Tausi Insider

New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh walks through the Foyer of the House of Commons on Oct. 26. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press Canada is finally getting its act together on an Indo-Pacific strategy. It would be a shame if NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh fouled it up. Although the Trudeau government’s plan for that region has yet to be released in its entirety, the preliminary details suggest it is headed in the right direction on both economic and national security issues. Diversifying trade away from China and fighting foreign interference in Canada’s internal affairs are among Ottawa’s objectives. Success, of course, hinges on Canada forging stronger ties with a number of Indo-Pacific countries, chief among them India. With its fast-growing economy, India is a promising market for Canadian businesses, but bilateral relations have been suboptimal since Mr. Trudeau’s gaffe-filled trip there in 2018. Ottawa and New Delhi want to turn the page on the past and focus on shared goals, incl...

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani addresses delegates during the Bengal Global Business Summit, in Kolkata, India, on April 20. RUPAK DE CHOWDHURI/Reuters Asia’s richest man, Gautam Adani, made his vast fortune betting on coal as an energy hungry India grew swiftly after liberalizing its economy in the 1990s. He’s now set his sights on becoming the world’s biggest renewable energy player, by 2030, by promising to align his investments with the government’s own priorities. As India grapples with climate change, the Adani Group, whose operations also span ports, power, farming and defence manufacturing, announced in September plans to invest US$70-billion in solar, wind and other green energy projects over the next decade. Mr. Adani, 60, has profited since fellow Gujarati Narendra Modi, India’s most influential prime minister in decades, took office in 2014. The college dropout from a middle-class family fits the government’s need for “national champions,” both to meet domestic goals and...

Russia's invasion of Ukraine plunged Europe into its biggest land war since World War Two. As Putin pays up to keep his campaign grinding on, managing its fallout at home and abroad is likely to get ever harder. https://www.tausiinsider.com/russia-faces-economic-pain-and-isolation-in-2023/?feed_id=330460&_unique_id=644b7dee9f46e

Delegates walk in front of the Palais des Congres during the COP15 biodiversity conference in Montreal, on Dec. 13. ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP/Getty Images Developing countries have walked out of a global conference on conserving the world’s biodiversity over concerns that talks about how those efforts should be funded are lagging behind those on how much land and water should be set aside. “We feel that negotiations have not been moving at the same pace,” said a delegate from one of the countries that left the COP15 talks in Montreal at about 1 a.m. Wednesday. “We feel that resource mobilization has been left behind.” The delegate, who asked not to be named, said rich countries have been happy to talk about specific targets for conservation. The marquee goal of the conference is a deal on setting aside 30 per cent of the globe’s land and water. But he said those countries have not been so willing to come up with a number on how much they’re willing to pay. “Why are we discussing figures on t...

A looming recession might provide a big push in the adoption of AI as weak economic conditions always provide the impetus for using machines to cut costs and raise productivity. Martin Meissner/The Associated Press As we prepare to kick off 2023, we are doing so knowing that the global economy is faltering while organizations are still being squeezed by high costs. On top of that, even a recession might not make much difference to the tight labour market they face. With technologies improving by leaps and bounds and companies looking for ways to improve the bottom line, the timing is just right for a huge uptick in AI use in a way that could transform the economy and labour market. When it comes to embracing AI, Canada is near the forefront. According to the 2021 Global Vibrancy Ranking on artificial intelligence from Stanford University, the country is in fifth place, behind the United States, China, India and the United Kingdom. The index is calculated using a number of metrics, i...

Google has filed a legal challenge in India’s Supreme Court to block a ruling by the country’s antitrust watchdog that will force the U.S. company to change how it markets its Android platform, court records showed on Saturday. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in October fined the Alphabet Inc unit $161 million for exploiting its dominant position in the market for Android, which powers 97% of smartphones in India and is a key growth region for the U.S. giant. The challenge comes after Google suffered a setback on Wednesday when an appeals tribunal rejected its request to block the antitrust ruling. The company argued that implementation of the CCI’s directives will hurt its long-standing business model and consumer interests. Supreme Court records show Google filed a challenge against the tribunal ruling on Saturday. A hearing date is yet to be fixed. Reuters was first to report on Thursday about Google’s planned strategy. Sources earlier this week told Reuters that Google ...