At Home: Alberta man harassed after buying repossessed home
When Bruce Grondin bought a repossessed house and moved to PEI in May, he likely didn’t expect that his new home would come with an extra feature: the angry former owner.
Daniel Murphy, 41, began a campaign of harassment that included leaving a dead cow and tonnes of manure on the edge of Grondin’s new property?the property Murphy used to own.
In provincial court recently, Murphy pleaded guilty to mischief, damage to property, and breach of an undertaking. Two additional charges were stayed.
As the CBC reports, part of Murphy’s sentence includes writing a letter of apology to the new owners?and then leaving them alone. He was also given a conditional discharge and 18 months probation. If he abides by the court orders, he’ll avoid a criminal record.
Grondin told reporters that, besides dumping the cow carcass and manure on his land, Murphy also caused damage by allowing cows and pigs to wander onto the property. At the time, Murphy still owned a farm next to his former home, but has since sold it.
In Foreign News: EU bans Angolan airlines, citing safety concerns
On November 14, the European Union (EU) updated its blacklist of airlines considered too unsafe for European skies, and all Angolan airlines are now banned.
This is the ninth updating of the blacklist, and all airlines on it are banned from flying to EU countries. In part, the list is compiled based on audit reports by The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). In its October 2008 report, the ICAO noted there were ?significant safety concerns? surrounding not only TAAG Angola (which was previously banned), but that these concerns extended to all airlines certified in Angola.
The EU added that it will continue a program of consulting with Angolan civil aviation authorities in an effort to improve standards and gain recertification.
Along with all airlines in Angola, eight other African countries are on the list. These include Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), all cited for lacking satisfactory national air safety standards.
All but two airlines in Gabon are also banned, while in other parts of Africa the EU restriction was limited to single airlines, including Air West from Sudan and Silverback Cargo Freighters from Rwanda. Other countries facing a complete ban on their airlines are Indonesia and the Kyrgyz Republic. North Korea, Afghanistan, and Ukraine fared better, with only single airlines being added to the list.
While the affected countries may not be happy, air travellers will likely welcome any action that forces lax airlines to improve their safety records.