Local
CBC Brendon Spurrell, a sexual assault suspect, was rearrested Friday night. Spurrell was accidentally released while returning from a court appearance earlier in the week on Jan. 10. Following his custody escape a Canada-wide search warrant was issued to help locate him. A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General said they are looking into what happened and is working closely with its justice sector partners for the investigation.
National
Ottawa Citizen Prosper Petroleum Ltd. is waiting for the provincial government to make a decision of approval on a proposed 10,000-barrel-a-day oil sands project. The company has already received approval from the Alberta Energy Regulator but has not been able to get final approval from the provincial government. The project would be north of Fort McMurray and isn’t expected to come until 2021. A delay to the project has the potential to mothball the development. Prosper is seeking a court order to force the provincial government to come to a decision on the matter.
International
National Post Seven bodies were found in a ramshackle church in a remote jungle region 250 kilometres outside of Panama City on Wednesday. In total officials found six bodies from the same family, a pregnant mother and five of her children, and the seventh being a 17-year-old girl from another local family. A group of amateur preachers, dubbed themselves followers of the New Light of God, allegedly kidnapped the locals. The killings took place as part of an exorcism ritual where the locals were asked to “repent their sins” or be killed. Fifteen other people were freed by authorities Wednesday who were also held by the sect, those rescued are said to have suffered bodily injuries. Prosecutors said that 10 sect members were arrested on suspicion of responsibility for the killings.