Muslim countries’ local sodas see boost amid Coke and Pepsi boycott over Gaza

Muslim countries’ local sodas see boost amid Coke and Pepsi boycott over Gaza

Coca-Cola and rival PepsiCo spent hundreds of millions of dollars over decades building demand for their soft drinks in Muslim-majority countries including Egypt to Pakistan. Now, both face a challenge from local sodas in those countries due to consumer boycotts targeting the brands as symbols of America, and by extension Israel, at a time of war in … Read more

U.S. military announces $20M US grant to build cobalt refinery in Ontario

U.S. military announces M US grant to build cobalt refinery in Ontario

The U.S. military has made its largest move so far in a novel national-security effort to fund mining initiatives in Canada.  The Pentagon on Tuesday announced a $20 million US grant to create a cobalt refinery in northern Ontario’s Temiskaming Shores. The money will go to the Toronto-based Electra Battery Materials Corporation; the government of Canada is adding … Read more

Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan named Canada’s newest chief of the defence staff

Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan named Canada’s newest chief of the defence staff

The federal government has named Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan as defence chief. As CBC News first reported last week, Carignan’s appointment makes her the first woman to hold the Canadian Armed Forces’ top job. She is currently the military’s chief of professional conduct and culture, a position created following the sexual misconduct crisis. Several high-ranking leaders were forced … Read more

Apartment construction surged last year but demand still outpacing supply, says CMHC

Apartment construction surged last year but demand still outpacing supply, says CMHC

A surge in new apartment construction drove housing start increases in some major Canadian cities last year, but demand continues to outweigh supply, according to a report released Wednesday by the federal housing agency. The report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation focuses on six major cities: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa. Their combined housing … Read more

Could Red Sea attacks reignite supply chain chaos?

Could Red Sea attacks reignite supply chain chaos?

Shipping traffic through the Red Sea has plummeted as Houthi militants step up their attacks on vessels in the region. American-led airstrikes have done little to deter the disruption and now the CEO of one of the biggest shipping companies in the world says the disruption will probably last at least a few months. “So for us, … Read more

Ukraine digs in as the West stumbles to keep up with Russian war production

Ukraine digs in as the West stumbles to keep up with Russian war production

“War,” said British philosopher, mathematician and pacifist Bertrand Russell, “does not determine who is right — only who is left.” Those words might be the perfect lens through which to view what probably lies ahead for Ukraine in the coming year as its troops dig in — and dig deep — along a front roughly 960 kilometres wide. … Read more

U.S., Canada to join multi-national operation to counter attacks on commercial ships in Red Sea

U.S., Canada to join multi-national operation to counter attacks on commercial ships in Red Sea

The United States, Canada and a host of other nations are creating a new force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced early Tuesday in Bahrain. The seriousness of the attacks, several of … Read more

BP pauses Red Sea shipments as another commercial vessel is attacked near Yemen

U.S., Canada to join multi-national operation to counter attacks on commercial ships in Red Sea

A Norwegian-owned vessel was attacked in the Red Sea on Monday in a strike that U.S. officials said originated from Yemeni territory controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. The attack on the M/V Swan Atlantic was the latest in a series on ships sailing the sea since the start of the Gaza war. There was … Read more

Annual pace of housing starts in Canada down 22% in November, says CMHC

Annual pace of housing starts in Canada down 22% in November, says CMHC

The pace of housing starts in Canada fell by 22 per cent in November, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Friday. The agency says the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in November came in at 212,624 units, down from 272,264 in October. A housing start is defined as the beginning of construction work … Read more