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Swiss prosecutor probes Credit Suisse takeover

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:27:10 GMT

Switzerland’s Federal Prosecutor has opened an investigation into the state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS Group, the office of the attorney general said Sunday.The prosecutor, based in the Swiss capital Bern, is looking into potential breaches of the country’s criminal law by government officials, regulators and executives at the two banks, which agreed on an emergency merger last month to avoid a meltdown in the country’s financial system.There were “numerous aspects of events around Credit Suisse” that warranted investigation and which needed to be analyzed to “identify any criminal offenses that could fall within the competence of the [prosecutor],” it said in a statement.“The Office of the Attorney General wants to proactively fulfill its mandate and responsibility to contribute to a clean Swiss financial center and has set up a monitoring system so that it can take action immediately on any issues that fall within its ar...

Recent Queen’s grads being investigated for Indigenous identity fraud 

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:27:10 GMT

By Jeff PelletierLocal Journalism Initiative Reporter with Nunatsiaq NewsTwo Kingston residents and recent graduates from Queen’s University are being investigated by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc (NTI), an organization responsible for representing the Inuit of Nunavut, for what it describes as “potential” enrolment fraud who claimed Inuk heritage. According to a news release sent by NTI on Thursday evening, a woman named Karima Manji claimed her twin daughters, Amira and Nadya Gill, were adopted from an Inuk mother.However, according to the news release, NTI has received information from the woman identified as their birth mother that the Gill sisters are not her children.“Today, she initiated the process to have Amira and Nadya removed from the Inuit enrolment list,” NTI’s news release said.“The Iqaluit Community Enrolment Committee will review the removal application and make a decision.”NTI said this type of investigation has never happened previously in the organization’s history...

Recent wildfires a glaring reminder to protect your home

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:27:10 GMT

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Scars of Jefferson County’s latest fire, the Hogback Fire, served as a glaring reminder that wildfires are a very real threat in Colorado. “If it's not raining currently, give it an hour when things dry out. We call them the one-hour fuel, they're ready to burn after that,” said West Metro Fire Capt. Branden Finnegan. “There is no traditional fire season in Colorado anymore.” Colorado Wildfire Map Though the Hogback Fire kept to less than 50 acres, West Metro crews couldn’t help but draw parallels to the Marshall Fire.“So, you know when we talk about the wildland-urban interface where our structures meet up to the wildland areas, and sometimes those grasslands were left out of that equation and we saw it in the in the Marshall Fire how fast that rips through the grasslands and then up against combustible materials in our subdivisions,” said Finnegan. “The structures in our current common subdivisions, they're very close together and there's not a ...

No growth overnight in Stove Prairie Fire

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:27:10 GMT

BELLVUE, Colo. (KDVR) — A fire spanned dozens of acres in northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon.The Stove Prairie Fire was burning grass in the Cache la Poudre Wilderness, according to the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service.The fire was estimated to be about 45 acres and 50% contained and saw no growth overnight and into Sunday. No structures were reported as threatened. Colorado Wildfire Map: Updates, warnings, and smoke forecast The fire marked yet another after days of whipping winds in Colorado, including hurricane-force winds on Friday, which led to fires across the Front Range. The Pinpoint Weather team said gusts continued to hit northern Colorado on Saturday and were expected to pick up at night, with more windy weather in the forecast ahead.The National Weather Service had issued a hazardous weather outlook for northeast Colorado and into the Front Range mountains, with a red flag warning also in effect for South Park, the Palmer Divide and adjacen...

Saudis, OPEC+ states announce surprise oil cuts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:27:10 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers announced surprise cuts totaling 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the year, a move that could raise prices worldwide.Higher oil prices would help fill Russian President Vladimir Putin’s coffers as his country wages war on Ukraine and force Americans and others to pay even more at the pump amid worlwide inflation.The Saudi Energy Ministry said Sunday its own reduction of 500,000 barrels per day would be made in coordination with some OPEC and non-OPEC members, without naming them. The cuts are in addition to a reduction announced last October that infuriated the Biden administration.The ministry described the move as a “precautionary measure” aimed at stabilizing the oil market. The cuts represent less than 5% of Saudi Arabia’s average production of 11.5 million barrels per day in 2022.Iraq said it would reduce production by 211,000 barrels per day, the United Arab E...

Broad swaths of US reel from tornadoes that killed 29

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:27:10 GMT

WYNNE, Ark. (AP) — Residents across a wide swath of the South and Midwest on Sunday raced to assess the destruction wreaked by storms that dropped possibly dozens of tornadoes and killed at least 29 people in small towns and big cities, as severe weather moved into parts of the Northeast.Earlier storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois and stunning people throughout the region Saturday with the damage’s scope.“That means that there is now assistance from the federal government to support the incredible efforts that are already underway from the state and the local communities,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in Little Rock, Arkansas, after visiting some of the hardest hit areas.Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders had already declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. At least five people were killed in her state.Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in 11 states destroyed homes an...

Search for man whose boat was found near eight migrants stretches into third full day

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:27:10 GMT

MONTREAL — Akwesasne Mohawk Police say the search is still underway today for a local man whose boat was found where eight bodies were pulled from the St. Lawrence River last week.The force issued an afternoon statement saying a search will continue until sunset for 30-year-old Akwesasne resident Casey Oakes, whom officers have been seeking since Thursday when the migrants’ bodies were first discovered.Oakes was last seen Wednesday night operating a boat that was found next to the migrants’ bodies, but police have made no direct connections between Oakes and the deaths.Police identified two of the migrants on Saturday as 28-year-old Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache and 28-yearold Florin Iordache, who was carrying Canadian passports for two young children who were among the victims. The identities of four Indian nationals have not yet been confirmed.Akwesasne straddles the Canada-U.S. border, with parts of the territory in Ontario, Quebec and New York state. Authoriti...

Journalist assaulted while covering political sign vandalism

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:27:10 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A journalist was assaulted and had his phone stolen while working on a story about the vandalism of political campaign signs, the Anchorage Daily News reported.Photographer Loren Holmes was assaulted Friday amid the peak of campaigning in a municipal election that is set to wrap up Tuesday, according to the newspaper. Police responded to the incident but did not have any other details, including whether any arrests have been made, the police department’s dispatch supervisor, Dennis Lasley, told The Associated Press on Sunday. Holmes had arranged to meet someone from a political consulting firm to take photographs on Friday at a site where signs had been vandalized, he said. Holmes was approached by a man who claimed, when asked, to be with the firm, the newspaper reported. The man, who refused to give his name, said he was in the process of replacing the signs but did not want his photo taken, threatening to take Holmes’ camera if he did, according to ...

Israeli government dismisses antisemitism envoy

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:27:10 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s antisemitism envoy said Sunday that she was fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, citing her criticism of its planned judicial overhaul as a possible cause.Noa Tishby, a pro-Israel activist and actress, was appointed to the volunteer role to combat antisemitism last year by Israel’s previous administration. Tishby wrote on Twitter that “it is not possible for me to know if their decision was driven by my publicly stated concerns about this government’s ‘judicial reform policy.’”Last month Tishby published a column on the Hebrew-language news site Ynet critical of the government’s proposed legislation, calling it an attempted “coup.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined answering questions about Tishby’s dismissal, but issued a statement wishing her luck. Netanyahu announced last week that he would pause the planned overhaul of the country’s judiciary. The government’s proposed defanging of the Supreme Court has divided the country ...

One taken to hospital after vehicle rollover in Warden and Steeles area

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:27:10 GMT

One person has been taken to hospital after a collision in the Warden and Steeles East avenues area.COLLISION:Warden Av + Steeles Av East1:05 p.m.– Vehicle rollover– Unknown injuries– Police are on sceneROAD CLOSURE: All N/B lanes on Warden blocked @TTCnotices#GO724098^lb— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) April 2, 2023Police arrived on scene at approximately 1:05 p.m. after reports of a vehicle rollover.York emergency services responded with one ambulance and took one patient to local hospital with minor injuries.All northbound lanes on Warden are open after previously being blocked due to the collision.