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Fears about Amazon and Microsoft cloud computing dominance trigger UK probe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:19 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Concerns from regulators about the dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in Britain’s cloud computing market have triggered a investigation into the competitiveness of the key industry.The U.K. communications regulator Ofcom said Thursday that its yearlong study of the cloud communications services market found features that could limit competition. British businesses face barriers when they try to switch or use multiple cloud suppliers, it said. Cloud computing uses data centers around the world to store photos and emails or run software. It has become a vital service for many businesses, which turn to cloud providers to avoid the cost of buying expensive equipment and real estate to run their own data centers.Ofcom asked the U.K. antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority, to take a closer look at the 7.5 billion-pound ($9 billion) cloud market. The watchdog said it was opening an in-depth investigation that’s expected to wrap up by April 2025. “Some...

New wildfire on Spain’s Tenerife island forces 3,000 evacuations. Area suffered major summer fire

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:19 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Soldiers and firefighters were battling to control a new wildfire on Spain’s Tenerife island that has forced some 3,000 people to leave their homes for safety, the Canary Islands government said Thursday.The blaze, which started Wednesday, is centered on the towns of Santa Úrsula and La Orotava in the mountainous northeast of the island, away from the main tourist areas in Tenerife’s southwest.The same area suffered one of the island’s worst wildfires in decades in August when 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres) of pine forest and scrubland were burnt and some 12,000 residents evacuated over several weeks. Although that wildfire was brought under control it was never fully extinguished. Small fires have continued to break out periodically in the same area due to winds and high temperatures. Some 120 agents including soldiers and firefighters were taking part in the operation to put out the fire, the Canary Islands government said. So far, an area of just 30 hect...

Russia launches more drone attacks as Ukrainian President Zelenskyy travels to a European forum

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:19 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia targeted Ukraine with drones in another massive attack early Thursday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Spain to rally support from Western allies at a summit of some 50 European leaders.Ukraine’s air force said that the country’s air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.Andriy Raykovych, the head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said that an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to put out a fire. He said there were no casualties.The attack came as Zelenskyy arrived in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.“The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners,” he said in a statement pos...

Thanksgiving Monday: What’s open and closed in Toronto

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:19 GMT

Another long weekend is upon us, and for those heading out on Thanksgiving Monday, keep in mind that while some businesses are open on the holiday, others are either closed or operating on reduced hours.Below is a list of what’s open and closed on Monday.AttractionsArt Gallery of Ontario: 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.Aga Khan Museum: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Canada’s Wonderland: ClosedCasa Loma: Open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.CN Tower: Open 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.Hockey Hall of Fame: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Ontario Science Centre: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Ripley’s Aquarium: Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.Royal Ontario Museum: Open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.Toronto Zoo: Open 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.Beer/LCBOAll Beer Store and LCBO locations will be closed.Grocery/pharmacyMost grocery stores will be closed but select locations (listed below) will be open.Loblaws (60 Carlton St.) – open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.Metro (444 Yonge St.) – 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.Pusateri’s (1539 Avenue Rd.) – 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.Pusateri&#...

Bangladesh’s anti-graft watchdog quizzes Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in embezzlement case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:19 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s official anti-graft watchdog Anti-corruption Commission on Thursday questioned Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, involving charges of money laundering and fund embezzlement. Yunus pioneered the use of microcredit to help impoverished people in Bangladesh—a model replicated in many other countries across the world. His legal troubles have drawn international attention, with many observers considering that they are politically motivated.He emerged from Thursday’s questioning session in the commission’s headquarters in the nation’s capital, Dhaka, saying that he was not afraid and he did not commit any crimes. Yunus’ lawyer, Abdullah Al Mamun, said the charges against his client were “false and baseless.”The commission summoned Yunus, chairman of Grameen Telecom, over $2.28 million from the company’s Workers Profit Participation Fund. A dozen other colleagues of Yunus face similar charges in the case.Grameen Telec...

2 Palestinian militants killed in gunfight with Israeli troops in West Bank raid

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:19 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Palestinian militants were killed by Israeli gunfire during an army raid in the West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said.They were the latest deaths in a monthslong surge of violence in the occupied territory.The Israeli military said its troops carried out a raid in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the early morning hours. It said that soldiers came under fire and that troops shot Palestinian gunmen. Five border police officers were wounded in the clashes, it said. The Hamas militant group that rules the Gaza Strip later claimed the two men as its members.The incident was the latest in a spiral of violence that has gripped the occupied territory for more than 18 months.The Israeli military has mounted near-nightly raids into Palestinian towns, often prompting deadly clashes with residents. Militancy has surged among young Palestinians who have lost hope in their leadership and in the prospect of a political resolution to the conflict.Nearly 200 P...

Rising long-term interest rates are posing the latest threat to a US economic ‘soft landing’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Surging interest rates are intensifying the challenges for the U.S. economy and threatening to derail the Federal Reserve’s drive to tame inflation without causing a deep recession. Since mid-summer, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a benchmark for many loans, has steadily climbed, causing a spillover rise in other borrowing costs. The costs of mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt have all risen in response. The collective impact of higher rates across the economy could also weaken the government’s own finances. The jump in longer-term rates coincides with other threats, from higher gas prices and this week’s resumption of student loan payments to autoworkers’ ongoing strike and the risk of a government shutdown next month, all of which could leave consumers with less money to spend to power the economy.The strike by the United Auto Workers, now in its third week with no resolution in sight, could reduce vehicle sales in coming months. And ...

Auto worker strike highlights disparities between temporary and permanent employees

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:19 GMT

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — When Rhonda Naus got a job inspecting Jeep Wranglers fresh off the assembly line, her paycheck added up to roughly half of what her co-workers were making. But with that came an expectation that her temporary status eventually would become permanent with a big jump in wages. Six years later, she’s still doing the same work as her colleagues at Stellantis and still making a lot less. “I knew I had to start at the bottom. I didn’t think I’d be at the bottom forever,” said Naus, who’s among thousands of striking United Auto Workers nationwide pushing for pay and benefit increases along with an end to multiple tiers of wages for workers across the companies. From office workers to delivery drivers, companies have become increasingly reliant on temporary workers. Automakers have used the lower-paid workers for years to fill in for absent and vacationing full-time employees and to staff up when production increases. Tiers for the Detroit automakers we...

No, you didn't win big: Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.4 billion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:19 GMT

PINEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.4 billion after no players matched all six numbers and hit it rich Wednesday night.The winning numbers announced were: 9, 35, 54, 63, 64 and the Powerball 1. $2 million winning tickets were sold in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Texas. $1 million winning tickets were sold in California (2), Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas (2).Players will next have a shot at the Powerball jackpot Saturday night in hopes of ending an 11-week stretch without a big winner. No matter how large the prize grows the odds stay the same — and they’re terrible.It’s those odds of 1 in 292.2 million that make the jackpot so hard to win and that result in such giant prizes for the lucky player or players who manage to pick the game’s six winning numbers. The new prize would be the fifth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, edging out a $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot won by a ticket sold in California in July —...

Duluth youth pastor charged with sexually assaulting five girls

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:19 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. — A longtime youth pastor used his church as a “hunting ground,” prosecutors said, “preying on underage girls with no consequences for years.”Jackson Michael Gatlin, former pastoral assistant at Vineyard Church in Duluth’s Kenwood neighborhood, was charged Tuesday in St. Louis County District Court with sexually assaulting five girls ranging in age from 11 to 16.He is being held at the St. Louis County Jail without bail pending an arraignment.Gatlin, now 35, had “unfettered access” to vulnerable youth for 15 years, the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office told the court, owing to the fact that his parents — senior leaders in the church — “minimized and outright denied allegations when brought to their attention.”“Multiple victims and witnesses described the culture of the church as insular and controlling, with the Gatlins exerting a great deal of influence,” a criminal complaint states. “There was a consistent impression that (Jackson) was immune from consequence becaus...