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Officials in Russia-annexed Crimea say private clinics have stopped providing abortions

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:42 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian-installed health officials in Crimea said Thursday that private clinics on the Moscow-annexed peninsula have “voluntarily” stopped providing abortions, which means that the procedure is now only available there in state-run medical facilities. The move comes amid a wider effort in Russia to restrict abortion, still legal and widely available, as the country takes an increasingly conservative turn under President Vladimir Putin.Over his more than two decades in power, Putin has forged a powerful alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church and has put “traditional family values,” as well as boosting the country’s declining population, at the cornerstone of his policies. As part of the effort, authorities in several Russian regions in recent months sought to convince private clinics to stop terminating pregnancies. In Tatarstan in central Russia, officials said about a third have agreed to stop offering abortions; in the Chelyabinsk region in the Ura...

S&P/TSX composite up more than 200 points as energy stocks help lead rally

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:42 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in the energy stocks helped lead a broad-based rally as Canada’s main stock index rose more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 246.21 points at 19,776.42.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 7.45 points at 34,104.82. The S&P 500 index was up 2.75 points at 4,385.53, while the Nasdaq composite was up 23.84 points at 13,674.25.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.66 cents US compared with 72.48 cents US on Wednesday.The December crude contract was up 93 cents at US$76.26 per barrel and the December natural gas contract was down six cents at US$3.05 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was up US$8.50 at US$1,966.30 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$3.65 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press

Suncor says still hunting for cost savings after wave of job cuts

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:42 GMT

CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. says it has wrapped 1,500 job cuts two months ahead of schedule but that it will continue to look for areas to trim as part of a wider efficiency push.Chief executive Rich Kruger said on an earnings conference call that the reductions are expected to save $450 million a year, or about $50 million more than what they expected when the cuts were announced in June.He says the company is also pushing ahead with plans for fewer, bigger trucks, as well as cutting out drivers from operations.Kruger says Suncor will be ramping up the number of trucks running autonomously at its Base Plant operation from 31 earlier this year to 91 by the end of next year to create one of the world’s largest self-driving fleets at a single mine. The company also says it is not done finding efficiencies in its contractor base, but that further improvements will be harder as much of the waste has already been taken out of the system.Kruger stepped into the chief executive role...

Crews battling 4-alarm industrial fire in Toronto’s west end

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:42 GMT

Fire crews are on scene battling a large industrial fire that broke out in Toronto’s west end Thursday morning.Toronto Fire tells CityNews the fire began at a chrome-plating business in the area of Weston and Rogers roads.Fire officials say there are around 75 firefighters at the scene and the ongoing effort to contain the fire will likely take several hours. The effort to extinguish the blaze is being complicated due to the building’s roof collapsing.Everyone has been evacuated from the building and no injuries have been reported.Officials say there are concerns about the air quality in the area. George Harvey Collegiate, a nearby high school, has been placed in hold and secure.The business borders railway tracks and all rail activity in the area has been put on hold, including trains along on the Kitchener GO and UP Express lines.There is a fire investigation east of Weston GO. The area is now in the hands of fire personnel. Trains will not be able to move through the ...

Father of Liverpool striker Luis Díaz released after his kidnapping in Colombia by ELN guerrillas

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:42 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government announced Thursday that the father of Liverpool striker Luis Díaz was released, 12 days after his kidnapping in northern Colombia by members of the guerrilla group National Liberation Army, or ELN.The release was announced by the government’s delegation that currently is in peace negotiations with the ELN. Luis Manuel Díaz’s kidnapping on Oct. 28 in the small town of Barrancas quickly drew international attention. On Sunday, the younger Diaz appealed for his father ’s release after scoring for Liverpool in a Premier League soccer match, revealing a T-shirt saying “Freedom for Papa” in Spanish.It was initially unclear who carried out the abduction. But Colombia’s government announced last week that it had information that Díaz was kidnapped by an ELN unit. The ELN later acknowledged the kidnapping, saying it was a mistake and that the group’s top leadership had ordered the elder Díaz’s release. An ELN statement Sunday said tha...

Kaiser Permanente workers ratify contract after strike over wages and staffing levels

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:42 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Tens of thousands of health care workers have ratified a new four-year contract with industry giant Kaiser Permanente following a strike over wages and staffing levels, the parties announced Thursday.Of the 85,000 members in the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, 98.5% voted in recent weeks to ratify the contract, the coalition said in a press release. It runs retroactively from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2027.The deal includes setting minimum hourly wages at $25 in California, where most of Kaiser’s facilities are located, and $23 in other states. Workers will also see a 21% wage increase over four years.The agreement also includes protective terms around subcontracting and outsourcing, as well as initiatives to invest in the current workforce and address the staffing crisis. The workers’ last contract was negotiated in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.The three-day strike last month involved 75,000 workers in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. ...

Woman, 73, loses $250K of cryptocurrency in online dating scam, Toronto man charged

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:42 GMT

A man from Toronto is facing fraud charges in an alleged online romance scam where he posed as a business owner in the Middle East and convinced a 73-year-old woman to send him $250,000 in cryptocurrency. Peel Regional Police said the 26-year-old man met the victim through an online dating website in September 2022 and began communicating daily via text and phone calls.It’s alleged the male suspect claimed he owned an oil rig in the Middle East and urgently needed money. Police said the man promised to repay the female victim and would eventually meet in person. The pair never did meet in person and only communicated online. Related: Mississauga man arrested after bilking more than $60k in romance scam: Police Investigators noted that the victim had observed a media report about romance scams, which was when she realized that she had been the target of one. At this point, police said the victim had already sent the suspect approximately $250,000 in cryptocurre...

Shania Twain concert going ahead in Saskatoon after crew involved in bus crash

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:42 GMT

SASKATOON — Shania Twain is set to hit the stage in Saskatoon a day after members of her concert production crew were in a bus crash on an icy highway in southeast Saskatchewan.The Sasktel Centre, where the singer is set to perform, says the concert is going ahead. A bus and truck from the “Queen of Me” tour were in a crash on the Trans-Canada Highway near Wolseley on Wednesday morning. Twain was not on the bus.The people in the vehicles were taken to hospital and all but two were released the same day. Emergency officials have said none of the injuries were life-threatening.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2023.The Canadian Press

United Nations suspends pullout of African Union troops from Somalia as battles with militants rage

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:42 GMT

NAIROBI,Kenya (AP) — The United Nations Security Council on Thursday suspended for a period of three months the pullout of African Union troop from Somalia, where fighting rages with al-Qaida’s affiliate in East Africa.The decision follows a request by the Horn of Africa nation for the forces to remain in the country to help in the fight against the al-Shabab extremists. Somalia’s request was supported by the African Union, all countries that contribute soldiers to the force and the council, which agreed to delay the pullout of the 19,000-strong AU force for 90 days.Last year in April, the council unanimously approved a new African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, known as ATMIS, to support the Somalis until their forces take full responsibility for the country’s security at the end of 2024.ATMIS replaced the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, which has been in the Horn of Africa nation for 15 years helping peacebuilding in Somalia.However, the new force was to b...

Two Montreal Jewish schools hit by gunshots overnight Wednesday, no injuries

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:42 GMT

The Montreal police force (SPVM) is reporting two Jewish schools in Montreal were hit with gunshots overnight Wednesday.The SPVM says they received a 911 call at 8:20 a.m. regarding gunshot impacts found on the front door of a Jewish school located on Saint-Kevin Ave. in Côte-des-Neiges. Bullet casings were also located.Authorities believe the gunshots were fired overnight. No one was in the building at the time of the shooting and no one was injured.Shortly after at 8:50 a.m. a 911 call was made about gunshot impacts found on the front door of another Jewish school nearby on Chemin Deacon in Outremont.In this case police also believe the shots were fired overnight. No one was in the building at the time of the shooting and no one was injured.SPVM officers are on the scene at both schools as the investigation is ongoing.The incidents occurred at a time when the Montreal police is reporting a rise in hate crimes and incidents amid the Israel-Hamas war.The SPVM reports 73 hate crimes ...