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Canadian envoy who was expelled from Saudi Arabia says consul faces challenging days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:11 GMT

A former Canadian diplomat who was barred from Saudi Arabia in 2018 says the consul set to be expelled from China should prepare for challenging days ahead. Dennis Horak, the former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, was ordered out of Riyadh in 2018 as the kingdom hit back at Canada for condemning the jailing of two human rights activists. He says there will likely be similarities between his experience and what awaits Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, the Canadian consul in Shanghai, who China is expelling in retaliation against a similar move by Canada. Horak says that because he was on leave when the Saudi order was issued, he had to guide embassy staff over webcam as they packed up his life. He says the ordeal was a huge strain for him and his wife, as they never got the chance to say goodbye to friends and colleagues after three years in Saudi Arabia.Lalonde’s expulsion from China comes after Canada expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei, who the Canadian Security Intelligence Service hasalle...

US regulators OK spent nuclear fuel facility in New Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:11 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. nuclear regulators have licensed a multibillion-dollar complex to temporarily store tons of spent fuel in New Mexico from commercial nuclear power plants around the nation.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its decision Tuesday about the proposed project in southeastern New Mexico. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the state’s congressional delegation oppose locating the storage complex in the state, saying they fear New Mexico will become the nation’s dumping ground for spent nuclear fuel because the federal government has no permanent solution for the waste piling up at commercial reactors around the country.New Mexico approved legislation in March aimed at stopping the project. The fight is expected to end up in court, with state lawmakers saying their new law requires Holtec International, the energy company that wants to build the facility, to acquire construction permits from the state.New Jersey-based Holtec has argued that the New Mexico mea...

Portion of Coastal GasLink construction paused over erosion, sediment control issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:11 GMT

CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. says it has proactively halted construction on a 20-km stretch of its Coastal GasLink project over concerns about erosion and sediment control.The Calgary-based pipeline company says the affected section of pipeline is located near the Little Anzac River north of Prince George, B.C.TC Energy says the region has been affected by challenging spring melt conditions caused by an abundance of snow this winter, a quick spike in temperatures, and heavy rainfall.The Coastal GasLink pipeline construction project has encountered recurring issues with erosion and sediment control over the past year that have resulted in ongoing compliance and enforcement actions by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO).TC Energy says it made the precautionary decision to pause construction prior to the EAO issuing new stop-work orders on May 4 and 5. The company says it has also launched a third-party review of its erosion and sediment control plans for the area.The pipeline ...

Man guilty in Texas protest killing posted ‘I am a racist’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:11 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Prosecutors sought Tuesday to portray as racist a U.S. Army sergeant who fatally shot an armed man during a Black Lives Matter protest in Texas, saying he was hostile toward social justice causes and looking for trouble before the encounter.Daniel Perry’s two day-sentencing hearing began with the introduction of dozens of texts and social media posts that he wrote, shared or liked, including some shockingly racists images. The texts and posts had been excluded from Perry’s trial, but were publicly released after his conviction and introduced as evidence at sentencing by District Judge Clifford Brown.Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott meanwhile has been pressing for the chance to pardon Perry under the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law. Perry was convicted of murder in April and faces up to life in prison. Perry, who is white, was working as a ride-share driver in downtown Austin on the summer night in 2020 when he shot and killed 28-year-old Garre...

First 550 US active duty troops arriving at southern border

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 550 U.S. active duty troops have begun arriving along the U.S.-Mexico border in the first group of military support ahead of an expected increase of migrants, U.S. defense officials said Tuesday. The forces will mainly be used to help monitor and watch the border as pandemic-era restrictions on asylum end, and will have no contact with the migrants. More than 900 more soldiers, Marines and airmen will follow around the end of the month, as the Biden administration bolsters efforts to monitor the border and process incoming migrants. The initial plan calls for a 90-day deployment of the active duty forces, because they can be moved much more quickly to the border than National Guard or Reserve troops. The Pentagon has said that some of the active duty forces could be replaced over time by reservists, who need more time to deploy.According to a defense official, most of the active duty troops will be doing monitoring and detection, which are done from trucks po...

Pet Valu posts lower profit as company sets sights on up to 50 new stores

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:11 GMT

Pet Valu Holdings Ltd. is looking to open 40 to 50 new stores this year as it looks to capitalize on the surge in adoption of furry companions during the pandemic.With more than 700 stores across Canada, Pet Valu also plans to expand, renovate or relocate 20 to 30 of them this year, the company said Tuesday as it reported its first-quarter earnings.Joanne McNeish, a marketing management professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, said the pet food and supplies retailer’s growth since the start of the pandemic reflects how many people turned to dogs, cats and rabbits at the height of restrictions that limited social interaction with other people. “There was an explosion in people buying animals during COVID. That’s really good news for a pet retailer because pet retailers during COVID continued to operate,” she said.“People who had space for a pet, who had houses, for example, often bought a bigger animal, which then require all the accessories that go...

Rare May heat wave brings worries for further floods and fires: emergency minister

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:11 GMT

VICTORIA — A spell of unseasonably warm weather forecast for British Columbia is raising concerns for further flooding and fires.  Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma says the heat will impact the pace of snowmelt, which has already pushed river levels near or over their banks in several parts of central and southeastern B.C. Dave Campbell, with the B.C. River Forecast Centre, said in a briefing on Monday that about three quarters of the snow on the mountains remain and the warm weather may bring further flooding. Ma says the unusual heat also elevates the risks of wildfires burning in B.C. There are more than 50 fires burning in B.C., most of them in the north and central part of the province, and three wildfires have prompted evacuation orders or alerts for nearby residents. Ma says the forecast does not call for a heat dome like the one that killed hundreds of people in the summer of 2021, but heat can still be a risk to human health and the government is able to support comm...

Journalist working for AFP news agency killed in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:11 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French international news agency Agence France-Presse says its Ukraine video coordinator was killed Tuesday during a rocket attack near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.In a tweet, AFP said other agency journalists were with Arman Soldin at the time of the Grad rocket bombardment. French media outlets reported that the late afternoon attack took place in the vicinity of Chasiv Yar, a town near Bakhmut. Russian forces have been trying to capture the city for nine months, making Bakhmut the focus of the war’s longest battle. Soldin was 32 years old and born in Sarajevo, now the capital of Bosnia, according to the French media reports. AFP said it was “devastated” at Soldin’s death and “all of our thoughts go out to his family and loved ones.” In May 2022, French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, who was working in Ukraine for BFM-TV, was killed near Severodonetsk in the east. The Associated Press

Signed in purple ink, Minnesota dedicates highway to Prince

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:11 GMT

CHANHASSEN, Minn. (AP) — The late pop superstar Prince is being honored in Minnesota as the state renames a seven-mile stretch of highway that runs past his Paisley Park recording studios. Minnesota Gov. Tim Waz used purple ink on Tuesday to sign the bill that dedicates the roadway formerly known as Minnesota Highway 5 to Prince. Now, the stretch of road in the Minneapolis suburbs of Chanhassen and Eden Prairie will be named the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway. Prince’s friends and fans are covering the costs of the purple signs that will soon go up along the road.After touring Paisley Park on Tuesday, Walz described Prince as a “global icon” and “creative genius.” The governor said this is the “coolest bill signing” he’s ever done.For Minnesotans, Prince is “part of our shared cultural identity that really does transcend generations,” Walz said, adding that the highway dedication is just “a small recognition” of Prince and a gift to Minnesota.“I for one am just incredibly gra...

Morgan Wallen cancels 6 weeks of shows, taking vocal rest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:11 GMT

(WHNT) - Country superstar Morgan Wallen has canceled the next six weeks of his One Night At A Time tour due to a doctor's suggested vocal rest but could make his return to the stage in time for his scheduled appearances in Chicago. Wallen took to Twitter telling his fans that his doctors recommended that he take a six-week vocal rest after a throat scope showed he is suffering from vocal cord trauma.The announcement comes after he abruptly canceled a show on April 23 in Oxford, MS. Wallen says he took ten days off for vocal rest and then played three shows in Florida May 4-6. Morgan Wallen falls hard during Kentucky concert, video shows Wallen says following those shows he felt "terrible" and he went in for a vocal cord scope following and the results of that showed vocal cord trauma. Doctors advised Wallen to take a six-week vocal rest or he could risk permanent vocal cord damage.The following cities will be affected by this announcement: Hershey, PAEastford Rutherford, NJAustin...