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With Russia isolated on the world stage, Putin turns to old friend North Korea for help

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:50:34 GMT

After the handshakes, the platitudes and the lunch of Kamchatka crab dumplings, the outcome of the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stayed hidden.But the summit’s location — Russia’s Far East spaceport — offered a big clue.By choosing the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Putin has signaled his readiness to share Russian rocket and space technology with Pyongyang in exchange for access to North Korea’s mammoth arms stockpiles for the war in Ukraine.The move underscored Russia’s estrangement on the world stage and the shrinking circle of friends that Moscow can rely on, thanks to the 18-month-old invasion. At the same time, it heralds new threats for stability in northeast Asia and beyond.The nearly five hours of talks Wednesday between Putin and Kim marked a new high point in the ties between the old allies — a relationship that dates back nearly eight decades to Soviet leader Josef Stalin and Kim’s grandfather, Nor...

More E. coli cases from Calgary daycares, but fewer patients with serious illness

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:50:34 GMT

CALGARY — The number of E. coli cases linked to an outbreak at several Calgary daycares continues to rise, but doctors say there are fewer patients in hospital with serious complications.There were 310 lab-confirmed cases of the bacterial infection as of Wednesday. The outbreak at 11 Calgary daycares was declared Sept. 4.“It can be frightening to see these numbers, especially a jump in the last few days,” Dr. Tania Principi, section chief of pediatric emergency medicine at Alberta Children’s Hospital, told reporters during a news conference Wednesday. “This increase in numbers we’re seeing has more to do when we’re getting results from the lab on those tested previously. But actually, clinically in the (emergency department), we are seeing significant decrease in the number of children presenting with illness.”Principi said 14 patients have been discharged from hospitals since the beginning of the outbreak.Twenty-one patients were still rece...

Major life insurers taking steps, but falling short on climate action: report

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:50:34 GMT

TORONTO — A new report from an advocacy group finds two of Canada’s biggest insurers are taking steps toward climate action, but still have a ways to go.  The report from Investors for Paris Compliance says climate action from Sun Life Financial Inc. and Manulife Financial Corp. is important because they are Canada’s first and fourth-largest fossil fuel investors (a separate category from banking). The second annual assessment report says Sun Life Financial Inc. started disclosing some financed emissions this year, but that it still has no overall policy on phasing out fossil fuel investments, including coal. Sun Life had investments totalling US$11.6 billion in coal and US$12.7 billion in oil and gas last year according to data from the advocacy coalition Investing in Climate Chaos. The insurer said in a statement that it’s committed to doing its part to help solve the climate challenge, and has been building a climate team to track and measure its performance amo...

US names former commerce secretary, big Democrat donor to coordinate private sector aid for Ukraine

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:50:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has tapped former Commerce Secretary and major Democratic donor Penny Pritzker to coordinate U.S. efforts to channel private sector reconstruction assistance to Ukraine.President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the appointment on Thursday, just moments after the Treasury imposed a raft of new sanctions on Russia and Russian operatives for their role in the war on Ukraine. “Working in lockstep with the Ukrainian government, our allies and partners, international financial institutions, and the private sector, she will drive the United States’ efforts to help rebuild the Ukrainian economy,” Biden said in a statement. “This includes mobilizing public and private investment, shaping donor priorities, and working to open export markets and businesses shut down by Russia’s brutal attacks and destruction.”Pritzker, a native of Chicago with Ukrainian family roots, heir to her family’s Hyatt hotel fortune and a prolific fun...

Asbestos, mould, gas leaks in Milton courthouse force closure of in-person hearings

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:50:34 GMT

Superior Court judges will not be presiding over in-person cases at a courthouse in Milton because of a mould problem in the building, along with a number of other health and safety concerns.On Monday, Justice Clayton Conlan of the Superior Court of Justice wrote that Superior Court judges would cease sitting at in-person matters at the courthouse until further notice after carefully reviewing the situation at the building.The move followed a similar decision earlier this month by judges with the Ontario Court of Justice to dismiss all in-person hearings following the discovery of mould in parts of the courthouse along with other issues, including asbestos, a gas leak and staff shortages.Conlon says it was a “disappointing day for justice in the Halton region” and says judges are doing what they can but cannot allow members of the public and justice officials to enter the building while it remains contaminated.Attorneys in Halton Region say that some hearings can be conducted ...

FAA restores Mexico aviation to highest safety rating

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:50:34 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The United States Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday returned Mexico’s aviation safety rating to the highest level two years after downgrading it.The change will allow Mexican airlines to add new routes to the United States, and U.S. airlines will once again be able to sell tickets on Mexican airline-operated flights.In May 2021, the FAA lowered Mexico’s rating because the country did not meet standards set by a United Nations aviation group.The FAA found that Mexico’s ability to oversee its airlines fell short of standards set by a U.N. group called the International Civil Aviation Organization. Those standards cover a broad range of issues, including the regulator’s technical expertise, inspection procedures and record-keeping.FAA safety ratings of other countries are designed to measure those countries’ oversight of its airlines but do not mean that the airlines are unsafe.The FAA decision to lower Mexico from “Category 1” to “Category 2” had put it in...

Police detain 233 people for alleged drug dealing at schools in Albania

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:50:34 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Police in Albania reported the detention of 233 people Thursday as part of a nationwide operation to to stop drug dealing at schools. Interior Minister Taulant Balla said some 3,000 officers took part in the crackdown aimed at some 23 criminal groups that allegedly distribute drugs like cannabis, cocaine, heroin and ecstasy in school and university surroundings.“Albanian parents and families today are evaluating state police and also expect systematic work against criminals of any kind,” Balla said.Albania, which has an Adriatic Sea coastline and land borders with Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia, long has had a reputation as a main European drug trafficking route. For a long time, it also was regarded as a center of marijuana production.After coming to power in 2013, the left-wing Socialist Party government of Prime Minister Edi Rama set destroying cannabis plants as a goal. Over the next two years it destroyed millions of cannabis plants with a...

Venice and its lagoon again escape inclusion on UNESCO list of heritage sites in danger

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:50:34 GMT

VENICE, Italy (AP) — The storied Italian lagoon city of Venice escaped inclusion on UNESCO ‘s list of world heritage in danger during a meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Saudia Arabia on Thursday, as member states commended preservation efforts, including a pilot project that will make Venice the first city to charge entry.It is the second time Venice has escaped being labeled an endangered world heritage site, as recommended by the UNESCO’s committee’s findings that climate change and mass tourism are among threats “causing irreversible impact to the outstanding universal value” of Venice and its lagoon.The vote came just two days after the Venice city council approved an experimental plan to charge day-trippers a 5-euro entrance fee on 30 high-traffic days next year — one of the efforts cited by many of the 21 countries that supported keeping Venice off the list.Venice similarly avoided being labeled an endangered world heritage site in 2021 after the Ro...

Israel’s Netanyahu to meet Elon Musk. Sit-down comes as company faces antisemitism controversy

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:50:34 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet billionaire businessman Elon Musk during a trip to the United States next week, the Israeli leader’s office said Thursday.Netanyahu’s office declined to discuss the agenda for Monday’s meeting. But it comes at a time that Musk is facing accusations of tolerating antisemitic messages on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.The Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish civil-rights organization, has accused Musk of allowing antisemitism and hate speech to spread on X. Its director, Jonathan Greenblatt, said Musk had “amplified” the messages of neo-Nazis and white supremacists who want to ban the ADL by engaging with them recently on X.In a Sept. 4 post, Musk claimed the ADL was “trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic.” In other posts, he said the ADL was responsible for a 60% drop in revenue at X and said his company would have “no choice” but t...

NASA appoints UFO research chief 

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:50:34 GMT

(The Hill) -- NASA announced Thursday that the agency has appointed a director of research to study UFOs — or what the U.S. government calls unidentified anomalous phemona (UAPs).Nicola Fox, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, confirmed they have appointed a person to the role, but declined to release their name, only noting the individual has worked for the agency "for a while." “They are being tasked with developing and overseeing the implementation of NASA’s vision for UAP research,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said of the newly appointed director during a press conference on Thursday. “We will use NASA’s expertise to work with other agencies to analyze UAP.” Nelson added that the agency will use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to “search the skies for anomalies” and vowed to share their findings in a transparent manner. The announcement follows the release of a new report from an independent study panel tasked w...