Cuba on the brink as Trump turns up the pressure: ‘There is going to be a real blockade’

It’s just gone midday on Linea, one of the main roads through Havana’s Vedado neighbourhood, and Javier Peña and Ysil Ribas have been waiting since 6am outside a petrol station. They’re passing the time fixing a leak on Ribas’s 1955 gold and white Mercury.

A tanker has pulled up on the forecourt in front of them, and so the queue behind is growing fast. Although this station only takes US dollars, at a cost far out of reach of most Cubans, Peña says it’s their only choice. “There is no gas in the national pesos,” he says, shrugging.

Soon, even buying petrol in dollars may be impossible. The United States has said it will ensure there will be no more fuel shipments to the beleaguered island.


Beleaguered communist dictatorship you mean.

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DAVID KRAYDEN: Canada’s euthanasia program is turning into an organ harvesting nightmare

So what could go wrong with Canada’s euthanasia program, somewhat euphemistically called Medical Assistance in Dying or MAID? Well everything that could go wrong with this program, has gone wrong, from the increasing sphere of those “eligible” for the program to the latest wrinkle: a preponderance of organs coming from Canada to potentially transplant into American patients.

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Bondi announces two more arrests in Minnesota church invasion

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has made two more arrests in connection with the disruption of a Minnesota church service by anti-ICE demonstrators on Jan. 18, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday.

“If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you,” Bondi wrote on X. “We have made two more arrests in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota: Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson.”

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Two of the usual suspects face gun charges after latest Surrey shooting

Singh and Singh

Two foreign nationals are facing firearms charges after a shooting incident early Monday in Surrey.

At about 3:50 a.m., officers from a group that patrols neighbourhoods and businesses that have been targeted by extortions and shootings heard what sounded like a gunshot in the area of 129th Street and 84th Avenue. The officers quickly spotted and pulled over a vehicle and arrested the driver and a passenger.

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From Endless War to Strategic Reinforcement: Why U.S.-UAE AI Cooperation Could Open a Path to Peace in Ukraine

Trump Israel UAE normalization of relations

For decades, American foreign policy has struggled with a recurring failure: winning wars tactically while losing peace strategically. Ukraine risks becoming the latest case. As the conflict grinds on, costs rise for U.S. taxpayers, European economies weaken, global energy markets destabilize, and Washington’s strategic focus drifts away from the primary long-term challenge — China. Against this backdrop, the United States needs partners that deliver not rhetoric but results.

The U.S.-UAE relationship stands out as one of the few alliances that has consistently transcended administrations, ideologies, and regional crises. Today, this relationship — particularly in artificial intelligence and advanced technology — offers Washington something rare: strategic leverage.

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And that’s also why Canada sucks!

h/t Mauser

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Florida Says Driver’s License Tests Will Be in English Only

Florida announced on Jan. 30 that exams for all driver’s licenses will be conducted in English only.

The policy will take effect on Feb. 6 and will abolish driving tests that Florida previously offered in other languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Spanish, and Russian, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said.

The change applies to both commercial and non-commercial driver’s licenses and permits.

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Toronto MP Bill Blair to resign and become high commissioner to U.K.

OTTAWA — Former Liberal cabinet minister and Toronto police chief Bill Blair is resigning from Parliament to become Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, the Star has learned.

Two sources confirmed the MP for Scarborough Southwest was set to formally resign his seat on Monday, while Blair did not immediately respond to the Star’s request for comment.

At the same time, the Prime Minister’s Office was set to announce that Nathalie Drouin — the National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the prime minister, first appointed under Justin Trudeau — will leave the role to take up Canada’s ambassadorship to France and Monaco.

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‘F— ICE’: Grammy Award Winners Spend Night Protesting Immigration Enforcement

The 68th Annual Grammy Awards last night on CBS was an endless stream of anti-ICE politics and left-wing hyperbolism.

Even before the show begin, celebrities showed up on the red carpet wearing pins with the words “ICE OUT.” Anti-ICE pins were a red-carpet trend at last month’s Golden Globe Awards as well.

Upon receiving awards, winners throughout the night used their speeches to protest Trump’s immigration policies.

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Carney’s GST credit tweaks won’t fix Canada’s affordability crisis

Prime Minister Mark Carney is embracing the politics of economic tinkering, offering a rebranded, narrowly targeted GST credit top-up when Canadians need broad, structural relief. While the government says it is responding to the affordability crisis, modest tweaks to the GST credit will not deliver the kind of meaningful, universal relief that cutting income taxes would.

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Conservatives, Poilievre seek to carry convention momentum back into Parliament

OTTAWA – Political analysts say the federal Conservatives and leader Pierre Poilievre have momentum coming off a unifying convention in Calgary but the party still has a hill to climb in Parliament to one-up Prime Minster Mark Carney and the Liberals.

The Conservatives wrapped up their three-day national convention on Saturday touting party unity. Poilievre easily passed his mandatory leadership review with 87.4 per cent support from delegates.

Pollster Nik Nanos said Poilievre’s result was “quite striking.”

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