By Canadian Press

The Tuesday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Apr 4, 2017 | 2:45 PM

Highlights from the news file for Tuesday, April 4

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OVECHKIN SAYS HE’LL STILL ATTEND 2018 OLYMPICS: The NHL may not be going to the 2018 Olympics, but Russian star Alex Ovechkin still plans to be there competing for his very first medal. Ovechkin reiterated his long-held stance Tuesday that he’ll attend the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, whether the NHL decides to go or not. Whether it actually gets to that point remains a matter of some uncertainty despite the NHL’s contention Monday that it considers the matter “officially closed.” Ovechkin and other prominent players like Montreal goaltender Carey Price wondered if the league was simply bluffing, hoping to coax a better deal for Olympic participation. The NHL ownership class has been increasingly resistant to players attending a sixth consecutive Games, unconvinced of the big-picture impact of a Games in South Korea and unwilling to disrupt their season for it. Ovechkin has the support of Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, but it’s possible that the NHL could come up with a rule to prevent players from leaving — one the NHLPA would likely fight.

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CHILDREN AMONG SCORES DEAD IN SUSPECTED SYRIAN GAS ATTACK: A suspected government chemical attack in an opposition-held town in northern Syria killed dozens of people on Tuesday, leaving residents gasping for breath and convulsing in the streets and overcrowded hospitals. If confirmed, it would be the deadliest chemical attack in four years. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 58 people died, including 11 children, in the early morning attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which witnesses said was carried out by Sukhoi jets operated by the Russian and Syrian governments. Doctors struggled to cope and videos from the scene showed volunteer medics using fire hoses to wash the chemicals from victims’ bodies. Haunting images of lifeless children piled in heaps reflected the magnitude of the attack, which was reminiscent of a 2013 chemical assault that left hundreds dead and was the worst in the country’s ruinous six-year civil war. Tuesday’s incident drew swift condemnation from world leaders, including the White House, which called it a “heinous” act that “cannot be ignored by the civilized world.”

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RUSSIA IDENTIFIES 22-YEAR-OLD MAN AS SUBWAY BOMBER: Investigators searched for possible accomplices of a 22-year-old native of the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan identified as the suicide bomber in the St. Petersburg subway, as residents came to grips Tuesday with the first major terrorist attack in Russia’s second-largest city since the Soviet collapse. The bomber, Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, had lived in St. Petersburg for several years, working as a car repairman and later at a sushi bar. Pages on his social media networks reflected his interest in radical Islam and boxing, but those who met Dzhalilov described him as a calm and friendly man. Russia’s health minister raised the death toll to 14, including the bomber. About 50 others remained hospitalized, some in grave condition. Many were students heading home Monday after classes on one of the city’s busy north-south lines. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which came as President Vladimir Putin was visiting his hometown, raising speculation it could have been timed for his trip. The attack follows a long string of bombings of Russian planes, trains and transportation facilities. Many of the attacks were linked to radical Islamists.

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SENATE COMMITTEE CONFRONTS MEREDITH OVER SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH TEEN: The head of the Senate’s ethics committee says all options are on the table when it comes to possible punishments for Sen. Don Meredith over his sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl. Sen. Raynell Andreychuk calls the case complicated, and one that requires the committee to consider the impact of its final decision on Meredith, other senators and the public, as well as how it will effect the reputation of the Senate. The five-member body has yet to make a final decision. Andreychuk, a Conservative senator from Saskatchewan, didn’t say when a final decision would be made. Meredith testified Tuesday in front of the ethics committee about a damning report that concluded Meredith abused his position as senator when he had a sexual relationship with a teenager. Meredith left the room after about an hour of testimony, walking out a side door and refusing to talk to reporters. No one involved in the meeting would discuss details, citing committee confidentiality rules. Meredith’s closed-door testimony is part of a process the committee must go through before it can recommend what, if any, punishments Meredith should face.

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NEW BRUNSWICK TO PROVIDE ABORTION PILL FREE: The abortion pill Mifegymiso will soon be available to women free of charge in New Brunswick, a major shift for a province with a history of restricting abortion access. Health Minister Victor Boudreau says the Liberal government wants to remove financial barriers to “a woman’s right to choose.” The Health Department says in the coming months, it will introduce a program that will allow any woman with a valid medicare card to access Mifegymiso for free. Mifegymiso was authorized by Health Canada in July 2015 and became available on the market in January. Access to abortions has been controversial in New Brunswick dating back to the 1980s, when the government stipulated medicare would only cover abortions at two hospitals following referrals from two doctors who certified the procedure as medically necessary. That changed in 2015, when the province moved to fund abortions at three hospitals, and scrapped the regulation requiring the approval of two doctors.

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THREE CHARGED IN ASSAULT STREAMED LIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Winnipeg police say a man who met a woman online and went to meet her in person was violently beaten, stabbed and robbed by three people in an attack that was broadcast live on social media. The unidentified man was lucky that someone watching the livestream called police, who got to the scene while the suspects were still there, police said Tuesday. Const. Tammy Skrabek said investigators were still working out the details of the crime that occurred Saturday inside a home, including a motive and any connections between the people involved. An 18-year-old male, a 17-year-old girl and a 44-year-old woman face a variety of charges including aggravated assault, forcible confinement and extortion. The victim was taken to hospital in unstable condition but was later upgraded to stable. The live-streaming of violent attacks is an emerging trend, Skrabek added — one that requires public attention. Last month, police in Chicago were alerted after the fact to the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl that had been broadcast live on Facebook. The live video was watched by 40 people, none of whom called police, according to media reports.

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AMBROSE SAYS NEW RULES FOR JUDGES NOT FOOLPROOF: Changes the Liberals have made to the way judges are appointed would not necessarily prevent someone who believes in stereotypes about sexual assault cases from presiding over one of those trials, interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose said Tuesday. Ambrose went before the House of Commons status of women committee to discuss her private member’s bill that would require anyone who wanted to be considered for an appointment to the bench to undergo comprehensive training in sexual assault law. The bill, C-337, would also require the Canadian Judicial Council to report on continuing education courses in matters related to sexual assault law and change the Criminal Code to make courts provide written decisions in sexual assault cases. There were some tense moments, as Liberal MPs pointed out that it was a Conservative justice minister who appointed Robin Camp, who asked a sexual assault complainant in a trial why she couldn’t keep her knees together, to the Federal Court. Camp, who was a provincial court judge in Alberta when he made the comments, resigned from the Federal Court last month. Ambrose said her bill is not about assigning blame, but about making sure judges have better training.

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DUTCH COURT CLEARS CYBERBULLY’S EXTRADITION TO CANADA: The Dutch Supreme Court on Tuesday approved the extradition to Canada of a convicted cyberbully who faces charges in the case of a Canadian teen who killed herself after being bullied online. It was not immediately clear when the suspect, identified by Dutch authorities as Aydin C., would be sent to Canada following the court’s decision to reject his appeal against a lower court’s approval of his extradition. His extradition must be approved by the Dutch security and justice minister. The 38-year-old was convicted last month by a Dutch court and sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison for cyberbullying dozens of young girls and gay men. An appeal in that case could take months to complete. In Canada, he faces a separate trial in the cyberbullying of Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old girl whose suicide drew global attention to online abuse. C. faces charges including extortion, possession of child pornography and attempting to lure a child online linked to Todd’s case.

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VOTE EXPECTED ON FATE OF DIONNE QUINTUPLETS HOME: A decision is expected Tuesday night on the fate of the northeastern Ontario home where the Dionne quintuplets were born. North Bay, Ont., city council is set to vote on a committee’s recommendations to keep the home and its contents in the city but move them to a waterfront area. The special review committee was created earlier this year amid public outcry over a proposal to move the home to a nearby community and hand over its contents to museums and universities. Among the proposal’s vocal opponents were the two surviving quintuplets, Cecile and Annette Dionne, who wrote a letter to councillors suggesting there is a “moral obligation” to safeguard the home as a part of Canadian history. The 82-year-old sisters, who now live in Montreal, said their story put the city of roughly 54,000 in the global spotlight and serves as a reminder of “how society and politicians sometimes bend the rules.”  The Dionne Museum has been closed to the public since the city’s chamber of commerce ceased to run it in 2015, throwing its future in limbo. The city said it couldn’t afford to maintain the facility and couldn’t find anyone to take it over. It also sought to sell the property the home stood on for development.

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THREE TIMES LUCKY — COUPLE WINS $8.1M IN LOTTERY: Talk about being lucky — an Edmonton couple is celebrating another lottery win. Barbara and Douglas Fink won $8,163,061.10 on the Feb. 22 Lotto 6/49 draw. Barbara checked the winning numbers on the Internet the night of the draw and she called Douglas, who was working out of town, right way. She couldn’t reach him, but when she did, she told him, “I did it again!” The Finks have won on the lottery before — Douglas shared in a $128,000 Lotto 6/49 win with four of his friends in 1989. In 2010, the couple won $100,000. “I knew we had all the numbers, but I didn’t know how many winners there were,” Barbara said. “I called Douglas back before midnight and told him it was more than $8 million!” The couple says they will use the money to ensure their daughters and grandkids are looked after. They also say they want to continue to travel and will start looking for a new home. The winning ticket was a free play won on a previous draw. A ticket sold in Ontario won the other half of the $16.3-million jackpot.

The Canadian Press