WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) — A judge ordered protesters at the Ambassador Bridge over the U.S.-Canadian border to end the 5-day-old blockade that has disrupted the flow of goods between the two countries and forced the auto industry on both sides to roll back production.
It was not immediately clear when or if law enforcement officers would be sent in to remove the demonstrators, who parked their pickups and other vehicles in a bumper-to-bumper protest against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions and an outpouring of fury toward Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government.
Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz of the Ontario Superior Court said during a virtual hearing that the order would be effective at 7:00 pm to give protesters time to leave.
Windsor police immediately warned that anyone blocking the streets could be subject to arrest and their vehicles may be seized.
The news was met with defiance by protesters.
At the Ambassador Bridge, an unidentified person grabbed a microphone and addressed them, asking if they wanted to stay or leave when the deadline rolled around. By a show of applause, it was agreed they would stay. “OK,”’ the man said. “Let’s stand tall.” The protesters responded by singing the Canadian national anthem.
The crowd later grew in size and intensity, with flag-waving and frequent chants of “Freedom!” More patrol cars moved in around the site, and police handed out leaflets warning that a state of emergency would come into effect at midnight.
Since Monday, drivers mostly in pickup trucks have bottled up the bridge connecting Windsor to Detroit. Hundreds more truckers have paralyzed downtown Ottawa over the past two weeks; it was a party atmosphere there Friday night, when they even set up a concert stage.
And protesters have also blocked two other border crossings, in Alberta and Manitoba.
PARIS (AP) — World leaders met on France’s Atlantic coast to discuss protecting the planet’s oceans from threats such as overfishing and plastic pollution, and finding fairer ways to manage the seas.
The One Ocean Summit comes as European authorities are investigating a mass fish dump in the Bay of Biscay that environmental activists call an example of abuses by huge trawlers that disrupt undersea ecosystems.
Oceans cover more than 70% of the planet’s surface. Scientists estimate that 50% to 80% of all life on Earth is found under the ocean surface and at least 50% of the oxygen on the planet comes from the oceans, the majority being produced by plankton.
French President Emmanuel Macron initiated the three-day summit in the port city of Brest with the support of the United Nations.
“Today, we are going to make commitments,” Macron said in his opening speech. “I am convinced they are going to help strengthen helpful actions.”
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, whose country will host the U.N.’s annual climate summit this year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry and several other African and European leaders attended the event in person. Others were to take part via video messages.
ROME (AP) — A particularly powerful eruption of Mount Etna has created a volcanic storm that sent bolts of lightning dramatically across the sky over eastern Sicily.
A volcano expert with Italy’s National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology, said that such volcanic storms are rare but can happen in particularly violent eruptions or with volcanoes located near the sea.
The volcanologist, Boris Behnke, told The Associated Press that volcanic lightning was observed once over Etna in 2021, and before that, in 2015.
The eruption shortly before midnight didn’t cause any damage. But it did shoot ash 10 kilometers (more than 6 miles) into the air above sea level.
Etna is one of Europe’s most active volcanoes, and its eruptions aren’t infrequent.
