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Virgin Orbit pausing all work, reportedly furloughs staff

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:45:42 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Virgin Orbit said Thursday it is pausing all operations amid reports that the company is furloughing almost all its staff as part of a bid to seek a funding lifeline. The U.S.-based satellite launch company confirmed it’s putting all work on hold, but didn’t say how long for. “Virgin Orbit is initiating a company-wide operational pause, effective March 16, 2023, and anticipates providing an update on go-forward operations in the coming weeks,” the company said in a statement. The company didn’t comment on reports that all but a small number of workers will be temporarily put on unpaid furlough.Virgin Orbit, which is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, was founded in 2017 by British billionaire Richard Branson to target the market for launching small satellites into space. Its LauncherOne rockets are launched from the air from modified Virgin passenger planes, allowing the company to operate more flexibly than using fixed launch sites. In Januar...

Austrian police warn of abstract threat to Syrian facilities

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:45:42 GMT

VIENNA (AP) — Austrian police issued a terror threat warning Thursday for Vienna, saying there was an “abstract” danger for Syrian institutions in the city. The alert came a day after police in Austria’s capital warned of ” a possible “Islamist-motivated attack” on churches and other houses of worship, citing undisclosed information received by the country’s intelligence service.In an update, the police department said “a recent threat assessment” by the intelligence service indicated the warning was “particularly related to the anniversary of the civil war in Syria — it primarily concerns Syrian facilities.”“The potential threat is still on an increased level,” the department tweeted Thursday. “The preventive security measures ordered remain in place. We are in contact with representatives of the corresponding facilities.” Despite Wednesday’s initial warning, churches and houses of worship in Vienna remained open to visitors and worshipers. Police patr...

Netanyahu in Germany amid tensions at home, Iran worries

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:45:42 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting Germany’s leaders Thursday on an abbreviated visit that comes in the shadow of tensions over his government’s planned overhaul of Israel’s judicial system and worries about Iran’s nuclear program.Netanyahu has meetings scheduled with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Germany’s largely ceremonial president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on his one-day trip to Berlin.The prime minister’s office has said he cut the length of his visit in half because of the security situation in Israel. He delayed his departure from Israel on Wednesday as the country’s figurehead president prepared to unveil a compromise proposal for overhauling the legal system, an approach that Netanyahu rejected.German officials have voiced concern about the Israeli government’s plan, which would allow parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions and give Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition the final say over all...

Yellen to tell Congress US banking system ‘remains sound’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:45:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A week after the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to tell the Senate Finance Committee that the nation’s banking system “remains sound” and Americans “can feel confident” about their deposits.Yellen will be the first Biden administration official to face lawmakers over the decision to protect uninsured money at two failed regional banks, a move that some observers have criticized as a bank “bailout.” “The government took decisive and forceful actions to strengthen public confidence” in the U.S. banking system, Yellen says in prepared testimony released before her appearance. “I can reassure the members of the Committee that our banking system remains sound, and that Americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them.”In less than a week, Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, failed after depositors rushed to withdraw money amid anxiety over the ban...

Many killed in mysterious helicopter crash in Iraq’s north

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:45:42 GMT

DOHUK, Iraq (AP) — Several people, including militants belonging to an outlawed Kurdish insurgency group, were killed in a mysterious helicopter crash in northern Iraq, according to a statement from the Iraqi Kurdish-run counterterrorism service on Thursday. The AS350 Eurocopter crashed in the district of Chamanke in Dohuk province in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region the previous night, the counterterrorism service said in a statement posted on social media. All of its passengers were killed, the statement said.An investigator at the scene of the crash said at least seven were on board. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media while the investigation is ongoing. The helicopter was carrying militants belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK, the statement said. The incident is shrouded in mystery because no party has of yet claimed ownership of the military helicopter. The Iraqi government, the U...

Provincial byelection held today in Hamilton Centre; NDP expected to win

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:45:42 GMT

Residents in Hamilton Centre head to the polls Thursday to vote for a new provincial representative to replace Andrea Horwath.The former Ontario NDP leader held Hamilton Centre, as well as a predecessor riding, since 2004 and consistently won with wide margins.But Horwath stepped down as leader and resigned her seat after the party failed to win last year’s election.The NDP candidate in today’s byelection is widely expected to win, despite being put on the defensive over some of her activism.Sarah Jama is the executive director and co-founder of the Disability Justice Network of Ontario and co-founded the Hamilton Encampment Support Network, among other community involvement, but Jewish organization B’nai Brith has criticized her as a “radical anti-Israel advocate.”Jama has said the criticism has centred around what she describes as standing up for Palestinian human rights, which shouldn’t be conflated with anti-Semitism.Liberal candidate Deirdre ...

Weekend need to know: St. Patrick’s Day, Toronto Comicon; TTC/road closures

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:45:42 GMT

The annual St. Patrick’s Parade in Toronto is taking over Bloor West this weekend, alongside the return of Toronto Comicon at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.Other events include Nowruz celebrations and a festival celebrating Arabic culture.A closure on a portion of the TTC’s Line 1 is scheduled this Saturday. Ongoing road closures also continue within the GTA. Scroll below for more details.Here’s what to do this weekend:Top eventsSt. Patrick’s Day weekendSeveral different venues will be hosting St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on Friday and throughout the weekend.Here are a few to check out:St. Paddy’s Haaay Dance PartyThe St. Patrick’s Parade Society is celebrating St. Paddy’s Day with a queer dance party at Rivoli on Queen West on Friday at 10 p.m.There will be live entertainment from DJ Sumation and DJ Martina Bosede.Tickets are $15 advance and $20 at the door.Guests are encouraged to show up to the party in their best green outfits.Lucky at RebelRebel ...

Man given life in prison for 2019 killing of Gdansk mayor

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:45:42 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The man who fatally stabbed Gdansk Mayor Paweł Adamowicz in 2019 was sentenced to life in prison by a Polish court on Thursday.Stefan Wilmont stabbed the 53-year-old Adamowicz on stage during a life charity event on Jan. 13, 2019. Adamowicz died from his wounds the next day despite a blood transfusion and other efforts by doctors to save him. The killing shocked Poles and plunged the nation into grief.Judge Aleksandra Kaczmarek said in her ruling that Wilmont had committed an “unprecedented murder” in Poland’s history.The sentencing came after a three-year long investigation and a year-long trial. Wilmont’s lawyers said they would appeal the sentence.The conservative ruling Law and Justice party has faced accusations that a hostile atmosphere created against Adamowicz and other socially liberal politicians spread by state media created fertile ground for the violence against him.The Associated Press

Women’s World Cup prize money increases 300% to $150M

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:45:42 GMT

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — The Women’s World Cup is getting 300% increase in prize money for this year’s tournament.The $150 million fund for the first 32-team tournament is a huge boost from the 24-team edition in 2019, and 10 times what it was in 2015.Some of that prize money must be dedicated to paying players, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Thursday after being re-elected by acclimation through 2027.Infantino also again expressed his anger with broadcasters for offering too little for TV rights. He said FIFA will not sell broadcast rights for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand at the prices currently being offered.“Women deserve much, much more than that and we are there to fight for them and with them,” he said.Female players worldwide have been fighting for equal pay and equal respect with men’s national teams, including the defending champion United States, Canada, France and Spain.Infantino set a target of equal prize money for men and women at their next World Cup...

Indonesia acquits 2 police, jails 1 for deadly soccer crush

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:45:42 GMT

SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian court on Thursday acquitted two police officials charged with negligence leading to the deaths of 135 people in October when police fired tear gas inside a stadium, setting off a panicked run for the exits. A third official was sentenced to 18 months in prison.The disaster in Kanjuruhan stadium in East Java’s Malang city was among the world’s worst sporting tragedies. Some 43 children were among the deaths and about 580 spectators were injured.A panel of three judges at Surabaya District Court, which was under heavy police guard, absolved police officers Pranoto and Achmadi of charges because they found no direct causal link between the defendants’ actions and the deadly crowd crush. The two were released Thursday.Presiding judge Abu Achmad Sidqi Amsya said the court found that defendant Wahyu Setyo Pranoto, the Malang police head of operations, never ordered the use of tear gas at the match and knew that international soccer governing ...