27/09/2025

SATURDAY | SEPT 27, 2025 9 Canada Post begins nationwide strike OTTAWA: Canada Post workers went on a nationwide strike on Thursday after the government called for the postal company to undergo a widespread transformation to bolster its finances and modernise operations, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said. “In response to the government’s attack on our postal service and workers, effective immediately, all CUPW members at Canada Post are on a nationwide strike,“ the union said. Canada Post said its operations would be shut down following the strike and its customers could expect delays. “The corporation is disappointed that the union chose to escalate their strike activity, which would further deteriorate Canada Post’s financial situation,“ the country’s primary postal service said in an emailed statement to Reuters. Earlier on Thursday, the government instructed Canada Post to begin major changes to its operations, saying the company faces structural challenges that, coupled with outdated restrictions and stalled negotiations between labour and management, have limited its ability to adapt, causing mounting losses. “This situation is unsustainable. Canada Post is effectively insolvent and repeated bailouts are not a long-term solution. Transformation is required to ensure the survival of Canada Post and protect the services Canadians rely on,“ the government said in a statement. The government added that it is reviewing the process for increases to the stamp rate. The union said the announcement made by Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement Minister Joel Lightbound, responsible for Canada Post, gave no clear details about how changes would be implemented to the organisation. It warned that the recommendations, which include community mailbox conversions, could result in major job losses and changes to delivery standards. CUPW said it was informed that Canada Post needs until next week to present new global offers. In response to the strike, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce called for a return to the bargaining table for negotiations in good faith. – Reuters STARBUCKS TO CUT 900 JOBS LOS ANGELES: Starbucks plans to cut about 900 non-retail jobs and close about 200 coffeehouses in North America as part of a restructuring plan, according to its chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, reported Xinhua. Starbucks also plans to uplift more than 1,000 locations over the next 12 months to improve design and customer experience, he said, adding that the company “would offer generous severance and support packages, including benefits extensions” for laid-off employees. “These steps are to reinforce what we see is working and prioritise our resources against them.“ – Bernama Xinhua PRISON RIOT KILLS 17 QUITO: At least 17 people were killed in a prison riot in the Ecuadorian province of Esmeraldas on Thursday, Xinhua reported, citing local media. A suspected rival gang conflict took place in a provincial prison at 3am local time, and gunshots and shouts were heard, said local news outlet Primicias, quoting Ecuadorian police sources. The conflict has caused at least 17 deaths, according to an initial police investigation. Local media said there might be other casualties at the prison. On Monday, at least 14 people were killed and 14 others injured in a riot at a prison in southwestern Ecuador, according to police. – Bernama-Xinhua

Former FBI chief denies obstructing congress probe

WASHINGTON: director James Comey has denied charges against him following his indictment on Thursday, declaring his innocence and expressing confidence in the federal court system, the German Press Agency reported. “My heart is broken for the Justice Department but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system. I am innocent, so let us have a trial and keep the faith.” The 64-year-old was indicted by a federal grand jury in a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump’s retribution campaign against his political enemies. Trump has threatened to imprison his political rivals since he first ran for president, but Thursday’s indictment marks the first time his administration has succeeded in securing a grand jury indictment against one of them. The department said Comey faces charges that include making false statements and o ‘I have great confidence in federal judicial system’ Former FBI

prosecutions of political targets and the department is corruptly obeying. This indictment has all the hallmarks of a vindictive and meritless prosecution,” said Brookings Institution fellow Norm Eisen, a prominent former government ethics official under former Democratic president Barack Obama. Trump and Comey have had an acrimonious relationship since the start of the president’s first term. Trump fired Comey as FBI director days after Comey publicly confirmed that the president was under investigation over his election campaign connections to Russia. Comey then emerged as a prominent critic of Trump, calling him “morally unfit” for office. Trump’s second administration has sought to undermine conclusions by US intelligence and law enforcement agencies about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, in which Trump defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Comey said he has long understood that standing up to Trump comes at a cost. “Somebody that I love recently said fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she is right. But I am not afraid and I hope you are not either.” – Reuters

obstructing a congressional investigation. The federal prosecutor in Virginia who had been tasked with pursuing the case resigned last week after drawing Trump’s wrath for expressing doubts about the case, and others in the office have privately said the evidence does not merit criminal charges, according to sources familiar with the matter. During Trump’s first term, Comey led an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US elections, examining possible links between Moscow and members of Trump’s campaign team. Trump fired Comey in 2017 while the investigation was ongoing. The indictment alleges that Comey misled Congress by claiming that he had not authorised anyone else to be an anonymous source in news reporting about an FBI probe. Trump’s administration has carried out a sweeping campaign to remake the Justice Department, which Trump alleges was used as a political weapon when he left office in 2021. Trump faced federal charges of mishandling classified documents and trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Both cases have been dropped. “Trump has ordered the criminal

DANGEROUS DISSENT ...

Firefighters on Thursday extinguishing a burning truck that was rammed into a gate and set on fire by students from the Raul Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers’ College of Ayotzinapa, following a protest ahead of the 11th anniversary of the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico. – REUTERSPIC

BR I E F S

US citizen seeks US$50m over violent ICE arrest LOS ANGELES: An elderly US man who was body slammed to the ground as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided his Los Angeles car wash said on Thursday he is lodging a US$50 million (RM211 million) damages claim against the government. because they appear to target people simply because they speak Spanish or are working at locations such as car washes. Video shows three masked men pinning Shouhed to the ground, with one of them appearing to put a knee on his neck. The 79-year-old said he told the agents: “I cannot breathe, I cannot breathe”.

injury, lawyers said. The legal claim is a precursor to a lawsuit. A Homeland Security Department spokesperson told AFP that the Sept 9 raid resulted in the arrest of “five illegal aliens from Guatemala and Mexico who broke our nation’s immigration laws, including one who was removed from the country twice in 2015”. “The owner of Valley Car Wash, a US citizen, impeded the operation and was arrested for assaulting and impeding a federal officer”. Shouhed’s lawyer Jim Desimone said surveillance video showed that his client had been cooperative. “How many more people have to be seriously injured or die before we have a change in the way these ICE officers are, using brutal force first and asking questions later?” – AFP

Surveillance video shows Rafie Shouhed being violently manhandled by several masked and heavily armed agents, who then took him into custody, and he says he was held for nearly 12 hours without medical attention. “They told me nothing. The only words they said: ‘You do not F with ICE,‘” said Shouhed, who moved to the United States from Iran in the 1980s. The raid on Shouhed’s car wash this month was part of President Donald Trump’s programme against undocumented migrants. The raids have been controversial, in part

Attorneys acting for Shouhed said their client’s pleas, including his explanation that he had recently undergone heart surgery, were ignored. “Even after the agents admitted that they knew he was a US citizen, he was kept in custody,“ the claim says. Shouhed, a Trump voter, was released without charge. He was later treated in hospital for broken ribs, serious elbow injuries and traumatic brain