Recall issued for 38,000 GM vehicles in Canada over software safety glitch
Transport Canada has issued a recall for 38,000 General Motors (GM) vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, the agency reported in a notice on Wednesday.
Supporters of Iran-backed Shiite groups rallied in Baghdad on Friday to denounce their rivals, followers of an influential Shiite cleric who stormed the parliament last month and have since been holding a sit-in outside the assembly building in the Iraqi capital.
The rivalry between the two sides shows the deep divisions within Iraq's Shiite community, which makes up about 60% of Iraq's population of over 40 million people. Unlike Iran-backed groups, cleric Muqtada al-Sadr wants better ties with Arab countries, including Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which is Shiite Iran's main rival in the region.
Al-Sadr has also been a harsh critic of widespread corruption in the oil-rich country torn by decades of violence, with a crumbing infrastructure, an impoverished majority and lack of basic services.
During their rally Friday, the protesters from the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Iran-backed parties, did not try to enter Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses Iraq's parliament, government buildings and foreign embassies – and where al-Sadr's followers are camped out. Ahead of their gathering, authorities had closed off the road leading into the Green Zone with giant cement blocks.
The counter-protest came after al-Sadr issued a deadline on Wednesday to the judiciary, giving it a week to dissolve the Legislature. Al-Sadr, whose camp won most votes in last year's parliamentary elections last October, has not been able to form a majority government and after eight months of stalemate and jockeying with rival, Iran-backed Shiite factions, he abandoned those attempts.
Members of al-Sadr's parliamentary bloc resigned but instead of allowing his rivals – the Coordination Framework – to try and form a government, al-Sadr has demanded the parliament be dissolved and that early elections are held. It's unclear whether he has any legal basis for those demands.
The inter-Shiite power struggle has left Iraq in political limbo and exacerbated the economic crisis. The impasse, now in its tenth month, is the longest in the country since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion reset the political order.
"We are protesting against the occupation of parliament and those who threaten the judiciary," said university student, Abbas Salem, who was part of the rally Friday by Iran-backed groups.
Salem carried a poster of a top Iranian general, Qassim Soleimani, and a top Iraqi Shiite militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in a U.S. drone strike in January 2020. He said he worries that if al-Sadr forms a government, he will disband the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella of mostly Iran-backed Shiite militias.
Another protester, Ahmad al-Maliki, 52, said they are opposed to al-Sadr followers' "occupation of parliament" and added that Iraq needs a new government as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, al-Sadr's supporters in Baghdad and most Iraqi Shiite-dominated provinces – except for the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala – held their own rallies and preformed Friday prayers outdoors in a show of strength.
Transport Canada has issued a recall for 38,000 General Motors (GM) vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, the agency reported in a notice on Wednesday.
Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the Lebanese movement in an airstrike on Beirut on Friday, vowing to press on with a new military campaign until it is able to secure the area around the Lebanese border.
An 11-year-old boy died Monday after subway surfing in New York City. He's the fourth person to die from subway surfing in the city this year.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
An Ontario man says he’s still waiting for a vehicle he purchased on Kijiji to be delivered to his home. But after more than a month, he says he’s losing hope that the car will arrive and believes that he is a victim of a scam.
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Israel’s military has struck the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, in a dramatic escalation in a year-long period of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
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.
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.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.