Mexico resumes limited cattle exports to US after screwworm pause, relieving ranchers

AGUA PRIETA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico resumed live cattle exports to the United States on Monday after they were halted for nearly two years by restrictions imposed by the Trump administration following a screwworm outbreak.

Even under strict limitations, the reopening of the trade channel brought relief to Mexico's ranching industry, which was dealt an economic blow by the controls. The flesh-eating worm is now present on both sides of the border.

In the sprawling desert mountains along the U.S.-Mexico border, hundreds of cattle began to cross from the Mexican town of Agua Prieta in the state of Sonora to the Arizona town of Douglas at around 3 p.m.

The process began after several hours of inspections by Mexican and U.S. authorities, who used dogs to inspect each animal and determine that they were not infected with screwworm.

Earth is simmering in its hottest water temps on record, and that’s bad for fish and us

The world's oceans simmered to their hottest temperatures on record over the weekend and are likely to warm even further in the next few months, putting stress on life in the water and on land too, the European climate service Copernicus announced Monday.

Spurred by a still growing but already supersized natural El Nino and human-caused climate change, the world's ocean temperatures hit 21.1 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday and Saturday, narrowly edging out the average daily record set in March 2024, said Samantha Burgess, strategic climate lead for Copernicus.

“This is yet another sign of our climate system under strain and the ocean under immense pressure,” Burgess said.

Jane Lubchenco, an oceanographer and former chief of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called the record “very troubling.”

Small businesses at front lines of tariff war, as many lose sales

Since the latest U.S. tariffs rolled in this past weekend, Bernard Hellen has been fielding order cancellations for 3D miniature models — all previously bound for his American clients.

"I've probably had about 50 order cancellations this morning alone," said Hellen, owner of Toronto-based Miniprints, which makes railroading hobby miniatures of animals and figurines.

For Hellen, Americans make up 85 per cent of his sales.

"A 50 per cent tax is more than the average American consumer can pay or is willing to pay," he said in a phone interview on Monday.

Time for a stronger all-Canadian grid

The New York Times published a quite terrifying story on the U.S. electrical grid this week, one that points out that, with a few simple directed attacks on nine of 10 major U.S. substations, the entire U.S. power grid could be disabled.

A grand jeté of climate-change denial

The first hurricane to hit Hawaii in 34 years. The Mediterranean on fire from Spain to Greece. ‘Heat domes’ one after another for months on end in Europe and North America. Thousands of excess deaths. A record El Niño piled on top of an average global temperature up from +1.2 C five years ago. Predicted high for this year: +1.7 C.

Surely they’ll get it now, you think — but no, they won’t. It once seemed sensible to think that when the climate damage gets bad enough and the trend line becomes impossible to ignore, ‘they’ (meaning the climate change deniers and their fellow travellers) will finally accept that the threat is real and urgent action is necessary.

A few of them will, but most will not.

It is becoming clear that as the old position of flat disbelief in climate science becomes untenable, the preferred response among former deniers is to admit that climate change is big, dangerous and already well underway — but to insist that it is already too late and nothing can be done about it now.

Manitoba honey industry buzzing as U.S. tariff clock ticks

Canadian product is being rushed to the United States ahead of a threatened 50 per cent tariff on the industry.

Anti-terrorism measures hindering Muslim charities’ humanitarian efforts: study

OTTAWA - Strict measures to prevent terrorism financing are prompting Muslim charities in Canada to withdraw humanitarian assistance from countries in need, such as Syria and Yemen, because they fear losing access to banking services if they operate there, a new study warns.

The study by University of Toronto law and history professor Anver Emon makes a dozen recommendations, aimed at various federal agencies, to help charities and other non-profit organizations provide assistance abroad without fear of repercussions.

The treatment of Muslim charities has come under scrutiny in recent years. Critics claim they have been unfairly singled out in the fight against terrorist financing.

A National Security and Intelligence Review Agency report released last October found "a lack of rigour" in the way the Canada Revenue Agency selects charities for audits over terrorism concerns. The report said the process introduces risks of bias and discrimination.

National Code Talker Day brings 101-year-old veteran to Phoenix

PHOENIX (AP) — All eyes were on Navajo Code Talker Thomas H. Begay. The 101-year-old veteran saluted while the national anthem played on Friday, kicking off a day of recognition honoring him and the other Navajo recruits who famously used their native language to keep military secrets during World War II.

Begay, one of the last two living Code Talkers, made the long trip from his home on the Navajo Nation to the Arizona State Capitol for the event. He was joined by family members and dozens of descendants of other Code Talkers.

“I am so damn proud,” said Begay, in a wheelchair and wearing a cap dotted with pins and a golden shirt that featured military patches and his service ribbons. “We used our language in World War II and won the battles.”

The Marine Corps recruited over 400 Navajos during World War II to communicate confidential information using their then-unwritten language. It was the largest code-talking program in the military at the time. In 2021, Arizona became the first state adopting Navajo Code Talker Day as a state holiday.

California tech company sees Manitoba as strategic gateway to dairy market

GROSSE ISLE — An AI-first California-based company that creates software for the dairy industry is establishing its Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg.

Spade Technologies announced Thursday it will build a team in Manitoba, positioning the province as the centre of its Canadian operations and a strategic gateway to the broader North American dairy market.

The company’s Canadian expansion is backed by SVG Ventures Thrive, a global agrifood innovation and investment platform. The Silicon Valley-based organization is investing $1.4 million into Spade via its Pioneer Fund, which invests in high-growth, early-stage agrifood technology companies.

The fund is backed by Farm Credit Canada as its anchor investor, alongside strategic limited partners including the Manitoba First Fund.

PM says Ottawa is ‘loyal’ to supply management system protecting dairy sector

CHICOUTIMI - Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government is "loyal" to the supply management system protecting Canada's dairy sector and is pointing to the Liberals' choice of candidate in an upcoming byelection as proof of that commitment.

Supply management has been cited by the U.S. as a key irritant in trade negotiations and President Donald Trump has complained repeatedly about the level of U.S. dairy farmers' access to Canada's market.

Taking questions from reporters Thursday after touring an aluminum facility in Saguenay, Que., Carney said the Liberals' choice of former dairy producer Daniel Gobeil to run in the Chicoutimi-Le Fjord byelection shows the government is "loyal" to supply management.

"I've been clear since the start of my campaign for the Liberal leadership … because I believe in supply management. It's important to stabilize prices for Canadian consumers and protect a way of life for small farms," Carney said in French.

Ottawa awards Telesat $2.3B Arctic military satellite contract

OTTAWA - A Canadian telecommunications firm has signed a deal with the federal government worth $2.3 billion to provide high-speed satellite communications to the Canadian Armed Forces in the Arctic.

The federal Defence Investment Agency and Telesat LEO announced the deal on Monday. The contract is meant to secure broadband coverage in remote northern locations for a range of Canadian military activities, including Norad.

This is the largest contract ever for the Ottawa-based Telesat, which has been in operation for about 60 years. It's expected to give the company's network growth plans a major boost.

Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg said the contract will allow his firm to increase the size of its planned low-Earth orbit satellite network by about 44 per cent by adding another 69 satellites.

Tracing South Asian community’s influence in Manitoba

When Pamela Rebello arrived in Winnipeg from India in 1968, following a few years in Cleveland, Ohio, she forged a path led by determination and courage with the vision to contribute to the province.

Those attributes could be found among many of the individuals who made up the first South Asian diaspora in Manitoba.

“We relied on each other,” says Rebello of the small group of newcomers who adjusted to a new home and way of life. Holding on to their cultural identity and values was key to that transition as well as dealing with feelings of isolation.

Rebello, along with other community leaders, took their interest in fostering South Asian culture a step further by establishing the India School of Dance, Music & Theatre in 1980.

Seven more belugas on the move from Marineland to U.S. aquarium

NIAGARA FALLS - Seven more whales are on the move from Marineland, headed to a new home at an aquarium in the United States.

Marineland says in a statement that it has begun the second phase of its whale relocation plan, just weeks after successfully transferring six belugas to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and SeaWorld in San Antonio.

It says the whales getting shipped Monday – female belugas named Xena, Gemini, Skyla, Meeka, Eve, Neva and Calypso – are all going to SeaWorld's San Antonio location.

The park says the health, safety and well-being of the whales remain its top priority throughout the journey.

UN, scientists warn that strong El Nino will add fuel to ‘a planet already on fire’

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A strengthening El Nino has already broken records for intensity at its early stages, and it likely will spark even more wild weather worldwide as it grows, “adding fuel to a planet already on fire,” United Nations officials warned Friday.

A key area of the Pacific Ocean used to measure the strength of El Nino this week reached its warmest and most intense level ever recorded for the 15th week since it formed, which is early in its lifetime, scientists at Columbia University reported.

El Nino — a natural warming of the Pacific near the equator that warps weather patterns worldwide — won't peak for several months and should last through spring 2027. The World Meteorological Organization, a U.N. agency, cautioned on Friday that it will likely trigger extreme heat, drought and rainfall well into next year.

“Two months ago, I warned that El Nino was arriving on our doorstep. Now it is inside the house — and turning up the heat,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Friday. “We have already endured a summer of extremes — record-shattering heat domes; apocalyptic wildfires raging in Spain, France and far beyond; thousands of lives lost in the scorching conditions.”

Major oil companies reap massive profits as US and Iran fighting drives energy prices higher

NEW YORK (AP) — American oil and gas giants raked in massive spring profits while fighting between Iran and the U.S. impeded petroleum shipments and consumers around the world paid more for fuel and confronted shortages.

The conflict, now in its sixth month, halted most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that previously served as a delivery route for a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas. With global supplies constrained, prices for Brent crude, the international standard, soared from about $70 to above $100 a barrel for much of March, April and May, and at one point reached $126.

The money that oil companies accrued between the beginning of April and the end of June could receive extra scrutiny this year. Gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices climbed sharply during that period, increasing costs for drivers and airline passengers. Supplies ran low in some countries, leading to sporadic fuel rationing in Australia and government office closures in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.53 billion, boosted by record diesel production. The oil giant, based in Spring, Texas, brought in $116.02 billion in revenue, up 42%.

Ottawa opening exports office as part of strategy to diversify trade

OTTAWA - The federal government is opening a new strategic exports office as part of its plan to diversify trade.

The office, announced in Budget 2025, will be housed under Global Affairs Canada and will be tasked with removing trade irritants, lifting market access barriers and addressing infrastructure gaps.

The government says the office will help Canada secure international business opportunities in sectors that include aerospace, defence, infrastructure and energy.

International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told a press conference Thursday the office will help Canada's "best companies win the biggest contracts in the toughest markets around the world."

Gordie Howe bridge opens to cars after months of cross-border controversy

The Gordie Howe International Bridge opened to motorists Monday after months of controversy over financial aspects of the project.

Officials announced in a post on social media just after noon that the Howe family had crossed first, in honour of the bridge's Canadian-American hockey namesake.

Minutes later, another post marked the crossing of the first commercial truck, a vehicle from a trucking company in Tecumseh, Ont., that was carrying auto parts to Michigan.

As the sunny afternoon went on, cars and transport trucks brought a stream of inaugural crossings.

‘Bright’ future: RCAF chief says spike in defence spending is boosting flight times

OTTAWA - One year into her new job as commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet said she could see an immediate effect of the federal government's defence spending boost: RCAF pilots are spending more time in the air.

In a recent interview with The Canadian Press, Speiser-Blanchet also acknowledged that preparing the entire service for what she described as a rapid and "giant transformation" — rebuilding the whole plane while it's flying, so to speak — sometimes gives her pause.

"It's that pace of change sometimes that worries me a little," she said.

She said while she’s "very comfortable" with the decisions made preparing for modernization, it's "the thought that there's something we should be doing now to make sure that we're set up for success in the future and that we're missing it" that keeps her up at night.

Canada, UAE conclude negotiations on a free-trade agreement

OTTAWA - The governments of Canada and the United Arab Emirates say they have concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement.

International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told a press conference in Toronto on Friday that the next steps include legal review, the signing of the deal and ratification.

"It's been a busy couple of days. We've been at it negotiating and we literally just walked out of the room with the final touches," Sidhu said.

Sidhu said the government has been working to expand its partnership with the UAE and that while the conflict in the Middle East delayed the start of negotiations, his team was determined to reach an agreement.

Critics accuse Ottawa of ignoring human rights as it signs trade deal with Ecuador

OTTAWA - Critics are accusing Ottawa of prioritizing trade over human rights by signing a free trade deal with Ecuador.

International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu and Ecuador's minister of production, foreign trade and investment Luis Alberto Jaramillo took part in a signing event in Ottawa on Friday.

A Global Affairs Canada news release issued Friday said the event marks an "important milestone in Canada's efforts to diversify trade and create new opportunities for Canadian businesses."

"It also reflects Canada and Ecuador’s shared commitment to strengthening their trade and investment relationship and bringing the agreement into force as soon as possible," said the release.

Carney says ‘everything’s on the table’ for tariff retaliation against United States

CHARLOTTETOWN - Prime Minister Mark Carney says "everything's on the table" if Canada can't secure a deal to avoid a dramatic escalation in U.S. tariffs planned for next month.

Carney was asked Thursday what measures his government is considering in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose 50 per cent tariffs on a variety of Canadian goods.

While the prime minister said Canada has a "full range" of options, he refused to identify specific measures Ottawa could take in retaliation if Trump’s new tariffs come into force.

“It would be counterproductive at this stage to respond in advance. But it’s important to know what your options are, to have worked it through,” Carney said.

Small business group says immigration cut makes it tough to hire workers

Canada’s immigration clampdown has put employers in remote and rural places in a bind and put fear into employees from abroad who want to stay.

Yi (Rick) Zheng and his family from China, who’ve been working in Thompson for two years and hope to gain permanent residency, said they fear their work permits will expire and they’ll have to leave the country.

Zheng, 41, says he works as a restaurant cook and his wife works at a hotel in the northern city, where their two children, ages 10 and 12, are thriving in school.

“I work very hard every day. Our kitchen doesn’t have enough staff.”