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Recommitting to human rights with actions — not just words

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

Nils Muiznieks is Amnesty International’s Europe director. Rita Patricio is Amnesty International’s senior executive officer to the Council of Europe.Today, for only the fourth time since its foundation in 1949, the heads of state of the Council of Europe (CoE) will come together in Reykjavik, Iceland. And with Europe in the middle of a human rights crisis, and large-scale war raging on the Continent, this meeting of Europe’s top human rights organization is vital.The last such summit, held in 2005, had committed to “building one Europe without dividing lines” and a “more human and inclusive Europe” — even charting a path for the Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women. Now, this one is being billed as an opportunity for member countries to “recommit to human rights.”This is timely, as Russia was excluded from the CoE for committing egregious human rights violations just last year, when it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, such recommitment will rin...

Raleigh first catcher to homer from both sides at Fenway as Mariners pound Red Sox 10-1

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Cal Raleigh became the first catcher to homer from both sides of the plate at Fenway Park, and George Kirby pitched the Seattle Mariners past the Boston Red Sox 10-1 on Monday night.Raleigh hit a pair of long two-run homers and Eugenio Suárez added a two-run shot of his own. Ty France had two doubles to extend his hitting streak to 12 games for Seattle, which has won 10 of 14.Kirby (5-2) scattered eight hits over 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball. He struck out six and walked one, improving to 5-1 with a 1.91 ERA over his last seven starts.After getting swept at home by St. Louis last weekend, the Red Sox lost for the sixth time in seven games following an eight-game winning streak.Boston sent utility infielder Pablo Reyes to the mound for the ninth. His first pitch — a curveball — read 34 mph on the scoreboard. He gave up a run and two hits with two walks.Mixing a fastball in the mid 90-mph range with a hard slider, Kirby held the Red Sox scoreless until Rafael Devers’ RB...

Aaron Judge’s 2 homers lift Yankees past Jays in opener

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

TORONTO — While the Yankees’ early-inning pitching plans created conversation prior to Monday’s game, it was Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah who struggled in the opening frame.Aaron Judge, who hit his record-tying 61st home run at Rogers Centre last September, laced a solo shot off the righty in his return to the ballpark. The home run foreshadowed an erratic night for Manoah, who didn’t escape the first before also surrendering a two-run homer to Willie Calhoun.The Yankees tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning when Anthony Volpe doubled and later scored on a single from Kyle Higashioka. Judge then walked with the bases loaded to make it 5-0, a nice cushion in what became a 7-4 Yankees win.The damage could’ve been worse for Manoah, as he walked seven batters, thus continuing the 2022 Cy Young finalist’s issues with command. He completed just four innings while also surrendering six hits and five earned over 92 pitches. Manoah struck out three.The...

Driver killed in South Bay crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A driver was killed in a two-vehicle crash Monday in the Chula Vista area, police said.The collision occurred around 1:28 p.m. at Telegraph Canyon Road between Paseo Del Rey and Medical Center Drive, Lt. Gino Grippo with the Chula Vista Police Department said in a news release.SkyFOX captured video of a Ford F-150 rolled over on its side in the center of the road while a Honda Odyssey could be seen crashed onto the sidewalk. Afghan on terror watch list reportedly arrested near San Diego border The Ford F-150 was traveling eastbound on Telegraph Canyon Road when it collided with the Honda Odyssey making a left turn from Old Telegraph Canyon Road, according to authorities.Occupants of both vehicles, one man in the Ford F-150 and two female occupants in the Honda Odyssey, were taken to hospitals, police said. The driver of the Honda Odyssey died due to her injuries while the others are still being treated at this time, Grippo confirmed. Westbound and eastboun...

Speakers Corner: Downtown No Frills location staying put for now

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

As residents in a downtown neighbourhood worried about losing an affordable grocery store to a new development, the company behind the project says there is no cause for concern just yet.Last summer, Toronto City Council approved a major redevelopment plan at Front Street East and Princess Street where a No Frills currently sits.The plan includes a 37-storey residential building at the southeast corner of the intersection with a 28-storey office building mid-block along Front. Retail and public space will also be included. At the moment, however, there are no permits to demolish any building so it remains unclear when all this could happen.“Currently, we don’t know when the No Frills will be closing, but we do understand that the new development has the intention to create a new retail space for a grocery store,” said a representative for the ward’s city councillor Chris Moise. “It will be smaller in size, but it recognizes that the existing No Frills is not necessarily effici...

Georgia prosecutor fights back against Trump attempt to remove her from election probe

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor who’s investigating whether Donald Trump and his allies broke any laws as they tried to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state fought back Monday against the former president’s attempt to remove her from the case and exclude certain evidence.Trump’s Georgia legal team in March asked the court to toss out the report of a special grand jury that had been seated in the case and to prevent prosecutors from using any evidence or testimony stemming from the panel’s investigation. They also asked that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office be barred from continuing to investigate or prosecute the case.Willis responded in a filing Monday that the Trump’s motion is “procedurally flawed” and advances “arguments that lack merit.”For more than two years now, Willis has been investigating the actions Trump and others took in the wake of the 2020 election. She took the unusual step last year of asking for a sp...

Pence allies launching super PAC to back former vice president’s expected 2024 candidacy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Allies of former Vice President Mike Pence are launching a new super PAC to support his expected candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.“Committed to America,” the Pence-sanctioned group, will be publicly launching Tuesday, according to people familiar with the project, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details of the planning and strategy. “The country’s at real crossroads and the Republican Party needs a strong conservative candidate who can win,” said Scott Reed, the longtime GOP consultant, who will co-chair the group. “Pence has the experience, the unparalleled character, communication skills and the conservative credentials to win both the nomination and a general election.”The launch is the latest sign that Pence is moving ahead with his expected bid for the GOP nomination — a move that would put him in direct contention with his former boss, former President Donald Trump. Pence has said he will announce his plans “well before lat...

Argentine tourist killed in Mexico machete attack

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A tourist from Argentina who was seriously wounded in a May 12 machete attack in Mexico died on Monday, officials said. Prosecutors in the Pacific coast state of Oaxaca said the tourist — whose name was not released — died of his injuries at a hospital in Mexico City. However, the Tala Rugby Club based in Cordoba, Argentina wrote in its social media accounts Monday that one of their players, Benjamín Gamond, had died. A group of three Argentines were attacked by a Mexican man with a machete May 12 in the hamlet of La Isla, at the mouth of the Laguna de Chacahua, on the Pacific coast. The other two tourists were also wounded in the attack, but their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. Local residents subdued the attacker and turned him over to police. Prosecutors said the suspect is in custody and now faces homicide charges.There was no immediate information on a possible motive in the attack.The Associated Press

Colombian rebel leader says peace talks are ‘on pause’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian rebel leader Pablo Beltran said on Tuesday that peace talks between his National Liberation Army and the government have been put “on pause” due to remarks made last week by President Gustavo Petro.Petro questioned whether members of the rebel group’s delegation in Cuba could effectively control the actions of their own commanders on the battlefield. He also said the younger leaders of the group, known as the ELN, were motivated not by political goals, but by drug trafficking profits.In an interview published on Youtube by the ELN’s communication team, Beltran said that delegations from both sides would have to meet to “examine” the comments by Colombia’s president before issues like a ceasefire and rural development schemes can continue to be discussed. The negotiations began in November and have failed to produce any major breakthroughs so far.The ELN was recognized as “an armed rebel group” by Colombia’s government during the last rou...

South Korea and Japan use G-7 to push improvement in ties long marked by animosity

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:59 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Amid the high-level efforts to deal with a raft of global emergencies, this weekend’s Group of 7 summit of rich democracies will also see an unusual diplomatic reconciliation as the leaders of Japan and South Korea look to continue mending ties that have been marked for years by animosity and bickering.At first glance the two neighbors would seem to be natural partners. They are powerful, advanced democracies and staunch U.S. allies in a region beset with autocratic threats. The continuing fallout, however, from centuries of complicated, acrimonious history, culminating in the brutal 1910-1945 Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula, has resulted in more wariness than friendship. A big part of the sudden recent shift in tone is a shared focus on China’s growing aggressiveness, t he threat of North Korea’s fast-improving arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles — and deep worry about how Russia’s war in Ukraine is influencing both issues. Some di...