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Clashes renew in West Darfur as food and water shortages worsen in Sudan violence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:59 GMT

(CNN) — Fighting between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued Friday, hours into the latest ceasefire, eyewitnesses in the country said, as officials warned that scores have been killed in “deadly ethnic clashes” in West Darfur’s capital city El Geneina since the beginning of the week.The situation across Sudan has deteriorated, with shortages of vital water and food supplies, and reports of widespread looting, with hospitals being targeted.Sudan’s Armed Forces, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF paramilitary group, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, agreed Thursday to extend an ongoing ceasefire for 72 hours, but violence continued to rattle restive Darfur, where a war between rebels and government forces backed by militias claimed nearly 300,000 lives in the early 2000s.Recent fighting concentrated in El Geneina has been between Arab militias and civilians, according to Ahmed Gou...

City sues California Theatre owners for creating public nuisance

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego City Attorney on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the owners of the California Theatre for creating a public nuisance.The building has sat vacant for decades and drew in the wrong kind of attention.The city attorney said the lawsuit is the last resort to make the building and the area around it a safe place."Patience has worn thin because it's now health and safety. We can't stand by and wait for them to get their act together. They need to do something now," said City of San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott.The City of San Diego is suing the owners of the California Theatre, Caydon Property Group which is based in Australia.The attorney argues because the owners are letting the building sit vacant with no plans for safety changes, it created a public nuisance."Its roof is close to falling through. We don't even feel it's safe enough for city personnel to walk through so we used a drone to look inside of it, and it's in terrible condition," Elliott said.Th...

Drake fans unhappy with ticket prices at upcoming Toronto shows

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:59 GMT

The concert many Torontonians have been waiting for is finally happening, but at what cost?After announcing his “It’s All A Blur” Tour in mid-March, rapper Drake left no confirmation dates for Toronto. On Monday, it was announced Drizzy has added two concert dates for his hometown on Oct. 5 and 7 at Scotiabank Arena.Tickets for both concert dates went on sale on April 28 , while pre-sale tickets went on sale the day before at 10 a.m. on Ticketmaster.Many angry fans made their way to social media expressing the absurd pricing for tickets. Prices for pre-sale tickets ranged from $300 to more than $1000 for nosebleeds and lower bowl tickets reaching the above the $500 mark. @krupamiistry drake did us dirty ???? #toronto #drake #scotiabankarena #itsallablurtour ♬ best i ever had – senia Videos and screenshots flooded social media platforms with fans also speaking out their frustration about the Ticketmaster website crashing, or seeing the message: “SORRY ANOTHER FAN BEAT Y...

Olivia Chow, Ana Bailão gaining support in Toronto mayoral race: poll

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:59 GMT

Toronto mayoral hopefuls Olivia Chow and Ana Bailão are slowly separating themselves from the pack with “solidifying support” from voters, a new poll shows.The latest survey from Mainstreet Research was conducted from April 25 to April 26 and polled 794 residents in Toronto. Those results showed that Chow, who previously served as an NDP MP, has the support of 26 per cent of decided voters.Chow announced her bid for the mayor’s chair on April 17, adding a highly recognizable name to the long list of candidates running in the by-election set for June 26.Chow is seeking to reverse her fortunes after coming a distant third in the 2014 mayoral race behind runner-up Doug Ford, now Ontario’s premier, and John Tory, who was elected to three terms. She is one of the most recognizable names in a crowded field that includes Coun. Josh Matlow and Coun. Brad Bradford, ex-police chief Mark Saunders, former deputy mayor Bailão and former provincial education minister Mitzi...

Province says RCMP should leave Surrey, B.C., to local force for safety reasons

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:59 GMT

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government is recommending the City of Surrey continue its transition to the Surrey Police Service, despite the wishes of the new council to revert to the RCMP. The government cites RCMP staff vacancies as one of the key reasons for not wanting the city to keep the Mounties, saying it ensures public safety for the people of Surrey and throughout B.C. The government says the decision is not binding, but it has placed several mandatory conditions on the city should it decide to retain the RCMP.It says it will offer financial assistance for the transition to the municipal police force to protect Surrey taxpayers. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says in a statement that he agreed with a systematic review by the director of police services that the best way to achieve public safety in B.C. is with the local police force.The Mounties have about 1,500 vacancies in the province and if Surrey goes back to the RCMP, the province says that would worsen the...

Judge rules against Google, allows antitrust case to proceed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:59 GMT

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday rejected a motion from Google to toss out the government’s antirust case against it.U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled the lawsuit alleging Google wields monopolistic power in the world of online advertising can proceed in its entirety.Her ruling is the second setback for Google at the federal court in Alexandria. Google had earlier tried to get the case consolidated with a similar lawsuit that’s been ongoing for several years in New York. But Brinkema ruled last month that the case can proceed in the Alexandria courthouse, which is known as the “Rocket Docket” for its reputation of adjudicating disputes swiftly.The lawsuit alleges that Google holds a virtual monopoly in online advertising that works to the detriment of consumers. The complaint alleged that Google “corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used ...

Federal government posts $3.1 surplus for first 11 months of 2022-23 fiscal year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:59 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government posted a budgetary surplus of $3.1 billion between April 2022 and February 2023. In its monthly fiscal monitor, the Finance Department says the result compared to a deficit of $69.8 billion during the same period during the previous fiscal year. Government revenues were up $36 billion, or 10.1 per cent, amid stronger economic growth and the fading effect of the pandemic.Program expenses excluding net actuarial losses decreased $45.6 billion, or 11.5 per cent, as the federal government wound down COVID-19 supports.Higher inflation and interest rates pushed up public debt charges by $9.1 billion, or 40.7 per cent.Meanwhile, net actuarial losses fell by $0.4 billion, or 4.7 per cent.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April, 28, 2023.The Canadian Press

N. Carolina justices sweep away district, voter ID rulings

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:59 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — In massive victories for Republicans, North Carolina’s state Supreme Court on Friday threw out previous rulings that had declared illegal both redistricting maps for excessive partisanship and a photo voter identification law for being infected with racial bias.The new edition of the court, which became a Republican majority this year following the election of two GOP justices, ruled after taking the unusual step of revisiting opinions made in December by the court’s previous iteration, when Democrats held a 4-3 seat advantage. The court held rehearings in March. The 5-2 decisions likely to mean that a photo ID mandate approved by the GOP-controlled legislature in late 2018 will be enforced for the 2024 elections. Legislators also should have greater latitude in drawing legislative seat boundaries for the next decade that will reinforce their General Assembly majorities and assist them in winning more seats within the state’s congressional delegation. Prev...

Ontario hospital nurses awarded additional pay after Bill 124 struck down

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:59 GMT

Arbitrators have awarded Ontario hospital nurses additional salary increases for the three years that were subject to a wage restraint law, after it was struck down as unconstitutional.The 2019 law, known as Bill 124, capped wage increases for the nurses and other public sector workers at one per cent a year for three years.It was ruled unconstitutional in November and though the government is appealing that, the Ontario Nurses’ Association sought retroactive pay through an arbitrator, since the contracts were subject to be reopened if Bill 124 was repealed or declared invalid.Arbitrators have now awarded the nurses an additional 0.75 per cent wage increase for the year starting April 1, 2020, an additional one per cent for the following year and an additional two per cent for the final year.The nurses’ association says, however, that those amounts still don’t reflect the value of registered nurses, and won’t be enough to address staff shortages in the profes...

US agency raises ‘serious concerns’ about tech visa lottery

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:59 GMT

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — The number of applications for visas used in the technology industry soared for a second straight year, raising “serious concerns” that some are manipulating the system to gain an unfair advantage, authorities said Friday.There were 780,884 applications for H-1B visas in this year’s computer-generated lottery, up 61% from 483,927 last year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a message to “stakeholders.” Last year’s haul was up 57% from 308,613 applications the year before. Each year, up to 85,000 people are selected for H-1B visas, a mainstay for technology giants such as Amazon.com Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc., Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. Last year, the government began requiring workers who won the lottery to sign affidavits stating they didn’t try to game the system by working with others to file multiple bids under different company names, even if there was no underlyi...