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South Africa summons US ambassador over weapons for Russia allegations

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:00 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s foreign ministry summoned the U.S. Ambassador to a meeting Friday over allegations he made a day earlier that the country had provided arms and ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine.Amid the diplomatic fallout over the allegations by the United States, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor will also speak with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (effectively the foreign ministry), said in a statement posted by spokesman Clayson Monyela on Twitter.U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety said at a press conference Thursday that South Africa had loaded weapons and ammunition onto a sanctioned Russian vessel at the Simon’s Town Naval Base near the city of Cape Town in December last year. The arms were then transported to Russia, Brigety said.“We (the U.S.) are confident that weapons were loaded into that vessel and I would bet my life on the a...

Crescent Point Energy reports first-quarter profit down from year ago

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:00 GMT

CALGARY — Crescent Point Energy Corp. reported its first-quarter profit was down from a year ago as energy prices were also lower.The company says it earned $216.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, down from $1.18 billion or $2.03 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.Oil and gas sales in the quarter totalled $913.6 million, down from $1.09 billion in the first three months of 2022.On an adjusted basis, Crescent Point says its earnings from operations totalled 40 cents per share, down from 41 cents per share a year ago.Average daily production in the quarter was 139,280 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 132,788 in the same quarter last year.Crescent Point says its average selling price in the quarter was $72.88 per barrel of oil equivalent, down from $91.43 a year earlier. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:CPG)The Canadian Press

Germany braces for 50-hour train strike after employers refuse union demands

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A labor union representing more than 200,000 railway workers said Friday that it was going ahead with a planned strike next week after its demands for better pay were rejected by employers.The EVG union said its members will walk out for 50 hours from late Sunday until late Tuesday. Rail company Deutsche Bahn has canceled all long-distance travel during that period and warned that most regional trains also won’t run.The strike will likely be one of the biggest in recent years, following a previous large-scale walkout in April.But union co-leader Cosima Ingenschay said that a strike could still be averted at the last minute if employers put forward another offer.EVG went into the current round of pay negotiations seeking a raise of 12% for its members, or at least 650 euros more each month. It also wants the minimum wage of 12 euros an hour to be ensured through basic pay rather than with bonuses, as is currently the case for some 2,700 workers.The strike will aff...

France says 2 citizens held in Iran have been freed from prison, are on way to Paris

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:00 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Two French citizens imprisoned in Iran have been freed, France’s foreign minister said Friday.Benjamin Briere and Bernard Phelan, who both had been held in a prison in Mashad, in northwest Iran, were heading to Paris, a statement from Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said.Colonna “thanked all those who worked for their freedom” and spoke earlier Friday with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the statement said without elaborating. Briere, 38, was arrested in May 2020 for taking photographs with a drone in an area where cameras were forbidden. He was convicted of spying, then reportedly acquitted this year.Phelan, 64, was arrested seven months ago while visiting Iran for consulting activities for a tour company, according to French daily newspaper Le Parisien.Nearly a half-dozen other French citizens are thought to be held in Iranian prisons.The Associated Press

Ukrainian deminers get training in Cyprus from US, Irish experts

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:00 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is working together with Irish and U.S. military experts to help train two groups of Ukrainian personnel in clearing an untold number of unmarked minefields in their homeland, the island nation’s defense minister said Friday.Minister Michalis Georgallas told the Associated Press Friday a first group of 24 Ukrainians was currently undergoing training in Cypriot military installations, with another group expected to arrive next month.The training was under the auspices of a European Union Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM Ukraine) that was launched last October to meet Ukraine’s calls for support, he said. As the situation on the ground in Ukraine now stands, a 5,000-strong team of demining experts would need at least 30 years to clear all mines from unmarked minefields across the front lines, Georgallas said. He said Cypriot officers are also taking part in training of Ukrainian personnel in Germany.Cyprus has much experience in demining as many t...

2 dead, 3 wounded after Englewood shooting

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:00 GMT

CHICAGO — Five people were shot, two fatally, Thursday in Englewood, according to the Chicago Police Department.The shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. near West 61st Place and South Union Avenue. ‘What would happen if I bashed you with this bat?’: $800K bond for Chicago woman accused of battery spree According to information from the Chicago Police Department, two people got out of a car and started shooting.Two men died after they were shot, police said. The medical examiner has identified the victims as 20-year-old Jabez Davis and 26-year-old Jarrel Harmon.A 17-year-old boy, a 21-year-old man, and a 26-year-old woman were all taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries."I want to give my condolences to the victims and their families of this tragic incident," CPD Deputy Chief Matt Cline said. The motive behind the shooting and whether the people who were shot were targeted still remains under investigation.Cline said since the weather was nice, several people were...

WATCH: Florida deputies save hawk with snake wrapped around its neck

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:00 GMT

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) - Two Florida deputies helped a hawk escape the clutches of a snake on Sunday.In body camera footage released by the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Dasher and Deputy Forero responded to a report of an injured hawk in the roadway. When they got closer, they realized the red-shouldered hawk had a snake coiled around its neck and wing."He's wrapped up pretty good," one said. ‘Chonkosaurus’: Kayakers encounter giant snapping turtle along Chicago River The other deputy used the end of a club to hold down the snake's head as he untangled its body from the hawk's. It appeared to be a North American racer (commonly called "black racers"), a nonvenomous snake. The hawk likely snatched the snake out of a nearby yard for lunch, but the racer had other plans. "Good job, buddy!" a deputy said after freeing the hawk. "Everybody wins." The hawk immediately took off and flew into some nearby trees. The snake was tossed back into the street, as it was no longe...

Marine veteran who fatally choked NYC subway rider surrenders on manslaughter charge

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A man who kept a chokehold around the neck of an agitated fellow passenger in the New York City subway, leading to the other rider's death, turned himself in to authorities Friday on a manslaughter charge that could send him to prison for 15 years.Manhattan prosecutors announced Thursday they would bring the criminal charge against Daniel Penny, 24, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, 30.Penny turned himself in at a Manhattan police station Friday morning.Neely's death, captured on video by a freelance journalist, has raised an uproar over many issues, including how those with mental illness are treated by the transit system and the city, as well as crime and vigilantism.Thomas Kenniff, one of Penny's attorneys, said Penny turned himself in “voluntarily and with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation.”In a brief statement to reporters outside the ...

Car hits train in Austin after police chase, driver dies

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police said the driver of a car that hit a train Friday morning in east Austin following a chase between police has died. Officials believed the chase was with a suspected drunk driver.According to police, officers attempted to stop the driver at East Seventh and Neches Streets at 2:36 a.m. but the driver took off. The driver then hit the train at the crossing of Seventh Street and Northwestern Avenue. That's just west of Pleasant Valley Road. According to Austin Travis County EMS, paramedics took the patient to the hospital. ATCEMS said the patient had critical injuries but later died.Austin Police said both directions of Seventh Street were closed as of 3 a.m.APD also said train crossings at 6th Street at Northwestern, 7th and Northwestern and Webberville and Northwestern would be blocked.CapMetro said it was expecting rail delays Friday morning due to the crash being on its tracks."Bus bridge will assist customers between MLK and Downtown stations," CapMetr...

Toll problems not unique to Texas. How other states hold vendors accountable

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:00 GMT

Investigative Summary: This story is part of KXAN’s “TxTag Troubles” investigative project launched May 7, 2023. Following related reports in recent years, our team rededicated its resources to this major consumer issue, after hundreds of viewers complained to us about resurfaced billing and customer service problems with the state’s tollway operator and its contracted vendors. During our reporting, the Texas Department of Transportation began reaching out to viewers who had contacted KXAN to resolve their issues, and state lawmakers renewed their approach to fixing future TxTag problems.AUSTIN (KXAN) — Declan O’Scanlon thinks he’s received around a dozen unjustified toll violations from New Jersey toll authorities, and the state senator believes he’s not alone.O’Scanlon said his constituents are reporting similar issues to his office. They’re getting hit with fees for not paying tolls, despite having an existing toll pass account, with E-ZPass, that is supposed to help them pay au...