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Syria’s state media reports Israeli airstrikes near the capital, Damascus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:42 GMT

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (AP) — Israeli’s military staged airstrikes near Syria’s capita late Monday, Syrian state media reported. There was no immediate word on any casualties.State TV said that “an Israeli aggression is targeting suburbs of the capital Damascus,” but gave no further details. State news agency SANA said Syrian air defenses were activated against “hostile targets” near Damascus.An Israeli air attack Aug. 7 on suburbs of Damascus reportedly killed four soldiers.Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in its northern neighbor, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges them.Israel has also targeted the international airports in Damascus and the northern Syrian city of Aleppo several times over the past few years, often putting it out of commission.The Associated Press

Ecuadorians reject oil drilling in the Amazon, ending operations in a protected area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:42 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Ecuadorians voted against drilling for oil in a protected area of the Amazon, an important decision that will require the state oil company to end its operations in a region that’s home to isolated tribes and is a hotspot of biodiversity.With over 90% of the ballots counted by early Monday, around six in 10 Ecuadorians rejected the oil exploration in Block 43, situated within Yasuni National Park. The referendum took place along with the presidential election, which will be decided in a runoff between leftist candidate Luisa González and right-wing contender Daniel Noboa. The country is experiencing political turmoil following the assassination of one of the candidates, Fernando Villavicencio.Yasuni National Park is inhabited by the Tagaeri and Taromenani, who live in voluntary isolation, and other Indigenous groups. In 1989, it was designated, along with neighboring areas, a world biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Org...

B.C.’s premier urges Meta to allow news sharing in B.C. amid wildfire crisis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:42 GMT

VANCOUVER — Premier David Eby is calling on the social media company Meta to reverse its decision to block Canadian news from being shared online in British Columbia, saying it feels like it is holding the province “ransom” in its ongoing spat with Ottawa.Eby is imploring the company and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to open up access to critical information that could help keep residents safe as the province grapples with devastating wildfires that have forced thousands of people from their homes.He says the decision to permanently ban Canadian news on Facebook an Instragram is “incredibly frustrating” and he hopes “common sense prevails.”Meta’s decision to block news came in response to Canada’s Online News Act, which will require tech giants like Meta and Google to make deals with news publishers whose content they link to or repurpose on their platforms to compensate them for their work.Meta showed an unwillingness to co-operate on a p...

‘Unprofessional’: Two lawyers barred from practising in Manitoba after judge followed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:42 GMT

WINNIPEG — The Law Society of Manitoba has barred two Alberta lawyers from practising in the province after receiving complaints they hired a private investigator to surveil a judge who was hearing a case involving COVID-19 public health orders.John Carpay, president of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and Randal Jay Cameron must also each pay a $5,000 fine.Ayli Klein, the law society’s counsel, told a panel at a disciplinary hearing Monday that the conduct by Carpay and Cameron was “truly shocking.”“(Their actions) brought the administration of justice into disrepute … every member of the public who hears of this would be appalled,” she said.“It’s crucial the panel sends an unequivocal message … what they did was unprofessional.”Klein argued that banning Carpay and Cameron from practising law in the province was the most serious penalty available.Both Carpay and Cameron agreed to the law society’s re...

Stock market today: Wall Street holds firmer after its three-week slide as Big Tech stocks rebound

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street held a bit firmer Monday following a painful three-week losing streak.The S&P 500 rose 30.06, or 0.7%, to 4,399.77 for its first gain in five days. Rallies for Nvidia, Microsoft and other Big Tech stocks lifted the index even though the majority of stocks within it fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 36.97 points, or 0.1%, to 34,463.69, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 206.81, or 1.6%, to 13,497.59.It was a return to form for Nvidia, Tesla and other market behemoths, which have struggled recently under the weight of rising yields in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose again Monday to touch its highest level since 2007 after briefly climbing above 4.34%. That’s up from 4.25% late Friday and from less than 0.60% in 2020.Higher yields are good for people buying bonds, who get paid more in interest for their investments. But it also makes investors less willing to pay high prices for stocks and other investments that a...

S&P/TSX composite posts small loss Monday, U.S. stocks mixed amid tech gains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:42 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index posted a small loss Monday amid broad-based weakness, while U.S. markets were mixed as the tech-focused Nasdaq gained almost 1.6 per cent. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 33.52 points at 19,784.87.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 36.97 points at 34,463.69. The S&P 500 index was up 30.06 points at 4,399.77, while the Nasdaq composite was up 206.81 points at 13,497.59.Monday’s gains were all about tech, said Allan Small, senior investment adviser at iA Private Wealth.Nvidia, the chip-making company that helped drive the tech rally earlier this year, saw several analyst upgrades that boosted its stock, said Small. Nvidia’s stock rose almost 8.5 per cent Monday. The company is set to report results for the latest quarter on Wednesday after the bell. Nvidia’s last report was “one of the best quarterly earnings reports I’ve ever seen from any company in any sector,” said Small.“They just blew it out of t...

Trial scheduled in 2024 for movie armorer in fatal shooting of cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:42 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico judge has set a 2024 starting date for the trial of movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of a Western film.State district court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer on Monday scheduled the trial to run from Feb. 21 through March 6 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The first day begins with jury selection.Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set of “Rust” on Oct. 21, 2021.An attorney for Gutierrez-Reed has described the fatal shooting as a tragic accident and says the film’s armorer committed no crime. Gutierrez-Reed is currently the sole criminal defendant. Prosecutors are weighing whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun fired at Hutchins. Special prosecutors dismissed an involuntar...

Weekend bull-running in Mexico sends 2 men to the hospital with serious injuries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:42 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two men remained in the hospital Monday for serious wounds suffered at a weekend bull-running event in central Mexico that saw about 20 people injured, officials reported. The government of the central state of Tlaxcala said in a statement late Sunday that a 31-year-old was gored in the abdomen and a 28-year-old had a horn wound in a leg. Both were listed in “serious” condition. A total of about 20 people were hurt during the traditional event, which was held Saturday in the city of Huamantla, the statement said. Most were treated at the scene or decided to seek treatment on their own. Six were hospitalized, with four being released after recovering. Video of the event shows one bull goring a young man, lifting him into the air and tossing him to the ground. The man appears to lie unconscious on the ground as the bull steps on him. The event is attended by thousands of people, most of whom stand behind metal barriers or atop walls as bulls run through the streets....

House Republicans subpoena IRS and FBI agents involved in Hunter Biden case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Monday subpoenaed several FBI and IRS agents involved in the federal investigation into Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden as the party weighs whether to open an impeachment inquiry into the president this fall.Leaders of the House Judiciary and Ways and Means committees demanded testimony from four agents who worked on the yearslong Justice Department case into President Joe Biden’s youngest son and his tax and business dealings. “Our duty is to follow the facts wherever they may lead, and our subpoenas compelling testimony from Biden administration officials are crucial to understanding how the president’s son received special treatment from federal prosecutors and who was the ultimate decision maker in the case,” Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jason Smith of Missouri said in a statement. Both men, along with Oversight chairman James Comer, joined forces in June to open an investigation into what they have claimed is widespread, improper interf...

MacKenzie Scott gave 17 nonprofits $97 million in the first half of 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:42 GMT

MacKenzie Scott’s quest to give the bulk of her wealth to charity continues.So far this year, 17 nonprofits have announced they’ve received unrestricted donations from Scott through her Yield Giving fund, according to a Chronicle of Philanthropy tally. The gifts total $97 million and range from $1 million to $15 million. Nearly half went to charities focused on early-childhood education and early-childhood development. Scott has now given more than $14.1 billion to at least 1,621 charities since 2020.To encourage people to focus on the charities rather than on her, Scott has stopped announcing her donations as she had in the past. Now she leaves it up to the charities to decide whether to publicize her gifts. Given the scale of her giving in previous years, it is likely the 17 announced contributions represent only a portion of what she has actually donated so far this year.Charity leaders say they appreciate Scott’s decision to let nonprofits choose whether to publicize the gifts b...