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French national police chief says officers under investigation ‘have no place in prison’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:18:56 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s national police chief has said that law enforcement officers under investigation shouldn’t be jailed like ordinary citizens, amid a walkout by numerous Marseille police over the detention of a colleague for his actions during nationwide riots.The apparently unprecedented remarks by Frederic Veaux in a weekend interview — which got the support of the Paris police prefect — quickly triggered a debate, and raised fundamental questions about whether French law enforcement is above the law. “Knowing that (the officer) is in prison stops me from sleeping,” Veaux said in an interview with Le Parisien, after a trip Saturday to Marseille to bring a message of support to police from himself and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. But he went further, saying he thinks that “ahead of an eventual trial, a police officer has no place in prison, even if he may have committed faults or grave error in his work.”While police officers must account for their actions, “includi...

Eight people burn to death in southern Nigeria after gasoline tanker explosion, authorities say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:18:56 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Eight people were burned to death after a tanker exploded in Nigeria’s southern Ondo state, the road safety agency said on Monday.The tanker was carrying gasoline and exploded while the victims were trying to extract the much sought-after fuel, according to Ezekiel Sonallah, head of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Ondo.Sonallah said the driver lost control of the tanker on Sunday and veered off the road and crashed in Ondo’s Odigbo district. Both the driver and his assistant escaped unscathed. He said that the “problem was the scooping,” hinting it was the reason for the explosion.Authorities said all the victims were burned beyond recognition and couldn’t be identified.Scooping fuel from tanker accident scenes has often resulted in deaths in parts of Nigeria. It has continued this year with the price of gasoline more than doubling since June 1 after the West African nation’s new President Bola Tinubu ended the decades-long gasoline. Fatal truck accident...

Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary is charged with directing a terrorist organization

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:18:56 GMT

LONDON (AP) — High-profile British radical preacher Anjem Choudary appeared in a London court on Monday, charged with leading a terrorist organization.Choudary, 56, was charged Sunday with three counts under the Terrorism Act: directing a terrorist organization, membership in a banned organization and addressing meetings to encourage support for the organization between June 2022 and this month.Prosecutors say the charges relate to the group al-Muhajiroun, which was outlawed by the British government in 2010. It has since operated “under many names and guises,” including the Islamic Thinkers Society, prosecutors say.Choudary is alleged to have provided lectures to the Islamic Thinkers Society.He was arrested at his home in London in July 17. He was charged alongside with Canadian national Khaled Hussein, 28, who was arrested at Heathrow Airport the same day after arriving on a flight. Hussein, from Edmonton, Alberta, is charged with membership in a proscribed organization. Prosecuto...

Hollywood uncertainties may raise demand for Canadian talent, observers suggest

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:18:56 GMT

TORONTO — Twin Hollywood strikes that stalled U.S. film and TV production could raise demand for Canadian talent if the job action stretches beyond the summer.Industry observers say that would largely depend on how long the work stoppages last and would pale in comparison to current job losses and broader disruption that’s almost certain to deepen with a long labour fight.However, production delays appear to be behind NBC’s announcement last week to schedule the third season of CTV’s hospital drama “Transplant” on Thursdays this fall instead of “Law & Order: SVU,” as previously announced.And the CEO of the Canadian network OutTV says more U.S. broadcasters could turn northward for content if the simultaneous writers and actors strikes continue into September.Brad Danks says he hasn’t yet seen a big push by U.S. networks and streamers to stock up on foreign content, but he’s sure exploratory talks are underway.Meanwhile, one prominent Toronto casting director says non-SAG Canadia...

Israeli parliament approves key part of judicial overhaul that has exposed deep fissures in society

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:18:56 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli lawmakers on Monday approved a key portion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive plan to reshape the country’s justice system despite massive protests that have exposed unprecedented fissures in Israeli society.The vote came after a stormy session in which opposition lawmakers chanted “shame” and then stormed out of the chamber.It reflected the determination of Netanyahu and his far-right allies to move ahead with the plan, which has tested the delicate social ties that bind the country, rattled the cohesion of its powerful military and repeatedly drawn concern from its closest ally, the United States.The overhaul calls for sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to challenge parliamentary decisions to changing the way judges are selected. Netanyahu and his allies say the changes are needed to curb the powers of unelected judges. Protesters, who come from a wide swath of Israeli socie...

Arizona woman’s heat death after her power was cut off spurred changes, but advocates want more

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:18:56 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Stephanie Pullman died on a sweltering Arizona day after her electricity was cut off because of a $51 debt.Five years later, the 72-year-old’s story remains at the heart of efforts to prevent others in Arizona from having their power cut off, leaving them without life-saving air conditioning in temperatures that have topped 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) on every day this month.“Stephanie Pullman was the face of the fight that helped put the disconnect rules in place for the big, regulated utilities in Arizona,” said Stacey Champion, an advocate who pushed for new regulations. “But we need more.”Arizona Public Service, known as APS, disconnected Pullman’s power in September 2018 at a time when outside temperatures in her retirement community west of Phoenix reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.6 Celsius). Just days before, a $125 payment was made toward Pullman’s past-due bill of $176.Her body was found inside her home during a subsequent ...

Stock market today: Wall Street opens higher ahead of busy week of earnings and Fed news

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:18:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is ticking higher in early trading to start a week full of updates on where interest rates and profits for the stock market’s most influential companies are heading. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% shortly after the opening bell Monday, coming off its eighth winning week in the last 10. The Dow was up 94 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.5%. Three Big Tech companies are set to report their latest earnings this week: Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Microsoft. On Wednesday the Federal Reserve holds its latest interest rate policy meeting. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed on Monday as investors cautiously awaited another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Benchmarks rose in London, Tokyo and Frankfurt but fell in Paris and Shanghai. U.S. futures edged higher while oil prices fell.U.S. futures edged lower and oil prices also fell. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to...

Navalny associate jailed as Russian opposition crackdown continues

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:18:56 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — An associate of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was convicted on extremism charges Monday as the Kremlin continues to crack down on political activists.Vadim Ostanin, who previously headed Navalny’s office in the southern Siberian city of Barnaul, was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony after being found guilty of organizing an extremist community and belonging to a nonprofit that “infringes on citizens’ rights,” Navalny’s team wrote on social media.Prosecutors had previously asked for the 46-year-old to be imprisoned for 11 years.Ostanin was detained in November 2021, several months after Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were labeled as “extremist organizations” by the Russian government.Ostanin’s case is the latest in a string of recent convictions against regional activists linked to Navalny’s work.Lilia Chanysheva, who headed Navalny’s headquarters in the central Russian city of Ufa, was sentenced to 7 ...

Rolls Royce, Bentley vehicles stolen from Riverdale dealership; suspects sought

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:18:56 GMT

Toronto police say there are are searching for three suspects after luxury vehicles were stolen from a car dealership in Riverdale.Police responded to a theft call at the dealership near Dundas Street East and Carroll Street near Broadview Avenue around 3:45 p.m. on Saturday.Investigators say three suspects walked into the dealership and stole three vehicles:black 2021 Rolls Royce Dawn, with no licence plateblack 2022 Bentley Bentayga, with Ontario licence plate CYAA632white 2020 Rolls Royce Cullinan, with Ontario licence plate CXCY439The vehicles were last seen travelling north on Carroll Street.Police have released security camera images of the three suspects.Open Gallery3 items

Philippine president vows to defend territory, announces amnesty for rebels in key speech

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:18:56 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday underscored his administration’s resolve to defend the country’s territory through diplomacy in a key speech but did not mention China, with which it has had an escalating series of conflicts in the disputed South China Sea.Marcos also announced in his state-of-the-nation speech to Congress that he would offer an amnesty to armed insurgents and would crack down on smugglers and hoarders of agricultural products, whom he blamed for steep spikes in food prices.Despite an array of problems and uncertainties sparked in part by the war in Ukraine, Marcos said the dedication and patriotism he had seen among Filipino workers in and out of government have kept him optimistic.“With this in my heart, I know that the state of the nation is sound, and is improving,” Marcos said to applause from lawmakers and top government officials in the heavily secured House of Representatives.Marcos outlined reforms pursued...