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Australians start applying for mail-in ballots ahead of Indigenous Voice referendum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:55 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Voters began applying Monday for mail-in ballots ahead of the Oct. 14 referendum that would create an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a proposal for constitutional change that opinion polls suggest is becoming increasingly likely to be rejected.Australians will vote at the first referendum in a generation whether to enshrine in the constitution a collection of appointed Indigenous advocates aimed at giving the nation’s most disadvantaged ethnic minority more say on government policy.People who are unable to attend a polling booth on Oct. 14 for reasons including distance, disability and prison sentences can apply from 6 p.m. Monday for authorities to provide them with postal ballots, which will be cast in Australia’s first referendum since 1999.A majority of voters across the nation and in a majority of Australia’s six states need to support the referendum for it to pass. Only eight out of 44 referendums have achieved that double majority.But a Resolve Pol...

Protests kick off at Israeli justice minister’s home a day before major hearing on judicial overhaul

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:55 GMT

MODIIN, Israel (AP) — Scores of Israeli protesters on Monday flooded the streets outside the home of Israel’s justice minister, the architect of the country’s divisive judicial overhaul, a day before a pivotal hearing in which the Supreme Court will decide whether to accept the curbing of its powers.Israeli police said they arrested six people in the central Israeli town of Modiin, home to Justice Minister Yair Levin, on charges of disrupting public order and blocking roads as they protested plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government to weaken the Supreme Court. The judicial plan has triggered one of the biggest domestic crises in Israeli history and exposed the country’s bitter divides. On Tuesday, all 15 of Israel’s Supreme Court justices will appear on the bench for the first time ever to hear an appeal against the first major part of the overhaul, which the the government pushed through parliament in July. The rowdy crowd of r...

Roadside bombing in northwestern Pakistan kills a security officer and wounds 9 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:55 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A roadside bombing targeted Pakistani security forces Monday in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing a security officer and wounding nine people, including three civilians, police said. The Pakistani Taliban later claimed responsibility for the attack.The improvised explosive device went off near a van belonging to the Frontier Corps as it was driving along the key Warsak Road in Peshawar. Police spokesman Bilal Ahmed Faizi said the bomb also wounded three passersby. An investigation was underway, police officer Syed Ashfaq Anwar said.The wounded were moved to the Peshawar military hospital. The outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, have intensified their attacks on Pakistani security forces since pulling out of a unilateral cease-fire agreement with the government last November. They are a separate group but are allied with the Afghan Taliban, who took over Afghanistan in August 2021, following the withdrawal of U.S. ...

South Korean media: North Korean train presumably carrying leader Kim Jong Un departed for Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:55 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A North Korean train presumably carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has departed for Russia for a possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, South Korean media said Monday.Citing unidentified South Korean government sources, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that the train likely left the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on Sunday evening and that a Kim-Putin meeting is possible as early as Tuesday.The Yonhap news agency and some other media published similar reports. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service didn’t immediately confirm those details.U.S. officials released intelligence last week that North Korea and Russia were arranging a meeting between their leaders that would take place within this month as they expand their cooperation in the face of deepening confrontations with the United States.According to U.S. officials, Putin could focus on securing more supplies of North Korean artillery and other ammunition to refill drain...

BMW to build new electric Mini in England after UK government approves multimillion-pound investment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:55 GMT

LONDON (AP) — German automaker BMW is set to announce plans to build the next generation electric Mini in Britain after securing U.K. government support for a multimillion-pound investment in the company’s Oxford factory.The government on Monday confirmed its backing for the project, which will protect 4,000 jobs. While the Department for Business and Trade didn’t specify the level of taxpayer support, British media put the figure at 75 million pounds ($94 million). BMW is expected to release a statement later in the day.The move is the latest boost for the U.K. auto industry, with vehicle makers announcing plans to invest more than 6 billion pounds ($7.5 billion) in Britain over the past two years. While car production jumped 36% from a year earlier in July, output remains far below pre-pandemic levels.British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the BMW investment “is another shining example of how the U.K. is the best place to build cars of the future.”The Associated Press

In the news today: Tory policy could harm LGBTQ kids, advocates say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:55 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Transgender Tory candidate says vote against gender-affirming care could cost livesThe first openly transgender person to run for the federal Conservatives is warning a policy adopted by the party could harm gender-diverse children if it ever becomes law.Hannah Hodson says the language in the policy change voted on by delegates at a Conservative policy convention on Saturday is “transphobic.”The delegates voted in favour of a future Conservative government prohibiting “medicinal or surgical interventions” for gender-diverse and transgender children.Hodson says a policy denying gender-affirming care will likely lead to more deaths from suicide among transgender youth.—Here’s what else we’re watching …‘Freedom Convoy’ lawyers to try to block witnessesThe lawyers defending two of the most prominent organi...

Stock market today: World shares mostly higher as investors await US inflation, China economic data

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:55 GMT

World stock prices were mostly higher Monday as investors awaited an update on U.S. inflation and China’s latest economic data. Benchmarks fell in Hong Kong and Tokyo but rose in Shanghai, Paris, Frankfurt and London. Oil prices were mixed.A recent surge in oil prices has added to worries that inflation may not be waning as much as hoped for in the U.S and other major economies. That could lead the Federal Reserve and other central banks to keep interest rates higher for longer, which would hurt prices for shares and other investments. Germany’s DAX gained 0.7% to 15,846.97 and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.9% at 7,308.46. In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.8% to 7,539.30. The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.4%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%. Over the weekend, China reported a slight increase in its own inflation data, suggesting deflationary pressures seen as a sign of weakness in its slowing economy might be easing. The government is due to repo...

TIFF 2023: Jessica Yu on directing Sandra Oh’s zany performance in ‘Quiz Lady’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:55 GMT

TORONTO — There’s been lots of talk about “Quiz Lady” co-stars Sandra Oh and Awkwafina playing against type in the odd-couple sibling comedy, but director Jessica Yu says she didn’t see it that way. The film follows reserved, socially anxious Anne (Awkwafina) as her rebellious estranged sister Jenny (Oh) concocts a scheme to pay off their absentee mother’s gambling debts via a TV quiz show.The film, which also stars Will Ferrell as the show’s Alex Trebekian host, premiered to big laughs at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday night and screens again Wednesday and Sunday before hitting Disney+ on Nov. 3. Yu says that while Awkwafina made a name for herself playing over-the-top characters and Oh is better known for portraying over-achievers, she didn’t think either actress was stepping too far outside her comfort zone.Awkwafina, she points out, delivered resonant performances in both “The Farewell” and “Swan So...

‘Freedom Convoy’ lawyers attempt to block Ottawa residents from testifying at trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:55 GMT

OTTAWA — The lawyers defending two of the most prominent organizers of the “Freedom Convoy” protests are expected to make their case today to block nine Ottawa residents and business representatives from taking the stand.Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are on trial for criminal charges related to their role in the demonstration, which blockaded Ottawa city streets for weeks last year as protestors railed against COVID-19 public health measures.The Crown plans to call five Ottawa residents as witnesses in the case, including Zexi Li, who filed a class-action lawsuit against the organizers on behalf of people who live and work in downtown Ottawa.The Crown also intends to call the owner of a women’s clothing boutique, and employees from the National Arts Centre, the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel, and the local public transit operator.Lich’s lawyer Lawrence Greenspon says he will argue on Monday afternoon that those witnesses should not be allowed to testify.Lich a...

Transgender Tory candidate says vote against gender-affirming care could cost lives

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:55 GMT

The first openly transgender person to run for the federal Conservatives warns that a policy adopted by the party over the weekend could harm gender-diverse children if it ever becomes law.However, Hannah Hodson said she feels it’s unlikely the contentious policy would be a top priority for the Conservatives if the party is voted into power.“If these policies (are) passed, people are going to die, children are going to die in this country without access to any gender-affirming care,” said Hodson, who ran for the party in the 2021 federal election in Victoria, B.C. Party delegates voted in favour of a future Conservative government prohibiting “medicinal or surgical interventions” for gender-diverse and transgender children on Saturday. The vote came during a three-day policy convention in Quebec City. The proposal, which passed with assent from 69 per cent of the voting members, came from a riding in British Columbia.However, like past leaders, Conserva...