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Humanitarian Aid on Trial in Greece

  File photo: Migrants from Afghanistan is towed by rescuers of the Refugee Rescue NGO, on the island of Lesbos, Greece. Twenty-four humanitarian aid workers have gone on trial in Greece, facing felony charges of migrant smuggling, money laundering, and membership in a criminal organization . The case, unfolding on the island of Lesbos, targets former volunteers of the now-defunct NGO Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI) , which operated search-and-rescue missions between 2016 and 2018. Among the defendants are Sarah Mardini , a Syrian refugee and professional swimmer whose story inspired the Netflix film The Swimmers , and Seán Binder , a German-Irish rescue diver. Both were arrested in 2018 for their involvement in helping migrants and refugees arriving by sea from Turkey. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison . Greek prosecutors allege that the group facilitated illegal entry into the country by monitoring coastguard communications and relaying ...

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Thousands of Canadians Die While Waiting for Surgery



According to a recent report, more than 17,000 Canadians have died while waiting for surgery or diagnostic scans in 2022-23. The report also suggests that the actual number could be higher. This is a concerning issue that needs to be addressed.

Long wait times for surgeries, MRI and CT scans are putting thousands of patients at risk. The surgical waitlist in Ontario alone surpasses 200,000 people . This comes off the back of a 21-page report from CUPE’S Ontario Council of Hospital Unions that found hospital staff vacancies have grown dramatically, increasing 19 per cent over the last year, and currently 37,00 positions remain unfilled .

The consequences of the long waits are stark, as more than 2,000 people died on waiting lists for surgeries last year, up almost 50 per cent from the year before. Another 9,400 patients died waiting for MRIs and CT scans . The situation is dire and requires immediate attention.


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