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Gang violence in Haiti is escalating and spreading with a significant increase in killings, UN says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:06 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Gang violence in Haiti is escalating and spreading from the capital Port-au-Prince through the center of the country to its two other major cities, Gonaives and Cap-Hatien, with a significant increase in killings, kidnappings and rapes in the past few months, the U.N. chief said in a report circulated Wednesday.Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the new report to the U.N. Security Council that 2,728 intentional killings were recorded between October 2022 and June 2023 including 247 women, 58 boys and 20 girls.The continuing rise in homicides is attributed to the emergence of a vigilante movement, known as “Bwa Kale,” in the capital in April which has gone after the gangs, he said. The U.N. chief also reported an increase in kidnappings for ransom during that time with 1,472 reported, though he said the actual number is almost certainly higher because families often do not report missing members to authorities out of fear for the victims’ safety.Gang mem...

Teen testifies about boy’s death and firearms training at New Mexico compound

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:06 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — With his hand placed on his son’s neck, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj recited verses of the Quran as part of a ritual meant to rid the toddler of evil spirits that Wahhaj and members of his extended family believed were causing the boy’s ailments. The ritual known as ruqyah had been done countless times on the boy. But this time was different. It ended with the child foaming from the mouth until he stopped breathing. He had gone without needed medication after being taken without his mother’s permission.There were no calls to 911 or attempts to rush him to the nearest hospital. Nor was he given any medication that December day in 2017 at a remote desert encampment in northern New Mexico. Details about the last moments of Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj’s life were laid out in testimony Wednesday in the case of the boy’s father and three other family members, including two of his aunts. They are facing kidnapping or terrorism charges, or both, that stem from an...

Two restaurants added to Toronto’s Michelin Star Guide for 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:06 GMT

Two Toronto restaurants have been added to the Michelin Star Guide for 2023.Kappo Sato and Restaurant 20 Victoria join a list of 13 other restaurants who have received at least one-star from the famously anonymous Guide inspectors. Yorkville’s Sushi Masaki Saito, which charges $680 per person for its omakase dinner, is the only two star restaurant in the Guide. The remaining 12 restaurants – Aburi Hana, Alo, Alobar Yorkville, Don Alfonso 1890 Toronto, Edulis, Enigma Yorkville, Frilu, Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto, Osteria Giulia, Quetzal, Shoushin, and Yukashi – all retained the single stars they earned a year ago. Four new restaurants joined 17 others with Bib Gourmand designations, which recognizes eateries for great food at a great value: BB’s, Sunnys Chinese, Tiflisi and White Lily Diner.Frilu and White Lily Diner also earned the city’s first Michelin Green Stars in recognition for their leadership in sustainable gastronomy.Seven restaurants were added to the Guide...

Trading of shares of heavily indebted property developer China Evergrande suspended in Hong Kong

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:06 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Share trading of heavily indebted Chinese property developer China Evergrande Group was suspended in Hong Kong on Thursday, according to a notice on the Hong Kong stock exchange.The suspension comes after Bloomberg News reported that the chairman of Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, had been taken away earlier this month and placed under police watch according to people with knowledge of the matter. Shares of Evergrande closed at 32 Hong Kong cents on Wednesday. The company had resumed trading on Aug. 28 after a 17-month hiatus.Evergrande is the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer and is at the center of a property market crisis that is dragging on China’s economic growth.Last week, Evergrande said in a filing that it had to delay a proposed debt restructuring meeting with creditors as “sales of the group have not been as expected by the company.”The group is undergoing a restructuring plan, including offloading assets, to avoid defaulting on $340 billion in d...

Suburban English teacher helps students grow through writing, seeking truth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:06 GMT

LANSING, Ill. — School is back in session and our first teacher of the month is an English teacher and the newspaper advisor at a south suburban high school.Students say Christopher Jones brings an encouraging presence to the classroom helping them grow through writing, reading and seeking truth.Jones is the first to tell you, he’s not a man of many spoken words.“I never thought I had it in me to be a teacher because I don’t like speaking in public,” he said.But written words? That’s another story. His background in writing and a desire to give back brought him to Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing.“I always tell my students in my classes that every little thing you do — newspaper, yearbook, chess — might be an opening to a job,” he said.And he says he wants them to know if he can do it, so can they.“I was a very average student and if I made it, that there’s opportunity for them,” he said.He’s now is his 16TH year as an English teacher and an advisor for the student n...

Christie takes swipe at Jill Biden during debate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:06 GMT

(The Hill) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) took a swipe at first lady Jill Biden's status as a teachers union member at the GOP debate Wednesday. "This public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country," Christie said. "Randi Weingarten and her crew, they are absolutely strangling — they are taking the worst of their members and defending them rather than advocating for our kids." "And when you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers unions, there is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day. They have an advocate inside the White House every day for the worst of their teachers, not for their students to be the best they can be." "A president of the United States has to take on the teachers union. I did it in New Jersey, and I will do it as president of the United States." The comments came during a portion of the debate that...

Pence calls for expedited death penalty for perpetrators of mass shootings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:06 GMT

(The Hill) — Former Vice President Mike Pence during Wednesday night’s second GOP debate called for an expedited federal death penalty as punishment for the perpetrators of mass shootings. “I’m someone that believes that justice delayed is justice denied. ... As a grandfather of three beautiful little girls, I’m sick and tired of the mass shootings happening in the United States of America," Pence said from his podium on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library stage in Simi Valley, Calif.  Ramaswamy: Kids 16 and under shouldn’t use ‘addictive’ social media “And if I’m president of the United States, I’m going to go to the Congress of the United States, and we’re going to pass a federal expedited death penalty for anyone involved in a mass shooting, so they will meet their fate in months, not years," Pence said.  The former vice president said it’s "unconscionable” that the perpetrator of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman-Douglas ...

GOP Debate: Christie sends message to Trump, 'We're gonna call you 'Donald Duck'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:06 GMT

(The Hill) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) sent a message to former President Trump during the second GOP presidential primary debate on Wednesday night, calling the frontrunner out for his absence from the stage once again.“I want to look at the camera right now and tell you, Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching, okay? And you’re not here tonight not because of polls and not because of your indictments. You’re not here tonight because you’re afraid of being on this stage and defending your record,” Christie said from his podium on the Simi Valley, Calif., stage.  "You’re ducking these things. And let me tell you what’s going to happen, you keep doing that, no one up here is going to call you Donald Trump anymore, we’re gonna call you 'Donald Duck,'" Christie said.  Trump, who boasts a significant lead over the rest of the GOP presidential field...

GOP candidates pressed on unions, economy at second debate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:06 GMT

(The Hill) — The subject of labor unions and picket lines led off the second GOP primary debate Wednesday night in California, just a day after President Biden set a new precedent by joining striking auto workers in Michigan.The first candidate to speak, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), walked back his incendiary comment from earlier this month — “If you strike, you’re fired” — which he said earlier this month on the campaign trail in reference to the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike that’s currently underway in Detroit.“Obviously, the President of the United States cannot fire anybody in the private sector,” Scott qualified on Wednesday night. DeSantis attacks Trump for not taking part in debate But Scott remained critical of unions.“Joe Biden should not be on the picket line,” he said.The National Labor Relations Board, which administers U.S. labor law, is now investigating a charge against Scott filed by UAW president Shawn Fain that was prompted by Scott’s comment.As unions are seein...

Police investigating deadly east Austin crash, victim not identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department is investigating a crash that occurred in east Austin last week that left one person dead, according to a APD news release.Shortly before 7:40 p.m., Sept. 21, APD responded to the 1500 block of 51st Street for the single-vehicle crash, the release said. According to Austin-Travis County EMS, the vehicle crashed into a pole. One dead after car crashes into pole in east Austin, ATCEMS says One person was pronounced dead on the scene, according to police. By Wednesday, the person was still not identified.This is now being investigated as Austin's 66th fatal crash of 2023, which resulted in 69 fatalities for the year, police said. On the date of this crash in 2022, 74 fatal crashed resulted in 76 deaths, the release said.Anyone with any information should contact APD's Vehicular Homicide unit at (512) 974-8111. You may submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling...