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Biden will announce how billions of dollars for expanding broadband internet are being distributed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:55 GMT

President Joe Biden is expected to announce on Monday his administration’s plans to distribute billions of dollars appropriated by Congress to deliver the internet to every household and small business in the United States. Likening the push for universal connectivity to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, when the federal government installed the electric utility lines that brought light to the countryside all across the U.S., White House chief of staff Jeff Zients said access to high-speed internet is as imperative to day-to-day life as electricity. “We all know how difficult life is when electricity goes down after a storm or for other reasons,” Zients said on a Friday call with reporters to preview the announcement. “For millions of Americans in rural communities in particular, the internet is down a lot. Sometimes there’s not even any access.”The amount each state, territory and Washington, D.C., will receive from the $42.5 billion program depends primarily on the numb...

The US government is awarding $1.7 billion to buy electric and low-emission buses

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Transportation is awarding almost $1.7 billion in grants for buying zero- and low-emission buses, with the money going to transit projects in 46 states and territories.The grants will enable transit agencies and state and local governments to buy 1,700 U.S.-built buses, nearly half of which will have zero carbon emissions. Funding for the grants comes from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law by President Joe Biden. The Democratic president has made it a priority to put more electric vehicles on the road — especially for schools and public transit — in an effort to contain the damage from climate change.“Every day, millions of Americans climb aboard over 60,000 buses to get to work, to school, doctor’s appointments, everywhere they need to be,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a call with reporters. “These are unprecedented levels of investment when it comes to putting modern cleaner buses on the road.”Monday...

When, where, how to vote as Toronto heads to polls to elect next mayor

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:55 GMT

Polls are set to open today as Toronto voters elect the next mayor of Canada’s most populous city, capping a hotly contested byelection campaign to replace scandal-departed John Tory.It’s the second mayoral election for the city since October, after Tory admitted to having an affair with a staffer and resigned just a few months into his third term.A record 102 candidates lined up to replace him, with roughly a half-dozen names rising to the top of the field over the course of the 12-week campaign.Polls are open today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 1,445 voting locations across the city. Residents can find their assigned voting location on the city’s website.Who is eligible to votePeople must meet the following requirement to vote in the upcoming mayoral byelectionmust be a Canadian citizensmust be at least 18 years oldmust be a Toronto resident or must own or rent property in the city (or your spouse owns or rents property in the city)Those without a permanent address c...

Serbia releases 3 Kosovo police officers whose arrest fueled tensions between the Balkan foes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:55 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A Serbian court on Monday ordered the release of three police officers from Kosovo who were detained earlier this month as tensions escalated between the Balkan foes and following U.S. and European Union demands that they be set free.A court in the central Serbian town of Kraljevo said it was releasing the police officers, who will be allowed to return to Kosovo. The court said in a statement that the three were charged with illegal possession of weapons and explosive devices. It wasn’t immediately clear if the case would continue in their absence.Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti tweeted that “we confirm that the 3 kidnapped police officers have been released. Even though we are joyous that they get to return to their families, this abduction consists of a serious human rights violation & must be reprimanded. The Serbian aggression must be held accountable.”The three were detained in mid-June. Serbia has said they had crossed into the country from ...

Australia’s High Court dismisses Russia’s bid for injunction to halt its embassy’s eviction

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:55 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s highest court on Monday dismissed Russia’s request for an injunction that would have halted the eviction of its embassy from a site in the capital, Canberra. A man who had been occupying the block in a portable cabin for more than a week in an apparent act of Russian defiance left soon after.High Court Justice Jayne Jagot described Russia’s challenge of a law terminating the lease as weak. “I do not perceive (Russia’s) case … to be a strong one. Indeed, it is difficult to identify a serious question to be tried,” Jagot said.Parliament passed emergency legislation on June 15 that terminated Russia’s lease on the largely empty block on security grounds because the new embassy would have been too close to Parliament House.Government lawyer Tim Begbie said Russia appeared to be applying for the injunction to protect its own security and intelligence interests.“It’s not just that they haven’t made a compelling case for constitutional inv...

Stock market today: Global shares decline after armed rebellion quelled in Russia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:55 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly fell Monday after a short-lived armed rebellion in Russia added to uncertainties over the war in Ukraine. France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.4% in early trading to 7,135.23. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.2% to 15,797.27. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.8% to 7,403.10. The futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%. The rebellion by mercenary soldiers who briefly took over a Russian military headquarters on an ominous march toward Moscow was over. But the brief weakened President Vladimir Putin just as his forces were facing a fierce counteroffensive in Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner troops were some of Russia’s most effective fighters in Ukraine. Their aborted takeover of the capital also left their fate uncertain.Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said such geopolitical uncertainties have set off a cautious mood. “On the back of recent hawkish central bank moves amid high inflation and lo...

Live Updates | Fallout from Russian mercenary armed revolt

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:55 GMT

The latest on the aftermath of the armed rebellion declared by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin:___Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has made his first public appearance since a mercenary uprising demanded his ouster. Shoigu appeared in a video Monday inspecting troops in Ukraine, apparently in a bid to project a sense of order after a weekend that saw armed rebels seize a Russian city and march seemingly unopposed on the capital.Shoigu is one of three powerful Russian military leaders whose diverging interests erupted into mutiny on Friday when thousands of Wagner Group mercenaries headed from Ukraine deep into Russia, before turning around Saturday after less than 24 hours.He is the first of the leaders to appear publicly since then, in video released by the Defense Ministry that was widely picked up by Russian media. It was unclear when it was filmed.Neither Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin nor Russia’s General Staff chief Gen. Valery Gerasimov — like Shoi...

Calgary-based Suncor Energy says it suffered a cyber security incident

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:55 GMT

CALGARY — A Canadian oil company is the latest to report it experienced a cyber security incident. Calgary-based Suncor Energy says it has already notified the proper authorities and is working with third-party experts to investigate and resolve the situation.A statement from the company says it is not aware of any customer, supplier or employee data being compromised or misused as a result of the intrusion.The company is also warning that some transactions with customers and suppliers may be impacted, as efforts continue to resolve the incident.Last Friday, Suncor saw a 1.08 per cent pull back on the TSX.The stock dropped 40 cents, down to $37.51 on 6.5 million sharesThis report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2023.(TSX:SU)The Canadian Press

Prince William launches 5-year project to end long-term homelessness in the UK

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:55 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prince William is launching a five-year project to end long-term homelessness in the United Kingdom, saying he wants to make sure that instances of people being left without a roof over their heads are “rare, brief and unrepeated.”The heir to the throne will announce details of the program over the next two days as he visits six pilot projects around the country that have received grants of up to 500,000 pounds ($637,000) each from the Royal Foundation, the charity that supports the work of William and his wife.“It’s a big task, but I firmly believe that by working together it is possible to make homelessness rare, brief, and unrepeated, and I am very much looking forward to working with our six locations to make our ambition a reality,” William said in a statement.The six projects supported by the initiative, known as Homewards, involve collaborative efforts by local organizations, individuals and businesses to combat homelessness in their communities. Homewards also ...

Denmark to start the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:55 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s government said Monday that the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 jets has started and the retirement of Scandinavian country’s fleet of aging U.S. fighters has been moved up two years.The replacement fighters, F-35s, will be operative by 2025, acting Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said. Initially, the switch was planned for 2027. Lund Poulsen said that NATO-member Denmark “has taken the step of starting a training and further education effort for the Ukrainian pilots.”“We will also consider whether we should make a concrete donation to Ukraine of the Danish F-16 fighters, and how many there should be,” he said. Ukrainian pilots must spend six to eight months of training before a possible donation of Danish F-16 aircraft can become a reality, Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR.“This does not mean that you cannot make a decision beforehand. But (the F-16 planes) will be in Denmark until 2024,” Lund Poulsen sai...