A prestigious all-boys school has apologised for historical sexual harassment after a former student who was propositioned by a teacher called on the college to say sorry publicly for the way his complaint was handled.Glenn Marshall…
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War in Ukraine: New Zealander flees after town comes under Russian fire
A New Zealander living in Ukraine was forced to lock up his home and flee when the Russian bombs started falling last week. Kurt Bayer reports on an escape from hell. The birds were silent. Ross Parton’s house in the small Ukrainian…
'Big problems on little shoulders': How Sir John Kirwan is tackling mental health through primary schools
Anxiety and depression arrived in Sir John Kirwan’s life when he was about 13.He didn’t have a clue what was going on. His reference for mental health was the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” – about a patient in a psychiatric…
Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Expect more deaths, particularly elderly, Dr Rod Jackson says
New Zealand will sadly see more deaths and severe disease from Covid, particularly among the elderly, epidemiologist Dr Rod Jackson says.And he says he cringes when he sees daily cases hovering at around 23,000 – some modelling…
Revulsion With Putin Sparks Int. Outcry — More Unity than Expected
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Ukraine wants special tribunal to judge Putin
The Ukrainian government and a former British prime minister are pushing for a special criminal tribunal to prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies over the invasion of Ukraine.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the call for a body to investigate the "crime of aggression" was based on the tribunals that prosecuted senior Nazis after World War II.
The Netherlands-based International Criminal Court is already investigating allegations that Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine. But while it can investigate genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, Russia has not signed up to a separate ICC statute under which nations pledge not to commit "crimes of aggression."
LIVE UPDATES: Putin calls on countries to normalise relations with Moscow
Brown said that "this act of aggression by Russia … cannot go uninvestigated, unprosecuted and unpunished."
"Putin must not be able to escape justice," he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomed the call for a tribunal, which is backed by legal experts and academics from around the world.
READ MORE: Fire out after Russian 'projectile' hits Europe's biggest nuclear plant
"We are fighting against an enemy who is much stronger than us. But international law is on our side," Kuleba told a meeting in London by video link from Ukraine.
Earlier, the UN's top human rights body has voted overwhelmingly to appoint a three-person panel of experts to monitor human rights in Ukraine, where Russian forces are invading.
The Human Rights Council voted 32-2, with 13 abstentions, to pass a resolution that was presented by many Western countries and others who have spoken out against Moscow's attack on its neighbour.
Only Russia and Eritrea opposed the resolution, with China abstaining.
The vote Friday was the culmination of an urgent debate called by Ukraine, during which most council members lambasted Russia.
https://twitter.com/UN_HRC/status/1499696876601462789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Many Western envoys sported blue or yellow ties, scarves, jackets or ribbons on their lapels, in a reference to the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Far-flung countries such as Gambia and Malaysia spoke out against the invasion.
The result testified to growing international isolation of Russia: On Monday, five countries — including China — had voted against Ukraine's effort to convene the urgent debate.
Ukraine's ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko, her eyes red with emotion, told delegates after the vote: "I thank all those who voted for the right course."
WORLD VIEW: Ukraine Nuke Plant Hit, India Emissions, China Soft on Russia, More

March 04, 2022
Today’s Headlines
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian firefighters on Friday extinguished a blaze at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant that was ignited by Russian shelling, as Russian forces seized…Read More
NEW DELHI (AP) — Four months after India announced its “net-zero” target at the United Nations…Read More
SINGAPORE (AP) — As the West condemns Russia, President Vladimir Putin has vocal supporters in…Read More
For more of today’s news, go to APNews.com >>
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Editor Selections
A father’s grief. A tender touch. A new country. Ukrainians faced another grim day in the Russian…Read More
NUREMBERG, Germany (AP) — When Russia launched its war on Ukraine, a Syrian student in the city of…Read More
BANGKOK (AP) — Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was hit by Russian shelling early Friday,…Read More
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Cross Section
FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Wiggles, kisses, and puppy breath. The five 8-week-old Labrador retriever and…Read More
GENEVA (AP) — Russia’s expulsion from international soccer ahead of the World Cup playoffs is…Read More
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Disney has done the frozen Nordic princess, the Chinese warrior princess and…Read More
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Hiding in Plain Sight: Arrest of Longtime Canadian Fugitive Stuns Puerto Rico
He is accused in the killing of a rival gang member at a Vancouver strip mall in February 2009

Last week, phones across Puerto Rico began to ding as members of a private WhatsApp group dedicated to helping others in the U.S. territory stared at their screens in disbelief.
The businessman they knew as the administrator of that chat and as someone who organized philanthropic efforts such as a Christmas toy drive for needy children and renovations for an elementary school had just been arrested.
Conor Vincent D’Monte, known as Johnny Williams in Puerto Rico, was allegedly a leader of a violent gang sought by Canadian authorities on charges including first-degree murder. He had been on the run for more than a decade.
“It’s like a Netflix story,” said Antonio Torres, chief deputy U.S. Marshal for the district of Puerto Rico.
Authorities don’t know exactly when D’Monte, 44, arrived in Puerto Rico, but they believe he had been using the alias “Johnny Williams” on the island for at least several months. The 6-foot-1 fugitive settled into a rural, eastern mountain community near El Yunque rainforest, living in a house in front of a street with no name in a working-class neighborhood, Torres said.
Every month, D’Monte would accompany employees of a nonprofit organization known as Karma Honey Project and attend a farmer’s market in the nearby city of Carolina, said a woman who lived in the same community as him and sold goods next to his stall. She declined to give her name out of fear.
“No one knew anything,” she said, adding that she always was struck by his quiet demeanor. “We were surprised.”
D’Monte remains in federal prison in Puerto Rico as he awaits an extradition process. His public defense attorney declined comment, but she noted in a court hearing on Thursday that D’Monte, who has Canadian and Irish citizenship, requested that the consulates of those countries be notified.
Those who met D’Monte said he never made any efforts to hide. He even met with Puerto Rico’s agriculture secretary and a local senator and was invited to the governor’s mansion last month for his role in trying to save honeybees after Hurricane Maria as part of his involvement with the Karma Honey Project, a nonprofit company created in February 2019. Its president, Candice Galek, is a Miami entrepreneur and former model. Neither Galek nor her company returned messages for comment.
In its 2020 annual report, the most recent one available, the company stated that its volume of business did not exceed $3 million. Its balance sheet noted that it had no assets or liabilities, according to filings with Puerto Rico’s Registry of Corporations and Entities.
“The guy fooled us all,” said a Puerto Rican businessman who asked that his name not be used out of fear.
He said he met D’Monte in the early days of the pandemic after being added to his WhatsApp group, and that D’Monte was known as “Johnny Teeth,” because his teeth were so white and straight. The businessman described D’Monte as a “tremendous sales guy” who was very jovial.
“It struck me that he didn’t have Facebook or any of those things because he truly was a great networker,” the businessman said, adding that D’Monte once called him asking if he could borrow a hammer since he was helping repair a school.
When he was working on the Christmas toy drive, D’Monte messaged his WhatsApp group warning they were 500 presents short and that he was “grinding” to get donations as he noted that the prices went up 40% at the toy distributor warehouse: “Caught us off guard. Will figure it out. Universe conspires,” he wrote, adding three different star emojis.
It’s unclear why D’Monte chose Puerto Rico or if he knew anyone in the U.S. territory.
He is accused in the killing of a rival gang member at a Vancouver strip mall in February 2009, at a time when that part of British Columbia was experiencing one of the worst gang violence outbreaks in its history, according to a police statement.
D’Monte also is accused of conspiring to murder two alleged rival gang members known as the Bacon Brothers, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The United Nations gang that D’Monte belongs to is considered one of the most powerful ones in British Columbia and is best known for exporting one of the most popular marijuana strains in the U.S. mainland: the B.C. bud.
At its height, the gang had an estimated 200 members, and they often sport tattoos of tigers, dragons and Chinese characters. The gang also imports firearms and other drugs including cocaine, making millions of dollars a year, said Keiron McConnell, a criminal justice expert and professor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, British Columbia.
“Anyone thinking that Mr. D’Monte was a street corner hustler, it couldn’t be further than the truth,” he said in a phone interview. “Mr. D’Monte was a fairly sophisticated individual.”
McConnell said it’s highly unusual for fugitives to be on the run for as long as D’Monte and to successfully assimilate themselves into a community.
D’Monte, whom police said has traveled to Spain and Asia and is associated with a drug network in Mexico, was last seen in the Vancouver area in January 2011. After that, he vanished until he reappeared in Puerto Rico more than a decade later.
Torres, with the U.S. Marshals Service, said high-profile fugitives often assume the profile of a very wealthy person because they have the means.
“It doesn’t raise any red flags,” he said. “It will draw attention, but not suspicion. They just act like a businessman.”
Three weeks before federal agents arrested D’Monte, Torres said his agency finally had collected enough information to identify the fugitive, noting they never received any tips.
As D’Monte drove through the popular tourist district of Isla Verde on Feb. 25, the agents closed in.
“He acted surprised,” Torres said, adding that he didn’t resist arrest.
D’Monte was alone, except for a 9mm at his side.
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SA woman wins $4.8 million on accidental extra lotto ticket
Most people who buy a lotto ticket dream their entry will be the lucky winner.
But a South Australian woman needed an incredible extra slice of luck to go her way.
The woman from Port Adelaide had bought two standard game tickets for Thursday night's Set for Life draw from the Plympton Newsagency and was mistakenly given a third, which turned out to have the winning numbers.
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The woman will now receive $20,000 a month for the next 20 years, which will come to a total of $4.8 million.
"So happy as well yeah. Very happy, and also very, very excited," owner of the Plympton Newsagency Holly He told 9News.
Plympton Newsagency employee Ashley Qui said she's still in shock.
"We got a division one winner in the shop and I still can't believe it," Ms Qui said.
"I talked with the winner, and she tells us how happy she was and how she can change her life."
READ MORE: Russian attack on nuclear plant labelled 'catastrophic' by top Ukrainian official in Australia
The winner has been a regular customer at the newsagency and she returned to share a little of her winnings with the owners.
Ally Ramsamy from The Lott — the lotteries manager in most of Australia — said she has spoken with the winner, who has begun planning how she'll spend her money.
"She said she wanted to share it with her family, her friends and then donate to the charities that really mean something to her," Ms Ramsamy said.
Bahamas: 179 Haitian Migrants Intercepted by US Coast Guard
On Sunday, the US Coast Guard intercepted a vessel with 179 Haitian migrants approximately 30 miles off Andros, in The Bahamas.
According to a US Coast Guard news release, the occupants were transferred to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. “An Air Station Clearwater C-130 airplane crew spotted the overloaded vessel at approximately 11:00 p.m. and reported the vessel to the nearby cutters and command center watchstanders,” the release stated.
The authorities did not report the group’s health status of Haitian immigrants or whether they included women and children. They only noted that once they boarded the Coast Guard vessel, “all migrants received food, water, shelter, and medical assistance.”
Lt. Vladimir Jimenez, law enforcement duty officer of the Seventh Coast Guard District command center, added that the Coast Guard and partner agencies continue to patrol in the air and on the water to deter these types of “unsafe voyages.” “The probability of a successful migration voyage is low, and when these voyages are stopped, people should expect to be returned to their country of origin.”
Last January, the US Coast Guard intercepted another boat near the Florida Keys carrying 176 Haitians, ten of whom had to be taken to hospital with symptoms of dehydration.
The US Coast Guard has noted that since October 1, 2021, Coast Guard crews have rescued 993 Haitians compared to 1,527 Haitian migrants in the fiscal year 2021; 418 Haitian migrants in the fiscal year 2020; 932 Haitian migrants in the fiscal year 2019; 609 Haitian migrants in the fiscal year 2018; and 419 Haitian migrants in the fiscal year 2017.
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