Â鶹´«Ã½

World

    • Kurds, anti-racism groups gather after deadly Paris shooting

    Share
    PARIS -

    Members of France's Kurdish community and anti-racism activists joined together in mourning and anger on Saturday in Paris after three people were killed at a Kurdish cultural center in an attack that prosecutors say was racially motivated.

    The shooting in a bustling neighborhood of central Paris also wounded three people, and stirred up concerns about hate crimes against minority groups at a time when far-right voices have gained prominence in France and around Europe in recent years.

    The suspected attacker was wounded and detained, and transferred Saturday to psychiatric care, the Paris prosecutor's office said. The 69-year-old Parisian had been charged with attacking a migrant camp last year and released from jail earlier this month. For Friday's shooting, he is facing potential charges of murder and attempted murder with a racist motive, the prosecutor's office said.

    Thousands gathered Saturday at the Place de la Republique in eastern Paris, waving a colorful spectrum of flags representing Kurdish rights groups, left-wing political movements and other causes.

    The gathering was largely peaceful, though some youths threw projectiles and set a few cars and garbage bins on fire, and police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Some protesters shouted slogans against the Turkish government. Berivan Firat of the Kurdish Democratic Council in France told BFM TV that the violence began after some people drove by waving a Turkish flag.

    Most demonstrators were ethnic Kurds of varying generations who came together to mourn the three fellow Kurds who were killed, who included a prominent feminist activist and a Kurdish singer who came to France as a refugee.

    "We are devastated, really. We are destroyed because we lost a very important member of our community and we are angry. How is this possible?" said demonstrator Yekbun Ogur, a middle school biology teacher in Paris. "Is it normal for a man with a gun to sneak into a cultural place to come and murder people?"

    Demonstrator Yunus Cicek wiped his tears away as spoke of the victims, and his fears. "We are not protected here. Even though I have political refugee status, I don't feel safe. ... Maybe next time it will be me."

    The shooting shook the Kurdish community and put French police on extra alert for the Christmas weekend. The Paris police chief met Saturday with members of the Kurdish community to try to allay their fears.

    France's Interior Ministry reported a 13% rise in race-related crimes or other violations in 2021 over 2019, after an 11% rise from 2018 to 2019. The ministry did not include 2020 in its statistics because of successive pandemic lockdowns that year. It said a disproportionate number of such crimes target people of African descent, and also cited hundreds of attacks based on religion.

    Friday's attack took place at the cultural center and a nearby Kurdish restaurant and Kurdish hair salon. Surveillance video from the hair salon shared online suggests people in the salon subdued the attacker before police reached the scene. The prosecutor's office would not elaborate on the circumstances of his arrest.

    Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the suspect was clearly targeting foreigners, and had acted alone and was not officially affiliated with any extreme-right or other radical movements. The suspect had past convictions for illegal arms possession and armed violence.

    Kurdish activists said they had recently been warned by police of threats to Kurdish targets.

    In 2013, three women Kurdish activists, including Sakine Cansiz, a founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, were found shot dead at a Kurdish center in Paris.

    Turkiye's army has long been battling against Kurdish militants affiliated with the banned PKK in southeast Turkiye as well as in northern Iraq. Turkiye's military also recently launched a series of air and artillery strikes against Syrian Kurdish militant targets in northern Syria.

    ------

    Boubkar Benzebat in Paris contributed.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

    Toronto police say they are searching for a suspect who allegedly shot and killed his brother in an argument at a Scarborough housing complex late Saturday night.

    Canada

    • Ontario's police watchdog has decided there are no grounds to believe Sudbury police committed a crime during a difficult arrest in May where the suspect's neck was broken.

    • The City of Calgary ended water restrictions for the city at a Sunday morning update.

    • Toronto police say they are searching for a suspect who allegedly shot and killed his brother in an argument at a Scarborough housing complex late Saturday night.

    • A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.

    • Pasquale Monaco says he’s debating whether to keep renting out the two-bedroom basement apartment of the Montreal building he owns after it was flooded — again — in August, when the remnants of tropical storm Debby sent four feet of water rushing into the space.

    • Infectious disease physician Dr. Isaac Bogoch says whooping cough is most risky for unvaccinated infants, children and older people.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    • The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a nickname for the opposition’s end zone. They refer to it as the “chicken box.â€

    • Jonathan Aranda homered for the second consecutive game, helping Taj Bradley and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Saturday.

    • Kiefer Sherwood spent several nights last spring chasing Quinn Hughes around the ice and generally pestering the Vancouver Canucks.

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

    Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

    An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

    They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    • One man is dead and another injured after a shooting in Langley Saturday evening that homicide investigators say is gang-related.

    • Anyone needing emergency care in a city in B.C.’s southern Interior will need to seek help elsewhere until Monday, as the latest ER closure in the region has shuttered the department’s doors for 25 hours.

    • Work crews have been busy in the British Columbia legislature over the summer, prying apart desks in the historic chamber and piling them up in hallways as they tried to work out how to fit in six more seats.

    • Toronto police say they are searching for a suspect who allegedly shot and killed his brother in an argument at a Scarborough housing complex late Saturday night.

    • The explosive devices unit (EDU) is investigating after a suspicious package was found outside Union Station on Sunday afternoon.

    • Toronto police have arrested three people and they are looking for two others in connection with an alleged fraud that saw a man and his daughter bilked out of more than $18,000.

    • The City of Calgary ended water restrictions for the city at a Sunday morning update.

    • Nearly 100 Inglewood residents rallied Saturday afternoon in a continuing effort to save the Inglewood Aquatic Centre.

    • Nick Kolomyja reckons axe throwing may have saved his life.

    • Police are looking to speak with a female who was a passenger in a stolen vehicle that was recovered early Saturday morning in Kanata.

    • Thousands participated in the 17th annual Canada Army Run Sunday in the capital's downtown.

    • Ottawa Fire Services says no injuries were reported after a fire broke out in a bedroom in a townhome in Beacon Hill South early Sunday morning.

    • Provincial police (SQ) are looking for 29-year-old Kelsey Watt, who went missing in Hemmingford, Que.

    • Mark and Heidi Strohl's love story has stood the test of time. The couple, who met at Herzlia High School over 50 years ago, have been together since their teenage years.

    • Residents around Lac Pilon in the Laurentians are increasingly alarmed by the frequent sound of gunshots piercing the quiet of their community.

    • An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

    • The number of Edmontonians experiencing homelessness has risen 47 per cent this year, according to data from the city's main housing agency.

    • Edmonton police have reopened 149 Street northbound and southbound following a serious collision that took place there early Sunday morning.

    • The Charlotte County Fall Fair saw thousands flock to its grounds over the course of two days for a wide range of family fun activities in Dufferin, N.B.

    • A 76-year-old man who was reported missing Saturday in Annapolis District, N.S., has been found deceased.

    • Manitoba RCMP and community members are still feverishly searching for a six-year-old boy who went missing five days ago.

    • While slang may come and go, experts say the phenomenon behind them, which constantly churns out brand-new bon mots, is as old as language itself.

    • People living in Winnipeg’s Centennial neighbourhood have a new park to call their own. On Saturday, the community celebrated the grand opening of Giizhigooweyaabikwe Park on Lizzie Street.

    • Fire officials are investigating after a fire completely destroyed the community fridge in the Cathedral neighbourhood.

    • The last two months after losing her daughter Bella have been extremely difficult for Kyla Thomson.

    • Regina police arrested three youths in connection to a bear mace incident at a Regina high school on Friday.

    • Brantford, Ont. residents were met with an unexpected sight on Saturday evening as a suspected funnel cloud appeared in the skies above the city.

    • Police were called to a business in the area of University Avenue East and Weber Street North at around 10:40 p.m. Saturday for a report of a man attempting to stab another man.

    • Police said the pedestrian, a 52-year-old man, was taken to an out-of-region hospital with life-threatening injuries and the driver of the vehicle failed to remain at the scene.

    • A 14-year-old girl from Flying Dust First Nation was killed after a high-speed ATV struck a ditch near Meadow Lake.

    • The 75-year-old building, formerly the Waskesiu Chamber of Commerce building, was relocated to the Parks Canada compound on the edge of the townsite.

    • A 53-year-old woman from north Vancouver, B.C. was killed after a semi and truck collided on Highway 16 near Dafoe.

    • There were no injuries reported after a home on Regent Street near Douglas Street in Greater Sudbury’s west end on Sunday morning.

    • Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after an Ontario Provincial Police officer discharged his firearm at a 36-year-old man in near Moonbeam, Ont., on Friday night.

    • Wage increases, new paid holidays and a big signing bonus are part of the new contract for CAMI employees in Ingersoll, Ont.

    • video

      video

      The most popular hockey podcasters on the planet brought some major attention to the Forest City this weekend with the annual Chiclets Cup.

    • The identity of a motorcyclist has been revealed by loved ones on social media following Friday’s fatal south end collision in London. The London Police Service has not released anything regarding the driver’s identity.

    • One man is in police custody after fabricating a story to police and reporting his vehicle was stolen.

    • A year after being recognized as one of 19 ‘Bee Campuses’ by Bee City Canada, Georgian College continues to promote the importance of bees to agriculture, the economy and education.

    • One person is dead after a crash in Caledon on Sunday.

    • Essex-Windsor Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is reporting that it’s above the provincial target for sudden cardiac arrest response times.

    • video

      video

      The Amherstburg Uncommon Festival is living up to its name with the addition of a drone light show — a first for Essex County.

    • The St. Clair College Saints were in Oshawa over the weekend as they faced Durham College.

    • Work crews have been busy in the British Columbia legislature over the summer, prying apart desks in the historic chamber and piling them up in hallways as they tried to work out how to fit in six more seats.

    • The leaders of British Columbia's two main political parties are focusing on the challenges facing Metro Vancouver communities as the provincial election campaign enters its second day.

    • A man who was found dead behind a curling rink in Nanaimo, B.C., earlier this month was the victim of a homicide, police confirmed.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • Despite the heavy rain, plenty of muscle turned up for United Way’s annual Pull the Bus fundraiser in Lethbridge Friday.

    • Lethbridge County has rescinded its fire restriction as a result of the recent cool, wet weathr.

    • The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off the 2024-25 season on a winning note Friday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in a game played at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

    • A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

    • Following an outbreak of COVID-19 on its continuing care floor and just ahead of the flu season, St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Elliot Lake has opted to re-introduce a universal masking policy until further notice.

    • A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at Â鶹´«Ã½. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow Â鶹´«Ã½