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Iran summons Russian ambassador over comments on Persian Gulf territorial dispute in a rare spat

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:39:19 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran summoned Russia’s ambassador on Wednesday after Moscow released a joint statement with Arab countries earlier this week challenging Iran’s claim to disputed islands in the Persian Gulf.It marked a rare spat between Iran and Russia, which have deepened ties since Moscow invaded Ukraine, with Iran supplying killer drones that have been used to devastating effect there. Iran and Russia are also strong backers of President Bashar Assad in Syria’s civil war.Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the ambassador was summoned over a joint statement released Monday after a meeting in Moscow between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.In the statement, the ministers affirmed their support for efforts “to reach a peaceful solution to the issue of the three islands, Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, through bilateral negotiations or the...

Autobody repair company Boyd Group Services names Jeff Murray as CFO

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:39:19 GMT

WINNIPEG — Boyd Group Services Inc. has named Jeff Murray as the company’s chief financial officer.The autobody repair company says Murray has filled the job on an interim basis since the start of the year following the retirement of Pat Pathipati at the end of 2022.Murray joined the finance team at Boyd in 2004 as the manager of external financial reporting after working for accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP.He has been vice-president, finance, since 2013.Boyd Group operates in Canada under the Boyd Autobody & Glass banner as well as Assured Automotive.In the U.S., the company operates under the name Gerber Collision & Glass and other banners.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:BYD)The Canadian Press

Live Updates | Zelenskyy welcomes US decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:39:19 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Follow along for updates on the summit of the NATO military alliance in Lithuania’s capital:What to know: — NATO backs Ukraine’s fight vs. Russia but doesn’t invite Kyiv to join— Sweden’s rocky road from neutrality toward NATO membership— What is NATO doing to help Ukraine in the war with Russia?——Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed the recent U.S. decision to send cluster munitions to his country, saying Russia also uses the controversial and widely banned weapons.“Russia constantly uses cluster munitions on our territory. It wages war exclusively on our land. It kills our people,” he said Wednesday at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.“This is about justice,” Zelenskyy added. “We defend ourselves, without using (these) weapons on the territory of other states.” Zelenskyy said. Any cluster munitions supplied to Ukraine, he said, would be used “purely for military purposes” and “purely” in Russian-occupied parts ...

US inflation falls to 3%, lowest level in more than 2 years, as price pressures ease

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:39:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — After two years of painfully high prices, inflation in the United States has reached its lowest point in more than two years — 3% in June compared with 12 months earlier — a sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes have steadily slowed price increases across the economy.The inflation figure the government reported Wednesday was down sharply from a 4% annual rate in May, though still above the Fed’s 2% target rate. Over the past 12 months, gas prices have dropped, grocery costs have risen more slowly and used cars have become less expensive.From May to June, overall prices rose 0.2%, up from just 0.1% in the previous month but still comparatively mild.At the same time, underlying inflation remains persistently high and a nagging concern for the Fed, which is all but certain to increase its key interest rate again when it meets in two weeks. The Fed has raised its benchmark rate by a substantial 5 percentage points since March 2022, the steepest pace of in...

In ’20 Days in Mariupol’ documentary, the horrors of war illuminated

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:39:19 GMT

Associated Press video journalist Mstyslav Chernov had just broken out of Mariupol after covering the first 20 days of the Russian invasion of the Ukrainian city and was feeling guilty about leaving. He and his colleagues, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, had been the last journalists there, sending crucial dispatches from a city under a full-scale assault.The day after, a theater with hundreds of people sheltering inside was bombed and he knew no one was there to document it. That’s when Chernov decided he wanted to do something bigger. He’d filmed some 30 hours of footage over his days in Mariupol. But poor and sometimes no internet connections made it extremely difficult to export anything. All told, he estimates only about 40 minutes of that successfully made it out to the world.“Those shots which went out were very important. They went on the AP and then to thousands of news outlets,” Chernov said earlier this year. “However, I had much more. ...

B.C. port strike could end pending approval of terms set by federal mediator

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:39:19 GMT

VANCOUVER — The B.C. port strike could be nearing its end after Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan gave a federal mediator 24 hours to send him recommended terms to resolve the dispute.Once he gets the terms, he’ll forward them to both sides and they’ll have 24 hours to decide whether to ratify the principles of the deal.O’Regan says the gap between the positions of the B.C. Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada is “not sufficient to justify a continued work stoppage.”Alberta premier Danielle Smith said in a tweet that she appreciates O’Regan’s efforts to end the strike and hopes for a resolution within 48 hours.About 7,400 dock workers have been on strike since July 1, halting cargo in and out of more than 30 ports in B.C., including Vancouver, Canada’s busiest port.The workers say they’re fighting for jurisdiction over maintenance, protections against contracting out and aut...

3 dead, 14 injured in Illinois crash involving Greyhound bus and commercial vehicles

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:39:19 GMT

HIGHLAND, Ill. (AP) — Three people were killed and 14 others injured, some seriously, early Wednesday when a Greyhound bus crashed into three commercial motor vehicles along a highway in southern Illinois, state police said.Illinois State Police said an initial investigation indicates a Greyhound passenger bus and three commercial vehicles were involved in the crash about 1:55 a.m. along westbound Interstate 70 in Madison County.“Three fatalities are confirmed and multiple others were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, four by helicopter and at least 10 by ambulance,” state police said in a news release.The agency said no one in the commercial vehicles was injured in the crash at the Silver Lake Rest Area near the city of Highland about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of St. Louis. Worker alleges he was fired for outing unsanitary conditions at well-known Gold Coast restaurant State Police spokesperson Melaney Arnold said those killed and injured were all on the Greyhound bu...

Almost 3 in 4 in new poll support abortion access in first 6 weeks of pregnancy 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:39:19 GMT

(The Hill) -- Nearly three in four Americans — including those living in states with strict bans on the procedure — believe abortion should be legal in the first six weeks of pregnancy, a new poll found.Seventy-three percent of Americans believe that abortion should be legal six weeks into pregnancy, including 88 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of Republicans, according to the new poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. Americans were more divided when asked about whether abortion should be legal at 15 weeks and 24 weeks into the pregnancy, with 51 percent and 21 percent in support of it, respectively.This was largely split by party affiliation, with 75 percent of Democrats and 29 percent of Republicans saying abortion should be allowed at 15 weeks. At 24 weeks, 53 percent of Democrats and 11 percent of Republicans were in support of abortion.Overall, 64 percent of Americans polled believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Re...

Dean's Home Video: 'Full Circle,' 'Bird Box Barcelona,' and more

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:39:19 GMT

CHICAGO — A new miniseries from Steven Soderbergh along with a new spinoff of a 2018 hit are among the series that are being released on home video this week."Full Circle" is due out Thursday on Max and centers around a botched kidnapping. Meanwhile "Bird Box Barcelona" arrives five years after Sandra Bullock's very popular "Bird Box" and is set to be released on Netflix on Friday.Both of these films were featured in "Dean's Home Video" on WGN Morning News on Wednesday as Dean Richards takes a look at what's streaming for the first time this week.He also spotlighted season 2 of "The Summer I Turned Pretty," season 2 of "The Afterparty," "Quarterback," and Imagine Dragon's Las Vegas concert, and more.You can watch this edition of "Dean's Home Video" from the July 12 morning news in the video above.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

Campaign Context: President Biden claims he created record number of jobs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:39:19 GMT

As campaign season nears, politicians are turning up the volume on campaign rhetoric. To cut through the noise, we’re launching Campaign Context, a weekly series providing clarity on the messages you’re hearing from candidates on the campaign trail. We’re digging past the politics and into the facts to provide you with the transparent, spin-free information you need to make informed decisions this election season.AUSTIN (KXAN) — Kicking off KXAN's Campaign Context series, we take a look at a comment from President Joe Biden touting job growth within his Bidenomics plan. Watch the video above for the breakdown.The president, who is running for reelection in 2024, said his administration, "has created more jobs in two years than any previous administration has created in the first four years."The White House also tweeted this chart showing the month-to-month job growth of his predecessors. We tracked those numbers back to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and that data confirms tha...