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Canada Post says it has removed the deadline for its Santa Claus letter program amid an ongoing national workers’ strike that has halted mail delivery leading up to the holiday season. Some 55,000 workers walked off the job more than two weeks ago, suspending mail service — and a program that helps deliver up to 1.5 million letters from Canadian kids to the North Pole each year. The postal service says in a statement that while the initial deadline to mail a letter to Santa with the iconic H0H 0H0 postal code was Dec. 6, it has now removed the deadline from its website. It says once operations resume, it will ensure that all letters make it to the North Pole and receive a reply, but it cannot guarantee delivery dates. Canada Post says since the program began more than 40 years ago, Santa’s North Pole post office has delivered replies to more than 45 million letters. During the strike, some communities have stepped up to deliver Santa’s mail themselves, offering their own local programming on social media to make sure letter writers receive a reply by Christmas. The strike entered its 19th day as the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping weekend came to a close. Canada Post said Monday it was waiting for the union to respond to a framework it presented over the weekend for reaching negotiated agreements. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has said it’s reviewed the proposal. It said Canada Post has moved closer to the union’s position on some issues, but the framework “still remains far from something members could ratify.” One of the sticking points has been a push to add weekend delivery, with the union and Canada Post disagreeing over how the rollout would work. The federal government has been under pressure from the business community to intervene in the strike but has said that’s not in the cards.Trump stays silent as MAGA implodes over Musk and Vivek's shock immigration stance
Ex-PM Manmohan Singh’s demise: Punjab, Haryana declare 7-day mourningOpenAI and military defense technology company Anduril Industries said Wednesday that they would work together to use artificial intelligence for "national security missions." The ChatGPT-maker and Anduril will focus on improving defenses against drone attacks, the companies said in a joint release. The partnership comes nearly a year after OpenAI did away with wording in its policies that banned use of its technology for military or warfare purposes. Founded in 2017, Anduril is a technology company that builds command and control systems and a variety of drones, counting the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom among its customers, according to its website. OpenAI said in October that it was collaborating with the US military's research arm DARPA on cyber defenses for critical networks. "AI is a transformational technology that can be used to strengthen democratic values or to undermine them," OpenAI said in a post at the time. "With the proper safeguards, AI can help protect people, deter adversaries, and even prevent future conflict." The companies said the deal would help the United States maintain an edge over China, a goal that OpenAI chief Sam Altman has spoken of in the past. "Our partnership with Anduril will help ensure OpenAI technology protects US military personnel, and will help the national security community understand and responsibly use this technology to keep our citizens safe and free," Altman said in Wednesday's release. Anduril was co-founded by Palmer Luckey, after Facebook bought his previous company Oculus VR in a $2 billion deal. The new partnership will bring together OpenAI's advanced AI models with Anduril systems and software, according to the companies. "Our partnership with OpenAI will allow us to utilize their world-class expertise in artificial intelligence to address urgent Air Defense capability gaps across the world," Anduril co-founder and chief executive Brian Schimpf said in the release. Schimpf said the collaboration would allow "military and intelligence operators to make faster, more accurate decisions in high-pressure situations." gc/aha
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani paid a visit Tuesday to the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the UK Parliament. Addressing both Houses of the UK Parliament, His Highness the Amir expressed his deep thanks and appreciation to the House of Commons Speaker, Lord Speaker, MPs and the friendly British people for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to His Highness and the accompanying delegation during the visit. His Highness' speech started with a highlight of the State of Qatar's constitutional system update aligning with the country's traditions and cultural specificity. Moving to the Qatar-UK relations, His Highness the Amir said they have been growing and seeing multiple partnerships since both countries marked their first-ever interaction with the 1868 Agreement. In this regard, His Highness recalled that during a previous visit Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II commended the bilateral relations as those of two long-standing and trusted friends. The feelings of mutual affection between the two ruling families are manifested in the ties that unite the Qatari and British peoples through education, diplomacy, business, culture and tourism, His Highness the Amir elaborated. His Highness also spoke about his educational experience at Sherborne School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an opportunity to build long-lasting friendships and fond memories of training and educational sessions, which in turn inspired ongoing cooperation between the two countries. This cooperation has been exemplified in the participation of the Qatar Amiri Air Force in the joint Qatar-UK Typhoon squadron, which helped secure the country's airspace during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, HH the Amir said. His Highness elaborated that a new joint squadron is delivering jet training to Qatari pilots in the new Hawk trainer aircrafts. This visit will facilitate deliberations to boost military, defense and security cooperation by strengthening defense policies, strategies and practices, in terms of equipment and training, His Highness added. Regarding bilateral collaboration on the state level, His Highness the Amir said both governments have been cooperating for decades to solve many major global challenges - a particularly important unified approach with the global diplomacy on its last legs. His Highness highlighted the State of Qatar's mediation efforts alongside its partners since the first day of the war on the Gaza Strip to stop the violence, release hostages and detainees, and enable a humanitarian aid delivery. In this respect, His Highness said that further work is still needed, especially in the Gaza Strip, which was almost completely destroyed. Yet, His Highness hailed the successes accomplished over the past year. His Highness the Amir said the two countries share a position to settle the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution through the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state, regarding the envisioned solution as the path to achieving true peace and coveted prosperity. Regarding the Qatar-UK strategic investment partnership, His Highness the Amir underscored his keenness to elevate cooperation, noting that Qatari companies have invested over 100 billion Pounds in the British economy and work to pump billions of dollars annually into the tourism sector. His Highness also expressed Qatar's aspiration to increase investment in the areas of infrastructure, science and technology including AI, defense, education and healthcare technology. Commenting on the bilateral education cooperation, His Highness the Amir said it catalyzes long-run fruitful relations, especially with tens of thousands of Qatari students having graduated and over three thousand others currently studying at universities across the United Kingdom. His Highness also hailed the British universities operating in the State of Qatar and offering their programs to students from Qatar and beyond. In their speeches, Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Lord Speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith welcomed His Highness the Amir and the accompanying delegation, stressing the strength of Qatari-British relations and expressing their countrys keenness to consolidate these relations across various fields and aspirations to continue close cooperation on regional security and stability. HH the Amir is accompanied by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani and Their Excellencies members of the official delegation. Related Story PM meets UK foreign secretary Amir meets UK Heir Apparent
Shares of Trane Technologies PLC .css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:rgba(54,119,168,1);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:rgba(54,119,168,1);}.css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link.css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link svg{fill:rgba(54,119,168,1);}.css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:rgba(47,112,157,1);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:rgba(47,112,157,1);}.css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link:hover.css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link:hover svg{fill:rgba(47,112,157,1);} .css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink{display:inline;color:var(--color-interactiveLink010);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: no-preference){.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink{transition-property:color,fill;transition-duration:200ms,200ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1),cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1);}}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink{transition-property:color,fill;transition-duration:0ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1),cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1);}}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink svg{fill:var(--color-interactiveLink010);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:hover:not(:disabled){color:var(--color-interactiveLink020);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:hover:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(--color-interactiveLink020);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:active:not(:disabled){color:var(--color-interactiveLink030);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:active:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(--color-interactiveLink030);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:visited:not(:disabled){color:var(--color-interactiveVisited010);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:visited:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(--color-interactiveVisited010);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:visited:hover:not(:disabled){color:var(--color-interactiveVisited010);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:visited:hover:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(--color-interactiveVisited010);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:focus-visible:not(:disabled){outline-color:var(--outlineColorDefault);outline-style:var(--outlineStyleDefault);outline-width:var(--outlineWidthDefault);outline-offset:var(--outlineOffsetDefault);}@media not all and (min-resolution: 0.001dpcm){@supports (-webkit-appearance: none) and (stroke-color: transparent){.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:focus-visible:not(:disabled){outline-style:var(--safariOutlineStyleDefault);}}}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:rgba(54,119,168,1);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:rgba(54,119,168,1);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link svg{fill:rgba(54,119,168,1);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:rgba(47,112,157,1);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:rgba(47,112,157,1);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link:hover.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link:hover svg{fill:rgba(47,112,157,1);} TT sank 0.54% to $412.56 Tuesday, on what proved to be an all-around mixed trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index SPX rising 0.05% to 6,049.88 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA falling 0.17% to 44,705.53. This was the stock's second consecutive day of losses.
OpenAI to partner with military defense tech companyBrains have been buzzing at BX to build businesses. The Vernon elementary school's Grade 5 to 7 students have been learning about creating products, research, marketing, budgets, pricing and the likes of entrepreneurship. The results will be in full display at the first Young Entrepreneur Fair Friday, Dec. 13 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Silver Star Road school. "If anyone is curious about what's going to be available, each student has created a poster that's on display at the entrance of the school," said Rebecca Hall, mom of a Grade 5 creator of Gnome Wreaths. One such item are Worry Pets, created by Grade 6 student Julianne Holliday. The soft and fuzzy, handmade creatures with big, sparkly eyes, are designed to provide comfort and ease anxiety. The thoughtful presentation adds a special touch: every Worry Pet comes in a charming box with a heartfelt note inside: "I’m your little worry pet, I’ll be right here for you, Tell me all your worries, So, you don’t feel so blue. Pet my long soft fur, And give me a little squeeze. I’ll help to comfort you, And put your mind at ease." This is BX Elementary’s second annual entrepreneur fair, after Mrs. Van Dun started it last year. "The fair allows them to put the curriculum into action to come up with an idea, test it, make it, market their product and finally be able to sell their product seeing the whole process through from idea to selling," said Grade 5-6 teacher Owen Stemler, who is running the fair this year. All profits generated from the Entrepreneur Fair will go toward funding future BX Blocks programs, events for the remainder of the school year and to charity. Families will be reimbursed for manufacturing costs, allowing students to focus on their creativity and business planning while contributing to their school community. "The resource we use is the Power Play Young Entrepreneurs program which also provided Business Planning Kits for all the students and access to online teaching resources," said Stemler, inviting everyone to come check out the fair. "Be amazed by the creativity of our young entrepreneurs. With a huge variety of handmade crafts, games and toys, there's something for everyone, and most items are priced at a budget-friendly $10 or less."