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Ukraine finalizes deal with insurers to cover Black Sea grain ships

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:08 GMT

Ukraine is close to finalizing a scheme with global insurers to cover grain ships traveling through its Black Sea ports, according to reports. Oleksandr Gryban, Ukraine’s deputy economy minister, told the Financial Times on Monday that the deal is “currently being pursued and actively discussed” between the relevant ministries, local banks and international insurance groups, including Lloyd’s of London.The scheme, which could be in place as early as next month, could cover five to 30 ships against damage sustained during travel through the Black Sea, Gryban said.Insurers and a local state-owned bank would share the risk, the FT reported, with the public portion of the risk backed by Ukraine’s state road fund.In July, Russia pulled out of the U.N.-backed Black Sea grain deal which allowed Ukraine to export wheat and other produce through its ports. After leaving the deal, the Kremlin warned that ships traveling to and from Ukrainian ports could be seen as military tar...

Suspected Palestinian gunman kills an Israeli, wounds another in latest attack in occupied West Bank

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:08 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A suspected Palestinian attacker killed an Israeli woman and seriously wounded a man in the south of the occupied West Bank on Monday, Israeli authorities said, as violence continued to flare in the restive territory shortly after another shooting killed two Israelis. The latest attack is part of a sharp escalation in the region in recent months involving Palestinian militants, Israeli security forces and radical Jewish settlers. It took place as Israeli forces were already on high alert and searching for the gunman who had killed the two Israelis in the northern West Bank on Saturday.The combustible mix of armed Palestinians carrying out shooting attacks against Israelis as well as near-nightly — and often deadly — raids by the Israeli army to arrest militants has fueled the worst fighting between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank in nearly two decades. Reprisals by fanatic Jewish settlers against Palestinians have also heightened tensions in the territo...

Zelenskyy thanks Denmark for pledging to send F-16s for use against Russia’s invading forces

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:08 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Danish lawmakers on Monday for helping his country resist Russia’s invasion, a day after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will provide Kyiv with American-made F-16 warplanes.Zelenskyy said that if Russia’s invasion is successful, other parts of Europe would be at risk from the Kremlin’s military aggression.“All of Russia’s neighbors are under threat if Ukraine does not prevail,” he said in a speech in Copenhagen.Zelenskyy portrays Ukraine as defending Western values of freedom and democracy against tyranny and argues that Ukraine needs to be properly provisioned to fend off Russia’s much bigger force. Ukraine has been pressing its Western allies for months to grant it F-16s. Its armed forces are still using aging Soviet-era combat planes, and its counteroffensive against Russian positions is advancing without air support in what analysts say is a major handicap.Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Ukrain...

In the news today: Wildfires continue raging across B.C., N.W.T.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:08 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…Smoky conditions help B.C. fire fightAs Metro Vancouver is being warned about the risk of particulates in the air from wildfire smoke, those battling blazes in the central Okanagan say the smoke is helping their cause.The Metro Vancouver Regional District remains under an air quality advisory as a result of smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning across the province.An estimated 30,000 people are under evacuation orders in the province because the blazes, including the 110-square-kilometre McDougall Creek fire burning on both sides of Lake Okanagan.Kelowna Fire Chief Travis Whiting told a press conference that while the amount of smoke in the air has been “tough” it is reducing the sun’s intensity, which helps in the fight.—More soldiers deployed to N.W.T for wildfire fightDefence Minister Bill Blair says another company of soldiers is ...

AP PHOTOS: Hiding beneath normality, daily life in Kyiv conceals the burdens of war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:08 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Life in the capital of a war-torn country seems normal on the surface. In the mornings, people rush to their work holding cups of coffee. Streets are filled with cars, and in the evenings restaurants are packed. But the details tell another story.Numerous buildings across Kyiv bear the scars of Russian bombardment. Sandbags are stacked around monuments, museums and office buildings to protect from possible attack. At nights, streets are empty after the midnight curfew comes into force. In restaurants, diners chat about life, friends and jobs and discuss whether they liked the Barbie or Oppenheimer movie better, or which concert they might attend. But such conversations can suddenly turn to stories about burying loved ones, or how they hid during the most recent missile attack or how they adjusted their schedule to balance sleepless nights and the need to be productive at work.“Death has become a very routine part of our life,” said Aliona Vyshnytska, 29, who wor...

First Nation hosting traditional healing gathering to recover from stabbing rampage

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:08 GMT

JAMES SMITH CREE NATION — A Saskatchewan First Nation that was the site of a mass stabbing last year is hosting a gathering of traditional healing. James Smith Cree Nation Chief Wally Burns says up to 3,000 people from across North America are expected to be in the community north of Saskatoon this week to take part in spiritual and traditional healing practices. Eleven people were killed and 17 were injured during a rampage in the First Nation and nearby village of Weldon last September. Myles Sanderson, the 32-year-old killer, died in police custody a few days later. Burns says many people in the community are still struggling with trauma and the event is meant to help with healing and provide support.The four-day event is to begin with a grand entry and flag raising ceremony this morning. “A lot of our people are waiting for this gathering, because they want to start seeing these medicine people, these healers, these educators,” Burns said in a recent interview. The chief said th...

Premier Caroline Cochrane recounts hunt for homeless during Yellowknife evacuation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:08 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — Northwest Territories Premier Caroline Cochrane was a social worker before entering politics, so when the territory ordered everyone in its capital to leave last week due to encroaching wildfires, she said she checked to make sure homeless people weren’t forgotten.“My heart’s with those people. I’ve worked in that field for over 20 years,” Cochrane told an online news conference about the firefighting efforts over the weekend, when she was asked about government plans to keep in touch with Yellowknife’s homeless.Cochrane, who is among the nearly 70 per cent of N.W.T. residents forced to flee the fire threat, responded that the government worked closely with shelters in the city of about 20,000 to make sure people were being brought to the evacuation centre.But she said she knew that many of the most vulnerable people — in fact, most of them — don’t use the shelter all of the time.“On Thursday morning, I drove to the shelt...

Smoky conditions help B.C. fire fight, causes Metro Vancouver air quality advisory

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:08 GMT

As Metro Vancouver is being warned about the risk of particulates in the air from wildfire smoke, those battling blazes in the central Okanagan say the smoke is helping their cause.The Metro Vancouver Regional District remains under an air quality advisory as a result of smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning across the province.An estimated 30,000 people are under evacuation orders in the province because the blazes, including the 110-square-kilometre McDougall Creek fire burning on both sides of Lake Okanagan.After crews were able to make progress fighting the fire on Sunday, Kelowna Fire Chief Travis Whiting told a press conference he expects they’ll continue to spend today taking advantage of good weather to go into neighbourhoods and extinguish fires around homes and create a “guard.” Whiting said that while the amount of smoke in the air has been “tough” it is reducing the sun’s intensity, which helps in the fight.The Metro Vancouver Regio...

Another company of soldiers deployed to N.W.T to help with wildfire fight

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:08 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — Defence Minister Bill Blair says another company of soldiers is being deployed to Hay River in the Northwest Territories, which has been evacuated for more than a week due to a threatening wildfire nearby.Blair announced the deployment to the town located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake in a tweet yesterday afternoon, saying it will bring the number of soldiers who are helping the territory around Hay River and Yellowknife to around 400.N.W.T officials say a fire that’s forced the evacuation of Yellowknife didn’t grow much yesterday and still remains about 15 kilometres away from the capital, but the fight is expected to become more difficult as temperatures rise this week.Fire information officer Mike Westwick says it has been challenging for crews to suppress fires with winds shifting regularly, which means they have to change their attack strategy.Premier Caroline Cochrane says she has spoken with several federal ministers, including Prime Ministe...

Rogers wants option to launch TTC service before deals struck with other carriers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:08 GMT

TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. says it should be allowed to add cellular service for its own customers in the Toronto subway network without waiting for an ongoing dispute with its rival carriers to be resolved.In a filing to Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada earlier this month, the telecommunications company said it “strongly opposes” a measure the department is considering that would prevent it from giving its customers first access to the upgraded wireless network. It was among three options floated in July by Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne.The minister, whose portfolio includes responsibility for wireless licences, launched a consultation process last month in a bid to speed up negotiations among major carriers after Rogers bought the existing wireless network and signalled plans to further build it out earlier this year.But Rogers remains at loggerheads with Bell Canada and Telus Corp. over the ideal technical approach t...