Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker released from Israeli detainment

Local

CTV: Ottawa police are investigating an assault and robbery linked to a Facebook Marketplace transaction involving a cellphone.

The assault and robbery took place on Sunday after the victim met two individuals at their residence to complete the transaction. It was at this point, according to an Ottawa Police statement on X, that the victim was assaulted and the cellphone stolen. The suspects fled immediately afterwards.

Ottawa Police reminded residents that the Ottawa Police Service headquarters features Safe Trade spaces for online transactions.

Ottawa Chief of Police Eric Stubbs discussed the case, and others like it, on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s The Morning Rush. “We have seen this where people do meet at their residence. Please, do not do that,” Stubbs said.“If the buyer or the seller, the person that you’re dealing with, wants to change locations at the last minute, don’t allow it.”

National

Montreal Gazette: The latest Angus-Reid and Léger federal election polls show the Liberals under Prime Minister Mark Carney in the lead, despite the Liberal party’s performance earlier in the year.

The Liberals are polling in the lead in Quebec, at 49 per cent compared to the runner-up Bloc Québécois, which polled at 27 per cent. The Liberals also hold a lead in Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Conservatives have maintained their lead from previous polls in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

International

CBC: Oscar-winning Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal was released Tuesday, March 25 after being detained by the Israeli armed forces Sunday, March 23.

Earlier this month, Ballal won an award for his documentary No Other Land, about the struggles of being Palestinian under Israeli occupation. The award winning director was detained after being attacked by Israeli settlers outside his home.

Ballal was released from holding at a police station in the West Bank. He was released alongside two other Palestinians that were also attacked and detained.

Ballal was held overnight at a military base. “All the night, I was freezing. It was a room, I couldn’t see anything… I heard the voices of soldiers laughing about me,” Ballal told the Associated Press.