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Saudi Arabia says it will maintain production cuts that have helped drive oil prices up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:31 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Wednesday confirmed that it will maintain a production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day through the end of the year.The announcement could further prop up oil prices, which are hovering around $90 a barrel. Production cuts first announced by Saudi Arabia and Russia in July have driven up prices at the pump, enriched Moscow’s war chest and complicated global efforts to bring down inflation.The Saudi Energy Ministry reaffirmed that the cuts would continue through the end of the year in a brief statement posted on its website Wednesday attributed to “an official source.” It said the kingdom would continue to produce 9 million barrels per day in November and December. “The source stated that this voluntary cut decision will be reviewed next month to consider deepening the cut or increasing production,” the statement said.Benchmark U.S. crude oil for November delivery rose 41 cents to $89.23 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude for December...

Lawyers of Imran Khan in Pakistan oppose his closed-door trial over revealing official secrets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:31 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Lawyers for Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday opposed his closed-door trial in a case in which he is accused of revealing state secrets after his 2022 ouster, saying it’s aimed at convicting the popular opposition leader quickly.Salman Safdar, who represents Khan, said the trial should be held in an open court. He made comments outside the high-security Adiyala prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where the former cricket star turned politician is facing a trial on charges of revealing official secrets.The case is related to his speech and waiving of a confidential diplomatic letter to a rally after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in parliament in 2022. At the time Khan showed a document as a proof that he was threatened and his ouster was a conspiracy by Washington. He accused the military and then-Premier Shehbaz Sharif of implementing a U.S. plot, a charge denied by U.S. officials, the Pakistani military and ...

Iran says it has agreed with Saudis to reschedule Asian Champions League soccer match after walkout

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:31 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Wednesday it has agreed with Saudi Arabia to reschedule an Asian Champions League match after the Saudi team walked out at the last minute, apparently over the presence of a statue of a slain Iranian general.The walkout appeared to further strain a recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, longtime rivals who have backed opposite sides in conflicts across the Middle East. But in the days since, both sides have appeared eager to move past it.The Saudi Al Ittihad team did not come out onto the field in Isfahan on Monday, where some 60,000 fans were eagerly awaiting their match against Iran’s Sepahan. Saudi Arabia’s state-run Al Ekhbariya TV said they refused to come out because of a statue of the late Gen. Qassem Soleimani placed outside the entrance tunnel.Soleimani, who commanded the elite Quds Force of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, is seen as a war hero by Iran’s clerical rulers and their supporters but vili...

Biden presses student debt relief as payments resume after pandemic pause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will announce another wave of federal student loan forgiveness on Wednesday, according to a White House official, as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. His latest step will help 125,000 borrowers by erasing $9 billion in debt through existing relief programs. In total, 3.6 million borrowers will have had $127 billion in debt wiped out since Biden took office. The official requested anonymity ahead of the announcement, which Biden is scheduled to make at the White House at 1 p.m. ET. Biden promised to help alleviate the burden of student debt while running for president, and he’s been under pressure to follow through even though his original plan was overturned by the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.He’s been relying on a patchwork of different programs to chip away at debt, such as public service loan forgiveness and the SAVE Plan, which lowers pay...

Greater Toronto home sales drop 7.1 per cent in September as higher rates bite

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:31 GMT

TORONTO — Greater Toronto home sales slid 7.1 per cent last month compared with September 2022, with sales of semi-detached houses and townhouses particularly declining from last year.The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says last month’s 4,642 home sales also marked a 12.1 per cent month-over-month decline from August.The board attributes the downward trend to the impact of high borrowing costs, high inflation, uncertainty surrounding future Bank of Canada decisions and slower economic growth.Meanwhile, the average home price reached $1,119,428, 3.4 per cent higher than in August and a three per cent increase from last September.New listings surged 44.1 per cent to 16,258 in September compared with extremely low levels in September 2022, as the number of listings also trended upward on a month-over-month basis.TRREB president Paul Baron says elevated borrowing costs are expected until mid-2024, after which they will start to trend lower, which suggests there will be an upti...

5 wounded in shooting after homecoming event at Morgan State University in Baltimore

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:31 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — A shooting interrupted a homecoming week celebration at Baltimore's Morgan State University on Tuesday, wounding five people and prompting an hourslong lockdown of the historically Black college.Students hunkered down for about four hours, as police went room to room looking for suspects. No arrests were made.Police Commissioner Richard Worley said the five victims, four men and one woman, are between the ages of 18 and 22. Their injuries were not life-threatening, he told reporters at a news conference early Wednesday.Morgan State Police Chief Lance Hatcher said four of the victims are students at the university. The police did not release information about a suspect or suspects, and Worley said that investigators didn’t know how many shooters were involved.The shooting happened shortly after the coronation of Mister & Miss Morgan State at the Murphy Fine Arts Center, as students were heading to a campus ball.Konnor Crowder, a sophomore from Baltimore, said he ...

Jim Whitesell adds experience to UAlbany coaching staff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:31 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The new faces on the University at Albany men's basketball team don't stop at the guys on the floor. Head coach Dwayne Killings has revamped his coaching staff, which includes one notable addition with quite the résumé. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Assistant coach Jim Whitesell comes to the Capital Region from the University at Buffalo, where he served as head coach the last four seasons - three of which the Bulls finished top-20 in the nation in scoring.Whitesell's been around championship cultures, winning two MAC titles as an assistant on Nate Oats' staff at UB, and he believes in the direction Killings is taking the Danes."(I was) really impressed with the vision he had, with the staff, their youth, what he thought this year could be and, obviously, there's a new facility on campus, which is fantastic," said Whitesell. "All those things, and the more we got to know each other, the more I thought,...

Columbia boys soccer blanks Albany to remain unbeaten

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:31 GMT

EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The defending Sec. II, Class A boys soccer champs, Columbia, continued its' tear through the Suburban Council Tuesday night. The Blue Devils, now ranked ninth in the state in Class AA, shut out Class AAA foe Albany High 2-0 at home, improving to 10-0-2 on the year. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Columbia received goals from senior midfielder Jackson Wagner in the 30th minute of the first half, bending a left-footed strike just past the outstretched arm of Falcons goalkeeper Logan Ferro, and sophomore midfielder Cody Hamilton, who chipped a shot in from close range off a feed from Matthew Gatchell in the 56th minute.Tuesday's match kicked off a three-game homestand for the Blue Devils that includes Guilderland on Thursday and seventh-ranked Bethlehem next Tuesday. Albany (4-4-1) aims to bounce back Thursday at home against Averill Park.

Danes not overreacting to 'Nova win: "We just played a really good football game"

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:31 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Greg Gattuso's bunch certainly turned some heads in their Coastal Athletic Association opener Saturday against Villanova University - a team that, at the time, was ranked 16th in the FCS, according to the Stats Perform FCS Top-25 poll. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The Danes clearly weren't phased by that number; they didn't just beat the Wildcats, they dominated them 31-10, garnering some well-deserved national attention. UAlbany had the third-most receiving votes (117) of any team outside this week's Stats Perform poll.UAlbany sits at a modest 3-2 with its' only two losses coming against FBS programs. The start to the season and conference slate may be a surprise to many. Back in late July, the Danes were picked to finish 11th out of 15 teams in the CAA preseason poll.But to Gattuso, Saturday's performance didn't serve as any sort of statement to the league, or country, for that matter. It was just ...

Technical Support Instrument: Commission paves the way to all-day schooling in Cyprus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:31 GMT

During a high-level event in Cyprus with UNESCO and the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth of Cyprus (MESY) the Commission has launched a technical support project to facilitate all-day schooling in Cyprus' lower secondary education. The project will assess the state of play of lower secondary education and take stock of good practices. It will make recommendations to roll out all-day schooling in Cyprus and help implement them in selected schools.According to the latest report of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) published in October 2020, Cyprus' public education system has a  low level of student achievement/performance. On average, one in 10 pupils leaves school early in Cyprus, while the share among foreign-born youth rises to 3 in 10. Youth unemployment rate is high at 16.6%. To tackle these challenges and foster student engagement, the Ministry requested the Commission's support to implement a reform that will pave the way to all-day schooling in l...