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Japan defends neutrality of IAEA report on Fukushima water release plan as minister visits plant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s industry minister visited the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Monday to see equipment that would be used in the planned release into the sea of treated radioactive water to ensure the safety of the controversial plan, while demonstrators, including many from South Korea, rallied against it.The Japanese government defended the neutrality of the United Nations nuclear agency’s final report that concluded Japan’s water release plan met international safety standards, denying allegations that Japan pressured the International Atomic Energy Agency into publishing only favorable results.Economy and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Monday morning to see key equipment, including an emergency shutdown system, days after the Japanese regulatory authority granted a permit for the operator and the IAEA said the environmental impact from the water release would be negligible.The government and the ...

Iran sentences rapper to more than 6 years in prison over protests, supporters say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has sentenced a popular rapper to six years and three months in prison over his participation in protests that rocked the country last year, his supporters said Monday.A social media account run by supporters of Toomaj Salehi announced the sentence, as did Ye-One Rhie, a member of the German parliament who has campaigned on his behalf. There was no immediate word from Iranian authorities.Salehi was among thousands of mostly young Iranians who took to the streets last fall after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code. The protests spread across the country and quickly escalated into calls for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. Salehi expressed support for the protests in songs and videos that were widely circulated online.Authorities launched a heavy crackdown in which over 500 people were killed and nearly 20,0...

In the news today: Premiers meet to discuss new health care money, Trudeau in Latvia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 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 …Premiers meet to discuss use of new health dollars …Provincial and territorial premiers are kicking off a three-day meeting in Winnipeg today in which the chaos in Canada’s health care systems will be front and centre.They’re gathering to discuss how to use $46 billion in new health funding that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered in February, in exchange for provinces and territories committing to targeted reforms.All but Quebec have accepted the funding offer, but none have submitted plans on the targets and timelines they’ll use to turn the new funding into fixes for Canada’s ailing but beloved public-health care programs.The premiers will also tackle economic issues and affordability during their meetings, which take place as Trudeau visits eastern Europe to discuss defence issues.—Here’s what else we’re watching ̷...

Hong Kong’s newly named Roman Catholic cardinal wants reconciliation and more hope for young people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s newly named Roman Catholic cardinal said Monday that he hopes for reconciliation and wants the city to give young people more hope following the economic downturn and a campaign to crush a pro-democracy movement.On Sunday, Pope Francis announced he had chosen 21 new cardinals, including Hong Kong Bishop Stephen Sau-yan Chow, 64. Chow said it was somewhat unbelievable to learn that he was picked, and that he felt it is a new mission that God assigned to him through the pope. The ceremony to formally install him as a cardinal will be held in September. “For Hong Kong, (I hope) the city can have more reconciliation,” he told reporters on Monday. “This is what I hope (we) can achieve.”Beijing and the Vatican severed diplomatic ties in 1951 following the Communist Party’s rise to power and the expulsion of foreign priests. For decades, the Vatican and China have experienced tensions alternating with improvement of relations over China’s insi...

AFN takes tumultuous road to annual meeting after ousting national chief

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

Hundreds of Indigenous leaders are to gather in Halifax this week for the Assembly of First Nations annual meetingas the advocacy organization tries to forge a path forward after the tumultuous leadership and ousting of its national chief. “I think this is another opportunity to try to reset and get some work done,” said Scott McLeod, chief of Nipissing First Nation in Ontario. Former national chief RoseAnne Archibald has said she may attend the meeting, scheduled to take place Tuesday through Thursday, and is asking for chiefs to reinstate her. Archibald was voted out during a special chiefs assembly on June 28 that also dealt with a human resources investigation related to complaints AFN staff filed against her. The resolution passed with support from about 70 per cent of those who took part in the virtual meeting.McLeod voted to oust the former national chief after learning the summary of the human resources investigation. It reviewed five complaints against Archibald and f...

No way of ‘adjudicating facts’ in deals between corrupt firms and prosecutors: judge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

When Philippines businessman Rizalino Espino was named as a participant in a bribery scandal involving a Canadian company, he assumed his day in court meant that a judge would hear him out and weigh his version of the facts.Instead, it didn’t matter what evidence his lawyer presented.A judge in Quebec wrote in May that there was “no possibility of adjudicating facts” in the case, in which the court approved a remediation agreement between federal prosecutors and a Quebec forensic technology firm that did business for years in the Philippines. Remediation agreements — the Canadian version of deferred prosecution deals — are a new part of the legal landscape, that were supposed to make it easier to bring corrupt companies to justice, while allowing them to avoid prosecution.But Espino’s experience highlights a potential flaw in the process: the judges who decide whether to approve the deals are unable to consider whether the agreed facts that underpin the agree...

Premiers meeting in Winnipeg to discuss use of new health dollars, affordability

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

Provincial and territorial premiers are kicking off a three-day meeting in Winnipeg today in which the chaos in Canada’s health care systems will be front and centre.They’re gathering to discuss how to use $46 billion in new health funding that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered in February, in exchange for provinces and territories committing to targeted reforms.All but Quebec have accepted the funding offer, but none have submitted plans on the targets and timelines they’ll use to turn the new funding into fixes for Canada’s ailing but beloved public-health care programs.Canadian Medical Association president-elect Dr. Kathleen Ross says health care must remain at the top of the premier’s agenda at the three-day meeting.She says little has changed over the last few months when it comes to understaffed hospitals, shuttered emergency rooms and excessive backlogs.The premiers will also tackle economic issues and affordability during their meetings, wh...

Daily horoscope for July 10, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or important decisions from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. EDT today (4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Aries into Taurus.Happy Birthday for Monday, July 10, 2023:You appreciate beauty and art because you are sensitive to everything going on around you. You learn quickly and have perseverance. Focus on the needs of family and your personal responsibilities this year so you can be helpful to others. Take care of yourself. Is it time for a makeover?ARIES(March 21-April 19)★★Start this day in a cautionary frame of mind. You could get in trouble by speaking too fast or too sharply because you’re inclined to feel things intensely today! Knowing this, you can pull your punches and agree to disagree. Tonight: Count your money.TAURUS(April 20-May 20)★★★Steer clear of controversial subjects today. Whatever happens that irks you, just let it go. Why ruin your peace of mind and the harmony of your daily environment by getting caught up in something...

Anti-LGBT protesters break up Pride festival in Georgia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

Up to 2,000 anti-LGBT protesters broke up a Gay Pride festival in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Saturday (8 July), scuffling with police and destroying props including rainbow flags and placards, though there were no reports of injuries.Organisers accused the authorities of actively colluding with the demonstrators to disrupt the festival, but a government minister said it was a difficult event to police as it was held in an open area, near a lake."The protesters managed to find... ways to enter the area of the event, but we were able to evacuate the Pride participants and organisers," Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Darakhvelidze told reporters."Nobody was harmed during the incident and police are now taking measures to stabilise the situation."The director of Tbilisi Pride confirmed that all the event's participants had been bussed to safety but criticised the authorities' policing of the Pride event, which she said had been held in private for a second consecutive year to re...

Miss Manners: She’s supposed to be a friend, but she drops innuendo about my marriage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:11 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a married woman, over 65 years old, who has a number of platonic friendships with men.Having moved away from my hometown years ago, I often visit there, sometimes for a week or two at a time. An old friend who is a single man about my age has a comfortable home there and enjoys my company. Therefore, when I visit this city, I stay with him.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Is it tacky to bring pastries when I turn in my son’s school application? Advice | Miss Manners: Is it your hair? Or is it because you’re kinda mean? Advice | Miss Manners: I was smacked down for complaining about the gauche bachelor party Advice | Miss Manners: I say this young man is rude. My daughter says I’m the problem. Advice | Miss Manners: I just learned this rule about the anthem. Have I been wrong for 40 years? It is not a large space, but we have figured out solutions so that I ...