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Montreal must become ‘sponge city’ as extreme weather to become more common

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:58 GMT

MONTREAL — As Montreal emerges from a severe thunderstorm that flooded underpasses and more than 130 homes on Thursday, the city must do more to mitigate the effects of extreme weather, says a spokesperson.In less than two hours, central parts of Montreal received a month’s worth of rain, as much as 85 millimetres, Philippe Sabourin told reporters Friday. The rain flooded underpasses, causing sewer overflows and potentially contaminating bodies of water, which he warned residents to avoid for the next 48 hours.The storm also triggered what Sabourin said was the city’s first tornado warning as wind gusts of almost 100 kilometres per hour downed trees and knocked out power lines.“We’ll need to collectively develop reflexes” to become more resilient to such weather events, he said.Those reflexes, he said, could include building “immense” underground reservoirs to store surplus water, and more green infrastructure, such as parks and roadside gar...

Rescuers evacuate 14,000 people from flood-hit villages in eastern Pakistan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:58 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Rescuers in boats evacuated 14,000 people over the past several days after floodwaters from two rivers swollen by monsoon rains inundated dozens of villages in eastern Pakistan, officials said Friday. Monsoon rains began lashing the South Asian country in late June and since then, at least 91 people have died in weather-related incidents across the country. Mohsin Naqvi, a top official in eastern Punjab province, tweeted Friday that he visited flood-hit areas. The evacuations began earlier this week after neighboring India diverted waters from dams into the Ravi River, which flows from India into Pakistan. An overflowing Sutlej River has also inundated villages in various parts of the province.According to the national weather agency, rains will continue this week to lash the southwestern Baluchistan and southern Sindh provinces, where thousands died in floods last summer. The floods affected 33 million people and killed 1,739 in Pakistan. They also caused $3...

Putin wants to attend an August summit. Host country South Africa doesn’t want to have to arrest him

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:58 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to attend an economic summit in South Africa next month and the country is desperately trying to persuade him to stay away to avoid the legal and diplomatic fallout over his international arrest warrant, South Africa’s deputy president said in an interview with a news website on Friday.As a signatory to the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court, South Africa is obliged to arrest Putin on an indictment the court issued against the Russian leader in March for war crimes involving the abduction of children from Ukraine.Moscow has dismissed the warrant. South African authorities are likely to breach the treaty and not arrest Putin, but some opposition parties, rights groups and legal activists have said he should be arrested and have threatened to do it themselves, raising security issues for the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.Having already decided not to condemn Russia over its invasion of Ukraine...

Actor with roles in ‘Guiding Light,’ ‘Hunger Games’ film accuses resort owner of sexual harassment

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:58 GMT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — An actor and model who had roles in the soap opera “Guiding Light” and movies including “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” says in a lawsuit that she was sexually harassed by the owner of a Rhode Island resort where she had been hired to work as a consultant.Alison McDaniel’s lawsuit, filed this week in federal court in Rhode Island, seeks more than $3.3 million in damages and unpaid back wages.McDaniel, 42, was subjected to “repeated sexual advances including attempts to kiss her on the mouth, requests for sexual favors, inappropriate touching, ogling with suggestive overtones, and verbal and physical harassment of a sexual nature” by Paul Mihailides, owner of The Preserve Sporting Club & Residences, in Richmond, she says in the lawsuit.An attorney for Mihailides disputed the claims.“Sexual harassment in the workplace is unacceptable at any level and The Preserve holds all who work there in any capacity to a high standard,” attorne...

AP gets a rare look at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant as it prepares to release radioactive water

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:58 GMT

FUTABA, Japan (AP) — At Japan’s tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, giant blue pipes have been constructed to bring in torrents of seawater to dilute treated, radioactive water under a plan to discharge it gradually into the Pacific Ocean.Workers were making final preparations as Associated Press journalists received a rare opportunity Friday to get a look at key equipment and facilities for the release, expected in coming weeks or months.The International Atomic Energy Agency has looked at Japan’s wastewater-release plan and said it would cause negligible radioactivity in the sea and no effect on neighboring countries. But the plans continue to draw strong protest and no starting date has been set. Japan’s fishing industry fears it will destroy the reputation of the country’s seafood, and groups in South Korea and China also have raised concerns. Hong Kong announced Wednesday it would ban seafood imports from 10 Japanese prefectures once the release begins, and B...

UN council wants options in 30 days to help combat Haiti’s armed gangs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:58 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council ordered the secretary-general on Friday to consider options to help combat Haiti’s armed gangs, including a possible U.N. peacekeeping force and a non-U.N. multinational force.A resolution adopted unanimously by the council asks U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to report back on options within 30 days. It also authorizes up to 70 U.N. police and corrections advisers to scale up support and training for Haiti’s understaffed and underfunded national police force. And it “encourages” countries especially in the Caribbean region to respond to appeals from Haiti’s prime minister and from Guterres for the deployment of an international specialized force.Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry sent an urgent appeal last October for “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity” to stop the gangs, but more than eight months later no country has stepped up to lead such a force.Guterres, who visited Haiti earli...

Coyotes terminate contract of Galchenyuk following arrest on multiple charges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:58 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes have terminated the contract of newly-signed free agent forward Alex Galchenyuk following his arrest on multiple charges last weekend.The Coyotes terminated Galchenyuk’s contract on Friday due to a material breach of terms a day after placing him on unconditional waivers.“We are aware of the incident involving Alex Galchenyuk and strongly condemn this type of behavior,” the Coyotes said in a statement. “Once the Club was made aware of the allegations, we immediately began the process of terminating his Standard Player’s Contract through the proper channels in conjunction with the National Hockey League. Galchenyuk was arrested Sunday on charges of private property hit and run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest and threatening or intimidating, according to the Scottsdale Police Department. A spokesperson said the hit and run was only property damage and no injuries occurred. Galchenyuk was booked into ...

Italians outraged after court clears man of groping a teen because the contact was under 10 seconds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:58 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italians are using social media to denounce a court verdict clearing a school janitor of a sexual assault charge for groping a 17-year-old student because it only lasted “around five to 10 seconds.”The teenager said the man came up from behind her as she was pulling up her trousers while walking with a friend up the stairs in a Rome high school, and slipped his hand beneath her underpants, according to court documents. Pulling on the undergarments, he then lifted her slightly in the air. He admitted to groping her in the April 2022 incident but claimed it was a joke.A court in Rome ruled last week that the groping was “just a few seconds” and wasn’t sexual, and that it was so brief that his argument that it was a joke was convincing even if “inopportune.”The verdict will be appealed, the teen’s lawyer, Andrea Buitoni, told The Associated Press. Italian law allows acquittals to be appealed by both the prosecutor and the defense. Actor and comedian Paolo Camill...

Blue Jays become 14th MLB team to introduce jersey patch

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:58 GMT

The Toronto Blue Jays have unveiled a new patch that will be worn on their home, road and alternate jerseys.The 3″x3″ patch features the TD logo and makes the Blue Jays the 14th team in MLB to introduce a patch to their uniforms. Toronto will debut the patch when it takes the field Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.“TD is an industry leader whose brand is highly recognizable with our fans. The new jersey patch is emblematic of the strong and unique relationship between TD and the Blue Jays,” said Anuk Karunaratne, Executive Vice President of Business Operations, Toronto Blue Jays, in a press release.“For nearly two decades, TD has served as an innovative sponsor of the Blue Jays, with a storied history and commitment to baseball. TD has a passionate and meaningful presence in communities across the country and has played a critical role in helping to connect fans to the game we all love.”George Springer wears a Toronto Blue Jays jersey with the newly introduced TD ...

NASCAR's Chicago Street Race cleanup scheduled to end this weekend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:58 GMT

CHICAGO — A little under two weeks after the event's conclusion, the cleanup after it is expected to finish this weekend. Per the Chicago Office of Emergency and Communication's tear-down plan for the event, the last two steps of the removal of the structures on the 2.2-mile structure will start on Friday and conclude on Saturday.(Chicago OEMC)Over the two-day period, stripped parking designations on southbound Columbus Dr. between Jackson Blvd. and Balbo Dr. will be removed.At the same time, the President's Paddock Club will be removed, vacating the park area and sidewalk along the west side of Columbus Drive and Balbo Drive.This will conclude the effort to tear down walls, fences, stands, and other structures from NASCAR's first races on the streets of Chicago, which took place on July 1 and 2. Streets began reopening shortly after the race's conclusion, the last opening coming on Wednesday and Thursday on Balbo Drive between Columbus Drive and DuSable Lake Shore Drive. With the c...