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On Monday, Canada's parliament approved Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to employ rarely-used emergency powers to put a stop to pandemic-related protests that have shut down Ottawa's streets for more than three weeks. The Emergencies Act was passed by a vote of 185 to 151 in parliament, with the left-leaning New Democrats supporting the minority Liberal administration. Some opposition MPs have called Trudeau's extraordinary measures, which he unveiled a week ago, unnecessary and an abuse of power. Over the weekend, Canadian police in Ottawa were able to restore order. Initially, the demonstrators intended to put a halt to cross-border COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers, but the occupation morphed into a larger anti-Trudeau rally. Protesters shut down the busiest land crossing between the two countries. Trudeau told reporters earlier on Monday that his government still required temporary emergency powers, citing "serious concerns" about threat

Colombia's constitutional court ruled on Monday to decriminalize abortion until 24 weeks of pregnancy, according to a statement from the court. The decision is a triumph for abortion rights groups who petitioned to have the procedure removed from the penal code. Colombia joins a group of Latin American countries, including Mexico and Ecuador, that have recently liberalized abortion access. In 2006, a Colombian court decision partially legalized abortion, allowing it only in circumstances of rape, fatal fetal malformation, and the woman's health, with no time constraints. Women would not be prosecuted for obtaining abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy under Monday's verdict, which was approved by five of nine justices. After that, the procedure will only be allowed under the original three circumstances. "Abortion will only be punished if it is performed after the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy, and this time limit will not apply to the three conditions outlined in Ru

According to news sources, US intelligence has discovered evidence that Russian forces deployed near the Ukrainian border have received actual orders to launch an assault. On Sunday, CBS News was the first to report that the Kremlin had given the go-ahead to commanders among the more than 150,000 troops stationed in possible attack areas. Face the Nation said that "on the ground commanders are drafting concrete plans for how they will manoeuvre in their sector of the battlefield. According to the New York Times, the Kremlin has also authorized an invasion. According to the publication, this intelligence caused Joe Biden to announce this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had chosen to carry out an attack. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told CBS that the Biden administration is still persuaded that Russia is moving through with its strike plans. "Everything we're seeing, as President Biden stated, indicates that the choice we believe President Putin has

It is my pleasure and joy to welcome you all to the ABI's annual dinner as the ABI's new Director General. I'd want to express my gratitude to John Glen, the Economic Secretary, and KPMG, our sponsors. I'd also like to express my gratitude to the ABI team for putting on such a spectacular event. I also want to express my gratitude to Huw Evans. Huw is a well-known figure in the industry, and with good reason. Huw graciously allowed me to attend what turned out to be his final Board meeting in December. The main topic of conversation looked to be, well, Huw and the really astronomical results he had achieved in the member and staff surveys, so I should have been dubious right away. As the applause faded, one Board Director turned to me and remarked, "There's just one route you can go from here." Not exactly the upbeat encouragement I was hoping for! Those polls reveal a clear picture. Huw put in long hours for the ABI and the industry. And I'm sure we&#

In his prison cell in Paris, a French modeling agent and close associate of the late US millionaire and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was discovered dead. Prosecutors said that Jean-Luc Brunel was found hanging in his cell at La Santé prison around 01:00 on Saturday. The 76-year-old had been detained for more than a year while being probed for rape of minors and trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation. Brunel had vehemently denied any misconduct on his part. Brunel's lawyers stated the allegations had "crushed" him and blamed the allegations on a "media-judicial system." Brunel co-founded Karin Models in France in 1977 and MC2 Model Management in the United States with the help of Epstein. In December 2020, Brunel was stopped at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport while attempting to catch a flight to Senegal. His detention was part of a French investigation into charges of sex trafficking and sexual assault against Epstein, which focused on possible crim