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Former rebel leader is named Congo’s new Defense Minister

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:42 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s former rebel leader jailed by the International Criminal Court, Jean-Pierre Bemba, has been appointed Congo’s Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle.Bemba’s appointment to the key positions was announced Thursday evening on state television by President Felix Tshisekedi’s spokeswoman. Bemba’s promotion and other Cabinet appointments come less than a year ahead of Congo’s presidential elections.Congo’s former vice president between 2003 and 2006, Bemba was later imprisoned by the ICC for more than a decade, accused of murders, rapes and pillaging committed by his Movement for the Liberation of Congo forces in the neighboring country of Central African Republic. In a surprising ruling, he was acquitted by the ICC in 2018. Bemba has always maintained his innocence. Bemba’s return to prominent government positions comes nine months ahead of Congo’s presidential elections sched...

No early morning crowds as President Biden prepares for day on Parliament Hill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:42 GMT

OTTAWA — The streets in front of Parliament were quiet early Friday morning as police prepared for a spectacle big enough to draw celebrities to the city, but disruptive enough to keep morning commuters at home.U.S. President Joe Biden is set to spend his day on Parliament Hill during his first official visit to Canada, and will deliver a speech in the House this afternoon. Some workers in the downtown core were asked to work from home if they could, and the few people roaming the streets in the early morning were trying to navigate roadblocks, some with frustration. Barricades of fences, police and their vehicles surround Parliament Hill, and only those with special passes are allowed in. Some people gathered to watch Biden’s motorcade arrive Thursday night but others took advantage of the empty downtown to play soccer in the street. Canadian actor Eugene Levy was also in town for the event, saying he had been invited to attend Biden’s dinner at the Aviation Museum toni...

Protesters greet Netanyahu as he meets UK leader in London

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:42 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held talks with Benjamin Netanyahu in London on Friday as protesters shouting “Shame!” In Hebrew demonstrated against the Israeli leader’s right-wing policies and his plans to overhaul the country’s judiciary.Netanyahu had to pass by hundreds of protesters waving Israeli flags and waving signs calling for the defense of Israeli democracy as he arrived at 10 Downing St. for talks that focused on the war in Ukraine and concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.Sunak also raised Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reforms, which have sparked mass protests in Israel and beyond. One placard in London read: “We are Israelis and Jews living in the U.K. demonstrating against Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is leading a judicial coup turning Israel into a dictatorship.”Some women protesting outside Downing Street wore red robes and white caps inspired by “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a novel and TV series set in a dystopian future. Similarly cla...

US, global markets fall on banking turmoil; oil prices slide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:42 GMT

BANGKOK — Shares on Wall Street tumbled in premarket trading Friday as worries flared over turmoil in the banking sector and potentially worsening risks of recession. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1% before the bell and the benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.8%.Most U.S. bank stocks fell between 2% and 4%, dragged down by Deutsche Bank, which fell more than 10% on reports that the company was facing higher costs for insuring itself against default.Investors are worried that more banks might suffer a debilitating exodus of customers following the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history. That turmoil is clouding the outlook for what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates after hiking them to market-rattling heights over the last year. The fear is that all the turmoil in the banking industry could cause a sharp pullback in lending to small and midsized businesses around the country. That could put more pressure on the economy, raising the risk for...

Onex signs agreement to move Gluskin Sheff wealth management advisor teams to RBC

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:42 GMT

TORONTO — Onex Corp. has signed an agreement to move its Gluskin Sheff wealth management advisor teams to RBC Wealth Management Canada (RBC WMC).Under the plan, RBC WMC will offer employment to all of the advisor teams of Gluskin Sheff, Onex’s private wealth business.Onex says Gluskin Sheff intends to wind down its wealth management and wealth planning operations not transferred to RBC WMC.The two firms have also agreed to work together to expand distribution of Onex investment products through RBC WMCOnex president Bobby Le Blanc says the deal will allow the company to focus on investing, asset management and product development while leveraging the scale and strength of one of the country’s largest wealth management platforms.RBC WMC has responsibility for $533 billion of assets under administration.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:ONEX, TSX:RY)The Canadian Press

1500 evacuated as Spain’s fire season starts early

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:42 GMT

MADRID (AP) — More than 1,500 people were evacuated as a major forest fire raged in Spain’s eastern Castellon province on Friday, marking an early start to the nation’s fire season amid bone dry conditions.Local officials said the fire had engulfed around 3,000 hectares of land since it broke out on Thursday, forcing residents from their homes and into shelters operated by the Red Cross and other charities.Ximo Puig, the president of the Valencia region that incorporates Castellon, told reporters the fire was “very early in the spring, very voracious from the beginning.”Puig added that the effects of climate change “are undeniable, so the perspective of firefighting must be considered on an annual basis.”Emergency services in the region said eight towns had been evacuated, including a home for older people in Montan. As of midday Friday, 18 planes and helicopters and more than 600 firefighters and soldiers were tackling the fire. The Spanish military and the nation’s eco...

Search continues in Waukegan for missing 21-year-old Navy sailor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:42 GMT

WAUKEGAN, Ill. — The search for the navy sailor continues almost a week after he failed to return to his base in North Chicago.Surveillance videos shows Seamus Gray along the water's edge which is why search crews have been focusing their search efforts near the harbor. Waukegan police say they will continue the search farther south near the Great Lakes area.  Seamus Gray, 21, was reported missing from Ibiza bar on North Genessee Street in Downtown Waukegan Friday night. Police say Gray and his friends were escorted out of the bar around 1:30 a.m. because they were intoxicated. Minutes later he was shown walking alone near Sheridan Road and Washington Street then walking along the Marina Harbor near the Metra station. Detectives said Gray did not report to the naval base before his 2 a.m. curfew.Search crews have spent the past week searching for Gray by air, water and by the lake using sonar technology. Police also say they are no longer detecting activity on his cell pho...

Postal carrier robbed of mail keys in Westchester

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:42 GMT

WESTCHESTER, Ill. — A U.S. postal carrier was robbed at gunpoint Monday in Westchester.Authorities received a 911 call in the 1900 block of Norfolk regarding a mail carrier who was robbed at gunpoint of their mail keys.Police believe a man wearing a ski mask fled the scene in a red BMW with tinted windows. Westchester Chief of Police Daniel Babich said he met with the local Post Office's manager. He recommended the use of silence panic devices to be installed in the vehicles, according to a press release. USPS to purchase 9,000 electric vehicles, install 14,000 charging stations Police said they are increasing patrols during delivery times.

Why are firing squads for executions being debated again?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:42 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The image of gunmen in a row firing in unison into the chest of a condemned prisoner may conjure up a bygone, less enlightened era.But the idea of using firing squads is making a comeback. Idaho lawmakers passed a bill this week seeking to add the state to the list of those authorizing firing squads, currently Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina.Fresh interest comes as states scramble for alternatives to lethal injections after pharmaceuticals barred the use of their drugs. Bill to execute death row inmates by firing squad clears another hurdle, lawmaker suggests adding ‘hanging on a tree’ Some, including a few Supreme Court justices, view firing squads as less cruel than lethal injections despite the violence involved in riddling bodies with bullets. Others say it's not cut-and-dry, or that there are other factors to consider.Here is a look at the status of firing squads in the United States:WHEN WAS THE LAST EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD...

Trump warns of 'potential death and destruction' if he's indicted

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:42 GMT

Former President Donald Trump on early Friday morning argued that filing charges against him could result in “potential death & destruction” as he railed against the possibility of an indictment by the Manhattan district attorney. “What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after 1 a.m. Friday.“Why & who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truely hates the USA!” Trump wrote.The post marked an escalation in Trump’s barrage of attacks against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a grand jury is weighing whether to indict Trump over hush-mone...