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What to do with the family in Toronto during March Break

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:11:14 GMT

Elementary and secondary schools will take their annual March break from Mar. 13 to Mar. 17, and there are plenty of activities available for families in the GTA.There are both indoor and outdoor activities for either free or at an affordable rate to entertain kids within the City of Toronto that families are encouraged to take advantage of.Community recreation – City community centres also offer free or low-cost programs for all agesSkating – Many outdoor artificial ice rinks are open throughout March Break, weather permitting. Indoor leisure programs will also be availableSkiing/snowboarding – Earl Bales Ski and Snowboard Centre is offering skiing and snowboarding, as well as lessonsSwimming – City pools will offer free leisure swimmingToronto Island Park – Ferries from downtown will be running through the weekConservatories/greenhouses – Both the Allan Gardens and Centennial Park conservatories are and open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Riverdale Farm – Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Hi...

Tutoring is reaching a fraction of kids struggling in school

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:11:14 GMT

David Daniel knows his son needs help.The 8-year-old spent first grade in remote learning and several weeks of second grade in quarantine. The best way to catch him up, research suggests, is to tutor him several times a week during school.But his Indianapolis school offers Saturday or after-school tutoring — programs that don’t work for Daniel, a single father. The upshot is his son, now in third grade, isn’t getting the tutoring he needs.“I want him to have the help,” Daniel said. Without it, “next year is going to be really hard on him.”As America’s schools confront dramatic learning setbacks caused by the pandemic, experts have held up intensive tutoring as the single best antidote. Yet even as schools wield billions of dollars in federal COVID relief, a small fraction of students have received school tutoring, according to a survey of the nation’s largest districts by the nonprofit news organization Chalkbeat and The Associated Press.In eight of 12 school systems that provided d...

Poland lawmakers back EU-sought liberalized wind energy law

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:11:14 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s lawmakers have approved a new law relaxing the rules for installation of onshore wind turbines, a move that was urged by the European Union, which is holding up recovery funds for the nation over a number of legislative issues. The law approved by the lower house, the Sejm, late Thursday allows for turbines to be built no less than 700 meters (765 yards) from houses — less restrictive than the previous rule of 10 times the turbine’s height that was introduced by the current government in 2016. That restriction practically stalled wind energy development in coal-reliant Poland as no suitable location could be found, and the 27-member EU has called on Poland to relax the rules. The vote was 231-209 with two abstentions. Almost all of the supporting votes came from the ruling coalition. Initially, the minimum new distance was planned at 500 meters, but was raised to 700 meters almost at the last moment, due to disputes inside the ruling coalition, which i...

U.S. charity calls on Egypt to release hunger-striking poet

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:11:14 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A U.S. charity has called on Egypt to release a well-known poet and songwriter who is on a hunger strike against his incarceration, now entering its sixth year. Pen America demanded Thursday that Egyptian authorities release Galal al-Behairy, who was first detained in March of 2018 and later handed a three-year sentence for spreading false news and insulting Egypt’s military. In a leaked letter that coincided with the fifth anniversary of his arrest, al-Behairy said he would refuse food and medication until he secured his freedom.Al-Behairy wrote the lyrics to the hit Egyptian pop song, “Balaha,” sung by exiled pop star Ramy Essam. He was arrested a month after its release. ‘’I committed one crime, which is poetry,″ al-Behairy wrote in his letter, published across social media. “The strike will continue until I regain my freedom, alive or not.″The announcement comes a few months after a well-known imprisoned dissident, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, escalated his hunger...

Erdogan sets Turkey election date for May 14

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:11:14 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. who is seeking to extend his two-decades in power, on Friday formally set the country’s parliamentary and presidential elections for May 14 — a month earlier than scheduled despite last month’s devastating earthquake.The elections could be the country’s most significant vote in decades. It will determine whether the country will take a more democratic path or continue on the increasingly authoritarian course set by the strongman politician.Erdogan has ruled over Turkey since 2003 — first as prime minister and as president since 2014 — but this year’s elections could be his most challenging. The country is struggling with a troubled economy, soaring inflation and the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that killed more than 46,000 people and left hundreds of thousands of people across 11 Turkish provinces sheltering in tents or temporary accommodation.Many have criticized his government’s response to the earthquake and ac...

Beijing air quality plummets amid dust storm, pollution

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:11:14 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Skyscrapers in Beijing disappeared into the haze and air quality plummeted as China’s capital was enveloped in a dust storm and heavy pollution on Friday.Concentrations of the tiny PM2.5 particles that can reach deep into the lungs and bloodstream entered a dangerous range on air quality monitoring sites, with the IQAir website showing an air quality index of 1,093, a “hazardous” level, many times higher than what are considered “unhealthy” levels.Beijing was formerly notorious for its terrible air quality, but conditions had much improved in recent years as authorities took heavily polluting vehicles off the roads and moved coal-fired power plants and heavy industry to the surrounding provinces. The capital also used to be known for regular springtime dust and sandstorms caused by winds blowing in from the loess hills along the upper sections of the Yellow River to the west. Anti-desertification efforts have helped reduce both the frequency and intensity of the storm...

US trains West African militaries as jihadi threat spreads

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:11:14 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — As extremist violence in West Africa’s Sahel region spreads south toward coastal states, the United States military has launched its annual military training exercise aimed at helping armies contain the jihadi threat.Soldiers from several African countries are being trained in counter-insurgency tactics as part of the annual U.S.-led exercise known as Flintlock, that began this week.Some 1,300 military personnel from 29 countries are training in Ghana and Ivory Coast, amid surging jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that’s killed thousands, displaced millions and plunged countries into crises.While most of the extremist activity is concentrated in West Africa’s inland Sahel region in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the violence is rapidly spreading to coastal states like Ghana, which is experiencing an upsurge in attacks by unidentified groups, which could have links to jihadis. Ghana had just one violent attack in 2021 but ...

DeSantis making long-anticipated 1st Iowa trip ahead of 2024

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:11:14 GMT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be in Iowa on Friday to introduce himself to an expectant audience of Republicans, making a long-awaited visit ahead of a likely 2024 presidential bid.DeSantis’ planned appearances in Davenport and Des Moines mark his first trip to the leadoff voting state and come as anticipation over his expected White House campaign has been building. With the Iowa caucuses less than a year away, Republicans in the state are ready to take a harder look at DeSantis, a top-tier presidential prospect viewed as a rival to former President Donald Trump.“A lot of people are excited with DeSantis — people that I talk to. There has been so much talk. The expectations are really high for him,” said Emma Aquino-Nemecek, an eastern Iowa county Republican committee member who is curious about DeSantis but feels deep loyalty to Trump.DeSantis is scheduled to appear with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday morning in Davenport and that evening in Des Moi...

Syria’s Aleppo airport resumes flights days after airstrike

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:11:14 GMT

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Flights at Syria’s international airport in Aleppo resumed Friday, three days after it was put out of service by a suspected Israeli airstrike, the country’s head of civil aviation said. Bassem Mansour told the pro-government Sham FM radio station that flights to and from the airport of Syria’s largest city resumed Friday morning after repairs were completed. The suspected Israeli airstrike early Tuesday left multiple craters on the airport runway, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press showed Thursday.Since the Feb. 6 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria killing more than 50,000 people, including over 6,000 in Syria, the airport has been a main entry point for jets carrying aid into the war-ton country. Authorities said after the strike that relief flights had been diverted to airports in Damascus and Latakia.The attack on Aleppo airport comes after Israel struck the airfield as part of an Israeli campaign to disrupt Iranian weapons transfers into ...

Winter Weather Advisory until 7 a.m. Friday morning for Chicago area

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:11:14 GMT

CHICAGO — A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect Thursday from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday for the Chicago area.Counties include Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry.In Kane and McHenry counties, the advisory went into effect at 3 p.m. Thursday. Slushy roadways are expected until 7 a.m. Accumulating wet snow is expected with 2-7 inches possible. Highest totals near Illinois/Wisconsin line. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Northwestern parts of the state will see the worst conditions between 3-9 p.m. Northeastern parts of the state will see the worst conditions between 5-11 p.m.Wet and slushy snow, mainly near and north of Interstate 80 and Interstate 88 could lead to hazardous travel.Allow extra time and drive with caution into Friday morning as the travel impact could linger in some areas.In Chicago, the Department of Streets and Sanitation has deployed more than 200 salt spreaders to treat the roads. According to the department, they wi...