Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The killing of at least 65 protesters in Myanmar's biggest city on March 14 this year was planned and premeditated, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice, a rights watchdog said in a report released Thursday.
Human Rights Watch accused security forces of deliberately encircling and using lethal force against crowds in Yangon's working class neighborhood of Hlaing Tharyar that were demonstrating against the military's Feb. 1 seizure of power from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
"Soldiers and police armed with military assault rifles fired on trapped protesters and on those trying to assist the wounded, killing at least 65 protesters and bystanders," said the New York-based organization.
The military-installed government, which imposed martial law in the area after the violence, has described the protesters as "rioters" who burned down garment factories and blocked firefighters. Human Right's Watch said no action is known to have been taken against any members of the security forces. No government official was immediately available for comment.
Human Rights Watch's Myanmar researcher Manny Maung told The Associated Press the security forces' actions "constitute the crime against humanity of murder."
"Ultimately, the responsibility lies in the command structure, and whoever was responsible for ordering the crackdown and implementing the crackdown is responsible," she said. In her opinion, that would be the Yangon regional military commander and the city's police chief.
"It's necessary to make sure that such figures are made aware that they can be tried and held to account at a later time," she said.
Human Rights Watch said it based its findings on interviews with six witnesses and analyses of 13 videos and 31 photographs of the violence posted on social media.
"We can prove, through testimonies and digital forensics, that in videos posted by security forces, and images that show security forces pointing their weapons -- assault rifles and automatic weapons - against civilians, that this was planned and coordinated," Manny Maung said.
The report mentions a video posted on TikTok by a police officer that shows riot police preparing to advance on protesters.
"As they discuss the weapons they were going to use, one officer says to the others, `You guys will handle Hlaing Tharyar.' Another replies: `I will show no mercy for these people,"' it says.
In the months immediately following the army's takeover, largely peaceful demonstrations nationwide were met with increasingly brutal suppression by the security forces. In response, some protesters began using homemade weapons in self-defense.
"Some protesters used weapons, such as rocks, slings, and Molotov cocktails, in response to the security forces firing on them, but no security force casualties were reported," the report cited witnesses as saying.
Human Rights Watch urged the international community to "respond to ongoing human rights violations and crimes against humanity in Myanmar by supplementing, strengthening, and coordinating international sanctions against the junta leadership and military." The United States and other nations already maintain diplomatic and economic sanctions.
Since the army's takeover, at least 1,300 protesters and bystanders have been killed, according to a detailed tally kept by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which documents political repression.
"The point is that violations are continuing," said Manny Maung. "The point of raising this now is to prove that whatever happened even nine months ago is still important because we can and we will hold these people to account and we can prove that they did this with intent."
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.