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West Nile virus detected in Toronto mosquito pool for first time this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:11 GMT

The City of Toronto is reporting its first case of the West Nile virus in mosquitoes this year.Toronto Public Health says one batch of mosquitoes, collected from a location in northwest Scarborough, tested positive for the virus.West Nile is an infection that is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito.“The risk of becoming infected with West Nile virus continues to be low in Toronto, however there are some simple steps residents can take to further reduce their risk when enjoying the summer,” Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s medical officer of health, said in a release.Some ways to protect yourself against mosquitoes include:Wearing light-coloured long pants and long-sleeved shirts when outdoorsWearing bug spray containing DEETRemove standing water from properties where mosquitoes can breed such as pool covers, buckets, planters, toys and waste containersTake extra care during peak mosquito-biting hours of dusk and dawnMake sure homes have tig...

CMHC says rate of housing starts posts largest month-to-month increase in a decade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:11 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in June posted its largest month-over-month increase in a decade powered by work beginning on new multi-unit projects.The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in Canada totalled 281,373 units in June, up from 200,018 in May.The increase came as the annual pace of urban starts increased 46 per cent to 262,815 units in June. The rate of multi-unit urban starts rose 59 per cent to 219,914, while the rate of starts for single-detached urban homes increased three per cent to 42,901.The annual rate of housing starts in Vancouver in June was up 71 per cent from May, while Toronto doubled the pace set in the previous month.CMHC estimated the annual pace of rural starts at 18,558 units for June.The six-month moving average of the annual pace of housing starts was 234,974 units in June, up from 229,520 units in May.This report by The Canadian Press was first publishe...

Canada’s inflation rate tumbles to 2.8% in June even as grocery prices remain high

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:11 GMT

Statistics Canada says Canada’s inflation rate tumbled to 2.8 per cent in June, putting it within the Bank of Canada’s target range.The federal agency says the deceleration was broad-based, though lower gasoline prices compared with last year led the slowdown.But Canadians aren’t seeing any relief at grocery stores yet, as prices rose 9.1 per cent year-over-year, slightly faster than in May.The Bank of Canada’s rate hikes are also feeding into higher inflation through mortgage interest costs.The federal agency says that excluding mortgage interest costs, inflation would have risen two per cent year-over-year.The central bank raised interest rates earlier this month, in part because of concerns that inflation would stay high for longer.

Stock market today: Wall Street sluggish ahead of retail, factory data and more corporate earnings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:11 GMT

TOKYO — Wall Street was largely unchanged Tuesday ahead of the release of U.S. retail sales, factory data and more quarterly financial reports from companies. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each fell less than 0.1% before the opening bell. Strong spending by U.S. consumers has been one of the main reasons for the economy’s resilience, driven by a remarkably sturdy job market, and the Commerce Department will release June data on consumer spending early Tuesday. This week also will bring a slew of corporate earnings reports that investors are looking to for signs of where profits for U.S. companies are heading. Bank of America shares rose modestly before the bell after it reported second-quarter profits grew 19% to $7.4 billion, or 88 cents per share, beating Wall Street’s targets by four cents. It’s the latest big bank to post strong results on higher interest rates, following Wells Fargo and JPMorgan last week. The bank’s net inte...

DeSantis becomes first major party candidate to enter South Carolina’s 2024 presidential primary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:11 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis filed paperwork on Tuesday for South Carolina’s Republican primary, becoming the first major party presidential candidate officially on the ballot for the first-in-the-South contest.DeSantis signed his filing documents during a stop at the South Carolina Republican Party headquarters in Columbia, flanked by supporters including state legislators who have endorsed his bid.The filing comes at a consequential moment for DeSantis and his campaign as the governor makes his third swing through South Carolina as a White House hopeful. He entered the race in May with expectations that he would become the primary threat to former President Donald Trump. But DeSantis has struggled to make inroads against Trump, who holds a commanding lead in the primary, and recently began cutting campaign staff.He returned to the campaign trial on Monday, when he held an event in Tega Cay, an affluent community on Lake Wylie along the state line with Nort...

China Evergrande reports its debt rose to $340 billion in 2022. It plans meetings with creditors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:11 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China Evergrande, the property developer whose woes helped bring about a slump in the country’s vitally important real estate market, has reported its debts rose further to about $340 billion by the end of last year. In a notice to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Evergrande said it had losses totaling about $81 billion in 2021-2022 and that its revenues plunged by about half in 2021. Chinese leaders are trying to revive economic growth that fell to 3% last year, its second-lowest level since the 1970s. Regulators stepped in to supervise Evergrande’s debt restructuring, but apparently rejected a bailout to avoid sending the wrong message to companies about the need to reduce their debtsThe continuing troubles for Evergrande, said to be the global real estate industry’s most-heavily-indebted developer, augur poorly for a revival in the property sector, a major driver of business activity whose lost momentum has weighed on China’s faltering recovery after anti-COVID-...

Inside a mother’s struggle to clear her name after a wrongful arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:11 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, 27-year old Breeanna Bascombe was trying to rock her infant daughter to sleep when police descended on her parents’ Brampton, Ont., home to arrest her, and charge her as an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. The charge was related to a crime allegedly committed by her ex-boyfriend that she had nothing to do with. Breeanna thinks her very public arrest was an attempt to coax him out of hiding. Eternity Martis is a journalist and author based in Toronto who wrote about Breeanna’s case for Chatelaine. She says women can often be caught up in investigations when a crime is committed by a man in their life“It’s not uncommon … for girlfriends, mothers, to be arrested in the hopes of getting a confession from them about their partners crimes, even when they’re not related, they haven’t done anything,” says Martis. Eventually, Breeanna’s charges were stayed, but she was left with what’s called a ‘non-conviction,’ wh...

Climate envoy John Kerry meets with Chinese officials in a new US push to stabilize rocky relations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:11 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told China’s top diplomat on Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s administration is “very committed” to stabilizing relations between the world’s two biggest economies, as the countries seek to restart high-level contacts.On his second day of talks in Beijing, Kerry met with the ruling Communist Party’s head of foreign relations Wang Yi, telling him Biden hoped the two countries could “achieve efforts together that can make a significant difference to the world.”Ties between the countries have hit a historic low amid disputes over tariffs, access to technology, human rights and China’s threats against self-governing Taiwan.In his opening remarks, Wang said the sides had suffered from a lack of communication, but that China believes through renewed dialogue “we can find a proper solution to any problems.”“Sometimes, small problems can become big problems,” Wang said, adding that dialogue must be conducted on an “equal basis.”That was a...

COVID-19 outbreak declared at Etobicoke General Hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:11 GMT

A unit at a west end Toronto hospital has been forced to limit new patients after a COVID-19 outbreak was declared on Monday.In a notice posted online, the William Osler Health System says an outbreak has been declared in the 7 East Cardiology unit at Etobicoke General Hospital. The hospital has not confirmed how many patients have the virus.An outbreak is declared when two or more individuals test positive “with any common link” within a 48 hour period, according to provincial guidelines.The notice says the unit is now closed to new admissions with the exception of those who require telemetry. The hospital says the following other measures are being taken:Notifying patients and using the appropriate precautions to prevent transmission of the virus.Testing and monitoring staff, physicians and patients, as appropriate.Limiting staff members who normally work on multiple units to work on one unit only.Enhancing cleaning of patient care equipment and the hospital units.&nbs...

Kenya doomsday cult deaths top 400 as detectives exhume 12 more bodies, with the pastor in custody

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:11 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The number of people who died in connection with Kenya’s doomsday cult has crossed the 400 mark as detectives exhumed 12 more bodies on Monday believed to be followers of a pastor who ordered them to fast to death in order to meet Jesus.Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who is linked to the cult based in a forested area in Malindi, coastal Kenya, is in police custody, along with 36 other suspects. All have yet to be charged. Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha on Monday said the number of those who died has risen to 403, with 95 people rescued.Last month, some suspects and people rescued started a hunger strike in prison and at the rescue center, prompting the prosecutor to take them to court for attempting to kill themselves. Most of them agreed to resume eating, but one suspect died in custody.Some 613 people have so far been reported missing to Kenya Red Cross officers stationed in Malindi town. Detectives are still finding mass graves.Onyancha said 253 of the 4...