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Libya buries thousands after deadly floods that killed at least 5,100

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

DERNA, Libya (AP) — The Libyan city of Derna buried thousands of people in mass graves as search teams scoured the area after devastating floods that killed at least 5,100 people, a health official said Thursday.Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding in many eastern towns, but the worst-hit was Derna. As the storm pounded the coast Sunday night, Derna residents said they heard loud explosions when the dams outside the city collapsed. Floodwaters washed down Wadi Derna, a valley that cuts through the city, crumbling buildings and washing people out to sea.Health authorities have put the death toll in Derna at 5,100 as of Wednesday. The number of deaths was likely to climb as there are least 9,000 people still missing, said Ossama Ali, a spokesman for an ambulance center in eastern Libya.The floods have displaced at least 30,000 people in Derna, according to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration, and several thousand others were forced to leave their homes in ...

Fake Drake won’t be eligible as Junos add AI guidelines to prevent robot takeover

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

TORONTO — The Juno Awards are laying out new submission rules to ensure that a fake Drake or other robot-led songs don’t land nominations in the future.Organizers at the Canadian music awards show introduced an “AI Eligibility” section of its submission guidelines which specify that while musicians in eligible recordings can use artificial intelligence, it can’t be the “sole or core component” of the project.The criteria come as the music industry grapples with a fast-evolving technology that’s flooded the internet with “deep fake” songs which use computer-generated voices that sound like famous musicians.One of the most popular examples is “Heart on My Sleeve,” a track created by a U.S. producer who calls himself Ghostwriter and uses vocals that sound like Canadians Drake and The Weeknd.Junos president Allan Reid says even without the new rules, “Heart on My Sleeve” would’ve not been eligible for the awards since its creator isn’t Canadian and neither vocalist was involved.More rec...

Defence to show different side of ‘Freedom Convoy’ social media content

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

OTTAWA — Defence lawyers for two “Freedom Convoy” organizers are expected to show the court a more peaceful view of the protest as they cross-examine the officer assigned to social media evidence in the case.Chris Barber and Tamara Lich are on trial for their role on the protest that gridlocked Ottawa for three weeks in 2022.The Crown has taken the court through several days of social media evidence from Barber’s TikTok account and the “Freedom Convoy 2022” Facebook page, though the defence plans to argue some of that is irrelevant. The videos were compiled by Sgt. Joanne Pilotte, who was directed to download certain videos by an Ottawa police detective as part of the investigation. On Wednesday, Barber’s defence lawyer began showing videos that were not gathered by police, showing Barber calling for protesters to remain peaceful and to respect police and Ottawa residents.Earlier in the trial, Lich’s lawyer said if the Crown shows evidence o...

Montreal dockworkers union says changes made to hiring list criticized as nepotistic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

MONTREAL — The union representing dockworkers at the Port of Montreal says it has ended a long-standing hiring practice that has been criticized for fostering nepotism — to the point where workers’ preschool offspring were placed on a list of potential employees.For decades, the association of shipping companies that use the port has hired longshore workers from a list supplied by the union — a list created by asking each union member to provide a single name.But the Maritime Employers Association has argued the list is a recipe for nepotism, resulting in few women candidates or members of ethnic minorities, but in some instances children who were barely out of diapers.In April, a labour arbitrator ordered a series of changes after finding it was impossible for people to get their names on the list unless they were related to current dockworkers.“It appeared that this list contained, almost exclusively, the names of family members of each of the longshore workers, withou...

Number of E. coli cases continues to rise, but fewer patients with serious illness

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

CALGARY — The number of E. coli cases linked to an outbreak at several Calgary daycares continues to rise, but doctors say there are fewer patients in hospital with serious complications.There were 310 lab-confirmed cases of the bacterial infection as of Wednesday, since the outbreak at 11 Calgary daycares was declared on Sept. 4.Dr. Tania Principi, section chief of pediatric emergency medicine at Alberta Children’s Hospital, says the increase in overall case numbers is mostly due to a delay in getting lab results. She says there has been a decrease in the number of children with serious illness showing up at the emergency departments and 14 patients have been discharged from hospitals since the beginning of the outbreak.Twenty-one children are still receiving care at Alberta Children’s Hospital, 20 of whom have hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication affecting the blood and kidneys. Seven patients are on peritoneal dialysis, which is a way to remove waste products fro...

Saskatchewan considers notwithstanding clause to keep school pronoun policy change

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

OTTAWA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is ready to use the notwithstanding clause to protect a new rule requiring parental permission for transgender and nonbinary students to use different names or pronouns at school.In the face of a court challenge brought against the new education policy, Moe announced late last week that his provincial government would seek to enshrine the changes in legislation to be introduced this fall.He recently told reporters that his Saskatchewan Party government was prepared to use different “tools” to ensure that the policy remains in place.“If necessary, that would be one of the tools that would be under consideration — yes,” Moe said in an interview Wednesday when asked whether the notwithstanding clause was an option on the table.“The notwithstanding clause is present for a reason — so that duly elected governments can represent their constituents when necessary.” The notwithstanding clause is a provision in the Charter...

Credit card debt hit all-time high in Q2 as financial pressure builds: Equifax

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

TORONTO — Equifax Canada says credit card balances hit an all-time high of $107.4 billion in the second quarter of 2023, in a sign financial stress continued to build in the face of inflation and rising interest rates.The agency says total Canadian consumer debt reached $2.4 trillion during the second quarter.Vice-president of advanced analytics Rebecca Oakes says non-mortgage debt growth was largely due to substantial growth in credit card balances and a notable increase in debt among subprime and deep subprime consumers. The report by Equifax Canada said average non-mortgage debt per credit-active consumer edged up to $21,131.Oakes says despite mounting credit card debt, credit card delinquencies aren’t rising as fast as expected, in part because of an influx of new credit card users which also contributed to the growth in overall non-mortgage debt. Equifax Canada says many Canadians are slowing down their credit card spending, but lower-income households are having a harder...

Daily horoscope for September 14, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The New Moon in Virgo occurs at 9:40 p.m. EDT today (6:40 p.m. PDT).Happy Birthday for Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023:You have a creative mind and excellent problem-solving skills. You are straightforward and tend to tell it like it is. This is a wonderful year to socialize and enjoy life. Your zest and creative desires flourish. Old friends may reappear. Explore your artistic talents.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★Today’s New Moon is the perfect time to think about how to improve your job. And likewise, how you can improve your health or buff your bod. (It’s the only one you have.) Mickey Mantle said, “If I had known I was going to live this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself.” Tonight: Guard your pets.TAURUS(April 20-May 20)★★★★Today is the perfect day to take stock of how you balance work and play. How is this working out for you? Are you working too much? Are you playing too ...

Simplifying EU rules for citizens and business: Findings from the 2022 Annual Burden Survey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

The European Commission has published the 2022 Annual Burden Survey, which presents the Commission's action to simplify and modernise EU rules. It lays out the progress and concrete examples of what the Commission has achieved in the first year of fully applying the ‘one in, one out' approach, as well as with its Regulatory Fitness and Performance (REFIT) programme and its follow-up to the recommendations of the Fit for Future Platform high-level expert group. This work is reinforced by additional efforts, as outlined in the SME Relief Package.First year results of implementing the ‘one in, one out' approachThe ‘one in, one out' represents a kind of ‘cost brake', which means that all new compliance costs, including administrative costs, for citizens and businesses are quantified and offset with a reduction of existing burden or compensated to the greatest extent possible. The Commission applied the approach to 52 legislative proposals in 2022. The adopted proposals are expected to r...

Miss Manners: This newbie player is always holding up our game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I belong to a community group that plays mah-jongg once a week. We are a friendly bunch that welcomes inexperienced players.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I’m tired of being mistaken for a wife rather than an exec Advice | Miss Manners: Is it OK to point a knife at someone? What about a piece of cake? Advice | Miss Manners: Was I wrong to wear black to the wedding? Advice | Miss Manners: She took my keepsake T-shirts but never made me the quilt Advice | Miss Manners: Is it OK to trick them into diving with great white sharks? Most newcomers tend to play very slowly and are aware they are holding up the game. Different newbies handle the situation in various ways. For example, one person might sit out every other game, while another might play only one game each session. Gradually, everyone who likes the game and sticks with it learns to play and joins in more and more.The...