Dressed in winter hats, gloves and yellow vests, police in Windsor, Ontario slowly moved in on protesters blocking the Ambassador Bridge connecting Ontario to Detroit, Michigan on Saturday.
Late Friday evening an Ontario Superior Court judge issued an injunction against the protesters in Windsor, giving them until 7pm Friday to vacate the bridge, which is the busiest border crossing between the US and Canada.
Protesters ignored the injunction, setting up a tense day-long stand off with police.
“It is, I would say, of critical national importance that this border crossing be reopened,” said Drew Dilkens, the mayor of Windsor.
For six days protesters have blocked the bridge causing major financial headaches to both the Canadian and US governments.
A quarter of trade between the two countries passes over the 92-year-old bridge.
“You effectively have 200 people who are holding hostage the national economic interests of Canada but also having a big impact on US trade and US families as well,” Mr Dilkens told The National.
Mr Dilkens said Windsor had never experienced a protest so crippling and far reaching in its impact.
The mayor had been calling for provincial and federal support for several days and said he’s relieved it has finally arrived in the form of added officers from both the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Authorities were being extremely careful in clearing protesters because of the presence of children in the crowd, he said.
The protest in Windsor is part of a trans-Canadian movement led by lorry drivers against Covid-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.
For more than two weeks they have paralysed the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
On Saturday several thousand truckers and their supporters rallied in front of Parliament Hill, showing no signs of letting up as the demonstrations entered their third weekend.
Truck horns periodically pierced the frigid winter air, despite a court order injunction the noise pollution that has kept residents up for days. Peopled draped with Canadian flags on their backs danced in the street shouting "Freedom."
“This is like Canada Day on steroids, the amount of energy and positivity,” said Richard Graham.
The tooling manager for a manufacturing company in Ontario, said he was frustrated by all the restrictions that were impeding on his daily life. “I can't travel, I can’t cross the border,” he told The National.
While Mr Graham is not vaccinated, others were. Mike Scott, drove in for the weekend from his home near Barrie, Ontario, a five hour drive.
Mr Scott said he was against forcing people to get vaccinated despite getting both shots himself.
Police have maintained a relatively low profile throughout the more than two weeks ordeal in Ottawa with the chief of police saying he needs at least 1,800 more officers to be able to properly control what politicians are now calling a siege.
But the low profile may also be in part by design, as police don’t want to antagonise the crowds.
“We've learned that a strong show of force in the initial outset of these types of incidents only escalates the force, and it makes it more difficult to move these people along because you have lost the ability to communicate with them on an equal power base,” said Scott Blandford, assistant professor and program coordinator for public safety and policing programs at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.
At this point, this situation has moved well beyond a police matter. This is a political matter.
Scott Blandford,
assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University
Mr Blandford, who spent 30 years as a police officer in Canada, said unlike the situation in Windsor, Ottawa will likely drag on for some time as it presents a set of quandaries for officers as they have to navigate in a dense urban environment and are dealing with both people and massive vehicles.
“At this point, this situation has moved well beyond a police matter,” Mr Blandford told The National. “This is a political matter.”
He said the occupation of Ottawa would only end through negotiation as the protesters appear to be fully entrenched in the Canadian Capital.
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THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
BABYLON
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury
Liverpool
Gordon (34'), Fabinho (44' pen, 90' 3), Firmino (78')
Shrewsbury
Udoh (27'minutes)
Man of the Match: Kaide Gordon (Liverpool)
Anti-semitic attacks
The annual report by the Community Security Trust, which advises the Jewish community on security , warned on Thursday that anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had reached a record high.
It found there had been 2,255 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, a rise of 34 per cent from the previous year.
The report detailed the convictions of a number of people for anti-Semitic crimes, including one man who was jailed for setting up a neo-Nazi group which had encouraged “the eradication of Jewish people” and another who had posted anti-Semitic homemade videos on social media.
Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
