Star Metro - News from Calgary, Canada, USA and around the world

Georgia are ready to join either an expanded Six Nations or to provide a team to join the United Rugby Championship as soon as authorities let them, interim head coach Marco Bortolami has told AFP in an interview.

Luka Doncic scored 36 points as the in-form Los Angeles Lakers powered to their sixth straight victory with a 100-92 defeat of the Houston Rockets on Monday.

Iran's football federation is "negotiating" with FIFA to relocate the country's first-round matches at the World Cup to Mexico from the United States, citing the conflict in the Middle East, Iran's embassy in Mexico said Monday.

India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has alleged that the signing of Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed by an Indian-owned Hundred franchise in England "indirectly contributes to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians".

Hundreds of Philippine tricycle drivers lined up Tuesday in Manila for cash handouts they hope will provide temporary relief from a war-driven surge in fuel prices that has left the country scrambling for short-term answers.

Accused Bondi Beach killer Naveed Akram's mother has received death threats and abuse following an antisemitic shooting that killed 15 people, his lawyer told a court on Monday.

Venezuela advanced to the final of the World Baseball Classic on Monday, ending Italy's fairytale campaign with a come-from-behind 4-2 victory.

North of Stockholm, the Rosersberg prison is making preparations to house children as young as 13 in response to a much-criticised juvenile judicial reform expected to take effect in July.

Price pressures fuelled by the Middle East war may push Indonesia's government to reconsider its dogged defence of energy subsidies and a costly meals scheme close to the heart of President Prabowo Subianto, analysts say.

Artificial intelligence is transforming Hollywood at a pace that has sent shockwaves through creative industries, but human creativity will always prevail, a leading executive at the cutting edge of that change told AFP.

In the heart of Sao Paulo, a "prisonometer" keeps a live tally of people jailed due to Latin America's largest AI facial-recognition system, but its successes have been marred by mistaken arrests.

President Donald Trump spent his first year back in power disparaging US allies. Now he wants them to help America in the Iran war -- and they are none too enthusiastic.

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang on Monday said he expects the artificial intelligence chip powerhouse to bring in at least a trillion dollars in revenue through next year.

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang on Monday said the leading artificial intelligence chip maker is heading for space with a goal of powering orbiting data centers.

Bangladeshi migrant Ahmad Ali, 55, was doing his regular round delivering drinking water to residents in the United Arab Emirates when Iran launched its first retaliatory attacks against Gulf countries.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / ZEUS NORTH AMERICA MINING CORP. (CSE:ZEUS)(OTCQB:ZUUZF)(FRANKFURT:O92) (THE "COMPANY" OR "ZEUS") is pleased to announce that it has upsized and closed the final tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Placement") through the issuance of 4,035,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.10 per Unit for gross proceeds of $403,500. Together with the first tranche, the Company has raised a total of $2,575,500 through the issuance of 25,755,000 Units.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / Panther Minerals Inc. ("Panther Minerals" or the "Company") (CSE:PURR)(OTCQB:GLIOF)(FWB:2BC), a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Rick Mah as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company, effective immediately.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / Core Critical Metals Corp. ("CCMC" or the "Company") (TSXV:CCMC)(OTC PINK:CCMCF)(WKN:A41G8G), a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company, is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement of up to 3,000,000 units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.50 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,500,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Unit Share" and each common share in the capital of the Company, a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant") to be issued pursuant to Part 5A (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption") of National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share (a "Warrant Share") at a price per Warrant Share of $0.75 for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance. The Warrants will be exercisable 60 days following the closing date of the Offering.

Targeting Initial ‘Stage 1' DFS & Ore Reserves conversion by H2 CY 2026HIGHLIGHTSDFS underway following dual Challenger JORC (2012) Mineral Resources upgrades to 313koz Au 1~8,000m reverse circulation (RC) drilling underway at Challenger ‘Main', ‘Challenger West' (CW) open pits, plus open pit targets at ‘Challenger South-Southwest' (CSSW) and ‘Challenger 3' 1~1,490m diamond drilling (DD) program begins for pit design and metallurgical optimisationDFS objective to model a viable, simplified ‘baseline' Stage 1 operation to underwrite restart of CGM and maximise Challenger, Tarcoola, Wudinna & Tolmer development optionalityFollowing material rain events in central South Australia which have delayed program execution, Barton is targeting JORC (2012) Ore Reserves and a ‘Stage 1' DFS by H2 CY 20261 Refer to ASX announcements dated 30 June and 8 / 28 September 2025

GoldCoast Closes First Tranche of Private Placement

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / Redwood AI Corp. (CSE:AIRX)(Frankfurt:Y0N, WKN:A422EZ) ("Redwood" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its Chief Executive Officer, Louis Dron, was recently featured in an exclusive interview on Conversations That Matter, a widely distributed long-form program highlighting leaders shaping important industries and ideas. The program is featured in the Vancouver Sun and is broadcast across multiple television networks in British Columbia, Canada, including CHEK-TV, as well as on digital platforms. In the interview, Dron discussed how Vancouver-based Redwood AI is building an artificial intelligence platform designed to help address one of the pharmaceutical industry's biggest bottlenecks by improving how compounds are evaluated, tested, and scaled from early discovery through commercialization, while also highlighting the broader applicability of Redwood's chemistry AI platform in areas such as defense, where rapid chemical analysis, risk assessment, and secure deployment may be important.

TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / Galway Metals Inc. (TSXV:GWM)(OTCQB:GAYMF) ("Galway Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement (the "Agreement") with Red Cloud Financial Services Inc. ("Red Cloud") to provide the Company with a range of non-exclusive financial advisory and promotional services. Red Cloud is a Toronto-based financial services firm that provides assistance to mineral exploration and mining companies in accessing capital markets and enhancing their corporate profile.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / Rainy Mountain Royalty Corp. (the "Company" or "Rainy Mountain") is pleased to announce the appointment of Colton Griffith to the Company's Board of Directors, effective immediately.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / BTU METALS CORP. ("BTU" or the "Company") (TSXV:BTU)(OTCQB:BTUMF) announces it has arranged a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Private Placement") to raise aggregate gross proceeds of up to $630,000 by way of issuing up to 10.5 million units (the "Units") at a price of $0.06 per Unit (the "Offering"). Proceeds raised from the Offering will be used for work programs at its portfolio of Ontario projects as well as for general working capital.

A $1 Million Commitment to Build and Revitalize 10 Playgrounds Across Greater Montreal

IRVINE, CA / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / Allied Universal®, a leading security and facility services provider, today announced it has been issued a patent covering methods used in its K9-Comply® platform, developed by its Enhanced Protection Services business unit. The proprietary compliance and documentation platform is designed to meet and exceed Transportation Security Administration (TSA) 3PK9 program requirements for air cargo canine screening processes.

HALIFAX, NS / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / Namibia Critical Metals Inc. ("Namibia Critical Metals" or the "Company" or "NCMI") (TSXV:NMI)(OTCQB:NMREF) is pleased to announce that Toyota Tsusho Corporation ("Toyota Tsusho") has been selected as the successful bidder in the public tender process conducted by Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security ("JOGMEC") and will join the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earths Project as part of JOGMEC's ownership interest.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / Hillcrest Energy Technologies Ltd. (CSE:HEAT)(OTCQB:HLRTF)(FRA:7HI) ("Hillcrest" or the "Company") today provided a development update confirming that its ZVS PCS1000 Grid Power Conversion System prototype remains on schedule, with the system expected to be ready for customer and partner demonstrations at the Company's facility in Vancouver, British Columbia and at Systematec GmbH's facility in Germany in June 2026.

Breakthrough manufacturing process comes in preparation for upcoming commercial launch in Europe planned for later this yearProprietary process is already patented in several countries and is pending in the U.S.

Mapping and sampling underway to refine geological model

KELOWNA, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / Avant Brands Inc. (TSX:AVNT)(OTCQX:AVTBF)(FRA:1BU0) ("Avant" or the "Company"), a leading producer of ultra-premium cannabis products, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, GreenTec Holdings Ltd. ("GreenTec"), has issued a formal notice of termination for its Trademark Licensing Agreement with Adjupharm GmbH ("Adjupharm"), a subsidiary of IM Cannabis Corp. The Agreement was originally announced on May 1, 2024.

CALGARY, AB / ACCESS Newswire / March 17, 2026 / CANEX Metals Inc. ("CANEX" or the "Company") (TSX.V:CANX) is pleased to report that Gold Basin Resources Corporation ("Gold Basin") (TSX.V:GXX) held its annual general meeting of shareholders (the "AGM") on March 16, 2026.