![Canadian police clear area outside Parliament after 3 weeks of protests](https://cbsnews2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2022/02/19/cf30a538-3c57-41bb-92e5-47dc534f2398/thumbnail/1200x630/9055721b7f4c5282d62042edb0d519ba/gettyimages-1238628099.jpg)
Canadian police clear area outside Parliament after 3 weeks of protests
CBSN
Hundreds of police in riot gear swept through the streets of Canada's besieged capital Saturday, arresting or driving out protesters, towing away their trucks and finally retaking control of the streets in front of the country's Parliament buildings.
With protesters in clear retreat under the increasing pressure of one of the largest police operations in Canada's history, authorities' hopes were rising for an end to the three-week protest against the country's COVID-19 restrictions and the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
By early Saturday afternoon, protesters were gone from the street in front of Parliament Hill, the collection of government offices that includes the Parliament buildings, which had the heart of the protests. It had been occupied by protesters and their trucks since late last month, turning into a carnival on weekends.
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Sydney, Australia — A shark bit and killed a 17-year-old girl swimming off an eastern Australian island on Monday, officials said, in the country's third reported fatal attack in just over five weeks. Paramedics rushed to Woorim Beach in Queensland to treat the teenager, who had sustained serious injuries to her upper body, an ambulance service spokesperson said.
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Tel Aviv — American-Israeli dual national Keith Siegel was among three hostages released by militants in the war-torn Gaza Strip on Saturday, more than 15 months after they were taken captive by Hamas. Siegel was freed in Gaza City about two hours after Israelis Yarden Bibas and Ofer Calderon were released in the southern city of Khan Younis. The Israeli military confirmed Siegel's transfer from militants to Red Cross personnel.
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Six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela in recent months were freed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro after he met Friday with a Trump administration official tasked with urging the authoritarian leader to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the United States.