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Putin officially opens door to new nuke testing

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:40:57 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a law effectively revoking Russia’s ratification of a key nuclear treaty, opening up the possibility the Kremlin could conduct new atomic weapons testing. Putin previously said revoking Russia’s 2000 ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CNTBT) is a move that would merely “mirror” the position taken by the United States, which has signed but never ratified the treaty.The revocation was approved unanimously by the lower and upper houses of Russia’s parliament last month, before being sent to Putin for final approval. He signed it on Thursday, Russian state news agencies reported.Russian officials have said that exiting the treaty does not mean the Kremlin will resume nuclear testing and that it would only consider doing so if the U.S. decides to do the same, but Moscow’s decision raised some concerns among analysts.Putin also said in October that he was “not ready” to discuss whether...

Australian police accuse lunch host of murdering 3 guests with poisonous mushrooms

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:40:57 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The host of a weekend family lunch at her Australian country home was charged with murdering three guests with poisonous mushrooms and attempting to murder a fourth who was left fighting for life, police said on Thursday.Police arrested Erin Patterson, 49, earlier Thursday at her home in Leongatha in Victoria state where her former husband’s parents Gail and Don Patterson, both aged 70, Gail Patterson’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Ian Wilkinson, 68, were invited for lunch on July 29.All four guests were hospitalized the next day and only Ian Wilkinson survived.Erin Patterson was also charged with three counts of attempting to murder her former husband Simon Patterson, 48, who became ill after eating three meals in 2021 and 2022, a police statement said.He did not attend the July lunch with his parents, who both died.Erin Patterson will remain in police custody until she appears in a local court on Friday, when she can potentially apply to...

6 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks, including DeMar DeRozan passing Larry Bird

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:40:57 GMT

The Chicago Bulls dropped their first clutch game loss of the season to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, falling 114-105 despite being tied in the final seven minutes of play.The Mavericks (4-0) ended on a 20-9 run to finally pull ahead in a tightly contested game that featured 22 lead changes. Zach LaVine led the Bulls (2-3) in scoring with 22 points, but only scored five points in the second half.Here are six takeaways from the loss:1. Offensive reboundsThe Bulls were haunted by missed opportunities for second chances in Dallas. They scored 11 points on 12 offensive rebounds. The Mavericks scored 24 points on 13 offensive rebounds. That disparity was painfully carved out in the first and final quarters.Four of the Bulls’ offensive boards came on the same play in the first quarter as Alex Caruso and Nikola Vučević leaped to grab ricocheting shots, only for the ensuing attempt to result in another miss. The Bulls came up empty-handed from the prolonged possession i...

Cedar Fair and Six Flags will merge to create a playtime powerhouse in North America

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:40:57 GMT

Cedar Fair and Six Flags are merging, creating an expansive amusement park operator with operations spread across 17 U.S. states and three countries. The combined company will boast 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.Amusement parks have not bounced back from the pandemic as quickly as other entertainment industries and a tie-up between two huge players is expected to at least lower costs. Six Flags and Cedar Fair, which have little geographical overlap, anticipate $120 million in cost savings within two years of closing the deal. Under the agreement announced Thursday, Cedar Fair unitholders will receive one share of common stock in the combined company for each unit owned, while Six Flags shareholders will receive 0.5800 shares of stock in the combined company for each share owned.The company’s newly formed board will include six directors from Cedar Fair and six directors from Six Flags.The new, combined company wil...

Thai workers caught up in Hamas attack faced with the dilemma of whether to flee or stay in Israel

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:40:57 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — When Hamas militants stormed into Israeli villages and towns along the border of the blockaded Gaza Strip last month, many Thai migrant agricultural workers shared the fate of hundreds of Israelis who were killed, kidnapped or forced to run for their lives. Since that day nearly a month ago, more than 7,000 of some 30,000 Thais working in Israel have returned home on government evacuation flights. At least 22 are believed to have been abducted by Hamas militants, who rule Gaza. Many more may be missing and 32 have been reported killed. Like many other Thai laborers in Israel, Natthaporn Onkeaw had been his family’s main breadwinner, sending money home regularly after going to Israel to work on a kibbutz in 2021. The 26-year-old was among those abducted by Hamas, said his mother, 47-year-old Thongkun Onkeaw, who lives in a poor rural area in northeastern Thailand near the Laotian border.He was one of the few Thai captives pictured in a photo released by Hamas whose nam...

Crescent Point Energy reports $809.9M Q3 loss due to one-time charges

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:40:57 GMT

CALGARY — Crescent Point Energy Corp. reported a loss of $809.9 million in its latest quarter related to non-cash charges in connection with the planned sale of its U.S. assets.The company says the loss amounted to $1.52 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $466.4 million or 82 cents per share a year earlier.On an adjusted basis, Crescent Point says its earnings from operations amounted to 59 cents per share, up from 43 cents per share in the same quarter last year.Oil and gas revenue totalled $1.09 billion for the company’s third quarter, up from $970.5 million a year earlier.Average daily production was 180,581 barrels of oil equivalent for the quarter, up from 133,019 a year ago, however Crescent Point noted the third quarter included about 30,800 boe/d of non-core assets which were disposed of subsequent to the quarter.The company also announced it would pay a special dividend of two cents per share on Nov. 22 in addition to its quarterly bas...

Alabama state Rep. Jeremy Gray announces bid for Congress in new Democratic-leaning district

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:40:57 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama state Rep. Jeremy Gray announced Thursday that he is running for Congress, joining what is becoming an increasingly crowded primary field in the new Democratic-leaning district in the Deep South state.Gray, of Opelika, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2nd Congressional District. Two other Alabama lawmakers — state Rep. Napoleon Bracy of Prichard and state Sen. Kirk Hatcher of Montgomery — have announced they intend to run. A number of other legislators are considering bids.“It’s been a long time since people in that area had hope and had someone that really understood the issues in that area,” Gray said. “I’ve been a part of bringing resources to that community through legislation and through funding.”Federal judges last month selected new congressional district lines in Alabama after ruling the previous map likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act. The new map sets the stage for potentially flipping one U.S. House of Representa...

Iranian club Sepahan penalized over canceled ACL match after Saudi team’s walkout

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:40:57 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian soccer team Sepahan was penalized with a 3-0 loss and a fine over a canceled Asian Champions League match against Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad, Iranian media reported.The match was called off last month when the Saudi team — featuring former Premier League stars such as N’Golo Kante and Fabinho — walked out at the last minute, apparently over the presence of a statue of a slain Iranian general on the sidelines. Iran’s foreign ministry had earlier said that an agreement had been reached to replay the match, amid concerns that the incident could further strain a recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, longtime rivals who have backed opposite sides in conflicts across the Middle East. But Iranian media reported that the Asian Football Confederation ruled that Al Ittihad should be awarded a 3-0 win and that Sepahan should pay a fine of $200,000. According to the reports, Sepahan was also banned from hosting its next three Asian Champions ...

Barrick Gold reports US$368M Q3 profit, up from US$241M a year ago

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:40:57 GMT

TORONTO — Barrick Gold Corp. reported a third-quarter profit of US$368 million, up from US$241 million a year earlier, helped by higher gold prices.The Toronto-based gold miner, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says the profit amounted to 21 cents per share, up from 14 cents per share a year earlier.Revenue totalled US$2.86 billion, up from US$2.53 billion in the same quarter last year.Gold sales amounted to 1,027,000 ounces, up from 997,000 ounces a year ago, while Barrick’s realized gold price for the quarter was US$1,928 per ounce, up from US$1,722 a year ago.Copper sales totalled 101 million pounds, down from 120 million pounds a year earlier, while Barrick’s realized copper price was US$3.78 per pound, up from US$3.24 in the same quarter last year.On an adjusted basis, Barrick says it earned 24 cents per share, up from 13 cents per share a year earlier.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:ABX)The Cana...

UK’s Sunak to discuss AI risks with Kamala Harris at summit before chat with Elon Musk

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:40:57 GMT

BLETCHLEY PARK, England (AP) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are set to join senior politicians from around the world on Thursday at a U.K. summit focused on containing risks from rapid advances in cutting-edge artificial intelligence. Sunak organized the first-ever AI Safety Summit as a forum for officials, experts and the tech industry to better understand “frontier” AI that some scientists warn could pose a risk to humanity’s very existence.The leaders of the United Nations and the European Union joined talks on the second day of the meeting, held at a former codebreaking spy base near London. It kicked off on Wednesday with an agreement signed by 28 nations, including the U.S. and China, to work toward “shared agreement and responsibility” about AI risks, and a plan to hold further meetings in South Korea and France over the next year. Binding regulation for AI is not among the summit’s goals. Sunak has said that the U.K.’s ...