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US ambassador accuses South Africa of providing arms to Russia; president cites investigation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:38 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The U. S. ambassador to South Africa accused the country Thursday of providing weapons to Russia via a cargo ship that docked secretly at a naval base near the city of Cape Town for three days in December. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said an investigation was underway.Ambassador Reuben Brigety said the U.S. was certain that weapons were loaded onto the vessel at the Simon’s Town naval base and then transported to Russia, according to reports of his comments carried by multiple South African news outlets.Ramaphosa was in Cape Town answering questions in Parliament when news of Brigety’s comments broke. When a lawmaker asked about the weapons, the president replied that “the matter is being looked into, and in time we will be able to speak about it.”Ramaphosa declined to comment further, citing the need for an investigation to play out.The leader of the political opposition, John Steenhuisen, asked the president if South Africa wa...

Mpox no longer a global emergency, WHO says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:38 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization said Thursday that the global outbreak of mpox, which initially baffled experts when the smallpox-related disease spread to more than 100 countries last year, is no longer an international emergency, after a dramatic drop in cases in recent months. Last July, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared mpox, also known as monkeypox, to be an “extraordinary” situation that qualified as a global crisis. In doing so, he overruled WHO’s expert committee, which didn’t recommend the emergency designation. Tedros said the novel way mpox was infecting people, via sexual contact in many countries that had never before identified cases, raised numerous concerns that warranted more attention; nearly all cases were in men who were gay, bisexual or had sex with other men. It was the biggest-ever outbreak of mpox.He said at a media briefing on Thursday that his expert committee had concluded that the recent dramatic decline in cases, ...

Tesla shouldn’t call driving system Autopilot because humans are still in control, Buttigieg says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tesla shouldn’t be calling its partially automated driving system Autopilot because the cars can’t drive themselves, the top U.S. transportation official says. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he’s concerned about Tesla’s marketing of the system, which is under investigation by his department in connection with crashes that have caused at least 14 deaths.“I don’t think that something should be called, for example, an Autopilot, when the fine print says you need to have your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times,” Buttigieg said in an interview with The Associated Press.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an agency within Buttigieg’s department, has sent investigative teams to more than 30 crashes since 2016 in which Teslas suspected of operating on Autopilot or its more sophisticated automated Full Self-Driving system have struck pedestrians, motorcyclists, semi trailers and parked emergency vehicles.The probes...

‘Chaotic’ down south, concern up north as U.S. ends COVID border, immigration rules

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:38 GMT

WASHINGTON — It’s a tale of two borders today as the U.S. braces for the end of its COVID-19 restrictions: chaos in the Rio Grande Valley and concern along the 49th parallel. President Joe Biden says it will be “chaotic for a while” at the U.S.-Mexico border once the public health measure known as Title 42 ends at midnight. Up north, lawmakers and border communities say they worry that cross-border tourism may never fully recover from the pandemic without more federal help. The U.S. is lifting its vaccination requirement for foreign travellers at the same time as Title 42, a Trump-era rule that allowed the immediate expulsion of asylum seekers. More than 150,000 would-be migrants are amassing along Mexico’s northern border, and the U.S. is sending thousands more border officials and troops to deal with the influx. No such surge is expected at the Canada-U.S. border, however, which worries tourism operators and elected officials in communities that depend on r...

S&P/TSX composite posts triple-digit decline, U.S. stock markets also lower

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:38 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index posted a triple-digit decline as losses in the base metals sector helped lead stocks lower, while U.S. stock markets were also lower in late-morning trading.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 126.34 points at 20,372.97.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 271.31 points at 33,260.02. The S&P 500 index was down 15.77 points at 4,121.87, while the Nasdaq composite was down 4.55 points at 12,301.89.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.17 cents US compared with 74.77 cents US on Wednesday.The June crude contract was down 91 cents at US$71.65 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.24 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was down US$12.70 at US$2,024.40 an ounce and the July copper contract was down 13 cents at US$3.71 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Fun in the sun: Balmy temperatures in Toronto ahead of Mother’s Day cool down

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:38 GMT

Mother Nature is gifting mothers with plenty of sunshine in Toronto and the GTA this weekend; just don’t expect the same balmy temperatures by Sunday.After a rough and cool stretch to open the month, the city and GTA have seen much better conditions in the second week of May, with Friday looking particularly delightful on the weather front.The daytime high is expected to reach 26 C — a lot higher than Toronto’s average temperature of 17 C in May. To make it even better, it will feel more like 28 C tomorrow at its peak.Elsewhere in the GTA, the daytime high across two regions in Halton-Peel on Friday could surpass what Toronto will see, as it could feel more like 30 C in Mississauga and 31 C in Brampton.RELATED: Rainy and cold — Toronto, GTA long-term forecast looks bleak as May arrivesToronto will open the weekend on a slightly cooler but equally pleasant note, with tons of sunshine and a high of 22 C on tap, closer to what is expected this time of the year.T...

Israel kills 2 militant commanders in Gaza as Egypt presses on with efforts to mediate truce

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:38 GMT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip killed two militant commanders on Thursday, the army said, as the Palestinian death toll from the latest burst of fighting rose to 28. Rocket fire toward southern Israel continued even as Egypt pressed on with attempts to broker a cease-fire.It has been the worst bout of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza in months, and among the dead were also women and children. The conflagration, now in its third day, comes at a time of soaring tensions and spiking violence over the past year in the occupied West Bank. Early on Thursday, the Israeli military carried out strikes against the Islamic Jihad militant group and said a senior commander in charge of the group’s rocket launching force, Ali Ghali, was killed when his apartment was hit. Later in the day, Israel said it killed another Islamic Jihad commander who was meant to replace Ghali in southern Gaza. Islamic Jihad confirmed the man, Ahmed Abu Daqqa...

Blast at residential building in Germany injures 12; suspect detained

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:38 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German police have detained a suspect in connection with an explosion at a residential building that injured 12 first responders on Thursday, some of them seriously, a senior security official said.The interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, Herbert Reul, said that 10 firefighters and two police officers were injured in the blast at a high-rise building in the town of Ratingen. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the blast.A body was also recovered from the building, Reul said. The identity of the person and the circumstances of their death weren’t immediately known.Firefighters and police were initially called to the building in the morning after concerns were raised about two residents.Following the explosion, heavily armed officers took up positions around the site, with television footage showing police snipers on a balcony across the road from the building as smoke poured out of a top-floor apartment.Hours later, a 57-year-old man was detained...

Peloton recalling more than 2M exercise bikes because the seat post assembly can break during use

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:38 GMT

Peloton is recalling more than 2 million of its exercise bikes because the bike’s seat post assembly can break during use, posing fall and injury hazards.The recall includes approximately 2.2 million of the Peloton Bikes Model PL01. The bikes were sold from January 2018 through May 2023 for about $1,400. They were sold at Peloton and Dick’s Sporting Goods stores nationwide and online at Amazon, Peloton and Dick’s websites.Peloton has received 35 reports of the seat post breaking and detaching from the bike during use, including 13 reports of injuries including a fractured wrist, lacerations and bruises due to falling from the bike.Consumers are advised to immediately stop using the recalled exercise bikes and to contact Peloton for a free repair. Peloton is offering a free seat post that can be self-installed.Peloton can be reached at 866-679-9129 from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. ET, seven days a week or online at www.onepeloton.com. Consumers can click on Product Recalls at the bottom ...

'Blossom' the cow thriving after Niles senior prank

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:38 GMT

WOODSTOCK, Ill. — A cow used in a suburban senior prank last month is thriving in her new home at Hooved Animal Humane Society.Blossom, an 8-month-old Scottish Highlander and Heffner mix, escaped from a group of Northridge Preparatory School students at around 3 a.m. on April 27 in a Niles neighborhood.The students conducted a senior prank and bought Blossom via Craigslist from Winneconne, Wisconsin along with a pig.Blossom ended up being secured by authorities and Wagner Farms — who ended up bringing her to Hooved Animal Humane Society, located in Woodstock."She is actually fitting right in and loves to hang out around the horses," executive director Cynthia Glensgard said. "She comes to greet the people and is quite curious."Blossom in the pasture, courtesy Hooved Animal Humane SocietyBlossom loves to nap in the corner of the pasture and has already figured out meal time, Glensgard said.The humane society, who works to re-home animals and investigates animal abuse since 1971, took...