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In the news today: Israel-Hamas four-day truce begins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:55 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Israel-Hamas truce begins with ceasefire ahead of hostage and prisoner releasesA four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war took effect early Friday, setting the stage for the exchange of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza in return for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.The halt in fighting promised some relief for Gaza’s 2.3 million people, who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, as well as families in Israel fearful for the fate of loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.The ceasefire kicked off at 7 a.m. local time and is to last at least four days. During this period, Gaza’s ruling Hamas group pledged to free at least 50 of the about 240 hostages it and other militants took on Oct. 7. Hamas said Israel would free 150 Palestinian prisoners.Both sides will release women and children first. Isr...

Formal talks to begin today at EU-Canada Summit in Newfoundland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:55 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Formal talks are expected to begin today between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and two top heads of the European Union.European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are in St. John’s, N.L., for the 19th EU-Canada Summit.Climate change, hydrogen energy and the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine are all expected to be prominent topics on the leaders’ agenda.Jeremy Kinsman, a former Canadian ambassador to the EU in Brussels, says both parties are likely thinking their strategic partnership will become much more vital if Donald Trump manages to win the United States presidency again.Achim Hurrelmann, a Carleton University professor who co-directs the school’s Centre for European Studies, agreed, noting that the EU and Canada pulled closer during Trump’s presidency, which ended in 2020.Hurrelmann says the summit is fairly routine, though he says he expects a fair bit of discussion a...

Canadian film, TV workers eye return to ‘changed world’ after Hollywood strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:55 GMT

TORONTO — After more than four months without work due to a historic Hollywood actors’ strike, Canadian performer Kristian Bruun says it was a “euphoric relief” to learn he’ll return to the Vancouver set of his Netflix series in the new year.The Toronto-born actor says the cast and crew of “The Recruit,” starring Noah Centineo, are slated to begin shooting the spy thriller’s second season on Jan. 4. It was originally set to go to camera in late June but was halted by the strike. Whilea timeline to return to work offers some solace to the Los Angeles-based Bruun, it could take months before his paycheques start rolling in, and even longer before he gets health insurance again. “I’ll still be living off my savings,” says Bruun. “It’s not as simple as, we just turn everything back on and we’re back to normal. It’s going to be a months-long process.”Like many U.S.-based television series and movies...

Inflation, longer sales season to weigh on shopping habits this Black Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:55 GMT

TORONTO — As scores of shoppers pack local malls to hunt for Black Friday deals, Dianne Debarros will be on the lookout for discounted toys and laptops her kids will soon need for school.The Sarnia, Ont., woman has already started her Christmas shopping but wants to supplement her purchases on a trip to Real Canadian Superstore, where the chain is doling out loyalty program points in exchange for $100 in purchases in some of its departments.“I feel like the last couple of years, the sales and the prices weren’t very good, but this year the prices seem to be reasonable and the incentives are there,” Debarros said. She and her partner, Tom, run a deal-hunting social media account on Instagram and TikTok.The annual wave of discounts, door crashers and sales timed to the holiday season will be especially welcomed by Canadians who are feeling stressed about money this year. Inflation remains above the Bank of Canada’s two per cent target, keeping prices high for h...

Marrakech hosts film festival in the shadow of war in the Middle East

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:55 GMT

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — International movie stars arrive in Morocco on Friday to kick off one of the Arab world’s largest film festivals amid a shadow cast by Israel’s latest war with Hamas and protests that have swept the region for almost two months.Directors Martin Scorsese and Richard Linklater and actors Jessica Chastain and Mads Mikkelsen are expected in Marrakech for a festival that Moroccan Prince Moulay Rachid called a “bastion of peace that brings people closer together.”The prince, who leads the foundation responsible for the festival, said in a statement that the festival was an “invitation for discovery, empathy and sharing,” noting Morocco’s September earthquake and the catalog of Moroccan films and filmmakers scheduled to be showcased.The Marrakech International Film Festival, along with Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival that is scheduled to open next week, are taking place despite war in Gaza. That’s in contrast to the Cairo International Film Festival and...

Daily horoscope for November 24, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:55 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or making important decisions from 12:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST today (9:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. PST). After that, the Moon moves from Aries into Taurus.Happy Birthday for Friday, Nov. 24, 2023:Because you are spirited and energetic, you influence others. This gives you an opportunity to be a force for good. This is a year of service for you, especially service to family. Therefore, it’s important to take care of yourself so you can benefit others. Is it time for a makeover?ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★Your desire to travel and explore new avenues in life will grow stronger because Mars changes signs today. This will boost your desire to explore more of your world for the next six weeks. You will want to go places by jetting off somewhere or jumping in your car. Do what you can. Bon voyage! Tonight: Save money.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Recently, you’ve been thinking about shared property, inheritances and insurance issues — red-tape stuff. Starti...

EU fleets caught 3.4 million tonnes of fish in 2022

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:55 GMT

The total EU fish catch in 2022 was about 3.4 million tonnes of live weight from the seven marine areas covered by EU statistics. Spain’s fishing fleet exceeded one-fifth of all EU catches (22%; 752,000 tonnes), followed by France (15%; 517,000 tonnes) and Denmark (13%; 459,000 tonnes).Source dataset:  fish_ca_main About 70% of the total EU catch was taken in the Atlantic, Northeast area. The key species caught in the Atlantic, Northeast area were small fish such as herring (19% of the live weight caught in this region), sprat (14%), blue whiting (11%) and mackerel (10%). About one fifth of the EU’s total live weight catch in this area was made by the fishing fleet of Denmark (19%) followed by France (about 17%), the Netherlands (11%) and Spain (11%).Approximately one tenth of the total EU catch was taken in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, where the main species caught were sardines (22% of the EU catch in the area) and anchovies (18%). Italian fleet made 36% of the EU catch, with ...

Harriette Cole: She’s the restaurant patron from hell, and she needs to hear that

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:55 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I’m having a dilemma with my best friend. Lately, I’ve been embarrassed by her increasingly rude behavior toward service workers.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: How to reboot when Thanksgiving stress sets in Advice | Harriette Cole: What do I do about an ex-friend who’s trying to undermine my work? Advice | Harriette Cole: My newfound love of reading is disrupting my life Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m on the road to burnout and I can’t see a solution Advice | Harriette Cole: I felt like a loser so I quit my job after a week. Now things are even worse. We recently went to a restaurant, and she was unbelievably disrespectful. She ordered her food, and when it came, she kept asking where her smoothie was. They said it should be on the way, but it wasn’t because she never actually ordered it. She kept badgering the staff about it and eventually got ...

Miss Manners: Is this lowering of office chairs a common practice?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:55 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I was at a dinner party where the hostess, a paralegal at a local law firm, was telling us about a conversation she had in her office with one of the partners.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: How can I rein in a greedy co-worker? Advice | Miss Manners: How should I have responded to a loud comment about my makeup? Advice | Miss Manners: She was embarrassingly rude in public and then blamed it on anxiety Advice | Miss Manners: We had to give up our season tickets because of the hooters Advice | Miss Manners: Unless her house is on fire, I find the host’s behavior reprehensible The actual point of the story became secondary to our conversation when she set the stage with, “When he sat down, I made sure to lower my chair so that I sat lower than him.”The four other women in the room were stunned. We pressed her on this, and she was surprised at our reaction.I unde...

Cam Smith misses the cut in Australian PGA title defense. Lee leads by a shot from Scott

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:55 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Cam Smith missed the cut in his Australian PGA Championship title defense after slumping to 9 over Friday after a 78 in the second round, finishing 21 shots off the pace. Min Woo Lee took the lead at 12 under at the halfway point after a 5-under 66 on Friday, and Adam Scott was next at 11 under after shooting 65 in the second round.Hometown favorite Smith was 2 over after the first round but the 2022 British Open champion only slid further out of contention with a double-bogey, six bogeys and a solitary birdie in the second.He missed the cut by nine strokes and said he couldn’t remember playing a worse round as a professional.“Yeah, no words,” an emotional Smith, one of the stars of LIV Golf, said of his performance. “I’ve performed under pressure before and it’s not acceptable, a bit upsetting actually.”John Lyras was third at 10 under and two other Australians, Lucas Herbert and Curtis Luck, shared fourth place at 8 under Joel Moscatel of Spain. Lu...