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Cuba descubre red que recluta cubanos para llevarlos a combatir por Rusia en Ucrania

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

(CNN) — Cuba descubrió una red de trata de personas que recluta a ciudadanos cubanos, tanto viviendo en Rusia como en Cuba, para luchar por Rusia en su guerra en Ucrania, dijo este lunes el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores cubano.“El Ministerio del Interior detectó y trabaja para neutralizar y desmantelar una red de trata de personas que opera desde Rusia con el fin de incorporar a ciudadanos cubanos residentes allí e incluso algunos residentes en Cuba, a las fuerzas militares que participan en operaciones militares en Ucrania”, dijo el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores en un comunicado.El comunicado del ministerio proporcionó pocos detalles, pero dijo que se han iniciado procesos penales contra los involucrados.“Cuba no es parte de la guerra de Ucrania. Está actuando y actuará con firmeza contra quienes dentro del territorio nacional participen en cualquier forma de trata de personas con fines de mercenarismo o reclutamiento para que los ciudadanos cubanos...

‘Blood Pepsi’ thrown out of Finnish parliament over Russia business

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

The Finnish parliament’s restaurants have stopped serving Pepsi over the soft drink’s parent company continuing its operations in Russia. PepsiCo products are no longer available on the parliament’s premises, Finland’s public broadcaster Yle reported TuesdayThe decision follows a complaint from centrist member of parliament, Tuomas Kettunen, who on Monday asked the parliament to “set an example” by stopping the sale of “blood Pepsi.”Last week, PepsiCo was added to the list of private companies that Ukraine considers to be “war sponsors” of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.The company stopped producing Pepsi, Mountain Dew and 7UP in Russia last September, but continues to sell its products in the country, where its profits quadrupled last year.PepsiCo was not immediately available for comment.

Boston College looking to rebound against Holy Cross

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

Boston College needs a bounce-back game in a big way.The Eagles rallied from 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter only to flatline on both sides of the ball in overtime during last Saturday’s 27-24 loss to Northern Illinois in the season opener at Alumni Stadium.The mathematical truth is that 50 percent of teams lose in the first week. But the vast majority of the teams that are favored to win their opener, as a rule, generally do.BC should not have allowed a team with the second-worst record in the MAC in 2022 to enter an ACC domain and exit the field feeling good about themselves.The Eagles have a strategically scheduled opportunity to reverse course when they engage long-time regional rival Holy Cross (1-0) on Saturday (noon) at Alumni Stadium.“First you look hard at last week’s game and you recap the things you did well and you recap the missed opportunities, the penalties and you’ve got to fix it,” said BC head coach Jeff Hafley.“We have to make it about ourselves first. Ther...

Despite Xi’s decision not to attend G20 in India, China says bilateral ties are ‘generally stable’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s decision not to attend this week’s Group of 20 summit in India, Beijing says that relations between the two nuclear-armed Asian giants remain “generally stable.” China announced on Monday that Premier Li Qiang, who took office just this spring, would represent China at the Sept. 9-10 meeting in New Delhi. Relations between China and India remain frosty over their border dispute that led to a clash three years ago in which 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed. It has turned into a long-running standoff in the rugged mountainous area, where each side has stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.Without mentioning the dispute, or the reason for Xi’s decision not to attend, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Chinese leaders have “always supported India’s hosting of this year’s summit and are ready to work with all parties to make the G20 summit...

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

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 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 18:16:54 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 18:16:54 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 18:16:54 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 18:16:54 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 18:16:54 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...