In the news today: Houthi rebels fire at US warship in first attack after strikes

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This article was published 15/01/2024 (977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

Yemen Houthi rebels fire missile at US warship in Red Sea in first attack after American-led strikes

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea.

The American military says a U.S. fighter jet shot the missile down in the latest attack roiling global shipping amid Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The attack on Sunday marks the first U.S.-acknowledged fire by the Houthis since America and allied nations, including Canada, began strikes Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.

Warming trend forecast for West after deep freeze

A warming trend is in the forecast for much of British Columbia after several days of record-breaking temperatures, but the cold weather on the Prairies will continue.

Environment Canada says temperatures are rising but snow flurries are in the forecast for the Metro Vancouver area, followed by rain later this week and temperatures well above zero degrees Celsius.

Temperatures in Alberta are forecast to start to moderate today and through the week, but it will remain cold.

Here’s what else we’re watching …

Kidnapping, sex assault trial to begin in Calgary

A French-language trial for a man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting five women at a rural property east of Calgary is to begin today at the Alberta Court of Justice.

Richard Robert Mantha, 59, faces numerous charges that include kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault with a weapon, sexual assault causing bodily harm and administering a noxious substance.

He was denied bail last summer and has been in custody since he was arrested in April 2023.

Inquest starts into Saskatchewan mass killing

A coroner’s inquest into the mass killing on a Saskatchewan First Nation is set to begin today.

Myles Sanderson killed 11 people and injured 17 others on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon on Sept. 4, 2022.

Sanderson, who was 32, died in police custody a few days later.

The inquest is to establish the events leading up to the killings, who died, and when and where each person was killed.

Police secretly got DNA from Kurds in murder probe

Undercover police investigating the murder of a 13-year-old girl in British Columbia disguised themselves as tea marketers to secretly collect D-N-A from members of the Kurdish community.

The policy director of the B-C Civil Liberties Association says she’s “stunned” by details of the sting operation that led police to identify a brother of the suspected killer.

The jury that last month convicted Ibrahim Ali of the 2017 murder never heard how police first came to suspect him, but the undercover operation is described among hundreds of hours of recorded pretrial hearings.

Police targeted the Kurdish community after tests found it was highly likely that D-N-A recovered from the girl’s body belonged to a person of that ethnicity.

Several Canadians up for Emmy awards

Several Canadians are vying for Emmy awards tonight, including actor Martin Short and producer Susan Coyne.

Hamilton-born Short is nominated once again for his leading role in Disney Plus/CTV’s murder-mystery comedy “Only Murders in the Building.”

The Emmys veteran — who now has a total of 15 primetime Emmy nominations and two wins — earned a nod for his turn as disgraced Broadway director-turned podcast host Oliver Putnam.

Short is competing for the best lead actor in a comedy series award against Bill Hader, Jason Segel, Jason Sudeikis, and Jeremy Allen White.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2024.