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World Bank puts cost of rebuilding Ukraine at $411 billion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A World Bank report released Wednesday puts the cost of Ukraine’s recovery and rebuilding from Russia’s invasion at $411 billion over the next decade, with the cost of cleaning up the war rubble alone at $5 billion.The report details some of the toll of Russia’s war in Ukraine: at least 9,655 civilians confirmed dead, including 461 children; nearly 2 million homes damaged; more than one out of five public health institutions damaged; and 650 ambulances damaged or looted.In all, the World Bank calculated $135 billion in direct damage to buildings and infrastructure so far, not counting broader economic damage.The damage would be even worse if not for the strong defense mounted by the Ukrainian forces, Anna Bjerde, the World Bank vice president for Europe and Central Asia, noted in a call with reporters. She said the worst damage has been confined to the front-line regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Kherson.As it is, the World Bank said, Russi...

New bill aims to outlaw caste discrimination in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

California may become the first state in the nation to outlaw caste-based bias, a safeguard people of South Asian descent say is necessary to protect them from discrimination in housing, education and the tech sector where they hold key roles.State Sen. Aisha Wahab, the first Muslim and Afghan American elected to the state legislature, introduced the bill Wednesday. It adds caste — a division of people related to birth or descent — as a protected category in the state’s anti-discrimination laws.Those at the lowest strata of the caste system known as Dalits, have been increasingly calling for such legislation saying they have faced this kind of discrimination in the United States. But such policies remain divisive.Wahab said caste discrimination is “a social justice and civil rights issue.”“People came to this country so they can be free and can pursue their American dream without any disruption to their lives,” Wahab said, adding that she heard about this form of discriminatio...

Police ID first victim as search continues at site of fatal fire in Old Montreal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

MONTREAL — Police have identified one of two confirmed victims of a fatal fire in Old Montreal, as the search continues for at least five others who remain missing. Montreal police Insp. David Shane identified the victim as 76-year-old Camille Maheux.Shane told reporters at the scene today that Maheux’s body was the first one recovered from the fire on Sunday evening. A second body was removed from the rubble on Tuesday but has not yet been identified. Firefighters and police are still searching for at least five people who remain missing after a fire tore through the historic stone building early last Thursday. Shane told a briefing earlier today that searchers are targeting areas of the building where the missing people were likely located when the fire started, with the help of a crane, specialized camera equipment and drones. Authorities have said identities of victims will only be released after confirmation from two separate methods, including a DNA test or dental record...

S&P/TSX composite, U.S. markets down Wednesday after Federal Reserve hike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

TORONTO — Markets in Canada and the U.S. sank in the last hour of trading Wednesday, with U.S. markets down around 1.6 per cent after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates.  The S&P/TSX composite index was down 122.14 points at 19,532.78.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 530.49 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 32,030.11.The S&P 500 index was down 65.90 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 3,936.97, while the Nasdaq composite was down 190.15 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 11,669.96.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.93 cents UScompared with 72.96 cents US on Tuesday.The May crude contract was up US$1.23 cents at US$70.90 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down 18 cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.The April gold contract was up US$8.50 at US$1,949.60 an ounceand the May copper contract was up five cents at US$4.04 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Advocates using World Water Day to put focus on fight for clean water in Indigenous communities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

For many Canadians turning on the tap and filling up your glass doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but for others, especially those in Canada’s Indigenous communities, it’s not that simple. How to provide access to clean and safe water is one of the main topics that will be discussed at the UN Water Conference in New York for World Water Day on Wednesday.“When it comes to water with Indigenous communities in Canada, there are a variety of different issues and not every community has the same challenges. Some don’t have infrastructure, and some may not have proper water filtration or water treatment, others it’s as simple as there’s no connection between homes in the water source,” said Professor David Atkinson with the Urban Water Research Team from Toronto Metropolitan University.Atkinson, along with his team, will be participating in an event at the conference that focuses on resiliency, Indigenous water and climate change. He currently wo...

Possible tornado near Los Angeles rips up building roofs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A possible tornado touched down southeast of Los Angeles on Wednesday, ripping pieces of roofing off a line of commercial buildings and sending the debris twisting into the sky.The National Weather Service tweeted that it was sending teams to assess damage in Montebello and the southern Santa Barbara County city of Carpinteria, where another possible twister hit on Tuesday. Montebello city spokesman Alex Gillman said information was still being gathered about the extent of the damage and whether anyone was injured. Video on social media and TV news stations showed debris strewn across parking lots and some damaged cars.The rare and violent weather came amid a strong late-season Pacific storm that brought damaging winds and more rain and snow to saturated California. Two people died Tuesday as the storm raked the San Francisco Bay Area with powerful gusts and downpours.A tornado warning based on radar also was issued Tuesday night for the Point Mugu area west of Ma...

TDSB asks Ford government to cover pandemic-related expenses or risk cuts to student services

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

The Toronto District School Board is asking the Ford government for more than $200 million to cover the cost of COVID-19 related expenditures, budget deficits, and underfunded employee benefits or risk cuts to student services and programs.In a letter addressed to Education Minister Stephen Lecce, the TSDB says it was forced to use almost $70.1 million of its reserve funds to cover the cost of additional staffing, remote and in-person learning, and other pandemic-related costs not covered by the Ministry.“We are writing to you today to request that the Provincial Government repay the pandemic costs incurred by the TDSB so that we can continue to deliver the programs and services that students require for academic success, safety and well-being,” reads the letter signed by TDSB chair Rachel Chernos Lin and TDSB director Colleen Russell-Rawlins.The board notes that while the Ministry did provide additional investments to school boards during the pandemic, education and chi...

'We’re stuck in the sewer': FDNY releases 911 call after 5 kids rescued from NYC storm drain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

STATEN ISLAND, New York (WPIX) – The New York City Fire Department has released a recording of a 911 call that details how five children ended up in a storm drain in Staten Island.The five boys crawled into the storm drain around 6 p.m. Tuesday and got lost in the tunnel system, according to FDNY officials. In the 911 recording, dispatchers can be heard attempting to find out where the children actually are.“What’s the address in Staten Island?” the dispatcher says at the start of the call.“We don’t know," the child on the other end of the call says. "Yeah … we're stuck in the sewer.”In apparent disbelief, the dispatcher asked again: “You’re stuck where?”“In the sewer," the boy responds. Man rescued from under 2,000-pound safe FDNY dispatchers then tried to figure out which storm drain the children entered. The boys described a cemetery and a tunnel entrance near the Staten Island Zoo and Clove Lakes Park. "It’s like a tunnel where all the pipes are," one of the boys tells a dispa...

FBI: Illinois reported fifth highest number of cyber crimes in 2022

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) - The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released their annual internet crime report showing the number of complaints and estimated losses from cyber crimes in 2022.According to data in the report, 800,944 complaints were received by the IC3 last year, which represents a 5% drop in the number of complaints from the previous year. Despite a decrease in the number of complaints, they also reported an estimated loss of over $10.3 billion, which was a 49% increase from 2021's total. Google ad scams CenterPoint customer, police say Illinois had the fifth highest number of reported victims in 2022 at 14,786 and the seventh highest amount of loss reported at 266.7 million. Indiana had the 15th highest number of victims reported last year with 11,682 and the 28th highest in losses with over $73.6 million. And in Kentucky, 4,256 victims reported complaints to the IC3, putting it in 30th place, and residents lost an estimated $57 million, the 31st highest in t...

One of the oldest surviving Bible could be yours — for $30 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — One of the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts, a nearly complete 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible, could soon be yours — for a cool $30 million.The Codex Sassoon, a leather-bound, handwritten parchment tome containing almost the entirety of the Hebrew Bible, is set to go on the block at Sotheby’s in New York in May. Its anticipated sale speaks to the still bullish market for art, antiquities and ancient manuscripts even in a worldwide bear economy.Sotheby’s is drumming up interest in hopes of enticing institutions and collectors to bite. It has put the price tag at an eye-watering $30 million to $50 million.On Wednesday, Tel Aviv’s ANU Museum of the Jewish People opened a week-long exhibition of the manuscript, part of a whirlwind worldwide tour of the artifact in the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States before its expected sale, on Wednesday.OTHER TRENDING NEWS | ALDI launching clothing Wednesday for $10 or less“There are three ancient Hebrew Bibles from this...