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South African president appoints judge to oversee weapons-for-Russia inquiry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:23:42 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a judge to oversee an inquiry into allegations that the country supplied arms to Russia on a ship that docked secretly at a naval base in December. The allegations were made this month by the United States’ ambassador to South Africa, who said he was sure that weapons and ammunition were loaded onto the Russian-flagged cargo ship Lady R when it docked at the Simon’s Town naval base near Cape Town late last year.Ambassador Reuben Brigety indicated that the U.S. had intelligence to sustain the allegation and he said he would bet his life on the accuracy of his claim that weapons were loaded onto the ship.The Lady R container-carrying ship is under U.S. sanctions for being tied to a company that has transported weapons to aid the Russian war effort in Ukraine.South Africa has denied there was any government-sanctioned deal to provide weapons to Russia, although it hasn’t categorically ruled...

China plans to land astronauts on moon before 2030, expand space station, bring on foreign partners

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:23:42 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s burgeoning space program plans to place astronauts on the moon before 2030 and expand the country’s orbiting space station, officials said Monday. Monday’s announcement comes amid against the background of a rivalry with the U.S. for reaching new milestones in outer space, reflecting their competition for influence on global events. That has conjured up memories of the space race between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s, although American spending, supply chains and capabilities are believed to give it a significant edge over China, at least for the present. The U.S. aims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025 as part of a renewed commitment to crewed missions, aided by private sector players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. The deputy director of China’s space agency confirmed the twin objectives at a news conference but gave no specific dates. The agency also introduced three astronauts who will head to...

Crescent Point restarts production that was shut in due to Alberta wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:23:42 GMT

CALGARY — Crescent Point Energy Corp. says it has resumed production at its operations that were shut in due to the Alberta wildfires.The company says that over the past week it has brought back on stream the full 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of Kaybob Duvernay production that had been put on hold.It says no damage has occurred to the company’s assets.The company maintained its 2023 guidance including annual average production of 160,000 to 166,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, despite the impact of the fires.Hot and dry conditions earlier this month forced several oil and gas companies to shut down production due to the threat of wildfires.Crescent Point says it continues to monitor the situation closely and will manage any potential future temporary shut-ins as required.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:CPG)The Canadian Press

Saudi Arabia executes 2 Bahraini men over militant activities; Amnesty called trial ‘grossly unfair’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:23:42 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia said it executed two Bahraini men on Monday after being convicted of belonging to a militant group wanting to destabilize the two Mideast kingdoms. Amnesty International had criticized their trial as being “grossly unfair.”The Saudi Interior Ministry’s announcement, carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, identified the men as Jaafar Sultan and Sadeq Thamer. Last year, Amnesty said the men were detained in May 2015 and held incommunicado for three-and-a-half months.The Saudi statement said that the Specialized Criminal Court convicted the two men of belonging to a militant group — headed by a man wanted by the Bahrani authorities — spreading chaos and smuggling explosives to be used inside Saudi Arabia. The statement did not identify the group or their leader. Amnesty, however, had criticized their October 2021 trial and conviction, adding they also had faced charges for “participation in anti-government protests in Bahrain....

Why do Kosovo-Serbia tensions persist?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:23:42 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared anew this weekend after Kosovo’s police raided Serb-dominated areas in the region’s north and seized local municipality buildings. There have been violent clashes between Kosovo’s police and local Serbs, leaving several people injured on both sides. Serbia raised combat readiness of its troops stationed near the border and warned it won’t stand by if Serbs in Kosovo are attacked again. The situation has again fueled fears of a renewal of the 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo that claimed more than 10,000 lives and left more than 1 million homeless.WHY ARE SERBIA AND KOSOVO AT ODDS?Kosovo is a mainly ethnic Albanian populated territory that was formerly a province of Serbia. It declared independence in 2008. Serbia has refused to recognize Kosovo’s statehood and still considers it part of Serbia, even though it has no formal control there. Kosovo’s independence has been recognized by about 100 countries, including the United ...

Why some convicted moms live with their kids in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:23:42 GMT

It’s a rarely used program—tough to qualify for and little-known—that allows children under five to live inside Canadian women’s prisons with their mothers. Taking a closer look at the institutional mother-child program, offers a glimpse we don’t often get into Canada’s correctional facilities.Cristina Howorun, City News reporter and host and writer of the documentary VeraCity: Prison Moms, witnessed firsthand the impact the program was having on some incarcerated mothers and their children. “There was a real genuine care for this child from all of these women that surrounded him. It was really quite touching because a lot of these women, two thirds of women serving time in federal institutions, are moms,” says Howorun.So who can qualify for this program? Is it better for some kids to remain with their mothers, even if it means living inside a correctional facility? And what is it actually like to grow up inside a Canadian prison?You can subscribe to The Big ...

Temperatures expected to soar to high 20s in Toronto with June around the corner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:23:42 GMT

It still says May on the calendar, but Toronto and the GTA are in for summer-like weather this week as we head into June.CityNews 680 meteorologist Jill Taylor says the region will experience a stretch of sunny and very warm temperatures this week.Temperatures are expected to soar to between 25-27 over the next three days, and we welcome the first day of June on Thursday with a high of 29 C. The school and work week rounds out with a high of 28 C on Friday.Humidity is not expected to be a major factor, and rain is nowhere to be found in the forecast.Summer officially arrives on Wednesday, June 21, at 10:58 a.m. ET.

The forgotten history of Memorial Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:23:42 GMT

(The Conversation) - In the years following the bitter Civil War, a former Union general took a holiday originated by former Confederates and helped spread it across the entire country.The holiday was Memorial Day, an annual commemoration was born in the former Confederate States in 1866 and adopted by the United States in 1868. It is a holiday in which the nation honors its military dead.Gen. John A. Logan, who headed the largest Union veterans’ fraternity at that time, the Grand Army of the Republic, is usually credited as being the originator of the holiday.Yet when General Logan established the holiday, he acknowledged its genesis among the Union’s former enemies, saying, “It was not too late for the Union men of the nation to follow the example of the people of the South.”I’m a scholar who has written – with co-author Daniel Bellware – a history of Memorial Day. Cities and towns across America have for more than a century claimed to be the holiday’s birthplace, but we...

Austin firefighter stabbed while responding downtown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:23:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A firefighter with the Austin Fire Department was stabbed early Monday morning in downtown Austin, according to AFD.Austin Fire said the incident occurred near Rainey Street.Austin Fire said crews were called into the area to put out a few fires along Interstate 35 near the Riverside Drive exit, and while they were doing their duties, a person approached them, and becoming violent and aggressive, eventually stabbed one the firefightersAFD said the firefighter was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the suspect was in custody.The scene has since been cleared.

San Marcos River: Texas tubing, floating destination at little cost

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:23:42 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — Winding through the busy city of San Marcos is its cool and calming 72° river. The San Marcos River is a staple in Central Texas for summer travel destinations. "You never really see anyone unhappy out here. Always smiles," said the City of San Marcos Parks and Recreation Marketing and Outreach Coordinator Christie Murillo.Murillo said the river gets visitors year round, but its busiest time is when the temperature starts heating up. "By the time we're at the end of the summer, we have tons of families, tons of community members," Murillo said. "Everyone's out here enjoying the river and the parks."The San Marcos River winds through over 130 acres of parkland. (Photo: KXAN)The San Marcos River winds through over 130 acres of parkland. (Photo: KXAN)The San Marcos River winds through over 130 acres of parkland. (Photo: KXAN)The San Marcos River winds through over 130 acres of parkland. (Photo: KXAN)The San Marcos River winds through over 130 acres of parklan...