- Head defiant as India sense victory in first Australia Test
- Scholz's party to name him as top candidate for snap polls
- Donkeys offer Gazans lifeline amid war shortages
- Court moves to sentencing in French mass rape trial
- 'Existential challenge': plastic pollution treaty talks begin
- Cavs get 17th win as Celtics edge T-Wolves and Heat burn in OT
- Asian markets begin week on front foot, bitcoin rally stutters
- IOC chief hopeful Sebastian Coe: 'We run risk of losing women's sport'
- K-pop fans take aim at CD, merchandise waste
- Notre Dame inspired Americans' love and help after fire
- Court hearing as parent-killing Menendez brothers bid for freedom
- Closing arguments coming in US-Google antitrust trial on ad tech
- Galaxy hit Minnesota for six, Orlando end Atlanta run
- Left-wing candidate Orsi wins Uruguay presidential election
- High stakes as Bayern host PSG amid European wobbles
- Australia's most decorated Olympian McKeon retires from swimming
- Far-right candidate surprises in Romania elections, setting up run-off with PM
- Left-wing candidate Orsi projected to win Uruguay election
- UAE arrests three after Israeli rabbi killed
- Five days after Bruins firing, Montgomery named NHL Blues coach
- Orlando beat Atlanta in MLS playoffs to set up Red Bulls clash
- American McNealy takes first PGA title with closing birdie
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as angry fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Chiefs edge Panthers, Lions rip Colts as Dallas stuns Washington
- Uruguayans vote in tight race for president
- Thailand's Jeeno wins LPGA Tour Championship
- 'Crucial week': make-or-break plastic pollution treaty talks begin
- Israel, Hezbollah in heavy exchanges of fire despite EU ceasefire call
- Amorim predicts Man Utd pain as he faces up to huge task
- Basel backs splashing the cash to host Eurovision
- Petrol industry embraces plastics while navigating energy shift
- Italy Davis Cup winner Sinner 'heartbroken' over doping accusations
- Romania PM fends off far-right challenge in presidential first round
- Japan coach Jones abused by 'some clown' on Twickenham return
- Springbok Du Toit named World Player of the Year for second time
- Iran says will hold nuclear talks with France, Germany, UK on Friday
- Mbappe on target as Real Madrid cruise to Leganes win
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Israel records 250 launches from Lebanon as Hezbollah targets Tel Aviv, south
- Australia coach Schmidt still positive about Lions after Scotland loss
- Man Utd 'confused' and 'afraid' as Ipswich hold Amorim to debut draw
- Sinner completes year to remember as Italy retain Davis Cup
- Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realities
- Lukaku keeps Napoli top of Serie A with Roma winner
- Man Utd held by Ipswich in Amorim's first match in charge
- 'Gladiator II', 'Wicked' battle for N. American box office honors
- England thrash Japan 59-14 to snap five-match losing streak
- S.Africa's Breyten Breytenbach, writer and anti-apartheid activist
- Concern as climate talks stalls on fossil fuels pledge
- Breyten Breytenbach, writer who challenged apartheid, dies at 85
Canada protesters dig in with military-style proficiency
With support from ex-police and military intelligence officers, American funding, and stockpiles of food and fuel, "Freedom Convoy" protesters are hunkered down for a long stay in the Canadian capital.
Their numbers have fallen from a peak of almost 15,000 when the truckers first rolled into the capital two weeks ago. At first the goal was to protest Covid restrictions although this has morphed into a broader outcry against the government.
The protesters remain firmly entrenched, despite growing calls for them to end what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday was an "unlawful" demonstration and threats of jail and steep fines after a local state of emergency was declared.
Outside parliament, supporters serve up coffee, eggs and sausages to bleary-eyed truckers, while others provided them with beds to sleep in, hot showers and even laundry services. Nearby, kids played while their parents huddled by campfires to stay warm.
"Every day I come here to get my coffee, to get my emotional support, my spiritual support," said protester George Dick.
"These guys are awesome! I couldn't do it without them," he says of the volunteers.
Elian Renaud, an 18-year-old mechanic, has been manning a grill since 4 a.m. (0900 GMT), saying the truckers are very happy "to be eating a good dinner, not just small snacks."
Nearby a plastic table is close to buckling under the weight of water bottles and soda cans, while protesters continue to ferry fuel in wagons to keep the big rigs roaring -- despite efforts by police to cut off the convoy's diesel supplies.
Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly has said this is "an entirely sophisticated level of demonstrators."
"They have the capability to run strong organization here provincially and nationally, and we're seeing that play out in real-time," he told a briefing.
- Base camp -
A few kilometers away, an encampment at a baseball stadium is being used as a staging area. An AFP journalist saw barbecues, saunas and stockpiles of food and fuel, as well as rows of portable toilets.
Daniel Gagnon, sporting a goatee and small round glasses, set up a booth to sell signs for Can$20 dollars (US$16) to raise funds for the truckers.
"If a truck driver needs something, no problem, we find it," he says. "Everywhere, there is food. It's free. If anything is missing, people can call, we'll help them out."
Canadian authorities' freezing of millions of dollars raised online for the protesters seems to have had little impact as donations of goods pour in.
Started at the end of January, they had raised more than Can$10 million on GoFundMe, before the donation page was removed for violating the crowdsourced fundraising site's terms of service that "prohibit user content that reflects or promotes behaviour in support of violence."
A subsequent campaign launched on the Christian site GiveSendGo raised several million dollars, before it too was frozen by the Superior Court of Ontario.
Scott Holt, 58, who's been sleeping in his truck since the protest began, shrugged it off.
"I'm getting financially supported... I need food, I've got that. I need fuel, the organization supplies the fuel. Somehow, someway they always get me fuel. What more do I need?" he said.
On Friday, Trudeau indicated that half of the donated funds supporting the trucker convoy has come from US sources.
From the start, the protestors received the backing of American conservatives, including former president Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who called the protesters "heroes" and "patriots."
- Tripping up authorities -
Marcel Chartrand, a professor at the University of Ottawa, told AFP the protesters "appear to be getting some direction from groups in the United States."
But there are still a lot of unanswered questions, he said. "How's this organization being supported? How is it influenced? Who are the people behind it... and where is it going?"
Among the protestors are a number of retired cops and soldiers -- more than 150 with "boots on the ground," according to Police on Guard, a group opposed to Covid health restrictions. It also broadcasts videos of the demonstrations, according to its website.
Daniel "Danny" Bulford, a former Mountie on the prime minister's security detail, told a news conference he's been sharing his "extensive experience in protective operations for large scale events" in the capital including "tactical planning" with protest organizers, and helping to liaise with authorities.
He quit the RCMP last year over mandatory Covid vaccines, he said.
Chartrand noted that the protesters don't use "mainstream social media" and rely instead on walkie-talkie app Zello to evade police barricades, or secure messaging app Telegram to plan solidarity protests, for example, and they shun mainstream media.
"It makes it hard to follow them," he said, and has allowed the protesters to circumvent efforts by "intelligence agencies and police" who too often have been "finding out a bit too late to react and put a stop to, for example, the closing of the Ambassador Bridge," a key Canada-US trade corridor.
B.Shevchenko--BTB