Author: Spencer Ballard

The war in the Ukraine created two main opposing camps of countries. An Alliance of Democracies on one side and a Group of Authoritarian. The escalation of geopolitical tensions linked to the Ukrainian crisis has highlighted two main opposing camps of countries — an Alliance of Democracies on one side and a Group of Authoritarian Regimes on the other. A number of countries have resisted choosing sides, however, as they strive to balance their national interests with international developments while simultaneously advocating the need to maintain peaceful diplomacy and global connections. While the number of these so-called “in-between” countries abound…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government’s report Thursday that the economy grew at a 1.1% annual rate last quarter signaled that one of the most-anticipated recessions in recent U.S. history has yet to arrive. Many economists, though, still expect a recession to hit as soon as the current April-June quarter — or soon thereafter. The economy’s expansion in the first three months of the year was driven mostly by healthy consumer spending, yet shoppers turned more cautious toward the end of the quarter. Businesses also cut their spending on equipment, a trend that has continued. The list of obstacles the economy faces keeps…

OTTAWA – Canada and the United States have agreed to share more information about the smuggling of guns and drugs across their shared border. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Ottawa has signed four new or updated agreements with Washington that allow the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency to exchange more data with partners south of the border. “It means more joint investigations into gun smuggling and trafficking. It means even more exchanging of intelligence and information between our law enforcement agencies,” Mendicino told reporters Friday afternoon in Ottawa. He said the agreements under a rebooted Canada-U. S. Cross-Border Crime…

London, Brussels (27/04 – 33) Kazakh entrepreneur and philanthropist Kenes Rakishev’s acquired company, Oxus Acquisition Corp. and Borealis Foods Inc. announced the signing of a definitive business combination agreement in February this year. This alliance is expected to result in a newly combined company under the name Borealis Foods Inc. Upon the signing, the company will continue to be led by Borealis’ CEO and co-founder Reza Soltanzadeh, and chairman and co-Founder Barthelemy Helg. The boards of directors of Borealis and Oxus have each unanimously approved the proposed $150 million transaction. Borealis is a food technology company that has created ramen meals that…

Allegations comes in filing over pending deposition of London-based PGA Tour exec Thierry Pascal. LIV lawyers claims the PGA Tour ‘touted LIV’s ratings as demonstrating the public is not interested.’ Court filings by LIV Golf and the PGA Tour as part of their civil antitrust case reveal how much work it took for LIV to land television partners in the U.S. and worldwide. Documents filed in federal court late Wednesday night regarding LIV Golf’s inability to agree on the deposition terms of London-based PGA Tour executive Thierry Pascal detailed LIV’s struggles. “Based on [PGA] Tour documents and other sources, LIV believes Mr.…

President Joe Biden’s choice to run the Federal Aviation Administration has withdrawn his nomination, a setback for the administration that comes after Denver International Airport CEO Phillip Washington appeared to lack enough support in the closely divided Senate. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed Washington’s withdrawal in a tweet Saturday night, calling him “an excellent nominee” and blaming undeserved and partisan attacks. Republicans were united in opposition to Washington, calling him unqualified because of limited aviation experience. Democrats and allied independents still might have pushed the nomination through, but key senators on their side balked at supporting Biden’s pick. Washington’s fate…

Two weeks after the double earthquake of February 6, Ankara decided to stop the search, except in the two most affected provinces of the country: those of Hatay and Kahramanmaras. Visiting Turkey the same day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States would provide $100 million in additional aid. Fourteen days after the earthquakes of February 6 , Turkey decided on Sunday February 19 to stop the search except in the two most affected provinces, Kahramanmaras and Hatay, announced the government relief agency (Afad). “In many provinces the search efforts are over. They are continuing in the provinces…

According to data gathered by Chalkbeat, an education news website, more than a dozen states have sought to expand teaching about racism, racial bias and ethnic studies. Over the past couple years, dozens of states have restricted or sought to restrict the discussion of race in public schools, complicating educators’ efforts to broach topics like discrimination and racial justice in their classrooms. Political pushback over an early draft of the new Advanced Placement course in African American studies, in particular its handling of content including the Black Lives Matter movement, illustrates just how divisive decisions about curricula have become. But some educators say that…

Previous COVID-19 infection provides strong and long-lasting protection against severe disease, according to a new study. The research, published Thursday in the journal The Lancet, reviewed 65 studies on natural immunity to find that the average effectiveness was at least 88% against hospitalization and death for all coronavirus variants 10 months after infection. The research did not include omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, which is dominant in the U.S. But natural immunity provided substantially reduced protection against symptomatic infection against omicron subvariant BA.1 at 10 months, mounting about a 36% efficacy. The researchers emphasized that the data should not be used to…

OTTAWA – Global Affairs Canada plans to install a plaque commemorating Canada’s evacuation of Afghans and embassy staff when its capital Kabul fell to the Taliban, but critics argue that sends the wrong message.The plaque carried a $10,000 price tag and was approved in a July 2022 memorandum that The Canadian Press obtained through an access-to-information request. It reads, in part: “This plaque pays tribute to all the government of Canada employees who contributed to this heroic effort.” The department said it unveiled the tribute in an October ceremony and plans to install it when renovations at its headquarters are…