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B.C. port workers vote to reject mediated agreement

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:01:53 GMT

Port workers in British Columbia have voted to reject a mediated contract offer, extending job action that prevented billions in goods from moving for almost two weeks earlier this month.In a letter posted on the union’s website, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada President Rob Ashton says workers are now calling on their employers to “come to the table” and negotiate directly, instead of doing so through the BC Maritime Employers Association.The rejection raises the prospect of back-to-work legislation to end the uncertainty at more than 30 port terminals and other sites, including Canada’s largest port in Vancouver.The four-year agreement between the union and maritime employers went to a vote of about 7,400 workers on Thursday and Friday, after union leaders presented the deal to local chapters on Tuesday.The deal worked out with federal mediators had put a temporary halt to a 13-day strike that had commenced July 1, but its fate see-sawed ...

‘God willing, we will meet again in Libya.’ A migrant family’s tale shows chaos at Tunisian border

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:01:53 GMT

When Mbengue Nyimbilo Crepin regained consciousness after collapsing in the desert, the sun had already set. Tunisian authorities had violently forced him, his wife and their 6-year-old daughter across the border to Libya by foot without water, in the blazing heat, he said. Nyimbilo crumpled to the ground, exhausted and dehydrated, but urged his wife to carry on with little Marie and catch up to dozens of other migrants ahead.“God willing, we will meet again in Libya,” he told them. Nyimbilo eventually made it there — only to find out days later that his wife and daughter almost certainly did not. A graphic photo widely shared on social media shows the lifeless body of a Black woman with braided hair next to a little girl, their faces down in the sand. The child is curled up next to the woman, her bare feet red and swollen, likely from walking on blistering hot sand. Nyimbilo said he immediately recognized his wife’s yellow dress, pulled up on her body, and his daughter’...

A timeline of events surrounding strike action at B.C.’s ports

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:01:53 GMT

The union representing about 7,400 port workers in British Columbia has announced that its members have voted to reject a mediated contract with employers, in a move that prolongs uncertainty surrounding the province’s ports.Here is a timeline surrounding the events.2022Nov. 30: The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association provides notice to commence collective bargaining to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada.2023Feb. 16: Negotiations begin.March 20: The ILWU serves a notice of dispute to the federal government, signalling an impasse, and requests the appointment of a conciliation officer.March 29: Talks enter a 60-day conciliation period.March 31: The existing collective agreement between the BCMEA and the ILWU expires.May 30: Conciliation ends. Talks enter a cooling-off period of 21 days.June 5: The ILWU’s negotiating committee authorizes a strike vote to be conducted on June 9 and 10.June 12: The ILWU says members voted 99.24 per cent in fav...

Water is refreshing in the heat, right? In parts of Florida this past week, not so much

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:01:53 GMT

In the sweltering summer heat, nobody tries to cool off by jumping into a hot tub. In parts of Florida, however, that’s what the ocean has felt like.Earlier this week, sea surface temperatures reached as high as 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit (38.4 degrees Celsius) around the state’s southern tip in Manatee Bay, according to the National Weather Service — although scientists said the context for Monday’s reading is complicated.“It was like there was no difference between humidity of the air and going into the water,” said Chelsea Ward of Fort Myers, Florida. Triple-digit ocean temperatures are stunning even in Florida, where residents are used to the heat and where many retirees find refuge from cold, northern winters. Several other nearby spots reached the mid-90s (about 35 Celsius). A storm finally came through on Wednesday, helping water temperatures drop back down in to the more temperate 80s (about 29 Celsius).Humans naturally look to water for a chance to refresh. Every summer, mill...

No winning ticket sold for Friday’s $28 million Lotto Max jackpot

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:01:53 GMT

There was no winning ticket sold in Friday’s Lotto Max $28 million draw.The jackpot for the next draw on Aug. 1 will be an estimated $33 million.The Canadian Press

B.C. port workers vote to reject mediated agreement: union

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:01:53 GMT

The union representing B.C. port workers says its membership has voted to reject a mediated contract offer it reached with the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) last week.In a statement Friday, the ILWU Canada Longshore Division says union members said “NO to the Terms of The Settlement.”“Today we call on our direct employers to come to the table and negotiate something that works for our members and the industry,” the statement continued.The union announced last week that it was recommending the terms of the tentative deal to its membership.Unionized workers took off the day shift this past Tuesday to learn the details of the agreement, before voting was held over two days later in the week.The BCMEA earlier said the offer that was being presented was the same one leaders of the ILWU had previously rejected, which briefly sent workers back to the picket line last week.Related articles: B.C. port union to recommend settlement agreement to its membersI...

French President Macron visits his counterpart in Sri Lanka

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:01:53 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions with his Sri Lankan counterpart Saturday on an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region in the first-ever visit by a French leader to the Indian Ocean island nation. As the fourth-largest creditor to Sri Lanka, France had pledged cooperation in debt restructuring to help the island nation recover from its economic crisis.Macron arrived in Sri Lanka Friday night, following his trip to the South Pacific region, to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations, Sri Lanka’s president’s office said.Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe praised France’s significant role in global affairs, particularly in areas such as climate mitigation, global debt restructuring, and matters related to the Indo-Pacific region, the statement said.“Sri Lanka and France are two Indian Ocean nations that share the same goal: an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific. In Colombo we confirm...

Fresh charges tie Trump even more closely to coverup effort. That could deepen his legal woes

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:01:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a stunning new allegation in an already serious case: Former President Donald Trump sought to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation into his handling of classified documents.The latest criminal charges unsealed Thursday deepen Trump’s legal jeopardy, alleging a more central role for the former president than previously known in a cover-up that prosecutors say was meant to prevent them from recovering top-secret documents he took with him after he left the White House. Coming as Trump braces for possible additional indictments related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the new allegations strengthen special counsel Jack Smith’s already powerful case against Trump while undercutting potential defenses floated by the former president, experts say.“Before these new charges, you could maybe try some sort of defense that ‘this was all a mistake, it was my staff’ or confusion about what documents he actually ...

LGBTQ+ community proud and visible at Women’s World Cup

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:01:53 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand striker Hannah Wilkinson has helped create two milestones at the Women’s World Cup.With her 48th-minute goal in the tournament opener against Norway, she led the co-host Football Ferns to their first win in six trips to the Women’s World Cup. She’s also one of at least 95 out members of the LGBTQ+ community competing in this year’s tournament, according to a count being kept by Outsports, a website that covers the LGBTQ+ sports.The Ferns were greeted with a fan-made sign at their next match in Wellington: “Gay for soccer, gay for Wilkie,” it read.The 95 out participants make up roughly 13% of the 736 total players at the Women’s World Cup, more than doubling the 40 players and coaches Outsports counted in 2019.The 2023 tournament also is hosting the first openly trans and non-binary player in either a men’s or Women’s World Cup, Quinn of Canada.“Last World Cup was so big, especially with the visibility of the U.S. women’s national team winnin...

Members of Congress break for August with no clear path to avoiding a shutdown this fall

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:01:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall. Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government funding. They could pass spending bills to fund government agencies into next year, or simply pass a stopgap measure that keeps agencies running until they strike a longer-term agreement. No matter which route they take, it won’t be easy.“We’re going to scare the hell out of the American people before we get this done,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.Coons’ assessment is widely shared in Congress, reflecting the gulf between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate, which are charting vastly different — and mostly incompatible — paths on spending.The Senate is adhering mostly to the top-line spending levels that President Joe Biden negotiated wi...