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Child luring suspects brought candy, toys to meet officers posing as children: OPP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:26 GMT

They were allegedly trying to lure children for sex with baseball cards, candy and toys. Instead, undercover OPP officers posing as children online lured them into handcuffs.Ten people are facing a total of 39 charges as part of Project Limestine — a four-day luring investigation led by Ontario Provincial Police in tandem with several other police forces, including Durham and York Regional Police.“Investigators utilized undercover techniques to access online chatrooms and social media applications designed for children in order to identify, locate and arrest persons looking to sexually exploit children,” the OPP said in a release.The investigation took place between September 12-15, and also resulted in the seizure of 55 devices.Police say six of the suspects were arrested after they showed up to meet with who they thought were children, but were really officers.Even more disturbingly, police say some of the accused arrived with candy, toys and sexual paraphernalia...

Nutrien optimistic on potash demand as earnings continue to take hit from volatility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:26 GMT

SASKATOON — Nutrien chief executive Ken Seitz says the unprecedented volatility in fertilizer markets that’s contributed to the company’s lower earnings so far this year is stabilizing.He says demand for potash has been strengthening through the second half of the year, and he expects it to return closer to 2021 levels at some point next year.His comments came after the Saskatoon-based fertilizer company reported significantly lower earnings for its third quarter, coming in at US$82 million in the third quarter, down from US$1.6 billion a year earlier.The volatility in fertilizer markets led Nutrien to announce in August that it was indefinitely pausing its planned ramp-up of potash production.Seitz says he feels comfortable with Nutrien’s current capacity, but that the company will be ready to hit play on that ramp-up again when it seems appropriate. Despite BHP’s large potash project currently under construction in Saskatchewan, Seitz expects Nutrien to maintain its market share a...

Crews begin removing debris amid ongoing search for worker trapped after Kentucky mine collapse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:26 GMT

Crews began the arduous process of removing layers of rubble and debris in the search for a missing worker Thursday at a collapsed coal mine preparation plant in eastern Kentucky where a second worker died.The 11-story abandoned building crashed down Tuesday night at the Martin Mine Prep Plant in Martin County while it was undergoing work toward its demolition. Officials briefly made contact with one of the two men working inside, but announced Wednesday he died amid rescue efforts. Authorities said Thursday they have not had any communication with the second worker since the building collapsed at around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Inez, a town of about 500 people.“We haven’t given up hope,” Martin County Judge Executive Lon Lafferty said at a news conference with reporters Thursday. Lafferty said a family member of the deceased man was at the site before he died and was able to speak with him. Crews have located his remains, but have not yet been able to remove them. Lafferty said the pro...

October new vehicle sales up 20 per cent: DesRosiers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:26 GMT

TORONTO — DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. says new vehicle sales defied affordability headwinds to rise an estimated 20 per cent in October compared with last year.The climb in October marks 12 consecutive months of sales gains, including similarly strong gains the previous two months, as inventory levels improve.DesRosiers estimates that light vehicle sales for the month totalled 145,957 units.While up notably from last year, the total is still well off the close to 160,000 vehicles sold in the month in 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic.Andrew King, managing partner at the consultancy, said that pent-up demand and improved vehicle availability have helped overcome challenges like high interest rates and stagnant economic growth.The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales came in at 1.79 million for the month, the highest since January. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.The Canadian Press

Lifetime cost of Canada’s F-35 fighter jets is $73.9B: parliamentary budget officer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:26 GMT

OTTAWA — The parliamentary budget officer has pegged the lifetime cost of Canada’s new fleet of F-35 fighter jets at $73.9 billion over 45 years.Yves Giroux says the cost of the acquisition phase is estimated to be $19.8 billion. In January, the federal government announced a deal with Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government to buy 88 jets at a cost of about US$85 million each. Defence minister Anita Anand said at the time that the acquisition cost was estimated at $19 billion, and the lifetime cost of the deal would be $70 billion.The new aircraft are to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s aging CF-18s, with the first four planes expected to be delivered in 2026.Giroux says his analysis shows the costs are broadly in line with government estimates, but he also warns that a one-year delay in the program would cost about $400 million.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.The Canadian Press

Italy’s premier acknowledges ‘fatigue’ over Ukraine war in call with Russian pranksters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:26 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office has expressed “regret” that she fell prey to a prank call that induced her to acknowledge “fatigue” over the war in Ukraine.Meloni, believing she was speaking with officials of the African Union, told a pair of Russian pranksters that “there is a lot of fatigue, I have to say the truth, from all the sides. We are near the moment in which everybody understands that we need a way out.”“The problem is to find a way out which can be acceptable for both, without destroying the international law,’’ she said.Audio of the call was released Wednesday and replayed by Italian media. The call by Russian comedians Vovan and Lexus was made in September. The office of Meloni’s diplomatic advisor said it “regrets having been misled by an imposter who posed as the president of the African Union commission.” The call occurred on Sept. 18, in the run-up to the U.N. General Assembly, where Meloni had meetings with African leaders.Foreign Minister Ant...

TransAlta buying Heartland in deal worth $658 million including assumed debt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:26 GMT

CALGARY — TransAlta Corp. has signed a deal to buy Heartland Generation Ltd. and its power generation business in Alberta and B.C. in a deal valued at $658 million, including assumed debt.Under the agreement, TransAlta will pay Energy Capital Partners $390 million and assume $268 million in debt.The company says the deal will add 1,844 megawatts of complementary flexible capacity.TransAlta adds it expects about $20 million in corporate pre-tax synergies in connection with the deal and says the combination will allow it to further optimize operations.The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.TransAlta owns and operates power generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:TA)The Canadian Press

S&P/TSX composite up more than 400 points, U.S. stock markets also up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:26 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in the technology sector helped lead a broad-based rally as Canada’s main stock index was up more than 400 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 438.88 points at 19,517.88.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 367.84 points at 33,642.42. The S&P 500 index was up 60.55 points at 4,298.41, while the Nasdaq composite was up 178.60 points at 13,240.07.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.47 cents US compared with 72.07 cents US on Wednesday.The December crude oil contract was up 53 cents at US$80.97 per barrel and the December natural gas contract was down five cents at US$3.44 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was up US$4.30 at US$1,991.80 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$3.67 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)The Canadian Press

Hydro-Québec to spend up to $185 billion to increase capacity, reliability

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:26 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec’s public hydroelectric utility says it plans to spend up to $185 billion by 2035 to increase generating capacity and improve the reliability of its network. Hydro-Québec forecasts that by 2050 it will need to produce about twice as much power as it can now for homes and the province’s growing industrial sector.CEO Michael Sabia says the utility plans to spend around $100 billion by 2035 to increase production capacity, as well as the capacity of its electricity transportation network.Between $45 billion and $50 billion will be used to improve the reliability of its infrastructure.Sabia says some of the additional power will come from using new technology in existing hydro plants, and from diversifying its power sources, particularly by tripling its use of wind power.He says it’s too early, however, to confirm whether the utility — which generates 99 per cent of its power from hydro plants — will build new dams. This report by The Canadian Press wa...

Housing supply still outpacing demand in Vancouver market as sales increase

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:05:26 GMT

VANCOUVER — The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says the region continues to see an increase in newly listed properties, but sales still lag behind long-term trends.The board says October home sales totalled 1,996, a 3.7 per cent increase from the 1,924 sales recorded the same month last year. But the total was 29.5 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average of 2,832 for October.There were 4,664 new listings of detached, attached and apartment properties last month, a 15.4 per cent increase from a year earlier, as new listings were 4.8 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.The composite benchmark home price in October for Metro Vancouver was $1,196,500, a 4.4 per cent increase from October 2022 and a 0.6 per cent decrease from September 2023.Andrew Lis, the board’s director of economics and data analytics, says there appears to be a continuation of sellers’ renewed interest to participate in the market, but this is being counterbalanced by a lack of demand ...