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A third round of US sanctions against Hamas focuses on the money transfers from Iran to Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Tuesday said it imposed a third round of sanctions on a group of Hamas officials, members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who work to transfer money from Iran to Gaza, and a Lebanese money exchange service that facilitates the transfers. The Treasury Department sanctions, coordinated with the United Kingdom, come in response to the surprise Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that left roughly 1,200 people dead or kidnapped. The sanctions block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans.This and two previous rounds of sanctions against Hamas and its affiliates are aimed at protecting the international financial system from abuse by Hamas militants and their enablers, the Treasury Department said. The State Department also is designating a Palestinian Islamic Jihad military leader for diplomatic sanctions. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an emailed statement th...

Local news is at a tipping point. Will it survive?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

Every week brings more layoffs and closures to local news outlets across the country, especially newspapers. It’s a result of a business model that simply doesn’t work anymore, say the owners making the decision, and it’s tough to argue with that. But there is a business model that has begun to succeed—small, community- or subject-focused digital outlets that survive and even thrive thanks to government grants and funding from a small number of passionate readers.These are the publications that might replace the outlets that are vanishing, but they need to find an audience. And Bill C-18, designed to help Canadian media survive in the digital era, has set the world’s biggest platforms against these tiny but growing outlets, making an uphill climb even steeper…April Lindgren is a principal investigator for the Local News Research Project (LNRP) at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Journalism. “I honestly don’t know what the futu...

Aimia Inc. reports Q3 loss compared with profit a year ago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

TORONTO — Aimia Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago when its results were boosted by the sale of its stake in the PLM loyalty program.The investment holding company says its net loss attributable to equity holders amounted to $27.8 million or 37 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of $517.5 million or $5.89 per diluted share a year ago, when the company recorded a one-time gain of $530.6 million.Revenue totalled $114.3 million, up from $300,000 in the same quarter last year.Aimia says its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization amounted to $9.7 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $7.5 million a year earlier.Last month, Aimia’s board recommended shareholders reject a takeover offer from Mithaq Capital SPC because it says it undervalues the company and does not reflect some of the potential growth opportunities that the company is pursu...

Suspect sought in vehicle break-ins at east-end Toronto apartment building garage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a suspect who allegedly broke into several vehicles at an apartment building’s underground garage in the city’s east end.Police say just before 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26, a man broke into the front window of an apartment building in the area of Danforth and Woodbine avenues and made his way to the underground parking area.The suspect allegedly broke into the vehicles and stole items that were inside.Police have released an image of the suspect.Investigators say he has a medium build, balding, with grey hair and a grey goatee. He was wearing a brown shirt, blue jacket, black pants, and black shoes.

Jewish protesters and allies stage sit-in at California federal building demanding Gaza cease-fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Hundreds of protesters led by Jewish peace activists calling for a cease fire in Gaza staged a sit-in inside of the federal building in Oakland, California, leading to multiple arrests. People wore T-shirts reading “Jews Say Cease-fire Now” and carried banners that read “Not in Our Name” and “Let Gaza Live” in the rotunda of the Rondald V. Dellums Federal building on Monday evening.Jewish Voice for Peace, one of the protest organizers, posted online that dozens of people had been taken into custody by 9 p.m.Protesters were escorted outside of the building by U.S. Department of Homeland Security police. Messages were sent early Tuesday to the department and to Oakland police asking how many people were arrested and on what charges.“There is no other choice,” Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb of Berkeley told KNTV-TV when explaining why she was at the sit-in. “How many people do we have to kill before we arrive at a cease fire?” The protest was part of a growing number ...

Mali’s leader says military has seized control of the rebel stronghold town of Kidal in the north

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s leader says the military has seized control of the northern town of Kidal, marking the first time the army has held the Tuareg rebel stronghold in nearly a decade.It was not immediately possible to independently verify the claim, announced Tuesday on state broadcaster ORTM, as mobile phone networks in Kidal were down.“This is a message from the president of the transition to the Malian people,” journalist Ibrahim Traore said in his introduction to the news bulletin. “Today, our armed and security forces have seized Kidal. Our mission is not over.”For several days Mali’s army, accompanied by mercenaries from the Wagner group, have been battling Tuareg fighters in a bid to take control of the town following the departure of United Nations peacekeepers two weeks ago.Separatist Tuareg rebels in the north have long sought an independent state they call Azawad. In 2012, they dislodged the Malian military from the town, setting into motion a ser...

Man dead, police searching for SUV following downtown Toronto hit-and-run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

A man has died after being struck by an SUV that took off from the scene in downtown Toronto on Tuesday morning.Emergency crews were called to Wellington Street East and Scott Street, just east of Yonge Street, around 6:45 a.m. after getting reports a person was struck by a vehicle.A man was found at the scene with life-threatening injuries. He was rushed to hospital in critical condition where he was pronounced dead.Police say the driver involved in the crash fled the area before officers arrived. Police tell CityNews they are looking for a large black SUV that will likely have front end damage.Road are closed in the area for the investigation.

Palestinians call for evacuation of hundreds of patients and newborns from Gaza's largest hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian authorities proposed a Red Cross-supervised evacuation of a hospital beset by fighting in Gaza on Tuesday, as health officials warned that the only way to save three dozen newborns trapped there would be to call a cease-fire and transport them out of the besieged territory.After days of battles with Palestinian militants, Israeli forces have encircled Shifa Hospital, where hundreds of patients, medical staff and displaced people are trapped with dwindling supplies and without electricity to run incubators and other equipment.Gaza's largest hospital has emerged as a symbol of Palestinian suffering in the war between Israel and Hamas that extends far beyond its walls. Only one hospital in the territory's north is still capable of receiving patients, and about 200,000 Palestinians have streamed out of the area toward worsening conditions in the south in recent days, the U.N. humanitarian office said Tuesday.The war, now in its sixth week, wa...

How much would a government shutdown cost? 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

(The Hill) -- Congress is hurtling toward a government shutdown deadline this Friday and lawmakers have yet to strike an agreement to avert a lapse in funding. Lawmakers are optimistic that Congress will be able to push the deadline once more — just as they did in September — to buy time for a bipartisan deal on overall government funding for most of next year. But both chambers are still a ways from reaching a compromise, with little time left to prevent what could be the government’s first shutdown in years.  Shutdown pricetag The last partial government shutdown was triggered in late 2018 and ended in early 2019 amid a showdown between the Trump administration and a Democratic-led House over border wall funding.  It marked the longest shutdown in modern history, lasting over a month and leading to hundreds of thousands of federal workers being furloughed or working without pay.  McConnell endorses ‘responsible’ House GOP stopgap plan to prevent shutdow...

New Braunfels designated as Film Friendly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Texas Film Commission designated New Braunfels as its latest Film Friendly Texas Community, Governor Greg Abbott announced Monday.The governor said the city completed a multi-step training and certification process.New Braunfels is one of more than 175 communities across the state that receive ongoing training and guidance from the Texas Film Commission on media industry standards, best practices, and how to effectively accommodate on-location filming activity in their community, according to the governor’s announcement. Politics: Can Texas become a top film friendly state? “Through the Film Friendly Texas training and certification process, communities large and small are prepared to help match local businesses with production-related needs, creating jobs for Texas-based crew members and local residents, as well as spurring on-site spending at local businesses,” Governor Abbott said in the announcement.“New Braunfels, with its natural beauty, historic district...