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1 man is dead and 48 are injured after a suspected gas explosion in downtown Johannesburg

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:47 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — One man died and at least 48 people were injured after a suspected underground gas explosion ripped open roads and flipped vehicles in the heart of South Africa’s biggest city, authorities and emergency services said Thursday.Firefighters found the man’s body found under a vehicle.The cause of the blast at evening rush hour Wednesday in downtown Johannesburg remained unclear. The company that supplies gas to that part of the city said it did not believe its underground pipelines were responsible, as authorities first thought.An investigation was underway as city authorities brought in specialists to determine what other underground pipes or cables there were in the area and if there was a threat of another explosion or gas leak.“We are still searching for the source,” said Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of the Gauteng province, where Johannesburg is located.Firefighters discovered the body of the man in a nighttime search of the blast area, Emergen...

German police search for a lion suspected of being on the loose in Berlin’s suburbs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:47 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities warned people in Berlin’s southern suburbs on Thursday to watch out for a potentially dangerous animal, suspected to be a lioness, that was on the loose.Police in Brandenburg state, which surrounds the capital, issued a warning in the early morning hours of an “escaped wild animal” and asked people in and around Kleinmachnow, Teltow and Stahnsdorf — just outside Berlin’s city limits — not to leave their houses and to bring their pets indoors.The warning was later extended to southern areas of Berlin and an alert was sent on an official warning app that the animal was suspected to be a lioness. A vet and two hunters were participating in a search for the creature, which also involved helicopters. Police had no immediate information on who owned it.Two men reported seeing a big cat running after a wild boar, the latter common in and around Berlin, police spokesperson Daniel Kiep told local public broadcaster rbb.“The two gentlemen recorded ...

2 suicide bombers in Pakistan attack police and government compound, killing 1 and injuring 15

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:47 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Two suicide bombers attacked a sprawling compound housing a police station and government offices in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least one police officer and wounding 15 other people, police and rescue officials said.The attack occurred in the Bara neighborhood in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat said. He said part of the compound collapsed after the bombing.The explosive vest on one of the suicide bombers detonated when police opened fire after coming under attack, Hayat said.Gunshots were heard after the bombing, said Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the provincial emergency service, and an exchange of gunfire followed. The wounded people included police officers and civilians, officials said.No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Bara, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but suspicion was likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, which have stepped up attacks in recent ...

Japanese, US, and South Korean officials condemn the North’s weapons plans but urge dialogue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:47 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Senior officials from Japan, the U.S. and South Korea condemned North Korea over its recent ICBM-class ballistic missile launches and vowed to step up their trilateral cooperation to strengthen deterrence and sanctions against the North, while stressing the need for dialogue with Pyongyang.Their meeting Thursday in the central Japanese city of Karuizawa comes days after North Korea’s solid-fuel ICBM launch last week, which landed in the water off the western coast of Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido and one day after the launch of two missiles on Wednesday. The U.S. special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, also said that the United States was “working hard” to gather information about an American soldier who fled to the North earlier this month. The U.S. was seeking to ensure his safety and return him home, Kim said. Private 2nd Class Travis King, 23, had been held in South Korea on assault charges and was released on July 10 after serving his time. He ...

In the news today: continuing fallout from labour dispute at B.C. ports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:47 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…B.C. ports in limbo as union removes strike notice…The fallout from the labour dispute at British Columbia ports continues to unfold, as the union representing about 7,400 workers abruptly rescinded a strike notice hours after issuing it.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stepped up action in the federal response to B.C. ports potentially shutting down again in the dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the BC Maritime Employers Association, convening an incident response group typically gathered at times of “national crisis” or events with major implications for Canada.In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office says Trudeau spoke with B.C. Premier David Eby about the labour dispute and agreed on the need to “ensure the stability” of national supply chains.The strike originally s...

Toronto’s Laysla De Oliveira honours her immigrant parents with role in new TV series

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:47 GMT

TORONTO — For Toronto-born Laysla De Oliveira, it was the sacrifice of her immigrant parents that instilled in her grit and determination – the very qualities that she channels in her new role as a U.S. Marine Raider in a new spy thriller series on Paramount Plus. In “Special Ops: Lioness,” created by “Yellowstone” showrunner Taylor Sheridan and inspired by a real-life U.S. military program, De Oliveira plays Cruz Manuelos, who is recruited to the Lioness team to infiltrate and take down a terrorist group by befriending the daughter of a man linked to the organization.The series, which premieres on Sunday, is stacked with Hollywood A-listers, including Zoe Saldana, Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman. Saldana and Kidman also serve as executive producers on the series.De Oliveira attended the Toronto premiere of the series last week — before the Hollywood actors’ strike was announced — and said she tried to honour her immigrant parents with this role.“...

B.C. ports in limbo as union removes strike notice despite dispute with employers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:47 GMT

The fallout from the labour dispute at British Columbia ports continues to unfold, as the union representing about 7,400 workers abruptly rescinded a strike notice hours after issuing it.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stepped up action in the federal response to B.C. ports potentially shutting down again in the dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the BC Maritime Employers Association, convening an incident response group typically gathered at times of “national crisis” or events with major implications for Canada.In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office says Trudeau spoke with B.C. Premier David Eby about the labour dispute and agreed on the need to “ensure the stability” of national supply chains.The ILWU said in a statement late yesterday that it had “removed” the strike notice it issued earlier that same day, but gave no reasons or details behind the decision in what the BCMEA calls ...

Meet the young Canadians spending summer on the frontlines of wildfire fight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:47 GMT

When Reese Lange was in kindergarten, she dreamed of joining the police. But it was in high school that she realized her true calling. The 21-year-old is now part of an army of young men and women, many of them college students, who are spending their summer battling what could be one of Canada’s worst fire seasons on record. They are drawn together by a sense of duty and comradeship.But the risks they face were brought home last week by the death in British Columbia of Devyn Gale, a nursing student. Aged just 19, Gale was already in her third summer as a wildland firefighter when she was crushed by a falling tree as her team battled an out-of-control blaze near her hometown of Revelstoke in the southern Interior.Lange is undergoing firefighting training at Lakeland College in Vermilion, central Alberta, but has already seen action battling blazes in the province this summer. She said Gale’s death was “devastating” but only made her more determined.“I feel li...

Daily horoscope for July 20, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:47 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or making important decisions from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT today (7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Leo into Virgo.Happy Birthday for Thursday, July 20, 2023:You thrive on movement, change and activity. Your friends love hearing about your exploits. But it’s also important to appreciate contentment. This year is about learning and teaching. Explore philosophies that will give you a better self-awareness and get you closer to the true meaning of your life.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★Expect challenges at work or with whatever task you set for yourself today. Keep your head down and your powder dry. Stay focused on your tasks and don’t let issues get you down, especially ones related to bosses or older people who seem to know more. Tonight: Work.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★This is a tough day for romance. It’s also a tough day for social activities and sports, because rules, regulations and certain people seem to mak...

US to announce $1.3 billion in military aid for Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:47 GMT

The United States will announce a new pledge to buy $1.3 billion worth of military aid for Kyiv in its conflict with Russia in the coming days, two US officials said.The previously unreported weapons package includes air defenses, counter-drone systems, exploding drones and ammunition, one of the US officials said.The United States is using funds in its Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program, which allow President Joe Biden's administration to buy weapons from industry rather than pull from US weapons stocks.Among the systems and ammunition the US plans to buy for Kyiv are counter-air defenses made by L3Harris Technologies (LHX.N) called the Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment or VAMPIRE, one of the officials said.Also included are two different types of loitering munitions, the Phoenix Ghost drone made by AVEVEX, a private company in California, and the Switchblade, made by AeroVironment Inc (AVAV.O).Additionally, a person briefed on the matter s...