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Hungary’s Orban demands Ukraine’s EU membership be taken off the agenda at a bloc summit

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:21:49 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban demanded on Monday that Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and billions of euros in funding meant for the war-torn country be taken off the agenda at a summit of the bloc’s leaders next week.In a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, who will chair the Dec. 14-15 summit in Brussels, Orban insisted that a “strategic discussion” is needed first about Ukraine’s European future and warned that forcing a decision could destroy EU unity.Decisions on EU’s enlargement and a review of its long-term budget, which includes 50 billion euros ($54.1 billion) in aid for Kyiv, can only be taken unanimously by all 27 member countries.“I respectfully urge you not to invite the European Council to decide on these matters in December as the obvious lack of consensus would inevitably lead to failure,” Orban wrote in the letter, dated Dec. 4 and seen by The Associated Press.EU leaders, he wrote, “must avoid this counterpro...

Canada Life signs residential mortgage partnership with Nesto

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:21:49 GMT

WINNIPEG — Canada Life has signed a partnership deal with online mortgage company Nesto that will see the company take over the service and administration of the insurer’s residential mortgage customers starting in January.In addition to servicing the existing mortgages, Nesto will also be responsible for the Canada Life mortgages at maturity.The partnership follows Canada Life’s 2022 decision to withdraw from the residential mortgage market.Canada Life says customers will receive a modern, digital experience with the move to Nesto, which launched in 2018.It says Canada Life mortgage customers will gain access to Nesto’s customer service platform as part of a phased implementation plan in mid-2024.Canada Life is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GWO, TSX:POW)The Canadian Press<!– Photo: 20231204121216-656e096eb3178b95c9ce1c27jpeg.jpg, Caption: Great-West L...

Warren Buffett’s company’s bribery allegations against the Haslam family won’t be decided in January

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:21:49 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett’s company decided not to move forward with an expedited trial on its bribery allegations against the billionaire Haslam family in January under the strict conditions a judge set, but it will still be able to raise those concerns then as a judge considers the Haslams’ rival claim that Berkshire Hathaway tried to depress the Pilot truck stop chain’s earnings.Both the Haslams and Berkshire have accused each other of trying to manipulate the profits at the nation’s largest truck stop chain because those numbers will determine how much Berkshire has to pay if the family decides to sell its remaining 20% stake in the business next year as expected. The two sides agreed on a formula in 2017 when the family decided to sell the first chunk of the business that sets the price based on the earnings.The Haslams argue that Berkshire is trying to keep earnings down with an accounting change at Pilot while Berkshire says that Cleveland Brow...

In GOP’s proposed Georgia congressional map, a key question is which voters are legally protected

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:21:49 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A push by Georgia Republicans to maintain their congressional majority is likely to come down to a decades-old legal question that has never been settled by the U.S. Supreme Court — does federal law protect voting districts where a coalition of nonwhite voters hold sway?The question was a key part of debate Monday as a Senate committee voted 7-4 along party lines to advance the proposed congressional map. It could be debated Tuesday before the full state Senate.Republicans pushing redistricting plans in Georgia say such districts aren’t protected by the federal Voting Rights Act. Thus, they say it’s legal for them to target a district now represented by Democratic U.S. Rep Lucy McBath for a drastic transformation, even as they draw a new Black-majority district elsewhere in metro Atlanta. Such a 1-for-1 switch in districts likely to elect a Democrat would mean Republicans are likely to maintain their 9-5 edge in Georgia’s congressional delegation. Th...

Quebec employment minister wants to recruit asylum seekers to work in health care

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:21:49 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec’s employment minister says around 1,500 asylum seekers will be given jobs in the province’s health-care system over the next three years.Kateri Champagne Jourdain announced the pilot project in Montreal today. The program will work with two community organizations, one in Montreal and one in Quebec City, to place people.The government says it’s looking to fill positions such as patient-care aides, kitchen and maintenance staff, and administrators.To be eligible, candidates must hold a valid work permit and have an intermediate level of French.Champagne Jourdain says 1,098 would-be refugees have expressed interest in working in the tourism sector, following the launch in May of a similar program connecting asylum seekers with jobs.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2023.The Canadian Press

Germany and Brazil hope for swift finalization of a trade agreement between EU and Mercosur

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:21:49 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The chancellor of Germany and president of Brazil expressed hope Monday that decades-long negotiations might soon yield a finalized free trade agreement between the 27-member European Union and a bloc of four South American nations. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told reporters in Berlin that they support the trade deal for the EU and Mercosur, comprised of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The two blocs are holding a summit Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, but final approval of a preliminary trade agreement has remained elusive.“We are strongly committed to ensuring that the agreement is now finalized swiftly,” Scholz said after a meeting of senior officials from both countries in the German capital.Lula also vowed to fight for the deal, and said he hoped for a breakthrough at the Rio de Janeiro meeting. “As long as I can believe that the agreement is possible, I will fight for it,” the Brazilian president said. “I...

Canadian actor Jason Priestley joins cast of CBC TV series ‘Wild Cards’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:21:49 GMT

TORONTO — Jason Priestley has joined the cast of the forthcoming CBC TV series “Wild Cards.”The procedural follows a by-the-book cop, played by Giacomo Gianniotti of “Grey’s Anatomy,” who teams up with a con woman portrayed by “Riverdale” star Vanessa Morgan.CBC says Priestley will be a recurring guest star, playing the con woman’s father. He’s best known portraying Brandon Walsh on “Beverly Hills, 90210.”“Wild Cards,” a Vancouver-set comedy from creator Michael Konyves, is set to debut Jan. 10 on CBC.It’s one of many CBC shows also set to air in the United States on The CW this year.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2023.The Canadian Press<!– Photo: 20231204121216-656e0a31750b316f61822f59jpeg.jpg, Caption: Nineties heartthrob Jason Priestley has joined the cast of the forthcoming CBC TV series “Wild Cards.” Priestley attends “Offside: The Harold ...

1,000 homes evacuated in Quebec’s Laurentians region over fears dike could burst

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:21:49 GMT

MONTREAL — Residents of two municipalities in Quebec’s Laurentians region have been ordered to leave their homes because of the risk a nearby dike could burst.The evacuation order was issued Sunday night for about 1,000 homes near the Kiamika River in the municipalities of Chute-St-Philippe and Lac-des-Écorces.The two towns are located about 15 kilometres from each other and roughly 125 kilometres northeast of Ottawa.Authorities have told residents to leave their homes for five days.Quebec’s Environment Department is inspecting the dike today. The dike on the Kiamika Reservoir was built in 1954 and has the capacity to retain 382 million cubic metres of water, the equivalent of more than 100,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2023.The Canadian Press

AP’s top songs of 2023: ‘On My Mama,’ ‘Flowers,’ ‘Monaco’ and more

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:21:49 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ten of the best songs of the year, as determined by Associated Press Music Writer Maria Sherman, in no particular order. Dive in.“On My Mama,” Victoria MonétBuckle up for some positive affirmations! The 10-time Grammy-nominated Victoria Monét, once best known as a hit-maker for Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony and Chloe x Halle, is getting her flowers these days as a soloist — and passing them right along to the mothers listening. Her blockbuster single “On My Mama” is a loving tribute to her mom and her daughter, with Monét’s buttery voice and bright brass production carrying throughout. It may very well be the best R&B track of the year — with one of the best samples, utilizing Chalie Boy’s 2009 banger “I Look Good.” It takes a real talent to borrow from such a recognizable sound. Monét doesn’t just manage to do that — she makes it her own.“Monaco,” Bad BunnyBad Bunny’s 2023 album, “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana,” is a reclamation of his past sound, ...

Treasury creates new strike force as US and China pursue crackdown on illicit fentanyl trafficking

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:21:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department on Monday announced a new strike force to help combat illicit fentanyl trafficking as the U.S. and China step up efforts to stop the movement of the powerful opioid and drug-making materials into the U.S.The Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force will bring together personnel and intelligence from throughout the Treasury Department — from its sanctions and intelligence arms to IRS Criminal Investigations — to more effectively collaborate on stopping the flow of drugs into the country.The creation of the group is the beginning of the Biden administration’s plan to redouble its efforts to stem the tide of illegal fentanyl after President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in California in November. At the meeting, they announced that China is telling its chemical companies to curtail shipments of the materials used to produce fentanyl to Latin America. China has also resumed sharing information about suspected trafficking with an inte...