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Top election official in Myanmar assassinated by guerrillas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:10 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A top election official in Myanmar was fatally shot in his car in Yangon, the country’s commercial capital, in the latest attack attributed to militants opposed to military rule.Sai Kyaw Thu, deputy director-general of the military-appointed Union Election Commission, was shot multiple times on Saturday, according to the military’s information office, media reports and a statement of responsibility from an urban guerrilla group.The information office on Sunday said the attack was carried out by the People’s Defense Force, the loosely organized armed wing of the pro-democracy National Unity Government, an underground group that opposes the military-installed government that was established when the army seized power two years ago.Many opposition forces including local People’s Defense Force groups operate autonomously from the National Unity Government but the military labels them all as “terrorists.” A resistance group calling itself “For The Yangon” said it carried o...

RCMP sifting ‘fairly large volume’ of information in Ukraine war crimes probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:10 GMT

OTTAWA — RCMP Cpl. Kate Walaszczyk honed her policing skills as a homicide investigator, painstakingly reconstructing crime scenes and gathering evidence.She is turning that hard-earned know-how to the global stage, working with other countries to document war crimes and crimes against humanity in the unfolding conflict in Ukraine.Canada is co-operating with partners abroad, including the International Criminal Court, to ensure perpetrators of heinous acts — from rape to mass killings — are held accountable.The focus of the RCMP investigation, launched over a year ago, is collection and preservation of evidence of possible crimes for use in prosecutions, which might take place much later. The Mounties have asked anyone with a Canadian connection who has information about potential war crimes to contact the force through a special web portal.The force is seeking information about acts of violence in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022, and in Crimea or the Donbas region since 2014 to assist ...

South Africa envoy urges Ukraine peace talks, says Canada stance on war ‘shocking’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:10 GMT

OTTAWA — South Africa’s envoy to Ottawa is urging Canada to help broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, arguing that sending arms to Kyiv will only prolong a dangerous conflict that is aggravating hunger in developing countries.“We have all the instruments of human agency to stop this war, but we just simply don’t want to,” Rieaz Shaik said.In a wide-ranging interview, he said Russia needs to be held accountable, buturged the Trudeau government to drastically change course on its most central foreign-policy issue.“I just hope they could stop for a moment and reflect (on) how much Canada has contributed to peace in the world. And why throw that away?”South Africa is among 32 countries that have abstained from United Nations votes calling on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.While Canada and other G7 countries have said they will support Ukraine for as long as it takes, the majority of the world’s population lives in countries tha...

Minnesota bucks other Midwest states’ anti-transgender trend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:10 GMT

Gender-affirming care for transgender people, particularly transgender youth, has stirred major political debates and actions across the United States this year.It’s a subset of health care that Minnesota medical providers have been practicing for a long time.“I’ve been engaged in trans health since 2003 … and by now, I’ve seen well over 1,500 patients and families, and without a doubt, I can say that this is life-saving care that we are providing,” said Cesar Gonzalez, a clinical health psychologist and clinical director of Mayo Clinic’s Transgender and Intersex Specialty Care Clinic in Rochester, Minn.Several state legislatures have passed or are expected to pass bills prohibiting medical providers from administering gender-affirming care to minors. Last month, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a pair of bills that ban gender-affirming care for minors and restrict trans youth from using school bathrooms that align with their gender identity. South D...

A great week to meet Minnesota writers, including J. Ryan Stradal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:10 GMT

What a week for meeting Minnesota-related authors. We can hear Ryan Stradal introduce his new novel and listen to fiction featuring magic by Kat Howard as well as Anne Burt’s story of a family with secrets born in Bosnia. And there’s a new partnership between poet Danny Klecko and jazz pianist Chuck Solberg. Something for everyone. (Except for Stradal’s program these events are free and open to the public.)“Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club”: by J. Ryan Stradal (Pamela Dorman Books, $27). 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, in conversation with Lorna Landvik; Hook and Ladder Theater, 3010 Minnehaha Ave, Mpls., presented by Literature Lovers’ Night Out. $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Tickets at thehookmpls.com.Author J. Ryan Stradal. (Courtesy of Franco Tettamanti)Depending on how you looked at it, the writing was on the wall for places like the Lakeside anyway. On Florence’s drives to and from Bear Jaw, it seems like the Cities were getting...

Literary pick for week of April 23

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:10 GMT

Diane Jarvenpa and Thomas R. Smith, both self-admitted introverts, launch their new writing based on nature this week. Their programs are free and open to the public.Diane Jarvi, an award-winning poet under the name Diane Jarvenpa, launches her new poetry collection “Shy Lands” Aril 23, 2023, at Danish American Center, Minneapolis. (Courtesy of Diane Jarvi)Jarvenpa celebrates publication of her poetry collection “Shy Lands” at  2 p.m. April 23 at the Danish American Center, 3030 River Pkwy., Mpls., a venue that aligns with her Finnish heritage.She is the author of six books of poetry, including “The Tender Wild Things,” recipient of the Midwest Independent Publishers Association award, and has worked for 30 years with a wide range of poets, writers, students, musicians and artists, as well as teaching with the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project.Jarvenpa is also a prominent singer, songwriter, guitarist and kantele player who performs folk and world ...

Other voices: Biden needs to negotiate on the debt ceiling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:10 GMT

President Joe Biden’s administration and its Republican opponents in the House of Representatives are stuck in another debt-ceiling impasse. To avoid the calamity of an outright default, this reckless ritual usually demands a last-minute deal or capitulation. This time, taking such a benign outcome for granted might be a mistake — and the buck will stop with the president, whether he recognizes it or not.So far, neither side looks interested in shaping an agreement that the other could conceivably accept. The administration is flatly refusing to negotiate, insisting on an increase in the debt ceiling with no strings attached. Republicans led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy have at least made a proposal — across-the-board cuts in discretionary spending. They know Biden will reject it, and don’t much care. The one thing both sides agree on seals this contract of mutually assured paralysis: Social Security and Medicare (both rapidly approaching technical insolvency) c...

Literary calendar for week of April 23

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:10 GMT

Rain Taxi Review is publishing its Twin Cities Independent Bookstores Passport for Independent Bookstore Day on April 29. (Kevin Cannon / Rain Taxi Review)INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY: Twenty-three independent bookstores in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Excelsior, White Bear Lake, Stillwater, Duluth, Wabasha and other places invite you to visit them from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 29, during the 10th Independent Bookstore Day, sponsored by American Booksellers Association. There’ll be special events at the stores and , adding to the fun, Rain Taxi Review is again publishing its popular Twin Cities Independent Bookstore Passport, a guide to the stores’ locations that is packed with bookstore coupons and illustrations by local artist Kevin Cannon. Copies will be available at participating stores beginning Monday through IBD Day April 29.After you obtain a Passport, it can be stamped at all the stores you visit during the week for future discounts and a chance to win prizes. E...

With a $17.5 billion surplus, MN Democrats are crafting a budget with big spending and tax increases

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:10 GMT

Minnesota Democrats are putting together a new two-year state budget that includes an unprecedented growth in spending as well as increased taxes and fees to fund new services and programs for the long term.Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party members, in full control of state government and led by Gov. Tim Walz, say their budget blueprint is a progressive vision akin to the 50-year-old “Minnesota Miracle.” It includes tax rebates and credits that will help cut child poverty by 25 percent as well as new money to lift up struggling residents and secure a prosperous future, DFLers argue.State spending was already set to grow by almost $2.5 billion if lawmakers changed nothing. Democrats say the roughly $17.5 billion in new money for things like education, health care, transportation and other government programs is long overdue.While part of that new spending is one-time, DFLers also are poised to raise new taxes and fees to cover ongoing costs. Some of the new revenue comes from...

Stephen L. Carter: Fox-Dominion settlement shows the costs of pandering to the crowd

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:10 GMT

I’m not surprised that Fox News settled the Dominion defamation lawsuit, though like everyone else I’m taken aback by the amount. My suspicion is that the decision to drop the defense stemmed less from a fear of the jury verdict — which might have been much lower — than from the reputational toll a trial would have caused. And if there’s a lesson here, it’s not so much about Fox News as such but about the growing costs of pandering to your audience.If you’re reading this column, you know the background. In the wake of President Donald Trump’s defeat in his 2020 re-election bid, many of his supporters insisted that there’d been fraud at the polls. No big deal. Allegations of fraud are as old as America, and had the matter been left in the realm of vague conspiracy charges, there would have been no litigation.Instead, a number of those in Trump’s inner circle decided that the voting machines had somehow been tampered with, an...