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Ukraine seeks Canada’s help in selling peace plan to skeptical states, more demining

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:31:48 GMT

OTTAWA — Ukraine is calling on Canada to help it sell a peace plan with Russia to developing countries who have taken a neutral stance on Moscow’s invasion.Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba wants Canada to use its “diplomatic muscle” to encourage countries beyond Europe and its allies to support a peace plan.In a video presented at a closed-door meeting of foreign ambassadors, to which The Canadian Press was invited, Kuleba also asks Ottawa to increase its anti-mining support.In addition, Kuleba seeks “a multi-year military support program” from Ottawa, one month after Canada and other G7 countries offered Ukraine a set of security guarantees.Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly convened the meeting, and told foreign diplomats that Moscow’s demand for a ceasefire will only allow Russia to invade the country again.Joly says every country has a stake in maintaining the United Nations charter and ending Russia’s w...

Zimbabwe police arrest 41 election monitors as votes are counted after widespread delays

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:31:48 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe police said they arrested 41 workers for poll monitoring groups and seized the computers and other equipment they were using to tabulate the results of vote counting Thursday in the southern African nation’s widely delayed presidential election.Those arrested were working with two accredited monitoring organizations — the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network and the Election Resource Center — which deployed over 7,500 observers nationwide. Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi accused them of being involved in “subversive and criminal activities” as part of an opposition plan to fabricate the results.“These figures were being supplied by some observers and political party agents,” Nyathi said. The arrests, made during raids on various locations including a hotel, were criticized by the group Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, which said the workers were carrying out their mandate as accredited election observers.Zimbabwe’s long history of d...

Crescent Point Energy signs deal to sell assets in North Dakota for $675M in cash

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:31:48 GMT

CALGARY — Crescent Point Energy Corp. has signed a deal to sell its North Dakota assets to a private operator for about $675 million in cash.The company says the assets had gross production of about 23,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter of this year.However, it says its production in North Dakota is expected to decrease to 18,000 boe/d by 2027 and decline further in future years.Crescent Point also lowered its 2023 annual average production guidance to a range of 156,000 to 161,000 boe/d, a reduction of approximately 4,500 boe/d in comparison with the midpoint of its prior guidance range. It says the revised forecast includes the impact associated with the sale, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.The company also cut its development capital expenditures guidance for the year by about $100 million, to a range of $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion, partly reflecting the sa...

Loss of Antarctic ice hurting survival of emperor penguin chicks, study says

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:31:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The loss of ice in one region of Antarctica last year likely resulted in none of the emperor penguin chicks surviving in four colonies, researchers reported Thursday. Emperor penguins hatch their eggs and raise their chicks on the ice that forms around the continent each Antarctic winter and melts in the summer months.Researchers used satellite imagery to look at breeding colonies in a region near Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea. The images showed no ice was left there in December during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, as had occurred in 2021. Researchers said it is likely that no chicks survived in four of the five breeding colonies they examined. Penguin chicks don’t develop their adult waterproof feathers until close to the time they usually fledge, in late December or January, scientists say. “If the sea ice breaks up under them, the young chicks will drown or freeze to death,” said Peter Fretwell, a researcher at the British Antarctic Survey and ...

Don't miss the deadline to claim a Facebook privacy settlement payment

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:31:48 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Don't procrastinate any longer – if you haven't submitted a claim for a piece of the massive Facebook lawsuit settlement, the hours to do so are numbered. The deadline to file a claim is on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. If you file a claim by mail, it has to be postmarked by that date. If you file it online, it needs to be done by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time the night of Aug. 25. Facebook’s $725M settlement is huge, but how much will you actually get? Millions of Americans qualify – why put it off any longer? Here's what you need to know about getting your payment. What is the lawsuit about?Facebook parent company Meta recently agreed to pay a $725 million sum to settle claims it allowed people’s personal data to be shared with third parties. The most famous third party to get access was Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Meta agreed to the payout, but denies any wrongdoing. When will Facebook settleme...

Girl, 12, missing in Algonquin, police say

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:31:48 GMT

ALGONQUIN, Ill. — Police in Algonquin and Westfield Community School officials are seeking the public's help locating a missing 12-year-old girl last seen on Wednesday.Mackenzie MartinezAccording to police, Mackenzie Martinez, also known by Kenzie, was last seen in the 2100 block of Sleepy Hollow Road in Algonquin during the afternoon hour of Aug. 23. Mackenzie is described as 5-foot-7 inches, with green eyes, brown hair with blonde highlights, and a light skin complexion.Mackenzie is a student at Westfield Community School of District 300. In a letter sent to parents and guardians on Thursday, District 300 and Westfield say they are actively collaborating with the Algonquin Police Department as they conduct their ongoing investigation.Authorities add that the probe to locate Mackenzie has not led them to believe there is a threat to the public.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesAnyone with information is asked to email [email protected] or call the Algonquin Police Depa...

Indiana man driving Power Wheels Jeep charged with OWI

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:31:48 GMT

VINCENNES, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – An Indiana man accused of driving a Power Wheels Jeep while impaired was arrested Wednesday night. The driver, identified as 51-year-old John McKee of Vincennes, was stopped by a trooper who was patrolling a street in Knox County, according to Indiana State Police.The trooper made the stop after seeing someone driving a Power Wheels Jeep with no lights or reflectors, remarking that he "was difficult to see," the ISP wrote in a news release.John McKee was arrested after driving a Power Wheels vehicle while impaired, according to Indiana State Police. (Indiana State Police)The ISP trooper also noted that said Mckee showed "signs of impairment and failed field sobriety tests."It was later confirmed at a local hospital that McKee was under the influence of methamphetamine and marijuana, authorities said. He was arrested and taken to the Knox County jail on a felony charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) with a prior conviction. According to t...

Texas Parks and Wildlife votes to limit future use of eminent domain after Fairfield Lake saga

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:31:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted Thursday to limit its future use of eminent domain.The Parks and Wildlife Department is currently using the process to try to acquire a 5,000-acre property that includes the now-former Fairfield Lake State Park.The policy adopted Thursday says eminent domain authority will be limited to "exceptional and unusual circumstances." Commissioners defined those circumstances as "when property was previously dedicated to public use as a park and the property owner rejects an offer(s) to voluntarily convey the property."When deciding whether to use eminent domain moving forward, the Commission said it would consider factors including public investment already on the property, the level of public support for the acquisition, the natural and cultural resources on the property and the number of visitors to the property."Given its significant potential impact on private landowners, our commissioners chose to limit TPWD’s use of eminen...

Donald Trump set to turn himself in: Here’s what we know

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:31:48 GMT

Former President Donald Trump will once again turn himself in to authorities for the fourth time this year, this time in Georgia in a case involving election interference in the Peach State.Trump is one of 19 people criminally charged with attempting to overturn the presidential election outcome in Georgia in 2020 after Trump lost the state to President Biden. He is being charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit forgery, and 11 other charges.When is Trump expected to turn himself in?That remains unclear. So far, the Fulton County District Attorney’s office has not released any information pertaining to when Trump is expected to turn himself in. We do know that it’s expected Thursday and comes a day before D.A. Fani Willis’ deadline ordering Trump and his co-defendants turn themselves in.Will Trump receive any special treatment?No. According to Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat, Trump will be fingerprinted and have a mugshot taken, making Trump the first former U.S. presiden...

Donald Trump set to surrender at a Georgia jail on charges he sought to overturn 2020 election loss

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:31:48 GMT

ATLANTA — Donald Trump was set to turn himself in Thursday to authorities in Georgia on charges that he illegally schemed to overturn the 2020 election in that state, a county jail booking expected to yield a historic first: a mug shot of a former American president.Trump’s surrender, coming amid an abrupt shake-up of his legal team, follows the presidential debate in Milwaukee the night before featuring his leading rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination — a contest in which he remains the leading candidate despite broad legal troubles. His presence in Georgia, though likely brief, is swiping the spotlight anew from his opponents after the debate in which they sought to seize on his absence to elevate their own presidential prospects.The Fulton County prosecution is the fourth criminal case against Trump since March, when he became the first former president in U.S. history to be indicted. Since then, he’s faced federal charges in Florida and Washington, and this month he was ind...