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Spain registers record asylum claims, approves far fewer than European average

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:32 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spain received a record number of claims for refugee status and international protection last year, but the government rejects far more applications than the European average, a nongovernmental organization said Monday.The Spanish Commission for Refugees, also known by its Spanish acronym CEAR, released its annual report analyzing Spain’s response to increased demand for sanctuary in 2022 because of the forced displacement of millions by Russia’s war in Ukraine, multiple conflicts in Africa and political crises in Latin America.Spain received 118,842 asylum requests last year, its highest ever and the third-highest number in the European Union. However, only 16.5% of applicants whose cases were decided were awarded protection, compared with an EU average of 38.5%. Separately, 161,037 Ukrainians were awarded temporary protection under an EU-wide program.“Once again we demand the law be respected to offer protection,” said Elena Muñoz, legal coordinator...

Canada sanctions judges of Iran’s Revolutionary Courts over human-rights violations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:32 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada has levied sanctions against seven Iranian officials, citing their role in gross and systematic human-rights violations in the country’s criminal justice system.Global Affairs Canada says Iran’s Revolutionary Courts are notorious for issuing death sentences and harsh prison terms following sham trials relying on evidence gathered under torture.It is the twelfth package of sanctions imposed by Canada against the Iranian regime since October, following widespread protests calling on Tehran to respect human rights and freedom.The measures prohibit dealings with the listed individuals, effectively freezing any assets they might have in Canada.Individuals listed in response to gross and systematic violations of human rights are also inadmissible to Canada under federal immigration law.Canada has sanctioned a total of 163 Iranian individuals and 192 entities.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2023.The Canadian Press

S&P/TSX composite down in late-morning trading, industrials and financials lower

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:32 GMT

TORONTO — Losses in the industrial and financial sectors helped lead Canada’s main stock index lower in late morning trading, while energy stocks were also down as the price of oil moved lower. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 48.22 points at 19,927.15.U.S. stock markets are closed for the Juneteenth federal holiday in the United States.The Canadian dollar traded for 75.73 cents US compared with 75.77 cents US on Friday.The August crude contract was down 47 cents at US$71.46 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up four cents at US$2.68 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was down US$6.30 at US$1,964.90 an ounce and the July copper contract was down three cents at US$3.86 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Changing amortization, cap on insured mortgages not the answer to affordability: CMHC

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:32 GMT

TORONTO — The head of Canada’s housing agency says measures such as extending mortgage amortizations and changing the threshold to qualify for an insured mortgage are not the answer to the country’s housing affordability challenges.Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. president and chief executive Romy Bowers says people have seen a rapid increase in what they are paying to cover mortgages as interest rates have risen.She’s not in favour of expanding the amortization period because she thinks the move would just make credit more available.She says a longer amortization would lower a borrower’s monthly payments but increase their costs over time.Bowers adds that changing the $1 million cap on insured mortgages is also not a magic solution to housing affordability. Rather than stoke demand with such measures, she’d like to see the country focus on boosting supply, which Canada has been short of for years.This report by The Canadian Press was first published ...

Intel and Germany sign agreement for $32.8 billion chip plant investment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:32 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Intel and the German government on Monday signed a deal that would see the U.S. company investing more than 30 billion euros ($32.8 billion) in a chip manufacturing site in the German city of Magdeburg, with financial support from Berlin.Word of the agreement came as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger in the German capital. Intel acquired the land for two semiconductor facilities in Magdeburg in eastern Germany in November, and the company says the first of them is expected to start production in four or five years.“The investment in Germany means a significant expansion of Intel’s production capacity in Europe and is the biggest investment ever made by a foreign company in Germany,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is also the country’s vice chancellor, said in a statement. Plans, before the revised letter of intent was signed Monday, had foreseen a total investment of at least 17 billion euros.Habeck’s ministry said t...

Former student opens fire in Brazilian school, killing teen and wounding another, official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:32 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A former student entered a school and then began shooting in Brazil’s southern Parana state Monday, killing a 15-year-old girl and severely wounding another teen, a spokesperson for the city of Cambé told The Associated Press by phone.The gunman, aged 20 or 21, entered the Professora Helena Kolody state school purportedly to retrieve some documents, spokesperson Thiago Mossini said. Once inside the building, the man fired at least a dozen shots before being restrained by a school employee, Mossini said. The alleged shooter was later arrested by police, Mossini said.The wounded student, a 14-year-old, was reported in critical condition at a hospital.Images circulating on TV and social media showed dozens of students gathered outside the school, some crying, as an ambulance approached the gate.Brazil has seen almost two dozen attacks or violent episodes in schools since 2000, half of them in the last 14 months. On April 5, an attack at a daycare center kill...

Man in 50s or 60s wanted in daylight sexual assault in Scarborough

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:32 GMT

Toronto police have released the image of a man wanted in an alleged daylight sexual assault in Scarborough.Authorities were called to the Lawrence Avenue East and Markham Road area around 5:30 p.m. on June 14 for reports of a sexual assault.It’s alleged the victim was walking in the Cedar Brook Park area in Scarborough when a man approached and sexually assaulted them.The victim’s gender was not provided by police.The suspect is described as 50-60 years of age with a grey beard.The man was last seen wearing a black toque, grey hooded sweater, black pants, and white running shoes and walks with a cane.

Empire expands Voilà online grocery home-delivery service into Alberta

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:32 GMT

STELLARTON, N.S. — Empire Co. Ltd. says it’s launching its Voilà online grocery home-delivery service in Calgary, Edmonton and the surrounding areas.The expansion into Alberta by the company that owns Sobeys and Safeway follows the growth of its e-commerce service in Ontario and Quebec.The grocer says it will offer nearly 20,000 products from Safeway, Sobeys, Chalo! FreshCo and more.The products will be sold at regular in-store prices and delivered in convenient one-hour delivery windows.Empire says Alberta customers will be able to order online on the Voilà website or using its mobile app starting Monday.It says it will provide customers in Alberta with the choice between home delivery and curbside pickup, with curbside pickup remaining available at 16 of its 141 stores in the region.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:EMP.A)The Canadian Press

Airbus wins mammoth order for 500 jets from India’s IndiGo at Paris Air Show

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:32 GMT

PARIS (AP) — India’s IndiGo airline is buying 500 passenger jets from European planemaker Airbus, the two companies said Monday, in a record-setting order that underscores surging demand for air travel fueled by the country’s economic growth. IndiGo, India’s dominant carrier, is buying the A320 aircraft in what the companies said was the single biggest purchase agreement in commercial aviation history. Executives from both companies announced the deal on the opening day of the Paris Air Show, the world’s largest event focusing on aviation and space industry. They didn’t disclose how much the order was worth, but it would likely amount to tens of billions of dollars. The purchase highlights how the two companies are “democratizing affordable air travel for millions of people in the world’s fastest growing aviation market,” Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said in a statement. New Delhi-based IndiGo’s order surpasses another mammoth deal ...

UN complains Russia won't let aid workers into area of dam collapse, Moscow says it's unsafe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:32 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Kremlin's spokesman said Monday that U.N. aid workers who want to visit areas ravaged by the recent Kakhova dam collapse in southern Ukraine can’t go there because fighting in the war makes it unsafe.The United Nations rebuked Moscow on Sunday for allegedly denying aid workers access to Russia-occupied areas where residents are stranded amid “devastating destruction.”The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said in a statement that her staff were engaging with both Kyiv and Moscow, which control different parts of the area, in a bid to reach civilians in need. They face a shortage of drinking water and food and a lack of power.Brown urged Russian authorities “to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law” and let them in.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t explicitly admit that Russia had blocked U.N. access, but told a conference call with reporters that Ukrainian attacks made a v...