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Canada’s former Afghan envoy suggests Ottawa send diplomats to Taliban-held country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:48 GMT

OTTAWA — One of Canada’s former ambassadors to Afghanistan says it’s time to establish a diplomatic presence in Kabul, arguing Ottawa lacks a firsthand understanding of the Taliban-held country where Canadian troops fought for more than 12 years.“There are ways for us to be on the ground and to see for ourselves, and to act for ourselves and act directly to help Afghans — without lending direct support to the Taliban,” Arif Lalani said in an interview this week.“We should be able to decide for ourselves and inform others about what is really going on in Afghanistan. And the degree to which we can’t do that ourselves, I don’t think it does a service to anyone.”Ottawa recognizes the Taliban as a terrorist organization. The group overthrew a Western-backed government in August 2021, following the retreat of the United States military from its long-time presence in the country.Since then, the Taliban’s government has capped education...

Trudeau heads to Golden State for APEC summit in San Francisco

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:48 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is headed to California for three days of meetings at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in San Francisco. Trudeau will meet today with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, long a liberal-minded ally in the effort to combat climate change. Officials say he’ll attend an APEC reception later in the day hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden before a welcome dinner with tech leaders. Biden sits down today with Chinese President Xi Jinping in an effort to defuse a year of international tensions, a meeting widely seen as the focal point of the summit. Reports suggest the two leaders are working on a deal to resume bilateral military communications and keeping artificial intelligence out of their respective nuclear defence systems. Trudeau, meanwhile, will be aiming for tangible progress on policy priorities in the Indo-Pacific, during bilateral meetings with fellow APEC leaders.Federal officials say at least two bilateral economic initiatives w...

Poll suggests widespread dissatisfaction with Trudeau government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:48 GMT

OTTAWA — Almost two in three Canadians have a negative impression of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and half want him to resign before the next election, a new survey suggests.While affordability, housing and public debt are higher on the reasons people want Trudeau to go, one in five people surveyed said they want him to resign simply because they are “just tired of him.”The Leger poll for The Canadian Press suggests widespread dissatisfaction with the Liberal government on everything from housing affordability and inflation to health care, government spending and climate change.It was taken online in Canada over three days last weekend, with 1,612 people responding. While the results were statistically weighted it cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered truly random samples.It comes after months of unfavourable poll numbers for Trudeau and the Liberals who have just passed the eighth anniversary of their 2015 election win.Nationally,...

Alberta regulator probes mine wall ‘instabilities’ after worker nearly buried: union

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:48 GMT

Alberta’s energy regulator is examining practices at a coal mine in the province after three “instabilities” in its rock walls — including one weeks ago that partially buried a large piece of heavy equipment and its operator.  “It buried the excavator with the operator in it,” said Shayne Jessome, who works at the CST Canada Coal mine in Grande Cache, about 430 kilometres west of Edmonton.“The guy almost got killed.”The boulders were big enough to damage the excavator’s roll cage, Jessome said. Alberta Energy Regulator spokeswoman Teresa Broughton said the company reported three “rock-wall instabilities” in June, September and October. The first was reported to the regulator on July 5 and the others on Oct. 31.“We are assessing the conditions at the site and mitigation activities of (CST) related to these rock-wall instabilities,” she said. The three events occurred after an earlier one in the fall of 2022...

Stock market today: Global shares get a lift from encouraging US inflation report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:48 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares powered higher on Wednesday, cheered by a broad rally on Wall Street after an encouraging U.S. inflation report raised hopes for an end to interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.5% in early trading to 7,221.25. Germany’s DAX edged 0.2% higher, to 15,644.95, while Britain’s FTSE 100 surged 1.0% to 7,515.58. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% and that for the S&P 500 gained 0.3%. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 2.5% to finish at 33,519.70 as investors appeared to shrug off news that Japan’s economy contracted at a worse than expected 2.1% annual rate in July-September. In quarterly terms, it contracted 0.5%. The world’s No. 3 economy is grappling with weakening private demand from consumers and businesses, slack demand for Japan’s exports and sluggish wage growth that will continue to drag on consumer spending, which is the main driver of the economy, said Marcel T...

ASEAN defense chiefs call for the fighting in Gaza to cease but struggle to address Myanmar violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:48 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian defense ministers called Wednesday for an end to the Israel-Hamas war and for the world to collaborate on setting up humanitarian aid corridors in Gaza, but they struggled on how to address the prolonged civil strife in Myanmar.They also reiterated the significance of maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and respecting international rules to prevent maritime clashes in the disputed waters. The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations includes Myanmar, but its defense minister was again barred from attending this week’s meetings due to the military government’s failure to comply with a five-point peace plan drafted to ease the violence.“We are saddened with a deteriorating situation in Myanmar,” Indonesia’s Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said in an opening speech. “Indonesia encourages other ASEAN member states to support Myanmar to find a peaceful and durable solution to the current situati...

Daily horoscope for November 15, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:48 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or making important decisions after 5:30 p.m. EST today (2:30 p.m. to 11:55 p.m. PST). After that, the Moon moves from Sagittarius into Capricorn.Happy Birthday for Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023:You are passionate, emotional and spontaneous. You’re also sophisticated and smooth. This is a year of service. Therefore, take care of yourself so that you can be of service to others, especially family. Perhaps it’s time for a makeover. Show support to those who give you guidance, comfort and encouragement.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★It’s another wonderful day to study or make travel plans! Discussions about legal matters or medical situations, as well as higher education, will go well. Why not explore travel ideas or ways to do something different with a spouse, partner or close friend? (Check the Moon Alert.) Tonight: You’re noticed.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Financial discussions will continue to go well today. It’s also a good day t...

EU launches tool to help exporters seize the benefits of Mutual Recognition Agreements

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:48 GMT

The new Access2Conformity tool launched on 13 November will allow EU exporters large and small to reduce red tape by making better use of the EU's Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with third countries. When businesses export goods to a trade partner, said goods have to be certified by the conformity assessment bodies (CABs) in the country of destination to ensure that they comply with local rules and regulations, even when already certified for their domestic market. Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) can solve this problem. They work by allowing the exporting trade partner to designate their own CABs as capable of testing and certifying exported products to make sure that they comply with the rules and regulations of the importing trade partner.MRAs are powerful tools to help companies save time and money, and making full use of them can boost trade by up to 40%. Moreover, the reduced paperwork makes it up to 50% more likely that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will expor...

Harriette Cole: I’m arguing more and more, and I need a strategy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:48 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: My partner and I have been arguing more lately. I’m not exactly sure why this is happening, but it’s uncomfortable.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: How can I break the hold of wine and binge-watching? Advice | Harriette Cole: I don’t have rich parents, and I’m scared about graduating Advice | Harriette Cole: I asked why my boyfriend’s mom doesn’t like me, and the answer hurt Advice | Harriette Cole: Ever since I committed to being happy, my life has been a trainwreck Advice | Harriette Cole: Does my husband’s full-time job exempt him from child care? What’s the best way to resolve conflicts and maintain a healthy relationship when things get tough?— Looking for StrategiesDEAR LOOKING FOR STRATEGIES: Do a bit of reflection. When did the arguing begin? Try to pinpoint what precipitated it. Was there a change in either of your job...

Miss Manners: Was my gift to her tacky? Or was her response tacky?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:48 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is it considered tacky to give an acquaintance a handmade gift?Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Her husband got whiny, and suddenly I was on the hook for $100 Advice | Miss Manners: What do you mean what’s wrong with my arm? Advice | Miss Manners: My child was upset by this drama on the train. Who was in the wrong? Advice | Miss Manners: I was at the game, too, but I lied to my friend about it Advice | Miss Manners: My neighbor is convinced I’m making this noise. How do I get him to drop it? My daughter and I are both crafters, and we gave a hand-thrown mug and a quilted “mug rug” to a mutual acquaintance whose business we both patronize.We assumed she would use the items. But the next time I went into her store, our gifts were on a shelf, available for sale.Am I off-base to think this was an insult? It seems wrong to accept a gift and then be so obvious a...