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Canada to ‘significantly’ enhance military presence in Indo-Pacific region: Anand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:21 GMT

SINGAPORE — Defence Minister Anita Anand says Canada is committed to the support of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, and is reinforcing its military presence in the region.Speaking in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual intergovernmental security conference, Anand announced Canada will significantly enhance its military presence in the Indo-Pacific through Operation Horizon.Anand says the new operation will replace the Indo-Pacific portion of Canada’s existing Operation Projection.It will involve the annual deployment of an additional warship to the region, increased Canadian participation in international exercises, and strengthened relationships with regional partners through increased security co-operation. Currently there are two Canadian military ships in the region, HMCS Montreal and the support ship MV Asterix.Anand says the new operation will empower Canada to play a more active role in contributing to regional security.This report by The Canadian P...

EXPLAINER: Panama launches operation against smugglers in Darien Gap

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:21 GMT

NICANOR, Panama (AP) — Panama unveiled a new effort to control illegal migration through the treacherous Darien Gap that spans its eastern border with Colombia on Friday.Hundreds of thousands of migrants have risked the dangerous trek through the jungle in recent years and the flow this year is on a record pace. Most of those who cross are trying to reach the United States.So in April, as the U.S. government prepared to lift pandemic-related restrictions that had allowed authorities to turn back asylum seekers at the border, it announced together with Panama and Colombia increased efforts in the largely lawless Darien Gap.Panama’s “Shield” campaign announced Friday is the first public display of those new efforts.WHAT IS THE DARIEN GAP?The Darien Gap earned its name because it is the break in the Pan-American Highway connecting South and North America. Darien is also the name of Panama’s easternmost province, which abuts Colombia.It is composed of dense, roadless jungle, mountains a...

Taco stands held up in South L.A. armed robberies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:21 GMT

Police are searching for two armed robbers who held up a pair of taco stands early Friday morning.The first robbery took place around midnight near the intersection of East 103rd Street and Compton Avenue in the Watts neighborhood. The workers said that two men approached the stand and demanded money. One of the suspects pulled out a handgun and pointed it at workers. Although a cash box was given to the robbers, workers said that wasn't enough. The employees also had to empty their pockets while being held at gunpoint, worker Esteban Jimenez said. The suspects fled westbound on 103rd Street with about $600. About an hour earlier, two robbers armed with a handgun held up a taco stand near the intersection of 92nd Street and South Central Avenue in the Green Meadows neighborhood.The robbers demanded cash from workers and customers before fleeing with about $1,200. The workers said all of their money was taken in during the robberies and they were shaken by the experience. A third, si...

Amsterdam-style cannabis coffee shop bill passes California State Assembly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:21 GMT

A bill that would allow local governments across the State of California to license Amsterdam-style cannabis "coffee shops" has been passed in the State Assembly. The bill, AB 374, which was proposed by Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, passed with broad bipartisan support, receiving a 64 to 9 vote."Cannabis cafes in the Netherlands capitalize on the social experience of cannabis by offering coffee, food, and live music, all of those opportunities are currently illegal under California law," read a press release from Haney's office. "AB 374 will allow struggling cannabis businesses to diversity away from the marijuana-only 'dispensary' model and bring much-needed tourist dollars into empty downtowns."“Lots of people want to enjoy legal cannabis in the company of others,” said Haney. “And many people want to do that while sipping coffee, eating a scone, or listening to music. There’s absolutely no good reason from an economic, health, or safety standpoint that the state sho...

Car crashes into Concord home once again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:21 GMT

CONCORD, Calif. (KRON) – An East Bay family is without a home after a car crashed into it, and this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.The family says this happened at about 1 a.m. Friday. The home is off of busy Clayton Road in Concord.The family says that a pair of speeding cars was behind this crash. Amazingly, everyone survived, including the grandmother who was sitting in the living room when one of those cars came smashing in. How did sideshows begin, and how did they get so out of hand? Tonight as they’re picking up the pieces, they’re hoping something can be done because this was not the first time this has happened.“It was like a huge boom and the house just shook and then everything was just flying,” Emma Holst said. The crash rattled Holst, her daughter and three grandchildren as they were all fast asleep.“The picture still flashing in my mind of the car coming through the wall,” she said. “The plaster, the glass from the window breaking.”Holst s...

Jarvis delivers in 9th, Alabama edges Nicholls 4-3 in regional nightcap

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:21 GMT

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Jim Jarvis singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and top-seeded Alabama rallied four times to beat Nicholls 4-3 in Friday’s nightcap of the Tuscaloosa Regional.The Crimson Tide (41-19) never led until the final inning, coming from behind to tie the score three different times before Jarvis delivered the winner in a game that ended at 12:45 a.m. local time.Alabama advances to play Troy on Saturday. The Trojans beat Boston College 11-10 in an opener that was delayed more than two hours in the second inning by rain. Nicholls will play an elimination game against BC in the first game of the day.MaCrae Kendrick hit a two-out home run to give the Colonels (34-23) a 1-0 lead. The lead lasted until Ed Johnson drove in a run for the Crimson Tide with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth.Gerardo Villarreal’s sac fly in the sixth regained the lead for Nicholls, but Drew Williamson tied it at 2 with an RBI double i...

Kelly throws 7 strong innings, Diamondbacks beat Braves 3-2 for 6th straight win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:21 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Big-time baseball is back at Chase Field and the suddenly surging Arizona Diamondbacks delivered in their first test.Merrill Kelly threw seven strong innings, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ripped a two-run double and the D-backs won their season-high sixth game in a row by beating the Atlanta Braves 3-2 on Friday night.It was the opener of a series between two of the top teams in the National League. It’s no surprise the Braves are among that group, but the emergence of the Diamondbacks — who lost 110 games just two seasons ago — has caught some off guard.Arizona is now 12 games over .500 for the first time since 2018 and on its first six-game winning streak since 2020.“I think there was a little extra zoom in everybody’s behind today, knowing the Braves were in here,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “We knew what was going on today and our guys stood tall in the middle of the ring.“I’m proud of that.”Miguel Castro worked a high-wire ninth for his sixth sa...

Dad-to-be Chris Bassitt pitches Blue Jays over Mets 3-0

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:21 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Bassitt stood on the mound in the eighth inning as teammates patted him on the back. Manager John Schneider took the ball and offered the only words necessary: “Go be a Dad.”Taking the mound after a 91-minute rain delay and ready to rush back to Toronto as his wife went into labor, Bassitt shut down his former team on three hits to lead the Blue Jays over the New York Mets 3-0 on Friday.“I’m sure there’s a million things that are going through his mind, “ Schneider said. ”To kind of keep everything in check was really impressive.”Bassitt’s wife Jessica was due to give birth to their second child after daughter Landry. A private plane was ready to take Bassitt home as soon as he came out of the game and got to one of the New York area’s smaller airports.What was supposed to be a 7:10 p.m. start was pushed back by a storm, and the first pitch finally was thrown at 8:41 p.m. Schneider credited director of team travel Mike Shaw for delaying the plane...

India train crash kills over 280, hurts 900 in country’s deadliest rail accident in decades

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:21 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Rescuers waded through piles of debris and wreckage to pull out bodies and free people on Saturday after two passenger trains derailed in India, killing more than 280 people. Hundreds of others were trapped inside more than a dozen mangled rail cars overnight in one of the country’s deadliest train crashes in decades.The accident, which happened about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Kolkata on Friday night, led to a chaotic scene as rescuers climbed atop the wrecked trains to break open doors and windows using cutting torches to free survivors.About 900 people were injured in the accident in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, said P.K. Jena, the state’s top administrative official. The cause was under investigation.More than 288 dead bodies were recovered overnight and into Saturday morning, Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of Odisha’s fire department, told The Associated Press. He said more than 800 injured passengers were taken ...

Seattle Thunderbirds beat Peterborough 4-1 to reach Memorial Cup final

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:21 GMT

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia (AP) — Thomas Milic made 27 saves and the Seattle Thunderbirds became the fifth U.S. franchise to reach the Memorial Cup final, beating the Peterborough Petes 4-1 on Friday night in the semifinal game.Western Hockey League champion Seattle will face Quebec on Sunday for the title, with Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy stepping aside as coach of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Remparts after the tournament.U.S. franchises have won four titles, the Portland Winterhawks in 1983 and 1998 and the Spokane Chiefs in 1991 and 2008. The Detroit Junior Red Wings (1995), Portland (2013) and the Erie Otters (2017) lost in championship games.Brad Lambert, Colton Dach, Kyle Crnkovic and Nico Myatovic scored for Seattle.Lambert opened the scoring with 4:28 left in the second period, beating goalie Michael Simpson with a backhander off a rebound.Dach made it 2-0 at 1:28 of the third, and Brennan Othmann countered for Peterborough at 2:41. Crnkovic restored t...