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Mass Displacement in Lebanon After Intensified Israeli Evacuation Warnings

                                                     Displaced people walk outside a school-turned-shelter, in Beirut Tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians have been forced into shelters after what officials described as “unprecedented” evacuation warnings issued by the Israeli military. Local authorities estimate that around 100,000 people have fled their homes in southern Lebanon within a short period, seeking safety in schools, public buildings, and makeshift community centers. The warnings follow a sharp escalation in cross‑border hostilities, with Israeli forces expanding the areas they instructed residents to evacuate. Lebanese municipalities and humanitarian groups say the pace and scale of displacement have overwhelmed available shelter capacity, leaving many families without adequate access to food, medical care, or basi...

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Small Businesses in Canada Face Bankruptcy Risk Amidst Pandemic-Era Support Withdrawal

 


According to a recent report, thousands of small businesses in Canada are at risk of bankruptcy after the government ended pandemic-era support last month with the economy slowing at a time of high interest rates. 

Small firms that employ fewer than 100 people are critical to the Canadian economy as they give jobs to almost two-thirds of the country’s 12 million private workers. A spike in bankruptcies, which jumped 38% in the first 11 months of 2023, would weigh on economic growth, lobby groups and economists warn. 

Last month, small businesses faced a deadline to repay interest-free loans of C$60,000 ($44,676) made available to each of them during the pandemic. Of the 900,000 who had taken the government support, a fifth have not yet repaid their loans, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Monday. Katherine Cuplinskas, a spokesperson for the Finance Minister said in an emailed response that the Department of Finance did not expect there will be a negative impact on the economy on account of repayment of the loans given as support during the pandemic. She said loan recipients have long had full information on timelines and have been able to plan accordingly.


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