A group of United Nations human-rights experts has ‌asked Starbucks and the U.S. government to respond to allegations that Starbucks has carried out a years-long campaign against workers seeking to unionize, according to a March 10 letter made public this week by the U.N.’s human-rights office. The letter ​says the experts received information alleging “ongoing and widespread” threats, harassment and intimidation against Starbucks employees ​involved in union activity since 2021. The letter said the allegations include cases ⁠in several U.S. states where police were called on workers engaged in picketing, leafleting and other protest ​activity. The experts said the alleged conduct could violate rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association ​under international law.

Chile's government on Thursday tapped Bernardo Fontaine to replace Maximo Pacheco as chairman of the world's largest copper producer, state-run Codelco, ​giving the economist and executive a key leadership role as ‌newly inaugurated President Jose Antonio Kast's administration criticizes the miner's debt, budget overruns and production challenges. The government also named Luz Granier and Alejandro Canut to replace board members Josefina Montenegro ​and Alejandra Wood. Fontaine's new role will go into effect on May ​26, just as Pacheco completes his four-year term. Mining Minister Daniel ⁠Mas, who was appointed by Kast, said the new board members will ​be tasked with a "special mandate" to lead an investigation and external audit to ​address recent production issues.

Taiwan will ​deepen ties with the United States following talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese ‌leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, its foreign minister said on Friday, adding that it was China that was increasing regional "risks". Trump said earlier on Friday on his way home from Beijing that he had discussed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan with President Xi ​and said he would soon make a decision on the matter, highlighting a flashpoint in ​U.S.-China relations. The U.S. is Taiwan's most important international backer, while China, which claims the ⁠democratically governed island as its own, has demanded that such arms sales stop.

U.S. President Donald Trump left China on Friday with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help from Beijing to end the Iran war, despite two days spent heaping praise on his host, Xi Jinping. Trump's visit to America's ​main strategic and economic rival, the first by a U.S. president since his last trip in 2017, had aimed for tangible results to beef up his sagging approval ratings before midterm elections. The summit ‌was filled with pageantry, from goose-stepping soldiers to tours of a secret garden, but behind closed doors Xi issued a stark warning to Trump that any mishandling of China's top concern, Taiwan, could spiral into conflict. During a huddle with reporters on the way back to the U.S., Trump said Xi told him he opposed Taiwan's independence.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith are to meet today in Calgary, where they’re expected to announce an agreement on the future of industrial carbon emission pricing in the province. A source with knowledge of the discussions has said the leaders are expected to reveal a plan for Alberta to raise its emission price to $130 per tonne by 2040. Last year, Alberta froze its industrial carbon emission price at $95 per tonne. The two governments pledged in a memorandum of understanding in November to several steps, including a carbon price plan, in order to build a bitumen pipeline to the West Coast. Carney has said today’s agreement would advance that new pipeline. Smith has called the announcement another step toward resetting the province’s relationship with Ottawa.

Medical device maker Dexcom said on ​Thursday it will appoint two independent directors and revamp a ‌key board committee in collaboration with activist investor Elliott Investment Management. Shares of Dexcom were up about 6% in after-hours trading. Dexcom CEO Jake Leach said on ​an investor call that the company is focusing on refreshing ​its board and seeks to add independent directors with ⁠medtech and operations expertise, an area where it currently lacks representation, ​as it positions for future growth. The company said the new appointments, ​to be announced at a later date, would bring the total number of independent directors appointed since early 2023 to six.

Lebanon will demand Israel cease fire at face-to-face talks that began in Washington on Thursday, a senior Lebanese official ​said, as Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel continued to trade blows despite a U.S.-backed truce declared last month. A State Department official confirmed that a meeting of ‌Lebanese and Israeli envoys, along with U.S. officials, had started at about 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT). The talks, which are expected to continue on Friday, are the sides' third meeting since hostilities reignited between Hezbollah and Israel on March 2. Beirut is attending despite strong objections from Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah.

Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman BF.B 0.31%increase; green up pointing triangle rejected a roughly $15 billion takeover offer from rival Sazerac, according to people familiar with the matter. Advisers for Brown-Forman informed Sazerac on Monday that the company was rejecting the $32-a-share cash offer Sazerac recently made, the people said. Brown-Forman is publicly traded, but a majority of the company’s voting stock is controlled by Brown family members. Sazerac is privately held and entirely family owned.

Goldman Sachs’s Alternatives arm is buying Canadian data centre developer QScale in tandem with its founders as the partners press ahead with an ambitious expansion plan potentially worth billions. The bank’s specialized investment platform, which holds more than US$625-billion in assets ranging from private equity to infrastructure, is taking a majority stake in QScale, according to information made public Wednesday. QScale co-founder and president Martin Bouchard will also reinvest in the business, together with other senior executives and founders. The company will keep its current management and Lévis, Que., headquarters, a news release said.

Highlander Silver Corp. (TSX, NYSE American: HSLV) (“Highlander Silver” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Poonam Puri to the Company’s Board as an independent Director, effective immediately. Daniel Earle, President and CEO of Highlander Silver, commented: “On behalf of the Board, I am very pleased to welcome Poonam as a Director of the Company. Her extensive experience and corporate governance expertise will be a valuable resource to the Board as we fast-track project advancement across our portfolio of high-quality silver assets.”

Mme Bernier, qui travaille depuis plus de 20 ans dans le milieu communautaire, avait aussi porté les couleurs de QS dans Sanguinet lors des élections générales de 2022. Elle avait alors terminé troisième, récoltant 13,11 % des votes. Mme Fréchette, qui se présentait pour la Coalition avenir Québec, avait été élue avec 48,78 % des appuis. La candidate péquiste avait terminé deuxième. Dans un communiqué publié vendredi, Mme Bernier a dit avoir « la conviction qu’on peut faire des choix différents au Québec et qu’on peut bâtir une société plus juste, qui ne laissera personne derrière ».

Cuba’s government said the country has completely run out of fuel oil and diesel needed to keep the lights on, with extensive blackouts sparking protests for the third day in a row this week. Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said that the island has run out of fuel reserves as a result of an “ironclad energy blockade” imposed by the U.S. “We have absolutely no fuel [oil], we have absolutely no diesel,” he said at a news conference Wednesday. More than a dozen neighborhoods in the capital city of Havana erupted in protests Wednesday night, with residents banging pots and burning garbage amid rising anger over dayslong blackouts and deteriorating living conditions.

Radio-Canada a appris que le Commissariat aux langues officielles enquête en lien avec un message de condoléances en anglais prononcé par le président et directeur général d’Air Canada, Michael Rousseau, le 23 mars 2026. Le PDG d’Air Canada est sous les projecteurs depuis qu’il a enregistré un message de condoléances destiné aux proches des deux pilotes qui ont perdu la vie dans l’accident d’avion survenu à l’aéroport LaGuardia, à New York, en mars dernier. Le grand patron du transporteur aérien devait d’ailleurs comparaître devant le Comité permanent des langues officielles à Ottawa pour s’expliquer à ce sujet. Le Comité est toutefois revenu sur sa décision un mois plus tard à la suite de l’annonce du départ à la retraite de Michael Rousseau d’ici le 30 septembre 2026.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed a delay in enforcement of a regulation requiring ‌significant cuts in air pollution from vehicles. The EPA estimated that delaying former President Joe Biden's anti-pollution rule would save automakers $1.7 billion. Environmental groups criticized the delay, saying it would lead to an increase in preventable illness and premature deaths. The EPA said the proposal, first ​reported by Reuters earlier Thursday, would delay compliance deadlines for light- and medium-duty vehicles for two years ​until the 2029 model year. It cited the decline in U.S. sales of electric vehicles, which it said ⁠made the more stringent pollution rules unattainable for manufacturers.

British private hospital group Spire Healthcare said on Thursday it received a buyout proposal worth 1 billion pounds ($1.35 billion) from its second-largest ​shareholder, Toscafund Asset Management, sending its shares up more than 40%. Spire's ​board said it would recommend the potential cash bid to ⁠shareholders if Toscafund tables a formal offer. Here are some details:
• The 250 ​pence per share proposal represents a 66% premium to Spire's last closing share ​price.

Paul Bird revient par la grande porte au Port de Montréal. Deux mois après avoir plié bagage, celui qui était l’architecte de l’expansion à Contrecœur rentre au bercail à titre de président-directeur général de l’organisation, qui traverse une période houleuse. [...] M. Bird revient aussi alors qu’un important jeu de chaises musicales se prépare au sein du conseil d’administration. Le mandat de quatre des sept administrateurs, dont celui de Mme Pilon, arrive à échéance.« Ce n’est pas dans les conditions idéales de changer le PDG avant le C.A., analyse Alexandra Langelier, vice-présidente exécutive de l’Institut sur la gouvernance d’organisations privées et publiques. Surtout qu’ici, les changements sont significatifs avec un conseil sortant. Ce n’est pas un échec garanti, mais on n’a pas tous les facteurs clés de succès réunis pour être dans la meilleure situation. »

SoftBank's LY Corp said on Thursday it and Bain Capital have lifted their ‌bid for Kakaku.com, valuing the price comparison website operator at $4 billion and above a rival offer from Swedish investment firm EQT. Describing Kakaku's businesses as having "extremely high strategic value" given the rise of generative artificial intelligence, LY, which ​owns the Line messaging app and Yahoo Japan, said they were now offering 3,232 yen ​per share in an all-cash deal. That is 7.7% higher than their earlier bid ⁠of 3,000 yen per share. A tender offer launched on Wednesday by EQT that aims to take ​the business private and which has the unanimous backing of Kakaku's board also values the company ​at 3,000 yen per share.

Alors que se déroulent les assises de l’UMQ cette semaine à Québec, la candidature de son ancien président est présentée comme celle d’une pointure « vedette » par Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. Aux libéraux qui fondent beaucoup d’espoirs sur l’Estrie, le chef péquiste répond que la région sera « le théâtre d’une bataille avec beaucoup d’intensité ». C’est l’engagement ferme à tenir un référendum sur l’indépendance du Québec dans un premier mandat qui a convaincu M. Sévigny de faire le saut. À ses yeux, « les données démographiques » – notamment l’enjeu des immigrants qui ne parlent pas en français, « particulièrement dans la région de Montréal » – démontrent qu’il y a « des tendances qui sont préoccupantes » et qui placent le Québec « sur une pente glissante ».

British health minister ​Wes Streeting resigned from ‌government on Thursday, saying he had lost confidence in Prime ​Minister Keir Starmer's ​leadership. "It is now clear that ⁠you will not lead ​the Labour Party into the ​next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour Unions want ​the debate about what ​comes next to be a battle ‌of ⁠ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism," Streeting said in a letter published ​on X. "It ​needs ⁠to be broad, and it needs the ​best possible field ​of ⁠candidates. I support that approach and I hope that ⁠you ​will facilitate this."

Chevron has agreed to sell several Asia-Pacific refining and retail assets to Japan’s Eneos 5020 -2.66%decrease; red down pointing triangle for $2.17 billion, as it continues to streamline its international portfolio. Eneos, one of Japan’s largest energy companies, will buy Chevron’s downstream fuels and lubricants marketing businesses in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia, it said Thursday. This includes Chevron Singapore’s 50% interest in the Singapore Refining Co., which operates a refinery on Jurong Island in the city-state. The remaining 50% stake is indirectly held by Chinese oil major PetroChina.