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German court upholds move to take control of Rosneft units

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:48 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German federal court on Tuesday upheld a government decision last year to put two subsidiaries of Rosneft under the control of German authorities, throwing out complaints from the Russian oil giant.The Federal Administrative Court found that the decision in mid-September to put Rosneft Deutschland GmbH and Rosneft Refining and Marketing GmbH under the administration of Germany’s Federal Network Agency was lawful.The trusteeship, which was initially imposed through March 15, gave German authorities control of three Russian-owned refineries in Germany. Rosneft accounted at the time for about 12% of Germany’s oil refining capacity, importing oil worth several hundred million euros (dollars) every month, according to the German government. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in September that the government was “ensuring that Germany is supplied with oil in the medium and long term as well.” He said that was particularly true of a refinery at Schwedt, on the Polish border northe...

Biden to deliver former President Jimmy Carter’s eulogy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:48 GMT

President Joe Biden says he plans to deliver the eulogy at the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, who remains under hospice care at his home in south Georgia.Biden told donors at a California fundraiser Monday evening about his “recent” visit to see the 39th president, whom he has known since he was a young Delaware senator supporting Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign. “He asked me to do his eulogy,” Biden said, before stopping himself from saying more. “Excuse me, I shouldn’t say that.”Carter, who at 98 is the longest-lived U.S. president, announced Feb. 18 that he would spend his remaining days at home receiving end-of-life care, forgoing further medical intervention after a series of short hospital stays. The Carter Center in Atlanta and the former president’s family members have not disclosed details of his condition, though Biden alluded to Carter’s 2015 cancer diagnosis and subsequent recovery. “I spent time with Jimmy Carter and it’s finally c...

In unusual step, U2 reinterprets 40 of its best-known songs

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — In reimagining 40 of their best-known songs, U2 recognized that many fans would experience them through earphones connected to a device in their pockets — rather than being belted out onstage.That was one thought behind “Songs of Surrender,”coming out this week. The four men of U2, now either 61 or 62 years old, revisit material written in some cases when they were little more than kids out of Dublin.Particularly in those days, U2 songs were written primarily with concerts in mind. The Edge told The Associated Press in an interview that U2 wanted to catch the attention of people seeing the band for the first time, perhaps in a festival or as an opening act.“There’s a sort of gladiatorial aspect to live performances when you’re in that situation,” he said. “The material has got to be pretty bold and even strident at times. With this reimagining, we thought it would be fun to see intimacy as a new approach, that intimacy would be the new punk rock, as it we...

Prosecutor: No charges in fatal Kansas City police shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:48 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City, Missouri, police officer who fatally shot a man at a convenience store nearly two years ago will not be charged with a crime, following a decision by a special prosecutor.Malcolm Johnson was killed in March 2021. Some civil rights, religious and community activists said the shooting of Johnson, who was Black, was part of a trend of officers in Missouri’s largest city killing Black men. They questioned if officers gave Johnson sufficient time to surrender before shooting him.St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell’s office announced Monday that no charges should be filed, following an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Bell’s office took on the case after Jackson County prosecutors cited a conflict of interest.“Given the review of all the evidence, there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer who shot Malcolm Johnson was not acting in lawful self-defense or defens...

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 4.1 per cent in January

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:48 GMT

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 4.1 per cent to $73.9 billion in January, powered by gains in motor vehicle and petroleum and coal products sales. The federal agency says sales in constant dollars were up 3.8 per cent in January, indicating that higher volumes played a significant role in the sales increase on a current dollar basis.Statistics Canada says higher sales were recorded in 16 of 21 industries.Sales of motor vehicles increased for the third consecutive month, up 13.4 per cent to $4.8 billion in January 2023 — the highest level since July 2020. The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal products industry increased 10.1 per cent to $10.3 billion in January, following two consecutive monthly declines.Statistics Canada says production in the aerospace product and parts industry declined 11.2 per cent to $1.6 billion in January following strong gains in December.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2023.The Canadian Press

What’s next? Experts say it’s best to have a plan before you quit your job

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:48 GMT

Thinking about quitting your job? You’re not alone. Half of Canadian workers plan to look for a new job within the first six months of 2023, according to a poll by business consulting firm Robert Half.Those most likely to make a career move include generation Z and millennial Canadians, tech workers, employees who have been with a company for two to four years and working parents, the survey of more than 1,100 professionals in Canada found. A higher salary, better benefits and perks, more advancement opportunities and greater flexibility to choose when and where one works were among the top reasons that respondents said they would be looking for a new job. However, while hitting send on a resignation letter can feel liberating and give you a sense of instant gratification, experts say it’s best to have a plan before quitting your job. “I would say the big thing people need to figure out before they leave is, what’s next?” said Sarah Vermunt, a Toronto-based career coach and ...

Freeland meets with bank regulator head, BoC following U.S. bank collapse

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:48 GMT

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is assuring that Canada’s financial institutions are secure after meeting with the head of Canada’s bank regulator and the Bank of Canada.The meeting follows the closure of California-based Silicon Valley Bank by U.S. regulator on Friday, which also prompted Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) to seize its Canadian assets on Sunday.In a statement, spokesperson Adrienne Vaupshas says Freeland met on Monday with Superintendent of Financial Institutions Peter Routledge.According to the statement, Freeland has also convened meetings with the heads of national and regional Canadian financial institutions, which were attended by Routledge and Bank of Canada representatives.Vaupshas says “significant structural and regulatory safeguards” are in place and that Canadian financial institutions “are stable and resilient.”Routledge has emphasized the limited nature of the cri...

Ontario’s anticipated Zellers stores opening next week

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:48 GMT

Canadians highly anticipating the return of a nostalgic retail giant will be pleased to hear that the first Zellers’ stores will open in Ontario and Alberta next week.Zellers will also re-launch its online platform, “Zellers.ca,” on March 23.The full list of Canadian locations inside Hudson’s Bay had already been released. They include Burlington Mall, Erin Mills Town Centre and Scarborough Town Centre in the GTA, and six other locations, including White Oaks Mall in London, Pen Centre Shopping Plaza in St. Catharines, Cambridge Centre in Cambridge, Rideau Centre in Ottawa, St. Laurent Center in Ottawa, and Cataraqui Town Centre in Kingston.RELATED: Food trucks to serve up classic Zellers restaurant items at new storesAlberta’s stores include Kingsway Garden Mall in Edmonton, and Medicine Hat Mall and Sunridge Mall in Calgary.“We know Canadian shoppers are smart and savvy and will be looking for both value and an elevated aesthetic in the products...

Ohio Supreme Court to review block of near-ban on abortion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:48 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to review a county judge’s order that is blocking enforcement of the state’s near-ban on abortions, and to consider whether the clinics challenging the law have legal standing to do so.In its split decision, the court, however, denied Republican Attorney General Dave Yost’s request to launch its own review of the right to an abortion under the Ohio Constitution, leaving those arguments to play out in lower court.This mean abortions remain legal in the state for now up to 20 weeks’ gestation.Yost appealed Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins’ order to the state’s high court in January, after a failed effort to get it overturned by the First District Court of Appeals. The appellate court ruled the appeal premature, as it was only an interim step in the lawsuit challenging the so-called heartbeat law’s constitutionality.Justices will now decide whether such orders are appropriate legal p...

EU assesses new electricity plan in wake of energy crisis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:48 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is working on a thorough reform of its electricity market to shield citizens from sudden price spikes, speed up the use of renewable energy sources and make the bloc more independent in an increasingly unstable world.Tuesday’s plan from the EU’s executive Commission will seek to phase out the use of gas in electricity production after volatile prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed millions of people in the 27-nation bloc into or to the brink of poverty. It is only part of a whole package of EU measures to cushion the blow of the energy crisis that hit the EU especially last summer. The plans from the Commission will now be assessed by the EU parliament and the member states before they can be turned into a series of laws, a process which is set to take several months at least. “I do believe that parliament and (the member states) are willing to treat this as a priority,” said EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. ...