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Feds offer additional money to disaster response groups as climate change worsens

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Canadian humanitarian groups that need to deploy on a moment’s notice when disasters strike will receive new funding from Ottawa to ensure they are ready when they are needed.The Canadian Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, the Salvation Army and the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association will share $82 million over the next three years.The money is topping up a fund for humanitarian groups created in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair says the funds will help them recruit and maintain the skilled volunteer emergency responders they need to be able to respond when disasters hit communities.The funds can also be used for equipment and supplies and to upgrade their management practices and policies.Climate change is causing more extreme weather like wildfires and hurricanes, resulting in higher demand for the services of humanitarian aid groups in Canada.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2023.The Canadia...

Vondrousova wins final five games to reach Wimbledon semifinals by beating Pegula

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:00 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Marketa Vondrousova won five straight games in the final set to beat fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 and reach the semifinals at Wimbledon on Tuesday.Vondrousova, a left-handed Czech player who reached the French Open final in 2019, trailed 4-1 in the third set but didn’t lose another game after that.“I’m just trying to stay in every game. It can change pretty quickly,” Vondrousova said. “She got so much better in the second set. She was pushing me today.”Pegula is now 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals. The 29-year-old American was playing at this stage at Wimbledon for the first time.Vondrousova had won only four matches on grass heading into the tournament at the All England Club. But she has won five in a row on the surface over the last eight days.“My best result here was second round. It’s amazing. I’m just loving grass now,” Vondrousova said.The victory for Vondrousova is her fourth over a seeded player at this year’s Wimbledon to...

Greenpeace activists fined for crash-landing a parachute in stadium before Germany-France match

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German surgeon has been ordered to pay a fine of 7,200 euros ($7,900) for parachuting into the stadium before a European Championship match in Munich two years ago as part of a botched climate protest.A Munich regional court convicted the 40-year-old Greenpeace activist Tuesday of endangering air traffic and negligent bodily harm for crash-landing his propeller-powered parachute inside the Allianz Arena just before Germany were due to play France in June 2021.Three people, including the defendant, were injured in the stunt, during which he first threw a large inflatable ball bearing the words “Kick out oil” onto the pitch before becoming entangled in a steel wire.Greenpeace said it regretted the incident and the defendant apologized for his actions during the trial. He was also ordered to pay 3,500 euros in damages to one of the people who were injured.A 36-year-old man who helped organize the protest was ordered to pay a fine of 3,000 euros.The Associated Press

Pilfered palm tree leads Dutch police to arrest Belgian fugitive who has 18-year sentence to serve

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:00 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A pilfered palm tree led to Dutch police detaining a homeless man who was sentenced to 18 years in neighboring Belgium in the death of a man seven years ago.Police in the southern town of Geldrop said in a statement Tuesday that officers stopped the man Saturday night for questioning when they saw him walking down a street “with a large inflatable palm tree under his arm.”The fugitive from Belgian justice is believed to have taken the tree from a beach volleyball tournament in the town near the city of Eindhoven, police said.When the officers checked his identity, they discovered that he was wanted by authorities in Belgium where he must still serve his prison time. The 34-year-old man’s identity was not released, in line with Dutch privacy rules.Exact details of his conviction in Belgium were not immediately available. Dutch police said he was sentenced in a case centered on the 2016 death of a man in Zonhoven, a Belgian town some 65 kilometers (...

Play, swim and eat: Europe’s largest casino resort opens its doors in Cyprus as tourism rebounds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:00 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A new casino resort touted as the largest of its kind in Europe has opened its doors in Cyprus, aiming to transform the east Mediterranean island nation into a year-round destination for luxury tourism, officials said Tuesday.The 600 million euro ($659 million) City of Dreams Mediterranean is one of the largest development projects ever undertaken in the eastern Mediterranean island nation. The resort boasts a 14-story, 500-room hotel replete with a casino, sporting facilities, a family adventure park, the island’s largest pool complex, an outdoor amphitheater, eight restaurants and bars and a conference center.Lawrence Ho, chief executive of Hong Kong-based Melco Resorts and Entertainment, told reporters the resort “allows Cyprus to unlock new markets in the region and beyond.”Cypriot officials have said that the resort located on the outskirts of the southern coastal town of Limassol would create 6,500 jobs, attract some 300,000 additional visitors to Cyprus...

Police appeal for witnesses to alleged hit-and-run involving two cyclists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:00 GMT

Police are asking any witnesses to come forward after a crash between two cyclists near Toronto’s lakeshore that has left a woman fighting for her life.The collision occurred around 1:10 p.m. Sunday in the area of Lake Shore Boulevard and Parkside Drive.Police say a 38-year-old woman was riding her bicycle when she collided with another cyclist. The woman was rushed to hospital in life-threatening condition.The other cyclist fled the area before officers arrived.Investigators are now asking any witnesses or anyone who has video of the crash to contact them.Anyone with information can contact police or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

Ousting Norman, giving Woods and McIlroy LIV teams were discussed with PGA Tour, documents show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The negotiators of a business deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi funders of LIV Golf discussed ousting LIV chief executive Greg Norman and giving Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy their own LIV teams, according to documents obtained by Congress.Those were among the many proposals to unify golf’s rival factions that representatives of the PGA Tour and the Saudi government discussed during their hasty negotiations this spring. The talks culminated in a framework agreement announced last month between the tour and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.The deal to bring Saudi investment into the PGA Tour shocked the golf world and invited scrutiny from Congress as well as the Justice Department, which is looking into potential antitrust violations. The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., released the documents detailing the negotiations ahead of a hearing on Tuesday where one of the architects of the deal an...

Live Updates | Spokesman says Kremlin is keeping watch on NATO summit decisions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:00 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Follow along for updates on the summit of the NATO military alliance in Lithuania’s capital:What to know: — Turkey’s decision to end opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership boosts summit— Sweden’s rocky road from neutrality toward NATO membership— What is NATO doing to help Ukraine in the war with Russia?— Ukraine, defense plans and Sweden’s membership top summit agenda——The Kremlin’s spokesman says Moscow is keeping close watch on decisions made at the NATO summit, and will analyze them to “take measures aimed at ensuring our security.” In a call with reporters on Tuesday, Dmitry Peskov acknowledged Turkey’s decision to move ahead with ratifying Sweden’s membership in the Western military alliance would have implications for Russia. He said the Russian government would implement countermeasures but did not say what they were.But Peskov said Moscow would continue to cooperate when it sees fit with Turkey, which has cast itself as an interme...

Group of Northwestern faculty asks for delay in Ryan Field renovations due to hazing scandal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:00 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — In the wake of a hazing scandal in the football program that led to the dismissal of its head coach on Monday, a group of Northwestern professors is calling for a delay in proposed upgrades to Ryan Field.In a lengthy letter obtained by WGN, six members of the faculty have asked the school to stop the planning and marketing of an $800 million renovation of Ryan Field "until this crisis is satisfactorily resolved." Changes to the stadium were first proposed in September 2022 and are in the early stages of planning, with the most recent meeting with the Evanston and Wilmette communities taking place on June 27.This comes after head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired due to details of alleged hazing within the program. It came to light over the weekend following the release of an investigation launched into those accusations late in 2022. Initially, Fitzgerald was only suspended for two weeks in July, but Northwestern president Michael Schill reconsidered punishment and dec...

16-year-old girl dies after shooting in South Shore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:00 GMT

CHICAGO — A 16-year-old girl has died following a shooting in the city's South Shore neighborhood.The shooting happened just before 10 p.m. Monday in the 7100 block of South Yates. Police said officers responded to a person shot and found two female victims struck by gunfire.According to police, a 16-year-old girl was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, where she later died. A 32-year-old woman was transported to the same hospital in good condition. String of robberies, carjackings hit North Side neighborhoods Police said the two unidentified offenders fled the scene on foot. No one is in custody.A homicide investigation is underway.