All World stories

Trump’s legal costs pile up

Donald Trump claims he has almost “$500 million in cash” at his disposal, which sounds like a lot until you realize what the guy is forking over in legal fees. 

What happened: Yesterday, investors approved a plan to take Trump’s struggling social media business public next week, which would unlock a potential US$3 billion windfall for the former U.S. president as he looks to drum up cash to cover his massive legal costs. 

Young Canadians are not OK

Money can’t buy happiness. But enough of it can buy you a home, which we’re slowly learning is pretty much the same thing. 

What happened: This year’s rankings of the world’s happiest countries revealed that while Canada is still one of the happiest in the world — ranking 15th overall — the happiness gap between younger and older populations is the widest seen in every country on the list.

Graeme Thompson on a year of elections

 On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, we sat down with Graeme Thompson to talk about the record-setting number of elections happening around the world this year, what the likely outcomes are in countries like the U.K. and U.S., and what it all means for Canada. 

Russians head to the polls this weekend

The Russian election is perhaps the only one this year for which the results had been reported well before the first ballots had been cast. 

Driving the news: People in Russia and occupied Ukraine are heading to the polls this weekend to vote in the national election, but given the lack of genuine opposition to current President Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader is all but guaranteed another six years in power. 

Canadian diplomats evacuate Haiti

As the situation worsens in Haiti, some Canadian diplomats are getting out. 

What happened: Canada evacuated most of its embassy staff in Haiti, leaving only essential employees in the Caribbean nation, including Ambassador André François Giroux. Meanwhile, the ~3,000 Canadian citizens in Haiti have received shelter-in-place orders. 

Ireland to vote on changing womens’ duties

Of all the days to decide how the constitution should define the duties of women in society, Irish voters headed to the polls on International Women’s Day to cast their votes. 

Driving the news: Yesterday’s referendum posed two questions to citizens — to vote “yes” or “no” to loosen the definition of family and to remove references to a woman’s role being solely as a caregiver within the home, long seen as crucial to the “common good” of society.  

Joe McReynolds on what cities can learn from Tokyo

 On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, we sat down with Joe McReynolds, a co-author of the book Emergent Tokyo, to talk about what Western cities can learn from Japan’s capital — including how the city manages to keep rent super low for residents.  

Greenland wants to cozy up with its neighbours

A history of using Danish schnapps to smooth over land disputes could set the tone for a budding friendship between Greenland and Canada. 

Driving the news: Greenland, a 57,000-person island nation that also happens to be the 12th-largest country in the world, is looking to strengthen political and economic ties with Canada and the U.S. as part of a larger push to become more economically independent. 

Japan breaks its 34-year stock market curse

Perhaps Canadian NHL teams looking to win the Stanley Cup could learn something from Japan’s stock market about breaking decades-long curses. 

What happened: This week, the Nikkei 225, Japan’s largest stock market index, rose to a record high for the first time in more than 34 years. It’s become the world’s best-performing major index so far in 2024, rising about 17.5% this year, and 42.4% over the past 12 months.

Israel releases a post-war plan for Gaza

Nearly five months into a war between Israel and Hamas, officials in Israel, Egypt, the U.S., and Qatar are struggling to move towards a solution. 

What happened: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put forward a post-war blueprint for Gaza that calls for an indefinite Israeli security presence in the enclave.