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Niger’s junta asks the French ambassador to leave the country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:14 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Niger’s military junta has asked the French ambassador to leave the country, the Nigerien Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. The move further escalates the international crisis in the West African nation stemming from a coup that ousted the West African nation’s democratically elected president.French Ambassador Sylvain Itte was asked to leave Niger within 48 hours in a letter that accused him of ignoring an invitation for a meeting with the ministry.The letter dated Friday, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press, also cited “actions of the French government contrary to the interests of Niger” as among the reasons for Itte’s expulsion. Niger, a former French colony, was France’s partner before last month’s coup in the fight against jihadi violence.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Niger’s junta has authorized troops from neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso to come to its ...

Ibrahim Ali murder trial: B.C. teen’s mom tells of ‘darkest day’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:14 GMT

VANCOUVER — The mother of a 13-year-old girl whose body was found in a Burnaby, B.C.,  park six years ago says her “heart was bleeding” when she found out that her daughter had died.The Chinese woman, who can’t be identified because of a publication ban protecting the identity of her daughter, is testifying for a third day at the B.C. Supreme Court murder trial of Ibrahim Ali, who has denied murdering the girl.The woman, testifying though a Mandarin-language interpreter, says she searched for the girl at a nearby library and at the entrance to Burnaby’s Central Park, where her body would later be found.The mother told the jury she thought she had to wait 24 hours to report her daughter missing because those are the rules in China.But a friend told her that in Canada she should report her daughter missing right away.She says she gave a recorded statement to police and was later told her daughter’s body had been found in the early hours of July 19, 2017.&...

Republicans pick Houston to host their 2028 national convention

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on Friday chose Houston to host their 2028 national convention, hoping to cement support in Texas even as Democrats are betting that a booming Hispanic population and other key demographic shifts could eventually turn the country’s largest reliably red state blue. “I am excited to announce Houston as the host city for the 2028 Republican National Convention,” Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. She applauded the committee’s “smart business decision” last spring to allow for selecting the site “earlier than ever.” Houston is the United States’ fourth largest city and is among its fastest growing, with a population exceeding 2.3 million. It was for decades a Republican stronghold, the home turf of President George H.W. Bush and the site of the Republican convention that nominated him for reelection in 1992. But the city has since become solidly Democratic, with the party sweeping every countywide seat ...

Stock market today: Wall Street edges higher as the Fed is still uncertain about more hikes to rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is edging higher after the head of the Federal Reserve said it’s still uncertain where interest rates are heading. The S&P 500 was 0.7% higher in afternoon trading after flipping between small gains and losses a few times. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 281 points, or 0.8%, at 34,380 as of 2:20 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.In a highly anticipated speech, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said again that it will make upcoming decisions on interest rates based on what incoming data reports say about inflation and the economy, and he made no promises about what’s coming next. Wall Street had the speech circled on calendars because it was hoping Powell would say the Fed was done with its hikes to interest rates, which grind down inflation at the cost of slowing the economy and hurting prices for investments.Powell instead said the Fed may raise interest rates again, if needed. Even though inflation has come down f...

Montreal English junior colleges bracing for new Quebec language law requirements

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:14 GMT

Montreal English-language junior colleges are bracing for the year ahead as parts of Quebec’s language law reform take effect.The law, known as Bill 96, limits English junior college enrolment and mandates additional French courses for students.Colleges that exceed their enrolment caps this school year risk penalties of $7,048 per additional student.Dawson College director general Diane Gauvin says the Montreal school has enough faculty to teach French courses this semester.But she says Dawson won’t have an accurate enrolment portrait until mid-October and that she doesn’t know whether the school will surpass the government-imposed enrolment cap of about 8,000 full-time students.Vanier College director general John McMahon says his Montreal school is on track to respect its cap of around 6,300 full-time students this year.But he says he expects French course requirements will present a major challenge next year.This report by The Canadian Press was first published ...

Metro seeks injunction against striking workers preventing deliveries to stores

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:14 GMT

TORONTO — Metro Inc. is seeking an injunction against striking employees who are picketing its warehouses and preventing deliveries to stores in Ontario, the grocer said Friday.As the secondary picket lines continue for a third day, the union’s actions are generating “significant” food waste, spokeswoman Marie-Claude Bacon said in a statement.“We owe it to our customers across the province to ensure access to the food they need,” she said. Workers started picketing two of the company’s distribution warehouses on Wednesday, disrupting the flow of fresh products to the grocer’s Metro and Food Basics stores across the province. The secondary pickets came midway through during the fourth week of a strike by more than 3,700 workers at 27 Greater Toronto Area stores.Consumers will notice empty shelves for certain products, namely produce, meat and dairy, at stores across the province, Bacon said in an interview.“At some point it’s goin...

Ford ‘confident’ RCMP will find no criminality in Greenbelt land swap

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:14 GMT

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he’s confident that nothing criminal took place in his government’s process of removing land from the protected Greenbelt for housing development.Ford made the remarks today as he took media questions for the first time since the housing minister’s chief of staff resigned and the RCMP announced that it would weigh the available evidence and decide whether an investigation is warranted.He says if the RCMP decides to investigate he will take it very seriously, but he is certain they would find no criminality.A report this month from the auditor general found that developers who owned 15 sites of land that the Progressive Conservative government removed from the Greenbelt last year now stand to see those properties rise in value by $8.3 billion.Bonnie Lysyk found that developers who had access to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark’s chief of staff at an industry event wound up with 92 per cent of the land that was r...

2 men charged in West Side murder of Ohio State football player's mother

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:14 GMT

CHICAGO — Two men have been charged with the murder of 41-year-old woman who is the mother of a Ohio State wide receiver from Chicago.On the morning of July 16 at around 2 a.m., CPD responded to the 4000 block of West Washington Boulevard, located in Garfield Park, on the report of a shooting involving multiple victims.Police at the scene located five people suffering from various gunshot wounds, including Ashley Griggs, 41. Griggs died as a result of the shooting.The other four victims were transported in fair condition.Manuel Bahamon, 22, of Chicago, and Ismael Lozada, 23, of Elmwood Park, have been charged in connection with first-degree murder and four counts of attempted first-degree murder.Griggs is the mother of highly-touted Ohio State freshman wide receiver Carnell Tate. He attended Marist High School before transferring to the prestigious IMG Academy in Florida for his last two years of school. Prev: Woman killed in Garfield Park shooting ID’d as mother of Ohio State foo...

Shark found on bank of landlocked Idaho river; official offers possible explanation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:14 GMT

RIGGINS, Idaho (KTVX) – Idaho isn't exactly known for its sharks, which makes the sudden appearance of a salmon shark on the shores of the Salmon River even more surprising. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) shared news of the strange discovery last week, saying calls and emails came "pouring in" concerning a shark that had washed up on the shore of the river on Aug. 15.Clearwater Region fisheries manager Joe Dupont, following an investigation, said the specimen appeared to be a genuine salmon shark. But he was initially puzzled as to how it got there. Ted Cruz gets fooled by fake photo of shark swimming on 405 Freeway in Los Angeles The Salmon River, otherwise known as "The River of No Return," is a freshwater river that runs in central and eastern Idaho. According to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the main stem of the river is home to a variety of fish, including several species of trout and salmon, among others. But salmon sharks are not among those othe...

Spirit Airlines agrees to $8.25M settlement over 'gotcha' bag fees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:14 GMT

(The Hill) -- Spirit Airlines agreed to pay $8.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over its bag fees, attorneys for the plaintiffs disclosed Wednesday.A group of first-time Spirit flyers who booked their trips through third-party travel sites between 2011-17 sued the airline in 2017, claiming that it did not disclose its bag fees and other extra fees appropriately.The flyers said the budget airline’s surprise carry-on bag fees were intentionally hidden in an effort to gain profit.“Spirit falsely misled the Plaintiff and numerous other consumers, and continues to mislead consumers into believing that they are purchasing low airfare, when, in fact, Spirit makes up whatever discount it purports to give consumers in fraudulent and unwarranted charges,” the suit read. “Spirit’s bait-and-switch and ‘gotcha’ tactics are designed to confuse, trick, and trap consumers to the public’s detriment,” it continued. Labor Day weekend travel bookings up over last year: AAA Flyers wh...