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UNESCO puts 2 locations in war-ravaged Ukraine on its list of historic sites in danger

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:54:17 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The U.N.’s World Heritage Committee on Friday placed two major historical sites in Ukraine on its list of such sites that it considers to be in danger.The iconic St. Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kyiv, and the medieval center of the western city of Lviv, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites central to Ukraine’s culture and history. The decision Friday to put those two on the body’s list of sites “in danger” has no enforcement mechanism, but could help deter Russian attacks.Neither site has been directly targeted since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Lviv has largely been spared from the fighting. But Russia has unleashed waves of strikes on Kyiv and other cities, hitting residential areas and critical infrastructure with Iranian-made attack drones.The decision was made at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which is being held in Saudi Arabia. The committee maintains UNESCO’s World...

Oil companies can only decarbonize as fast as the rest of the economy: Shell Canada

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:54:17 GMT

CALGARY — The president of British oil giant Shell’s Canadian subsidiary says the pace of the global energy transition isn’t up to oil and gas companies.Shell Canada president Susannah Pierce says while oil and gas companies must do what they can to reduce their own emissions, they can only move as fast as the rest of the economy.Pierce says the global economy is still fossil fuel-driven and fossil fuels are what customers are demanding.She says transitioning to a lower-carbon economy will require government incentives across the entire value chain, particularly in fossil fuel-intensive industries like cement and steel manufacturing, shipping and aviation.Pierce made the comments just days before hundreds of energy sector executives and government representatives from around the globe arrive in Calgary for next week’s 24th World Petroleum Congress. The theme of the conference, which was last held in Canada in 2000, is the energy transition.This report by The Canadi...

One American, two Russians blast off in Russian spacecraft heading to International Space Station

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:54:17 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — One American and two Russian space crew members blasted off Friday aboard a Russian spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a mission to the International Space Station.NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub lifted off on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft at 8:44 p.m. local time ( 1544 GMT, 11:44 a.m. EDT). O’Hara will spend six months on the International Space Station while Kononenko and Chub will spend a year there. Neither O’Hara nor Chub have ever flown to space before, but they are flying with veteran cosmonaut Kononenko, who has made the trip four times already. The trio should arrive at the space station after a flight of about three hours.The Associated Press

Canadian Press NewsAlert: Metroland Media Group seeks bankruptcy protection

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:54:17 GMT

TORONTO — Metroland Media Group says it plans to end the print editions of its community newspapers and will exit the flyer business as it seeks protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act as part of a restructuring plan.More coming.The Canadian Press

S&P/TSX composite little changed in mid-morning trading, U.S. markets down

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:54:17 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was little changed in midday trading Friday, while U.S. markets traded lower, led by losses in tech.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 1.43 points at 20,569.27.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 175.53 points at 34,731.58. The S&P 500 index was down 40.84 points at 4,464.26, while the Nasdaq composite was down at 194.81 points at 13,731.24.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.97 cents US compared with 73.99 cents US on Thursday.The October crude contract was up nine cents at US$90.25 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down three cents at US$2.68 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was up US$16.90 at $1,949.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was down three cents at US$3.79 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Younger voters will be critical in 2024. Biden and Trump are taking different paths to reach them

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:54:17 GMT

HAMPTON, Va. (AP) — Students were dancing in the aisles and their seats in the Hampton University auditorium long before Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage for the first stop of her fall college tour.Jaden Clemons and Layth Carpenter, both 18-year-old freshmen, said they viewed Harris as “authentic” and “relatable” as the alum of Howard University, another historically Black school.But neither was ready to commit to supporting Harris and Joe Biden next year, the first time they will be eligible to vote in a presidential election. And when it comes to lining up behind Democrats or Republicans, Clemons said, “We don’t even feel like it’s something that we need to choose.”Getting students like these two off the sidelines is one of the top challenges for the White House as Biden seeks a second term as the oldest president in American history, and it’s one that Harris will confront as she crisscrosses between campuses in the coming weeks. Although young people lean left, they...

Climate protesters around the world are calling for an end to fossil fuels as Earth heats up

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:54:17 GMT

Tens of thousands of climate activists around the world launched protests Friday to call for an end to the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels as the globe suffers dramatic weather extremes and record-breaking heat, with plans to continue through the weekend.The protests — driven by several mostly youth-led, local and global climate groups and organizations, including Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement — were taking place in dozens of countries and hundreds of cities worldwide. In Quezon City in the Philippines, activists lay in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in protest, and held signs demanding fossil fuels — from coal to natural gas — be phased out. Outside the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources office in Jakarta, Indonesia, protesters held signs calling for end to dirty fuels and greenwashing as police officers looked on.In Sweden, climate activists gathered in front of Parliament, just next to the Royal Palace where Sweden’s...

Biden announces more Iran sanctions on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:54:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced new U.S. sanctions Friday on “some of Iran’s more egregious human rights abusers” as he marked the anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while being held by the country’s morality police. Amini had been detained for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely in violation of laws that require women in public to wear the Islamic headscarf. She died three days later in police custody. Her death set off protests in dozens of cities across the country of 80 million people, with young women marching in the streets and publicly exposing and cutting off their hair. The government responded with a fierce crackdown, blaming the protests on foreign interference.Amini remains a potent symbol in protests that have posed one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 2009 Green Movement protests drew millions to the streets.Biden said Friday that the U.S. reaffirms its “commitment to the courage...

Le Bouchon in Bucktown closed due to kitchen fire

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:54:17 GMT

CHICAGO — The popular French restaurant Le Bouchon is closed "for the foreseeable future" due to a kitchen fire.The establishment, located in the 1900 block of North Damen, announced Tuesday that a kitchen fire caused a "decent amount" of damage. No one was injured and Le Bouchon said it could have been worse.They hope to be back soon but will be closed for the time being. Migrants move into Greek Town Hostel Friday Le Bouchon, which opened up in 1993, was created by the late Jean-Claude Poilevey — who is memorialized on the menu and the restaurant walls.

A bad Bears' streak continues into 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:54:17 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — While there were many bad things about the Bears' first game of the 2023 season, there was a streak that continued that's a painful one for players, coaches, and fans.It's proof of the total rebuild the team has gone through the past year-and-a-half, and how far they still have to go to get back among the elite in the NFL.By dropping their opener 38-20 to the Packers, the Bears have now lost 11 consecutive games dating back to October of 2022. Their last victory came against the Patriots in Week 7 of last season, and they dropped the final ten games of that campaign to finish 3-14. The 11-straight defeats are the most in Bears' history, besting the previous mark by a full three games. Before this streak, the record was eight consecutive losses, which had been pulled off four times in team history. 2014 (Last 5 Games) & 2015 (First 3 Games)1996 (Last Game) & 1997 (First 7 Games)20021978There have been chances to break the streak, with the Bears losing four...