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Paris firefighters battle blaze spewing smoke over Left Bank, after reported explosion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:14 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Firefighters fought a blaze on Paris’ Left Bank on Wednesday that is sent smoke soaring over the domed Pantheon monument and prompted evacuation of buildings in the neighborhood, police said.Local media cited witnesses describing a large explosion preceding the fire, and saying that part of a building collapsed. Paris police spokeswoman Loubna Atta said it was too early to determine the source of the fire and could not confirm reports it was a caused by a gas explosion.The Associated Press

In latest crackdown on critics, Russia declares World Wide Fund for Nature ‘undesirable’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:14 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian authorities on Wednesday declared the World Wide Fund for Nature to be an undesirable organization, effectively banning it from operating in the country, in the latest move to stifle dissent.The global organization, which promotes wildlife preservation and works to reduce human impact on the environment, encourages activities that are “a cover for the implementation of projects that pose security threats in the economic sphere,” the Russian prosecutor-general’s office said, according to Russian news reports.“Under the pretext of preserving the environment, WWF is carrying out activities aimed at preventing the implementation of the country’s political course for the industrial development of the Arctic, natural resources in the Arctic territories,” it said.Last month, the environmental pressure group Greenpeace was forced to close its Russian division after Moscow declared it to be an undesirable organization. In recent years, Russia has methodi...

CP News Alert: Woman in Manitoba bus crash dies in hospital, death toll climbs to 16

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:14 GMT

DAUPHIN, Man. — Manitoba RCMP say a woman injured in last week’s crash between a minibus and a transport truck has died in hospital, bringing the death toll to 16.More coming.The Canadian Press

A Hungarian helicopter crashes during training in Croatia, killing at least 2 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:14 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — A Hungarian military helicopter crashed on Wednesday during a training mission in neighboring Croatia, killing at least two people on board, the country’s defense ministry said.Two Hungarian Air Force’s Airbus H145 helicopters were on a training flight when one of them crashed, the Defense Ministry told the MTI news agency.Three people were on board the helicopter that crashed in the area of the Cikola River canyon, some 300 kilometers (180 miles) south of the capital, Zagreb. Rescue teams have recovered bodies of two people while a search was underway for the third member of the crew.Officials said an investigation will determine why the helicopter crashed. Croatia media said it might have hit a zip line in the canyon area used by adventure-seeking visitors.“The flying rule is look and avoid,” Croatian Air Force commander Michael Krinazec said at a news conference. “One can never be certain that nothing is in the air when flying below 300 meters (984 fe...

Poet Stuart Ross wins Trillium Book Award for ‘The Book of Grief and Hamburgers’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:14 GMT

TORONTO — An unflinching meditation on loss and mortality has won Ontario’s top book prize.Stuart Ross took home the $20,000 Trillium Book Award on Tuesday night for “The Book of Grief and Hamburgers.”Ross wrote the book — which is described as a hybrid between essays, memoir and poetry — after his brother died and his closest friend was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Meanwhile the $10,000 Trillium Book Award for Poetry went to Sanna Wani for “My Grief, the Sun.” Gilles Lacombe won the French-language Trillium Book Award, also worth $20,000, for “Circé des hirondelles.”“Le secret de Paloma” by Michèle Laframboise was awarded the $10,000 prize for the best French-language children’s book.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2023.The Canadian Press

MASN agrees to payment in dispute over Nationals-Orioles TV rights, AP source says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:14 GMT

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network has agreed to pay the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles around $100 million each following a protracted dispute over the value of the Nationals’ television rights from 2012 to 2016, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither team had made an announcement. The Washington Post first reported the settlement, which removes one hurdle in the Lerner family’s efforts to potentially sell the Nationals franchise.When MLB purchased the Montreal Expos and moved them to Washington in 2005, the Orioles said another team nearby would harm them financially. MLB and the two teams negotiated an agreement under which MASN would televise both teams’ games, with the teams receiving equal rights fees.The Orioles, who control MASN and have a significantly larger ownership stake in the two-team regional sports network, stand to benefit from lower rights fees. MASN paid the Nationals for 2012...

S&P/TSX composite down as tech stocks fall, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:14 GMT

TORONTO — Losses in the technology stocks led Canada’s main stock index lower in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were mixed. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 48.83 points at 19,705.31.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 25.04 points at 34,078.91. The S&P 500 index was down 15.51 points at 4,373.20, while the Nasdaq composite was down 149.11 points 13,518.19.The Canadian dollar traded for 75.83 cents US compared with 75.52 cents US on Tuesday.The August crude contract was up 99 cents at US$72.18 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up four cents at US$2.53 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was down US$4.30 at US$1,943.40 an ounce and the July copper contract was up three cents at US$3.92 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

16-year-old giraffe expecting calf at Brookfield Zoo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:14 GMT

BROOKFIELD, Ill. — On World Giraffe Day, Brookfield Zoo announced one of its giraffes is expecting a calf.Arnieta, the 16-year-old mother, is due to deliver sometime between mid-July and late August.She was paired with Ato — who arrived at the zoo in 2017 when he was nearly two years old."Since learning of her pregnancy last summer, Zoo veterinarians and animal care staff have been making every effort to help ensure Arnieta is successful in maintaining this pregnancy and delivering a healthy calf," Brookfield Zoo stated in a press release.Arnieta has been fed a regimen of liquid synthetic progesterone that was mixed in beet pulp and prophylactic antibiotics due to two previous miscarriages in 2020 and 2021 — both in the first trimester.Brookfield Zoo worked with a team at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium to support her pregnancy, which was learned in July 2022."Our team at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is honored to have collaborated with Brookfield Zoo on this special ...

41 women die in grisly riot in Honduran prison that president blames on 'mara' gangs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:14 GMT

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — A grisly riot at a women’s prison in Honduras Tuesday left at least 41 women dead, most burned to death, in violence the country's president blamed on “mara” street gangs that often wield broad power inside penitentiaries.Twenty-six of the victims were burned to death and the remainder shot or stabbed at the prison in Tamara, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, said Yuri Mora, the spokesman for Honduras’ national police investigation agency. At least seven inmates were being treated at a Tegucigalpa hospital.“The forensic teams that are removing bodies confirm they have counted 41,” said Mora.Video clips shown by the government from inside the prison showed several pistols and a heap of machetes and other bladed weapons that were found after the riot.Honduran President Xiomara Castro said the riot was “planned by maras with the knowledge and acquiescence of security authorities.”"I am going to take drastic mea...

Bloomington falls short in effort to host 2027 World Expo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:14 GMT

Bloomington’s bid to host the 2027 World Expo event has fallen short, with Belgrade, Serbia, being selected.Belgrade was selected by the representatives of the Bureau of International Expositions at its general assembly in Paris. Bloomington’s bid was one among five competing to host the event.“While we’re disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to host the world this time, we congratulate Serbia on their successful bid for Expo 2027. We know that they will create a memorable Expo experience,” said Bob Clark, Minnesota USA World Expo bidcommittee co-chair, in a statement. “While Minnesota may not have been chosen as the host, we are incredibly proud of the effort, passion, and commitment that went into our bid.”Bloomington’s proposal featured it’s “Our ‘Healthy People, Healthy Planet’ theme and would have been the first-ever Expo focusedon international health and wellness.The three-month summer event was expected to bring an estimated 14 million a...