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US wants allies to line up against China. Europe is starting to listen.

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:54 GMT

China and the U.S. are in a race to build up their world power blocs, and both are using the same pressure point: the war in Ukraine.Last week, China’s leader Xi Jinping spent three days in Russia, solidifying his “no limits” partnership with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden kicks off his second Summit for Democracy — aiming to rally world leaders around principles of freedom, rule of law and human rights.The not-so-subtle subtext: the world needs to unite against China and Russia.In Biden’s alliance of democracies, Europe has been at best ambivalent on China. Some of the most important countries, such as France and Germany, have worried that decoupling from China would cause too much economic pain.Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Europeans are starting to pay more attention to Biden’s message about the dangers of dependence on dictatorships. With urgency like never before, they are restricting exports ...

Police in Belgium arrest 8 people in counterterrorism raids

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:54 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Police officers in Belgium have arrested eight people during counterterrorism raids across the country as part of operations aimed at thwarting possible attacks, the federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.Antwerp police carried out five searches in Merksem, Borgerhout, Deurne, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek and Eupen on Monday night at the request of an investigating judge. The prosecutor’s office said five people were arrested, but it didn’t give details about what was found.“At least two of the people involved are suspected of planning to carry out a terrorist attack in Belgium. The target of the attack has not yet been determined,” prosecutors said. Meanwhile, Brussels police carried out raids in the nearby localities of Zaventem, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean and Schaerbeek as part of a separate case, and arrested three people.“These people are also suspected of planning to carry out a terrorist attack in Belgium,” the office said. “There are links between the tw...

Greek prime minister calls general election for May 21

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:54 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday called a general election on May 21, in the aftermath of a train disaster that has reduced his party’s long-standing majority in opinion polls.The Feb. 28 train crash in northern Greece left 57 people dead. The disaster stirred public anger, cutting a lead by the conservative New Democracy party by about half to 4 points over its left-wing main rival, Syriza.“The country needs clear skies … our work continues more boldly and with fewer compromises,” Mitsotakis said during a televised Cabinet meeting.Mitsotakis, the 55-year-old son of the late former prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis, has remained popular throughout his four-year term. But more recently his reputation has been dented by allegations of wiretapping by state security services, as well as the government’s failure to protect rail network safety.The election is unlikely to produce a new government.The Associated Press

UN says Afghan girls’ education activist arrested in Kabul

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:54 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — An Afghan rights activist who has campaigned for girls’ education has been arrested in Kabul, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said Matiullah Wesa, founder and president of Pen Path — a local nongovernmental group that travels across Afghanistan with a mobile school and library — was arrested in Kabul on Monday. Local reports said Taliban security forces detained Wesa after his return from a trip to Europe. The U.N. urged authorities in Kabul to clarify Wesa’s whereabouts, reasons for his arrest and ensure his access to legal representation and contact with family. There was no immediate word from the Taliban on the arrest.Since their takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban have imposed restrictions on women’s and minority rights. Girls are barred from school beyond the sixth grade and last year, the Taliban banned women from going to university. Wesa has been outspoken in his demands for girls to have the right to go to s...

Freeland set to table federal budget : In The News for Mar. 28

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:54 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Mar. 28 …What we are watching in Canada …Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is set to table a federal budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, which a federal source says will include plans to go after predatory lending and more details on dental care as part of a pitch to make life more affordable.The government official, who was granted anonymity to discuss matters that will not be public until the budget is released, said the federal Liberals intend to amend the Criminal Code to lower the amount of interest legally allowed to be charged.Predatory lending often involves short-term loans at sky-high high interest rates. Often marketed to people in financially precarious situations, they can create a cycle of debt tough to escape.The Criminal Code currently caps the legal interest rate at 60 per cent e...

Lawmakers vote on Paris Olympic law with surveillance fears

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:54 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A proposed French law for the 2024 Paris Olympics that critics contend will open the door for privacy-busting video surveillance technology in France and elsewhere in Europe faces an important hurdle on Tuesday with lawmakers set to vote on it. The bill would legalize the temporary use of so-called intelligent surveillance systems to safeguard the Paris Games, which run next year from July 26-Aug. 11, and the Paralympics that follow. The systems combine cameras with artificial intelligence software to flag potential security concerns, such as abandoned packages or crowd surges. Human operators would decide whether action is needed.French authorities insist the surveillance wouldn’t involve facial recognition. Supporters of the bill argue that the technology could help avert disasters like the deadly crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people during Halloween festivities in South Korea in October.“It’s not about recognizing ‘Mr. X’ in a crowd,” Interior Minister Gér...

Montreal single-use plastics ban comes into effect, covering range of products

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:54 GMT

MONTREAL — A Montreal municipal bylaw banning the use of single-use plastic items comes into effect today, with glasses, stir sticks, straws and utensils among the items that will be prohibited.The ban also applies to polystyrene or compostable plastic products, whether used on-site in restaurants or for takeout, with the only exception being trays for raw meat and fish.The bylaw was passed 18 months ago and covers the 19 boroughs that make up the city of Montreal, with officials estimating some 8,400 businesses will be affected.There are certain exceptions, including for non-profit groups like charities or organizations that deliver meals to vulnerable people.Inspectors will be able to give a warning during the first visit, but from the second violation, merchants are exposed to fines ranging from $400 to $4,000.Marie-Andrée Mauger, the city’s executive committee member in charge of ecological transition, says the city will show some leniency to allow merchants to clear their...

B.C. to announce plan for access to diabetes drug Ozempic, hyped for weight loss

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:54 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s health minister plans to announce how the government will ensure patients in the province will have secure access to the diabetes and weight loss drug Ozempic. Adrian Dix said in January that the government would be investigating why almost 10 per cent of prescriptions for the drug in B.C. were filled for American citizens. Dix said at the time that the dramatic increase in demand for the diabetes drug was partly because of social media “influencers” who spoke about its weight loss benefits. He said he asked PharmaCare, the publicly funded program that helps B.C. residents pay for some prescription drugs, to review the drug’s use by U.S. residents. Dix announced in January that PharmaCare coverage of Ozempic would be widened to more patients with Type 2 diabetes, although it wouldn’t be part of regular benefit coverage. Several celebrities in the United States have promoted the drug, even though it’s not approved for ...

Bring title insurers under anti-money laundering rules, former executive says

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:54 GMT

Title insurers need to be brought under anti-money laundering rules to fight against scam artists who impersonate homeowners to sell or mortgage their properties, a former insurance executive says. Tim Hyde, who spent years in the title insurance business in Ontario, said dozens of cases involving impersonators in Ontario and B.C. showed the need for title insurers to be designated as “reporting entities” under Canada’s money laundering law.Hyde has been lobbying the federal government for the changes alongside fellow lawyer Kevin Comeau and Denis Meunier, an anti-laundering consultant who previously worked at both the Canada Revenue Agency and Fintrac, Canada’s financial intelligence agency.The spate of title fraud cases include that of a Toronto condo owner who discovered her property had been listed and sold last year for $970,000 by someone using her name.Owner Moffy Yu, who lives in China, told The Canadian Press in January that she was shocked to discov...

Liberals to go after predatory lending in today’s budget, invest in dental care plan

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:54 GMT

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is set to table a federal budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, which a federal source says will include plans to go after predatory lending and more details on dental care as part of a pitch to make life more affordable.The government official, who was granted anonymity to discuss matters that will not be public until the budget is released, said the federal Liberals intend to amend the Criminal Code to lower the amount of interest legally allowed to be charged.Predatory lending often involves short-term loans at sky-high high interest rates. Often marketed to people in financially precarious situations, they can create a cycle of debt tough to escape.The Criminal Code currently caps the legal interest rate at 60 per cent effective annual interest, which has been the case since it was set in 1980 — a time when the key overnight rate set by the Bank of Canada was 21 per cent, compared to the 4.5 per cent it is today.There is...