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WHO downgrades COVID pandemic, says it’s no longer an emergency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least seven million people worldwide.WHO said that even though the emergency phase was over, the pandemic hasn’t come to an end, noting recent spikes in cases in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The U.N. health agency says that thousands of people are still dying from the virus every week.“It’s with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “That does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat.”When the U.N. health agency first declared the coronavirus to be an international crisis on Jan. 30, 2020, it hadn’t yet been named COVID-19 and there were no major outbreaks beyond China.More than three years later...

US adds a solid 253,000 jobs despite Fed’s rate hikes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added a healthy 253,000 jobs in April, evidence of a labor market that still shows surprising resilience despite rising interest rates, chronically high inflation and a banking crisis that could weaken the economy.The unemployment rate dipped to 3.4%, matching a 54-year low, the Labor Department said Friday. But the jobless rate fell in part because 43,000 people left the labor force, the first drop since November, and were no longer counted as unemployed. In its report Friday, the government noted that while hiring was solid in April, it was much weaker in February and March than it had previously estimated. And hourly wages rose last month at the fastest pace since July, which may alarm the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve.April’s hiring gain compares with 165,000 in March and 248,000 in February and is still at a level considered vigorous by historical standards. The job market has remained durable despite the Fed’s aggressive campai...

Here’s a quick glance at unemployment rates for April, by Canadian city

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

OTTAWA — The national unemployment rate was 5.0 per cent in April. Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities. It cautions, however, that the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. Here are the jobless rates last month by city (numbers from the previous month in brackets):_ St. John’s, N.L. 4.9 per cent (5.6)_ Halifax 4.7 per cent (4.5)_ Moncton, N.B. 5.5 per cent (5.2)_ Saint John, N.B. 5.5 per cent (5.3)_ Saguenay, Que. 3.4 per cent (3.7)_ Quebec City 1.7 per cent (1.7)_ Sherbrooke, Que. 4.9 per cent (4.4)_ Trois-Rivières, Que. 3.8 per cent (3.9)_ Montreal 4.8 per cent (4.8)_ Gatineau, Que. 4.3 per cent (4.5)_ Ottawa 4.2 per cent (4.0)_ Kingston, Ont. 5.1 per cent (5.4)_ Belleville, Ont. 4.1 per cent (5.1)_ Peterborough, Ont. 5.3 per cent (5.3)_ Oshawa, Ont. 4.6 per cent (4.6)_ Toronto 5.6 per cent (5.8)_ Hamilton, Ont. 5.4 per cent (5.7)_ St. Catharines-Niagar...

Here’s a quick glance at unemployment rates for April, by province

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s national unemployment rate was 5.0 per cent in April. Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):_ Newfoundland and Labrador 10.1 per cent (10.3)_ Prince Edward Island 7.1 per cent (6.6)_ Nova Scotia 6.3 per cent (5.7)_ New Brunswick 6.1 per cent (5.8)_ Quebec 4.1 per cent (4.2)_ Ontario 4.9 per cent (5.1)_ Manitoba 4.8 per cent (4.7)_ Saskatchewan 4.8 per cent (4.7)_ Alberta 5.9 per cent (5.7)_ British Columbia 5.0 per cent (4.5)This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2023.The Canadian Press

National employment numbers for April from Statistics Canada, at a glance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

OTTAWA — A quick look at Canada’s April employment (numbers from the previous month in brackets):Unemployment rate: 5.0 per cent (5.0)Employment rate: 62.4 per cent (62.4)Participation rate: 65.6 per cent (65.6)Number unemployed: 1,058,200 (1,053,000)Number working: 20,130,200 (20,088,800)Youth (15-24 years) unemployment rate: 9.6 per cent (9.2)Men (25 plus) unemployment rate: 4.4 per cent (4.4)Women (25 plus) unemployment rate: 4.0 per cent (4.1)This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2023.The Canadian Press

Egypt presidential hopeful says supporters, uncles detained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — An Egyptian politician residing abroad and planning to run in the country’s presidential elections next year said on Friday that two of his uncles and a group of friends and supporters have been detained in recent days.Ahmed Altantawy, a former member of parliament, did not say how many of his supporters were detained, when it happened and whether they were released or were still being held. He said he was worried for the health of his uncles, suggesting they may still be held. Officials in Cairo did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the claims. Altantawy declared his intention to run for Egypt’s highest office in a Facebook post in March. In a video released Friday, he said the arrests come ahead of his announced return to the country on Saturday from Lebanon, where he has said he was studying for a doctorate degree. The vote has widely been expected be an uncontested race for the incumbent, President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi, whose government has c...

Spain’s April heat nearly impossible without climate change

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Record-breaking April temperatures in Spain, Portugal and northern Africa were made 100 times more likely by human-caused climate change, a new flash study found, and would have been almost impossible in the past.A group of international scientists did a rapid computer and statistical analysis of a late-April heat wave that stretched across the Iberian peninsula into Algeria and Morocco. The four countries experienced temperatures as high as 36.9 degrees Celsius (98.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) degrees.Study lead author Sjoukje Philip of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute said in a briefing that a weather event this extreme “would have been almost impossible in the past, colder climate,” adding: “We will see more intense and more frequent heat waves in the future as global warming continues.”Because the analysis released Friday was one of the quickest ever — the heat still hasn’t subsided much — the study by World W...

WHO downgrades COVID pandemic, says it's no longer emergency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least 7 million people worldwide. WHO said that even though the emergency phase was over, the pandemic hasn't come to an end, noting recent spikes in cases in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The U.N. health agency says that thousands of people are still dying from the virus every week.“It’s with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “That does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat,” he said, adding he wouldn't hesitate to reconvene experts to reassess the situation should COVID-19 “put our world in peril.”Tedros said the pandemic had been on a downward trend for more than a year, acknowledging that most countries have alrea...

CPD to launch safety plan ahead of Cinco de Mayo weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

CHICAGO — While many are looking forward to more spring-like weather and celebrating Cinco de Mayo, Chicago police and other emergency officials are working on a plan to keep people safe.City leaders are trying to avoid a repeat of what happened the last time Chicago saw a weekend of warm temperatures.On April 15, three teenagers were shot and more than a dozen people were arrested when a group of teens and young adults took over parts of downtown. Video showed young people jumping on cars and busses. A number of fights also broke out.Several aldermen said police were outnumbered and there was not sufficient leadership downtown to tell officers what to do. Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexican culture, not independence Days after the incident, the Chicago Police Department told city council members it would staff captains and lieutenants downtown and stage prisoner transport vans to act as a deterrent at different locations.Several pastors and others marched through downtown the weeken...

City meeting over housing migrants turns heated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago's shelter system is bursting at the seams and now the mayor wants to open the old South Shore High School to newly arriving migrants.Hundreds of residents gathered at a meeting Thursday evening to hear from city leaders on a plan to move the migrants. Chicago Park District after-school program relocated to accommodate migrants "I think that's what's important is that we establish this is a humanitarian crisis," Nubia Willman, the chief engagement officer for the mayor's office said.Members of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration were supposed to give a presentation but were interrupted by angry outbursts.One question from residents was how many asylum seekers would be housed at the old high school. "We are looking at a phased approach using first floor only, you can fit up to 250 to 500," Brandie Knazze, with the Department of Family and Support Services, said. Police said officers would be at the location 24/7.The city said it must identify respite sites to rel...