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Iran says it has successfully launched an imaging satellite into orbit amid tensions with the West

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:28:14 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran claimed on Wednesday that it successfully launched an imaging satellite into space, a move that could further ratchet up tensions with Western nations that fear its space technology could be used to develop nuclear weapons.Iran’s Communication Minister Isa Zarepour said the Noor-3 satellite had been put in an orbit 450 kilometers (280 miles) above the Earth’s surface, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It was not clear when exactly the launch took place.There was no immediate acknowledgment from Western officials of the launch or of the satellite being put into orbit. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran has had a series of failed launches in recent years.Zarepour said the aerospace arm of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has had success in launching satellites in the past, had carried out the most recent launch. Authorities did not immediately release images of the ...

Stock market today: World shares mixed after Wall Street retreat deepens

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:28:14 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — World shares were mixed on Wednesday after a sharp decline on Wall Street that took benchmarks back to where they were in June.Oil prices rose and U.S. futures also were higher. Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% lower to 15,241.78 and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1% at 7,082.75. In London, the FTSE 100 shed 0.1% to 7,621.77. The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.4%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%.On Tuesday, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.5% and the Dow industrials fell 1.1% . The Nasdaq composite lost 1.6%. September is on track to be the worst month of the year for stocks as investors become convinced the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates high for a longer time than they had earlier hoped. In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 recovered from earlier losses, gaining 0.3% to 32,371.90. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng advanced 0.7% to 17,592.54. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.2% to 3,107.32. In China, concerns have continued over heav...

Leader of Spain’s conservatives expected to lose on his first chance to become prime minister

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:28:14 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barring a last-minute surprise, the leader of Spain’s conservatives will miss on his first shot to become the country’s next prime minister when the parliament votes Wednesday on his petition to form a government.Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo appears set to come up four votes short of the necessary absolute majority of 176 votes in favor. If he loses the vote as expected, Feijóo will have a second opportunity on Friday when the bar is lowered and he would need more “yes” than “no” votes.The Popular Party holds 137 seats in the Madrid-based Congress of the Deputies, the most of any party. But even with backing from the far-right Vox’s 33 lawmakers and two from small conservative parties representing Navarra and the Canary Islands, Feijóo will only reach 172 votes in his favor.Spain’s July 23 national election left the parliament highly fragmented with its 350 legislators spread between 11 different parties, setting the stage for a difficult path to...

A fire at a wedding hall in northern Iraq has killed around 100 people and injured 150

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:28:14 GMT

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — A raging fire seemingly caused by fireworks set off to celebrate a Christian wedding consumed a hall packed with guests in northern Iraq, killing around 100 people and injuring 150 others as authorities warned Wednesday the death toll could still rise.Authorities said that flammable building materials also contributed to the latest disaster to hit Iraq’s dwindling Christian minority. In the fire’s chaotic aftermath, officials offered conflicting death tolls and security officials said they detained staff at the wedding hall as part of their investigation.The fire happened in the Hamdaniya area of Iraq’s Nineveh province, authorities said. That’s a predominantly Christian area just outside of the city of Mosul, some 335 kilometers (205 miles) northwest of Baghdad. There was no official word on the cause of the blaze, but the Kurdish television news channel Rudaw aired footage showing pyrotechnics shooting flames up from the floor of the event and settin...

Britain approves new North Sea oil drilling, delighting the industry but angering critics

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:28:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British regulators on Wednesday approved new oil and gas drilling at a site in the North Sea, a move environmentalists say will hurt the country’s attempt to meet its climate goals.The U.K.’s North Sea Transition Authority said it had approved the Rosebank Field Development Plan, “which allows the owners to proceed with their project.”Britain’s Conservative government argues that drilling in the Rosebank field, northwest of the Shetland Islands, will create jobs and bolster the U.K.’s energy security.One of the largest untapped deposits in U.K. waters, Rosebank holds an estimated 350 million barrels of oil.The field is operated by Norway’s Equinor and the U.K. firm Ithaca Energy, which say they plan to invest $3.8 billion in the first phase of the project. The field is expected to start producing in 2026-2027.Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas called the decision to approve drilling “morally obscene.”“Energy security and cheaper bills aren’t delivered by allowin...

In the news today: Speaker resignation effective today, potential gravesites in Yukon

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:28:14 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Speaker’s resignation to take effectThe resignation of House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota is set to take effect this evening. Rota resigned on Tuesday amid international controversy after he invited a man who fought for the Nazis to attend a speech by the Ukrainian president last Friday. He said he profoundly regrets calling attention to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, a veteran of a Ukrainian voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis in the Second World War.15 “potential” gravesites found near former Yukon residential schoolThe former Chooutla Residential School in Carcross, Yukon Territory, is now the site of 15 “potential” gravesites at or near the school.Researchers say a ground-penetrating radar scan of the grounds has detected anomalies that are consistent with former student accounts.They’ve also used archi...

France’s withdrawal from Niger could jeopardize counterterrorism operations in the Sahel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:28:14 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The French troops withdrawing from Niger were seen as a key line of defense for about a decade in Western efforts against jihadi violence in Africa’s Sahel region, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.As the U.S. keeps pushing for a diplomatic solution to resolve Niger’s political crisis, analysts say the country’s junta might struggle to sustain its relative peace with no external support.French President Emmanuel Macron has agreed to withdraw France’s ambassador and troops from Niger after the July coup that deposed its elected president and triggered anti-French sentiment in the former colony. In response, the junta welcomed the end of “imperialist and neo-colonialist forces” and said Monday that the withdrawal must follow a “negotiated framework and mutual agreement.”U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in Kenya on Monday that Washington’s desire is for Niger’s political crisis to be resolved through diplo...

Jury at Peter Nygard’s Toronto sexual-assault trial set to hear more evidence today

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:28:14 GMT

TORONTO — Jurors at the Toronto sexual-assault trial of former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard are set to hear more evidence today.Nygard, the founder of a now-defunct international women’s clothing company, has been accused of using his position in the fashion industry to lure women and girls.The 82-year-old has pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in alleged incidents ranging from the ’80s to mid-2000s.Crown lawyers began their arguments on Tuesday, alleging all five complainants in the case were invited for tours or job interviews to Nygard’s office building in Toronto, where he forced himself on them at his top-floor bedroom suite that featured a jacuzzi, bar and doors with no handles and keypad-operated locks.Nygard founded Nygard International in Winnipeg in 1967, and stepped down as chairman of the clothing company in February 2020 before it filed for bankruptcy.The trial is expected to last approximat...

House of Commons to elect new Speaker as Rota’s resignation takes effect

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:28:14 GMT

OTTAWA — The resignation of House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota is set to take effect this evening. Rota resigned on Tuesday amid international controversy after he invited a man who fought for the Nazis to attend a speech by the Ukrainian president last Friday. He said he profoundly regrets calling attention to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, a veteran of a Ukrainian voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis in the Second World War.Parliamentarians and dignitaries, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, gave two standing ovations to the man without knowing about his background. Rota stepped down after pressure from all sides of the House, including from the governing Liberals, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying the incident was deeply embarrassing for Canada.House of Commons procedure dictates that as soon as Rota steps down, MPs must go through the process of electing a new Speaker before they can continue with their normal business.This report by The...

Poilievre’s Tories maintain summer lead over Trudeau’s Liberals in September poll

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:28:14 GMT

OTTAWA — The Conservatives have maintained their summer lead in the polls, according to fresh numbers from Leger.Leger has released the findings of an online survey conducted over the weekend with more than 1,600 Canadian respondents.Among decided voters, Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre’s party has the support of 39 per cent of respondents, which is 12 points ahead of the federal Liberals.The poll suggests a shift of just a few points toward the Tories from a month before, while the Bloc Québécois has fallen seven points to tie the Liberals at 29 per cent support among Quebec voters.The polling took place in the days following a bombshell announcement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleging that the Indian government could be behind the killing of a Sikh leader near Vancouver.Results were weighted for demographics, language and region, and cannot be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.The online polling was conducted Sept. 2...