Â鶹ӰÊÓ

World

    • Ukraine asks court to put Orthodox leader under house arrest

    Share
    KYIV, Ukraine -

    A Kyiv court ordered a leading priest to be put under house arrest Saturday after Ukraine's top security agency said he was suspected of justifying Russian agression, a criminal offence. It was the latest move in a bitter dispute over a famed Orthodox monastery.

    Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, Ukraine's most revered Orthodox site, has denied the charges and resisted the authorities' order to vacate the complex.

    After the court's ruling, a monitoring bracelet was placed around his ankle, despite his objections that he has diabetes and should not wear it.

    "I am accepting this," he said shortly before the bracelet was attached. "Christ was crucified on the cross, so why shouldn't I accept this?"

    In a court hearing earlier in the day, the metropolitan said the claim by the Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU, that he condoned Russia's invasion was politically driven.

    "I have never been on the side of aggression," Pavel told reporters in the courthouse. "This is my land."

    Earlier in the week, he cursed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, threatening him with damnation.

    SBU agents raided the metropolitcan's residence, and prosecutors asked the court to put him under house arrest pending the investigation. The hearing Saturday was adjourned until Monday after the metropolitan said he was feeling unwell.

    The monks in the monastery belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been accused of having links to Russia. The dispute surrounding the property, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is part of a wider religious conflict that has unfolded in parallel with the war.

    The Ukrainian government has cracked down on the UOC over its historic ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader, Patriarch Kirill, has supported Russian President Vladimir Putin in the invasion of Ukraine.

    The UOC has insisted that it's loyal to Ukraine and has denounced the Russian invasion from the start. But Ukrainian security agencies say some in the church have maintained close ties with Moscow. The agencies have raided numerous holy sites of the church and then posted photos of rubles, Russian passports, and leaflets with messages from the Moscow patriarch as proof that some church officials have been loyal to Russia.

    The government had ordered the monks to leave the compound by March 29. It claims they violated their lease by making alterations to the historic site, and other technical infractions. The monks rejected the claim as a pretext.

    Dozens of UOC supporters gathered outside the monastery on Saturday, singing hymns in the rain. A smaller group of protesters also turned up, accusing the other side of sympathizing with Moscow.

    "They wash the brains of people with Russian support, and they are very dangerous for Ukraine," said Senia Kravchuk, a 38-year-old software developer from Kyiv. "They sing songs in support of Russia, and that's horrible, here, in the center of Kyiv."

    Third-year seminary student David, 21, disagreed. Dressed in a priest's robes and with a Ukrainian flag draped round his shoulders, he insisted the Lavra priests and residents were in no way pro-Russian. The state, he said, was trying to evict hundreds of people from Lavra without a court order.

    "Look at me. I'm in priest's clothes, with a Ukrainian flag and a cross around my neck. Could you say that I'm pro-Russian?" said David, who declined to give his last name because of the tensions surrounding the issue. "The priests are currently singing a Ukrainian hymn, and they're being called pro-Russian. Can you believe it?"

    Many Orthodox communities in Ukraine have cut their ties with the UOC and transitioned to the rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which more than four years ago received recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

    Bartholomew I is considered the first among equals among the leaders of the Eastern Orthodox churches. Patriarch Kirill and most other Orthodox patriarchs have refused to accept his decision authorizing the second Ukrainian church.

    In other news Saturday, Zelenskyy condemned the U.N. Security Council for allowing Russia to assume its presidency. The council's 15 members each serve as president for a month, on a rotating basis.

    Zelenskyy said Russian artillery had killed a 5-month-old boy in the town of Avdiivka on Friday, "one of hundreds of artillery attacks" each day, and added that Russia presiding over the Security Council "proves the complete bankruptcy of such institutions."

    Two civilians were reported killed in Russian shelling on Saturday, one each in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions, Ukrainian authorities there said.

    Zelenskyy also said he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday about the battlefield situation and defence cooperation.

    While Ukraine is preparing for a counteroffensive expected later this spring, Russian forces have kept pressing their effort to capture the city of Bakhmut. The Ukrainian stronghold in the Donbas region in Ukraine's east has been the focus of a ferocious battle that has dragged on for eight months.

    Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said during a Saturday visit to the military headquarters overseeing the action in Ukraine that Russia's defence industries have boosted production of ammunition "by several times." Russian's government previously acknowledged ammunition shortages.

    The U.K. Defense Ministry said in its latest analysis Saturday that the Russian offensive personally overseen by Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian military, has fizzled.

    "Gerasimov's tenure has been characterized by an effort to launch a general winter offensive with the aim of extending Russian control over the whole of the Donbas region," the British ministry said on Twitter. "Eighty days on, it is increasingly apparent that this project has failed."

    The ministry said that along the Donbas front, "Russian forces have made only marginal gains at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties." It was "largely squandering its temporary advantage in personnel" from a partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists Putin ordered in the fall, the U.K. analysis said.

    The U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, meanwhile, mocked a new edition of Moscow's foreign policy doctrine published Friday that described the Russian policy as "peaceful, open, predictable, consistent, pragmatic and based on respect for universally recognized principles and norms of international law."

    "April Fool's Day is TOMORROW," the Foreign Office tweeted late Friday.

    ------

    Associated Press writer Elena Becatoros in Kyiv contributed to this report.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    A woman from Montreal's South Shore appeared in court on Friday on charges of aggravated assault after allegedly scalding a 10-year-old boy with boiling water more than one week ago.

    Two young men are facing second-degree murder charges in connection with the fatal fire in Old Montreal that killed Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her daughter Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie on Oct. 4.

    A British Columbia First Nation says at least 55 children died or disappeared while attending a residential school near Williams Lake, more than triple the number recorded for the institution in the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation memorial register.

    The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a recall for Rana brand Tagliatelle Seasoned White Chicken and Mushroom sauce, citing possible Listeria contamination.

    A Montreal study found that many seniors are being overprescribed inappropriate medications.

    Canada

    • A multiple vehicle collision took place Saturday morning on Hwy. 101 in Nova Scotia.

    • A British Columbia First Nation says at least 55 children died or disappeared while attending a residential school near Williams Lake, more than triple the number recorded for the institution in the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation memorial register.

    • More than a month after the murder of Nova Scotia woman Esther Jones, her family continues to grapple with the loss.

    • A theft suspect who ran into traffic in an attempt to escape Victoria police Friday afternoon was struck by a civilian vehicle and taken to hospital, police say.

    • Border guards in Montreal intercepted millions of amphetamine tablets concealed in hundreds of PVC panels inside a container from China.

    • A man has been arrested and charged after allegedly sexually assaulting two children while working as an instructor in a Mississauga school.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    • The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a recall for Rana brand Tagliatelle Seasoned White Chicken and Mushroom sauce, citing possible Listeria contamination.

    • A Montreal study found that many seniors are being overprescribed inappropriate medications.

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • 5 things not to say to a grieving friend

      It’s almost impossible to know what to say to someone in the throes of grief. We all want to say something comforting. Very few of us know what that is.

    • James Taylor never expected to be walking home with a bag full of groceries he didn't buy.

    Sports

    Autos

    • Elon Musk unveils his 'Cybercab' robotaxi

      Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled on Thursday his vision of a 'a fun, exciting future,' an 'age of abundance' full of his company’s self-driving cars without steering wheels, parking lots turned into parks and robots that will walk among the population – that he once again promised would be available within a few years.

    • video

      video

      Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.

    Local Spotlight

    James Taylor never expected to be walking home with a bag full of groceries he didn't buy.

    This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of a large blizzard that paralyzed Manitoba.

    There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.

    Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

    Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.

    A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.

    Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

    A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

    • Dozens of "outsider" artists are bringing their work to the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre in Yaletown this weekend.

    • A theft suspect who ran into traffic in an attempt to escape Victoria police Friday afternoon was struck by a civilian vehicle and taken to hospital, police say.

    • A British Columbia First Nation says at least 55 children died or disappeared while attending a residential school near Williams Lake, more than triple the number recorded for the institution in the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation memorial register.

    • Toronto police are investigating after a Jewish girls' school in North York was hit by gunfire for the second time this year.

    • Parents at some private, for-profit daycares across the GTA are being warned that their fees could soon be doubling as operators consider pulling out of the national $10-a-day child-care program.

    • Here is a look at what’s open, what’s closed, and what’s on in the GTA during Thanksgiving weekend 2024:

    • Calgary Public Library (CPL) locations closed early on Friday following a cyber attack.

    • Young LGBTQ newcomers to Canada are expressing themselves through art in a new exhibition at the University of Calgary.

    • After a slow start, the Wranglers fought back before falling to the Abbotsford Canucks 4-3 in their home opener Friday night at the Saddledome.

    • Ontario Provincial Police are investigating after was found dead in a single all-terrain vehicle (ATV) crash.

    • The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a recall for Rana brand Tagliatelle Seasoned White Chicken and Mushroom sauce, citing possible Listeria contamination.

    • CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what's open and closed in Ottawa over the Thanksgiving weekend.

    • Two young men are facing second-degree murder charges in connection with the fatal fire in Old Montreal that killed Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her daughter Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie on Oct. 4.

    • For months, Premier Francois Legault has said Quebec has too many people crossing the border and has demanded that the federal government step in to send them to other provinces.

    • Spiders are larger and more visible in the Montreal area in the fall as they prepare to lay their eggs before the cold winter months.

    • A pedestrian was killed and a man was arrested after a suspected impaired driving crash on Highway 39 east of Leduc early Saturday morning.

    • Â鶹ӰÊÓ Edmonton spoke with two families, as well as Edmonton's public and Catholic school divisions, about the first month of school with Alberta's school cellphone ban.

    • RCMP are asking the public for help finding a man accused of fraud.

    • Halifax Regional Police located a person of interest in relation to a homicide.

    • More than a month after the murder of Nova Scotia woman Esther Jones, her family continues to grapple with the loss.

    • A multiple vehicle collision took place Saturday morning on Hwy. 101 in Nova Scotia.

    • Two Winnipeggers have been arrested after images and videos were posted online of animals being tortured and killed.

    • A 37-year-old Winnipeg man has been charged with multiple offences after videos filmed in a public pool change room were seized by police.

    • Tec Voc has started 6-0 – leading the AAA division as the only undefeated team.

    • There is a lot on the line in Saturday’s matchup between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and BC Lions as a Rider win will secure them a home playoff game.

    • Regina will vote for a new mayor, city council and public and separate school board trustees on Nov. 13.

    • The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party laid out its platform on Friday, ahead of the Oct. 28 provincial election.

    • Days after flames ripped through three units of the Mohawk Plaza, the club is still coming to terms with the loss.

    • The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a recall for Rana brand Tagliatelle Seasoned White Chicken and Mushroom sauce, citing possible Listeria contamination.

    • The Ontario Provincial Police West Region Highway Safety Division, Traffic Incident Management Enforcement Team and the Ministry of Finance were involved in a joint forces operation on Thursday.

    • The leaders of Saskatchewan’s two major political parties are sharing their plans to tackle the growing homelessness crisis.

    • The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party laid out its platform on Friday, ahead of the Oct. 28 provincial election.

    • It’s time for someone else to carry the torch for the Marathon of Hope (MOH).

    • The Mustangs made quick work of Toronto in a rare Friday night OUA Football game.

    • A student pilot in Central Huron recently had to make an emergency landing in a field.

    • OPP are investigating a single-vehicle collision in Caledon early Saturday morning that resulted in the death of the driver.

    • Food and financial donations are being collected across New Tecumseth by the Alliston Food Bank on Saturday for its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive.

    • Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons in Midland is hosting its annual Hometown Harvest Festival this long weekend, celebrating the fall season with plenty of autumn-themed activities.

    • A Windsor-based group has teamed up with PETA to encourage Windsor residents to consider vegan options this Thanksgiving.

    • It’s time for someone else to carry the torch for the Marathon of Hope (MOH).

    • The Windsor Police Service (WPS) has arrested a 37-year-old man, who is accused of drug trafficking, for violating his bail conditions.

    • A theft suspect who ran into traffic in an attempt to escape Victoria police Friday afternoon was struck by a civilian vehicle and taken to hospital, police say.

    • A British Columbia First Nation says at least 55 children died or disappeared while attending a residential school near Williams Lake, more than triple the number recorded for the institution in the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation memorial register.

    • Kevin Lankinen has made a point of focusing on what's in front of him — whether it's a puck or an opportunity.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • Local photographers were amazed by the aurora borealis display in the night sky over Lethbridge on Thursday night.

    • Lethbridge- The latest monthly report from the Alberta Real Estate Association shows Lethbridge has seen one of the biggest year over year increases in home prices.

    • The Interfaith Food Bank is busy preparing Thanksgiving bundles and has some tips for anyone hoping to cut down on their holiday dinner costs.

    • A closer look at preventing graffiti will be looked at in Sault Ste. Marie, after a string of offensive displays by one man, including spray painting anti-Indigenous language and painting over the pride crosswalk.

    • Even on an average day, the intersection of Highway 17 at Highway 6 near Espanola is busy, but it’s especially steady on a Friday before a long weekend.

    • A 34-year-old in Sault Ste. Marie who was wanted for a probation violation was found this week with a switchblade, drugs, a digital scale and $5,170 in cash.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at Â鶹ӰÊÓ. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow Â鶹ӰÊÓ