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France boosts military spending amid war in Ukraine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:40:50 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The French government on Tuesday approved a key budget bill presented as the country’s biggest military spending spree in more than 50 years, underscoring the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine.The bill foresees 413 billion euros ($450 billion) in military spending or the period covering 2024-2030 – up by more than a third relative to the previous timeframe.Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said bill’s political, budgetary, military and technological drive is comparable to the huge push in the 1960s that saw France develop nuclear weapons, making the country one of the world’s major military powers.Championed by French President Emmanuel Macron, the bill would notably modernize France’s nuclear arsenal, boost intelligence spending by 60%, double the number of military reservists, reinforce cyberdefense and develop more remote-controlled weapons. It would also boost the arms industry’s production capacity in order to provide assistance to Uk...

Canada Life buying Investment Planning Counsel business from IGM Financial

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:40:50 GMT

WINNIPEG — The Canada Life Assurance Co. has signed a deal to acquire wealth management firm Investment Planning Counsel Inc. from IGM Financial Inc. for $575 million.Canada Life says the IPC business is profitable today and the deal is expected to be modestly accretive after two years.It estimates that transaction and integration costs of $25 million pre-tax are expected over 12 to 18 months after the deal closes. The deal came as IGM announced an agreement to buy a 20.5 per cent stake in Rockefeller Capital Management, a U.S. independent financial services advisory firm, for US$622 million.IGM is now Rockefeller’s second largest shareholder, while Viking Global Investors remains the lead shareholder.Canada Life parent company Great-West Lifeco Inc. and IGM are both part of the Power Corp. family of companies.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GWO, TSX:IGM, TSX:POW)The Canadian Press

Sssssh! Dutch Schiphol airport will tone down the noise

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:40:50 GMT

THE HAGUE (AP) — Amsterdam’s Schiphol, one of the top airports in Europe, announced Tuesday it will turn down the noise and limit its pollution in one of the world’s most densely populated areas. The move immediately received plaudits from environmentalists but not from its biggest customer – KLM national airlines.With its plans, the airport will phase out all traffic between midnight and 5 a.m., ban private jets and the nosiest planes and abandon a project for an additional runway. “We have thought about growth but too little about its impact for too long. We need to be sustainable for our employees, the local environment and the world,” said Ruud Sondag, CEO of the Schiphol Group. “The only way forward is to become quieter and cleaner more rapidly. We have thought about growth but too little about its impact for too long. We need to be sustainable,” Sondag said. The plans should kick in no later that the 2025-2026 season.The environmental group Greenpeace welcome...

Celebrations, destruction on campus follow UConn victory

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:40:50 GMT

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Thousands of UConn fans, most of them students, spilled onto campus after watching a broadcast of the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament win over San Diego State, with some pulling down signs and light poles, smashing windows and causing other damage.Gampel Pavilion was open Monday night for students to watch the game, which was played in Houston. UConn officials said they were still assessing the extent of the damage Tuesday morning and planned to give an update on arrests and any injuries.Most of the partying, which lasted into early Tuesday morning, was peaceful, but social media and television video showed students taking down signs and light posts, with several using one pole to smash through the glass door of one campus building as a crowd cheered. WTIC-TV showed a van that had been overturned, with all of its windows shattered. Video from social media also showed students gathered around what appeared to be furniture and wooden pallets that had been set on fire.The...

Will Alberta’s close election be decided by policy, or scandal?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:40:50 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, with two months to go before Albertans vote on a new premier, polls indicate that the UCP and the NDP are essentially tied. That means, for the first time in many years, the province is seeing a competitive provincial leadership race. So far, it’s been a doozy. Courtney Theriault is a reporter for CityNews Edmonton, he joins us to break down the several scandals that have plagued Danielle Smith’s short tenure as premier, and how her NDP rivals may or may not capitalize on those missteps. “It’s been a case of [Danielle Smith] stepping on one rake after another”, he said, “it’s become essentially a 24-hour news cycle, where if you can get through one day without some new scandal, it’s almost an accomplishment.” So how did we get here? And could this be an election that’s actually decided by policy and not partisanship?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.

DNA: Woman was on famed 17th century Swedish warship

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:40:50 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A U.S. military laboratory has helped Swedes confirm what was suspected for years: A woman was among those who died on a 17th-century warship that sank on its maiden voyage, the museum that displays the ship said Tuesday.The wreck of the royal warship Vasa was raised in 1961, and was remarkably well-preserved after more than 300 years underwater in the Stockholm harbor. It has since been place at the Vasa Museum, one of Stockholm’s top tourist attractions where visitors can admire its intricate wooden carvings.Some 30 people died when the Vasa keeled over and sank just minutes after leaving port in 1628. They are believed to have been crew members and most of their identities are unknown. For years, there were indications that one of the victims, known as G, was a woman, because of the appearance of the hip bone, Fred Hocker, research leader at the Vasa Museum, said in a statement. Anna Maria Forsberg, a historian with the Vasa Museum, told The Associated ...

Geneva appeals court upholds conviction of Israeli tycoon

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:40:50 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — A Geneva appeals court on Tuesday upheld the conviction of Israeli diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz for corrupting foreign officials, in connection with lucrative mining rights in the West African country of Guinea.The court, issuing its ruling after a trial last summer, upheld the convictions of Steinmetz and two other defendants for bribing foreign public officials over promises made to then-President Lansana Conte through payments to his wife, Mamadie Toure, that came to be worth about $8.5 million. The court also upheld a $50 million fine against the Israeli tycoon, but it threw out a conviction for forgery and reduced his sentence from five years to three, half of it suspended.Steinmetz, in a statement via a spokesperson, vowed to appeal the “unfair and politically motivated decision” to the Swiss federal court.“Beny Steinmetz considers that the Geneva justice system turned a blind eye to procedural flaws, stretched the rules of jurisdiction, compensated for t...

Firefighter dies after battling house fire on Chicago's South Side

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:40:50 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago firefighter has died after a house fire on the city's South Side, officials announced Tuesday. Two other firefighters were injured.The fire started inside a two-and-a-half story home at 120th and Wallace in West Pullman around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday. Officials believe the fire started in the attic of the home, then eventually spread to its two neighboring buildings. One of the firefighters was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition, where he later died. Fire officials have identified him as 49-year-old Jermaine Pelt.Two other firefighters are in stable condition, according to the department.The home was vacant at the time of the fire. Joliet man dies after shooting in parking lot of children’s indoor playground It is unclear at this time how the firefighters were injured in the fire.This is a developing story. Check back for details.

Election Day 2023: Chicago voters set to pick new mayor Tuesday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:40:50 GMT

CHICAGO — The final Election Day is here and voters in Chicago will choose a new mayor Tuesday.It's been over a month since the run-off election began between Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas, a moderate Democrat endorsed by Chicago's police union and major business groups, against progressive Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and union organizer backed by the Chicago Teachers Union. Johnson versus Vallas: Where the 2 mayoral candidates stand Both men finished ahead of current Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a February election, making her the first incumbent in 40 years to seek reelection in the city and loseSo far, the total for early votes is over 184,000 — with more than 30,000 coming in Monday. There is also more than 107,000 votes that have come in by mail.But, there are still close to 92,000 outstanding votes by mail ballots that have not yet been returned. 2023 Chicago election: Where to vote and what time the polls close Election officials do not see all of ...

Seymour Stein, record executive who signed Madonna, dies at 80

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:40:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Seymour Stein, the brash, prescient and highly successful founder of Sire Records who helped launched the careers of Madonna, Talking Heads and many others, died Sunday at age 80.Stein, who helped found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation and was himself inducted into the Rock Hall in 2005, died of cancer in Los Angeles, according to a statement by his family.Born in 1942, Stein was a New York City native who as a teenager worked summers at Cincinnati-based King Records, James Brown's label, and by his mid-20s had co-founded Sire Productions, soon to become Sire Records.Obsessed with the Billboard music charts since childhood, he was known for his deep knowledge and appreciation of music and would prove an astute judge of talent during the 1970s era of New Wave, a term he helped popularize, signing record deals with Talking Heads, the Ramones and the Pretenders.“Seymour’s taste in music is always a couple of years ahead of everyone else’s,” Talking Heads manage...