There’s a cat in Amherst, N.S., whose curiosity and sense of adventure has taken him on some pretty wild rides. Hunter is the resident cat at the Shur Gain Feeds & Needs store. “He was brought to the store to help with customer engagement,” said manager Tara Partridge. Hunter was adopted from a local shelter […]

As the deadline looms for the UK to negotiate an orderly withdrawal from the European Union, businesses based in Ireland spanning a range of sectors are understandably anxious to know what impact this will have on their ability to trade and compete both in our nearest market and further afield. The potential implications of Brexit […]

U.S. political discussion has been dominated by the issue of Donald Trump’s wall — an issue on which Trump's irrationality keeps surprising even his critics. So I don’t imagine that many people have heard about Trump’s nomination of David Malpass, currently an under secretary at the Treasury Department, to lead the World Bank. But it’s […]

Brian Jean and his wife Kim welcomed a baby girl on Wednesday, Feb. 13. In a message on Twitter, the former Wildrose Party leader said they named the little girl Annabella Frances Jean. A photo of Jean with Annabella appears to show the infant with a feeding tube, but Jean said in his message: “Mom […]

MADRID — Venezuela has been part of my life, both politically and personally, for over four decades. I was a friend of Rómulo Betancourt, the founding father of Venezuelan democracy; of Carlos Andrés Pérez, who governed Venezuela during two terms; and of all the country’s democratically elected presidents. My bond to the country was so […]

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Ant Financial has agreed to acquire UK-based currency exchange WorldFirst, a spokeswoman of the Chinese consumer finance giant said on Thursday, marking a successful western deal for the firm which saw a U.S. purchase blocked by regulators last year. WorldFirst CEO Jonathan Quin said in a letter sent out to clients that […]

No, I wasn’t surprised last week, as most people apparently were, when Chief Justice John Roberts cast the deciding fifth vote to preserve access to abortion in Louisiana for at least a little while longer. In fact, I had predicted it (and I have witnesses). Why? Not because I think the chief justice has developed […]

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good morning. A covert U.S. effort to undermine Iran, Spain’s government teeters and suspicious transfers to a Bulgarian bank. Here’s the latest: U.S. revives secret mission to sabotage Iran’s missiles The Trump administration has accelerated efforts to impair Iran’s missiles and rockets as part of […]

In recent months, academics, columnists and analysts have spilled gallons of ink analysing so-called “populists” who are winning elections, or coming close to winning them, in many countries. Mea culpa: I, too, have sought to explain why so many people are suddenly using xenophobic language, attacking “elites” and heaping scorn on international institutions of all […]

DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Aramco has selected advisers to arrange debt financing needed for the acquisition of a stake in Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The state oil giant has picked J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, Citi and HSBC, the source said. Aramco was not […]