adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

News

Wednesday? Next week? Ukraine invasion predictions cause turmoil, roil markets

Published

 on

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s massive troop buildup along Ukraine‘s border has left the West struggling to pinpoint if or when he might actually launch a military campaign.

U.S. intelligence has been closely monitoring troop, equipment and other moves in the region, while trying to factor in international events, like the Beijing Olympics and an upcoming meeting of Western allies.

Only Putin knows for sure what he will do, U.S. officials concede. But that hasn’t stopped the United States and its allies from trying to make more specific predictions as it warns citizens and embassies in potential danger, putting a strain on relations with Ukraine.

Russia has more than 100,000 troops massed near the border of Ukraine. It denies Western accusations that it is planning an invasion, but says it could take unspecified “military-technical” action unless a range of demands are met, including barring Kyiv from ever joining the NATO alliance.

The White House stressed an attack could be imminent on Monday, a message it has repeated often in recent days.

“We are in the window where an invasion could happen at any time,” said White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “It could begin this week.”

Many Western nations warned citizens to leave Ukraine late last week, prompting some top Ukrainian lawmakers and business leaders to leave the country, too.

On Monday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked them to come back in a video address to the nation.

“They tell us Feb. 16 will be the day of the attack,” he said, without saying who ‘they’ was. That stirred confusion in global markets and a sell-off in the S&P 500 index. [MKTS/GLOB]

Ukrainian officials stressed that Zelenskiy was not predicting an attack on that date, however, but responding with skepticism to foreign media reports pinpointing Wednesday.

The Pentagon said Monday to expect anything but a warning from Putin.

“I won’t get into a specific date, I don’t think that would be smart. I would just tell you that it is entirely possible that he could move with little to no warning,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last week that Russia might not wait until the Winter Olympics in China end on Feb. 20, a reversal of a commonly-held belief that Putin would not want to spoil Chinese President Xi Jinping’s big sports event with a war.

The Munich Security Conference in Germany, an international gathering of foreign policy leaders on Feb. 18-20, could be another trigger. The Crimea crisis unfolded while the Munich conference was held in 2014, focused on violent clashes between the government and opposition in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose, Steve Holland, Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason; Editing by Heather Timmons and Rosalba O’Brien)

News

RCMP arrest second suspect in deadly shooting east of Calgary

Published

 on

 

EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.

Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.

Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.

Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.

Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.

RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.

Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.

“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.

But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.

“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.

While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

News

26-year-old son is accused of his father’s murder on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast

Published

 on

RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.

Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.

The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.

It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.

Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.

The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

News

Metro Vancouver’s HandyDART strike continues after talks break with no deal

Published

 on

 

VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.

Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”

However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.

McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.

He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.

The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending