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United opposition poses stern test for Vučić in Serbia’s election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:02 GMT

BELGRADE — Serbian firebrand President Aleksandar Vučić’s penchant for perpetually calling elections looks liable to come back and bite him, as a united opposition is mounting an unexpectedly stern challenge to his decade-long grip on power in a snap general election on December 17.Seizing on public outrage over two tragic mass shootings in May — which killed 19 people, including 10 at a Belgrade school — the opposition has pulled together under the banner Serbia Against Violence, claiming Vučić’s administration inspires a culture of brutality propagated in part through divisive television programming and coarse reality shows.It’s a political groundswell that builds upon festering fears that Vučić is presiding over a glaring decline in the EU candidate country’s democratic standards, press freedoms and the independence of public institutions.Serbia Against Violence is now polling at about 40 percent, while Vučić’s coalition has around 49 percent su...

UNLV gunman was a career professor who had applied for a job at the school, source says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:02 GMT

(CNN) — The shooter who killed three people Wednesday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was a 67-year-old career college professor, a law enforcement source said. And investigators are looking into the possibility that he may have been passed over for a job at the university.The shooter, identified by law enforcement sources as Anthony Polito, died at the scene after a confrontation with police outside of a university building, according to Las Vegas Metro Sheriff Kevin McMahill.CNN was told the investigative theory on a possible motive is that Polito sought a position at UNLV but was not hired.He had worked for schools in Georgia and North Carolina, a law enforcement source told CNN. Polito’s LinkedIn page lists his most recent full-time employment as a business professor at East Carolina University, a position which ended in 2017.The shooting began shortly before noon on the fourth floor of the university’s Beam Hall business school building, where s...

Facing domestic violence allegations, Von Miller expected to be available to play for Buffalo this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:02 GMT

(CNN) — Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller is expected to be available to play in the team’s next scheduled game on Sunday, according to general manager Brandon Beane.Last week, Miller turned himself into the Glenn Heights Police Department after an arrest warrant was issued for him.According to the arrest warrant affidavit from the Dallas Police Department, Miller has been accused of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend.Beane told reporters Wednesday that they are comfortable with Miller being with the team moving forward and will follow the National Football League’s (NFL) lead going forward.“Listen, you never want anyone in your organization, no matter what organization you’re in, to have an allegation like that,” Beane said.“That’s a very serious nature and … we’re gonna take every precaution with. Culture and character and all those things are super important. But we also have to remember we have to let the legal process play out. The guy that we’ve know...

Trial to start for 1988 Lawrence cold case murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:02 GMT

A trial is set to start today in Salem for the decades-old murder of an 11-year-old girl.Marvin McLendon, 74, of Breman, Alabama is charged with murder in connection with the Sept. 13, 1988 death of 11 year old Melissa Ann Tremblay, of Salem, New Hampshire. Tremblay was visiting a social club in Lawrence with family when she went missing. She was found the next day stabbed to death in a Lawrence railroad yard. McLendon, who was a Massachusetts Corrections Officer, was arrested last year in Alabama after DNA collected from the victim’s body led investigators to him.

Filings for jobless claims tick up modestly, continuing claims fall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:02 GMT

U.S. applications for jobless benefits ticked up last week, but the overall number of people in the U.S. collecting unemployment benefits fell after hitting its highest level in two years last week.Unemployment benefits claims rose by 1,000 to 220,000 for the week ending Dec. 2, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was in line with analyst expectations.About 1.86 million were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Nov. 25, 64,000 fewer than the previous week. It’s just the second time in 11 weeks that continuing claims have fallen.Analysts say the continuing claims have been rising because many of those who are already unemployed may now be having a harder time finding new work. That comports with a government report earlier this week showing that U.S. employers posted 8.7 million job openings in October, the fewest since March of 2021.Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.Hiring has slowed from the...

United Nations bemoans struggles to fund peacekeeping as nations demand withdrawal of missions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:02 GMT

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — The United Nations’ top peacekeeping official defended the organization’s missions worldwide amid growing concerns that they’ve gone into retreat as African leaders demand their withdrawal from Mali to Congo.Undersecretary General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Wednesday the 30,000-member force operates with a $5.5 billion budget – less than the operating budget for the New York City Police Department. He told delegates at a UN peacekeeping ministerial meeting in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, that efforts had been hampered by divisions among member states.The majority of UN peacekeeping missions are in Africa, including in Central African Republic, Sudan and Western Sahara. However, they’ve faced increasing blowback and scrutiny over their ability to successfully carry out their missions, including protests in Congo from residents claiming peacekeepers did little to protect them from armed groups.The operations, whic...

Cold turkey: Drivers spot something fowl on Hwy. 401 during snowy morning rush

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:02 GMT

It wasn’t just the snow and slush disrupting the drive in the GTA on Thursday morning with some commuters in Toronto noticing something fowl on a busy highway.Motorists reported a turkey blocking live lanes of the westbound Highway 401 off-ramp to Warden Avenue before 8 a.m. The bird was reportedly wandering on and off the roadway for around 40 minutes.Several callers to the CityNews 680 traffic centre were taken aback by the boldness of the large bird, saying the turkey was trotting right up to vehicles stopped on the Warden ramp.Watch out for a Turkey on the Warden ramp to the WB 401. The bird is pacing back and forth and some callers have reported it walking up to the cars. MTO have been notified. pic.twitter.com/idw8SVC6FV— CityNews Toronto Traffic & Weather (@citynews680) December 7, 2023Traffic cameras along the highway captured the bird pacing back and forth in the snow. CityNews 680 traffic reporter Jordan Kerr was tracking the turkey and says it appears to h...

Federal, Quebec ministers say major grocers need to sign code of conduct

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:02 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal and Quebec agriculture and food ministers are calling on all members of the grocery industry supply chain to sign onto a code of conduct.Federal Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Quebec Minister André Lamontagne say they’re disappointed to see the grocery code of conduct has still not been launched after years of work.They’re also disappointed that “supply chain partners are hesitant to move forward” with signing on to the voluntary code.The statement by the ministers doesn’t name any companies, but Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and Walmart Canada have expressed concern that the code in its current form could raise food prices for Canadians. At a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting this morning on stabilizing food prices, Walmart Canada CEO Gonzalo Gebara said the company is “not in a position at this time to commit to” the code. The ministers say the major grocers and all supply chain partners need to adopt and adhere to the...

Intact subsidiary RSA selling U.K. home and pet insurance business

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:02 GMT

TORONTO — Insurance company Intact Financial Corp. says its Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Ltd. subsidiary has signed a deal to sell its U.K. home and pet insurance business to Admiral Group.The company says the sale includes an initial cash payment of 82.5 million pounds, with a potential additional payment of up to 32.5 million pounds, subject to certain retention thresholds.The proceeds from the sale and the release over time of capital backing the U.K. personal lines business are expected to total about 350 million pounds, including the benefit of earnout provisions, Intact says.The deal will result in the transfer of renewal rights, brands and employees. Around 300 RSA employees are expected to move to Admiral.Intact says it will also work to exit its home and pet partner and broker contracts in the U.K.The sale has been approved by the boards of directors of Intact and Admiral. It is expected to close at the end of the first quarter of 2024.This report by The Canadian Pres...

Israel and US at odds over conflicting visions for postwar Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:02 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The United States has offered strong support to Israel in its war against the Hamas militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. But the allies are increasingly at odds over what will happen to Gaza once the war winds down.Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, this week announced that Israel would retain an open-ended security presence in Gaza. Israeli officials talk of imposing a buffer zone to keep Palestinians away from the Israeli border. They rule out any role for the Palestinian Authority, which was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007 but governs semi-autonomous areas of the occupied West Bank.The United States has laid out a much different vision. Top officials have said they will not allow Israel to reoccupy Gaza or further shrink its already small territory. They have repeatedly called for a return of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority and the resumption of peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel.These conf...