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Tehran Rocked by Renewed Israeli Strikes as Iran’s Leadership Council Assumes Control

  A woman reacts as she holds a placard with an image of Iranian late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at a rally in solidarity with Iran after U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Ali Khamenei, in Beirut, Lebanon. Israel has launched another wave of airstrikes on Tehran, intensifying a rapidly escalating regional crisis just one day after the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. According to multiple reports, Israeli officials said the renewed strikes were intended to maintain air dominance as Iran faces its most significant leadership vacuum in decades.  The power void left by Khamenei’s killing has prompted Iran to activate a leadership council to stabilize governance. Inside the country, reactions have been sharply divided—some mourning the long‑time leader, others openly celebrating his death, revealing deep internal fractures.  The military confrontation has widened beyond Iran’s borders. Iran has retaliated with missile barrages targeting Israe...

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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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