Author: ALJAZEERA

Canadian voters are going to the polls on Monday amid one of the most dramatic campaign transformations in years. January polls indicated the Conservatives were headed for a certain victory, but the Liberals have since flipped the race upside down, although the competition has narrowed in recent days. Early voting has shattered records with more than 7.3 million ballots cast. “It’s pretty clear the Liberals are going to win this now,” said Frank Graves, president and founder of Canadian polling firm EKOS Research. “That would have been utterly unthinkable at the beginning of this year.” Last fall, Conservative leader Pierre…

Seven Iranian oilfields will be developed in cooperation with Russian firms, according to Iran’s oil minister.Iran will sign a $4bn energy agreement with Russian companies, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has announced, as the two nations seek to bolster ties while trying to cope with punishing Western economic sanctions. Speaking on state TV earlier on Friday, Paknejad said the deal aims to develop seven Iranian oilfields in cooperation with Russian firms. From military cooperation to energy, banking and agriculture, Tehran and Moscow have been engaged in deeper ties since the start of the military conflict in Ukraine, signing a strategic…

Vancouver, Canada – When Leslie Macfarlane found out she and her husband were being evicted from a mobile home park in a Vancouver suburb last year, she said she felt “absolute rage” – then fear. Her home was set to be demolished as part of a huge low-rise apartment complex redevelopment. The 67-year-old retiree knew how difficult it would be to find rental housing in the notoriously expensive Lower Mainland region. She predicted correctly: Her housing hunt proved futile. “We couldn’t afford anything,” Macfarlane told Al Jazeera. The couple’s housing costs would have almost tripled, rocketing from about $1,100 to…

As Apple grapples with United States President Donald Trump’s tariff war with China, it has laid out plans to move to Indian assembly of the majority of iPhones it sells in the US by the end of 2026, a move that would double its current output from the South Asian nation and away from China. The tech giant produces in China 80 percent of the 60 million iPhones sold in the US and this is a key step that would help it mitigate some of the costs it faces amid rising tariffs on China. The Financial Times first reported Apple’s…

The US president incorrectly said that prices of petrol and eggs had dropped while home sales were good.US President Donald Trump said that housing, petrol, and grocery prices are declining. However, current data do not fully support any of these claims. In the Oval Office on Thursday, the president, when asked about home sales and if it was an economic indicator that concerns him, said there were very good numbers on housing. However, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which the reporter who asked the question was alluding to, sales of existing homes are moving…

Trade-reliant Southeast Asian country is facing a 46 percent levy under Trump’s so-called ‘reciprocal’ tariffs.Vietnam and the United States have kicked off trade talks, the Vietnamese government has said, as Hanoi scrambles to avoid a crippling 46 percent tariff announced by US President Donald Trump. Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and US Trade Representative Jamieson L Greer held a phone call to officially initiate their negotiations on “bilateral economic and trade issues”, Vietnam’s trade ministry said on Thursday. Nguyen told Greer that Vietnam wants to develop a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with the US and promote “economic…

Tesla CEO says he will spend ‘far more’ of his time running carmaker after putting cost-cutting team in place.Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he will scale back his work with the administration of United States President Donald Trump following a steep plunge in the electric carmaker’s first-quarter profits. Musk, who leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said on Tuesday that he would allocate “far more” of his time to running Tesla and cut back his work in the government to one or two days per week from May. “The large slog of work necessary to get the DOGE…

China’s Ministry of Commerce says appeasing the Trump administration ‘cannot bring peace’.China has warned countries seeking exemptions from United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs not to strike deals at its expense. Beijing’s warning comes as dozens of US trade partners are scrambling to negotiate relief from Trump’s trade salvoes, including steep “reciprocal” tariffs that have been paused until July. “Appeasement cannot bring peace, and compromise will not earn respect,” a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Monday. “Sacrificing others’ interests to obtain so-called exemptions for temporary selfish gains is akin to negotiating with a tiger; it ultimately leads…

Top US diplomat warns that Washington may withdraw from talks between Russia and Ukraine if swift progress is not made.