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Sudan’s military leader visits Egypt on his first trip abroad since his country plunged into war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:52 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s top military officer made a one-day visit to Egypt on Tuesday for talks with the Egyptian president, making his first trip abroad since his country plunged into a bitter conflict this year.Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council, arrived in the Mediterranean city of el-Alamein and was received at the airport by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, the council said.The two leaders discussed efforts to end the conflict in Sudan in a way that preserves “the sovereignty, integrity of Sudanese State,” an Egyptian statement said. The statement offered only generalities about the war.Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April when simmering tensions between the military, led by Burhan, and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere.The conflict has turned the capital into an urban battlefield, with the RSF controling vast swaths of the city. T...

Scotiabank loan growth slows on cautious approach, deposit focus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:52 GMT

TORONTO — Scotiabank’s loan growth slowed last quarter as the bank took a more cautious approach to lending amid heightened strain on borrowers from higher interest rates.“Lending volumes in the quarter reflect a more cautious environment from both a household confidence and business investment perspective,” chief executive Scott Thomson told a conference call with investors and analysts to discuss the bank’s latest results Tuesday.The bank reported in its third-quarter report that while loans were up seven per cent from last year, they were down one per cent from the second quarter. Scotiabank also reported a one per cent decline in its residential mortgage balances.“We deliberately slowed the mortgage book as we signalled some time ago,” Dan Rees, Scotiabank’s head of Canadian banking, told the conference call.“We’re just being more disciplined with regards to customer selection at time of origination. I think this is a good ti...

Pilot union launches unfair labour practice complaint against Air Canada, Jazz

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:52 GMT

MONTREAL — The union representing pilots at Jazz Aviation claims that their employer and Air Canada have breached the Canada Labour Code, even as it ratified changes to their collective agreement.On Monday, the Air Line Pilots Association filed a complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board arguing that both airlines violated the exclusivity deal between the two and effectively narrowed the pipeline of pilots from one carrier to the other.Jazz, a subsidiary of Chorus Aviation Inc., provides regional service for the country’s biggest airline under the Air Canada Express brand.In May, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau announced a “bridging arrangement” with St. John’s, N.L.-based company PAL Airlines to boost the number of regional flights in Eastern Canada.Tim Perry, president of the Air Line Pilots Association’s Canadian segment, said that the deal was out of bounds, due to the contract between Jazz and Air Canada.“The arrangement was that i...

Female dental assistant in Jamaica charged with kidnapping and killing an 8-year-old girl

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:52 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A female dental assistant in Jamaica was charged with murder and kidnapping after police said she abducted an 8-year-old girl from school and killed her.The woman was arrested roughly two weeks ago but wasn’t charged until Monday, nearly three months after the body of Danielle Rowe was found in the town of Portmore, just west of the capital of Kingston, according to Jamaica’s Constabulary Force.Police said the woman was the former partner of the girl’s father, who is a police officer.The girl was found with her throat slashed in early June and was hospitalized, but she died a couple of days later.Authorities said Rowe’s brother also was kidnapped but was unharmed after the woman accused in the case threw him from her car.The Associated Press

18 years after Katrina levee breaches, group wants future engineers to learn from past mistakes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:52 GMT

Future engineers need a greater understanding of past failures — and how to avoid repeating them — a Louisiana-based nonprofit said to mark Tuesday’s 18th anniversary of the deadly, catastrophic levee breaches that inundated most of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.Having better-educated engineers would be an important step in making sure that projects such as levees, bridges or skyscrapers can withstand everything from natural disasters to everyday use, said Levees.org. Founded in 2005, the donor-funded organization works to raise awareness that Katrina was in many ways a human-caused disaster. Federal levee design and construction failures allowed the hurricane to trigger one of the nation’s deadliest and costliest disasters.The push by Levees.org comes as Hurricane Idalia takes aim at Florida’s Gulf Coast, threatening storm surges, floods and high winds in a state still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian.And it’s not just hurricanes...

A timeline of the case against an Ontario man accused of selling lethal substance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:52 GMT

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Authorities in Ontario and around the world are investigating the alleged online operation run by Kenneth Law, the Mississauga, Ont., man accused of mailing a lethal substance to people at risk of self-harm. Here is a timeline of the case: Oct. 14, 2022: A coroner’s report in the United Kingdom looking into the April death by suicide of a woman in Surrey, southwest of London, lists a postal box in Mississauga, Ont., and Imtime Cuisine, the name of one of the websites police linked to Law. March 31, 2023: Peel Regional Police investigate the circumstances of a local sudden death where the person is believed to have consumed a chemical substance. It’s the first of two deaths police would later link to Law and the allegations against him. April 25: The Times of London publishes an investigation into Law, reporting on his alleged global online operation. May 2: Peel Regional Police announce they have arrested Law and charged him with two counts of counsel...

Black Montreal family removed from Air Canada flight alleges racial profiling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:52 GMT

MONTREAL — A Black Montreal family says they were victims of racial profiling when they were removed from a Florida-bound flight after telling staff their bags hadn’t been loaded on the plane.Members of the Wright family are calling for accountability today as they describe the situation July 28 at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport.Keith Wright says that after his daughter informed a flight attendant the family’s bags were still on the tarmac, the plane returned to the gate and the pair were asked to disembark and not told why. Wright says seven other members of the family — ranging in age from five to 60 — were also removed from the plane bound for Orlando, despite them having no interaction with staff.The family ended up driving to the United States in the middle of the night to catch another flight and narrowly avoided missing their cruise.The family says it will file racial profiling complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, assisted by the Montreal-...

Unifor picks Ford Motors as lead company for bargaining in auto contract talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:52 GMT

Unifor has picked Ford Motor Co. as the lead company of the Detroit Three automakers to hammer out a new contract.The union’s national president Lana Payne says bargaining with Ford will serve as a blueprint for workers at General Motors and Stellantis, as the union focuses on securing electric vehicle production investments.She told a news conference in Toronto on Tuesday that she is encouraged by Ford’s transparency with the union in key areas, but warned workers are prepared to strike if necessary.Unifor members at Ford have voted 98.9 per cent in favour of a strike if the bargaining committee fails to secure a new collective agreement.The union kicked off negotiations with the U.S. auto companies earlier this month as the contract for 18,000 workers at the Detroit Three is scheduled to expire on Sept. 18.Ford was picked as the target company during the 2020 auto contract bargaining.

EU Commission president will propose Dutch foreign minister as successor for climate czar Timmermans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:52 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The EU’s top official said Tuesday she would nominate the foreign minister of the Netherlands as the commissioner in charge of climate action to fill the void left by the departure of Frans Timmermans, who resigned last week to run in the Dutch general election. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen interviewed Wopke Hoekstra, who was named by the Dutch government as its preferred candidate to replace Timmermans. After their talks, she said he “showed strong motivation for the post and a great commitment to the European Union. He also has relevant professional experience for this post.”Timmermans, who was in charge of the European Green Deal climate initiative, quit to lead a center-left bloc into the Netherlands’ November general election. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s ruling coalition proposed Hoekstra as a replacement. His appointment must now be formally approved by the European Parliament and the European Council of member states. Vo...

Hurricane Idalia 2 p.m. track: Winds increate to 90 mph

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:52 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Idalia strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane early Tuesday and is expected to rapidly intensify in the Gulf of Mexico.The National Hurricane Center said Idalia is about 275 miles south-southwest of Tampa. The storm's winds have have increased to near 90 mph.Idalia is forecast to make landfall along the northwest Gulf Coast of Florida sometime on Wednesday as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 major hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. Real-time wobble tracker monitoring Hurricane Idalia’s shifts in Gulf of Mexico As of the 11 a.m. update, Idalia was over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, moving north around 15 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Idalia's track remains west of Tampa Bay.Storm surge remains the biggest threat with Idalia, with some areas north of Tampa Bay expected to see 8 to 12 feet of storm surge, with 4 to 9 feet in the Tampa Bay area and 3 to 7 feet south of Tampa Bay. The storm surge threat is increased t...