according to their family members who spoke with AP. They spoke anonymously because they were worried about their safety.
The Russian Orthodox Tsargrad media said that some people in the group could be working for other countries’ spy agencies. It called them “terrorists. ” The pro-Kremlin outlet said they should expect bad things if they keep fighting against the war.
A few days later, during a visit to family in St Petersburg, Marina said that a police car stopped in front of her as she was leaving a store. Three men got out and asked for her papers. They made her get into the car and drove her to a police station with the siren on.
It was very frightening. Marina was surprised and worried that they knew exactly where she was. She did not want to share her last name because she is afraid for her safety.
She was shown the leaked data and video of the embassy protest, and investigators asked her to tell them who else was involved. -
New humanitarian route to Gaza on schedule – USAID
The US is getting ready to help people in Gaza with food, medicine, and other urgent help. They plan to have everything ready by the middle of the month.
The new route led by the US will give help to only a few people in Gaza, not all who need it. This was emphasized by a USAID official to The Associated Press. This is one of the first times the agency has said how things are going for the Biden administration’s $320 million Gaza pier project. USAID is working to make sure the project is safe and things are getting to the right places.
At a factory in southern Georgia, USAID Administrator Samantha Power will announce on Friday a $200 million investment to increase US production of emergency food for hungry children under 5. This is needed because conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and other places are causing more children to go hungry.
USAID allowed one of the workers in Gaza to be interviewed, but asked that the person remain anonymous because of security reasons related to their work in conflict areas.
The war between Israel and Hamas has been going on for almost seven months, and Israel is not allowing enough food and supplies to reach Gaza. As a result, half of Gaza’s 2. 3 million people are in danger of not having enough food to eat, according to health officials from other countries. Under pressure from the US and other countries, Israeli officials have started to slowly open some border crossings to allow relief shipments to come in.
Young children under 5 are some of the first to die when there is not enough food because of wars, droughts, or other disasters. Officials at a hospital in northern Gaza said that the first people died from not having enough food in early March. They said that most of the people who died were children.
USAID is working with the UN World Food Program, Israel, and others to make sure the pier is safe and food can be delivered easily. The US military is also helping to build the pier so that aid can be sent by ship. President Joe Biden felt pressure to help the people in Gaza because of the bad situation there. The US gives military help to Israel, and President Biden announced a project to help Gaza in March.
The US Central Command said on Friday that putting together the floating pier in the water has stopped for now because strong winds and big waves are making it dangerous for the soldiers. The half-built pier and the military ships are now at the Port of Ashdod and will keep working there.
A person from the US government said the installation will be delayed for a few days because of rough seas. It might not happen until later next week. The person in charge, who didn’t want their name to be shared, said that the break in the operation might last even longer if the weather stays bad because the military and divers need to go in the water to finish the work.
The United Nations has not spoken much about its role in giving aid to people.
“We want to see more activities on land. ” “This is a sea mission,” said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday. “We are helping them, but they need to follow certain rules, like being independent and not involved in the military. ”
The problems with giving first aid through a newly opened land path to north Gaza on Wednesday showed the unsureness about safety and the risk for aid workers. Israeli people living in occupied territories stopped the group of vehicles from passing through. Then, Hamas fighters changed the direction of a World Food Program truck in Gaza before it reached where it was supposed to go.
A factory in Fitzgerald, Georgia was producing a special nutrient-packed paste, and it was one of only two factories in the US making it. The ready-to-use therapeutic food, RUTF, is made to save the lives of children under 5 who are extremely hungry. It is given to them in a hospital or clinic.
In Gaza, they really need paste in the northern part of the area. Regular people are not getting much help, getting bombed by Israel, and have to hide because of the fighting.
The number of young children who are very malnourished has gone up a lot, from 1% to 30% in just five months because of the war, according to the USAID official. The official said it was the quickest increase in hunger in recent history, even faster than in serious conflicts and food shortages in Somalia or South Sudan.
One of the only hospitals in northern Gaza, Kamal Adwan hospital, is overwhelmed with parents bringing in many sick children with malnutrition for help, according to the official. Aid workers think there are many hungry children who aren’t getting help because their families can’t get them to places with food and medical care because of the fighting and checkpoints.
We need to give more help to the very hungry children and make sure there is no fighting so that aid workers can help them and their families get the treatment they need. -
Prominent Gaza surgeon Adnan Al-Bursh passes away in an Israeli jail
A well-known doctor in Gaza has passed away in an Israeli jail after being held for over four months. Palestinian prisoner groups say his death is part of a pattern of targeting health workers.
Dr Adnan Al-Bursh, who is the leader of the bone doctor department at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, passed away in an Israeli prison on April 19. This information was shared in a statement on Thursday by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs.
Al-Bursh and 10 other medical workers were arrested in December when the Israeli military invaded the Jabalya refugee camp, according to CNN. The statement said he was taken away while he was helping patients at Al-Awda Hospital.
The Israeli authorities have not yet let his body go.
The prisoner groups accused Israel for his death. They said it was part of a plan to harm doctors and the healthcare system in Gaza.
The 50-year-old’s death was very sad for everyone – his family, the doctors at Al-Shifa Hospital, and for Dr. Adnan’s patients, said Dr. Marwan Abu Saada, the director of the hospital.
“He said this news is the worst and hurts our hearts. ” “Dr Adnan really enjoyed life, was always happy, and everyone loved him. ”
Mohammad Al-Bursh, the nephew of Al-Bursh, said in a phone interview that he learned about his uncle’s death from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society on Thursday at around 1 pm.
“I didn’t know how to tell his wife and my dad. ” It’s really hard to believe this news and we are very surprised. “We are hurting,” he said.
Dr Al-Bursh was the youngest of nine brothers and sisters. He wasn’t just a doctor, he also helped the Palestinian national team with sports, according to his nephew.
He said to CNN that his uncle worked all the time during the worst part of the war in Gaza. He only took an hour in the morning to exercise and play sports at the beach.
“Starting on October 10, 2023, he stayed at Al-Shifa hospital all the time. ” Mohammed said he didn’t see his wife for about two weeks.
When Israel first went into Al-Shifa hospital, Mohammad told CNN that Israeli soldiers told the medical staff, including Dr. Al-Bursh, that they had to leave the hospital and go south, or they would be arrested.
Mohammad said he did what he was told and went to the south for a little while. When he thought it was safe, he came back to the north of Gaza. Dr Al-Bursh had to keep changing hospitals in Gaza because they were always getting attacked by Israelis.
Mohammad said that Dr Al-Bursh could have run away and gone to shelters in Jabalya, but he chose to stay and keep working. Until Israeli soldiers arrested him on December 14th of last year.
Mohammad said he tried to find out what happened to his uncle from the police and lawyers, but they wouldn’t tell him.
Accusations of hurting someone’s body and mind.
Abu Saada, like Mohammad, said he had asked Israeli authorities about Al-Bursh’s detention but didn’t get any news. He was told by one of Al-Bursh’s fellow prisoners, who had been released, that the surgeon had been tortured and killed.
The news cannot check if it is true that Al-Bursh was hurt while in jail. However, many Palestinians who were freed by Israel have said that they were treated badly while they were held in custody during the fighting in Gaza.
The IDF has said it follows the rules when it detains people.
A secret report from the United Nations says that the media has found describes how the Israeli military has hurt and threatened people in prison. This includes hitting, not letting them sleep, and making sexual threats.
Israel let go many people from Gaza through Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel on Thursday.
The release of Ismail Khadr’s body was announced by prisoner associations. Ismail was a Palestinian man from Gaza who had died in Israeli custody. The number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli jails since October 7 is now 18, according to the statement.
Israel started a war in Gaza because the Hamas group attacked on October 7 and killed over 1,200 people in southern Israel and took more than 200 people as hostages. Israel used force against Gaza and caused a big crisis there. This has made a lot of people very upset all around the world.
In the last seven months, more than 34,600 people have been killed in Gaza because of the bombing. Half of the 2. 2 million people in Gaza are very close to starving, and a famine made by people is very likely to happen soon, according to a scale used by United Nations agencies. People are worried about Israel’s plan to attack southern Gaza. They want a ceasefire to stop the fighting.
Many people are very mad at Israel for what they are doing near hospitals in Gaza. Doctors and other groups say the health system in Gaza is about to break.
Israel says it went into medical centers in Gaza to stop Hamas fighters from using them for military activities. They claim that Hamas was using the underground tunnels at the hospitals for their operations. Hamas and doctors at different hospitals in Gaza say the accusations are not true. Israel is being strongly urged by the world to show evidence for its claims.
Dr Al-Bursh has five children. The youngest is three years old. They hadn’t seen their father in almost five months. -
Spain removes national bullfighting trophy as part of cultural change
Spain has canceled its yearly bullfighting prize on Friday. This caused anger from conservatives who believe it is an ancient art but also raised worries about how the animals are treated.
Some people think Spanish-style bullfighting is an important tradition, but others say it’s a cruel and unnecessary ritual. In this event, a matador in fancy clothing kills the bull with a sword.
The Culture Ministry said it decided to get rid of the award because people in Spain are more concerned about animals and not as many people are going to bullfights.
“I believe most Spaniards feel frustrated and confused about why animal cruelty is still happening in our country, and even more so why it’s being supported with public funds,” explained Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun on X.
The national award was a check for 30,000 euros (about $32,217) from the government. It was given to well-known bullfighters like Julian Lopez, also known as “El Juli,” or to groups that are connected to bullfighting.
This has recently become a big problem in Spain’s culture battles. On one side are left-wing groups like Sumar, where Urtasun belongs. On the other side are right-wing conservatives who want to keep the tradition.
Borja Semper, who speaks for the opposition conservative People’s Party, told reporters that the government’s decision shows it doesn’t support cultural diversity or freedom, and that his party would bring back the award if they become the ruling party again.
Jorge Azcon, who is the leader of the PP party in Aragon, announced that they will create a new award. He said that tradition should bring us together, not separate us.
More and more people in Latin America and southern France are against bullfighting, even though it was brought to those regions many years ago.
In Spain, fewer people are interested in bullfighting, and the number of bullfighting festivals has decreased by one third between 2010 and 2023. -
Pro-Palestinian protests: Over 2,300 individuals are detained on US campuses
The police directed individuals showing support for Palestine to leave a tent camp at New York University on Friday morning.This happened after many protests and clashes with the police at other colleges, which led to over 2,300 people getting arrested.
There were about 12 protesters who got arrested because they didn’t listen to the police, and around 30 others left on their own, said NYU spokesperson John Beckman. The school officials asked for the action to start at 6 am in order to reduce the chance of people getting hurt or causing more problems. Beckman said this.
He said that classes will happen as planned on Friday. A big NYU protest area was taken apart on April 22, and over 130 protesters were taken into custody.
Protesters are setting up camps at universities, asking them to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war in Gaza. This student movement is happening at many US campuses and is very different from anything else seen in the past 100 years.
Israel has called the protests against them anti-Jewish, but people who criticize Israel say they are doing that to stop any opposition. Some people at the protests have been seen saying hurtful things against Jewish people or threatening violence. But the people who organize the protests, including some who are Jewish themselves, say that it is a peaceful movement to support Palestinian rights and speak out against the war.
President Joe Biden has said that students have the right to protest peacefully, but he doesn’t like when protests become violent and disrupt campus life.
Police officers from the NYPD removed a camp at The New School in Greenwich Village on Friday because students could not go to class in two buildings due to the protesters. The school asked the police department to move the protesters away, according to Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry’s post on social media platform X.
A video from Daughtry shows many police officers with helmets outside the school. No one was arrested.
Police arrested 133 protesters at the State University of New York at New Paltz, and 9 protesters at the University of Tennessee, when they shut down a pro-Palestinian protest. Chancellor Donde Plowman said on Friday that seven of the people who were arrested are students and they will also face consequences according to the school’s rules.
The students started protesting on April 17 at Columbia University. They made a camp to try to stop the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Over 34,000 Palestinians have died in the fighting in the Gaza Strip, as reported by the Health Ministry in that area. Israel started attacking Gaza after October 7th because Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly innocent people, and also took about 250 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.
Late on Tuesday, the police arrested over 100 people when they removed the Columbia encampment. One police officer accidentally fired his gun inside Hamilton Hall, but no one got hurt, the NYPD said on Thursday. The man was trying to use the flashlight on his gun but accidentally shot the wall with one bullet, said the police.
More than 200 people got arrested at the University of California, Los Angeles on Thursday. The protesters didn’t leave even after being told to, and some of them made human chains. The police used flash-bangs to scatter the crowds. The police broke through a strong barricade made of wood, metal, and dumpsters at a camp, and then took down the tents and canopies.
UCLA leader Gene Block said they tried to find a peaceful solution, but the situation changed when people who disagreed with the pro-Palestinian group attacked them. Before that, everything was calm on campus.
The campus leaders and police did not take action or ask for help for a long time. No one was taken to jail that night, but at least 15 people protesting were hurt.
By Wednesday, the camp had turned into more of a fortress, and the only option was to have the police take it apart, Block said. The police told the crowd through speakers that they would be arrested if they didn’t leave. More than 200 people were arrested while the rest left on their own.
Police have arrested people at least 58 times for protesting at 44 colleges or universities since April 18, according to information from the Associated Press and the schools.
The University of Minnesota and other schools have agreed to not let protests disrupt graduation ceremonies. Similar agreements have been made at Northwestern University, Rutgers University, and Brown University. -
UN organisations ready for Rafah incursion
The UN has said that if Israel enters Rafah, it could put many lives in danger and make it difficult for aid groups to help people in that area. However, the World Health Organization is also getting ready in case this happens.
Israel has said many times that they might attack Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. About a million people who have been forced to leave their homes are living there because of fighting between Israel and Hamas. This fighting started when Hamas fighters crossed into Israel and killed people on Oct 7th.
Jens Laerke, who works for the UN humanitarian office, said it could be very bad for the people in the area and for the work the UN is doing there.
Israel has said it will help make sure that people in Rafah can leave safely. The United States has always said it cannot approve of an attack on Rafah by its friend Israel unless there is a good plan to keep the civilians safe.
Israel has shared some early information with the US, but we haven’t seen a complete plan that gives us confidence yet.
Another person from the US government, who did not want their name to be known, said that the plan from Israel to provide shelter, food, and routes for people to escape needs to be improved.
In Rafah, they are providing help like medical clinics, places with supplies for people in need, giving out food, and taking care of really hungry children in 50 places.
OCHA will try its best to make sure that aid work keeps going, even if there is an attack. They are figuring out how to make this happen.
“A person from the World Health Organization said that they have a plan for Rafah, which includes a new hospital. But they also said that the plan may not stop a lot more people from dying. ”
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in almost seven months of fighting, it was reported by Gaza’s health ministry.
Rik Peeperkorn, who works for the World Health Organization in the occupied Palestinian territory, said that he thinks the contingency plan is just a temporary solution. “It won’t stop the extra people getting hurt or dying from the military operation. ”
Other plans involve putting medical supplies in hospitals up north in case the three hospitals in Rafah are not working. This has happened many times in the last seven months because of Israeli attacks.
According to WHO data, only about a third of the 36 hospitals that were open before the war are still working to some extent. Israel says that Hamas is using hospitals for military purposes. Israel believes that its attacks on these hospitals are necessary because they have found fighters there. Hamas and medical staff say the accusations are not true.
Peeperkorn said he was really worried that an attack might stop the Rafah crossing from bringing in medical supplies to Gaza from Egypt.
“We are working hard to make sure it stays open no matter what,” he said. WHO has talked to Israeli authorities about this issue. -
Three detained by police over the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people were taken by the police and accused of killing BC Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Legal papers say that Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar are each accused of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in Nijjar’s death.
Nijjar, who was 45 years old, was shot and killed outside his place of worship in Surrey, BC, on June 18, 2023.
The charges on Friday say that the plan happened in Surrey and Edmonton between May 1, 2023, and the day Nijjar was killed.
The BC RCMP and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team will give an update on the case at 12:30 p.m. PT on Friday.
The murder caused a big problem between Canada and India. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada’s intelligence services are looking into a possible connection between India’s government and the murder.
Nijjar was the leader of a Sikh temple called Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. He was killed by two masked gunmen in the middle of the day.
He is a strong supporter of the Khalistan movement, which wants a separate Sikh homeland in Punjab, India. Because of this, he is wanted in India and in 2020, the authorities called him a terrorist.
When he died, he was planning a vote on Khalistan for Sikhs living outside of India in British Columbia with a group called Sikhs For Justice. -
Interference by China did not affect Canada’s overall results of the 2019 election – Report
China trying to get involved did not change the outcome of the 2019 and 2021 elections that Justin Trudeau’s Liberals won, according to a government investigation.
In a report on Friday, commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue said that some election results in a few areas may have been influenced, but it’s not certain.
Hogue listened to a lot of information and looked at secret papers. He found that nobody, not even Beijing, affected Canada’s voting system during the two national elections.
“Our system is still strong,” said Hogue after her report was released. People voted and their votes were counted properly. There is no evidence of any interference.
She said that trying to influence the government didn’t make a difference in the last two elections.
However, Hogue found in her report that outside influence made people in Canada have less trust in their democracy. “This is the biggest damage Canada has faced because of other countries getting involved. ”
The investigation recently finished 10 days of public meetings to look into claims of China, India, Russia, and other countries influencing the last two elections.
“I found out that other countries trying to influence us is a common thing, not only in Canada but everywhere. ” Hogue said he also learned that the government tries to respond to the problem, whether or not there is an election happening.
“Foreign interference is similar to a crime. ” It is always there. Its ways change over time. Although the government can try to find solutions, it may not be possible to completely get rid of it. With that being said, we should stop it and lessen its impact.
The Liberals started a new rule in 2019. If a group of government officials decides that something might affect Canada’s ability to have a fair election, they will tell the public about it.
There was no announcement about the 2019 or 2021 elections. The Liberals won the election with less than half the votes and the Conservatives became the main opposing party.
Hogue said she can’t rule out the chance that foreign interference could have affected the results in some specific ridings. “In my opinion, only a few ridings are affected and we don’t know for sure how much foreign interference will ultimately impact the situation. ”
Hogue mentioned two examples that were talked about a lot in the public meetings.
She examined the competition for the Liberal nomination in the Toronto area of Don Valley North in 2019, and Han Dong was chosen as the candidate.
The Canadian security agency found a possible plan involving a bus of Chinese students with fake papers, but Hogue said there was not enough proof to know what really happened.
She said that in the 2021 election in British Columbia’s Steveston-Richmond East, there is a good chance that Chinese interference hurt Conservative candidate Kenny Chiu’s chances of winning the seat.
In general, Hogue found that foreign meddling probably affected some votes in the 2019 and 2021 elections, and also hurt the rights of voters to have a fair and free election without outside pressure or secret influence.
“This has probably not been a big problem so far, but it might get worse in the future. ”
Politicians might change what they say and do because of foreign interference. This might happen more if we don’t protect against it, Hogue said.
“This would really hurt our democracy because it goes against the idea that politicians should be able to share their opinions and the opinions of the people they represent without being influenced by another country in secret. ”
The investigation will now focus on bigger problems with government policies, like how good they are at stopping foreign interference.
“Trying to interfere in Canadian matters has been happening for a long time. By the 1980s, there were clear warnings that Beijing was trying to influence and take advantage of the Chinese community in Canada. ”
Last February, the Globe and Mail reported that China tried to help the Liberal party win the 2021 election and prevent Conservative politicians who were not friendly to China from winning.
Next month, the government said that someone independent would check for foreign interference in the elections. This is one way they are trying to stop meddling and make people feel more confident about the elections.
David Johnston, a person in charge of a big job, said in a report in May 2023 that there are big problems in the way information is shared and understood between security agencies and the government.
However, he did not find any instances of ministers, the prime minister, or their offices purposefully or carelessly ignoring intelligence, advice, or recommendations.
Johnston said that some information got out and was not understood correctly by some media because they didn’t have enough context.
In the end, he advised not to have a public investigation because a commissioner would face the same problems with keeping things secret as he did.
In September, the government said Hogue would lead a public inquiry, even though there were more leaks to the media and pressure from other political parties. -
Canada to give $65 million to Lebanon for economic growth and humanitarian aid
Canada will give Lebanon $65 million to help with development and humanitarian aid, said Minister Ahmed Hussen.
The money package includes $38 million for making things better and another $27 million to help people in need.
“This $27 million will really help the people who need it,” he said in an interview.
Lebanon has had more and more money problems in the last few years, Hussen said. This is because of the explosion in the port of Beirut in 2020 and millions of refugees leaving nearby countries because of war.
“We must help Lebanese people who are in need and also the refugees. ”
The help will be used to give people food, water, and medical care.
Funding for economic development will go to groups like UN Women, which are part of the United Nations. Global Affairs Canada wants to give money to help local farmers, businesses run by women, and women involved in politics.
Hussen said that women around the world do not have enough money to start or expand their businesses.
“Helping women to be more powerful is the best way to fight poverty and make sure the economy grows for everyone. ”
Canada is giving money to help Lebanon’s economy as part of the government’s plan for the Middle East. According to Hussen, Canada has given over $500 million to Lebanon since 2016. -
4.8-magnitude earthquake detected to the west of Vancouver Island
A 48 magnitude earthquake happened near Vancouver Island on Thursday evening.
Earthquakes Canada said there was an earthquake just after 8 pm. It happened 206 kilometres southwest of Port Alice.
Only one person told the government that they felt the earthquake. They said the shaking was not very strong. The agency in charge of earthquakes said there was no damage and they didn’t expect any because of how strong the earthquake was and where it happened.
Last week, many people felt an earthquake. On April 23, there was a small earthquake near McBride, a town close to Alberta. Earthquakes Canada measured it to be 4.2 in magnitude and it happened 45 kilometres outside of McBride.
Fourteen people sent reports saying they felt the earthquake. Eleven people said the shaking was weak, and three others said it was light. -
2 Nigerian military officers to appear in court after drone attack killed 85
Two soldiers from Nigeria will go to court for killing 85 people in a drone attack last December. The attack happened in the conflict-ridden north of Nigeria. A rights group is asking for more information and justice for the victims.
Two people will face military justice for making mistakes that led to civilians being killed. They thought the civilians were terrorists. The Defense Headquarters spokesperson did not give more information.
The Nigerian military frequently uses air strikes to fight against violent extremists and rebel attacks in the northern part of Nigeria. This has caused harm to innocent people for over ten years.
Since 2017, the military has accidentally killed about 400 civilians, according to a security firm in Lagos.
In December, there was a problem with a gun while people were celebrating a Muslim holiday in Tudun Biri village, Kaduna state.
The Nigerian military needs to give more details about their investigation, pay the victims, and create better ways to prevent accidents from happening again, according to Anietie Ewang, a researcher with Human Rights Watch.
Ewang said we really need a careful plan to make sure the victims of the airstrikes get fairness and justice.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu said that mistakes that could have been prevented cannot happen again. Rights groups and activists also criticized the attack and asked for more careful monitoring of the military’s actions in war areas.
One big worry is that there are too many drones in Nigerian security groups and there are no clear rules on when they can be used. This was said by Kabir Adamu, a security expert in Abuja.
Buba said that the military will be more careful in the future to make sure that people who are not fighting in wars are safe. -
Boris Johnson turned away from polling station after forgetting photo ID
The former UK minister, Boris Johnson, was unable to cast his vote as he had forgotten his identification at the polling station.
The news in Britain said that Johnson, who made a rule that voters need a photo ID, was told by people at a polling station in South Oxfordshire that he couldn’t vote unless he proved who he was.
Sky News said that Johnson, who was the Conservative prime minister from 2019 to 2022, was able to vote and he voted for the Conservative party.
Johnson made a new law called the Elections Act in 2022. It says that people need to show a photo ID to vote. The new law started in local elections last year. However, on Thursday, many voters in England and Wales had to show a form of ID, like a passport or driver’s license, for the first time while voting.
The Electoral Commission said most people were able to follow the new rules for voting. But some people didn’t have the right ID and may have chosen not to vote because of that.
It was also found that some people, like those who are disabled or unemployed, had trouble showing their voter ID. -
EU gives Lebanon 1billion euros in aid amid surge in unlawful immigration
The European Union said on Thursday that they will give 1 billion euros (about US$1. 06 billion) to Lebanon. Some of the money will be used to strengthen border control to stop people from Lebanon coming to Cyprus and Italy.
The agreement is like other EU aid deals for countries like Egypt, Tunisia, and Mauritania to make their borders stronger. This is happening as more people in Lebanon are not being nice to Syrian refugees, and there are a lot more Syrian refugees leaving Lebanon and going to Cyprus without following the rules.
Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union, said in Beirut with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides that the help will begin this year and continue until 2027.
The majority of the help, which is 736 million euros, will help Syrian refugees and other vulnerable people in Lebanon. Another 200 million euros will go to support Lebanese security services in controlling the borders and migration. These numbers were given by the Cypriot government.
Some money would be given to fishermen in Lebanon so they don’t sell their boats to smugglers.
Von der Leyen said the EU will also work on a “better plan to help Syrian refugees go back home” in cooperation with the UN refugee agency. The group will keep providing legal ways for refugees to settle in Europe, she said.
Lebanon’s temporary Prime Minister Najib Mikati liked the plan and said that if Lebanon is safe, then Europe is safe too. He also said that if the problem gets worse, it won’t just affect Lebanon, but it will also affect Europe.
Lebanon has been having a really bad financial crisis since 2019. There are almost 780,000 Syrian refugees who are officially registered in Lebanon, and many more who are not officially registered. Lebanon has the most refugees per person in the world.
Lebanese leaders have been asking other countries for a long time to help the refugees either move to a new country or go back to Syria, even if they don’t want to. Lebanon’s security forces have increased sending Syrians back to their country in the last year.
More problems started after a leader of the Lebanese Forces party, Pascal Suleiman, was killed last month in what military officials said was a failed car robbery by a group from Syria. The event caused some people to attack Syrians.
At the same time, officials in Cyprus say too many Syrian people are coming to their country without permission, especially by boat from Lebanon.
The UNHCR in Lebanon said that they confirmed 59 boats leaving with 3,191 passengers between January and mid-April, compared to only 3 boats with 54 passengers last year. Normally, only a small number of boats try to cross the much more dangerous water in the winter. In 2023, UNHCR saw 65 boats leave with 3,927 people on board.
Cyprus has a new plan to stop the arrival of migrants. Last month, Cyprus stopped accepting Syrian asylum requests. Human rights groups say the Cypriot coast guard sent back five boats with around 500 asylum seekers from Lebanon. Cypriot officials said that it is not true.
Bassel al-Shayoukh, a Syrian refugee from Idlib, has been living in Lebanon since 2014. He said his brother and some relatives were on a boat that was sent back. Now he wants to go on the journey by himself.
“At first, I thought the war in Syria would end in a year or two,” he said. But it continued for a long time. In Lebanon, the same thing happened every year. Things started to get even more bad.
Shayoukh said he is worried about getting hurt by people who are trying to enforce the law or being sent back to Syria after Lebanese authorities refused to extend his permit to stay in the country.
His 17-year-old nephew, who didn’t want to say his name because he was afraid for his safety, said the Cypriot coast guard started moving their boat away by making waves. “I was really scared. ” “I can’t swim,” he said. “I believed we were going to be killed. ”
The people on the boats didn’t have any food or water for three days. Then they went back to Lebanon. The teen said that.
In Lebanon, the army arrested them; the ones with UNHCR were let go and the rest were sent out of the country.
Mohammed Sablouh, a lawyer in Lebanon who helps refugees and migrants, says the Lebanese government is ignoring the increase in migration on purpose to put pressure on the rest of the world.
The Lebanese army didn’t answer when asked about what they’re doing to stop smuggling.
On Thursday, they announced aid before the yearly fundraising conference for the Syrian crisis in Brussels at the end of the month. After 13 years of fighting, people are tired of donating money while everyone is focused on helping people affected by wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
The president of Cyprus said that Thursday was a very important day. He asked European officials to make some areas in Syria safe for people to go back to.
The situation in Lebanon cannot continue like this. It’s not good for Cyprus, and it’s not good for the European Union, Christodoulides said.
However, some Lebanese officials don’t think that the European aid will fix the problem.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea told The Associated Press this week that European authorities are mainly worried about refugees not going to Europe.
“We have a problem because we can’t have a lot of Syrian refugees coming to our country illegally,” Geagea said. He wants the Syrians to go back to areas in Syria that are controlled by either the government or opposition.
But Shayoukh says he doesn’t have anywhere to go.
The government in Damascus is after him because he is against the Syrian President Bashar Assad. He also said that the Islamist group in his hometown is acting like the government’s intelligence services in silencing people who disagree with them. -
Pennsylvania nurse who gave fatal insulin doses to patients receives life sentence in prison
A nurse from Pennsylvania who gave deadly doses of insulin to patients and admitted to killing three people, has been found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
Heather Pressdee, who is 41 years old, has been sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison, and an additional 380 to 760 years. The sentencing took place in Butler, which is about 48 kilometers north of Pittsburgh. She caused the deaths of 17 patients in five different health facilities from 2020 to 2023, according to prosecutors.
The 22 people who were hurt or killed were between 43 and 104 years old. Pressdee’s coworkers often asked about how she behaved and said she often showed dislike for her patients and made disrespectful comments about them, authorities said.
Pressdee, who could have been sentenced to death, admitted to being guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and 19 counts of attempted murder. In May 2023, she was accused of killing two nursing home patients and hurting another. More looking into what happened showed that she is facing many more accusations. In February, she talked to her lawyers and said she wanted to admit she was guilty.
Pressdee didn’t say much when she went into court and answered most questions with just one word. When her lawyer asked why she was saying she did it, Pressdee said, “Because I did it. ”
The plea hearing was supposed to go on until Friday because many people wanted to talk about the impact the crime had on them, officials said. Some people in court on Thursday said to Pressdee that she was wrong to act like God. They said that even though some of the people she hurt were old or very sick, none of them wanted to die.
Pressdee ignored the speakers and didn’t respond to their comments, even when one of them said a bad word that made people in the courtroom clap.
Another person said in court: “She is not ill. ” She is not crazy. She is very evil. Please rewrite this text using simpler words. “I saw Satan’s face when she killed my dad in the morning. ”
Prosecutors said that Pressdee from Harrison gave too much insulin to 22 patients, even some who didn’t have diabetes. She usually gave insulin during the night when there were fewer staff and emergencies did not require immediate hospital care. Many patients died shortly after getting the insulin, or later on.
She wasn’t allowed to work as a nurse early last year because of some legal problems.
Court papers show that Pressdee sent messages to her mom from April 2022 to May 2023 talking about being unhappy with her patients and coworkers, and mentioning the possibility of hurting them. She also said she had the same problems with people she met at restaurants and other places.
Pressdee has a record of being in trouble for being mean to patients and/or staff at every job. This led to her either quitting or getting fired, according to prosecutors. Starting in 2018, Pressdee worked at a few nursing homes and facilities in western Pennsylvania for a short time, according to the records.
Other people who work in healthcare have been found guilty of causing the death of patients. One of them is William Davis, a nurse from Texas. He was found guilty of killing four patients by injecting air into their arteries after they had heart surgery. He was found guilty and given the death penalty, but he is now trying to prove that he is not guilty. Another nurse named Charles Cullen murdered at least 29 nursing home patients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Some experts think he may have killed even more people. -
Georgia’s parliament adjourns after significant protestors cause damage to building
Georgia’s parliament decided not to have its meeting on Thursday because there were big protests against a new law. People are worried that the law will limit freedom of the media and make it harder for the country to join the European Union.
The parliament said they cancelled an event because the building was damaged during protests on Wednesday. The police used water, gas, and spray against the protesters.
On Wednesday, the lawmakers agreed to a second look at the law that would make it necessary for media and non-profit groups to register as working for a foreign government if they get more than 20 percent of their money from outside the country.
The last reading was supposed to happen in mid-May. It is not known if canceling Thursday’s meeting will slow down the bill’s progress. The ruling party in Georgia, called Georgian Dream, took back a similar idea last year because many people protested against it.
Protesters are criticizing the bill and calling it “the Russian law” because Russia uses similar laws to criticize independent news media and organizations that speak out against the government.
83 out of 150 lawmakers in Georgia voted yes on the bill for the second time, while 23 voted no.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili does not agree with the governing party and has spoken out against the bill. She said she will reject the bill if Parliament approves it. However, the ruling party can reject the veto and request the speaker of the parliament to approve the bill and make it a law.
The EU’s foreign policy group recently criticized Georgian Dream for bringing back the law. They said it’s a big problem for media freedom in the country, which is important for the EU to accept Georgia. -
Delegation from Hamas on its way to Egypt to carry on with cease-fire talks
Hamas is sending some people to Egypt to talk about stopping the fighting in Gaza. This is good news because it shows that different countries are working together to find a way to make peace between Israel and Hamas.
After many months of starting and stopping talks, it seems like the ceasefire efforts are at a very important point. Egyptian and American mediators say there are signs that both sides are starting to agree in the last few days. But it is not yet clear if Israel will agree to end the fighting without achieving its goal of destroying Hamas.
The new UN report shows that if the Israel-Hamas war ends now, it will take until 2040 to rebuild all the homes destroyed in Gaza by Israeli attacks. It said that the damage to the economy will make it hard for the country to grow for a long time, and it will get even worse if the fighting keeps going on.
The US and Egyptian mediators have suggested a plan to Hamas, which Israel seems to agree with. The plan has three steps: first, a six-week ceasefire and the release of some Israeli hostages. Then, negotiations for a long-term peace agreement, which might involve Israel pulling out of Gaza. An Egyptian official shared this information. Hamas wants to make sure that Israel will completely pull out of their territory and that the war will stop completely.
Hamas leaders have been giving different messages about the plan in the last few days. However, on Thursday, the top leader of the group, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a statement that he talked to Egypt’s intelligence chief and emphasized that they are looking at the ceasefire proposal in a positive way.
Hamas is going to Cairo to finish talking about making a deal. Haniyeh also spoke to the prime minister of Qatar.
The brokers are optimistic that the agreement will stop a conflict that has hurt many Palestinians, destroyed a lot, and caused big problems for people in the area. They also hope that an agreement will stop Israel from attacking Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have taken refuge after leaving other areas where there is fighting.
If Israel decides to stop fighting in exchange for all the hostages being released, it would be a big change. After Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, Israel’s leaders said they will keep attacking and sending troops until they get rid of the militant group. They also say that Israel needs to have soldiers in Gaza and control security after the war to make sure that Hamas doesn’t build again.
In public, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps saying that this is the only way things should end.
He promised that even if there is a pause in fighting, Israel will still attack Rafah, which he believes is the last place where Hamas is strong in Gaza. He said again that he is determined to do it during his talks on Wednesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken was in Israel to try to make the deal happen.
The fate of the agreement depends on whether Hamas will agree to wait and see what happens after the initial six-week break in fighting. This would at least delay a feared attack on Rafah.
Egypt has been telling Hamas privately that the agreement will bring a complete end to the war. The Egyptian official said that Hamas thinks the text is not clear enough and wants it to say that Israel must completely leave all of Gaza. The official talked about the discussions happening inside, but didn’t want to give their name.
Wednesday evening, the news didn’t seem as good. A leader of Hamas, Osama Hamdan, said he wasn’t sure. He told Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV that they are still talking, but will stop if Israel invades Rafah.
Blinken pushed Hamas to agree and said Israel had made big concessions.
“We can’t argue or negotiate any more. Time is running out. ” “The agreement is in place,” Blinken said on Wednesday before he left for the US.
An Israeli attack from the air killed at least five people, including a child, in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The Associated Press journalists saw and counted the bodies at a hospital.
The war started on October 7th. Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, and took about 250 others as hostages. Some were released during a ceasefire in November.
The Israel-Hamas war started when militants attacked southern Israel on Oct 7, killing about 1,200 civilians and taking about 250 people hostage. Hamas still has about 100 people as hostages and the bodies of more than 30 others.
Israel’s attack in Gaza caused a lot of damage and a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza are at risk of not having enough food to eat, as reported by the UN. Over 80% of people have been forced to leave their houses.
The report says that the economy is in bad shape and many Palestinians are becoming poor.
It was reported that by 2024, the economy of Palestine, which includes Gaza and the West Bank, has decreased by 25. 8% If the war keeps going, the loss will be a very high 29 percent by July, it said. Israel’s decision to revoke work permits for the West Bank has negatively affected the economy there. -
Gangs in Haiti commit further crimes days after appointment of new prime minister
Gangs in Haiti attacked some areas in Port-au-Prince, burning houses and shooting at the police for hours. Many people ran away from the violence on Thursday. This was one of the largest attacks since Haiti’s new prime minister was announced.
The attacks started on Wednesday night in areas like Solino and Delmas 18, 20, and 24, which are near the airport. The airport has been closed for almost two months because of a lot of gang violence.
“A man named Nene said the gangs were burning everything they could see, but he didn’t want to give his full name because he was afraid. ” “I stayed in a corner all night so no one could see me. ”
He walked with a friend and they carried a dusty red suitcase that was full of clothes – it was the only thing they could keep. Nene hurriedly took his children’s clothes and rushed them out of Delmas 18 at dawn when the fighting stopped for a while.
The streets that used to be busy with cars and people were empty and quiet in the morning, except for the sound of a goat.
A strong police truck drove around on the streets, passing burned cars and walls made of cinderblocks. On one wall, someone had written “Viv Babecue,” which is a message in Haitian Creole about a famous gang leader in Haiti.
People whose houses were not damaged in the attack in Delmas 18 and nearby areas carried fans, stoves, mattresses, and bags of clothes as they ran away on foot, motorcycles, or colorful small buses called tap-taps. Some people were walking with nothing because they had lost everything.
“Paul Pierre, who was 47 years old, said there were lots of gunshots all around while he was walking with his partner. They were looking for a place to stay after their house got burned down. ” They couldn’t keep any of their things.
He said that during the night, fighting caused children to be separated from their parents and wives from their husbands as people ran away in fear. He said, “Everyone is just trying to save themselves. ”
Martineda, a woman who did not want to give her last name because she was scared, said she became homeless when armed men set her home on fire. She ran away with her four-year-old because they both tried to escape when they heard the gunshots on Wednesday night.
“I said to him, ‘Don’t be afraid. “This is how people live in Haiti,” she said as she carried a heavy load of items on her head, like butter that she wanted to sell to make money and find a new place to live.
“Last night was scary. There was gunfire all night long and no one could sleep. ” Everyone was moving quickly on their feet.
The attack happened in an area controlled by Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer called Barbecue, who leads a powerful gang group named G9 Family and Allies.
He and other leaders of gangs have been accused of working together to carry out attacks in the capital, Port-au-Prince, starting on Feb 29. Criminals set fire to police stations, shot at the main airport, and broke into Haiti’s two largest prisons, letting more than 4,000 prisoners escape.
The attacks made Prime Minister Ariel Henry step down. A new group of leaders chose a new prime minister, Fritz Belizaire, who used to be a sports minister. The decision is causing a lot of arguments among the nine council members who just started their job last week.
New leaders are now running the country. But there are arguments going on. People in Haiti want the new leaders to make sure they are safe. Gangs are still stronger and have better weapons than the police in Haiti.
The UN says that more than 2,500 people were hurt or killed from January to March this year, which is over 50% more than last year.
In the last month, over 90,000 people have left Port-au-Prince because gangs that control 80% of the city are now targeting areas that used to be safe.
Ernest Aubrey remembered when he came to Delmas 18 ten years ago. Now, he is moving out of his house for the first time.
“It’s a lot. ” “We can’t fight them anymore,” he said about the gangs. “They are taking all our stuff. ”
He saw a friend in a car and ran to ask for a ride because he had a heavy bag.
Vanessa Vieux was one of the few who chose to stay in Delmas 18. She sent her elderly mom to the countryside after the attack on Wednesday. She decided not to give up her home to gangs. Additionally, she believes in Haiti’s police force.
“I live beside a police officer,” she said. “That’s why I’m not afraid. ” or “That’s why I’m not worried. “ -
London Drugs stores closed for the fifth day in a row
London Drugs stores in Western Canada are still closed today because of a “cybersecurity incident. ” They have been closed for five days in a row.
Around 10 am, which is later than most stores open, the news was told that the company may give an update later in the day. The company has not said when stores will open again.
London Drugs suddenly shut down all their stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba after finding out about a cyberattack on Sunday.
On Monday, the phone lines to the stores were not working because of an investigation. They were fixed and working again on Wednesday afternoon. The stores have Canada Post offices inside, which are open and working normally. But some of them are only accepting cash payments.
On Tuesday, the store said people’s personal information may have been stolen in the incident, which is different from what they said before. They had initially said they didn’t think anyone’s personal data was affected.
The company will tell people if their personal information was affected once they finish checking, as required by privacy laws.
“Because we know how much our customers and employees in Western Canada have been affected by the store closures, our top goal is to keep working nonstop to get all the stores up and running again,” said Clint Mahlman, the president of London Drugs, in a statement sent on Tuesday and repeated on Wednesday. “We thank everyone for being patient and supporting us during this tough time. We will give more information when we can. ”
London Drugs has over 80 stores in Western Canada. -
Physicians attend to at least 160 Canadians with eye injury from viewing the eclipse
Almost a month after the total solar eclipse, at least 160 people in Canada have reported damage to their eyes.
People were told not to look at the sun before the eclipse on April 8 because it can be harmful to the eyes.
“Many people find it interesting and can’t help but look, which is a problem,” said Dr. Mark Eltis, the president of the College of Optometrists of Ontario, in an interview with the media. “Some of the glasses that were supposed to be safe might not be made well. ”
The sun’s rays are not any stronger during the eclipse than they normally are. Normally, people find the sun too bright to look at. But some people may have stared at the sun directly to see the eclipse. During the eclipse, it gets darker so the eye opens up more.
“So when you look at the sun, you’re not only exposing your eyes to its harmful rays, but also not protecting them from damage,” Eltis explained.
In Ontario, most places only saw part of the eclipse because they were not in the full path of the eclipse. This could be a reason why they didn’t see the whole thing. The only safe time to look at the sun without eye protection is when the moon completely blocks it, called 100 per cent totality.
This means that more people would have the sun shining directly on them if they didn’t wear the right glasses or viewers during the partial eclipse.
The cities where the total eclipse was visible mostly had cloudy skies. Wearing special glasses for the eclipse probably helped prevent eye problems, according to the Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO).
As of April 26, the OAO reported that 118 people have had eye problems after watching the April 8 eclipse. The issues were swelling of the clear layer in front of the eye, eyes not producing enough tears, and damage to the retina from staring at the sun.
Inflammation of the cornea usually gets better within a few days, but looking at the sun can cause permanent vision loss in some cases, according to an OAO spokesperson.
“The seriousness of the cases depends on which part of the eye is damaged and how long the person looked at the sun,” the OAO told the media recently.
In Quebec, there were 45 reported cases of eye injuries that may be connected to the eclipse by April 29th. The government said eye doctors in the province found cases of eye infections from sun exposure.
“It’s important to remember that there might be more cases than we realize. ” The information that optometry clinics collect is not always reported right away because people don’t always go to these clinics when they have eye problems, said Marie-Pierre Blier, a spokesperson for Quebec’s health and social services ministry, in an email to CTV News.
New Brunswick didn’t have any reports of eye damage. The province had a very nice total eclipse on April 8 with lots of sunshine before and after the main part of the eclipse, and clear blue skies all day instead of clouds like in the west. In Nova Scotia, there were no reports of eye damage.
“I wanted to make sure that people weren’t afraid of this event and didn’t miss out on it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event that won’t happen again for 55 years in New Brunswick,” said Dr. Alexis Keeling, president of the New Brunswick Association of Optometrists, in an interview with the media. We wanted to make sure everyone in the province had the education and knowledge they needed to be safe. -
At least 2,000 persons detained during pro-Palestinian demonstrations on US colleges
More than 200 people were taken by the police at UCLA on Thursday. This makes a total of over 2,000 arrests at many college campuses since the police removed a camp at Columbia University in April. The information is from The Associated Press.
Protests and people getting arrested have happened all over the country. But in the last day, a lot of people were watching what happened at the University of California, Los Angeles. There were chaotic scenes when officers in riot gear pushed against a crowd of demonstrators on Thursday.
The protests at colleges across the country started at Columbia on April 17 to show opposition to Israel’s attack in Gaza after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct 7. Terrorists killed 1,200 people, most of them were innocent civilians, and they also took about 250 people as hostages. Israel has promised to eliminate Hamas and has caused the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as reported by the Health Ministry in that area.
Police took pro-Palestinian protesters to jail on college campuses all over the country last night. There was a lot of chaos at the University of California, Los Angeles when police in riot gear pushed against a crowd of protesters.
The police took down barriers and started taking apart the demonstrators’ strong camp at UCLA. This happened after many protesters refused to leave, and some of them linked arms to try to stop the police. The police used loud, bright bangs to scatter the crowds.
Sgt Alejandro Rubio of the California Highway Patrol said that 132 people were arrested at UCLA. Rubio said the people who were arrested are being taken to the county jails complex in downtown Los Angeles for processing. The UCLA police will decide if they need to press charges or not.
On Thursday morning, workers went to the old campsite and started cleaning up a lot. Bulldozers picked up trash bags and took down tents. Some buildings had paint on them that was not nice.
The police arrested people after using loudspeakers to tell them to leave for many hours. More than 1,000 people were on campus, some were inside a tent area that was barricaded. People who were protesting and the police pushed and fought with each other when the officers faced opposition. Video showed police taking off helmets and goggles from protesters as they were arrested.The police helicopters were flying around and there were loud bangs that make bright lights and loud noises to shock and disorient people. The protesters yelled at the police, asking them where they were the previous night. On Tuesday night, another group attacked the camp, and it took the UCLA administration and campus police a long time to come and help.
Protesters are setting up tents on college campuses to ask universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war in Gaza. This is a big student movement happening at campuses all over the country. The recent police crackdowns were similar to actions taken years ago against a bigger protest against the Vietnam War.
Protests and people getting arrested have happened all over the country. At least 1,945 people have been taken into custody since the protests started at Columbia University in New York on April 18th.
They included a college teacher from Illinois who said he suffered several broken ribs and a broken hand during a protest supporting Palestine on Saturday at Washington University in St. Louis Louis, Missouri = St Louis, Missouri
A video taken by someone who was nearby shows the police arresting Steve Tamari, a professor who teaches about the past at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He looks like he’s going to record the protesters being taken away by police when several officers force him to the ground.
Tamari said on Thursday that it was “a small price to pay for Israel’s ongoing killing of people in Gaza. ”
Authorities at Stony Brook University in New York on Long Island reported that 29 people were taken into custody early Thursday morning. This included students, faculty, and others who were not part of the university community. Fordham University in New York City also confirmed that 15 people were arrested after causing trouble in the lobby of a building on their campus at Lincoln Center.
The police arrested 15 people for trespassing at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus after a large group forced their way into the Lowenstein building.
Seventeen people got arrested on Wednesday at the University of Texas at Dallas for not obeying orders to move an encampment from the main walkway. They were charged with criminal trespass. A university spokeswoman announced this in a statement on Thursday.
The police at Yale University arrested four people, two of whom were students, on Wednesday night. This happened after about 200 protesters walked to the president’s house and the campus police department, according to school officials. The school said that the protesters did not listen to warnings and were not allowed to be on campus without permission.
The protest group Occupy Yale said that campus police were aggressive during the arrests and did not give any warnings. The team put a video on Instagram that shows police officers holding one person down on the ground and another person against the sidewalk.
Occupy Yale said they are having a peaceful protest. The police took, pushed, and hurt people. Is this how you keep the campus safe.
The police in Oregon started to remove pro-Palestinian rights protesters from the Millar Library at Portland State University, where they have been staying since Monday.
They used spray paint to draw on the walls and moved furniture to block off areas. Portland State University said on social media that the campus will stay closed because of police activity.
Ann Cudd, who is the president of the university, said on Wednesday that around 50 people left the library after they were told they wouldn’t get in trouble if they left quietly. But there are still some people, including those who don’t go to the university, who stayed behind. The police in Portland said on Thursday that 15 of their cars were set on fire during the night. It’s not clear if this was connected to the protest.
The University of Minnesota officials have made a deal with the protesters to stop camping on the Minneapolis campus. Temporary President Jeff Ettinger sent an email to the students on Thursday, saying that the people protesting have agreed not to cause any trouble during the final exams or graduation ceremonies. That happened when Northwestern University in suburban Chicago and Brown University in Rhode Island made similar agreements.
Meanwhile, the head of Florida’s state universities has told the leaders of the campuses to do whatever they can to keep the graduation ceremonies from being disturbed. This includes big schools like the University of Florida and Florida State University.
Protests also started happening outside of colleges. On Thursday in Albuquerque, around twenty-four protesters sat in the middle of a road, stopping people from getting to the main gate at Kirtland Air Force Base. The group showed flags and promised to “close everything” because of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The protests at UCLA seemed to be getting a lot of notice. Iranian TV showed police working and so did Al Jazeera from Qatar. Live pictures of Los Angeles were also shown on Israeli TV.
President Joe Biden said it’s okay for students to protest peacefully, but he doesn’t like the chaos of the past few days.
Israel called the protests against them antisemitic, but people who criticize Israel say they are just using that as a way to stop people from speaking out against them. Some people at the protests said things that are mean to Jewish people or threatened violence, but the organizers say it’s a peaceful movement to support Palestinian rights and oppose the war.
Hundreds of California Highway Patrol officers went to UCLA campus early on Thursday. They wore face shields and protective vests, and held their batons out to keep the demonstrators, who wore helmets and gas masks, away. The demonstrators were chanting: “You want peace. ” We want fairness.
The police carefully took apart the barricade made of wood, pallets, metal fences, and dumpsters at the camp. Then they removed many canopies and tents. The amount of people protesting got smaller in the morning. Some left on their own with their hands up, while others were taken by the police.
Police were there and kept telling people to be careful, but on Tuesday night, people who were against the pro-Palestinian camp started attacking it by throwing things, using pepper spray, and tearing down fences. Violent conflict between the parties involved. -
Suspect in London sword assault charged with murder
A man dragged to court after he was accused of swinging a sword in a rampage in London. This incident killed a teenage boy and injured two police officers and two other men. He is facing charges of murder and attempted murder.
Marcus Arduini Monzo, who is 36 years old and has citizenship in both Spain and Brazil, has been accused of killing 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin. Daniel was killed while he was walking to school on Tuesday morning in a suburb in northeast London.
Lawyer David Burns said Monzo had an accident with his van in Hainault before 7 am on Tuesday and hit a man. Then he got out of the van and told the man he would kill him and then cut his neck.
Then he entered a house next door where a couple and their four-year-old daughter were sleeping. He yelled that he believed in God and then he hurt the girl’s dad by cutting his neck and arm.
Monzo surprised Anjorin and cut his neck and stabbed him in the chest while he was on the ground.
When the police came to help the boy, Monzo suddenly appeared from the bushes and ran away, according to Burns. The police chased after Monzo and he attacked a female officer, causing very serious injuries. Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said this on LBC Radio.
Rowley said the officer almost lost her hand and the doctors spent a long time fixing her arm.
The officer’s colleague also got hurt badly in the fight, with injuries to his arm and hand.
More police officers came and caught Monzo. They used a stun gun to make him stop and then took him away.
The police said the incident was not related to terrorism and did not seem to be deliberate.
Monzo was wearing a gray sweatsuit and holding his injured left arm. He did not say if he was guilty or not in court and was kept in jail. Another meeting was planned for Tuesday in the Old Bailey, which is a famous court.
He is accused of trying to kill two people and causing serious injury to them, as well as breaking into a home and having a weapon.
People in London are voting for their mayor and local council members. The court appearance happened at the same time. Crime and trust in the police were big issues during the election campaign.
Rowley, the boss of the Metropolitan Police, praised his officers for being brave and going towards danger. He said that they got there 12 minutes after getting the first call and caught the suspect 10 minutes after that. -
Eurovision Song Contest organisers to take down all Palestinian banners or symbols
The organizers in charge of the Eurovision Song Contest are saying they can take away any Palestinian flags or symbols supporting Palestine at the show in Sweden next week.
The announcement was made when Israel was having a lot of trouble about whether it should be in the yearly music competition because of their military actions against Hamas in Gaza. This has been going on for seven months now. Pro-Palestinian groups are planning to have big protests in Malmo to tell people about their cause.
Michelle Roverelli, who is in charge of talking to people for the European Broadcasting Union, said that people who buy tickets for the show can only bring and show flags from countries that are in the event, and also the rainbow flag.
The EBU in Geneva can take away flags, symbols, clothing, items, and banners that are being used to manipulate TV shows. This information was given to The Associated Press in a text message.
The Swedish news agency TT said that people who try to bring a Palestinian flag or a sign with a political message will not be allowed in by the guards at the entrance.
Martin Ãsterdahl, the person in charge of running the contest, said that the rules this year are the same as last year. There is no difference.
During the contest, people wave their country’s flags and cheer for their favorite acts.
The big party is happening in Malmo, Sweden from May 7-11. lots of people will watch it on TV. Loreen won last year with the song “Tattoo. ”
Winners get to have their country hold the event next year. Sweden will be the host for the 7th time.
The Swedish police say they will be extra careful to keep everyone safe because they think there might be a risk of terrorism in the rich Nordic country.
Activists who support Palestine want Israel to be removed from the Eurovision Song Contest. They are planning big protests in downtown Malmo, far from where the contest is happening.
Israel’s national security council said people should think twice before going to Malmo because there are a lot of protests against Israel there, including calls to attack Israelis and burning of Israeli flags.
“These changes make it worry that terrorists will use the protest and anti-Israel feelings to attack Israelis coming for the Eurovision,” it said.
On Thursday, the police in Sweden said they allowed protesters to burn a Quran in Malmo before the event. Protests are allowed in Sweden, but the police have to have a good reason to say no, like if they think it will be dangerous.
Last year, Sweden made the terror threat level higher because people were burning the Quran which caused protests in the Muslim world.
In the past few weeks, big protests have been happening at US universities and other places around the world because of the war between Israel and Hamas that has been going on for almost 7 months. -
Ukraine’s Armed Forces coordinated Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine – Military officer
The situation in eastern Ukraine is getting worse, but the local defenders are standing strong against a big push from Russia’s stronger and better-equipped forces, according to a top Ukrainian military official on Thursday.
Russia has gathered soldiers in Donetsk to try to break through Ukraine’s defenses, said Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s strategic command in the eastern part of the country.
“Voloshyn said on TV that the enemy is trying to take control and break through our defense. ”
He said the enemy is attacking in many places and they have made some progress. “The situation is constantly changing. ”
Russia has put Ukraine in a difficult position in the fighting because Kyiv doesn’t have enough soldiers and weapons. Ukrainian troops are hurrying to build more barriers and protection along the 1,000-kilometer front line.
Ukraine has been facing more and more problems because their military has been waiting for important new military help from the United States. The support got delayed in Washington for six months.
Ukrainian soldiers left Avdiivka, a city in Donetsk, in February because they were tired and their spirits were low from constant attacks by Russia. Since then, the Kremlin’s army has used its military power to capture many villages in the area, forcing them to surrender. They want to take control of the parts of Donetsk that they don’t already have.
Russian cities, like Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, are being destroyed by Moscow’s missiles, drones, and bombs.
The Donetsk and Luhansk regions, when combined, create the Donbas, a large industrial area next to Russia. President Vladimir Putin has targeted this area since the start of the war and Moscow-supported separatists have been fighting there since 2014.
Russia attacked Odesa again, using missiles and hurting 14 people.
The attack struck a place where Ukraine’s biggest private delivery company, Nova Poshta, sorts packages. The company said no workers got hurt, but the strike caused a big fire to start.
On Monday, six people died in a Russian missile attack on Odesa, and two days later three people were killed when the Russian forces attacked civilian buildings.
Long-range attacks have been a big part of Europe’s largest conflict since World War II, which has mostly been about wearing down the enemy. Kyiv leaders are asking for more air defense systems from Ukraine’s Western friends, but they haven’t received them quickly.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Russia has fired over 300 missiles, nearly 300 drones, and more than 3,200 guided bombs at Ukraine just in April.
Odesa is an important place for shipping lots of Ukrainian grain to other countries through the Black Sea. Russia has attacked Odesa many times. Thursday marked the 10th year since the fighting in the city between people who supported Russia and those who didn’t. 48 people died in the clashes.
Ukraine has sent more advanced drones far away to attack Russia. They are targeting important places in Russia like buildings and roads that help the Russian economy and military.
The leaders of three areas in Russia said that Ukrainian drones attacked energy plants and caused damage during the night. The Governor of Oryol region. Andrei Klychkov said the power lines and other energy equipment were damaged in two towns. The Smolensk and Kursk leaders said one building was damaged in each area.
The Russian Defense Ministry said they shot down Ukrainian drones in some areas of Russia. It said that most of the planes were stopped in Bryansk, and five of them were shot down.
In other news, Zelenskyy said there will be a meeting to make peace for Ukraine at a fancy resort by a lake in Switzerland on June 15 and 16.
Zelenskyy said he thinks leaders from all over the world will come to the meeting to talk about how to bring long-lasting peace to Ukraine in a fair way, following the rules of the UN and international law.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry said that over 160 groups of people are coming, including international organizations, but Russia hasn’t been asked to come yet.
Switzerland wants Russia to join in, but Russia keeps saying it doesn’t want to. However, Switzerland still thinks it’s important for Russia to be included. -
Fifth worker’s body discovered month after fall of the Baltimore bridge
Officials have found the body of the fifth person who went missing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed over a month ago.
The officials said they found the person who passed away on Wednesday. His name was Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, he was 49 years old and lived in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
Six workers fixing the road fell and died on March 26 because a big ship lost power and hit the bridge’s pillar. Five bodies have been found, but one worker named Jose Mynor Lopez is still missing. They were all people from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras who moved to the United States.
Workers found one of the missing construction trucks on Wednesday and told the Maryland State Police about it, according to officials. The state police, Maryland Transportation Authority Police, and the FBI went to the place and found a dead body in a red truck. The underwater police team and the crime scene unit helped too.
“We are committed to continuing the recovery efforts, and we are aware that each person lost in this tragedy has a loving family,” said Roland Butler, Maryland State Police Superintendent. “We are asking everyone to show their support and condolences to the families during this tough time, along with our local, state, and national partners. ”
The Dali container ship has been stuck in the wreckage since it collapsed, but crews are going to lift it up and take it away so that more ships can start using Baltimore’s port again. According to a Port of Baltimore news release, officials think they will have it taken away by May 10th. -
South Korea approves probe into deadly Halloween crush in 2022, which claimed 159 lives
South Korea’s government voted to start a new investigation into the Halloween stampede in Seoul that killed 159 people.
The one group of lawmakers called the National Assembly approved the bill with a vote of 256-0. It will become a law after the conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol signs it and his government agency approves it. These are just formal steps because the president and his ruling party already agreed on the law.
The bill wants to find out why the crush happened, how the authorities responded to it, and who is responsible for it. It plans to make a group of nine people who will look into the disaster on their own for up to 15 months.
After the committee figures out who is to blame and who should be charged, they will tell the government’s investigators. The police would have to finish looking into the suspects within three months, as the new law says.
The crush was a big disaster in South Korea that made a lot of people very sad. Most of the people who were hurt were in their 20s and 30s. They had met in a popular area in Seoul called Itaewon to celebrate Halloween.
After the tragedy, people were mad at the government for not taking safety and rules seriously, even though they should have learned from the ferry sinking in 2014. That accident killed 304 people, most of them were teenagers on a school trip.
In early 2023, the police found that they didn’t plan well for a large crowd in Itaewon, even though they knew it would happen. At that time, investigators said police didn’t listen to calls from people who warned about a big crowd before it became dangerous.
Over 20 police and other officials are being tried for the disaster, but few high-ranking officials have been charged or held responsible. This has made families of the victims and opposition lawmakers ask for a separate investigation.
Before the vote, Kim Kyo-heung, a member of the Democratic Party and head of the safety committee in parliament, said he hoped that the investigation would find out who is responsible for the disaster and why it happened. He also wants to come up with a plan to stop this from happening again.
The families of the victims were happy about the new law and showed their support by gathering outside the National Assembly.
Lee Jeong-min, who speaks for the families, said today is a very special day for our grieving families. “We couldn’t have done it without the help of opposition politicians and lots of people who supported us. ” I want to thank them a lot.
President Yoon had said no to a new investigation of the disaster before. In January, he said no to a bill for an independent investigation of the Itaewon crush that had been approved by parliament.
But, when he met with Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Monday, he said he wouldn’t disagree with it, as long as some current disagreements are fixed, such as whether the fact-finding committee can ask for arrest warrants.
Yoon changed his position because people want him to work with Lee’s party, which won big in the April 10 election and will control parliament for four more years.
In a meeting on Wednesday, Lee’s party agreed to take out parts of the proposed law that were causing disagreement.
The head of the Democratic Party, Jin Sung-joon, said the party agreed to the president and his ruling party’s requests to help the grieving families who can’t wait any longer. -
Teenager discovered buried in a New York basement
In February 2003, workers found the skeleton of a teenage girl in the basement of a building in Manhattan. She was wrapped in a carpet and buried in concrete.
The person was tied up with an electrical cord. A gold ring with the letters “PMcG” was found with her. It was engraved with some letters. There was also a bra, a dime from 1969, and a green toy soldier found with her. Ryan Glas from the New York City Police Department spoke to the media.
For over 20 years, the unidentified person was called “Midtown Jane Doe” because she was found in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City. This week, investigators found out who she was: Patricia Kathleen McGlone, a 16-year-old who lived in Brooklyn.
Investigators think that Patricia was murdered in late 1969 or early 1970 and her body was buried in the basement of the building. Using advanced investigation methods, they found out who her parents were and where they lived in Brooklyn. They also searched through public records in the area. The police found a lot of information, like her baptism card and school records. This gave them an idea of what her life was like in the last few years.
Many tests proved that her DNA matched with the DNA of several people, including the mother of a woman who died in the 9/11 attacks in New York City.In 2003, construction workers were using hammers to work on a concrete slab at the back of the building. Suddenly, a skull rolled out, Glas said. They found more bones close by.
Many years ago, when Patricia was thought to have been killed, there was a nightclub called The Scene in the building, according to Glas. The rock-and-roll place, owned by a young person named Steve Paul, was a popular spot for famous people in the 1960s. It had music sessions with The Doors and Jimi Hendrix.
In 2003, the New York City Medical Examinerâs Office found out that the skeleton was of a teenage girl who was 5-foot-2. But the police couldn’t find her because nobody told them she was missing, Glas said.
Investigators began looking at the case again in 2017. The bones had been underground for a long time and were in bad condition, so it took some time to make a DNA profile. But last year, Glas said things got better because of advancements in modern forensic technology.
“Glas said they tried hard, but there was a delay in making a profile. ” “In March 2023, we had a good sample to put on websites like ancestry and genealogy for everyone to see. ” “And using that information, we found a far-off family member on her dad’s side. ”
Glas said that investigators knew they were on the right path because they had the relative’s name and the initials on the ring. Investigators began to determine which generation she belonged to and her place in the family.
They worked with genetic experts to find her mother’s family using their DNA. They were able to narrow it down and find a match using DNA that had been submitted.
A family member who died in September 11 attack assaults, Glas said.Based on the information, they found out she was the only child and was born on April 20, 1953, to Bernard McGlone and Patricia Gilligan.
Her parents are no longer alive. Investigators found papers that show she was getting money from her father who died in 1963. Her parents’ papers showed that she lived in Brooklyn and went to a Catholic school.
“We thought she had been baptized, taken communion, and hopefully received confirmation. ” “I got all three documents,” Glas said.
Investigators were able to see her grades and other information from when she was in middle school. This gave them more information about her life back then. She went to middle school.
In late 1968 and early 1969, she didn’t go to most of her classes.
“Glas said that because of her age, religion, and early marriage, they thought the toy soldier might have something to do with her maybe being pregnant. ”
When she died, people thought she had run away, and they think she might have given her child to someone else to take care of.
Finding the child has been hard because when they were adopted, the birth certificate listed the adoptive parents’ names, not the birth parents’ names.
Her husband was related to the building where she was found, Glas said. But he didn’t give any more information because the investigation is still going on. The police know who her husband is and are trying to find out more about his life back then, according to Glas.
Glas wants Patricia’s family to come forward and share any information that might help find out what happened to her or how she passed away.
Glas said they want to talk to anyone who lived in the building at that time and can give them more information about her or the person she married. They want to follow up on any information they can get.
“I have three daughters, so I can only guess what kind of childhood she had before she was killed. ”
With Patricia’s true identity now known, Glas said the police have a clear next step: finding the person who killed her. -
1864 nearly total ban on abortion lifted by Arizona lawmakers
The Arizona government has agreed to get rid of a very old rule against almost all abortions on Wednesday. The bill will now go to Gov Katie Hobbs, who is from the Democratic party and is likely to approve it.
Two members of the Republican party and members of the Democratic party in the Senate voted 16-14 to get rid of a ban on abortions that has been in place since the Civil War. This ban was recently allowed to be enforced by the state’s highest court. The ban on all abortions is still in place. It doesn’t have any exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, and only allows for procedures done to save the patient’s life. This will continue until the fall.
Hobbs said she’s excited to sign the repeal soon, with a ceremony planned for Thursday.
Hobbs said that women in Arizona shouldn’t have to live in a state where politicians are making decisions that should be made between a woman and her doctor. “The repeal is needed to save women’s lives, but we still have a lot more to do to protect healthcare for women. ”
Reviving a law from the 1800s has made Republicans in Arizona feel like they are in a difficult position. Arizona is one of a few states where the outcome of the election will be very important.
“Women all over the country are experiencing chaos and cruelty because of Donald Trump,” said Vice-President Kamala Harris in a statement on Wednesday. Arizona Democrats are trying to fix the problems caused by Trump and his followers, but the state’s ban on abortion, with no exception for rape or incest, is still the law.
If the repeal bill is signed, a new law will make it illegal to have an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy in Arizona. However, for a period of time, almost all abortions may become illegal, because the repeal will not take place until 90 days after the end of the legislative session, which will probably be in June or July.
Efforts started immediately to stop the old abortion ban from happening before the repeal happens.
Arizona’s Attorney General Kris Mayes said that without a special rule, the people of Arizona might have to follow the almost complete ban on abortion for some time this year. “Don’t worry, my office is looking at every choice we have to stop this old law from happening. ”
Planned Parenthood Arizona asked the state’s highest court to stop a temporary halt in abortion services until the law changing the rules is in place.
The law that mostly stops abortions has been around since before Arizona became a state. Last month, the Arizona Supreme Court said that doctors could be charged with a crime for helping with an abortion. The law from 1864 says that anyone who helps with an abortion can go to jail for two to five years. Last week, the repeal bill barely passed in the Arizona House.
Voting on the bill took over an hour on Wednesday, with emotional speeches.
Democratic state Sen Eva Burch said, “This is about a law from the Civil War time that makes it a crime for doctors to perform almost all abortions. ” “We’re here to get rid of a law that is not good. ” I don’t think we should follow laws about women that were made when women were not allowed to vote because people thought their opinions were not as important as men’s.
Burch said on the Senate floor in March that she had a pregnancy that wasn’t going to survive, so she was going to have an abortion. On Wednesday, she told supporters of women’s ability to choose to have children that they still need to be careful, even after the law is changed.
“They will use all available resources to try to stop the ban from being lifted,” she said.Many people in the Senate gallery caused disturbances while Republican state Sen Shawnna Bolick explained her vote to repeal a law and sided with the Democrats.
Bolick said that getting rid of the law would protect against very strong abortion rights proposals. She is married to Clint Bolick, who is a judge, and he voted to allow a law from a long time ago about abortion to be enforced again.
The senator said he wants to make sure that our state constitution limits the number of abortions. “I am here to keep more babies safe. ” I say yes when voting.
Supporters and opponents of abortion came to the Arizona Senate to speak out about their opinions.
A young girl prayed in front of a statue of Mary at school while a man yelled at people to ask for forgiveness.
Ex-president Donald Trump didn’t support a national abortion ban, but he’s happy he chose Supreme Court judges who allowed states to make it illegal. He’s worried it could make Republicans lose elections.
The Arizona law was stopped after the US Supreme Court’s decision in the Roe v. Wade case in 1973. Wade’s decision made sure that women all over the country have the right to get an abortion.
When the decision of Roe v Wade was canceled in June 2022, the former Arizona Attorney General, Mark Brnovich, who is a Republican, convinced a state judge that the ban from 1864 could be enforced again. However, the law has not been put into action while the case was going through the courts. Mayes, who took over for Brnovich, asked the state’s highest court not to bring back the law.
Planned Parenthood will make sure that patients can go to New Mexico and California for an abortion if they need to.
Supporters are gathering signatures for a vote to make it legal to have an abortion up to around 24 weeks into a pregnancy, with exceptions for when the parent’s life is in danger or to protect her physical or mental health.
Republican politicians are thinking about having different plans about abortion on the November voting list. -
At least 36 people killed as highway collapses in southern China
Part of a road fell in southern China after heavy rains, causing cars to fall down and at least 36 people to die. This happened on Thursday.
The Meizhou city government said that 23 cars were found in a hole after a 17. 9-meter section of the highway collapsed at about 2 am on Wednesday. Thirty other people were hurt, but their injuries were not very serious, according to a statement from the government.
Some areas in Guangdong province have had very heavy rain and flooding in the last two weeks, also there has been hail. A big storm in Guangzhou last weekend killed five people.
Some of the villages in Meizhou got flooded in the beginning of April, and the city had experienced a lot of rain in the past few days.
The ground under the highway looked like it had sunk in, and the road above it had also collapsed. People told the news that they heard a big noise and saw a big hole appear behind them after they drove past the part that fell down.
Videos and pictures on the local news showed smoke and fire at the place, with the guardrails on the highway slanting into the flames. A bunch of burnt cars were visible on the hill coming down from the road. -
Prince William and Kate celebrate princess Charlotte on her ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate shared a photo of their daughter Charlotte to celebrate her ninth birthday.
Last few days, Charlotte’s mother took a picture of her in their garden. She was smiling and happy. They live in Windsor.
“Today is Princess Charlotte’s 9th birthday. Happy” a message on the couple’s social media account said. “Thanks for all the nice messages today. ”
Kensington Palace always shares photos taken by Kate, who loves taking pictures as a hobby, for birthdays and family events.
However, a photo that was released on Mother’s Day in March was taken down by several news organizations, including Reuters, because it had been changed. Kate later said sorry for this.
Just before the princess told everyone, she was going to have chemotherapy to prevent cancer. This was discovered after tests following her surgery in January.
Prince William started working again last month, but Kate will only come back to public events when her doctors say she is healthy enough.
King Charles started working again this week after being sick with cancer since February. -
Colombia to sever ties with Israel diplomatically
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said he will stop talking to Israel because of what they’re doing in Gaza.
Petro has already strongly spoken out against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and asked to support South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
“Today, the president of our country has decided that we will stop talking to Israel starting tomorrow. ” Petro told people in Bogota that he wants a government with a president who is not genocidal. He was speaking on International Worker’s Day and people marched to support his social and economic reforms.
Countries can’t just ignore what’s happening in Gaza, he said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that Petro is against Jewish people and filled with hatred. He also said that Petro’s action was a way of rewarding the group Hamas, which attacked Israeli military bases and communities on Oct 7. Bolivia stopped talking to Israel at the end of October last year. Other countries in Latin America, like Colombia, Chile, and Honduras, also brought their ambassadors back. -
Student slain by police outside Wisconsin school
The police in Wisconsin shot and killed a student outside a middle school because they got a report that someone had a weapon. The state’s attorney general gave the first law enforcement briefing on the gunshots, which made children run away and caused local schools to be locked down for hours.
Officials in Mount Horeb had said earlier that a person with a gun was stopped outside the school and did not get inside. The State Attorney General, Josh Kaul, said in a meeting on Wednesday night that no one else was hurt and that they are still looking into the situation.
“This happened outside. ” He never got inside, he said.
Officials at the meeting said the student is a young boy, but they didn’t say how old he is or which school in Mount Horeb he goes to.
Kaul didn’t answer some questions about what happened after the police came, like if the student had a gun, what kind of gun it was, and if he tried to get into the school.
The police in Mount Horeb said that several officers fired their guns, but they didn’t say how many officers did. The officers were wearing body cameras.
The police stayed at the place where the incident happened for a long time. Students were kept inside the buildings for a while and then slowly allowed to go home to their families.
The scared children and their parents were very scared during the first event and while waiting to be together again. Parents said their kids were hiding in closets, scared to use their phones, and a middle schooler said his class ran out of the gym on roller skates.
The district used Facebook posts all day to give updates. The first update was at 11:30 am and said that all district schools were on lockdown. Officials in Mount Horeb said that someone who is accused of attacking someone else was hurt, and people saw and heard a lot of kids running away. They did not say how it happened.
School buses were still waiting outside the middle school for more than four hours. The middle school, the nearby high school, and the playing fields between them were surrounded by police tape.
“A search of the middle school didn’t find any more people who might be involved,” a message posted around noon stated. “Most importantly, no one was hurt except for the person who is accused of attacking others. ”
Before, the district said “the danger has been stopped outside the building” but didn’t explain what had happened at the school in Mount Horeb, which is 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of the state capital of Madison.
Jeanne Keller said she heard five gunshots while in her shop The Quilting Jeanne, which is close to the middle school campus.
“It sounded like pow-pow-pow-pow,” Keller said on the phone with The Associated Press. “I thought I heard fireworks. ” I went outside and saw the kids running around. I think I saw about 200 kids.
A student in middle school said that his class was in the gym practicing in-line skating when they heard gunshots.
Max Kelly, who is 12 years old, said that his teacher told the whole class to leave the school. He said they skated to a street, left their skates and ran to a nearby store and gas station and hid in a bathroom.
Kelly met his parents and sat on a hill with them on Wednesday afternoon. They were waiting for Kelly’s younger siblings to come out of their schools. He had socks on, but no shoes.
“I don’t think there’s anywhere that is safe anymore,” said his mother, 32-year-old Alison Kelly.
Mount Horeb police said they couldn’t give information right away after the incident. The Dane County Sheriff’s office told journalists to go to a specific area, but didn’t give any new information.
Worried parents waited at the bus station for their children for a long time. Kaul said police were worried about the possibility of a ongoing danger, but he didn’t give more information. He said that the investigators wanted to talk to the students as soon as they were with their parents. They didn’t want to wait for several days to have these conversations.
Shannon Hurd, 44, and her ex-husband, Nathian Hurd, 39, were in a car waiting for their 13-year-old son, Noah, who was still at the middle school which was on lockdown.
Shannon Hurd said she found out what happened when Noah texted her that he loved her. She said she almost tripped on the stairs at her job while rushing to get to the school.
“I only want my child,” she said. “They should be protected at school. ”
Stacy Smith, who is 42 years old, was at the bank on Wednesday when she saw police cars drive by. Then she got a text from the school district warning about a shooter.
At first, she couldn’t find her two kids – Abbi in junior high and Cole in seventh grade. At last, she got through to Abbi on the phone. Abbi said in a quiet voice that she was hiding in a closet and couldn’t talk. In the end, she found the children and learned that they were fine.
“She said she can’t believe it, but it’s not here. ” “You hear it all over, but not here. ”
Schools across the country are trying to find ways to stop mass shootings from happening inside their buildings. They are doing this by using things like better security, practicing what to do if there is a shooter, and using technology like digital maps to help keep students safe. Many people also depend on teachers and school leaders to find problems with students’ mental health early.
The school district’s leader, Steve Salerno, said that if the security upgrades hadn’t been made, the situation could have been much worse. He also mentioned that students told staff about seeing someone outside the building, but didn’t give any more details.
“It’s something you just have to go through. “ -
Russia and Ukraine war: Chasiv Yar’s devastation captured in drone footage
For several months, Russian artillery has continuously bombed a city in eastern Ukraine. New drone footage from The Associated Press shows that the city has been destroyed, with almost no buildings left standing, and homes and government buildings burned. The city, which used to have 12,000 people, is now almost empty.
The video shows the town of Chasiv Yar being destroyed and looking like a scene from a scary movie. The big damage reminds us of the cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka. Ukraine had to give up these cities after they were bombed for months and many people died on both sides.
The very important city has been constantly attacked by Russian forces for many months. If Russia captures it, they can attack important cities in Ukraine from the high hill.
Russia attacked the Ukrainian troops at Chasiv Yar with both foot soldiers and armored vehicles. The Ukrainian troops have very little ammunition left and are waiting for the US and other allies to send more supplies.
The mid-rise apartment buildings in Chasiv Yar have been damaged or destroyed by explosions, leaving them blackened, riddled with holes, or collapsed into piles of wood and bricks. Homes and government buildings are also very damaged. The church’s shiny golden dome is still okay, but the rest of the building looks really broken.
No soldiers or regular people were seen in the video taken on Monday. Only one man was walking down the middle of a road between damaged buildings.
Russia’s scorched-earth tactics have caused a lot of destruction during the two years of war. Their troops have been killing and forcing thousands of civilians to leave their homes as they try to move forward.
Chasiv Yar is on a high place, which gives Russia a good starting point to move towards the bigger cities in Ukraine’s defense area in the eastern Donetsk region.
If Chasiv Yar is captured, it could lead to a big Russian attack in May, according to Ukrainian officials.
NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that the military help from other countries to Ukraine was late, which made Ukraine vulnerable to the more powerful and better-equipped Russian forces.
Ukraine and its Western allies are rushing to send important new military support to stop the Russian advancement in eastern areas and prevent drone and missile attacks. -
Four infant bodies discovered in Boston freezer; no criminal charges
A lawyer in Massachusetts decided not to accuse anyone of a crime, two years after four babies were discovered in a freezer in a South Boston apartment.
The bodies of two boys and two girls, probably born a long time ago, were discovered in shoe boxes wrapped in tinfoil in November 2022. The long investigation couldn’t determine if the babies were born alive. They found out who the parents were, but the father had died and the mother, who is now 69 years old, probably won’t be able to go to court because she has problems with thinking and memory.
“This investigation was really hard, different, and confusing for us. But now we finished it. ” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said that although they have some answers, there are still many parts of this case that may never be explained.
Hayden said there are still questions about when and where the babies were born, if they were born alive, what happened to them, and how and why the mother hid her pregnancies.
The woman’s lawyer, who works at a nursing home, did not reply when asked for a comment.
The detectives who talked to the mom said she seemed mixed up and didn’t know where she was or who she was talking to. She couldn’t give them any useful information.
“The prosecutor’s office can’t legally continue a case if they don’t think they can win it in court,” the statement said.
The babies were found when the woman’s family was cleaning her apartment. DNA tests proved that all four of them are brothers and sisters. An investigation found that they were 37 to 40 weeks old, and still had their umbilical cords attached. Autopsies didn’t show any clear signs of injuries.
They found out that the mother had a child with the same man who passed away in 2011. That baby’s parents didn’t keep him and someone else is taking care of him now. -
Three firebombs used to attack Warsaw synagogue overnight
An unknown perpetrator threw firebombs at the main synagogue in Warsaw at night, but it didn’t cause much damage and no one got hurt, Poland’s top rabbi said on Wednesday. Political leaders strongly criticized the incident.
The Nozyk Synagogue was attacked at around 1 am, according to the country’s American-born chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, who spoke to The Associated Press. He said the synagogue was attacked with three firebombs, but luckily only had a little damage.
One part of the building looked black as if it had been burned.
The President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, said he strongly condemns the bad attack and that there should be no hate or antisemitism in Poland.
Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said the incident happened on the 20th anniversary of Poland joining the European Union. This happened with nine other countries, mostly from Central Europe, that were under Soviet influence for a long time.
“I’m glad nobody got hurt. ” I am curious about who is trying to ruin our anniversary of joining the EU,” Sikorski wrote on X. “Perhaps the people who drew Stars of David in Paris are the same ones. ”
France said that it was attacked by a Russian online campaign last year. The campaign used fake social media accounts to create chaos and confusion about spray-painted Stars of David in Paris. This caused concern about increased antisemitism in France during the Israel-Hamas war.
Before the Holocaust, Poland had the biggest Jewish community in Europe, with about 3. 3 million peopleBut now, there are only a few thousand Jewish people living in Poland. -
Trump returns to campaign with fear of jail time if he violates trial gag order
Donald Trump will take a break from his hush money trial to talk to voters in Wisconsin and Michigan. This comes after he was in trouble for disobeying a court order.
People are going to pay attention to what he says because he got in trouble for talking about the case. He had to pay a $9,000 fine. Judge Juan M. has decided to make Trump pay a fine for the posts on his Truth Social account and campaign website. Merchan said that if Trump keeps breaking the rules, he will punish him by putting him in jail.
The ex-president is trying to do something that has never been done before in American history. He is running for president again as the likely Republican candidate, at the same time as he is being accused of a serious crime in New York. Trump often criticizes Merchan, prosecutors, and people who might testify against him at his rallies and on social media. His supporters like when he does this, but it might cause legal problems for him.
Trump says he’s just using his right to free speech, but his posts on Truth Social and campaign website were removed. Merchan is thinking about other possible instances where Trump may have broken a rule about speaking freely, and will listen to reasons why on Thursday.
Trump seemed upset after the ninth day of the trial ended. He said he’d rather be in Georgia and New Hampshire than in court.
“He said the people running the campaign don’t want me to be involved. ”
Trump has said many times that these cases against him are interfering with the election. He believes they are stopping him from campaigning for the presidential election in November.
The gag order stopped him from talking publicly about the people involved in his hush money case.
Manhattan prosecutors say Trump and his friends did something illegal to try and change the 2016 election by buying and hiding stories. He says he didn’t do it.
Trump went to Wisconsin and Michigan for the second time in a month. These states are important because they can go either way in the election. In recent rallies, the ex-president mainly talked about immigration and people living in the U. SSpeaking bad about people who do illegal things and are thought to have done crimes by calling them “animals”.
Wisconsin and Michigan are few of the states that will likely decide the 2024 election.
For Trump to win in both states, he needs to get a lot of support from the suburbs. This includes places like the areas outside of Milwaukee and Saginaw, Michigan, where he will be having rallies on Wednesday. He didn’t do well in the suburban areas during the primary election this year, even though he did really well compared to the other Republican candidates.
Trump keeps saying that he didn’t really lose the 2020 election, even though that’s not true. Trump lost in important states in 2020. People checked the results many times, but he still lost. Even the Justice Department and other people looked at the results and agreed that he lost. -
Blinken calls on Israel and Hamas to proceed with cease-fire agreement
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, talked with leaders of Israel on Wednesday to try to make them agree to stop fighting with Hamas. He said it’s important to make a deal now to stop the fighting and bring peace to Gaza.
He said Hamas will be responsible if we can’t make a deal work.
Blinken is visiting the region for the seventh time since the war started in October. He is trying to make a deal between Israel and Hamas to avoid Israel invading the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where many Palestinians are staying.
The current discussions seem important, but the two parties still disagree on a key issue – whether the war should stop as part of a possible agreement.
We really want a ceasefire to bring the hostages back home. We want it now. The only reason it might not happen is because of Hamas, said Blinken to Israel’s President Herzog at a meeting in Tel Aviv.
“There is a suggestion that we need to discuss, and as we’ve already mentioned, we don’t want any delays or excuses. ” He said, “It is now the time. ”
Blinken said the agreement would also help send important food, medicine, and water to Gaza. The war there has caused a big problem for the people and forced many of them to leave their homes.
Blinken also talked to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but we don’t know what they talked about yet.
Before, Blinken briefly said hello to a group of people outside his hotel who were asking for the release of American hostages held by Hamas, after meeting with Herzog and the hostages’ families.
The protesters were saying “SOS, USA, only you can save the day” and “In Blinken we trust, bring them home to us,” as they asked him to help their situation with Netanyahu.
Blinken told the families that there was a good plan on the table and that Hamas needs to agree to it. “We are determined and won’t stop until we reunite you with your loved ones,” he said.
He made these comments at the end of his trip to the region. Before that, he had visited Saudi Arabia and Jordan. He told Hamas to accept the new proposal from Israel, which he thought was very fair.
The State Department said he will go to an Israeli port where help for Gaza is coming in.
The United States has strongly supported Israel’s war since Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct 7. However, it is very upset about the large number of Palestinian civilians who have been hurt in Gaza. It is also very against Israel’s idea to attack Rafah, which is the southernmost city in Gaza. Around 15 million Palestinians have gone to Rafah to escape the fighting in other parts of the territory.
Washington told Israel not to attack in a way that would endanger innocent people.
Netanyahu says he will attack Rafah, which he thinks is the last place where Hamas has control in the coastal area. He said he will do this even if there is no ceasefire agreement.
The deal being talked about will release many hostages in exchange for a six-week break in fighting. -
98-year-old Ukrainian woman trekked kilometres to avoid Russian gunfire
A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine walked 10 kilometres by herself in slippers and with a cane to escape from Russian-occupied territory. She has now been reunited with her family after they got separated while trying to flee to safety.
Lidia Stepanivna Lomikovska and her family left their town Ocheretyne in eastern Donetsk because Russian troops entered and there was a lot of fighting. They left last week.
Russians are moving forward in the region and attacking Kyiv’s weak and low on ammunition forces with weapons like artillery, drones and bombs.
“I woke up and there were gunshots all around me – it was really scary,” Lomikovska said in a video interview posted by the National Police of Donetsk region.
During the confusion of leaving, Lomikovska got separated from her son and two daughters-in-law. One of them, Olha Lomikovska, got hurt by shrapnel a few days before. The young family members chose to take the smaller roads, but Lydia wanted to stay on the big road.
She used a cane and a piece of wood to help her walk, and she didn’t eat or drink all day. She did this to reach the Ukrainian lines.
The older lady said she fell down two times and had to stop and rest during her journey. She even had to sleep for a while before waking up and continuing.
I fell into some plants when I lost my balance. I took a short nap and then kept on walking. And then, I fell for the second time. Then I stood up and told myself, “I have to keep moving, step by step,” said Lomikovska.
Pavlo Diachenko, who speaks for the police in Donetsk, said Lomikovska was rescued when Ukrainian soldiers saw her walking along the road in the evening. They gave her to the “White Angels,” a police group that helps people who live in dangerous areas. They took her to a safe place for people who had to leave their homes and called her family.
“I made it through that war,” she said talking about World War II. “I also had to be in the war, and now I have nothing left. ”
“That war was different from this one. ” I saw the war. No houses caught fire. “But everything is burning now,” she said to the person who saved her.
In a surprising turn of events, the head of a big bank in Ukraine said on his messaging app that the bank will buy a house for the older retiree.
“Monobank will purchase a house for Lydia Stepanivna and she will live in it until this abomination is gone from our land,” said Oleh Horokhovskyi. -
Man passes away in emergency room after going into cardiac arrest
In March of 2023, David Lippert, a 68-year-old executive from Kitchener, Ont. , went to the hospital in an ambulance because he was feeling weak and couldn’t walk. He wanted to find out what was wrong.
A day later, the hospital staff found him unconscious in the emergency room (ER). He had thrown up blood and was waiting to be admitted to the hospital. According to his medical records, he had a heart attack. He was later declared to be dead.
His wife, Lisbeth Lippert, wants to find out what happened and hopes that it will help make emergency room care better for other people.
“I just wanted him to be somewhere safe,” she told the media. “He’s really scared of dying in the ER. ”
Lisbeth says the hospital was very busy and noisy when she was there with her husband on the first day. He was kept close to where the nurse sits, and she heard them getting calls from other staff who were sick. She said it was obvious that there weren’t enough people working and they were very busy with patients waiting for care in the ER.
“They were running around really fast. ” Lisbeth said she doesn’t understand how anyone could do that job for a long time. She noticed that the nurses and orderlies were doing their best.
She said her husband was quickly checked by doctors and they said it was not a heart attack or stroke. However, they discovered that he had a severe lack of red blood cells, with a hemoglobin level of 40. They thought there might be bleeding in the stomach or intestines.
David was taking medication to make his blood thinner and had other health problems.
Lisbeth said he got some blood and now he wants to go home. He stayed and later decided to be admitted, as shown in his medical records. His blood count was still very low and could be risky.
The next morning at 7:30 am on March 14, Lisbeth got a phone call saying David had a medical emergency in the ER. Lisbeth had gone home to sleep before getting the call.It took her almost a year to get all the papers from the hospital about her husband. The notes say that he was found in the emergency room, throwing up blood and his heart had stopped. “Medical teams quickly responded and performed four rounds of CPR to try to save him. ” He was brought to the intensive care unit, but they discovered that he was not responding. He also had seizures and showed signs that his brain was hurt because it didn’t get enough oxygen for a long time.
That’s when the doctor who specializes in stomach and intestines tested him and said he was bleeding inside his body.
The doctor’s papers show that David said yes to going into the hospital at midnight. No one added more information to his file until they found him the next morning.
“Did the GI doctors come when they were needed. ” Lisbeth asked
Brandon Douglas, who works at St Mary’s General Hospital, said that they are sorry for the family’s loss and they should contact their Patient Relations team for help.
Two emergency room doctors who were given permission to read the medical notes, told the media that they have concerns about not having enough staff and too many patients at the hospital, which could have led to the patient’s heart attack not being noticed or prevented sooner.
In a good health care system, a person with a stomach bleed and a low amount of hemoglobin is quickly admitted to the hospital. Blair Bigham told the media that there is an example of a man who should not have been in the emergency room for 22 hours before he got really sick. Bigham works at the University of Toronto as an assistant professor in the Public Health School.
“More people might die because of it,” said Dr. Michael Howlett, a doctor who helps people in urgent situations in Oshawa and the boss of the Canadian Association of Emergency Doctors, said that people have to wait a long time for help in the emergency room.
Howlett says he agrees with Lisbeth’s request for an investigation.
“It’s a person who stays in the emergency room for a long time because they have a serious health problem that is not easy to see, and it’s a threat to their life. They have to wait a long time for treatment. ” He said that the system is in trouble. -
President of Colombia claims thousands of bullets are missing from army bases
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said on Tuesday that many bullets are missing from two military bases in South America.
Petro said the army found lots of bullets, grenades, and missiles were stolen from two military bases this month.
Petro, the first president from the left-wing party, said the bullets could have been taken by Colombian rebel groups or sold illegally to criminal groups in other countries, like gangs in Haiti.
“The reason these things are missing is because there are groups of people in the military who are trading weapons illegally,” said Petro.
Petro said that they will keep checking military bases to make sure there are no criminal groups involved with the armed forces.
The investigation is happening because Colombia is fighting again in the southwest of the country. They are fighting against a rebel group called FARC-EMC, which split from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia after the peace deal with the government in 2016.
Petro started talking to some rebel groups after he became president in 2022. In some parts of the country, there is less fighting between the government and rebel groups. But critics of the Petro administration say these groups still threaten and take people for ransom. They believe that the peace talks has helped the rebels become stronger and gain more control over communities. -
New prime minister appointed by Haiti’s transitional council
The newly established governing body of Haiti has selected a former sports professional to serve as the prime minister.They are trying to make a new government in a place with a lot of violence.
Fritz Belizaire was unexpectedly chosen to be the new interim Prime Minister instead of Michel Patrick Boisvert. Four out of seven voting members supported Belizaire, but some panel members didn’t know much about him.
The council wants to pick a group of people to help stop gangs from causing violence in the capital city and other areas. There was a lot of shooting in different parts of the city during the council’s meeting.
Over 90,000 people left the capital in one month, and more than 360,000 people have become homeless in recent years as gunmen destroy communities in rival areas.
On Tuesday, the council picked Edgard Leblanc Fils, who ran for president before, as the panel’s president.
Fils said that Belizaire is a great choice for prime minister during a short speech to about 20 people. “What matters is that we are determined to work together, put aside our differences, resolve conflicts, and agree on things. ”
He said the group of leaders met on Monday to discuss Haiti’s security crisis and figure out the best way to fix it. “We are acknowledging that the people are going through a hard time,” he said.
Belizaire’s announcement was surprising. The people in the room started talking quietly when the officials said that four council members chose Belizaire to be the prime minister.
Leslie Voltaire, a member of the voting group, said to The Associated Press, “I don’t know him,” when asked if he supported Belizaire.
Belizaire was in charge of sports in Haiti from 2006 to 2011 when Rene Preval was president.
“He is not well-known,” said Robert Fatton, who is an expert on politics in Haiti at the University of Virginia. “He doesn’t appear to have his own group of supporters. ” Perhaps this is why he is the chosen prime minister, because different parties can agree on him being prime minister.
Council member Louis Gerald Gilles, who was on Belizaire’s side, told The Associated Press that the council wanted to choose a prime minister fast. He said that the people in Haiti can’t wait any longer. “Security is important for keeping society peaceful.”
Many regular people in Haiti were still without electricity for hours.
“They picked a new leader. ” Jean-Paul Eliason asked while walking in the streets of Port-au-Prince, promoting his shoe-shining business by ringing a bell.
When Eliason heard about Belizaire, who is 70 years old, he said that the name seemed familiar to him.
“It’s good news because it means the country can start doing the right things,” he said. “Keeping things safe is the most important thing. ” “Many people are running away because gangs are setting fire to their houses. ”
Sony Duvert, standing by his motorcycle near a barrier to stop gangs, said he didn’t know the new prime minister. He hopes the new prime minister will make Haiti safer.
“Every day, we are like soldiers with posting here,” he said. “I want Haiti to have a big change. ”
After a short announcement made almost two hours late, the council went back into a private room to discuss who they want in their cabinet. Voltaire said he did not think the council would announce cabinet choices on Tuesday.
Most of the people who were on Belizaire’s side were Fils, the council’s new president, Smith Augustin, Gilles and Emmanuel Vertilaire.
Fatton said they were an “unlikely” team and wanted to see if they could stay together.
Fils is a part of a political group called January 30, with parties like PHTK. It includes former president Michel Martelly and killed President Jovenel Moise. Augustin belongs to the EDE/RED political party, which was started by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph.
Gilles is in charge of the Dec 21 agreement, which is linked to the former prime minister Ariel Henry. Henry quit a few weeks after the gang attacks started. At the same time, Vertilaire is connected to the Pitit Desalin party, which is led by influential politician Jean-Charles Moise, who was happy about the announcement on Tuesday.
“Belizaire is a very important person in the country,” Moise said. “He knows the state very well and how to run it. ”
The transitional council will lead the country until a new president is chosen before it ends in February 2026.
Haitians disagree about whether a temporary government can help to calm their troubled country, where the capital has been under attack by gangs since Feb 29.
Gang members set fire to police stations, shot at the main airport which has been closed since March, and broke into Haiti’s two largest prisons, letting more than 4,000 prisoners go free. The largest seaport in the country is mostly stopped by gang violence.
But one thing is for sure: Haitians want to feel safe.
“Haitians are feeling very restless at the moment. ” They want to see what happens,” Fatton said.
The council is likely to agree to send Kenyan police to help fight gangs, but we aren’t sure when it will happen.
Henry, who used to be the leader of the country, was visiting an East African country when a group of gangs started attacking. He is still not able to go back to Haiti. He quit his job last week. -
Police officers from New York City start to pour onto Columbia University campus
Many police officers came into Columbia University on Tuesday because many protesters supporting Palestine were still there.
Just before police went onto the campus, Columbia gave permission for officers to do what they needed to do, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press. The person in charge couldn’t talk about the details publicly and wanted to keep their name a secret.
After they came onto the campus, a group of police officers went to Hamilton Hall, the main building where students were staying since the morning.
Students had boldly put up tents again after the police removed a camp at the university on April 18 and took more than 100 people into custody. The students were protesting on the Manhattan campus since yesterday, they were against Israeli military action in Gaza. They were also asking the school to stop investing in companies that they say are making money from the conflict.
Protests are happening on college campuses from California to Massachusetts as graduation gets closer. This puts schools under more pressure to deal with the protesters.
More than 1,000 people who are against something have been taken by the police in the last two weeks. It happened at schools in states like Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jersey. Some of them were fighting with the police who were wearing special clothes for riots.
“Mayor Eric Adams told the Columbia protesters to leave and find other ways to support their cause,” advised New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Let’s stop this now. ”
The White House said it was not okay for protesters to take over buildings at Columbia and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. Police broke up the protests and arrested 25 people. Officials said that the total damage to the northern California campus is estimated to be more than $1 million.
President Joe Biden thinks it’s not good for students to take over a building at their school. John Kirby, who works for the National Security Council, said this is not a peaceful way to protest.Other colleges have tried to talk to the protesters to have calm graduation ceremonies. As talks to stop fighting seemed to progress, it was uncertain if they would make protests less intense.
Northwestern University was able to reach a compromise with students and teachers who were protesting on its campus near Chicago, allowing peaceful demonstrations until the end of spring classes. It was a rare success for the university.
Students all over the country started protesting at Columbia University because of Israel’s attacks on Gaza. This happened after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct 7. Terrorists attacked and killed around 1,200 people, mostly innocent civilians, and held about 250 people as hostages. Israel has promised to get rid of Hamas and has killed over 34,000 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry.
Israel and its supporters say the university protests are against Jewish people, but Israel’s critics say it is just a way to stop people from speaking out. Some people have been seen in videos saying mean things about Jewish people or making threats at the protests. But the people in charge of the protests, some of whom are Jewish themselves, say they want to peacefully support the rights of Palestinians and speak out against the war.
Protesters at Columbia University linked arms and brought furniture and barricades to Hamilton Hall. This was where a protest against civil rights and the Vietnam War took place in 1968. Protesters named the building Hind’s Hall after a young girl who was killed in Gaza by Israeli gunfire.
The takeover happened a few hours after protesters ignored a warning to leave a tent camp on Monday. Those who didn’t leave were told they couldn’t use any school facilities and for seniors, they couldn’t graduate.
Mahmoud Khalil was one of the students who got suspended before the talks with the administration stopped. He was a main person in charge of negotiating. He got a letter saying he was suspended because he didn’t leave the campsite even after being told to. But he says he did leave like the university told him to by the deadline on Monday.
Columbia spokesperson Ben Chang said that anyone in Hamilton Hall could get kicked out of the university for making the protest worse by damaging property and blocking entrances.
Protesters are staying in Hamilton Hall until the university agrees to three things: stop investing in certain things, be more open about money, and forgive past actions.
The Columbia University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors said the faculty’s attempts to calm the situation have been ignored by the university’s leadership, even though the school’s rules say they should be consulted. The group said there might be a fight between police and protesters at the campus.
The University leaders are being blamed for making bad decisions that caused big problems, the chapter said in a statement on Tuesday evening. The University President, her top staff, and the Board of Trustees will be responsible for any injuries that happen during police actions on our campus.
Ilana Lewkovitch, a student at Columbia, who supports the idea of a Jewish homeland, said it has been difficult to focus on school because people have been saying that supporters of Israel should die or leave the campus. She said that during her exams, people were chanting “say it loud, say it clear, we want Zionists out of here” in the background.
Lewkovitch is Jewish and went to Columbia University in Tel Aviv. She wishes that the pro-Palestinian protests would welcome people like her who speak out against Israel’s war policies but still support the idea of Israel as a state.
Adams said on Tuesday that people from outside the area are taking over the Columbia protests. He didn’t give specific proof for this claim, and the protest organizers and participants disagreed with him.
The police in New York said the same thing about people from outside the city causing trouble during the big protests against racism after George Floyd’s death in 2020. Sometimes, important police leaders wrongly called peaceful protests led by known community activists as the actions of violent troublemakers. -
LIVE results from Ejisu by-election
Provisional results from the just ended Ejisu by-election has started pouring in.
The by-election, which is still underway comes after prompted by the unfortunate passing of John Kumah, the Member of Parliament from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
However, the Electoral Commission (EC) became embroiled in controversy during the process.
Refresh page for latest update
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King Charles III visits cancer charity as part of his return to public office
King Charles III went back to work on Tuesday and visited a charity that helps people with cancer. This was the start of his comeback after being sick with cancer for three months.
The king will attend his first public event since February 6, when Buckingham Palace said he would take a break from public duties to focus on his treatment for an undisclosed cancer.
Charles will be making several public appearances in the coming weeks. This is because he is getting ready to host a visit from the emperor and empress of Japan in June.
It is not known how many of the usual royal events happening in the summer, like the king’s birthday parade and horse racing at Royal Ascot, Charles will go to while he is getting treatment. Last week, the palace said that the doctors were happy with the king’s progress. His schedule will be changed if necessary to help him recover.
Currently, appearing on Tuesday gives Charles another chance to tell people about the importance of finding and treating cancer and other health issues early. He has been doing this throughout his illness.
Unlike other kings and queens before him, Charles decided to tell people about his health when he first got treatment for a problem with his prostate, and later when he found out he had cancer. The decision made more people know about these issues.
The National Health Service in England said that after Charles shared he was getting treatment, the number of people asking for help with prostate problems went up by 11 times. -
Ex-interior minister detained in Kazakhstan in relation to riots that claimed 238 lives
Officials in Kazakhstan have taken into custody a former minister of interior on Tuesday, for his involvement in the violent police response to protests in the country in 2022.
The top lawyer’s office said Erlan Turgumbayev was arrested on Monday for misusing his power and causing serious harm while harshly stopping riots. The government of Kazakhstan is responsible for overseeing the country’s police.
Unrest began in Zhanaozen city on January. On February 2, 2022, people in Kazakhstan protested because the price of gas for their cars went up a lot.
The protests turned into complaints about corruption and unfairness in the economy under the former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev. Critics say he has been making money from the country’s energy wealth since he became leader in 1991.
Nazarbayez quit being the president in 2019 but still had a lot of control during the protests as the leader of Kazakhstan’s security council.
In Almaty, the biggest city in the country, protests became violent and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave orders to shoot people as demonstrators attacked government buildings. Officials said that 238 people died during the violent situation.
Tokayev made a lot of changes, like only allowing the president to have one 7-year term. He also took Nazarbayev out of his jobs as head of the security council and the capital city, which had been changed to Nur-Sultan in Nazarbayev’s honor, changed back to its old name of Astana.
Turgumbayev was fired from his job one month after the chaos. -
Netanyahu promises that he will attack Rafah “with or without a deal”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised on Tuesday to send troops into the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Many Palestinians have been staying there to escape the war that has been going on for seven months.
Netanyahu said Israel will go into Rafah to destroy Hamas’ groups there, with or without an agreement. Israel and Hamas are talking about a ceasefire deal to free hostages and help the Palestinians in the area.
“We can’t consider stopping the war until we achieve all of our goals. ” We will go into Rafah and defeat the groups of fighters from Hamas, no matter what. Netanyahu said this in a meeting with families of the hostages in Gaza.
Netanyahu promised to win the war completely and is under pressure from his nationalist partners to attack Rafah, which Israel claims is a major place where Hamas is strong.
People are feeling more hopeful that an agreement could be reached to stop Israel from entering Rafah, where over half of Gaza’s 2. 3 million people are seeking shelter.
Countries around the world, including Israel’s close friend, the US, are worried about what might happen to civilians in Rafah if Israel attacks.
Netanyahu has refused to stop the war in exchange for releasing hostages. He believes that it is important to attack Rafah in order to defeat the militants who attacked Israel on Oct 7. If he agrees to a deal, his government might be in danger because some strong-minded members of his Cabinet want to attack Rafah. -
UN specialists claim North Korean missile touched down near Kharkiv, Ukraine
The parts from a missile that landed in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Jan. 2 were from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile, according to a report by United Nations sanctions monitors to a Security Council committee. This was seen by Reuters on Monday.
The UN says they found pieces of a missile in Ukraine that came from North Korea, breaking the rules about weapons.
North Korea, also called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has been punished by the UN since 2006 for its missile and nuclear projects, and the punishments have gotten tougher over time.
Three people went to Ukraine to check the debris and they didn’t find any proof that Russia made the missile. They couldn’t figure out where the missile came from or who launched it on their own.
Ukrainian authorities said that the missile was launched from Russia. They wrote this in a report to the Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee on April 25th.
They said that if the missile was in a place controlled by Russia, it would probably mean that people from Russia bought it. This would break the rule that stops North Korea from getting weapons, which was made in 2006.
The Russian and North Korean representatives at the United Nations in New York did not give a response to a request for their thoughts on the report by the sanctions monitors.
The US and other countries say North Korea gave weapons to Russia to use against Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have said they didn’t do it, but they promised to make their military relationship stronger last year.
In February, the US said that Russia used missiles from North Korea to attack Ukraine many times.
The UN people who watch over things said that North Korea tested the Hwasong-11 series missiles in 2019.
Russia said no to renewing the UN sanctions monitors that have been keeping an eye on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs for 15 years. The current group of experts will have to stop working on Tuesday.
Within a few days of January, The Kharkiv region prosecutor’s office showed parts of a missile to the media after an attack. They said the missile was not from Russia and it might have been given to them by North Korea. -
AI will make safer brain surgery possible in two years – Brain surgeon
A top brain doctor has said that using artificial intelligence for brain surgery could be done in two years. This would make the surgery safer and better. New surgeons in training are using the latest technology to learn how to do more accurate brain surgery through small incisions. Created at University College London, it shows small tumors and important parts like blood vessels in the middle of the brain. The government thinks it could make a big difference for healthcare in the UK.
Important buildings or formations.
Performing brain surgery requires a lot of care and attention – a small mistake could cause the patient to die right away. It’s really important to not hurt the pituitary gland, which is the size of a grape and in the middle of the brain. It manages all the hormones in the body – and if there are issues with it, it can lead to blindness. “If you make the approach too small, there’s a chance you won’t remove enough of the tumor,” said Hani Marcus, a neurosurgeon at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
“If you make it too big, you could harm these very important parts. The AI has studied over 200 videos of this surgery and gained the same level of experience as a surgeon would in 10 years, in just 10 months. ” “Even experienced surgeons like me can do a better job with the help of AI to find the boundary during surgery. ” – Marcus
“In a few years, an AI system could have seen more operations than any human has ever seen. Nicola Newell also thinks it’s very helpful. ” “It helps me know what to do during practice surgeries and what comes next,” she says.
Superhero from Marvel comics.
Viscount Camrose, a government minister, says that AI makes everyone much more productive in whatever they do. “It’s like becoming your own superhero with this Marvel-like technology,” he explained. He believes this technology could significantly improve healthcare and provide a very hopeful future for everyone.
University College London (UCL) is one of 22 universities that got money from the government to improve healthcare in the UK. Engineers, doctors, and researchers are collaborating on a project at the Wellcome / Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences.
