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Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Hold-and-secure at central Hamilton Catholic school lifted
A hold-and-secure at a Catholic elementary school in central Hamilton has been lifted, but officers continue to investigate an incident in the neighbourhood, police say. The hold-and-secure at St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School on East Avenue South initiated Tuesday morning was 'related to an ongoing investigation in the area of Emerald Street South,' police said in a 10:51 a.m. social-media post . Police said in another post at around 12:15 p.m. the security measure had been lifted, but that officers remain in the area. On social media Tuesday morning, police said officers were 'currently dealing with an incident' on Emerald between King Street East and Main Street East. As of 12:15 p.m., they continue to investigate. 'There is ongoing negotiations with a male contained in a room' of an Emerald Street building, spokesperson Const. Adam Kimber said in an email. He didn't provide further details. Police are asking residents to avoid the area. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Korea Herald
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
S. Korea's accelerating political swings: Will pendulum move again?
Administrations don't fade from favor gradually — they fall fast, paving way for sharper, fiercer power swings Since South Korea's democratization in 1987, power has swung back and forth between conservative and progressive forces with a certain rhythm — roughly every decade. These shifts have often been triggered by public discontent over corruption, economic crises, and leadership scandals. In more recent years, however, that rhythm has noticeably accelerated, signaling an era of increasingly unpredictable and chaotic politics. The upcoming snap presidential election, set for June 3, is taking place just three years after the last one. (South Korea has a single-term, five-year presidency.) With conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol ousted in April, the country appears poised to shift once again, potentially bringing a liberal administration back to power and reinforcing the growing pattern of rapid political turnover. South Korea's political pendulum began with a period of conservative party dominance. Roh Tae-woo won the presidential election in 1987 — the first direct vote held after the fall of a decadeslong military rule. He was succeeded by another conservative party candidate, Kim Young-sam, in 1993. Progressives first rose to power in 1998, with Kim Dae-jung, a longtime opposition figure and human rights advocate, taking over the top post to steer the country from the depth of the Asian financial crisis. His successor, Roh Moo-hyun, sworn in in 2003, further advanced the liberal agenda. In 2004, in his second year in office, Roh survived a parliamentary impeachment attempt. It was the first time that the country saw this mechanism being mobilized against a sitting president. In 2007, voter fatigue with liberal leadership — compounded by concerns over economic stagnation and a lack of progress in relations with North Korea — brought the conservatives back. Business-friendly Lee Myung-bak took the reigns in 2008. Five years later, Park Geun-hye, the daughter of former strongman Park Chung-hee, became the country's first female president and continued the conservative rule. Her presidency, however, came to an abrupt end in 2017 after a massive influence-peddling scandal ignited nationwide candlelight protests. Park Geun-hye was impeached and removed from office with roughly a year left in her term — the first time a sitting leader was formally ousted. This marked the beginning of a disruption in the 10-year cycle of power shifts. With Park Geun-hye's fall, liberals surged. Moon Jae-in, former chief of staff to President Roh Moo-hyun and the runner-up in the vote that elected Park as president, won the election that followed. After five years of Moon's liberal administration, the pendulum swung back once again. In 2022, Yoon Suk Yeol, a former prosecutor with no prior political experience, narrowly won the presidency on a conservative platform. Yoon's presidency lasted only three years. In April 2025, Yoon was removed from office by the Constitutional Court over his short-lived martial law declaration in December 2024. He became the second president in South Korea's history to be impeached. Now, South Koreans prepare to cast their ballots in yet another snap presidential election on June 3. The question may be not just the direction the pendulum will swing — but how long it would stay there in this nation caught in a political overdrive. shinjh@
Hamilton Spectator
17-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Vancouver officer charged a year after pedestrian strike in Downtown Eastside
VANCOUVER - The BC Prosecution Service says a Vancouver police officer has been charged under the Motor Vehicle Act for driving without reasonable consideration for others, a year after a pedestrian was hit in the city's Downtown Eastside. The prosecution service says Const. Aaron Carter faces the charge after B.C.'s police watchdog was called in to investigate the crash. The Independent Investigations Office said in a statement at the time that a man was walking on East Hastings near Dunlevy after midnight on May 21, 2024, when he was hit by a police vehicle. A statement from the office last year says the man was taken to hospital with serious injuries, and it forwarded a report to the prosecutor's office, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe the officer may have committed driving offences. The prosecution service says the charge was approved by an 'experience Crown counsel with no connection' to the officer. Carter's first appearance in Vancouver provincial court is set for June 18. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
Hindustan Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Mallikarjun Kharge urges PM Modi to announce a clear timeline for caste census
A process such as a caste census should not be seen as divisive in any way, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, while pushing for a constitution amendment to remove the 'arbitrary' 50% cap on reservation and other key measures. Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, told PM that, 'Our great nation and our big-hearted people have always stood united in adversity. We all showed solidarity after the recent cowardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam. The Indian National Congress believes that caste census in the comprehensive manner suggested above is essential to ensure social and economic justice and equality of status and opportunity. This is also resolved in the Preamble of our Constitution.' Kharge's letter comes days after the Congress Working Committee, which met on April 2, emphasised that the Telangana caste survey model should be emulated by the government and demanded that 'the government must immediately allocate the necessary funds and announce a clear timeline for every stage of the census.' The Congress president reminded that while the principal Opposition party had been demanding a caste census, 'Unfortunately… your party leaders and you yourself have continuously attacked the Congress Party and the Congress leadership for raising this legitimate demand. Today you yourself are admitting that this demand is in the interest of deeper social justice and social empowerment.' Last week, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) had approved that caste enumeration would be part of the decennial census, but no further details were provided. 'Without any clear explanation, you have announced that caste will also be included as a separate category in the next census (which was scheduled for 2021),: Kharge said, as he made three suggestions. Also Read: Kharge urges Centre to raise quota ceiling for backward communities from 50% to 68% 'The design of the census questionnaire is extremely important. Caste information should be collected not just for the sake of counting but to achieve broader socio-economic goals. The recently conducted caste survey in Telangana was designed and implemented with these objectives in mind. The Union Home Ministry should use the Telangana model for the questionnaire used in the census and the questions asked. Nothing should be hidden in the report to be published at the end of the process so that the complete socio-economic data of each caste is publicly available so that their socio-economic progress can be measured from one census to the next and they can be given constitutional rights,' Kharge said. Pointing out to the reservation in Tamil Nadu—the only state which has more than 60% reservation—Kharge said, 'Earlier in 1994, the Tamil Nadu Reservation Act was included in the Ninth Schedule of our Constitution. Similarly, the reservation acts passed by all the states should be included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. Apart from this, whatever the results of the caste census, it is clear that the arbitrary maximum limit of 50% on reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes will have to be removed through constitutional amendment.' He also suggested new laws are required to implement Article 15(5) that give OBC reservation to both public and private educational institutions. 'I trust that you will consider my suggestions. In fact, I urge you to have an early dialogue with all political parties on the issue of caste census,' Kharge said.
Hamilton Spectator
03-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Top Hamilton headlines this week: What happened in Italy didn't stay in Italy + NDP wiped out of Hamilton
The weekend is here, but plenty happened in the Hamilton area this week. Don't miss these top stories from Spectator reporters. It's Doors Open weekend in Hamilton and there are plenty more things to do in the area. Here are some ideas . Showers are possible both Saturday and Sunday and cooler weather is expected over the weekend. One Hamilton hospital nurse worked 24 hours straight. Three nurses worked so many hours that it added up to more than one and a half full-time jobs each. The increasing amount of excessive overtime is deeply disturbing to unions and patient advocates, who question why there are no limits to how many hours a nurse can work. Four Catholic trustees racked up $127,000 in travel and art costs on a publicly funded trip — plus nearly $63,000 more in legal costs managing the aftermath — prompting a ministry review. The report gives insight into where things went wrong, but also how the trustees spent taxpayer dollars which they have since vowed to repay. Spectator columnist Susan Clairmont was likely the only journalist who, entirely by chance, saw the complete, untouched video of Const. Greg Pierzchala's murder. 'What I heard was the most horrific evidence I've experienced in more than 30 years as a journalist,' she writes. A come-back-from-the-dead Liberal election win has wiped the NDP off Hamilton's federal map — a political shift with potentially profound implications for city residents bracing for tariff-war layoffs and those already struggling with poverty. He says she was into it. She says she wasn't. He says they went on to have an affair. She says he raped her. Const. Jeffrey Turnbull of the Hamilton Police Service is on trial for sexually assaulting a female officer. Subscribe to our newsletters for the latest local content .
