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EU transport chief quits his post over free Qatar flights

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:13:36 GMT

BRUSSELS — A top European Union official is leaving his role in charge of transport policy, following POLITICO’s revelations that he accepted free flights on Qatar Airways while his team negotiated a major aviation deal with the Gulf state.Henrik Hololei, director general of the European Commission’s transport department, faced an internal investigation into the flights, and whether he was right to clear himself of any conflict of interest. On Wednesday, POLITICO revealed Hololei will leave his job as director general of the transport department, known in the Brussels lexicon as DG MOVE, and will become a political adviser with no management responsibility in DG INTPA, the Commission’s department in charge of international partnerships. A spokesperson for the Commission later confirmed to reporters that Hololei would move to his new role on April 1. Hololei himself announced his job switch in an email to staff. “Dear friends and colleagues,” Holole...

Transit Police searching for person of interest in sexual assault at Haymarket MBTA station

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:13:36 GMT

Transit Police are searching for a suspect in connection with a sexual assault at the Haymarket MBTA station.Police say the incident happened around 6 p.m. Saturday, Anyone with information is asked to contact police at (617) 222-1050.https://twitter.com/MBTATransitPD/status/1640830341307834368

Tesla under investigation again from safety regulators, this time for seatbelt attachments

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:13:36 GMT

(CNN) — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into model year 2022 and 2023 Tesla Model X SUVs because there may be a problem with their front seatbelt attachments.NHTSA will launch an investigation when there’s reason to believe there may be a safety issue requiring action such as a recall. An investigation may, or may not, eventually result in a recall.Tesla is already facing NHTSA investigations into its Autopilot and “Full Self Driving” driver assistance system and for steering wheels that came loose.While the investigation applies to about 50,000 Model X vehicles, the problem has been found on only two, according to NHTSA’s report of the investigation. In these two SUVs a front seatbelt pretensioner, a small device that automatically pulls the seatbelt tight in the event of a crash, became disconnected from the seat frame. The pretensioners were not properly secured during assembly, NHTSA...

Newton police searching for 2 suspects accused of stealing $22K in jewelry from Bloomingdale’s

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:13:36 GMT

Newton police are searching for two suspects accused of stealing expensive jewelry from Bloomingdale’s.Police say the suspects were being shown two rings by a salesperson when they grabbed them and ran out. The rings are valued at $22,000.

Entering Year 3 as Chicago Cubs president, Jed Hoyer believes ‘we’re on the front edge of where we want to be’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:13:36 GMT

The Chicago Cubs faced a crossroads coming off the 2020 season.A third division title in a five-year span ended with a sweep in the National League Division Series and questions about the core of the roster. Jed Hoyer’s promotion to president of baseball operations in November 2020 to replace the resigning Theo Epstein put the direction of the organization in Hoyer’s hands. Now entering his third season leading the Cubs, Hoyer’s influence in shaping the big-league roster is apparent.Of the 47 players to appear in a game for the 2020 Cubs, only five remain on the 40-man roster: Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Patrick Wisdom, Kyle Hendricks and Adbert Alzolay. Four others — David Bote, Rowan Wick, Brad Wieck and Brailyn Marquez — are in the minor leagues.An offseason plan built around pitching and defense brought in Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger and Jameson Taillon, notably adding athletic defenders at premium positions. It reflects how Hoyer envisions building ...

Orioles CEO John Angelos again whiffs on self-imposed deadline to share club’s finances | ANALYSIS

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:13:36 GMT

First, it was “next week.” Then, it was “before spring training is over.” Now, Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos has self-imposed two deadlines to go over the team’s finances with Baltimore reporters and has twice failed to follow through.The Orioles played their final spring training game Monday, more than two months after Angelos initially told media members he would welcome them back to Camden Yards within the week to “show you the financials of the Orioles” and a month after he said he would instead hold that meeting before the team’s exhibition slate ended. An Orioles spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment from either the team or Angelos as to why the meeting has yet to take place.“When I say something — like I’m gonna sit down with you guys, explain the business from my perspective — I’m gonna do it,” Angelos said at the Orioles’ spring training complex in Febru...

Russia stops sharing nuclear forces information with US

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:13:36 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A senior Russian diplomat said Wednesday that Moscow has suspended sharing information about its nuclear forces with the United States, including notices about missile tests.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that Moscow has halted all information exchanges with Washington after previously suspending its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms pact with the U.S.Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended the New START treaty, charging that Russia can’t accept U.S. inspections of its nuclear sites under the agreement at a time when Washington and its NATO allies have openly declared Russia’s defeat in Ukraine as their goal.Moscow emphasized that it wasn’t withdrawing from the pact altogether and would continue to respect the caps on nuclear weapons. The Russian Foreign Ministry initially said Moscow would keep notifying the U.S. about planned test launches of its ballistic missiles.The Russ...

Dollarama reports $261.3M Q4 profit, raises quarterly dividend

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:13:36 GMT

MONTREAL — Dollarama Inc. raised its dividend as it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $261.3 million, up from $220.0 million a year earlier.The retailer says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 7.08 cents per share, up from 5.53 cents per share.The increased payment to shareholders came as Dollarama says it earned 91 cents per diluted share for the 13-week period ended Jan. 29, up from 74 cents per diluted share a year earlier.Sales for the quarter totalled $1.47 billion, up from $1.22 billion in the same quarter last year.Dollarama says comparable-store sales grew 15.9 per cent as the number of transactions rose 14.1 per cent and the average transaction size increased 1.6 per cent.In its outlook for its 2024 financial year, the company says it expects 60 to 70 net new store openings and comparable store sales growth of 5.0 to 6.0 per cent. Dollarama says it expects gross margins of 43.5 to 44.5 per cent.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2023.Comp...

South Africa manhunt for convicted killer who escaped prison

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:13:36 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police have launched a manhunt for convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester who escaped from a privately-run maximum security prison in the Free State province under bizarre circumstances.Bester, known as the “Facebook rapist,” was found guilty in 2012 of raping two women and killing one after luring them with the social media platform. In March last year officials reported that he had died in a fire in his cell at the Mangaung Correctional Center, near Bloemfontein. But now it appears Bester escaped from his cell amid the fire and has been living lavishly in Johannesburg’s posh Hyde Park suburb.According to information first revealed by the South African news outlet GroundUp and confirmed by the police, the body found burned in the cell was not Bester according to DNA results. Autopsy results have determined that the person found dead in the cell died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head before the fire.The fire appears to have bee...

Top EU official switches jobs as Qatar questions linger

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:13:36 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union transport official who accepted free flights and accommodation in Qatar has been transferred to another post at his own request, the European Commission said Wednesday, but it remains unclear whether the man is suspected of any wrongdoing.The head of the commission’s transport department, Henrik Hololei, traveled for free with Qatar Airways nine times between 2015 and 2021. Two flights were paid by Qatar; the others by lobby groups and conference organizers, according to online news outlet Politico.The trips were made when the department, known as DG MOVE, was involved in negotiating an EU-Qatar air transport agreement, which was signed on October 18, 2021. Hololei did not take part in the negotiations, but he did lead the department conducting them.The commission launched an investigation into whether his actions constituted a conflict of interest and the inquiry was still ongoing as of Wednesday. Top officials at the commission greenlight their...