BCNov 24, 2023
B.C. sex offender Randall Hopley stays in custody after skipping court date
A high-risk sex offender arrested by Vancouver police after a 10-day manhunt earlier this month remains in custody awaiting his next court date.
Randall Hopley was to appear in court on Friday, but his case was put off until Dec 8 in British Columbia provincial court.
Police say Hopley cut off his electronic monitoring device after he walked away from a halfway house in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Nov 4.
Hopley had been on a 10-year supervision order after serving a six-year prison term for abducting a three-year-old boy in southeastern B.C., but he was charged last January for allegedly
CanadaNov 24, 2023
Victims in Niagara Falls border bridge crash identified as Western New York couple
The two people killed when their car crashed into a border checkpoint in Niagara Falls and exploded in a fiery wreck were identified Friday as a western New York husband and wife whose family owns a lumber business and several hardware stores in the Buffalo area.
The Niagara Falls Police Department named the couple as Kurt P. Villani and Monica Villani, both 53, of Grand Island, New York, a leafy Buffalo suburb close to the falls.
Authorities have not yet released details on what exactly led to the couple's crash Wednesday at the Rainbow Bridge, where their car raced through an intersection, h
CanadaNov 24, 2023
Hamas released 24 hostages and Israel released 39 Palestinians from prison
Hamas released 24 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza for weeks, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison in the first stage of a swap under a four-day cease-fire deal. The hostages freed Friday included 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand and one from the Philippines, according to Qatar. The agreement opened the way for sorely needed aid to flow into Gaza for beleaguered residents. It was also a moment of hope for families in Israel and elsewhere worried about loved ones taken captive during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, which triggered the war. With the truce's start Friday morning, Gaza
CanadaNov 24, 2023
NextStar expects up to 900 foreign workers to help build Windsor battery plant
NextStar Energy expects upwards of 900 foreign workers to help build its heavily-subsidized battery plant in Windsor, Ontario.
The company says the temporary global staff will be part of the roughly 1600 technicians its external suppliers will use to assemble, install and test specialized equipment.
Labour leaders and politicians have expressed concerns about how many local jobs would be created by the plant.
NextStar says it's still committed to creating 2500 full-time jobs for Canadians to run the plant once complete.
CanadaNov 24, 2023
Hamas hostage deal 'progress' but long-term peace needs 'many more steps': Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is still rejecting demands for Canada to call for a full ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, but he says a deal to temporarily halt hostilities this week so Hamas can release hostages represents progress. Trudeau says the world needs a lasting peace in the region, including a two-state solution. He made the comments today at a news conference in St. John's, saying that that will require many steps, but that the humanitarian pause that started today is progress. The militant group has so far freed 24 people, including 13 Israeli women and children, 10 people from T
CanadaNov 24, 2023
Trudeau accuses Tories of turning their backs on Ukraine's needs, announces more aid
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the Conservatives for voting against a bill to implement a free trade agreement with Ukraine, saying it's troubling to see support for the embattled country slipping.Trudeau accused the Tories of turning their backs on something Ukraine needs because of American-style partisanship, speaking with reporters in St. John's at the Canada-EU Summit this morningTrudeau says he has boasted in the past to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that supporting Ukraine is not a political debate in Canada.Conservative MPs voted against a bill to implemen
WorldNov 24, 2023
Hamas frees first batch of hostages under truce, including 13 Israelis
A four-day temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has begun on Friday. Under this agreement Hamas has released 13 Israeli hostages in the first round. This information was given by the Prime Minister's Office of Israel. During the 4 days of the ceasefire, Hamas will release a total of 50 hostages and in return Israel will release 150 Palestinian prisoners.U. K. Hamas, declared a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, attacked Israel on October 7 and took about 240 people hostage. Qatar played a major role in the ceasefire between the two sides. The International Com
CanadaNov 23, 2023
Municipalities say $600 billion in infrastructure needed to build 5.8 million homes
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities says new research it commissioned finds municipalities would need $600 billion in infrastructure funding to help build 5.8 million homes by 2030. That's the number of homes the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. says Canada needs to build to restore affordability. Canadian municipalities are voicing their disappointment that the federal Liberals didn't include a new infrastructure funding model in its fall economic statement this week, despite the prime minister promising one would come in the fall. The federation held a news conference in Ottawa toda
BCNov 23, 2023
Malichita cantaloupes likely cause of salmonella outbreak in five provinces: PHAC
The Public Health Agency of Canada says Malichita brand cantaloupes have likely caused a salmonella outbreak acrossfive provinces.It says as of Wednesday, there have been 26 confirmed cases in B.C., Ontario, Quebec, P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador.Six people have been hospitalized.The agency says if people aren't sure what brand of cantaloupe they have, they should throw it out.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued food recalls earlier this month, includingfor whole cantaloupes, pre-cut cantaloupes and fruit trays that used the Malichita brand.It has also recalled some pre-cut pineap