Canadian ski resort closed over giant cluster of Brazilian Covid variant cases

Associated Press
Firefighters to tackle scaffolding dangling outside ruins of fire-ravaged Danish landmark
Firefighters in Copenhagen plan to start taking down scaffolding that is left dangling dangerously Friday outside the ruins of the Danish capital's historic Old Stock Exchange building after a fire tore through it and collapsed much of its structure. “Right now, structural engineers and engineers are assessing how it can be done to cut the scaffolding free,” said Tim Ole Simonsen, a spokesman for the Greater Copenhagen Fire Department. Tuesday's blaze was believed to have started on the roof of the building, which had been wrapped up in scaffolding while the building was being renovated.
10m ago
Associated Press
Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve
The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm. The decision — part of an ongoing, yearslong fight over whether and how to develop the vast oil resources in the state — finalizes protections first proposed last year as the Biden administration prepared to approve the controversial Willow oil project. The approval of Willow drew fury from environmentalists, who said the large oil project violated Biden's pledge to combat climate change.
11m ago
Reuters
US restricts drilling and mining in Alaska wilderness, angering state leaders
The Biden administration on Friday took steps to limit both oil and gas drilling and mining in Alaska, angering state officials who said the restrictions will cost jobs and make the U.S. reliant on foreign resources. The measures are aligned with President Joe Biden's efforts to rein in oil and gas activities on public lands and conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters to combat climate change. The Interior Department finalized a regulation to block oil and gas development on 40% of Alaska's National Petroleum Preserve to protect habitats for polar bears, caribou and other wildlife and the way of life of indigenous communities.
11m ago
Associated Press
Key ally of Pakistan's prime minister demands end to ban on social media platform X
An important ally of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif demanded the government lift a two-month-old ban on the social media platform X, saying on Friday that it violates citizens' right to speech and expression. The ban on X has been in place since February, when the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a nationwide protest against alleged election rigging ahead of the Feb. 8 vote that allowed Sharif to come to power. “We demand that the ban on X, which is known as Twitter, should immediately be lifted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to stop any further violation of human rights,” said Farhatullah Babar, a senior leader of the Pakistan People's Party.
13m ago
Associated Press
Biden’s new Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students, but transgender sports rule still on hold
The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday by the Biden administration. The new provisions are part of a revised Title IX regulation issued by the Education Department, fulfilling a campaign pledge by President Joe Biden.
13m ago
Associated Press
More people are evacuated after the dramatic eruption of an Indonesian volcano
More people living near an erupting volcano on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island were evacuated on Friday due to the dangers of spreading ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami. An international airport in Manado city, which is located less than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the erupting Mount Ruang, is still temporarily closed as volcanic ash was spewed into the air. Satellite imagery from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency showed that the ash has spread to the west, northwest, northeast and southeast, covering Manado and North Minahasa, according to a statement from Indonesia’s Transportation Ministry.
18m ago
AFP
West Bank villagers vigilant but vulnerable after settler attacks
Sitting around a fire in the hills of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Ibrahim Abu Alyah and some friends stood watch over his herd in the aftermath of a settler attack on their village.People watched powerless as settlers rampaged through the village.
38m ago
Associated Press
South Korea slows plan to hike medical school admissions as doctors' strike drags on
Desperate to end a weeks-long strike by thousands of doctors, South Korea’s government said Friday it will slow down a plan to admit more students to the country's medical schools from next year. More than 90% of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents have been on strike since late February, when the government announced a plan to recruit 2,000 more students next year. The government adopted a compromise proposal put forward by the presidents of six state-run universities on Thursday, under which medical schools will increase admissions over several years.
44m ago
Associated Press
Ukraine claims it shot down a Russian strategic bomber. Moscow says the plane crashed
Ukraine’s air force claimed Friday it shot down a Russian strategic bomber, but Moscow officials said the plane crashed in a sparsely populated area due to a malfunction after a combat mission. Previous Ukrainian claims of shooting down Russian warplanes during their more than two-year war have met with silence or denials from Moscow. Meanwhile, Russian missiles struck cities in the central Dnipro region of Ukraine, killing eight people, including an 8-year-old girl, and injuring 25, local officials said.
47m ago
Associated Press
Japanese doctors demand damages from Google over "groundless" reviews
A group of Japanese doctors has filed a civil lawsuit against U.S. search giant Google, demanding damages for what they claim are unpoliced derogatory and often false comments. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Tokyo District Court, demands 1.4 million yen ($9,400) in damages for 63 medical professionals. Google said in an emailed statement Friday that it is working “24 hours a day” to reduce misleading or false information on its platform, combining human and technological resources “to delete fraudulent reviews.”
47m ago
AFP
Oil jumps, equities fall as Iran blasts fan MidEast fears
Oil prices rallied and equities fell Friday as reports said explosions had been heard in Iran and Syria, fuelling fears of an escalation of the Middle East crisis after last weekend's missile attack on Israel by Tehran."It is now clear that the escalating shadow warfare between Israel and Iran... has finally ignited the powder keg in the Middle East, and we have moved decisively out of the shadows and into the glaring light of open conflict," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
47m ago
Reuters
Two held in Poland over attack on Navalny aide, Lithuania says
Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Leonid Volkov, an exiled top aide to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters on Friday. Volkov suffered injuries from hammer blows in the attack on March 12 outside his home in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. Nauseda said the suspects would be transferred to Lithuania.
49m ago
CNN
Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, US official tells CNN, as region braces for further escalation
Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN Friday, a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict. The target is not nuclear, the official added.
50m ago
CNN
NYPD arrested over 100 people during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University. Here’s what we know
The New York Police Department arrested more than 100 people Thursday on suspicion of criminal trespass during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University that began with an encampment a day earlier, according to a law enforcement official.
56m ago
CNN
Iran says it shot down drones as regional conflict escalates. How did we get here?
An unclaimed aerial attack in central Iran on Friday comes fresh on the heels of tit-for-tat Iranian and Israeli strikes earlier this month, marking a potentially dangerous escalation of the Middle East conflict.
1h ago
Yahoo Finance
Jay Powell just made buying a home this spring even more challenging
The Fed chair this week doused any hope homebuyers still had that mortgage rates would soften anytime soon.
1h ago
Yahoo Finance
One of Wall Street's favorite calls to start 2024 has flopped
Wall Street strategists are becoming less confident in small cap stocks as Fed rate cut hopes diminish.
1h ago
Associated Press
2 suspects detained in Poland after last month's attack on a Navalny ally in Lithuania
Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Russian opposition activist Leonid Volkov, an ally of the late activist Alexei Navalny, the Lithuanian president announced on Friday. Volkov was attacked in March outside his home in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where he lives in exile. President Gitanas Nausėda announced the arrests to reporters in Vilnius and thanked Poland for its work.
1h ago
AFP
Three Filipinos dead in UAE floods: officials
Three workers from the Philippines have died in heavy flooding in the United Arab Emirates, Filipino officials announced, as the desert country struggled on Friday to recover from record rains.Middle East financial centre Dubai was particularly badly hit by the rain fall, the heaviest since records began 75 years ago.
1h ago
Associated Press
Attack blamed on IS militants kills 22 pro-government fighters in central Syria
An attack on pro-government fighters by suspected members of the Islamic State group in central Syria killed 22 pro-government fighters, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media reported Friday. Gunmen attacked a bus carrying members of the Quds Brigade, a government and Russian-backed faction of mostly Palestinian fighters in Syria, near the town of Sukhna late Thursday night. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but both the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based opposition war monitor, and the pro-government radio station Sham FM said IS was behind the attack.
1h ago

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