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Canada will airlift people from Tel Aviv this week, Joly says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:56 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says the federal government will begin to airlift Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families from Tel Aviv by the end of the week.Speaking in Ottawa today, Joly would not confirm whether any Canadians are being held hostage in Gaza, but a senior official from Global Affairs Canada says two Canadians have died and a third is presumed dead.She says Canadian Armed Forces flights to Athens will be arranged in the coming days and the government will help arrange flights to Canada.Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre says the first Polaris plane will land in Athens later this morning and the Air Force will run a shuttle service.As of Tuesday, Joly says there were 4,249 Canadians registered in Israel and another 476 in the West Bank and Gaza.She says Canada will work with the United Nations if there is an evacuation from Gaza but so far there are no such plans.This report from The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11...

Birkenstock set for its stock market debut as Wall Street trades in its wingtips for sandals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Birkenstock is making its debut on the stock market as Wall Street trades in its wingtips for sandals for a day. The 249-year-old German maker of upmarket sandals set a price of $46 per share for its initial public offering of stock, valuing the company at $8.64 billion.Birkenstock is due to start trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the “BIRK” ticker symbol. Birkenstock Holding Ltd. sold about 10.8 million shares in the offering, raising about $495 million. Its shareholders sold an additional 21.5 million shares.The company’s footwear was first cobbled together by Johann Adam Birkenstock in Germany in 1774. The sandals have long been derided as the antithesis of high fashion but have a cult following and this year got a plug in the blockbuster film “Barbie.”Birkenstock’s IPO will be the fourth to launch in the U.S. in the past month, following Arm Holdings, Klaviyo and Instacart. There were just 71 IPOs in the U.S. last year, the lowest number sinc...

St. Louis launches program to pay $500 a month to lower-income residents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:56 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis is launching a program that seeks to help low-income families by providing them with $500 monthly payments for 18 months.The program is a signature priority for Mayor Tishaura Jones, who said Tuesday that the money will go to hundreds of city households, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. She believes it will help rebuild neighborhoods and prevent the root causes of crime.“St. Louis’ guaranteed basic income will give hundreds of St. Louis families the resources they need to lift themselves out of poverty, giving them a strong foundation to grow and to thrive,” Jones said at a news conference.The Board of Aldermen approved the program last year. The city will use $5 million in federal pandemic aid. Meanwhile, St. Louis native Jack Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter and Square, is contributing $1 million.Jones announced a website for those interested. Applications will be open between Oct. 23 and Nov. 1, and the city will start sending the money, on debit car...

Australia in talks with Indonesia about a possible challenge to Saudi Arabia for the 2034 World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:56 GMT

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Soccer officials in Australia and Indonesia have floated the idea of teaming up in a bid to rival Saudi Arabia for the hosting rights to the men’s World Cup in 2034.The Sydney Morning Herald reported comments Wednesday from Indonesia soccer federation president Erick Thohir about ongoing talks that could also include Malaysia and Singapore in a possible bid.Indonesia is being linked with a bid despite having the men’s Under-20 World Cup taken away by FIFA this year amid political turmoil because the Muslim-majority nation did not want to stage games involving Israel.Argentina ended up hosting the under-20 tournament at short notice.FIFA could have disciplined the Indonesian federation for breaching hosting duties but instead rewarded the country weeks later by naming it as host of the men’s Under-17 World Cup. Israel did not qualify for the under-17 edition, which starts next month.Thohir is an Indonesian government minister who has ties to FIFA president Gi...

France’s top body rejects contention by campaigners that racial profiling by police is systemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:56 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s highest administrative authority on Wednesday rejected an effort by rights campaigners to end what they allege is a systemic and generalized practice by French police of targeting Black people and people of Arab descent for stops and checks.Local grassroots organizations and international rights groups had hoped that a favorable ruling from the Council of State could force deep reforms within French law enforcement to end racial profiling.In its decision, the Council of State said witness testimony and other evidence presented in the class-action case established that French police do subject people to checks because of their physical characteristics. It also said such checks don’t appear to be isolated cases and are harmful to the people targeted. But the ruling said discriminatory checks aren’t systemic or generalized. The Council of State is France’s ultimate arbiter on the use of power by authorities. The plaintiffs’ lawsuit, France’...

Keith Urban shares the secret to a great song ahead of Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:56 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Country superstar Keith Urban and Kix Brooks of powerhouse duo Brooks & Dunn will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on Wednesday night at Nashville’s Music City Center.Urban, a four-time Grammy Award winning musician, is being celebrated at the 53rd anniversary gala for hits such as “But for the Grace of God,” “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me” and “Days Go By.” Kix Brooks’ songwriting in Brooks & Dunn helped shaped the iconic ’90s country music sound, with tracks like the Grammy-nominated “Brand New Man,” “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” and “Only in America.”Other inductees include Casey Beathard and David Lee Murphy, in the contemporary songwriter category, and Rafe Van Hoy in the veteran songwriter category.When asked to share the secret behind great songwriting in advance of the ceremony, Urban told The Associated Press over the phone: “It’s one of the most elusive things. Some days it just flows and other days, there’s n...

Canada plans to airlift citizens from Israel by end of week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:56 GMT

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says the federal government will begin to airlift Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families from Tel Aviv by the end of the week.Speaking in Ottawa on Wednesday morning, Joly would not confirm whether any Canadians are being held hostage in Gaza, but she says three Canadians have died in the violence in the region.She says Canadian Armed Forces flights to Athens will be arranged in the coming days and the government will help arrange flights to Canada.“We have secured, with Air Canada, a plane and a crew to bring Canadians home from Athens,” Joly said.Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre says the first Polaris plane will land in Athens later Wednesday and the Air Force will run a shuttle service.As of Tuesday, Joly says there were 4,249 Canadians registered in Israel and another 476 in the West Bank and Gaza.She says Canada will work with the United Nations if there is an evacuation from Gaza but so far there ar...

Chinese carmaker Geely and Malaysia’s Proton consider EV plant in Thailand, Thai prime minister says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:56 GMT

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s national carmaker Proton and its Chinese partner Geely are considering setting up a plant in Thailand to produce electric vehicles, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Wednesday.Srettha said after talks with Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim that the two sides would hold a meeting to identify the next step “and move forward quickly.” He didn’t provide further details. Geely holds a 49.9% stake in Proton, which is owned by local conglomerate DRB-Hicom Berhad. The Chinese carmaker’s entry into Proton in 2017 has given it a foothold in Southeast Asia and helped restore the fortune of the once dominant Malaysian brand. DRB-Hicom and Geely earlier Wednesday formalized a deal to develop an automotive hub in Tanjung Malim in central Perak state, in which Geely is expected to invest 10 billion ringgit ($2.1 billion). Srettha, who took office last month, arrived earlier Wednesday in Malaysia as part of a regional tour to woo...

Israeli strikes demolish entire neighborhoods as Gaza power plant runs out of fuel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:56 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinians in the sealed-off Gaza Strip struggled to find any safe area Wednesday, as Israeli strikes demolished entire neighborhoods, hospitals ran low on supplies and the territory's only power plant ran out of fuel, deepening the misery of a war sparked by a stunning and deadly assault by Hamas militants.Airstrikes smashed entire city blocks to rubble in the tiny coastal enclave and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath mounds of debris. The bombardment raged on even though militants are holding an estimated 150 people snatched from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults.Israel has vowed unprecedented retaliation against the Hamas militant group ruling the Palestinian territory after its fighters stormed through the border fence Saturday and gunned down hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival. Since then, militants have continued to fire rockets at Israel, including a heavy...

Mayor Johnson to deliver first budget address Wednesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:56 GMT

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson will deliver his first budget address Wednesday. It is expected to cover everything from filling the more than nearly $540 million budget shortfall to the growing cost of the migrant crisis.The mayor has been warning for weeks this was going to be a challenging budget.Johnson came into office with progressive goals — opening mental health clinics and pouring millions into programs for the homeless, and his treatment not trauma plan.Johnson wants to do this without raising property taxes and with some federal relief dollars ending.While campaigning for mayor, Johnson proposed a number of revenue generating ideas, most included fees and taxes aimed at the wealthy.The Chicago Sun-Times reports Johnson recently hinted the elimination of 1,700 police vacancies. The nearly $540 million gap for next year, according to the Chicago Tribune report, is attributed to revenues dropping and expenditures growing by about 9% over this year's budget.The migrant crisis...