Holiday gatherings and a new variant have driven up COVID cases globally, the UN health agency says
GENEVA (AP) — The head of the U.N. health agency said Wednesday holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries — mostly in Europe and — that shared such trend information.
“Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the
Liberal MPs split on Canada supporting, condemning genocide hearings against Israel
Liberal members of Parliament are divided about the position Canada should take on South Africa’s push to have Israel prosecuted for genocide for its war in Gaza, as the Trudeau government stays mum.
The International Court of Justice will start hearing a case Thursday in which South Africa argues that Israel’s widespread bombardment of Gaza and siege on the Palestinians living there “are genocidal in character.”
South Africa argued in its filing that Israel has expressed a “clear intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a group” and says
France’s youngest prime minister is a rising political star who follows in Macron’s footsteps
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to surprised many because of his age and relatively short career. But Gabriel Attal has become one of the most prominent and ambitious figures on the French political scene in recent years, saying there’s “nothing greater than serving France.”
The centrist politician is often compared to Macron, France’s youngest president, who went from presidential adviser to head of state in a few years. Macron, now 46, was first elected in 201
Kentucky is the all-time No. 1 team through 75 storied years of AP Top 25 college basketball polls
Sustained excellence is difficult to achieve in any sport.
It takes hiring the right coaches, year after year. A constant stream of great players to replace those that depart. It takes luck, to be sure, but also passionate fans, elite facilities, proper marketing and the flexibility to adapt to the times.
In college basketball, those that get the mixture right just might land atop
Since The Associated Press began ranking teams in January 1949, when , many schools have laid claim to the crown. Some
Seattle Thunderbirds WHL junior team bus slides off highway in B.C.
KELOWNA, B.C. — A bus carrying a Western Hockey League junior team slid off a highway in British Columbia’s Interior, but the team says no one was injured.
A social media post from the Seattle Thunderbirds says the team bus slid into a ditch while on its way to Kelowna for a game.
Kelowna RCMP say the bus hit a patch of ice near Kelowna and the vehicle will be removed from the ditch as soon as weather allows.
Another social media post from the Kelowna Rockets, who play
‘Major’ equipment failure affecting CBC radio services across the country
CBC says its radio services are now fully restored after a “major” technical equipment failure affected programming across the country.
The public broadcaster says the problem with its ability to produce and broadcast radio content started early this morning, but was resolved in the afternoon.
A CBC spokesperson says “a major server failure” caused the issue.
CBC listeners were met with radio silence in some parts of the country, while others noticed that their local stations were airing broadcasts from other regions.
People were still able to listen to CBC
Suspect charged with attempted murder and assault after Quebec courthouse stabbing
LONGUEUIL, Que. — The suspect in Tuesday’s stabbing of an interpreter at a suburban Montreal courthouse is facing multiple charges.
Alexandre Garcés, 44, appeared in court in Longueuil, Que., on Wednesday to be charged with attempted murder, assault with a weapon, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon. Court documents specified that a knife was the weapon allegedly used in the attack.
A bail hearing is expected to take place Thursday, police said.
A 68-year-old man
Pope confirms new leader of India’s Syro-Malabar Church, divided for decades over liturgy dispute
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Wednesday confirmed a new leader for India’s Syro-Malabar Church in a step toward healing a decades-long liturgical dispute that became so dire that Francis recently threatened to excommunicate hundreds of priests.
Francis confirmed the election of His Beatitude Mar Raphael Thattil as major archbishop of the arch-eparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, located in southern Kerala state where many of India’s Christians live.
Thattil had been elected to the position by the synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar
S&P/TSX composite up in late-morning trading, U.S. stock markets also higher
TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index eked out a gain Wednesday, weighed down by weakness in energy and metals, while U.S. markets rose ahead of the much-anticipated inflation data coming Thursday, and the start to earnings season on Friday.
Investors appeared broadly optimistic ahead of the inflation release, said Michael Currie, senior investment adviser at TD Wealth.
The data could have implications for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, as talk in 2024 centres around when and
Climate change is shrinking snowpack in many places, study shows. And it will get worse
DENVER (AP) — River basins around the world that were once regularly snowbound are increasingly seeing their snowpack shrink and is to blame, a new study found.
“Many of the world’s most populous basins are hovering on the precipice of rapid snow declines,” concluded the study of snow amounts since 1981 in Wednesday’s .
That’s because the study found a key threshold for the future of snowpacks in the Northern Hemisphere: 17.6 degrees (-8 degrees Celsius).