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UK central bank hikes rates like Fed amid financial turmoil

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England focused on fighting inflation, announcing an 11th consecutive interest rate increase Thursday despite concerns about the economic fallout from troubles in the global financial system.Britain’s central bank boosted its key rate by a quarter-percentage point to 4.25%, a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve approved a similar move to tame inflation that is crimping household budgets and slowing economic growth.The decision by the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee came after the U.K. statistics agency surprised policymakers Wednesday by reporting that inflation accelerated to 10.4% in February, driven by the cost of food, clothing and dining out. Before the figures were released, many analysts had expected the Bank of England to keep rates on hold following the collapse of two U.S. banks and the ensuing troubles at Switzerland’s Credit Suisse, which forced a hastily arranged takeover by rival UBS. The bank will “continue to monitor closely indication...

Zellers is back. First locations open today, including 3 GTA stores

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

Zellers is officially back.The first Zellers concept stores are opening Thursday in Ontario and Alberta, with each new location inside a select Hudson’s Bay location. (Full list below)Hudson’s Bay Co.(HBC), the parent company of Zellers, has said the new stores will “tap into the nostalgia of the brand Canadians know and love, while introducing a refreshed identity and a unique and exciting product assortment for families at everyday value.”The return of the discount retailer comes as inflation pushes consumers toward cheaper shopping options.Nine of the 12 stores opening on Thursday are in Ontario, including at Erin Mills Town Centre, Scarborough Town Centre, and Burlington Mall in the GTA. There will eventually be 25 locations in seven provinces across the country.The company says the new stores are up to 10,000 square feet, but sizes vary depending on the location.Zellers locations opening on March 23:OntarioErin Mills, MississaugaBurlington Mall, BurlingtonWhit...

Nigerian politician found guilty in UK organ harvesting plot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A senior Nigerian politician and his wife were found guilty Thursday of conspiring to transport a street trader to the U.K. as part of an organ-harvesting plot. Ike Ekweremadu, who was deputy president of the Nigerian Senate and a lawyer, and his wife, Beatrice, were accused of arranging the travel of a 21-year-old man to the U.K. with a view to exploiting him for a kidney donation. Prosecutors said the politician and his wife were behind the recruitment of the man at a Lagos street market, and that they arranged for the victim to provide a kidney to their 25-year-old daughter, Sonia, in an 80,000-pound ($98,000) transplant operation at a London hospital. The victim, who was transported to London in February 2022, believed he was being taken to the capital for work, and that under the agreement he would be paid thousands of pounds, prosecutors said.Kidney donations are lawful in the U.K. but it is a criminal offense to reward someone with money or other material advant...

Russia’s security chief blasts West, dangles nuclear threats

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A top Russian security official warned Thursday about the rising threat of a nuclear war and blasted a German minister for threatening Russian President Vladimir Putin with arrest, saying that such action would amount to a declaration of war and trigger a Russian strike on Germany.Dmitry Medvedev, the 57-year-old deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council chaired by Putin, said in video remarks to reporters that Russia’s relations with the West have hit an all-time bottom.Asked whether the threat of a nuclear conflict has eased, Medvedev responded: “No, it hasn’t decreased, it has grown. Every day when they provide Ukraine with foreign weapons brings the nuclear apocalypse closer.”Medvedev has issued a barrage of such strongly-worded statements in the past, blasting the U.S. and its NATO allies for what he described as their efforts to break up and destroy Russia.In Thursday’s comments, Medvedev denounced the International Criminal Court’s decision...

Why has it become harder to get gender-affirming health care in Ontario?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, we’re taking a look at a clinic that provides gender-affirming care virtually to transgender and non-binary people across the entire province of Ontario. Except right now it doesn’t, because new legislation makes it impossible, and the provincial government has so far refused to provide an exemption. Kai Jacobsen is a member of the steering committee at Trans PULSE Canada, and the co-author of an article in The Conversation about the impact that Telehealth cuts will have on transgender and non-binary Ontarian’s ability to access critical care. “The fact that one clinic closing has such a major impact on care for trans folks really tells you that the system is not as robust and at full capacity as it could be,” they said.So what is gender-affirming care, and why is it so important? And why is virtual health care, the only option for many communities, being trimmed by the government?You can subscribe to The Big Story po...

Artwork removed after honoring jailed Hong Kong protesters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong department store took down a digital artwork that contained hidden references to jailed dissidents, in an incident the artist says is evidence of erosion of free speech in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.It was unclear whether the government played a role in the decision to remove the artwork, it came just days after a slasher film featuring Winnie the Pooh, a figure often used in playful taunts of China’s President Xi Jinping, was pulled from local cinemas. Patrick Amadon’s “No Rioters” was put on display on a billboard at the SOGO Causeway Bay Store for an exhibition that started last Friday, as the city was promoting its return as a vibrant cultural hub following years of pandemic travel restrictions. Art Basel Hong Kong, a prominent art fair in Asia, began this week, alongside other art events.Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to China’s rule in 1997, promising to retain its Western-style freedoms. The city was rocked by a massive p...

Credit Suisse deal averted crisis, Swiss central bank says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss central bank hiked its key interest rate Thursday and insisted that a government-orchestrated takeover of troubled Credit Suisse by rival bank UBS ended the financial turmoil.In a statement, the Swiss National Bank said it is providing large amounts of support for the deal to merge Switzerland’s biggest banks and that the late Sunday announcement by the federal government, financial regulators and the central bank “put a halt to the crisis.”“An insolvency of Credit Suisse would have had severe consequences for national and international financial stability and for the Swiss economy,” said Thomas Jordan, chairman of the Swiss central bank’s governing board. “Taking this risk would have been irresponsible.”The hastily arranged, $3.25 billion deal aimed to stem the upheaval in the global financial system after the collapse of two U.S. banks and jitters about long-running troubles at Credit Suisse led shares of Switzerland’s second-largest bank to tan...

18-year-old man charged in crash that killed elderly woman, injured family members on North Side

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

CHICAGO — An 18-year-old man is charged in a crash that killed a 78-year-old woman and injured five of her family members on the city’s North Side.Kurell Purnell faces one felony count of reckless homicide/motor vehicle, three felony counts of aggravated reckless driving/bodily harm and one citation of fail right-of-way/intersection.The crash happened around 8 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Peterson and Kimball. Police said Purnell struck a vehicle, causing the death of a 78-year-old woman and injuring several others — including two children.Zainab Suboh, 78 (family photo)The woman was transported to St. Francis Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The medical examiner has identified her as Zainab Suboh. 78-year-old woman killed, 5 family members injured in North Side car crash Purnell was arrested nearly three hours later after he was identified as the person responsible for the fatal crash.He is due in bond court Thursday.

39-year-old man shot while driving on South Side

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was shot early Thursday on the South Side by three other men firing shots from a sidewalk, police said.At around 3:20 a.m., police responded to the 8100 block of South Ashland on the report of a shooting.Police said a 39-year-old man was driving southbound on Ashland when three men fired shots from the sidewalk. The man sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to an area hospital in serious condition. Suburban man charged in DUI crash that killed elderly woman No one is in custody. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.

IL Secretary of State to award law enforcement $21M to combat carjacking

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

CHICAGO — Car thefts and car jackings continue to trend in the wrong direction with its steady rise. Secretary of State Alexi Giannolas will award law enforcement in Illinois 21 million dollars to help turn that trend around. Car thefts and carjackings continue to be a problem nationwide with its initial peak at the beginning of the pandemic. Earlier this month, using statistics collection by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the Chicago Tribune reported auto thefts in Chicago is up 55 percent in 2022 compared to the year before, making Chicago the top city of car thefts last year. Police: 21-year-old Navy sailor missing in Waukegan Chicago police have been making progress in slowing the number of thefts and jackings by deploying carjacking teams but still continues to be a problem.It is unknown how much Chicago will get out of the 21 million or exactly what it will go to, all questions that should be answered at the press conference Thursday morning. This past week the state ...