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Asylum applications in the European Union continue to rise after a major hike last year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:10 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Asylum applications in the European Union continued to rise in the first half of 2023 following a major hike last year, pressuring limited hosting capacities and moving the issue up the political agenda in many nations. The European Union Agency for Asylum said applications in the 27-nation bloc plus Switzerland and Norway rose 28% in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. In all of 2022, applications increased 53%.“Based on current trends, applications could exceed 1 million by the end of 2023” in the region of about 460 million people, the agency said in a statement. The numbers are in addition to people fleeing the war in Ukraine, who are estimated at about 4 million and are hosted under temporary protection provisions.Syrians fleeing unrest and violence at home were the biggest group seeking asylum in the first half of the year, totaling 67,000, an increase of 47% from a year earlier. The rise in applications is putting greater pressure...

In the news today: Evacuees returning to Yellowknife, Trudeau in Indonesia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:10 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…Return of Yellowknife evacuees still on trackYellowknife residents are crossing their fingers that tomorrow’s scheduled lifting of a general evacuation order will go ahead as planned and they’ll be allowed to return home.The lifting of the order remains contingent on fire and highway conditions, but N.W.T. wildfire information officer Mike Westwick said yesterday that no challenges are expected for Highway 1 for the next few days.Yellowknife city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett says workers in grocery stores, pharmacies, home-heating providers, and even some taxi drivers and daycare providers are on their way back to the city in advance of tomorrow.Trudeau arrives in Jakarta, kicking off tourPrime Minister Justin Trudeau landed in Jakarta today where he is kicking off a six-day tour of the Indo-Pacific region. Trudeau and his son Xavier were greeted wi...

Atom Egoyan says ‘Seven Veils’ explores themes that have haunted him for years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:10 GMT

TORONTO — On a sun-drenched August morning, filmmaker Atom Egoyan stands in the silence of a dim post-production room. With his forthcoming feature “Seven Veils” casting rays from the theatre screen before him, he tweaks the final cut, perfecting what he can before itsToronto International Film Festival debut. “This is a super personal story,” says Egoyan of the psychological opera-inspired feature. “This film is very related to my personal experiences and my hope is that everyone can take in this finished version.” “Seven Veils” stars Amanda Seyfried as a theatre director reworking a production of “Salome” after the death of her mentor who had previously been in charge. Over time, her world starts to unwind as her tormented past begins to bleed through her artistic interpretations of the play.The film will premiere Friday as a collaboration with the Canadian Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.Completing this film means a l...

A rare diagnosis is a source of pain and joy in director Molly McGlynn’s ‘Fitting In’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:10 GMT

Molly McGlynn always knew she was going to make a movie based on her experience with a reproductive disorder that changed her life in “unimaginable ways.” But the Montreal-born filmmaker first wanted to get her “sea legs” in the industry by working on other projects. After making several short films and her 2017 feature debut, “Mary Goes Round,” McGlynn is ready to present the deeply personal “Fitting In” at the Toronto International Film Festival this week. The movie, shot in Sudbury, Ont., stars American dance phenom-turned-actress Maddie Ziegler as a teen whose exploration of identity and sexual pleasure is upended by a rare diagnosis.“Emotional stakes feel really high with this one,” McGlynn said in a recent video call, noting that although the movie tackles a difficult and complex topic, it’s still joyful and comedic. The film centres on 16-year-old Lindy, who still hasn’t begun menstruating but is excited by the prospect of having sex with her boyfriend and visits a doctor to ...

Trudeau arrives in Jakarta, kicking off Indo-Pacific tour

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:10 GMT

JAKARTA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau landed in Jakarta today where he is kicking off a six-day tour of the Indo-Pacific region. Trudeau and his son Xavier were greeted with Indonesian dancers, with the prime minister being gifted a traditional scarf. Trudeau is set to spend two days in Jakarta where he will meet with President Joko Widodo this evening.Tomorrow, the prime minister will deliver remarks at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as the 10-nation bloc prepares to make Ottawa its latest strategic partner.  Trudeau’s focus on the trip will be about nurturing relationships with Asian leaders, and advancing trade talks. He is also set to travel to Singapore to meet with business leaders, before finishing his trip off at the G20 Summit in India. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2023. The Canadian Press

Trial of ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber begins today

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:10 GMT

OTTAWA — The criminal trial of “Freedom Convoy” organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber begins today, as they answer charges related to their role in the protest that threw Canada’s capital city into chaos last year. Lich and Barber were part of the original group that mobilized a convoy of big rigs and other trucks and cars to drive to Ottawa in winter 2022 to protest COVID-19 public health restrictions and the Liberal government. Hundreds of vehicles blocked downtown streets and thousands of protesters entrenched themselves for three weeks, hosting all-night parties with open fires, honking their horns at all hours and filing the streets with the smell of diesel. The protest inspired similar demonstrations at several international border crossings and precipitated the first invocation of the federal Emergencies Act since the legislation was created in 1988. Lich and Barber are co-accused, both charged with mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to comm...

Students head back to school with climate change, AI and affordability top of mind

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:10 GMT

TORONTO — Many students are likely feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement today as they begin another school year.With disruptive pandemic measures seemingly behind them, parents and educators say a new crop of issues may affect classroom learning this year, including AI technology, affordability and climate change. While across much of the country it’s set to be a first day of school like any other, those in parts of Canada ravaged by wildfires return to a much different landscape. The government of British Columbia has said no schools were damaged by the fires that tore through parts of the province, but that doesn’t mean students will be unaffected. The flames passed close by some schools in Kelowna, B.C., leaving destruction in their wake. For residents of Yellowknife, however, summer break has been extended. Typically, students would have returned to their classrooms on Aug. 28, but the city is still under an evacuation order as fires continue their burn, so sch...

Quebec Facebook class action can go ahead after Supreme Court declines to hear appeal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:10 GMT

MONTREAL — A class-action lawsuit alleging Facebook illegally allowed advertisers to target users based on their race, age and gender can move forward after the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the social media giant.Facebook had sought to have Canada’s highest court overturn a Quebec Court of Appeal decision authorizing the class action.Audrey Boctor, one of the lawyers behind the suit, said the top court’s ruling means the case can now move toward an eventual trial. “We know for sure now that the class action can go ahead,” she said in an interview Monday. “Facebook had asked the Supreme Court to hear the case and the Supreme Court declined, so that means that the Court of Appeal’s judgment stands and now we go forward to the merits.”The Supreme Court said Thursday it will not hear the case, declining to provide reasons for its decision as is customary. The suit was brought on behalf of Lyse Beaulieu, a 65-year-old woman who w...

Invasive species report outlines costs, solutions for world governments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:10 GMT

An international organization has produced a report on alien invasive species which says the global problem costs billions of dollars annually and is, in some cases, being worsened by climate change.The executive summary of the report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services was approved over the weekend in Bonn, Germany, by the organization’s 143 member states.It said that while 80 per cent of countries have targets related to managing invasive alien species in their national biodiversity plans, only 17 per cent have national laws or regulations specifically addressing these issues and about 45 per cent of all countries don’t invest in the management of biological invasions.“I would certainly give Canada strong marks in terms of its overall effort but it might be time for a re-think,” said Peter Stoett, a faculty member of Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ont., who was one of the report’s three co-auth...

Manitoba Tories seek third consecutive mandate in election set for Oct. 3

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:10 GMT

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson is expected to call an election today.The vote is already scheduled for Oct. 3 and Stefanson will make a campaign announcement this morning where she is expected to launch the 28-day campaign.Stefanson, who became premier two years ago, is aiming to lead the Progressive Conservatives to a third consecutive majority.Opinion polls have suggested it will be an uphill battle, as support for the Tories dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic.The Opposition New Democrats have been leading in the polls, especially in Winnipeg where most legislature seats are concentrated.The Manitoba Liberal Party is seeking to add to the three legislature seats it currently holds, which is not enough for official party status.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2023The Canadian Press