Seasonal workers feel relief as some head home to Trinidad and Tobago after pandemic delays
Some seasonal workers stranded on Canadian farms were able to fly back to Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday, while others eagerly await their flight home or consider staying.
Social Sharing To feel the sun on me . and realize I m home. That is all I want, says one worker
Posted: Dec 30, 2020 9:36 PM ET | Last Updated: December 31, 2020
Embling O Garro said he couldn t wait to be reunited with his family and feel the warmth of the sun after flying back to Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday. The 47-year-old was among hundreds of seasonal workers stranded on Canadian farms.(CBC)
Saudi court sentences women’s-rights activist and UBC graduate to nearly six years in prison Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
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The family of Loujain al-Hathloul, one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent women’s-rights activists and a University of B.C. graduate, wants Canada and its allies to keep speaking out against the kingdom’s human-rights violations after their sister was sentenced to nearly six years in prison on terrorism-related charges.
Posted: Dec 29, 2020 3:00 AM CT | Last Updated: December 29, 2020
A youngster walks on the side of the road in a rural area of Ethiopia. Thousands have been displaced as ethnic tensions have risen and violence has erupted in different parts of the country. (Eduardo Soteras/AFP via Getty Images)
Ted Jaleta, an accomplished Regina-based athlete, said he feels powerless to help his brothers who have lost their homes and livelihoods as ethnic violence grips Ethiopia.
The well-known running coach and community volunteer made the Saskatchewan capital his home after fleeing violence in the African country nearly 40 years ago. Now he fears for his family members and other ethnic minorities who are under threat.
Last Updated: Thursday, December 31, 2020 13:11
Global Affairs Canada is calling a sentence delivered to human rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul by a court in Saudi Arabia on Monday “deeply troubling.”
The five years and eight months sentence includes a two-year and 10-month suspension–in addition to time she has already served–opening the way for her to be released in March.
“We understand that early release is possible and advocate for it,” Global Affairs Canada said in a statement.
“True to our democratic values and principles, Canada will always stand with human-rights activists and defenders around the world.”
State-linked media announced the sentence, saying al-Hathloul, who gained international prominence in 2013 when she led a fight to allow women in Saudi Arabia to drive, was found guilty of a number charges.
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES It was clear that Loujain al-Hathloul intended to return home to Saudia Arabia to advocate for women s rights after graduating in Canada, says a friend who got to know the imprisoned activist while the two women were studying at the University of British Columbia. “She wanted to go back to Saudi Arabia,” said Atiya Jaffar, who was on the Vancouver campus with al-Hathloul between 2009 and 2013. “All of the activism that she engaged in after graduation, I believe she did it out of a love for her people and her country.” Now one Saudi Arabia s most prominent women s rights activists, 31-year-old al-Hathloul was sentenced Monday to nearly six years in prison, according to state-linked media, under a vague and broadly worded counterterrorism law.