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Wildfires close evacuation routes out of N.W.T. towns, some being transported by air

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:00 GMT

HAY RIVER, N.W.T. — Members of the Canadian Forces are being deployed to help deal with wildfires along the Alberta-Northwest Territories boundary that have forced the evacuation of the town of Hay River.A National Defence spokeswoman says a reconnaissance team was on the ground in the community along the south shore of Great Slave Lake.The size of the team wasn’t immediately known, nor was what equipment or capabilities they were bringing with them.Hay River was the second area community ordered to evacuate to safety Sunday evening due to encroaching wildfires, which were about 60 kilometres away at the time. An update on Hay River’s Facebook page said a fire was preventing outbound vehicle traffic and directed residents to instead go to the Hay River airport for evacuation by air.On Sunday, 215 people were flown from Hay River to Grande Prairie, Alta., while health-care patients were transported via other flight services.Hay River has about 3,500 people. This report by...

Canadian border officers found live tarantulas in container, toy plane at Edmonton airport

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:00 GMT

Canadian border officers made an alarming discovery while searching packages shipped from overseas at Edmonton International Airport earlier this year.The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says officers found two tarantulas while they searched a pair of packages shipped from Hong Kong in the spring.The first spider was discovered on May 12, 2023, when an officer noticed irregularities in a package. Upon inspection, a male tarantula was found hidden inside a plastic container.On June 1, 2023, officers found a female tarantula inside a toy plane while inspecting another package from the same shipper.Open Gallery3 items“When bringing living creatures to Canada, be aware of the rules governing their importation, including procedures to protect endangered and threatened species,” reads a release from CBSA.“Canada has strong regulations in place to facilitate the humane transport of living creatures.”The CBSA notified Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)...

Border officers at Edmonton airport find tarantulas in plastic container, toy plane

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:00 GMT

EDMONTON — The Canada Border Services Agency says officers discovered two live tarantulas hidden inside plastic containers at the Edmonton International Airport earlier this year. In May, officers saw irregularities in a small package from Hong Kong and found a male tarantula hidden inside a plastic container. Weeks later, an inspection of another package from the same shipper found a female spider hidden inside a children’s toy plane. It turns out the species of tarantula, which is native to Hong Kong, did not require permits to import into Canada.But the agency says the spiders were seized because they weren’t transported humanely.They have since found a new home at the Royal Alberta Museum. The agency says all living creatures, including pets, must be declared when importing them into Canada in order to avoid spreading disease and introducing foreign species.“CBSA officers were able to find and rescue these two tarantulas from inhumane shipping methods. All living cre...

5.5 magnitude earthquake strikes along border of northeast India and Bangladesh

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:00 GMT

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — An earthquake struck along the border of northeast India and Bangladesh on Monday, sending tremors through the region, the U.S. Geological Survey said.There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage in the region.The 5.5 magnitude quake was at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) and struck 18 kilometers (11 miles) northwest of Karimganj in the northeastern Indian state of Assam and about 36 kilometers (22.3 miles) northeast of Sylhet in neighboring Bangladesh, according to the USGS. Tremors were felt in various parts of India’s northeast region, including in the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. In Guwahati, the capital of Assam, residents were seen rushing out of their homes as tremors continued for several seconds. The Associated Press

Argentine peso plunges after shaggy-haired rightist who admires Trump comes first in primary vote

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:00 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The Argentine peso plunged Monday after a shaggy-haired 52-year—old anti-establishment candidate who admires former President Donald Trump came first in primary elections that will help determine the country’s next president. Javier Milei rocked Argentina’s political establishment Sunday by receiving the biggest share of primary votes for presidential candidates in the October general election to determine who leads a nation battered by economic woes.Milei wants to replace the peso with the dollar, and says that Argentina’s Central Bank should be abolished, and that he thinks climate change is a lie. He has characterized sex education as a ploy to destroy the family and has said that he believes the sale of human organs should be legal and it should be easier for Argentines to own handguns.Argentina’s government decided to devalue the local currency by 20% early Monday morning after the surprising Milei showing that turned Argentina into the late...

Prosecutors have started presenting Georgia election investigation to grand jury

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Prosecutors in Atlanta who have been investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election in Georgia have begun presenting their case to a grand jury.Former Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan, who had been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, said as she left the Fulton County courthouse late Monday morning that she had been questioned for about 40 minutes. News outlets reported that former Democratic state Rep. Bee Nguyen and Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the secretary of state’s office, were seen arriving at the courthouse earlier Monday.For two and a-half years, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating actions taken by Trump and others in their efforts to overturn his narrow loss in Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden. Barriers and street closures around the courthouse in downtown Atlanta, as well as statements made by Willis, had indicated that a presentation to a grand jury w...

A woman says she fractured her ankle when she slipped on a piece of prosciutto; now she’s suing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:00 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A woman who fractured her left ankle during a trip with her husband to the Italian food emporium Eataly in Boston last year is blaming her injury on a piece of ham.Alice Cohen was heading to an area where food samples are distributed to customers on Oct. 7 when she slipped on a piece of prosciutto and fell, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston.“Alice Cohen sustained bodily injuries, a loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, and incurred necessary medical expenses for medical care and attention,” the lawsuit says.Her medical expenses, including a hospital visit and physical therapy, have resulted in more than $7,500 in bills, according to court papers.Cohen and her husband Ronald, of Gilford, New Hampshire, are seeking a jury trial and at least $50,000 in damages.The lawsuit claims Eataly was negligent for not properly cleaning the floor. The lawsuit also claims loss of consortium.The restaurant “had a duty to ensure that the su...

Ontario’s finance minister provides fiscal update but focus turns to Greenbelt scandal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:00 GMT

Ontario’s finance minister provided an update on the province’s first-quarter finances but he faced tough questions about the scathing auditor-general report into the Ford government decision’s to open up the Greenbelt for housing development.Peter Bethlenfalvy, who presented his fiscal update in the legislature on Monday morning, revealed the province spent about $766 million more than planned in the first quarter of this fiscal year. Nearly all of that new spending came from contingency funds.According to the 2023-24 First Quarter Finances, the deficit projection for 2023-24 remains at the $1.3 billion set out in the spring budget.Revenues and expenses are largely unchanged from the budget forecast, though a detailed look at the expenses sets out $766.6 million in new program spending.About half of that is to develop industrial land for large-scale manufacturing, with money also going toward policing, flood protection in Toronto, affordable housing in Ottawa and ...

Coroner to hold inquest into officer cadet’s suicide at Royal Military College

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:00 GMT

OTTAWA — The Ontario coroner will hold an inquest into the death of an officer cadet who took his own life while attending Royal Military College last year. Absar Chaudhry’s family had asked the coroner to look into the case earlier this year, saying they had questions the military was not answering. The 21-year-old was found dead in his dorm room in Kingston, Ont., on Nov. 30. Chaudhry’s parents and their lawyers asked the coroner to investigate the conditions at the college and whether they played a role in his death. In a court filing in April, the family said the military had failed to act on a report by former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, who said there were abuses of power and a toxic environment at the college.The Defence Department says an internal board of inquiry looking into Chaudhry’s death will begin interviewing witnesses in the coming weeks.If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, support is available 24/7 by calling Talk Suicide...

Russia’s ruble hits its lowest level since early in the war. The central bank plans to step in

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Russian ruble on Monday reached its lowest value since the early weeks of the war in Ukraine as Moscow increases military spending and Western sanctions weigh on its energy exports.It led Russia’s central bank to announce an emergency meeting for Tuesday to review its key interest rate, raising the likelihood of an increase in borrowing costs that would support the flagging ruble.The Russian currency had passed 101 rubles to the dollar, continuing a more than 25% decline in its value since the beginning of the year and hitting the lowest level in almost 17 months. The ruble recovered slightly after the central bank’s announcement.The meeting was set after President Vladimir Putin’s economic adviser, Maksim Oreshkin, blamed the weak ruble on “loose monetary policy” in an op-ed Monday for state news agency Tass. He said a strong ruble is in the interest of the Russian economy and that a weak currency “complicates economic restructuring and negatively affe...