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Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas signals her interest in NATO’s top job

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:37:11 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has signaled her interest in becoming the next secretary general of NATO when the top job at the Western military alliance falls vacant next year. Kallas, who has led the small Baltic nation as its first female head of government since January 2021, was attending the Politico Defence Summit in Washington late Tuesday. When asked whether she would like to be considered for the top post at NATO, she replied simply, “Yes.”Her ruling Reform Party made no immediate comment Wednesday, but a spokesperson noted that Kallas would be seeking another term as the chair of the center-right political party at its congress in the capital, Tallinn, on Saturday. NATO’s current chief Jens Stoltenberg is due to step down in October 2024 after 10 years in the post.Kallas, a 46-year-old lawyer, has been one of the most vocal European backers of Ukraine and a fierce critic of Russia within the European Union and NATO.Among other things, s...

Dutch court orders company to compensate 5 Iranian victims of Iraqi mustard gas attacks in the 1980s

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:37:11 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court on Wednesday ruled that a company must pay compensation to five Iranian victims of chemical weapons attacks by Iraq in the 1980s after the company did not show up in court to defend itself against civil claims it supplied raw materials for poison gas.The court in The Hague cleared a second company of liability in the same case, ruling that the company was not aware when it sold chemicals to the government of Saddam Hussein that they would be used to make mustard gas.The five Iranians were left permanently injured after three Iraqi mustard gas attacks in 1984 and 1986 during the Iran-Iraq war, the court said in a statement. They argued that the two companies “knew or should have known” that thionyl chloride sold to Iraq would be used to make mustard gas.The court upheld the claim against Forafina Beleggingen I B.V., formerly known as KBS Holland, after the company did not appear. The amount of compensation was not immediately determined.Law...

Judge denies Rep. Greene’s restitution request for $65,000 home security fence

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:37:11 GMT

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A federal judge rejected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s request to have an upstate New York man convicted of sending her threatening voicemails pay $65,000 for her Georgia home’s security fence.Joseph Morelli pleaded guilty in February to threatening the Republican member of Congress in several calls in 2022 to her Washington, D.C., office. He was sentenced to three months in prison in August. The Endicott, New York, resident said “I’m gonna harm you” in one voicemail and threatened to “pay someone 500 bucks to take a baseball bat and crack your skull,” in another, prosecutors said.Greene sought restitution of $65,257 for the construction of the fence and $1,375 for reconfiguring existing security cameras at her Georgia home. Lawyers for the government argued that Greene’s security expenses stemmed from the threats, according to court papers.U.S. District Judge Brenda Kay Sannes denied the request in a ruling Tuesday. The judge wrote that feder...

Sweden appeals the acquittal of a Russian-born businessman who was accused of spying for Moscow

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:37:11 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s prosecution authority on Wednesday appealed a ruling that acquitted a Russian-born Swedish businessman who had been accused of collecting information for Russia’s military intelligence service for almost a decade.On Oct. 26, the Stockholm District Court said advanced technology had been acquired and delivered to Russia but that Sergey Skvortsov’s activities were “not aimed at obtaining information concerning Sweden or the United States that may constitute espionage.”“The man has been a procurement agent for Russian military intelligence in Sweden for almost 10 years,” prosecutor Henrik Olin said in a statement. “Both the district court and I have found that behavior proven. I think there is room for the legislation on illegal intelligence activities to be interpreted a little more extensively than the rather cautious district court reached in its ruling.”Skvortsov was arrested in November with his wife in Nacka, outside Stockholm. He denie...

Parkland gas stations roll out Aeroplan loyalty program

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:37:11 GMT

MONTREAL — Aeroplan members can now earn points at a slew of Parkland Corp.’s gas stations.The loyalty program run by Air Canada has been rolled out at more than 1,100 Ultramar, Chevron, Pioneer, Fas Gas, On the Run and Marché Express locations.Members will earn points on some fuel, convenience store and Parkland gift card purchases.Those that link their Aeroplan accounts with Parkland’s Journie rewards program will see even more opportunities to earn points and other benefits.Aeroplan has been working to bolster its offerings in recent months as more loyalty programs crop up or beef up their discounts and opportunities to earn points.Aeroplan’s partners include Starbucks, Uber, LCBO, Avis, TD Bank Group, American Express and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:AC, TSX:PKI)The Canadian Press

NATO to buy 6 more ‘eyes in the sky’ planes to update its surveillance capability

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:37:11 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO announced Wednesday it has opted to buy six new E-7A Wedgetail surveillance planes built by U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing as the 31-nation military alliance looks to update its eyes in the sky in coming years.NATO’s fleet of 14 Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS, aircraft are outdated and expensive to maintain. But their large fuselage-mounted radar domes can detect aircraft hundreds of miles away and they remain useful to monitor Russia’s war on Ukraine from NATO’s eastern flank.NATO said that production of the six new Wedgetails — a militarized version of the Boeing 737 jetliner — will begin “in coming years,” with the first planes expected to be ready for duty by 2031. No cost was provided for the planes, but based on U.S. and U.K. contract information the price could hit $5 billion.NATO’s contract with Boeing — one of the military organization’s biggest ever purchases — is set to be signed next year.“Surveillance and control aircraft are cruci...

Albania proposes a draft law on a contentious deal with Italy to jointly process asylum applications

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:37:11 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Albanian government on Wednesday put forth a draft law on a contentious deal with Italy to jointly process some asylum applications of migrants arriving in Italy by sea.Earlier this month, Prime Minister Edi Rama and Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni announced a five-year deal in which Albania agreed to shelter up to 36,000 migrants a year while Rome fast-tracks their requests for asylum in Italy.Albania’s draft law will be debated and voted on in the 140-seat parliament where Rama’s governing Socialists have 74 seats. It is not clear when the parliament will vote.Albania’s opposition is against the plan, while Albanians are divided. Rama considers the deal as a gesture of reciprocation to Italy, which in 1991 welcomed thousands of Albanians fleeing poverty after the fall of communism.The European Commission has requested more details. The deal has been criticized by rights organizations and other groups, and it could backfire against Albania...

NTSB at scene of deadly Ohio interstate crash involving busload of high school students

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:37:11 GMT

ETNA, Ohio (AP) — A National Transportation Safety Board team was planning to start work Wednesday at the scene of a deadly highway crash in Ohio involving a charter bus filled with high school students that left six people dead and 18 injured.NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the team would be looking for cameras and other evidence from the five vehicles involved in Tuesday’s crash on westbound Interstate 70 in Licking County, about 26 miles (42 kilometers) east of Columbus. Homendy said the team will likely be in the area for five to seven days and a preliminary report would likely be issued within the next few weeks.Homendy said there was “conflicting information” about the sequence of events that led to the chain-reaction crash, which also involved an SUV and a semitruck. The Pioneer Trails charter bus was carrying students and chaperones from the Tuscarawas Valley Local School District in eastern Ohio.Three passengers on the bus, which was carrying a driver and 54 stu...

Closing infrastructure gaps may boost Indigenous GDP by up to 17 per cent: RBC

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:37:11 GMT

TORONTO — A new report says bridging the infrastructure gaps experienced by Indigenous Peoples would boost the population’s GDP by up to 17 per cent.The research from RBC Economics says the Indigenous population has lower workforce participation rates, higher unemployment rates and an eight per cent hourly wage gap, when compared with non-Indigenous Canadians. RBC says Indigenous people are also more likely to be underhoused or living on reserves with limited access to high-speed internet.To address such issues by 2030, the Assembly of First Nations estimates Canada needs to spend $350 billion.If Canada addressed the gaps, RBC says not only would it boost Indigenous GDP by 17 per cent, but the country would also add close to half a percentage point to its total production capacity.Indigenous people make up five per cent of Canada’s population and before the pandemic, accounted for 2.5 per cent of the country’s GDP. This report by The Canadian Press was first publis...

Person taken to hospital after SWAT incident in Johnsburg; shelter in place lifted

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:37:11 GMT

MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. — A shelter in place order has been lifted Wednesday after a SWAT incident in Johnsburg, according to authorities. The incident happened around 11:10 p.m. Tuesday when police were dispatched to a residence in the 3600 block of Filmore Road. Authorities said a man was shooting a gun inside the home.According to the McHenry County Sheriff's Office, a heavy police response was present in the area of Hamlin Drive and Fillmore Road due to the SWAT situation.A woman was taken from the home at some point, unharmed, and is believed to be the man's wife, police said.Just after 8 a.m. Wednesday, the barricaded man was taken out of the home, also unharmed, and transported to an area hospital. Authorities said there is no danger to the public.Johnsburg School District 12 announced all schools will be closed Wednesday due to the ongoing police situation.Early Wednesday morning, officials had advised residents in the town of Johnsburg to shelter in place until the situation w...