Economy
Alberta launches review after document recommended students learn how Nazis ‘strengthened’ economy – Global News
Advice to Alberta’s teachers to include how the Nazis “strengthened” the German economy in lessons about the horrors of the Second World War date back almost four decades, Global News has learned.
The provincial government is now launching a full review of all documents on Alberta Education’s website after the 1984 document – which was republished in January 2020 – suggested teachers should provide a nuanced view of the murderous Nazi regime.
Global News reported Friday that the document, titled “Guidelines for Recognizing Diversity and Promoting Respect,” recommended teachers include “both the positive and negative behaviours and attitudes of the various groups portrayed” in their lessons.
“For instance, if a video details war atrocities committed by the Nazis, does it also point out that before World War II, (the) German government’s policies substantially strengthened the country’s economy?” the document read.
“Some Canadian history print and digital resources dwell on the mistreatment of (First Nations) peoples by Caucasians and do not include examples of non-(First Nations) individuals or groups actively opposing this type of treatment.”
“Without omitting or glossing over the many instances when members of one group have cruelly wronged persons of another group, the resource should attempt to provide some balance by presenting factors causing the behaviour or portraying positive qualities exhibited by members of the group that have acted inappropriately,” the document added.
The news was immediately seized on by anti-hate campaigners and denounced “categorically” by Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange, who said the document was first brought to her attention Friday morning. It has since been removed from the government’s website.
But LaGrange’s office provided evidence that the advice has been on the books since at least 1984 under former Progressive Conservative Premier Peter Lougheed.
“In 2019, following the passing of the Education Act, numerous documents from Alberta Education were updated to remove references from the previous legislation, The School Act … A general review of the document content was not done at that time and at no point did this document come to the Minister’s Office for approval,” wrote Nicole Sparrow, a spokesperson for LaGrange, in a statement to Global News.
“To be very clear, the contents contained in the 1984 document were just as wrong then as they are today.”
Sparrow said that LaGrange has now ordered a full review of all documents on Alberta Education’s website “with a particular focus on longstanding documents that have not been recently reviewed.”
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Economy
China Wants Everyone to Trade In Their Old Cars, Fridges to Help Save Its Economy – Bloomberg
China’s world-beating electric vehicle industry, at the heart of growing trade tensions with the US and Europe, is set to receive a big boost from the government’s latest effort to accelerate growth.
That’s one takeaway from what Beijing has revealed about its plan for incentives that will encourage Chinese businesses and households to adopt cleaner technologies. It’s widely expected to be one of this year’s main stimulus programs, though question-marks remain — including how much the government will spend.
Economy
German Business Outlook Hits One-Year High as Economy Heals – BNN Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) — German business sentiment improved to its highest level in a year — reinforcing recent signs that Europe’s largest economy is exiting two years of struggles.
An expectations gauge by the Ifo institute rose to 89.9. in April from a revised 87.7 the previous month. That exceeds the 88.9 median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. A measure of current conditions also advanced.
“Sentiment has improved at companies in Germany,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said. “Companies were more satisfied with their current business. Their expectations also brightened. The economy is stabilizing, especially thanks to service providers.”
A stronger global economy and the prospect of looser monetary policy in the euro zone are helping drag Germany out of the malaise that set in following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said last week that the country may have “turned the corner,” while Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also expressed optimism, citing record employment and retreating inflation.
There’s been a particular shift in the data in recent weeks, with the Bundesbank now estimating that output rose in the first quarter, having only a month ago foreseen a contraction that would have ushered in a first recession since the pandemic.
Even so, the start of the year “didn’t go great,” according to Fuest.
“What we’re seeing at the moment confirms the forecasts, which are saying that growth will be weak in Germany, but at least it won’t be negative,” he told Bloomberg Television. “So this is the stabilization we expected. It’s not a complete recovery. But at least it’s a start.”
Monthly purchasing managers’ surveys for April brought more cheer this week as Germany returned to expansion for the first time since June 2023. Weak spots remain, however — notably in industry, which is still mired in a slump that’s being offset by a surge in services activity.
“We see an improving worldwide economy,” Fuest said. “But this doesn’t seem to reach German manufacturing, which is puzzling in a way.”
Germany, which was the only Group of Seven economy to shrink last year and has been weighing on the wider region, helped private-sector output in the 20-nation euro area strengthen this month, S&P Global said.
–With assistance from Joel Rinneby, Kristian Siedenburg and Francine Lacqua.
(Updates with more comments from Fuest starting in sixth paragraph.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Economy
Parallel economy: How Russia is defying the West’s boycott
|
When Moscow resident Zoya, 62, was planning a trip to Italy to visit her daughter last August, she saw the perfect opportunity to buy the Apple Watch she had long dreamed of owning.
Officially, Apple does not sell its products in Russia.
The California-based tech giant was one of the first companies to announce it would exit the country in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
But the week before her trip, Zoya made a surprise discovery while browsing Yandex.Market, one of several Russian answers to Amazon, where she regularly shops.
Not only was the Apple Watch available for sale on the website, it was cheaper than in Italy.
Zoya bought the watch without a moment’s delay.
The serial code on the watch that was delivered to her home confirmed that it was manufactured by Apple in 2022 and intended for sale in the United States.
“In the store, they explained to me that these are genuine Apple products entering Russia through parallel imports,” Zoya, who asked to be only referred to by her first name, told Al Jazeera.
“I thought it was much easier to buy online than searching for a store in an unfamiliar country.”
Nearly 1,400 companies, including many of the most internationally recognisable brands, have since February 2022 announced that they would cease or dial back their operations in Russia in protest of Moscow’s military aggression against Ukraine.
But two years after the invasion, many of these companies’ products are still widely sold in Russia, in many cases in violation of Western-led sanctions, a months-long investigation by Al Jazeera has found.
Aided by the Russian government’s legalisation of parallel imports, Russian businesses have established a network of alternative supply chains to import restricted goods through third countries.
The companies that make the products have been either unwilling or unable to clamp down on these unofficial distribution networks.
-
Health8 hours ago
Remnants of bird flu virus found in pasteurized milk, FDA says
-
Art14 hours ago
Mayor's youth advisory council seeks submissions for art gala – SooToday
-
Science22 hours ago
"Hi, It's Me": NASA's Voyager 1 Phones Home From 15 Billion Miles Away – NDTV
-
Health13 hours ago
Bird flu virus found in grocery milk as officials say supply still safe
-
News20 hours ago
Some Canadians will be digging out of 25+ cm of snow by Friday – The Weather Network
-
Media20 hours ago
Jon Stewart Slams the Media for Coverage of Trump Trial – The New York Times
-
Investment13 hours ago
Taxes should not wag the tail of the investment dog, but that’s what Trudeau wants
-
Sports24 hours ago
Auston Matthews turns it up with three-point night as Maple Leafs slay Bruins in Game 2 – Toronto Sun