BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
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Australia whistleblower who exposed war crime allegations loses bid to reduce prison sentence
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian army whistleblower David McBride, who leaked allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan to the media, lost a court bid to have his prison sentence reduced on Wednesday. The three Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal judges unanimously rejected the 61-year-old former army lawyer’s appeal against the severity of a…
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Via Rail subsidiary paid Quebec marketing firm $330K as it pivoted to high-speed rail
A federal Crown corporation paid more than $330,000 to an outside marketing firm to rebrand a planned passenger rail project between Toronto and Quebec City and boost its popularity. Documents obtained by The Canadian Press detail how the corporation, concerned about “widespread disinterest” in a high-frequency rail corridor announced in 2021, decided to change its…
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Crypto crime spills over from behind the screen to real-life violence
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A man says he was tortured for weeks in a New York townhouse. Another in Paris was held for ransom and his finger cut off. A couple in Connecticut were carjacked, beaten and thrown into a van. All, authorities allege, were victims tied to cryptocurrency-related crimes that have spilled out from…
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Officers warned about harassment before former Saskatchewan police chief’s exit: memo
PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Officers with a beleaguered Saskatchewan police force were warned about harassing behaviour in the weeks before their police chief accused members of personal attacks and character assassination, internal documents show. Jonathan Bergen announced he was retiring as chief of the Prince Albert Police Service last May saying he was the subject…
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Republican Texas AG Ken Paxton is acquitted of corruption charges at historic impeachment trial
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday of all charges at a historic impeachment trial that divided Republicans over whether to remove a powerful defender of former President Donald Trump after years of scandal and criminal charges. The verdict reaffirmed Paxton’s durability in America’s biggest red state and is a…
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Two Vegas casinos fell victim to cyberattacks, shattering the image of impenetrable casino security
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A persistent error message greeted Dulce Martinez on Monday as she tried to access her casino rewards account to book accommodations for an upcoming business trip. That’s odd, she thought, then toggled over to Facebook to search for clues about the issue on a group for MGM Resorts International loyalty members.…
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Policy gaps contributed to deadly gondola crash at Quebec’s Tremblant ski resort
MONTREAL — A deadly collision between a gondola and a drill rig at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant Ski Resort in July occurred, in part, because of incomplete procedures governing how construction equipment was to be moved on the property, a labour inspector has concluded. A Canadian soldier, Sgt. Sheldon Johnson, 50, of Kingston, Ont., died in…
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RCMP technology ‘between contracts,’ unavailable at first for Saskatchewan killings
SASKATOON — A technology used by a specialized RCMP team to search for people in high-risk situations was not immediately available as Mounties responded to a stabbing rampage and the hunt for a mass killer in Saskatchewan because it was held up under the federal procurement process. Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show…
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TikTok is hit with $368 million fine under Europe’s strict data privacy rules
LONDON (AP) — European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children’s privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe’s strict data privacy rules. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are…
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A second major British police force suffers a cyberattack in less than a month
LONDON (AP) — Personal details of thousands of police officers and staff from Greater Manchester Police have been hacked from a company that makes identity cards, the second such cyberattack to affect a major British police force in less than a month. Details on identity badges and warrant cards, including names, photos and identity numbers…
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Planned Parenthood sues to expand South Carolina abortion access under strict new ban
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Abortion providers urged South Carolina’s highest court on Thursday to lengthen the narrow window when a pregnancy can be legally terminated under the state’s strict new ban. The conservative state’s all-male Supreme Court last month upheld a so-called “fetal heartbeat” law commonly understood to restrict access after about six weeks of…