Author: Sam Watt

Stock Widget MONTREAL/TORONTO — Air Canada AC.TO -3.85% ▼’s flight attendants, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), extended their strike into its fourth day on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers during the peak summer season. While talks between the union and the airline resumed late Monday, a standoff persists after CUPE defied a federal labor board order to return to work, escalating tensions with both Air Canada and the Canadian government. The strike, which began on Saturday, August 16, has grounded approximately 700 daily flights, affecting around 130,000 passengers daily,…

Stock Widget TORONTO/MONTREAL — Thousands of passengers faced another day of travel chaos on Monday, August 18, 2025, as Air Canada AC.TO -3.85% ▼’s 10,000 flight attendants continued their strike, defying a Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) order to return to work. The ongoing labor dispute, now in its third day, has led to the cancellation of approximately 500,000 passengers’ flights, leaving travelers stranded across Canada and beyond during the peak summer travel season. Among those affected are John and Lois Alderman, a British couple stranded in Toronto with their two teenage children. “I’m a diabetic and I’m going to…

NEW YORK — Manufacturing employment in New York State has plummeted by 45 percent since 2000, marking the steepest decline in the nation, according to a new analysis by software services firm ETQ. The report, which draws on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reveals that the Empire State lost 330,794 manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2024, reflecting broader national and global economic shifts. The 44.6 percent drop in New York’s manufacturing payroll surpasses declines in other states, with Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont each reporting a 40 percent reduction in manufacturing jobs…

The crazed gunman who killed an NYPD officer and three other people in a Midtown skyscraper on Monday evening was carrying a note in his pocket that expressed grievances with the NFL and claimed he suffered from CTE – a brain injury linked to head trauma, sources told The Post. Shane Tamura, 27, cited the NFL in the writings, which were found after he fatally shot himself in the chest on the 33rd floor of 345 Park Ave. – a swanky skyscraper that houses the football league’s headquarters. The mentally ill shooter wanted to shoot up the NFL HQ — but “mistakenly went…

A New York City police officer and three other people were shot and killed inside a Midtown Manhattan office building on Monday evening by a gunman armed with a high-powered rifle, police confirmed. The suspect, identified as Shane D. Tamura, 27, of Las Vegas, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said surveillance video shows the suspect exiting a double-parked black BMW alone on Park Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets just before 6:30 p.m., carrying an M4 rifle in his right hand. He then entered the 44-story building at 345 Park Ave., turned right…

The British pound rallied to its highest level in almost four years on Thursday, even as analysts remain divided on the potential for further upside. Sterling was last seen trading more than 0.5% higher against the U.S. dollar, hitting $1.3736 — its highest level since October 2021. So far this year, the pound has surged almost 10% higher versus the greenback, according to LSEG data. Against the euro, however, sterling is down 2.9% year-to-date. It was last seen trading 0.2% higher against the euro zone currency, with one pound buying around 1.173 euros. Dollar weakness According to Janet Mui, head of market…

Basic principles of decency and the modern world are being taught to asylum seekers, who were apparently unaware of how to behave in a Western nation. The re-education scheme, conducted by the Northamptonshire Police, was reportedly launched after a group of young migrants had raised eyebrows in the locality for loitering around a primary school and allegedly filming students, The Telegraph reported. A PowerPoint presentation provided to alleged asylum seekers living in two hotels in the area impressed upon the migrants that “females have the same rights as men” and therefore “they must be treated with respect and courtesy.” The ‘Safety Advice and Local…

It’s been rare for a string of positive economic news to emerge out of the U.K. in 2025 — but this week in particular has given Britain three reasons to be optimistic. Data on Friday signaled unexpected positive momentum in the country’s economy, with retail sales rising by a much better-than-expected 1.2% in April, and GfK’s consumer confidence index showing an improvement in sentiment. Sterling gained 0.6% against the U.S. dollar after the figures were published on Friday, to trade at around $1.35. The combination of the two positive figures on Friday bucked expectations, and logic, for some economists. Economic activity…

This week saw one of the most important — and perhaps surprising — events in corporate Britain’s annual calendar: the gala night of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show. This traditionally marks the beginning of what, in English high society, is referred to as “the season.” Coined as such by Debrett’s, the publisher and authority on society and etiquette, the summer social whirl was framed around the British royal family, which traditionally remained in London from April to July and from October until Christmas. This meant that Britain’s ruling classes and key movers and shakers did the same — participating…

A year after the $15-billion electric vehicle project in Ontario was announced, Honda Canada is pushing the project back. The company said Tuesday it would put the plan to build an EV supply chain — which included a proposed EV battery plant and retooled vehicle assembly facility — in Alliston, Ont., on hold for about two years. “Due to the recent slowdown of the EV market, Honda Motor has announced an approximate two-year postponement of the comprehensive value chain investment project in Canada. The company will continue to evaluate the timing and project progression as market conditions change,” Honda Canada spokesperson Ken Chiu told CBC News in an…