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Canadian home sales drop 40 per cent in February compared with year ago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:08 GMT

OTTAWA — Home sales in Canada plummeted 40 per cent last month compared with a year ago, with new listings and prices also dropping in what one economist called “hints of a bottoming process.”The plunge in sales came as prices declined 18.9 per cent compared with the all-time record posted in February 2022, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Wednesday.The actual average home price in Canada was $662,437 in February, down from $816,578 a year earlier, the association said, referring to figures that had not been seasonally adjusted.Compared with January, CREA said national home sales rose 2.3 per cent in February, powered by gains in Toronto and Vancouver, while the number of newly listed properties dropped 7.9 per cent month over month.The drop in transactions in February brought sales in line with what was recorded in 2018 and 2019, suggesting the rise in interest rates over the past year “has blown off some of the pandemic era froth in Canada’s housin...

Stocks tumble on Wall Street on renewed fears about banks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are back to falling on Wall Street Wednesday as worries worsen about the strength of banks on both sides of the Atlantic.The S&P 500 was 1.3% lower in midday trading, while markets in Europe fell more sharply as shares of Switzerland’s Credit Suisse tumbled to a record low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 461 points, or 1.4%, at 31,694 as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern time after earlier being down as many as 639 points. The Nasdaq composite was 0.9% lower. Credit Suisse has been fighting troubles for years, including losses it took from the 2021 collapse of investment firm Archegos Capital. Its shares in Switzerland sank more than 16% following reports that its top shareholder won’t pump more money into its investment. Wall Street’s harsh spotlight has intensified across the banking industry recently on worries about what may crack next following the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history over the last week. Stocks of U.S. banks tumbled ...

Haiti claims delayed Canadian armoured vehicles hinder plan to control gangs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:08 GMT

OTTAWA, Ill. — Haiti’s troubled government is accusing Canada of stalling in its promised delivery of armoured vehicles, and argues the delay is hindering a plan to clear violent gangs from Port-au-Prince.In an interview with Haitian radio, the country’s acting justice minister, Emmelie Prophète-Milcé, says in French that the company supplying the tanks “did not keep its word.”Violent gangs have held control over most of Haiti’s capital for months, leading to a shortage of essentials and medical care, and a rise in sexual assaults.As part of Canada’s response, Ottawa says it has been airlifting armoured vehicles that the Haitian government has purchased, which might avoid the need for an international military intervention.But Prophète-Milcé says the majority of the 18 armoured vehicles her country ordered have yet to arrive, and she claims “the police could implement their strategy if all the armoured vehicles were delivered on time.”...

What can ChatGPT maker’s new AI model GPT-4 do?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:08 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The company behind the ChatGPT chatbot has rolled out its latest artificial intelligence model, GPT-4, in the next step for a technology that’s caught the world’s attention. The new system can figure out tax deductions and answer questions like a Shakespearan pirate, for example, but it still “hallucinates” facts and makes reasoning errors.Here’s a look at San Francisco-based startup OpenAI’s latest improvement on the generative AI models that can spit out readable text and unique images: WHAT’S NEW? OpenAI says GPT-4 “exhibits human-level performance.” It’s much more reliable, creative and can handle “more nuanced instructions” than its predecessor system, GPT-3.5, which ChatGPT was built on, OpenAI said in its announcement. In an online demo Tuesday, OpenAI President Greg Brockman ran through some scenarios that showed off GPT-4’s capabilities that appeared to show it’s a radical improvement on previous versions. He dem...

Putin hosts Assad, expected to focus on rebuilding Syria

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:08 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hosted Syrian leader Bashar Assad in the Kremlin for talks expected to focus on rebuilding Syria after a devastating civil war and mending Damascus’ ties with Turkey.Welcoming Assad at the start of the meeting that comes on the anniversary of Syria’s 12-year uprising-turned-civil war, Putin emphasized the Russian military’s “decisive contribution” to stabilizing the country.Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, teaming up with Iran to allow Assad’s government to fight back armed opposition groups and reclaim control over most of the country. While Russia has concentrated the bulk of its military resources in Ukraine, Moscow has maintained its military foothold in Syria and kept warplanes and troops at its bases there.Assad thanked Putin for backing Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, noting that the Kremlin’s support has remained strong despite the fighting in...

Floods kill 14 in Turkish earthquake-battered provinces

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:08 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Floods caused by torrential rains hit two Turkish provinces that were devastated by last month’s catastrophic earthquake, killing at least 14 people and increasing the misery for thousands who were left homeless, officials said Wednesday. Rescue teams were still searching for five people reported missing in three locations, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.Soylu said 12 people were killed by the floods in the southeastern Sanliurfa province while two others died in neighboring Adiyaman province.In Adiyaman, victims drowned after surging waters swept away a container home sheltering a family of earthquake survivors, HaberTurk television reported.The victims in Sanliurfa included five Syrian nationals whose bodies were found inside a flooded basement apartment and two other people who died inside a van that was trapped at an underpass.Television footage from Sanliurfa showed flood waters surging along a street and sweeping away cars, as well as a man being r...

Flair launches $50-million lawsuit against leasing companies following plane seizures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:08 GMT

TORONTO — Flair Airlines has filed a $50-million lawsuit against several plane-leasing companies over what it claims were unlawful seizures of four of its aircraft over the weekend.The filings in Ontario Superior Court state that a trio of leasing companies found a better deal for the planes with a third party and then set Flair up for default.Flair claims in the court document that is an unlawful termination of leases.The statement of claim says the lessors dispatched agents to three Canadian airports to seize the four Boeing 737 Maxes “in the middle of the night as passengers were boarding planes for spring break vacations.”Flair also claims the lessors — Columba Lights Aviation Ltd., Corvus Lights Aviation Ltd., and MAM Aircraft Leasing 4, all based in Ireland — carried out the allegedly “malicious” seizures despite having made no objection to an arrangement put forward by Flair that would see it initiate payment early this week.Claiming substantial damage...

Jewish Americans press Israeli leaders to compromise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:08 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A senior delegation of Jewish-American leaders on Wednesday paid a flash visit to Israel to urge leaders to find a compromise over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system.The arrival of some 30 leaders from the Jewish Federations of America marked a rare foray by the American Jewish community into domestic Israeli affairs and reflected concerns that the turmoil inside Israel could spill over to Jewish communities overseas.Eric Fingerhut, the president and chief executive of the Jewish Federations, said the 24-hour visit, coming at short notice, illustrated the “grave concern and worry” the Israeli debate has raised among American Jews.Netanyahu’s allies, a collection of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist parties, launched the overhaul in January days after taking office. The program aims to weaken Israel’s Supreme Court and would give Netanyahu’s allies control over the appointment of the nation’s judges.They s...

5 in custody after attempted robbery on CTA train in Loop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:08 GMT

CHICAGO — Five people are in custody after an attempted robbery on a CTA train in the city's Loop.The incident happened in the 1100 block of South State Street around 3:05 a.m. Wednesday. A preliminary report states officers witnessed the attempted robbery involving five individuals.During the incident, one of the offenders discharged pepper spray before attempting to flee the scene.Police said all five individuals are in custody. No one was injured. 3 teens shot in separate shootings on South Side; 1 critical One offender was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition.

David Montgomery thanks Bears fans after going to the Lions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:08 GMT

LAKE FOREST - Not long after making the decision to join an NFC North rival, David Montgomery is taking some time to thank his former team and fans this week.On his Instagram account late Tuesday night, the running back posted a video tribute on his time with the Bears and made sure to say thanks to those who have supported him during the first four years of his career"Thank You For taking a chance on a kid who had nothing, I will love you forever !!!! THANK YOU CHICAGO," said Montgomery in his post on Instagram. He also included a lengthy video that featured some highlights from his time with the Bears along with a few interviews he did through the years in Chicago. Bears’ David Montgomery signing with NFC North rival Lions, report says Drafted in the third round by the team in the 2019 NFL Draft, Montgomery was the primary running back during most of his four seasons with the Bears. He rushed for 3,609 yards with a 3.9 per carry average in 60 regular season games that included ...