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Fighting rages in Sudan hours after cease-fire was to begin

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:08:08 GMT

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Fighting raged in Sudan on Tuesday hours after an internationally brokered truce was supposed to have come into effect, as forces loyal to dueling generals battled for key locations in the capital and accused each other of violating the cease-fire.The truce was the culmination of days of intense pressure by top diplomats on four continents and had raised hopes of sparing Africa’s third largest country from civil war. But each side still appeared determined to vanquish the other, despite the suffering of millions of civilians trapped by the fighting.Residents said they still heard gunfire and explosions in different parts of the capital, Khartoum, particularly around the military’s headquarters and the Republican Palace. They said few people had ventured out, though there were crowds outside some bakeries.“The fighting remains underway,” Atiya Abdulla Atiya of the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate told The Associated Press. “We are hearing constant gunfire.”Millio...

Blue Jays announce new Rogers Centre upgrades for 2024 season. Here’s what’s coming

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:08:08 GMT

As a follow-up to the $300-million Rogers Centre renovations that Blue Jays fans are now experiencing, the organization previewed three premium clubs that will be introduced in time for the 2024 season.A Blue Jays spokesperson said the new premium clubs will be located beneath a “completely reimagined lower bowl,” connected to the best seats in the ballpark, with entertainment experiences. This includes a personalized level of service and a private members entrance with in-seat dining.The Blue Jays noted that capacities will be limited and will be available as full or multi-season memberships.“The types of entertainment experiences fans are looking for have evolved dramatically since Rogers Centre opened in 1989, and our ballpark currently has among the fewest premium experience options compared to MLB and other entertainment venues in Toronto,” said Blue Jays President and CEO Mark Shapiro.“The next phase of renovations will introduce more of the ameni...

French publishing manager held in UK for obstructing police

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:08:08 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A Paris publishing manager was arrested Tuesday in London after being questioned by police about participating in France’s protests against pension reform, his employer said.Ernest Moret was detained after arriving from Paris at St. Pancras railway station on Monday night on his way to the London Book Fair, Editions La Fabrique said in a joint statement with London radical publisher Vero Books.A Metropolitan Police spokesperson didn’t name Moret but said a 28-year-old man was stopped by officers under a law that allows them to question someone who may be involved in terrorism.He was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of willfully obstructing their investigation, police said.The publishers said officers justified questioning Moret by claiming he participated in the turbulent protests against French President Emmanuel Marcon’s decision to raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64.Moret was arrested for obstruction when he refused to provide passwords to unlo...

German police say at least 4 severely injured in gym attack

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:08:08 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — At least four people were severely injured in an attack at a gym in the western German city of Duisburg, police said Tuesday evening.The incident occurred in the old city of Duisburg and police asked residents to stay at home and avoid the area. They said a large number of officers were at the scene of the attack, right across from the city hall.“According to current information, one person has injured other people with an object” at a gym, Duisburg police tweeted. “The situation is currently still confusing.”Police later said that a “stabbing or cutting weapon” was used in the attack, but did not give any further details.The attacker appeared to still be on the loose, German news agency dpa reported. Several victims were taken to a hospital, while investigators searched the gym, dpa reported. Several witnesses to the attack, some still with their sports bags, were taken to a nearby restaurant so police could question them.Helicopters were hovering above the gym ...

‘Done and dusted’: Liberals’ controversial online streaming bill back before Senate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:08:08 GMT

OTTAWA — The Liberal government’s controversial online-streaming bill was back in the upper chamber on Tuesday, with one senator who had earlier opposed it saying she expected it to pass.After more than a year of debate and revisions, Alberta Sen. Paula Simons said she would really like to see Bill C-11 “done and dusted” this week, and not because she wants to ram it through. “For all the cynicism about the Senate, I think the Senate showed its merits with this bill,” Simons said in a recent interview. “And I think we did a really good job of debating and discussing it.”Last month, the House of Commons adopted most of the Senate’s amendments, which included measures to highlight the promotion of Indigenous languages and Black content creators and a change that sought to “reaffirm” the independence and freedom of expression of creators. Senators also tweaked the bill to ensure that funds collected from tech giants would go t...

Syria, Tunisia move to restore their diplomatic relations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:08:08 GMT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisian President Kais Saied met Tuesday with Syria’s chief diplomat and said his country wants to boost bilateral cooperation and preserve “historical ties of brotherhood” with Damascus, the official TAP news agency reported.Diplomatic relations between Syria and Tunisia have been cut since 2012 during the civil war that followed President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on mass protests against his rule. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad’s three-day visit to Tunisia is meant to help restore relations, the Tunisian Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.Mikdad had a meeting Monday evening with his Tunisian counterpart Nabil Ammar shortly after his arrival.President Saied stressed Tunisia’s willingness to intensify cooperation in a range of bilateral issues, and on the common cultural bonds, TAP reported.The bid by the two countries to move toward a new chapter is a glaring example of how things have changed in the region over the past deca...

Inflation hits lowest level since August 2021, but BoC not expected to back off yet

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:08:08 GMT

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada is expected to keep interest rates elevated for some time even as the country’s annual inflation rate falls rapidly. Inflation in Canada dropped to 4.3 per cent in March, Statistics Canada said in its latest consumer price index report released Tuesday. The headline rate eased from 5.2 per cent in February as higher mortgage interest costs were offset by lower energy prices.The country’s annual inflation rate is mostly tracking along the Bank of Canada’s forecast of reaching three per cent by mid-year. Its preferred measures of core inflation, which the central bank uses to look through volatility in prices, also trended downward in March.“Today’s report shows that all roads do indeed point to three per cent inflation in the months ahead,” said BMO chief economist Douglas Porter in a client note. The continued slowdown in inflation since last summer has now brought the annual rate down to the lowest it’s been since Augu...

US charges 4 Americans, 3 Russians in election discord case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:08:08 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Four Americans affiliated with a Black empowerment and political organization have been charged along with three Russians with conspiring to covertly sow discord in U.S. society, spread Russian propaganda and interfere illegally in U.S. elections, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.The U.S. citizens and two Russians were added to an existing case in Tampa, Florida, federal court involving Aleksandr Ionov, described by prosecutors as the founder of a Moscow-based organization funded by the Russian government to carry out a clandestine influence campaign in the U.S.The four Americans are all part of the African People’s Socialist Party and Uhuru Movement, which has locations in St. Petersburg, Florida, and St. Louis. Among those charged is Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the U.S.-based organization — which was raided by the FBI last summer when Ionov was originally charged.“Russia’s foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponized our Fir...

Downtown beating witness: 'It was crazy, then police didn't help'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:08:08 GMT

CHICAGO — Lenora Dennis not only witnessed the attack of a couple on Wabash Avenue Saturday night, she stepped in to help. “They were going to kill that young man,” she said. “They were stomping his head into the concrete.”Dennis ran across Wabash and said she yelled and cursed at the teenagers who were hitting and robbing the couple. She was relieved to see a police car approach but said officers, faced with multiple reports of violent acts downtown, didn’t stop.  “I literally stepped in front of a squad car and motioned them over to see this was an assault on the street in progress; and the police just drove around me,” she said. Related: What we know and don’t know about video of downtown beating She said the group of young people briefly ran down the street but then returned.  “When they came back they were beating the couple again,” she said.Police reports reviewed by WGN Investigates say the couple, who was visiting from out of town, both suffered blows that l...

Suspected burglars charged in high-speed chase that ended in crash near Elmhurst school

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:08:08 GMT

WHEATON, Ill. — Prosecutors in DuPage County have charged three people suspected of leading police on a high-speed chase after allegedly burglarizing a TJ Maxx in Oak Brook.Russell Miller, 24, of Chicago, Xavier Miller, 28, of Chicago, and Zhane Ball, 28, of Iowa City, Iowa are all charged with one felony count of burglary, one count of retail theft, two counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer and five counts of misdemeanor endangering the health or life of a child.  Police: Man helping get goose out of road struck, killed in suburbs Skycam flew above the scene in Elmhurst on Friday, which showed the suspects' beige GMC smashed into another vehicle. It was just before 2:50 p.m. that officers with the Oak Brook Police Department allegedly observed a GMC Acadia, driven by Russell Miller, parked in the aisle of a parking lot at the Shops at Oak Brook. Prosecutors said officers witnessed Xavier Miller and Ball exit the TJ Maxx with items and enter the awaiting GMC Ac...