MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday threatened to completely cut energy supplies to the West if it tries to cap prices of Russian exports. He also vowed to press on with Moscow's military action in Ukraine until it achieves its goals. Speaking at an annual economic forum in the far-eastern port city of Vladivostok, Putin scoffed at the EU plans for a cap on Russian oil and gas prices as a “stupid" idea that "will only lead to a hike in prices.” “An attempt to limit [Read more]

WASHINGTON - Michigan's chief law enforcement officer wants to appeal a judge's decision to keep the Line 5 pipeline dispute in federal court. In court documents, Attorney General Dana Nessel suggests District Court Judge Janet Neff made errors in her Aug. 18 ruling. That's when Neff rejected efforts to get the dispute moved back to state court, where Michigan may have a better chance of success. Nessel filed a motion last week indicating she plans to pursue an "interlocutory" appeal [Read more]

CALGARY - The final long weekend of summer will also be the cheapest for Canadian drivers, with gasoline prices heading into the Labour Day holiday the lowest they've been since late February. The national average retail price for regular gasoline on Thursday, according to Natural Resources Canada, was 161.1 cents per litre. The last time Canadians saw average gasoline prices in the $1.60 range was during the last week of February, just before the effects of Russia's Feb. 25 invasion of [Read more]

EDMONTON - Alberta’s finance minister says the government is going to use this year’s projected windfall budget surplus to pay down debt and put some cash in its piggy bank. Jason Nixon says the plan is to make a $13.4-billion repayment on the provincial debt and add almost $3 billion to the Heritage Savings Trust Fund. Nixon says that in the past Alberta governments often failed to sock money away in boom times and it now has to make decisions to benefit future generations. His [Read more]

EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says based on first-quarter projections for the current fiscal year that the province is on track for a $13.2-billion budget surplus. He says in a video posted on Twitter that the surplus is due in large part to soaring commodity prices and royalty revenue. More to come. [Read more]

OTTAWA - As German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to arrive in Canada on Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing renewed calls from Ukraine to cancel a permit allowing turbines repaired in Montreal to be sent back to a Russian energy giant. Scholz, who took over from Angela Merkel in December last year, is expected to land in Montreal on Sunday evening for a three-day visit that also includes scheduled stops in Toronto and Stephenville, N.L. He will be accompanied by Vice-Chancellor [Read more]

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's state-owned energy company Gazprom said on Friday a key pipeline conveying natural gas to Europe will shut down for three days at the end of this month to undergo “routine maintenance." In a statement posted online, Gazprom said that the only operational turbine at a key compressor station along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which links Western Russia and Germany, will shut down for routine maintenance from August 31 to September 2. “A set of routine maintenance in [Read more]

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hinting that an energy pact planned between Canada and Germany will focus more on Canada's aim to be a long-term clean energy supplier to the world. Trudeau is set to sign an energy development agreement largely focused on hydrogen with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during Scholz's visit to Canada next week. Trudeau says the Russian invasion of Ukraine "changed everything" for global energy security. Europe, and Germany in particular, are [Read more]