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Indian railways official says error in signaling system led to crash that killed 275 people

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:14:23 GMT

BALASORE, India (AP) — The derailment in eastern India that killed 275 people and injured hundreds was caused by an error in the electronic signaling system that led a train to wrongly change tracks and crash into a freight train, officials said Sunday.Authorities worked to clear the mangled wreckage of the two passenger trains that derailed Friday night in Balasore district in Odisha state in one of the country’s deadliest rail disasters in decades.An Odisha government statement revised the death toll to 275 after a top state officer put the number at over 300 on Sunday morning. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to reporters.Jaya Verma Sinha, a senior railway official, said the preliminary investigations revealed that a signal was given to the high-speed Coromandel Express to run on the main track line, but the signal later changed, and the train instead entered an adjacent loop line where it rammed into a freight loaded with iron ore. Th...

Supporters of Russian opposition leader Navalny hold demonstrations to mark his 47th birthday

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:14:23 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny voiced hope for better future in Russia as his supporters held pickets and demonstrations to mark his 47th birthday on SundayNavalny is serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were trumped up to punish his work to expose official corruption and organizing anti-Kremlin protests. He is facing a new trial on extremism charges that could keep him in prison for decades. Kremlin critics view the case as another Russian government attempt to isolate President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent foe.Navalny’s associates called for demonstrations to show support for him in Russia and abroad Sunday.Risking their own prison terms, some Navalny supporters in Russia marked his birthday by holding individual pickets, while others painted graffiti. Police quickly detained many for questioning, and officers maintained a beefed-up presence in downtown Moscow Pro-Navalny demonstrations were held in sever...

Apple is expected to unveil a sleek, pricey headset. Is it the device VR has been looking for?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:14:23 GMT

Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter’s ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public’s imagination.After years of speculation, the stage is set for the widely anticipated announcement to be made Monday at Apple’s annual developers conference in a Cupertino, California, theater named after the company’s late co-founder Steve Jobs. Apple is also likely to use the event to show off its latest Mac computer, preview the next operating system for the iPhone and discuss its strategy for artificial intelligence. But the star of the show is expected to be a pair of goggles — perhaps called “Reality Pro,” according to media leaks — that could become another milestone in Apple’s lore of releasing game-changing technology, even though the company hasn’t always been the first to try its hand at makin...

While DeSantis hits Trump from the right, the ex-president is looking ahead to the general election

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:14:23 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — In his first week on the campaign trail as a presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly hit his chief rival, Donald Trump, from the right.“This is a different guy than 2015, 2016,” DeSantis told a conservative radio host before slamming the bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation Trump championed as “basically a jailbreak bill” that allowed dangerous people out of prison.He also accused Trump of “turning the reins over” to Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Trump had “ endorsed and tried to ram” an “amnesty” bill through Congress and vowed that — unlike the former president — he would finish building the U.S.-Mexico border wall.In Iowa on Saturday, he hit back at Trump for saying he didn’t like the term “woke” because people have a hard time defining it. “Woke is an existential threat to our society,” DeSantis said. “To say it’s not a big deal, that just shows you don’t understand what a l...

Man seriously injured in downtown carjacking

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:14:23 GMT

Police are investigating a carjacking in the city’s Fashion District. Investigators say they were called to the area of Bathurst Street and Adelaide Place on Saturday night. When they arrived they found a man suffering from serious injuries. He was taken to a nearby trauma centre. Police say the suspects fled the scene in the car. No information has been released on the type of vehicle that was stolen.

Highly anticipated legislative election underway in Guinea-Bissau

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:14:23 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — An highly anticipated election to fill Guinea-Bissau’s national legislature was underway Sunday, more than a year after the West African nation’s president dissolved parliament.Nearly 1 million voters were registered to elect more than 100 lawmakers from six parties with active seats in the National People’s Assembly, according to the Centre for Democracy and Development, an African human rights organization. Tiny Guinea-Bissau gained independence from Portugal nearly five decades ago. The country has endured continued political turmoil, including multiple coups, since then. President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, a former army general, took office after he was declared the winner of a December 2019 runoff election. He survived a February 2022 coup attempt when assailants armed with machine guns and AK-47s attacked the government palace.Since assuming office, Embalo has cracked down on civic freedoms, while government bodies have lost significant independen...

14 dead, 5 missing in southwest China landslide

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:14:23 GMT

A landslide struck a rural district in China’s southwestern Sichuan province on Sunday morning, killing 14 people and leaving five others missing, authorities said. The mountainous region has seen rainfall lasting weeks, saturating the top soil. More than 180 people were mobilized to help find those buried under the debris in Sichuan’s Leshan county, with the search ongoing into the afternoon, the Communist Party committee of Jinhouke district said on its social media account. With its humid, rainy climate, southwestern China is prone to landslides, especially in areas where there has been large-scale shifting of land due to farming, deforestation or engineering projects. The Associated Press

Innu kids learn from their own as Labrador First Nations take control of schooling

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:14:23 GMT

SHESHATSHIU, N.L. — Inside a wide, white canvas tent behind the Sheshatshiu Innu School in Labrador, the first drop of sweet molasses dough falling into a bubbling pan of fat gives off an aroma that prompts a group of third graders to look up, almost in unison.Munik Aster, a pre-kindergarten teacher at the school, calls the scent “Innu heaven.”Aster is one of 11 Innu teachers who graduated last September from an Indigenous educator program offered through Ontario’s Nipissing University, in partnership with the Innu school board in Labrador. And she is a sign of a new approach to education in Labrador Innu communities that is yielding results.Inside the bright red and yellow hallways of the Sheshatshiu Innu School last month, teachers and administrators spoke in terms of before and after, with after being what has happened since the Innu took over from the Newfoundland and Labrador school board in 2009.In the four decades before the Innu took over, about 30 students...

Texas passes bill eliminating mandatory vehicle inspections

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:14:23 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Texas drivers will save a trip to the auto shop after lawmakers voted to eliminate the annual vehicle inspection requirement for most vehicles this legislative session.In 2025, those inspections will be replaced by an annual $7.50 fee — the same as the current inspection fee, but without the need to actually take your vehicle into the shop. Drivers in new vehicles that have not previously been registered will pay $16.75 upon registration. That money will benefit the Texas mobility fund, the clean air fund and the state's general revenue."Vehicle inspections are costly, time consuming, and provide little benefit to public safety," State Sen. Mayes Middleton said. "[This bill] saves hardworking Texans tens of millions of hours of their time, not taken away any more from their family or work."Some law enforcement officials opposed the bill in front of the Senate State Affairs Committee during the legislative session, arguing annual inspections protect the public fro...

Which Texas cities have the most forgetful Uber riders?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:14:23 GMT

TEXAS (KXAN) — From a Danny DeVito Christmas ornament to a half-dozen cheesecakes, Uber drivers have seen plenty of strange items left behind by riders. According to the 2023 Uber Lost & Found Index, two Texas cities are particularly guilty of forgetting items en route.The most forgetful cities in this latest ranking are as follows:Jacksonville, FloridaSan Antonio, TexasPalm Springs, CaliforniaHouston, TexasSalt Lake City, UtahMiami, FloridaAtlanta, GeorgiaIndianapolis, IndianaKansas City, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriTypically, most forgotten items include clothing, backpacks, wallets and purses, electronics, headphones and keys. However, that isn't to say Uber drivers haven't seen some unusual finds in their backseats.Unique finds from an UberYou can take a complete look at Uber's strangest, forgotten finds online.How unique are we talking? Some top contenders include a toy poodle left behind, a pin of Jesus holding a slice of pizza, a Tamagotchi, two pet turtles and a pregnancy...