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Hamas frees first batch of hostages under truce, including 13 Israelis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:40 GMT

By NAJIB JOBAIN, JOSEF FEDERMAN and JACK JEFFERY (Associated Press)RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas on Friday released 24 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza for weeks, including 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand and a Filipino citizen, according to Qatar and other officials, in the first stage in a swap for Palestinians prisoners in Israel under a four-day cease-fire deal.The hostages, women and children, were undergoing medical checks before they were to be transferred to Israel. They are to be taken to Israeli hospitals and reunited with their families.Qatar was a key mediator in the hostage release. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which delivered the hostages from Gaza into Egypt, also confirmed the release.The agreement brought the first respite for beleaguered residents of Gaza and opened the way for sorely needed aid to flow in. It was also a moment of hope for families in Israel and elsewhere worried about loved ones taken captive during HamasR...

Black Friday brings scattered showers to San Diego County -- How long will it last?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:40 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Early morning Black Friday shoppers may have experienced some drizzle while heading out to shop. Scattered light showers were detected in several areas across the region, and the National Weather Service said the rainfall is forecast to become more confined to the coastal slopes of the mountains later into Friday. Last-minute tips for making the most of Black Friday deals in San Diego According to weather officials, rainfall -- for those who get some -- will mostly be light.With the wetness comes cooler temperatures and westerly winds. NWS said the winds will continue through the morning, then weaken Friday afternoon and evening.As explained by weather officials, "shortwave energy swirling around low pressure centered near the Great Salt Lake is expected to keep the marine layer elevated and provide enough lift to generate some scattered, mostly light showers through Friday night."How much rain can be expected? NWS said no one ...

A newly formed alliance between coup-hit countries in Africa’s Sahel is seen as tool for legitimacy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:40 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Three West African nations led by military juntas met this week to strengthen a newly formed alliance described by some analysts on Friday as an attempt to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors.In his first foreign trip since the July coup that brought him into power, Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani held separate meetings Thursday with his Mali and Burkina Faso counterparts.During their meetings, the leaders pledged security and political collaborations under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a partnership the three countries announced in September as a measure to help fight the extremist violence they each struggle with and across the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.The alliance provides a “path of sovereignty” for the countries and for their citizens, Gen. Tchiani told reporters after his meeting with Malian leader Col. Assimi Goita. “Through this allia...

Health care providers utilizing social prescriptions for Toronto Zoo trips

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:40 GMT

Healthcare providers can now prescribe a trip to the Toronto Zoo as part of a new service that encourages locals to get out and enjoy nature to improve their mental health.So, the next time you visit the zoo in Morningside Heights might be because your doctor prescribed it.Local social worker Vikas Keshri was one of the first providers to sign up for PaRx at ParkPrescriptions.ca, so he could offer it to his patients.“We used to ask people to go out for a walk. But now, imagine a person going out for a walk in the neighbourhood, which is very familiar and there’s no awe element there,” Keshri explained. “And now someone walking through Toronto Zoo, they have a lot of things that will interest them.”“It’s an investment in the wellness of the people in the community. Part of mental health — the intervention — is being mindful in the present. It helps with anxiety, depression, PTSD, stress, burnout.”Toronto Zoo CEO Dolf Dejong says PaRx al...

S&P/TSX composite up slightly Friday morning; U.S. markets mixed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:40 GMT

TORONTO — Gains in the financial and energy sectors helped lift Canada’s main stock index in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were mixed after they had yesterday off for the thanksgiving holiday.The S&P/TSX composite index was up slightly by 9.52 points at 20,126.18.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 109.72 points at 35,382.75. The S&P 500 index was up 0.68 points at 4,557.30, while the Nasdaq composite was down 26.45 points at 14,239.41.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.49 cents US compared with 73 cents US on Thursday.The January crude oil contract was down 34 cents from Wednesday’s close at US$76.76 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down seven cents at US$2.97 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was up US$6.30 at US$1,99.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$3.78 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CAD...

Mexico’s arrest of cartel security boss who attacked army families’ complex was likely personal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:40 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. government thanked Mexico for arresting a hyper violent alleged Sinaloa cartel security chief, but according to details released Friday, the detention may have been highly personal for the Mexican army. Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said Nestor Isidro Pérez Salas, who was arrested Wednesday, had ordered a 2019 attack on an unguarded apartment complex where soldiers’ families lived. “He was the one who ordered the attack … against our dependents, our families,” Sandoval said.The Oct. 17, 2019 attack was a result of a humiliating failed effort to capture Sinaloa cartel leader Ovidio Guzman, one of the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Pérez Salas served as head of security for Guzman and his brothers, who are collectively known as the “Chapitos.”Soldiers caught Guzman but later were ordered to release him to avoid bloodshed.In order to pressure the army to release Guzman, cartel gunmen had surrounded the army families...

‘Lowest of the low’: Mysterious website under fire, accused of stealing content

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:40 GMT

Journalists across Canada have been sounding the alarm bell about a website that’s accused of swiping content from legitimate outlets on a daily basis.“It’s just wholesale theft,” said Ethan Cox, co-founder of Ricochet Media, based in Montreal. “We specialize in investigative, in-depth, context rich journalism.”Original reporting that takes countless hours to uncover and report. So, he was shocked when he noticed an exclusive story they broke, appear on another so-called news website claiming it as their own.“I was on Reddit and saw the headline of an article we had just published with a different URL. And so I went, ‘What is this?’ And I clicked on it. Now I’ve been down that rabbit hole for the last five days,” he said.What he uncovered is alarming. The website is full of stories stolen from media outlets across the globe.“We did an audit of the site. We verified the top 18 articles published on the site and every single one of them we could track back to the original ...

Argentina and Brazil charged by FIFA after fan violence delays World Cup qualifying game at Maracana

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:40 GMT

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA opened disciplinary cases against Argentina and Brazil on Friday after fan violence at the Maracana Stadium delayed the start of a World Cup qualifying game.The Argentine soccer federation was charged with crowd disturbances and the late kick off at Tuesday’s game in Rio de Janeiro.The Brazilian federation was charged with failures of managing security at a game it organized, FIFA said.Fights among fans broke out after the national anthems. The teams were led back to the locker rooms and the game started 27 minutes late.“There was family of the players (there). We were more worried about that than playing the match,” Argentina captain Lionel Messi said.Argentina won the game 1-0.FIFA gave no timetable to judge the case and impose sanctions.The teams’ next World Cup qualifying games are in September. Brazil hosts Ecuador and Argentina hosts Chile.Brazil and Argentina could next meet at the 2024 Copa America, a tournament that will be played in the United Stat...

Internet casinos thrive in 6 states. So why hasn’t it caught on more widely in the US?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:40 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — In the 10 years that it has been operating in New Jersey, internet casino gambling has generated nearly $7 billion in revenue for casinos and their affiliates, sent over a billion dollars in tax revenue to the state’s coffers and helped keep Atlantic City’s nine casinos afloat while they were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.So why hasn’t it caught on more widely across America?Currently, only six states offer internet casino gambling: New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia. (Nevada offers internet poker but not online casino games; Rhode Island has passed an online casino bill, but it is not expected to go into effect until March 2024.)Casino operators, online gambling companies, analysts and elected officials offer a number of reasons why they think it has yet to expand more widely: among them, including fears (unfounded, analysts say) that internet gambling will draw gamblers away from physica...

Toronto man wanted for assaulting woman, vandalizing victim’s residence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:40 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a man behind the alleged assault of a woman known to him and returning to her residence to vandalize it and threaten the victim.Authorities were called to the Danforth Avenue and Pape Avenue area in Toronto’s Greektown neighbourhood on Tuesday for reports of an assault.It’s alleged that on Nov. 18, a woman was assaulted by a man who is known to her. Days later, the suspect unlawfully entered the victim’s residence, vandalized the woman’s residence and threatened her.He then fled the area.Authorities said 33-year-old Kenneth Kingston of Toronto is wanted on multiple charges, including assault, threatening death, unlawfully in a dwelling, mischief and failing to comply with a release order.Photo: Toronto police.Kingston is described as five-foot-seven with a heavy build, long brown shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, a scruffy beard and a thick mustache. He was last seen wearing a dark-coloured baseball cap with a square white log...