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Armed groups are committing abuses in English-speaking regions of Cameroon, rights group says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:28 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Civilians in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions are being victimized by the army, separatists and militias who are carrying out killings, torture and sexual violence, according to an Amnesty International report released Tuesday.Researchers from the human rights group spoke with more than 100 victims of armed violence, documenting extrajudicial killings and the razing of homes and villages in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon over the past three years amid clashes between government armed forces and separatist rebels.Cameroon’s Ministries of Justice and Defense did not respond to a request for comment, Amnesty International said.The protracted armed conflict known as the Anglophone crisis began in 2016, when English-speaking teachers and lawyers organized protests against professional and political marginalization by the majority French-speaking government. Following a crackdown on the peaceful protests, armed rebel groups mobilized and vowed to ...

Man steals forklift from a Maryland store and rams a car, killing a woman, authorities say.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:28 GMT

WALDORF, Md. (AP) — A man stole a forklift from a Maryland home improvement store and killed a woman in the parking lot after ramming the car in which she was sleeping, authorities said.Bryce Caleb Timothy Brown, 20, has been charged with murder, assault, theft and other alleged offenses, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.Brown broke into a Lowe’s store in Waldorf after midnight on Sunday and stole a forklift, the sheriff’s office said. Brown then rammed through the rear gates of the store and hit a parked car, the sheriff’s office said. A woman who was sleeping in the car tried to run away. Brown followed her, ran her over, stole her car and fled, the sheriff’s office said. Gloristine Pinkney, 73, was found dead under the forklift, the sheriff’s office said.Authorities said the two people did not know each other and it was not immediately known why Brown hit Pinkney’s car and ran her over. They are both from Waldorf, the ...

Belarus opposition leader says anonymous message alleges that her husband died in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:28 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said Tuesday that she had received an anonymous message alleging that her imprisoned husband, also an opposition figure, died behind bars. Siarhei Tsikhanouski, 44, a popular blogger and opposition activist, was arrested in 2020 after announcing plans to run against Belarus’ authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, in presidential elections that year. His wife ran against Lukashenko in his stead after the arrest, rallying large crowds of people in her support across the country. Official results of the election handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office but were denounced by the opposition and the West as fraudulent. Amid unprecedented protests that broke out in the aftermath of the vote, Tsikhanouskaya left the country under pressure from the authorities. Her husband was later sentenced to 19 1/2 years in prison on charges of organizing mass riots. Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press on Tues...

Ukrainians honor award-winning writer killed in Russian missile attack on restaurant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:28 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of people with flowers, many unable to hold back tears, bid farewell Tuesday to an award-winning Ukrainian writer who was among those killed by a Russian missile attack on a popular restaurant in eastern Ukraine. The memorial service for Victoria Amelina, 37, was held in the crowded main hall of Saint-Michael’s Cathedral in Kyiv, where ceremonies are usually held for soldiers who were killed on the battlefield. Amelina died in a hospital from injuries sustained in the June 27 strike on a popular restaurant frequently visited by journalists and aid workers in the city of Kramatorsk. Twelve other people also lost their lives in the attack. “Usually, we gather here to say goodbye to the most deserving,” said Archimandrite Lavrentii, the Orthodox priest leading the service. “Considering the times we live in, leading a worthy and dignified life for each of us is the best tribute we can offer in memory of those who have passed away into eternity.”Around 1...

51-year-old man dead after Ajax crash involving motorcycle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:28 GMT

A man is dead after a two-vehicle crash in Ajax involving a motorcycle on Monday evening.The collision happened at the intersection of Taunton Road East and Audley Road North around 8 p.m., according to Durham Regional Police.Police say a motorcycle was travelling eastbound on Taunton when a westbound Honda Civic made a left hand turn into its path.The motorcyclist, a 51-year-old man from Ajax, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Honda stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.Witnesses told police that both vehicles had green lights when they entered the intersection.Roads were closed in the area of the investigation but they have since reopened.Anyone with information is being asked to contact police.

Iowa man’s collection of 70,000 pencils being evaluated as possible world record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:28 GMT

COLFAX, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man may be well on his way to an official world record — for pencils.Aaron Bartholmey of Colfax has been collecting wooden advertising pencils since he was a child. Now, he claims to own more than 70,000. That’s substantially more than the Guinness World Record for the largest pencil collection — 24,000, held by Emilio Arenas from Uruguay since 2020.Bartholmey told KCCI-TV that his most treasured pencils are those from his hometown, noting that in many instances the pencils “are the only place where there is any record of that business still, and I think it’s just a neat way to preserve history.”Last weekend, two counters from the American Pencil Collectors Society were at the Colfax Historical Society to count Bartholmey’s pencils. Now, he’s waiting to hear if the count is approved by Guinness, which estimated the review process could take up to three months.The Associated Press

Search stretches into third day for two people missing after Quebec landslide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:28 GMT

SAGUENAY, Que. — The search for two people swept away by a landslide in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region is stretching into a third day.Rescue teams resumed looking today for a man and woman in their 40s missing in Rivière-Éternité, Que., about 260 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.The search operation is focused along a 1.8-kilometre stretch of the small, winding Éternité River, on the shore and in the water.Quebec provincial police say the operation is being slowed by a number of factors including debris from the landslide and extreme heat.More than 50 people were forced to leave their homes after a storm on Sunday dumped 130 millimetres of rain over two hours on the area, washing away roads and triggering flooding.Police have not identified the two missing people but have said they were not from the community. A third person was also caught in the landslide but was saved and taken to hospital.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2023.The Canad...

WACH LIVE: Highland Park marks one year since July Fourth mass shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:28 GMT

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.  — Tuesday marks one year since the mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade.There are several events planned to mark the somber anniversary.The day will kick off with a remembrance ceremony outside Highland Park's city hall at 10 a.m.As part of that ceremony, there will be a moment of silence at 10:14, the exact moment gunshots rang out. More: Grief lingers one year after Highland Park Fourth of July shooting Seven people were killed and 48 injured in the mass shooting.After the remembrance ceremony, there will be a community walk and a musical performance in honor of the victims.The day's events will wrap up with a drone show.WGN News will carry the ceremony during special live coverage beginning at 10 a.m.

1 killed, 9 hospitalized after fireworks explosion in Michigan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:28 GMT

PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — One person is dead and nine more were injured after an incident involving a firework explosion Monday night in Park Township.The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened shortly after 11 p.m. Monday night at a home on Main Street near N. 160th Avenue. Nine other people were taken to nearby hospitals with “injuries ranging from minor to critical.”A 10th person, identified as a 43-year-old woman from Holland, was unresponsive when crews arrived. First responders started “life-saving measures”, but she was eventually pronounced dead at the scene.Piles of fireworks remain outside of a home in Park Township where an explosion killed one person and hospitalized nine others on Monday, July 3, 2023. (WOOD TV8)A car window was damaged following a fireworks explosion Monday night in Park Township. One woman was killed and nine others were hospitalized. (WOOD TV8)Shreds of paper and plastic lay in the road the day after a fireworks explosion kille...

Cat named Lucky escapes Connecticut house explosion that hospitalized homeowner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:28 GMT

OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. (WTNH) — For nearly a week, a Connecticut community has been searching for a couple's cat after an explosion destroyed their home. "Lucky" for them, the cat miraculously made escaped harm and was found. The explosion happened on June 28 in Old Saybrook, a coastal town roughly 30 miles east of New Haven. It shook the neighborhood and completely destroyed a portion of the home, lifting off of its foundation and dropping it into the basement, according to Old Saybrook Fire Marshal Peter Terenzi.June 28 also marked the 65th wedding anniversary of the couple that owns the home, neighbors told Nexstar's WTNH. VIDEO: Home explosion sparks massive fire in Old Saybrook The man, who was home alone at the time doing dishes, was rescued by a neighbor. His wife is currently in a nursing home. Authorities say the man required an overnight stay at the hospital but was then released. Unfortunately, the couple's cat was nowhere to be found after the explosion and subsequent fi...