Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 2, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba Centre Street West 55+ Development By Falki Developments 199 Center Avenue West, Gimli Manitoba Available September 1, 2024 Monthly Rate: $ 2200 plus utilities OPEN HOUSE Saturday August 3rd - 1pm to 4pm • 1160 sq ft living space with fi nished 280 sq ft garage • Spacious 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom fl oor plans • Attached garage with direct access to your home • In-fl oor radiant heating for year-round comfort • Covered back patio and relaxing outdoor space • No condo fees or unexpected, additional expenses • Snow removal / Grass cutting included • Wheel Chair Accessible • In-suite Laundry • Quartz Counter-tops • Stainless Steel Appliances • 24/7 security surveillance • Long-term leases • 30 Units available for lease Contact: info@falkidevelopments.com | Tel: 204-407-6030 TOP NEWS A3 FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2024 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM Russia releases 16 people from detention, including two people with ties to Canada Biden: prisoner swap ‘feat of diplomacy’ W ASHINGTON — Canadian-born Paul Whelan and an honorary Canadian citizen were set free Thursday as the United States and Rus- sia completed their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history. “The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy,” President Joe Biden said in a news conference after he spoke with some freed prisoners over the phone. Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were among 16 people freed from Russian detention through the multinational deal. Russian opposition leader and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was also freed as part of the deal Thursday. Kara-Murza was detained in Russia in 2022 after surviving two poisoning attempts. He was granted honorary Canadian citizenship in June 2023. In a release earlier this summer, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lauded his courage and dedication to democracy. Trudeau said Thursday that the pol- itical prisoners were unjustly detained and their freedom was long overdue. “These men and women are rejoining their families and loved ones,” the prime minister posted on social media. “But the fight for free political expres- sion in Russia is far from over.” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in a social media post it is an “immense relief” to see Whelan, Gersh- kovich and Kara-Murza freed. “Citizens are not pawns in a geo- political game. Canada alongside its partners will continue to hold a strong collective front to end this unjust prac- tice,” she said. Whelan was born in Canada to Brit- ish parents. The family later moved to Michigan. The former U.S. marine and corporate security executive was ar- rested in 2018 in Moscow, where he was attending a friend’s wedding. Whelan was convicted of espionage charges, which he and the U.S. have said were false, and was serving a 16- year prison sentence. “Paul was held hostage for 2,043 days,” his family said in a statement. “His case was that of an American in peril, held by the Russian Federation as part of their blighted initiative to use humans as pawns to extract conces- sions.” Global Affairs Canada did not pro- vide comment. Gershkovich was arrested while on a reporting trip in 2023 when Russian au- thorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years after a secretive and speedy trial last month. Kurmasheva was also convicted following a two-day secret trial the same week as Gershkovich, and many believed at the time it was a sign that a prisoner swap may be in the works. Biden heralded the prisoner ex- change, which took place in Turkey, as a victory, saying it shows the import- ance of diplomacy. “This is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon,” Biden said. “Our alliances make Americans safer.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said American allies, in particular Ger- many, Poland, Norway and Slovenia, were critical in making the deal pos- sible. There have been multiple prisoner swaps negotiated between Russia and the U.S. during the Biden administra- tion, but Thursday’s involved signifi- cant concessions from other countries. In response to questions, Biden noted that there were difficult conversations with counterparts in Germany in order to make the deal happen. Germany agreed to release Vadim Krasikov back to Russia. Krasikov was convicted in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscow’s security services. Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents who were jailed in Slo- venia. Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicions of being a Rus- sian spy and Poland also sent back a man it detained. — The Canadian Press, with files from The Associated Press KELLY GERALDINE MALONE ALEX BRANDON / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. President Joe Biden sings Happy Birthday to Miriam Butorin, 13, the daughter of freed Radio Free Europe journalist Alsu Kurmasheva during Thursday’s news conference. MOSCOW NEWS AGENCY Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine accused of espionage, listens to the verdict in a courtroom in Moscow in 2020. The Canadian-born Whelan served 2,043 days in prison. VAUGHN STERLING / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS In this image taken from a video, employees at the Wall Street Journal applaud at the news that their colleague, reporter Evan Gershkovich, top left, has been released. Woman, 26, dead after collision with semi-truck A WINNIPEG woman is dead after her vehicle collided with the rear of a semi-truck following an attempted traffic stop by RCMP on the outskirts of the city Wednesday. Winnipeg police were called to the collision at Centreport Canada Way and the Perimeter High- way at about 4:45 p.m., where they found a silver Honda Civic trapped beneath the rear end of a tractor-trailer. Mounties were already at the scene. The Winnipeg Police Service said Thursday an RCMP officer had activated their emergency lights in an attempt to pull over the sedan before the woman collided with the truck a “short time later.” The woman, 26, was rushed to the Health Sci- ences Centre but died of her injuries. WPS traffic officers are assisting the province’s law enforcement oversight agency, the Independ- ent Investigation Unit, with the investigation. The IIU investigates all incidents involving po- lice that result in death or serious injury. The Mountie had observed the woman’s vehicle travelling at 107 kilometres per hour in a 70 km/h zone when it attempted to pull over the sedan, the IIU said in a news release Thursday. The woman sped up and drove through a red light at the intersection of Centreport and Stur- geon Road before colliding with the semi. The collision occurred in the highway’s west- bound lanes, roughly one kilometre west of Stur- geon. The front end of the sedan was destroyed in the collision. The tractor-trailer, a Bison Transport truck, ap- peared relatively intact. Police have asked anyone with information, in- cluding video or dash camera footage, to call the IIU at 1-844-667-6060. The Wednesday collision is the second fatality on the Perimeter in less than a week. A man in his 20s was killed early Tuesday after three pickup trucks and a semi-trailer crashed at the Perimeter and Highway 15. RCMP say speed was a factor in the crash. fpcity@freepress.mb.ca TYLER SEARLE / FREE PRESS City police were on the scene of a serious collision on Centreport Canada Way Wednesday evening, where a silver sedan was seen trapped beneath the rear end of a tractor-trailer. ;