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EY fined over audits of failed German payments firm Wirecard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:34 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The German arm of EY, one of the world’s Big Four accounting firms, has been fined 500,000 euros ($544,630) after acting as the auditor for collapsed payments company Wirecard and barred from auditing certain kinds of companies for two years.Germany’s APAS accounting oversight body said it imposed the fine for breach of professional duty in auditing Wirecard from 2016 to 2018. It said the decision can be appealed in court, and while it bars the auditor from taking on new companies “of public interest,” it does not prevent it from servicing existing clients. Wirecard filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020 after 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in cash balances on the company’s books could not be verified. Its former CEO, Markus Braun, is on trial on charges of defrauding creditors. He has denied the charges, maintaining he acted in good faith and was not aware of the machinations of others. The fraud cost banks 3.1 billion euros in loans a...

UN report charges South Sudan officials of rights violations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:34 GMT

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — A United Nations-backed panel of investigators alleges in a new report that several officials in South Sudan have perpetrated serious human rights violations and should be held accountable for their crimes. The governor of South Sudan’s Unity State, Joseph Monytuil, is cited for being responsible for gross violations of human rights as well as other senior government and military officials, in the report released Monday by the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. Lt. Gen. Thoi Chany Reat of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces is among individuals warranting criminal investigation over state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings carried out in Mayom County in August 2022, the report says.Koch County Commissioner Gordon Koang is also mentioned in the report which accused him of playing a role in attacks against civilians in the town of Leer in February and April 2022.The officials were not immediately available for comment.The U.N. experts’ r...

NASA, CSA name Jeremy Hansen to be first Canadian to encircle the moon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:34 GMT

HOUSTON — Jeremy Hansen, a colonel and CF-18 pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, has been selected to become the first Canadian to venture further into space and orbit the moon.NASA and the Canadian Space Agency made the long-awaited announcement Monday introducing the four astronauts who will steer the next stage of an ambitious plan to establish a long-term presence on the moon.“I am left in awe of being reminded what strong leadership, setting big goals, with a passion to collaborate and a can-do attitude can achieve, and we are going to the moon together,” Hansen said after the announcement. “Let’s go!”The other three astronauts on the Artemis II mission are all American: Christina Hammock Koch, Victor Glover and G. Reid Wiseman.“It’s difficult to pick just four from a group that by its very definition attracts the best and the brightest that humanity has to offer,” said Norm Knight, chief of NASA’s flight director office....

BoC surveys show businesses, consumers gear up for slowdown as economy softens

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:34 GMT

OTTAWA — Businesses and consumers are expecting inflation to slow faster than they previously thought but as high interest rates weigh on the economy, they’re also adjusting their finances to account for a slowdown. That’s according to the Bank of Canada’s first quarter business outlook and consumer expectations surveys released Monday. The surveys — which ask respondents what they think the annual inflation rate will be one, two and five years from now — show expectations for future inflation are falling. This comes as the actual inflation rate has been slowing for months, reaching 5.2 per cent in February after peaking at 8.1 per cent last June. However, businesses and consumers continue to expect inflation to remain above two per cent until at least 2025.The Bank of Canada closely monitors inflation expectations in the economy because inflation can stay high if businesses and consumers continue to expect prices to rise rapidly.The central bank is likely encourag...

Atlantic hydrogen projects tracking well for 2025 production start: Wilkinson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:34 GMT

OTTAWA — Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says he expects to know the final investment decisions on at least two new hydrogen projects in Atlantic Canada before the end of the year.However Wilkinson says there are still a lot of financial uncertainties, and a lot depends on new government supports.Canada and Germany signed a pact last August to create a new hydrogen supply chain from by 2025.Wilkinson says progress has been steady in the last seven months and he believes things are on track to meet that timeline as long as some of the financial risks are addressed.Canada’s budget last week promised an investment tax credit for low-emission hydrogen worth nearly $18 billion over the next 12 years.Wilkinson says a policy known as “contracts for difference,” which could see the new Canada Growth Fund offer some price guarantees for hydrogen, is also a critical element of meeting the timeline.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2...

EU disinformation head: Canada can counter interference by boosting media literacy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:34 GMT

OTTAWA — The European Union’s head of combating foreign interference in communications says allegations that Beijing is meddling in Canada’s elections can be an opportunity to improve the public’s understanding of disinformation.Lutz Guellner, who leads the EU foreign ministry’s work on strategic communications, was visiting Ottawa last week as part of collaboration on a G7 working group that tries to counter threats to democracy.Guellner says the Europeans are trying to educate people on how to spot misinformation, as well as regulating social-media platforms and working with allies.He says Canada is a key player in researching disinformation from countries that try to interfere in democracies, but Canadians could be better informed on how to spot fake news.Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, he says there is a trend of making fake news articles that look real, with a goal of eroding people’s trust in mainstream media.He also says Russian embassies are using social...

NASA’s 1st moon crew in 50 years includes 1 woman, 3 men

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:34 GMT

NASA on Monday named the four astronauts who will fly to the moon by the end of next year, including one woman and three men.The three Americans and one Canadian were introduced during a ceremony in Houston, home to the nation’s astronauts as well as Mission Control.“This is humanity’s crew,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.The four astronauts will be the first to fly NASA’s Orion capsule, launching atop a Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center no earlier than late 2024. They will not land or even go into lunar orbit, but rather fly around the moon and head straight back to Earth, a prelude to a lunar landing by two others a year later.The mission’s commander, Reid Wiseman, will be joined by Victor Glover, an African American naval aviator; Christina Koch, who holds the world record for the longest spaceflight by a woman; and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen. All are space veterans except Hansen.“This is a big day. We have a lot to celebrate and...

Distraction, speeding, alcohol drive up 2021 traffic deaths

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:34 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Nearly 43,000 people died in U.S. traffic crashes in 2021, with deaths due to speeding and impaired or distracted driving on the rise.The 2021 final numbers, released Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, confirmed earlier estimates by the agency showing a 10.5% increase in deaths over 2020. That’s the highest number in 16 years and the largest percentage increase since 1975.Data shows a 12% rise in fatal crashes involving at least one distracted driver, with 3,522 people killed. That prompted the agency to kick off a $5 million advertising campaign in an effort to keep drivers focused on the road. Agency officials said such cases likely are under-reported by police. The number of pedestrians killed rose 13%, and cyclist fatalities were up 2% for the year. The number of unbelted passengers killed rose 8.1%, while fatalities involving alcohol-impaired driving were up 14%. Speeding-related deaths increased 7.9%, while crash deaths involving...

WATCH LIVE | Chicago State University faculty on strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:34 GMT

CHICAGO — More than 160 Chicago State University facility are expected to strike Monday after contract talks broke down over the weekend.University Professionals of Illinois union members are demanding higher pay and a more reasonable work load. The union has been bargaining with the university since June.The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Chicago State employs some of Illinois' lowest-paid public university professors. What to know about the 2023 White Sox home opener Chicago State says it's committed to negotiations, but classes will be held Monday if there's a strike.

Joliet man dies after shooting in parking lot of children's indoor playground

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:34 GMT

ALSIP, Ill. — A man who Alsip police say was ambushed and shot in the parking lot of a children's indoor playground Saturday evening has died.According to the department, officers received a call just before 5:30 p.m. for reports of gunfire at the My Kidzplay in the 4800 block of 111th Street. Arriving officers located the victim, identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as 24-year-old Trevale Robinson, of Joliet, with multiple gunshot wounds. Robinson was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was later pronounced dead. Authorities said the unidentified group of offenders fled eastbound on 111th Street in two different vehicles, one being a silver BMW and the other being a Jeep Compass.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesPolice said the fatal shooting was a targeted attack.Anyone with information is asked to call the police at (708) 385-6902, extension 2272.