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US employers added a surprisingly strong 336,000 jobs in September in a sign of economic resilience

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers added 336,000 jobs in September, an unexpectedly robust gain that suggests that many companies remain confident enough to keep hiring despite high interest rates and a hazy outlook for the economy.Friday’s report from the Labor Department showed that hiring last month jumped from a 227,000 increase in August, which was revised sharply higher. July’s hiring was also healthier than initially estimated. The economy has now added a healthy average of 266,000 jobs a month in the past three months.The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8%.The job market has defied an array of threats this year, notably high inflation and the rapid series of Fed interest rate hikes that were intended to conquer it. Though the Fed’s hikes have made loans much costlier, steady job growth has helped fuel consumer spending and kept the economy growing.The September hiring report comes at a time when the Fed is scrutinizing every piece of incoming economic ...

Shares in troubled British lender Metro Bank bounce back by a third as asset sale speculation swirls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Shares in the troubled British lender Metro Bank bounced back by a third on Friday on reports that it has been sounding out bigger rivals to buy a chunk of its assets.Sky News reported that advisers to the bank have contacted Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group among others. That helped the company’s share price rally by 30% to 48.5 pence on the London Stock Exchange, in the process recouping the previous day’s losses when the bank acknowledged the need to raise new capital.Metro Bank, which some analysts say may need to raise around 600 million pounds ($730 million) in capital to help it refinance debts, said it was looking at a range of options, including asset sales and the issuance of new shares. But it stressed that “no decision has been made on whether to proceed with any of these options.”Analysts are cautious about its ability to raise the money.Gary Greenwood, an equity research analyst for Shore Capital Markets, suggested that the busines...

KFOR commander calls on Kosovo and Serbia to return to talks to prevent future violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:24 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The NATO-led peacekeeping force on Friday called on both Kosovo and Serbia to return to the negotiating table to resolve their issues to prevent violence like the recent shootout between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead and sent tensions soaring in the region. Kosovo Force commander Maj. Gen. Angelo Michele Ristuccia called on both countries to “refrain from inflammatory and counterproductive rhetoric and help to create the necessary conditions for lasting security in Kosovo and across the region.”Ristuccia told a news conference that KFOR fully supported European Union-facilitated dialogue to normalize their ties.In February, the EU put forward a 10-point plan to end months of political crises. Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić gave their approval at the time, but with some reservations that haven’t been resolved. “If the parties do not come back to the table … and do no...

Economy adds 64K jobs in September, unemployment rate holds at 5.5%

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:24 GMT

Statistics Canada says the economy added 64,000 jobs last month as the country’s population continues to rapidly grow.The federal agency released its September labour force survey this morning, which finds the unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 per cent.Canada’s labour market has cooled over the last year amid higher interest rates, but the unemployment rate remains below pre-pandemic levels.The job gains last month were concentrated in part-time work, while there were more people working in educational services and transportation and warehousing.Meanwhile, jobs were shed in finance, insurance, real estate rental and leasing, construction and information and recreation.Average hourly wages continued to climb in September, rising five per cent from a year ago.

Tropical Storm Philippe drenches Bermuda en route to Atlantic Canada and New England

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:24 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The outer bands of Tropical Storm Philippe lashed Bermuda on Friday as it churned northward on a path toward Atlantic Canada and New England.The storm was located about 165 miles (265 kilometers) south of Bermuda on Friday morning. It had winds of up to 50 mph (85 kph) and was moving north-northeast at 18 mph (30 kph).A tropical storm warning was in effect for Bermuda, with Philippe forecast to pass near the island later Friday. It is then expected to reach the coast of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or eastern Maine on Saturday night into Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Officials in Bermuda shuttered schools ahead of the storm. Up to 3 inches (8 centimeters) of rain are forecast for Bermuda, and up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) for parts of New York, New England and Southeast Canada. “Regardless of Philippe’s intensity or structure, interests in those areas should be prepared for the possibility of strong winds and heavy rainfall,...

Pedestrian seriously injured when struck by vehicle in Port Credit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:24 GMT

A pedestrian is in hospital with serious injuries after being struck by a vehicle in Port Credit on Friday morning.Peel Regional Police officers responded to Hurontario Street and Park Street East near Lakeshore Road East just before 7 a.m. for reports of a possible multi-vehicle crash.Paramedics say they transported a male to hospital with serious injuries. His age is not yet known.It is not yet clear at this point if other vehicles were involved in the crash.The area is closed to traffic as police investigate.COLLISION:– Hurontario St/Park St E #Mississauga– Pedestrian & vehicle involved. Possible multiple-vehicle collision– Pedestrian taken to Trauma Centre; – N/B Hurontario St closed– only 1 S/B lane open– Use alternate routes– C/R at 6:54 a.m.– PR23-0323665— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) October 6, 2023

More supports needed to address homelessness, B.C. government says after survey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:24 GMT

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government says results from the latest surveys of people living on the streets show current support levels aren’t enough and more services are needed to address rising homelessness. A statement from the Housing Ministry says a count of the homeless conducted in 20 B.C. communities over a 24-hour period showed an increase compared with previous counts in 2020 and 2021.It says the counts provide a snapshot of information about the gender, age, ethnicity and health of those experiencing homelessness. The ministry says this year’s effort found Indigenous people and former youth in care continue to be “significantly overrepresented.”The Homelessness Services Association of B.C. conducted the Greater Vancouver count and identified more than 4,800 people experiencing homelessness in 11 communities, a 32 per cent increase compared with the previous count in 2020.Housing Minister Ravi Khalon says the results of the counts reinforce the...

A tiny town vs. QAnon’s ‘Queen’ of Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:24 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, Romana Didulo rose to prominence in 2020 as the self-styled “Queen” of Canada. She’s since gained a massive number of followers, moved her followers from online talk to in-person action, and has been traversing the country in a notorious RV for the past year. Today, Didulo and her followers have holed up in an abandoned school in a tiny prairie town, that absolutely does not want them there. Peter Smith, an investigative journalist and researcher with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, says Didulo has managed to surround herself with an incredibly devoted community of followers.“It is a very complicated issue, and has really gone from a conspiracy-based community, into what I think would be much better viewed as a cult,” says Smith. Today’s episode is about the pandemic’s oddest phenomenon, how it led to Richmound, Sask., and what the small community is doing about it.You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goo...

Rifts in Europe over irregular migration remain after ‘success’ of new EU deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:24 GMT

GRANADA, Spain (AP) — Despite a breakthrough in negotiations earlier this week, the leaders of the European Union immediately clashed again Friday on how to handle the human drama of migration that has tested their sense of common purpose over the past decade.The world’s largest club of wealthy countries remains split between those that support Brussels’ initiatives focused on distributing migrants between members in an act of solidarity and those countries, like Hungary or Poland, whose far-right governments consider the influx of outsiders a threat. Italy is even going outside the EU to establish links with the United Kingdom to crack down on unwanted arrivals.Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was blunt about how far Europe’s leaders still are from reaching a consensus before they met in Granada, Spain. Orbán, who has pushed back against EU policy repeatedly and taken a hard-line approach against migration, said that he won’t sign off on any deal at any point in th...

63-year-old man questioned after 2 fatally shot inside home on South Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:24 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are investigating a double homicide on the city's South Side.According to police, officers responded to a call of a person shot on the 1800 block of West 54th Street around 2 a.m. Friday. Upon arrival, officers were met by a 63-year-old man who said he got into an altercation with the two victims, a 28-year-old man and 25-year-old woman, inside their residence.Police said the woman and 63-year-old man both took out handguns, the man firing multiple shots.The woman was shot multiple times, including in the head, and was transported to University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.The 25-year-old man was shot in the right side of the chest and thigh and transported to the same hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead. Records reveal new details in Willowbrook Juneteenth mass shooting The 63-year-old man remained on scene and was transported to a police station for questi...