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Vatican: Pope spends 2nd night ‘serenely’ in hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:17:13 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis spent his second night in a Rome hospital “serenely” as he receives antibiotics intravenously to treat bronchitis, the Vatican said Friday. A Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information wasn’t a formal Holy See statement, indicated there would be an update on the pope’s hospitalization later in the day. The 86-year-old pontiff was taken to Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic on Wednesday after he returned to his Vatican residence following his customary weekly public audience in St. Peter’s Square. The Vatican reported he had experienced difficult breathing in the previous days.A Vatican spokesman, citing hospital medical staff, provided the precise diagnosis Thursday night, saying that Francis has bronchitis, contracted through an infection, and that the antibiotic treatment had resulted in a “marked” improvement in his health. The hospitalization came four days before Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week.Due to a chronic knee pr...

In The News for March 31 : Drilling down on cost of federal dental care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:17:13 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of March 31 …What we are watching in Canada …The federal government now expects far more Canadians with long-overdue dental needs to sign up for its insurance plan, and the health minister says that’s why the estimated cost has risen by $7 billion.In its 2023 budget Tuesday, the government revealed the federally-administered insurance program will be far more expensive over the next five years than it originally thought. It is also projecting that ongoing costs after that will more than double, to $4.4 billion per year, up from $1.7 billion.Duclos said administration costs have not contributed to driving up the price. “It’s more people with greater needs,” he said in an interview Thursday.“The fact that this is appearing to be in high demand, and in high need, is probably the outcome tha...

China factory activity grows at slower pace in March

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:17:13 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s factory activity grew at a slower pace in March but was stronger than expected following the end of anti-virus restrictions, a survey showed Friday.The monthly purchasing managers’ index issued by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing and the national statistics agency declined to 51.9 from February’s 52.6 on a 100-point scale. Numbers above 50 show activity increasing.Sub-measures of production and new orders in the PMI grew at a slower pace. Employment contracted.Business activity is recovering after the ruling Communist Party ended stringent anti-virus restrictions in early December. That followed a slump in activity that dragged last year’s economic growth to 3%, its second-lowest level since at least the 1970s.“The economy continues to maintain a recovery trend, but the pace has slowed slightly,” the Federation said in a statement.Exporters are under pressure from weak U.S. and European demand after the Federal Reserve and other central banks...

Lawyer: Steenkamp’s parents to oppose parole for Pistorius

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:17:13 GMT

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — The parents of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman Oscar Pistorius shot dead 10 years ago, will oppose the former Olympic runner’s application for parole, their lawyer said Friday.Lawyer Tania Koen said ahead of a scheduled parole hearing for Pistorius that “unless he comes clean, they don’t feel that he is rehabilitated.”Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion who made history by running against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics, was convicted of murder for the Valentine’s Day 2013 shooting of Reeva Steenkamp at his home. Pistorius claims he shot Steenkamp by mistake thinking she was an intruder in his home.He was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison and is eligible for parole under South African law after having served half his sentence.Koen said Steenkamp’s mother, June Steenkamp, would submit written and oral statements at Friday’s hearing opposing Pistorius’ application to be released from prison.“She...

More people with greater needs driving $7B increase to dental-care cost

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:17:13 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government now expects far more Canadians with long-overdue dental needs to sign up for its insurance plan, and the health minister says that’s why the estimated cost has risen by $7 billion.In its 2023 budget Tuesday, the government revealed the federally-administered insurance program will be far more expensive over the next five years than it originally thought. It is also projecting that ongoing costs after that will more than double, to $4.4 billion per year, up from $1.7 billion.Duclos said administration costs have not contributed to driving up the price. “It’s more people with greater needs,” he said in an interview Thursday.“The fact that this is appearing to be in high demand, and in high need, is probably the outcome that for too many years prior to that program, there were people that were just not going to see a dentist for prevention purposes.”Dentists could end up seeing as many as nine million more patients who...

Relatives of those killed in N.S. mass shooting say their work has only just begun

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:17:13 GMT

HALIFAX — The brother of a man killed during a mass shooting in Nova Scotia almost three years ago says he’s keen to make sure recommendations from a public inquiry released Thursday are implemented.“It’s great to have things move forward,” Scott McLeod told a news conference in Truro, N.S., a community about a 30-minute drive east of where the shooting started on the night of April 18, 2020. “There’s still a lot of stuff to be done with the recommendations …. It’s going to give some sort of closure because this chapter is done.”McLeod’s brother Sean was among 22 people who were fatally shot during a gunman’s 13-hour rampage through northern and central Nova Scotia. The killer, a 51-year-old denture-maker, was shot dead by two RCMP officers at a gas station north of Halifax on the morning of April 19, 2020.Like his brother did, Scott works in the federal correctional system.“I’m sure he’s happy with ...

Police say six bodies found near Akwesasne, Que., near U.S. border: Mohawk police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:17:13 GMT

The search is expected to continue today after six bodies were discovered Thursday in the St. Lawrence River near Akwesasne, Que.The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service says the first body was located around 5:00 p.m. in a marsh area, which searched later Thursday evening by a police marine unit with the help of the Canadian Coast Guard and the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department.Air support units with the Quebec provincial police and Ontario Provincial Police are expected to assist with further investigation of the area.Post-mortem and toxicology tests have been ordered to determine the cause of death.Akwesasne Mohawk Police say they are attempting to identify the deceased persons and determine their status in Canada.Akwesasne is close to the United States border across from New York state.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.The Canadian Press

Quebec cracks down on Airbnb after deadly fire as some continue to evade rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:17:13 GMT

MONTREAL — The Quebec government’s crackdown on Airbnb has upended Montreal’s short-term rental market, leading some to welcome the changes and others scurrying to evade the new rules.Last week, following a fire in Old Montreal that killed seven people — including six who were staying in unlicensed short-term rentals — Airbnb said it would remove illegal Quebec listings from its site. The Quebec government has said it would introduce a bill to force other platforms to do the same.Montreal’s tourism promotion agency, Tourisme Montréal, said it welcomes Airbnb’s decision.“At Tourisme Montréal, we often talk about being a harmonious destination; harmony takes different forms in the city, but there’s no harmony when it’s done illegally,” Aurélie de Blois, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in an interview. “There can’t be a healthy industry if it’s based on not respecting laws.”She said 9.5 million visitors are expe...

Chinatowns in Western Canada evolve and renew, both within and outside tradition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:17:13 GMT

Every Thursday to Sunday evening, the wait staff at the Ugly Duckling Dining & Provisions restaurant carefully set knives and forks on chopstick rests at each table.The Ugly Duckling, which opened less than two months ago in Victoria’s historic Chinatown, is not a Chinese restaurant.But the fine dining eatery goes out of its way to add touches of Chinese culture to its dining experience. Proprietor and chef Corbin Mathany incorporates Chinese ingredients and techniques in almost every dish. The tasting menu includes dumplings, Chinese buns and steamed custards. The bill arrives pinned to a postcard of Victoria’s Chinatown in 1898, depicting children celebrating Lunar New Year.Developer Robert Fung, whose company, The Salient Group, is renovating two city blocks in Chinatown, insisted on the inclusion of the homages for businesses looking to locate there.“Honestly, at first it felt like a little bit of a restriction,” Mathany said. “It felt a tiny bi...

Big weather change looms for Chicago as a powerful spring storm takes aim on the Midwest with the potential for a significant outbreak of severe weather late Friday into Friday night

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:17:13 GMT

BIG WEATHER CHANGE LOOM FOR CHICAGO AS A POWERFUL SPRING STORM TAKES AIM ON THE MIDWEST WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR A SIGNIFICANT OUTBREAK OF SEVERE WEATHER LATE FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT----THEN A CLASSIC, NON-STORM HIGH WIND RISK BEGINNING IN SATURDAY'S PRE-DAWN HOURS AND CONTINUING INTO SATURDAY. 50+ MPH WIND GUSTS THREATEN AT THAT TIMENorthbound warm front sweeps across the Chicago area Strengthening south/southwest winds send a flood of milder tropical air into the area and begins a surge in dew points which by late Friday going into Friday night will introduce the most humid air to the city (low 60° dew points) in more than 5 months—since October 11.Low 60-degree dew points bring with them a 'WARMER FEEL" to the air.  Combined with the mid to upper 60° temps predicted Friday, it means Chicagoans are in for the WARMEST FEELING AIR of 2023.But the POWERFUL SPRING STORM responsible for the south winds and warming brings with it growing prospects for clusters of t-storms Friday and...