Unpublished Newswire

Ottawa - The City of Ottawa has been awarded Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification at the gold level for establishing exceptional data capabilities to inform policy, allocate funding, improve services, evaluate programs and engage residents. Ottawa and Calgary are the only two Canadian cities to have achieved gold certification. The What Works Cities Certification standard reflects the practices, policies, and infrastructure municipalities must have in place to effectively harness data for better decision-making. A notable example of Ottawa’s exceptional use of data...

Iran plans to execute Erfan Soltani, 26, for participating in anti-government protests. U.S. president Donald Trump has threatened strong action against Iran’s ruling regime if protesters are executed. A 26-year-old Iranian shopkeeper, Soltani “is the first protester to be sentenced to execution,” the U.S. State department said on X. The public execution was reportedly set to take place on Wednesday, but due to the Iranian regime’s blackout of the internet, that hasn’t been confirmed. The family has been granted only one final visit with Soltani prior to the planned execution....