France honours its most provocative author

Michel Houellebecq, the enfant terrible of French literature, was awarded the Legion of Honour, France’s highest civilian distinction, in the New Year honours list on Tuesday. A forthcoming novel by the celebrated but controversial author predicts the doom of western civilisation. Seratonin, due out on Friday, focuses on the festering rage in provincial France that…

US Senate approves bill to keep government running into 2019

The Senate approved legislation Wednesday to temporarily fund the government, a key step toward averting a federal shutdown after President Donald Trump backed off his demand for money for a border wall with Mexico. Senators passed the measure, which would keep government running to February 8, by voice vote without a roll call. The House is…

CRA Uncovers Nearly $600 Million In Unpaid Taxes On B.C., Ontario Real Estate

Canada Revenue Agency has identified nearly $600 million in unpaid taxes on real estate transactions since it began keeping a closer eye on the British Columbia and Ontario real estate markets in 2015, the agency said in a recent report. However, much of that money has to do with CRA rejecting GST/HST rebates to homebuyers….

British drug kingpin Robert Dawes jailed in Paris over cocaine shipment on Air France flight from Venezuela

A French court on Friday jailed British drug kingpin Robert Dawes for 22 years for large-scale cocaine trafficking at the end of a two-week trial. Dawes, 46, was convicted of arranging for 1.3 tonnes of cocaine to be smuggled into France on an Air France flight from Venezuela to Paris in 2013. Dawes had denied organising the…

Husband of British UN diplomat arrested on accusations of domestic violence after diplomatic immunity waived

The husband of a British diplomat based at the United Nations in New York has been arrested and charged with domestic violence, after Britain agreed to waive his diplomatic immunity. Youssef Amrouche, 37, was arrested after a dispute with his 46-year-old wife at their home in central Manhattan, near the UN. Police were called in…

Walmart Canada Ditches Weston Bread, Says It's Unrelated To Price-Fixing

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Walmart Canada Corp. says it’s cutting Weston Foods as a bread supplier, but the retailer says the decision has nothing to do with the Competition Bureau’s investigation into price-fixing. In an email statement, a spokesperson for Walmart says the company is reducing its number of bread suppliers for commercial reasons. The decision…

NAFTA Negotiations: Canada Rejects U.S. Push For Bilateral Trade Deal

OTTAWA — The Canadian government is rejecting a push by the Trump administration to strike separate, bilateral trade deals with Canada and Mexico instead of pushing ahead with a stalled effort to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Ottawa’s refusal Tuesday to pursue a one-on-one trade deal with the United States came after Donald…