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

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 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 Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 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 Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 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 Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 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 Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 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 Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 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 Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 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...

Tropical Depression 3 forms, will become hurricane in a few days, National Hurricane Center says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) - Tropical Depression Three formed midway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles Monday, according to an 11 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center.Once the depression strengthens into a tropical storm, it will be called Bret.Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. The depression is forecast to become a hurricane in a few days, the National Hurricane Center said, and should move across the Lesser Antilles as a hurricane on Thursday and Friday. (National Hurricane Center)The National Hurricane Service says everyone in the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands should closely monitor the system and have a hurricane plan ready.“As it continues to get better organized, the models will get a better handle on the system. However, right now, it is too early to say whether it will move into the Caribbean or re-curve out to sea, but there is plenty of time to watch it," WFLA Meteorologist Amanda Holly said.She added the...

Police arrest man in Ulster County on weapons charges

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

LLOYD, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A North Carolina man has been arrested in Ulster County for weapons charges, according to police. Otis Jones, 25, of Salemburg, was taken into custody following a traffic stop. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On June 14 at 4:06 a.m., state police observed a 2019 Nissan Altima traveling on State Route 299 in the town of Lloyd violating New York State vehicle and traffic law. Troopers stopped the car and identified the driver as Jones. While being interviewed, troopers observed a marijuana cigarette next to Jones. Police removed him from the vehicle to conduct a possible driving while ability impaired investigation. Driver charged in Duanesburg trooper-involved shooting Troopers discovered an extended capacity magazine containing 30 rounds of ammunition during the investigation. Jones then informed police there was a gun in the car on the floor of the front passenger seat. A sea...

South Colonie adopts resolution to rebrand, phase out "Raiders" nickname

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

SOUTH COLONIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- According to the South Colonie Central School District website, their Board of Education has adopted a resolution to rebrand, phasing out the nickname "Raiders" over two years. The decision comes in light of the New York State Board of Regents’ regulation that bans all names and images of school mascots that currently or were related to Indigenous people prior. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The district established a committee composed of community members, parents, teachers, coaches, students, building leadership, and board of education members, who've worked since late spring, to generate new ideas for a mascot that "embodies the values and spirits of the South Colonie School Community." The rebranding committee has selected potential mascot names, and community members can provide input online.The committee will review all feedback as they look to move forward and present their recommend...