- NewsReuters
Ireland's Fianna Fail to step up efforts to form a government
Ireland's Fianna Fail will step up efforts to form a government by starting formal engagement with other parties, except Sinn Fein, after marginally winning the most seats at an inconclusive Feb. 8 election. Fianna Fail said last week that it would not consider going into government with Sinn Fein
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Trump ousts top defence official who certified Ukraine aid
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has ousted the Pentagon's top policy official who had certified last year that the Defence Department had seen enough anti-corruption progress in Ukraine to justify releasing congressionally authorized aid.John Rood resigned Wednesday, saying he was leaving at
- NewsReuters
CN Rail train leaks crude oil after it derails in Ontario
A Canadian National Railway Co freight train derailed in Ontario and started leaking crude oil, the company said on Wednesday, marking the second such incident in less than two weeks. About 30 cars came off the rails on Tuesday night near Emo, Ontario, just north of the border with Minnesota, the railroad
- NewsThe Canadian Press
US home construction dips 3.6% in January
WASHINGTON — Construction of new homes edged back slightly in January after a December surge that had pushed home construction to the highest level in 13 years.The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that builders started construction on 1.57 million homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, a decline
- News
Review: Relaxed, charming vibe from duo Wild Rabbit Salad
Wild Rabbit Salad, “Trouble in Town” (REGI Music)It’s no surprise that for Wild Rabbit Salad, the ingredients are a bit quirky.“Trouble in Town” includes a cheating song with a cello solo, a happy-hour lament, a tale of haberdashery, two Townes Van Zandt covers and a reference to him elsewhere.It’s as
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Iran state news agency says new virus has killed 2 citizens
TEHRAN, Iran — The new virus has killed two elderly Iranian citizens, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.IRNA quoted Alireza Vahabzadeh, an adviser to the country's health minister, as saying that both of the victims had been carrying the coronavirus and were located in Qom,
- NewsThe Canadian Press
University of Michigan investigates doctor sex abuse claims
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Several former patients have alleged that a late University of Michigan physician sexually abused them during exams going back decades, prompting the Ann Arbor school to ask others with information to come forward, officials said Wednesday.The university said in a statement that an
- NewsReuters
Wikileaks' Assange in court ahead of U.S. extradition hearing next week
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared in a British court by videolink from prison on Wednesday where lawyers discussed the timetable of his hearing next week to decide whether he should be extradited to the United States. Assange, 48, who spent seven years holed up in Ecuador's embassy before
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Jury back for 2nd day of deliberations in Weinstein trial
NEW YORK — Jury deliberations resumed Wednesday at Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial with jurors focusing on the testimony of a former TV and film production assistant who accused the disgraced movie mogul of sexually abusing her in his Manhattan apartment.A note from the jury said it wants to re-examine
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Syria's Aleppo airport resumes flights amid fighting nearby
ALEPPO, Syria — A Syrian passenger jet landed in Aleppo on Wednesday from Damascus, marking the resumption of domestic flights between Syria's two largest cities for the first time since 2012, while the government's onslaught continued nearby with airstrikes reported in several rebel-held towns
- FinanceThe Canadian Press
UK employers fear worker shortages in new immigration plan
LONDON — Vegetables rotting in the fields, food going unprocessed, the elderly and disabled left without care.That’s the alarming picture painted by some British employers about the impact of new U.K. immigration rules set to be introduced in less than a year.Farms, food factories and care homes said
- NewsThe Canadian Press
China’s top diplomat assures Southeast Asia on epidemic
VIENTIANE, Laos — China’s top diplomat assured his Southeast Asian counterparts on Wednesday that the situation in a central Chinese province where the outbreak of a new virus began has “been brought under effective control.”Foreign Minister Wang Yi also expressed confidence that China can “secure an
- NewsThe Canadian Press
China's virus centre vows no patient unchecked as cases fall
BEIJING — Inspectors in protective suits went door-to-door Wednesday in the epicenter of China's viral outbreak to try to find every infected person in an epidemic that is showing signs of waning as new cases fell for a second straight day.The city of Wuhan, where the new form of coronavirus emerged
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Israeli Opera to host Placido Domingo despite protest
JERUSALEM — Despite objections from sexual abuse activists, the Israeli Opera will host a weeklong singing competition organized by Spanish opera star Placido Domingo in Tel Aviv later this year.Domingo, 80, has withdrawn from all U.S. performances since reports by The Associated Press last year detailed
- NewsThe Canadian Press
In the spirit of Whitney: Houston Hologram tour set to begin
BURBANK, Calif. — Whitney Houston is about to appear on the concert stage again.Eight years after her death, a holographic Houston will embark on a European tour that starts in England on Feb. 25 and runs through early April, with U.S. dates expected to follow.“Now is just the right time," said
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Understanding Weinstein’s charges and potential punishment
NEW YORK — A look at the charges against Harvey Weinstein, 67, and the punishment the once-revered Hollywood titan could face if convicted at his New York City rape trial. A jury of seven men and five women started deliberating Tuesday in the closely watched MeToo trial. To convict or acquit Weinstein
- NewsReuters
Syrian father, protecting daughter from trauma, turns sounds of war into a game
Syrian video journalist Abdallah al-Muhammad has invented a game to cushion his young daughter from the trauma of hearing the deafening cacophony of air strikes and shelling near his home in northwest Syria's Idlib. A video posted by Muhammad on social media this week, showing him and his three-year-old
- SportsThe Canadian Press
Virologist: Tokyo Olympics probably couldn't be held now
TOKYO — A respected Japanese virologist on Wednesday said if the Tokyo Olympics were tomorrow, the games probably couldn't be held because of the fast-spreading virus from Wuhan, China.“We need to find the best way to have a safe Olympics," Dr. Hitoshi Oshitani said, speaking at the Foreign
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Devices found in missiles, Yemen drones link Iran to attacks
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A small instrument inside the drones that targeted the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry and those in the arsenal of Yemen's Houthi rebels match components recovered in downed Iranian drones in Afghanistan and Iraq, two reports say.These gyroscopes have only been
- NewsThe Canadian Press
China revokes 3 Wall Street Journal reporters' credentials
BEIJING — China on Wednesday said it has revoked the press credentials of three reporters for the U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal over a headline for an opinion column deemed racist by the government.The expulsions come after the Trump administration on Tuesday designated five state-run Chinese
- FinanceThe Canadian Press
Passengers begin leaving after ship's virus quarantine ends
YOKOHAMA, Japan — About 500 passengers left the cruise ship Diamond Princess on Wednesday at the end of a much-criticized two-week quarantine aboard the vessel, docked in Japan, that failed to stop the spread of the new virus among passengers and crew.The quarantine's flop was underlined as authorities
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Eugene Hernandez named director of New York Film Festival
NEW YORK — Eugene Hernandez will succeed Kent Jones as the director of the New York Film Festival, becoming only the fifth person to lead the esteemed Lincoln Center showcase for cinema in its 57-year history.Lesli Klainberg, executive director of Film at Lincoln Center, announced the appointment Wednesday
- NewsThe Canadian Press
UK patient plays violin during unusual brain surgery
LONDON — Surgeons at King's College Hospital in London removed a brain tumour from a woman who played the violin during the procedure.Doctors for violinist Dagmar Turner, 53, mapped her brain before the surgery to identify areas that were active when she played the instrument and those responsible
- FinanceReuters
'Made in Russia' passenger jet finds a single buyer: Aeroflot
Russia's main home-grown passenger jet, the Sukhoi Superjet 100, conceived as a rival to Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer, has no confirmed orders this year beyond a long-standing deal with state carrier Aeroflot , two sources told Reuters. The aircraft, which entered service in 2011 and was the
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Las Vegas debate a major test of Bloomberg campaign's gamble
LAS VEGAS — Mike Bloomberg will confront the greatest test of his presidential campaign when he faces five Democratic rivals in a debate in Las Vegas that could fundamentally change the direction of the party’s 2020 nomination fight.The debate debut for the billionaire former mayor of New York is poised
