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MBTA temporarily pauses nearly all contract work on tracks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

The MBTA has temporarily paused nearly all contractor work on its tracks, officials said Thursday, citing to safety concerns. A T spokesperson said officials paused work beginning on Wednesday. The pause, the spokesperson said, was scheduled to continue for 48 hours and would include “all contractor work that is not taking place inside an established diversion area.”The pause this week comes after news of more close calls between MBTA trains and workers became public.The pause, in turn, comes after a crackdown on the T from the Federal Transit Authority, which recently ordered new safety changes to protect employees.Among recent incidents was one on Sept. 11 that happened in a tunnel between Porter and Harvard stations on the Red Line. A worker tried to flag a train driver to stop. The driver did not stop and the incident was not immediately reported. In a letter last week, the Federal Transit Authority said it “has determined that a combination of unsafe conditions and practic...

‘Our family’: Four B.C. firefighters who died in crash worked for Kamloops firm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

The four British Columbia firefighters who died in a highway crash this week all worked for a Kamloops-based contractor, whose owner said they were “our family.”Aaron Duczak, owner of Tomahawk Ventures, said three of the men were Indigenous, and that all four were “irreplaceable.”The men died when their pickup collided head-on with a semi-truck on Highway 1 east of Cache Creek in the province’s southern Interior early Tuesday morning.Duczak said in a statement that the men’s lives had been “tragically cut short.”RCMP say the initial investigation suggests a Ford F-350 pickup truck carrying the four men failed to navigate a bend in the highway and slammed into the semi travelling in the opposite direction.Duczak said the company appreciates the public’s support and concerns but is asking for privacy.“The wildland firefighting community has lost four good ones and they are irreplaceable,” he said. Posts on social media ...

Gold, watches and other luxury items totaling $1.75B seized in Singapore money laundering scheme

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Singapore police say they have uncovered more luxury watches, gold bars and other assets from a massive money laundering scheme that was busted last month, bringing the total amount of assets seized or frozen to 2.4 billion Singapore dollars ($1.75 billion).The police had launched further operations related to a group of foreign nationals suspected to be involved in laundering the proceeds of their organized criminal activities, including scams and online gambling, police said in a statement on Wednesday.The latest action followed multiple other raids across the city-state last month that saw properties, vehicles, luxury goods and gold bars worth SG$1 billion ($731 million) seized or frozen. Nine men and a woman from Cyprus, Turkey, China, Cambodia and Vanuatu have been charged in court.The case has cast a shadow on Singapore’s status as a financial hub known for its low crime and clean image.The latest operations saw additional assets seized or f...

North Korea’s Kim sets forth steps to boost Russia ties as US and Seoul warn about weapons deals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered unspecified steps to further develop relations with Russia after his recent visit to the country as his foreign rivals warn that any cooperation on military weapons would be dangerous and bring consequences.Experts speculated North Korea and Russia likely discussed banned arms transfer deals and other cooperation measures during Kim’s six-day trip last week. They say the two countries are serious about sharply boosting their ties while they are engaged in separate confrontations with the West. During a Politburo meeting on Wednesday, Kim arranged for work to be done on further developing bilateral ties at “a new high level at the practical stage” to consolidate “the success” of his Russia trip, the official Korean Central News Agency said Friday.Kim underscored the need to expand bilateral cooperation in every field, making a substantial contribution to the promotion of the well-being of the people of the ...

Australia’s government posts $14.2 billion budget surplus after 15 years in the red

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s government reported Friday that it had a budget surplus of 22.1 billion Australian dollars ($14.2 billion) in the last fiscal year, the first time the nation’s books have been balanced in 15 years.The government cited low unemployment and high prices for the country’s commodities, including iron ore, coal and gas. The surplus was equivalent to 0.9% of Australia’s GDP, The positive showing for the year that ended June 30 was larger than the AU$4.3 billion ($2.8 billion) surplus forecast in May. And it was a vast improvement from the AU$77.9 billion ($49.9 billion) deficit forecast ahead of elections in May 2022.But Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he did not expect another budget surplus in the current fiscal year, citing China’s economic problems and recent Australian interest rate rises continuing to weigh on growth.“We’re not currently anticipating a second surplus for the time being,” Chalmers told reporters.In announcing the surplus,...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set to arrive in Ottawa for first visit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

OTTAWA — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to arrive in the national capital for his first official visit to Canada since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. He is planning to meet with top Canadian officials and members of the Ukrainian Canadian community. Zelenskyy is also set to address Parliament on Friday — his first in-person address since the war began.He and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are expected to sign an agreement to continue strengthening economic ties between the two countries.The Ukrainian leader spoke at the UN General Assembly in New York City this week, where Trudeau appealed to other nations to support Ukraine’s war effort and called on Russia to withdraw its troops.Canada has provided more than $4.95 billion in financial support and $1.8 billion in military aid for Ukraine. That includes ammunition, weapons, protective equipment, armoured vehicles and tanks — along with providing training for Ukrainian soldiers in the U.K...

Timeline of key events following Ontario’s decision to develop Greenbelt lands

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday that he is reversing his decision to open protected Greenbelt lands for housing development.Here is a timeline of events in the Greenbelt controversy:Nov. 4, 2022: Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark announces via news release that Ontario would remove 7,400 acres in 15 different areas of the Greenbelt while adding 9,400 acres elsewhere in order to build 50,000 homes. It contradicted a pledge he made in 2021 not to open up the Greenbelt “to any kind of development.”Nov. 11, 2022: CBC reports that the landowners who stand to benefit from the Greenbelt land removals include prominent developers and that one purchase happened as recently as September.Nov. 30, 2022: Clark says he did not tip off developers ahead of announcing changes to the Greenbelt. Premier Doug Ford says the same a day later.Jan. 6: Ontario Provincial Police say they’re working to determine whether they should investigate the matter.Jan. 18...

Man charged with 1st degree murder in South Side strangling investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

CHICAGO — A 63-year-old man has been charged with first degree murder in connection to the homicide investigation where a South Side woman was strangled to death in her garage.Lawrence Curtis Boyle, 63.Lawrence Curtis Boyle, 63, was charged with one felony count of first degree murder Thursday, according to the Chicago Police Department.Police said Boyle was arrested in the Pullman neighborhood Wednesday after he was identified as the man who strangled 30-year-old Sierra Jamison to death in a Grand Crossing garage on Monday. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Woman found dead in South Side garage was strangled; death ruled a homicide: autopsy A family member told WGN News that her mother became concerned when Jamison, who recently moved into the property, stopped answering her phone. When she went over to her daughter's home, she walked through the backyard and into the garage to find Jamison, lifeless, on the ground.An autopsy conducted on Jamison's body by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Off...

'Just shocking': Armed robbery spree rattles residents from downtown to the North Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

CHICAGO — Police believe at least 10 armed robberies were committed within an hour from the Loop to the North Side overnight.Latest police records show robberies for the area were up 54% from 2021 and city-wide robberies are up more than 25% from last year."That’s just shocking and it was unbelievable," said North Side resident Samantha Gada.In the first incident reported by police around 12:50 a.m., a 78-year-old man was walking near the 1900 block of West Wolfram Street when he was approached by six male offenders. The individuals demanded the man to hand over his belongings and he complied. One of the individuals struck the man before fleeing in a dark-colored sedan."I couldn’t believe that people would do something so inhumane, especially, not that it should be done to anyone, but such an elderly man who’s defenseless," Gada said.The man was transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital and has since been released.The 78-year-old man told WGN News he's thankful to be alive, but is sh...

House Republicans at odds over Ukraine could stall government spending

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – The U.S. may be headed toward a government shutdown if Congress does not come up with a compromise to fund the government within the next nine days.Negotiations are ongoing, but House Republicans have yet to reach an agreement on a funding plan within their own party.“I think we are very close to coming up with something among our conference that will reduce spending, will secure our border,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said.Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said some GOP representatives are demanding major cuts to government spending.“Twenty percent to a government that is bloated, that is overspent, that is highly inflationary,” Donalds said.The fight over slashing government spending comes as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the U.S. to ask for continued funding to fight Russia's invasion, adding that the countries should remain “united to defeat the aggressor.”Zelensky spoke at the UN General Assembly earlier in the week and he'll be meeting with ...