Vancouver city councillors are weighing a 5.5-per cent property tax as they review the city’s draft 2025 operating budget on Tuesday. But homeowners could also see an 18.2-per cent utility fee hike, partially driven by a 37-per cent increase in sewer rates related to cost overruns on the North Shore Wastewater Treatment plant. Last spring, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said he wanted to keep property taxes capped at 5.5 per cent, down from the 7.5 per cent homeowners paid for 2024 and 10.7 per cent the year prior. “That’s the number we are starting with to see if we can bring down any lower,” ABC Vancouver Coun. Mike Klassen told Global News on Tuesday. The budget envisions $453.4 million, a 2.4 per cent funding increase, for the Vancouver Police Department. Police funding is the single largest expenditure category in the budget, accounting for 19 per cent of spending. However, Klassen said the city is in talks with the provincial government, with hopes it could help cover the cost of the city’s police body-worn camera program and other public safety costs. The draft earmarks $880 million in capital spending, with major projects including seismic upgrades to the Granville and Cambie bridges, the construction of the new PNE Amphitheatre, and upgrades to fire halls, sports fields and the city’s sewer and water systems. “We have an infrastructure deficit right now,” Klassen said. “That’s why we have really been working hard to find new revenue sources. Of course we have brought forward the sponsorship and naming rights program concept, so that is going to help us to find other ways to be able to bring in millions of dollars a year.” Green Coun. Pete Fry said city staff had uncovered additional revenue sources including dividends from the city’s property endowment fund, investments and tax increases from new development that could bring the tax hike as low as 3.9 per cent. “What’s interesting is there is a bunch of unfunded priorities, which roughly could top up that 3.9 per cent to 5.5 per cent,” he said, pointing to the body-worn camera project, street cleaning grants and additional library hours. “Obviously, ever-increasing taxes is not the kind of news that anyone wants to hear, but the reality is we have a significant amount of monetary pressures at the City of Vancouver to keep everything running the way Vancouverites enjoy and expect.” Other key spending areas include the fire department, public libraries and parks and recreation. The draft budget envisions a 4.3-per cent funding hike to $195.2 million for the Vancouver Fire Rescue Services. It forecasts a 2.5-per cent spending increase to $64.5 million for the Vancouver Public Library. And it earmarks $183.9 million for the Vancouver Park Board, an increase of 7.2 per cent. It also lays out a number of increases to user fees, including a 6-per cent fee hike for recreation facilities, a 6-per cent fee hike for most business licences, and a 3-per cent increase to building and development permit fees. Council is not expected to vote on the final budget until next week.BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's de facto leader said Sunday it could take up to four years to hold elections in Syria, and that he plans to dissolve his Islamist group that led the country's insurgency at an anticipated national dialogue summit for the country. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group leading the new authority in Syria, made the remarks in an interview with Saudi television network Al-Arabiyya. It comes almost a month after a lightning insurgency led by HTS overthrew President Bashar Assad's decades-long rule, ending the country's uprising-turned civil war that started back in 2011. Al-Sharaa said it would take time to hold elections because of the need for Syria's different forces to hold political dialogue and rewrite the country's constitution following five decades of the Assad dynasty's dictatorial rule. Also, the war-torn country's battered infrastructure needs to be reconstructed, he said. “The chance we have today doesn’t come every 5 or 10 years,” said al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani. “We want the constitution to last for the longest time possible.” Al-Sharaa is Syria's de facto leader until March 1, when Syria's different factions are set to hold a political dialogue to determine the country's political future and establish a transitional government that brings the divided country together. There, he said, HTS will dissolve after years of being the country's most dominant rebel group that held a strategic enclave in the country's northwest. Earlier, an Israeli airstrike in the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday killed 11 people, according to a war monitor, as Israel continues to target Syrian weapons and military infrastructure even after the ouster of Assad. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike targeted a weapons depot that belonged to Assad’s forces near the industrial town of Adra, northeast of the capital. The observatory said at least 11 people, mostly civilians, were killed. The Israeli military did not comment on the airstrike Sunday. Israel, which has launched hundreds of airstrikes over Syria since the country's uprising turned-civil war broke out in 2011, rarely acknowledges them. It says its targets are Iran-backed groups that backed Assad. Unlike his criticism of key Assad ally Iran, al-Sharaa hoped to maintain “strategic relations” with Russia, whose air force played a critical role in keeping Assad in power for over a decade during the conflict. Moscow has a strategic airbase in Syria. The HTS leader also said negotiations are ongoing with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria, and hopes that their armed forces will integrate with the Syrian security agencies. The Kurdish-led group is Washington’s key ally in Syria, where it is heavily involved in targeting sleeper cells belonging to the extremist Islamic State group. Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been clashing with the SDF even after the insurgency, taking the key city of Manbij, as Ankara hopes to create a buffer zone near its border in northern Syria. The rebels attacked near the strategic northern border town of Kobani, while the SDF shared a video of a rocket attack that destroyed what it said was a radar system south of the city of Manbij. In other developments: — Syrian state-run media said a mass grave was found near the third largest city of Homs. SANA said civil defense workers were sent to to the site in al-Kabo, one of many suspected mass graves where tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have been buried during a brutal crackdown under Assad and his network of security agencies. — An Egyptian activist wanted by Cairo on charges of incitement to violence and terrorism, Abdulrahman al-Qardawi, was detained by Lebanese security forces after crossing the porous border from Syria, according to two judicial and one security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to to talk to the press. Al-Qardawi is an Egyptian activist residing in Turkey and an outspoken critic of Egypt's government. He had reportedly visited Syria to join celebrations after Assad's downfall. His late father, Youssef al-Qaradawi, was a top and controversial Egyptian cleric revered by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. He had lived in exile in Qatar for decades. — Lebanese security forces apprehended an armed group in the northern city of Tripoli that kidnapped a group of 26 Syrians who were recently smuggled into Lebanon, two Lebanese security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information with the media. The Syrians included five women and seven children, and security officials are working to return them to Syria.
A Virginia zoo is celebrating the arrival of an adorable newborn pygmy hippo who made her debut just before Christmas. The baby hippo, a girl who has not yet been named, was born to parents Iris and Corwin at Metro Richmond Zoo on Dec. 9. She's their third female calf in under five years. The zoo said Iris was all smiles on Christmas morning. "Most people don't get a hippopotamus for Christmas at all, so we feel lucky to have received two over the years," the zoo said. Iris and Corwin's previous calf was born on Dec. 6, 2022. Iris delivered her latest newborn after a seven-month gestation, zoo officials said. She gave birth in an indoor pool. "The baby's natural instincts kicked in and she started moving around in the water immediately," the zoo said on its website. The mom and newborn are currently being kept in an enclosure that is not on exhibit to give them privacy while they bond. "Iris is an experienced mother and very protective of her calf," the zoo said. "The calf is nursing and growing quickly." The new pygmy hippo was weighed when she was 5 days old and came in at a healthy 15 pounds, the zoo said. She could grow to weigh up to 600 pounds. Her birth will help preserve the species, which is endangered. Fewer than 2,500 mature pygmy hippos remain in the wild, according to the zoo. The species is native to the swamps and rivers of West Africa, where it's threatened by poaching and loss of habitat. Pygmy hippos do not live in groups, so after they grew up, Iris' two previous calves were moved to other zoological facilities "to live with future mates and continue contributing to the conservation of their species," the zoo said. The species is nocturnal, and the zoo says they can live up to 55 years. Earlier this year, a newborn baby hippo in Thailand named Moo Deng became a global sensation when a zookeeper started sharing her cutest moments on social media. Aliza Chasan is a Digital Content Producer for "60 Minutes" and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.About ten years ago, while working at Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in the Swiss town of St Moritz, I was shocked to learn a guest once requested an elephant be brought in to deliver a birthday gift to his wife. And the hotel made it happen, squeezing the elephant into the lobby. This over-the-top gesture symbolised what luxury travel once meant: wealth and power, expressed through grand displays. Think millionaires and billionaires in lavish suites and on private yachts, enjoying exclusive services most of us would never dream of, let alone actually ask for. Consulting group McKinsey defines the luxury traveller as someone prepared to spend US$500 or more per night on accommodation. But luxury tourism is evolving. Thanks to demographic shifts, sustainability concerns, and a post-pandemic desire for connection, luxury travel has become more personal and meaningful. And luxury travellers these days aren’t always the super rich elites. Despite the cost-of-living crisis, luxury travel is booming . So, what’s driving this growth and how is luxury travel changing? A trillion dollar industry The luxury travel sector has shown remarkable resilience, even during economic downturns and the COVID pandemic. Globally, it is projected to grow from US$1.4 trillion in 2024 to $2.2 trillion by 2030. The Asia-Pacific region is leading the surge at a compound annual growth rate of 8.6% (a way of measuring growth that assumes profits are reinvested) from 2024 to 2030. In Australia, the trend is similar: the luxury travel market generated US$37.4 billion in 2023 and is forecast to reach US$70 billion by 2032. This growth is driven not just by affluence among the wealthy but by younger travellers. As Forbes magazine points out, these travellers are often non-millionaires who may not earn enormous salaries or even own their own homes – but are willing to pay top dollar for meaningful experiences. And some are splurging on trips to make up for time and opportunities lost due to the pandemic – a trend industry experts sometimes refer to as “revenge” and “ revelry ” travel. As one luxury travel industry observer put it: We’re seeing travel at all costs, where people are determined to have the experience they want, regardless of what that price is. Many consumers are prioritising luxury travel experiences over other discretionary items, including luxury goods. Luxury can have many meanings Today’s luxury travel isn’t just about extravagance; it can also include forking out for meaningful experiences. Luxury travellers are willing to pay up for holidays that promise authenticity, wellness and connection with people and places. It can mean access to something rare, like an uncrowded natural environment or an authentic cultural experience that feels deeply personal. It can also come from expertise – like appreciating the nuances of a rare bottle of wine, or touring a place with an expert or celebrity guide who has been there many times before. Where it was once defined by price and status symbols, luxury travel today is about stories worth sharing (on social media and in real life) and experiences that align with personal values. Wellness, adventure and the digital detox In my 17 years of working in and researching luxury travel, I have seen a lot of different luxury holidaymakers. Everything from humble retirees relishing the rewards of their hard work to VIP celebrities who send 32 pages of requests before even stepping foot in the hotel. While older high-net-worth individuals from North America and Europe remain a significant demographic, a growing proportion of luxury travellers are millennials, Gen Z, and tourists from emerging markets like Asia and the Middle East. Traditional hallmarks of luxury travel – like presidential suites and private islands – are still popular among high-net-worth individuals. But a growing number of travellers seek cultural experiences, adventure, and small, intimate group trips. These travellers are opting for off-peak seasons and less-visited destinations to avoid crowds, and may be more vocal about sustainable tourism. The future of luxury travel lies in its ability to adapt to evolving consumer values. Wellness retreats, slow travel (including by train), and sustainability-focused experiences are becoming central to the luxury travel narrative. In a hyper-connected world, luxury travel marketing is now often linked with the idea of a digital detox . The chance to disconnect and fully immerse in the moment has become a modern indulgence. Luxury travellers today use their trips to explore and learn , and to reconnect with the world , their relationships, and themselves.
NoneSyria's de facto leader says it could take up to 4 years to hold elections
Korean Won Further Dips To Lowest Level In Nearly 16 YearsHoliday catalogs getting smaller
Wall Street veteran Scott Bessent nominated to be Trump's treasurer - and he couldn't be more different from Rachel Reeves!
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's de facto leader said Sunday it could take up to four years to hold elections in Syria, and that he plans to dissolve his Islamist group that led the country's insurgency at an anticipated national dialogue summit for the country. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group leading the new authority in Syria, made the remarks in an interview with Saudi television network Al-Arabiyya. It comes almost a month after a lightning insurgency led by HTS overthrew President Bashar Assad's decades-long rule, ending the country's uprising-turned civil war that started back in 2011. Al-Sharaa said it would take time to hold elections because of the need for Syria's different forces to hold political dialogue and rewrite the country's constitution following five decades of the Assad dynasty's dictatorial rule. Also, the war-torn country's battered infrastructure needs to be reconstructed, he said. “The chance we have today doesn’t come every 5 or 10 years,” said al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani. “We want the constitution to last for the longest time possible.” Al-Sharaa is Syria's de facto leader until March 1, when Syria's different factions are set to hold a political dialogue to determine the country's political future and establish a transitional government that brings the divided country together. There, he said, HTS will dissolve after years of being the country's most dominant rebel group that held a strategic enclave in the country's northwest. Earlier, an Israeli airstrike in the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday killed 11 people, according to a war monitor, as Israel continues to target Syrian weapons and military infrastructure even after the ouster of Assad. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike targeted a weapons depot that belonged to Assad’s forces near the industrial town of Adra, northeast of the capital. The observatory said at least 11 people, mostly civilians, were killed. The Israeli military did not comment on the airstrike Sunday. Israel, which has launched hundreds of airstrikes over Syria since the country's uprising turned-civil war broke out in 2011, rarely acknowledges them. It says its targets are Iran-backed groups that backed Assad. Unlike his criticism of key Assad ally Iran, al-Sharaa hoped to maintain “strategic relations” with Russia, whose air force played a critical role in keeping Assad in power for over a decade during the conflict. Moscow has a strategic airbase in Syria. The HTS leader also said negotiations are ongoing with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria, and hopes that their armed forces will integrate with the Syrian security agencies. The Kurdish-led group is Washington’s key ally in Syria, where it is heavily involved in targeting sleeper cells belonging to the extremist Islamic State group. Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been clashing with the SDF even after the insurgency, taking the key city of Manbij, as Ankara hopes to create a buffer zone near its border in northern Syria. The rebels attacked near the strategic northern border town of Kobani, while the SDF shared a video of a rocket attack that destroyed what it said was a radar system south of the city of Manbij. In other developments: — Syrian state-run media said a mass grave was found near the third largest city of Homs. SANA said civil defense workers were sent to to the site in al-Kabo, one of many suspected mass graves where tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have been buried during a brutal crackdown under Assad and his network of security agencies. — An Egyptian activist wanted by Cairo on charges of incitement to violence and terrorism, Abdulrahman al-Qardawi, was detained by Lebanese security forces after crossing the porous border from Syria, according to two judicial and one security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to to talk to the press. Al-Qardawi is an Egyptian activist residing in Turkey and an outspoken critic of Egypt's government. He had reportedly visited Syria to join celebrations after Assad's downfall. His late father, Youssef al-Qaradawi, was a top and controversial Egyptian cleric revered by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. He had lived in exile in Qatar for decades. — Lebanese security forces apprehended an armed group in the northern city of Tripoli that kidnapped a group of 26 Syrians who were recently smuggled into Lebanon, two Lebanese security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information with the media. The Syrians included five women and seven children, and security officials are working to return them to Syria.Barclays PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Nova Ltd. ( NASDAQ:NVMI – Free Report ) by 81.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 26,801 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Nova were worth $1,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in Nova by 74.6% in the third quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,281,869 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $267,487,000 after purchasing an additional 547,833 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nova by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,273,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $265,422,000 after buying an additional 78,000 shares during the last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 647,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $135,513,000 after buying an additional 90,883 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Nova by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 645,203 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $151,319,000 after buying an additional 200,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in Nova by 2,733.2% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 288,986 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $67,510,000 after acquiring an additional 278,786 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Nova Price Performance NVMI opened at $200.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $189.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.92. The stock has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.44. Nova Ltd. has a 12 month low of $128.74 and a 12 month high of $247.21. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Read Our Latest Analysis on Nova About Nova ( Free Report ) Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging. See Also Five stocks we like better than Nova 10 Best Airline Stocks to Buy Buffett Takes the Bait; Berkshire Buys More Oxy in December What is the Hang Seng index? Top 3 ETFs to Hedge Against Inflation in 2025 How to Calculate Options Profits These 3 Chip Stock Kings Are Still Buys for 2025 Receive News & Ratings for Nova Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nova and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Washington 65, Prairie View 50Brown's Motel in Ellicott City is closing Dec. 10, leaving residents scrambling to find new affordable housing.LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The goals are flying in again for Arsenal — and it just happens to coincide with the return from injury of Martin Odegaard. Make that eight goals in two games since the international break for Arsenal after its 5-1 hammering of Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday, tying the English team’s heaviest ever away win in the competition. Odegaard is back in Arsenal’s team after missing two months with an ankle injury . In that time, Mikel Arteta’s attack stuttered, with a 2-0 loss to Bournemouth and a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle dropping the Gunners well off the pace in the Premier League. There was also a 0-0 draw at Atalanta in the Champions League as well as a 1-0 loss to Inter Milan last month, when Odegaard made his comeback from injury as an 89th-minute substitute. Since then, Arsenal hasn’t lost and the goals have returned. After a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday came the cruise in Lisbon — and Odegaard was at the heart of everything as Sporting’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end. “He’s an unbelievable player,” Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka said of Odegaard. “The day he returned, there was a big smile on my face. You can see the chemistry we have. I hope he stays fit for the rest of the season.” Odegaard was involved in the build-up to Arsenal’s first two goals against Sporting — scored by Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz — and was fouled to win the penalty converted by Saka in the 65th to restore Arsenal’s three-goal lead at 4-1. Odegaard was seen flexing his leg after that but continued untroubled and was substituted in the 78th minute. The last thing Arteta would want now is another injury to Odegaard as Arsenal attempts to reel in first-place Liverpool in the Premier League. Liverpool is already nine points ahead of fourth-place Arsenal after 12 games. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerCustom Apparel Market to grow by USD 2.17 Billion from 2024-2028, driven by internet and smartphone adoption, Report on AI-driven market evolution - Technavio