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Normandy marks D-Day’s 79th anniversary, honors World War II veterans

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:56:59 GMT

ON OMAHA BEACH, France (AP) — An overwhelming sound of gunfire and men’s screams. That’s how World War II veteran Marie Scott described D-Day, as Tuesday’s ceremonies got underway in honor of those who fought for freedom in the largest naval, air and land operation in history.This year’s tribute to the young soldiers who died in Normandy also reminds veterans, officials and visitors what Ukraine faces today.On Tuesday, the whistling sound of the wind accompanied many reenactors who came to Omaha Beach at dawn to mark the 79th anniversary of the assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control. Some brought bunches of flowers; others waved American flags.Scott lived it all through her ears. She was just 17 when she was posted as communication operator in Portsmouth, England. Her job was to pass on messages between men on the ground and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and senior officers who were supervising the operation.“I was in the war. I cou...

Teck Resources receives indications of interest for steelmaking coal business

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:56:59 GMT

VANCOUVER — Teck Resources Ltd. says it has received a number of indications of interest regarding potential transactions involving the company’s steelmaking coal business as it works to split the operations from its base metals business.The Vancouver-based company says its board and independent special committee will consider and evaluate the proposals received to determine whether they are in the best interests of Teck’s shareholders and other stakeholders.Teck called off a shareholder vote in April on a plan to split the company into Teck Metals and a new company to be named Elk Valley Resources that would own the coal business after it became apparent it did not have the required support for the proposal.Swiss commodities giant Glencore made an unsolicited takeover bid for the company earlier this year, but the Teck board rejected the offer that would have seen shareholders receive a stake in a combined metals company as well as a choice of cash or shares in a company that...

Downtown Toronto schools on lockdown after reports of person with gun in area

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:56:59 GMT

Two downtown Toronto schools have been placed on lockdown after reports of a person with a gun in the area of Shaw Street and Harbord Street on Tuesday morning.Central Toronto Academy and Horizon Alternative Senior High School were both placed on lockdown just after 10:00 a.m., and police are on the scene investigating.PERSON WITH A GUN:Central Toronto Academy & Horizon Alternative SR– reports of person with a gun– school is currently in lockdown– police o/s investigating– no reported injuries– will update#GO1289511^sc— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) June 6, 2023No injuries have been reported from the incident.

Internal docs suggest Trudeau wants China blocked from Pacific Rim trade deal

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:56:59 GMT

OTTAWA — An internal document suggests Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants China kept out of a Pacific Rim trade bloc, despite the Liberals publicly insisting it would welcome anyone who meets the trade deal’s standards.China has been trying since 2019 to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade bloc that includes Canada and multiple countries in Asia and Latin America.Trade Minister Mary Ng reiterated Canada’s stance on China joining the group last week, saying Ottawa would be open to the idea if Beijing meets labour and environmental standards.But a document The Canadian Press obtained through an access-to-information request attributes Trudeau as saying that high standards are helpful as they make it make it too hard for China to join the group.His comments stem from an internal summary of a call Trudeau held last summer with former U.K. prime minister Liz Truss, shortly after she started her term.The Chinese embassy in O...

Conservative filibuster threatens potential citizenship for children born abroad

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:56:59 GMT

OTTAWA — Advocates for would-be Canadians born abroad say Conservative efforts to filibuster amendments to the Citizenship Act are threatening their hopes of passing their nationality on to their children and grandchildren.As it stands, Canadian parents who were born abroad cannot pass their citizenship down to their child unless the child was born in Canada.The NDP and Liberals proposed a change that would allow those parents to pass down Canadian citizenship if they can prove they’ve spent at least three years in the country.The new rule was tacked onto a private member’s bill at the House of Commons immigration committee. The committee has until June 14 to finish reviewing the amended bill, or else it will be sent back to the House of Commons without the new changes. Advocate Carol Sutherland-Brown says the amendments gave her hope that her grandchildren will one day qualify for Canadian citizenship, but the Conservatives’ filibuster at committee has dashed that...

David Johnston expected to begin public meetings on foreign interference next month

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:56:59 GMT

OTTAWA — Former governor general David Johnston says he will begin holding public meetings next month on foreign interference attempts in Canada’s elections.  Johnston, whom Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed to investigate the issue, is appearing before a parliamentary committee today for a marathon three hours of testimony.Johnston released a report last month that found significant shortcomings in the way the federal government handles intelligence about alleged foreign meddling. Opposition parties agree that the 2019 and 2021 federal election results were not compromised, but they still say a public inquiry is the only way for Canadians to feel confident in their electoral system.Johnston says a public inquiry is not the right path because making secret information public would run the risk of breaching the trust of Canada’s security allies and endangering intelligence sources. Johnston says that during his hearings, the public will be able to hear from governme...

New head of Austrian opposition party takes helm after leadership fiasco

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:56:59 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The new head of Austria’s Social Democrats vowed to move the party past “one of its bitterest moments” Tuesday after a bizarre mix-up that initially saw his rival declared the winner in a leadership contest.The center-left opposition party, the second-biggest in Austria’s parliament, announced on Monday that Andreas Babler — the mayor of the town of Traiskirchen, who was viewed as an outsider — had in fact won the leadership. At a party convention Saturday, Hans Peter Doskozil, a provincial governor and former defense minister, had been declared the winner.The party said the two candidates’ votes had been counted correctly but switched when the results were entered in an Excel spreadsheet. Before accepting the leadership, Babler called for a recount with a notary present, which took place Tuesday — confirming that he took 317 votes to Doskozil’s 280.The head of the Social Democrats’ electoral commission, Michaela Grubesa, resigned Tuesday. Her s...

Wheat prices rise following collapse of major dam in southern Ukraine

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:56:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The collapse of a major dam in southern Ukraine sent global prices of wheat and corn higher.Wheat prices gained 2.4% in early trading Tuesday at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, to $6.39 a bushel. The cost of corn rose more than 1% (to $6.04 a bushel) and oats gained 0.73% ($3.46 per unit). Prices had jumped higher earlier in the day.The destruction of Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station, which sits on the Dnieper River in an area that Moscow controls, raised anxiety about a potential disruption to global supplies.There are massive agricultural fields in Southern Ukraine where the dam burst. Andrey Sizov, managing director of Black Sea agricultural markets research firm SovEcon, said the dam’s collapse “looks like a big escalation with dire consequences and huge headline risk.”“This could be just the start of the bull run,” Sizov wrote on Twitter.Wheat prices have been falling throughout the year. Citi commodities analysts said Tuesday’s incide...

PGA Tour to join forces with LIV Golf moving forward

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:56:59 GMT

NEW YORK — Two major competing tours in the sport of golf are going to be joining forces moving forward. The PGA Tour and LIV Golf, run by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, announced in a news release on Tuesday morning that they are merging together in a new partnership that unites those tours along with DP World Tour. All three will combine to create "a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity," that ends the competition between the PGA Tour and LIV that was the cause of much controversy.The name of this new golf company has yet to be announced, and as part of the deal, any pending litigation between the PGA and LIV Golf. There were also be criteria set for LIV players to re-apply for membership on the PGA Tour.“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan in a statement released Tuesday. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA ...

'The Girl from Ipanema' singer Astrud Gilberto dead at 83

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:56:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer, songwriter and entertainer whose off-hand, English-language cameo on “The Girl from Ipanema” made her a worldwide voice of bossa nova, has died at age 83.Musician Paul Ricci, a family friend, confirmed that she died Monday. He did not provide additional details.Born in Salvador, Bahia and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Gilberto became an overnight, unexpected superstar in 1964, thanks to knowing just enough English to be recruited by the makers of “Getz/Gilberto,” the classic bossa nova album featuring saxophonist Stan Getz and her then-husband, singer-songwriter-guitarist Joao Gilberto.“The Girl from Ipanema,” the wistful ballad written by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, was already a hit in South America. But “Getz/Gilberto” producer Creed Taylor and others thought they could expand the record’s appeal by including both Portuguese and English language vocals. In a 2002 interview with friends posted on her web site www....