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

Defending champions China are looking to recreate their glory days at the Women's Asian Cup, but the Steel Roses' hopes of a record 10th title face a daunting challenge from powerhouse Japan, hosts Australia and dark horse North Korea.

Markets stuttered Friday as traders took their foot off the pedal at the end of a healthy week in Asia, where tech firms rallied on a reassessment of AI investments.

Clermont centre Irae Simone says Bayonne's former England star Manu Tuilagi will "want to take some heads off" as he returns to action when the teams meet in the French Top 14 on Saturday.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament on Friday that she opposes changing the imperial family's male succession rules.

Sumo has been hit with another bullying scandal after media reported Friday that a retired grand champion who is now a stablemaster had reported himself to the sport's authorities for violent behaviour.

Multiple US Olympic men's ice hockey players have apologized for their team's response after President Donald Trump said he would "have to" invite the women's team to the White House too.

When director and screenwriter Clint Bentley decided to adapt "Train Dreams" for the big screen, he hoped he could captivate audiences with the tale of an ordinary man living in extraordinary times -- the early 20th century.

Cycling's fabled cobbled classics season will begin with a bang this weekend as former world champion Mathieu van der Poel lines up alongside his long-time rival Wout van Aert at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Formula 1 is well anchored in the United States with its American owners and three Grand Prix races, but the sport hopes to push its growing popularity further with the help of Netflix and Apple.

It's hard to recognize Ethan Hawke in "Blue Moon": he's short, bald, slightly greasy-looking and uncomfortable in his own skin.

Mark Davis was just 13 years old when he perished in a juvenile detention facility for Black boys in the eastern US state of Maryland some 140 years ago.

Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has been forced to rein in an AI-powered customer service assistant after users reported it had been rambling about its mother.

Premier League leaders Arsenal face a title test from London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.

Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul on Friday, with Islamabad's defence minister declaring the neighbours at "open war" following months of tit-for-tat clashes.

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been cleared to return for the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing nine straight games with an abdominal strain.

Paramount Skydance, run by pro-Trump technology heir David Ellison, was poised to take control of Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday after Netflix said it would not raise its takeover offer, ending one of the biggest media bidding wars in a generation.

AI company Anthropic said Thursday it would not give the US Defense Department unrestricted use of its technology despite being pressured to comply by the Pentagon.

Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Bosh says he's "lucky to be alive" after a health scare in which he passed out and woke up to find himself covered in blood.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / February 27, 2026 / Dynamite Blockchain Corp. (the "Company" or "Dynamite") (CSE:KAS)(OTC:CRYBF) announces that it has changed its auditor from SRCO Professional Corporation (the "former auditor") to Davidson and Company LLP. (the "successor auditor") effective February 19, 2026.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / February 27, 2026 / Empress Royalty Corp. (TSXV:EMPR)(OTCQX:EMPYF) ("Empress" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its audited financial and operating results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. The Company concluded the year with record-breaking revenue.

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / February 27, 2026 / Global Education Communities Corp. ("GECC" or the "Company") (TSX:GEC)(OTCQX International:GECSF) reports the director election voting results from its annual general meeting held today. All of the director nominees, as listed in the management information circular dated January 12, 2026, were elected. Proxy voting as to each of the director nominees was as follows:

TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / February 27, 2026 / 55 North Mining Inc. (CSE:FFF)(FSE:6YF) ("55 North" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced non-brokered flow-through private placement (the "Private Placement").

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / February 27, 2026 / Redwood AI Corp. (CSE:AIRX)(Frankfurt:Y0N, WKN: A422EZ) (the "Company") announces that it has closed its previously announced debt settlements, pursuant to agreements dated February 20, 2026 (the "SettlementAgreements"), with a director of the Company and certain creditors (collectively, the "Creditors"). Pursuant to the Settlement Agreements, the Company has issued an aggregate of 236,003 common shares of the Company (each, a "Share" and collectively, the "Shares") at a deemed price of $1.71 per Share in full settlement of an aggregate amount of $403,571.96 of outstanding indebtedness (the "Settlement"). Pursuant to applicable securities laws, all securities issued pursuant to Settlement are subject to a hold period of four months and one day, expiring June 28, 2026.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA / ACCESS Newswire / February 27, 2026 / Gold Port Corporation (CSE:GPO)(OTCQB:GPOTF) ("Gold Port" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a corporate update.

Collaboration combines Amdocs' aOS agentic operating system for telecom with AWS's AI and cloud technologies to empower service providers to transform operations and deliver smarter customer experiences.

Joint collaboration combines the Amdocs' Agentic Services, as part of Amdocs agentic operating system, aOS, with Microsoft's AI technologies to help enterprises modernize faster, at scale, and with greater resilience.

The solution combines Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience and Amdocs' Cognitive Core with telco-specific intelligence to deliver an end-to-end, generative Agentic Telco Contact Center

Positioning Conversational AI as the Next Operating Layer for Agencies and Small Businesses

PowerLease 3.0 keeps proven owner-operators seated by financing equipment replacement and driver-to-owner transitions through approved carriers using performance-based approval

New location on Providence Boulevard is now serving clients

CENTENNIAL, CO / ACCESS Newswire / February 27, 2026 / Nepra Foods Inc. (CSE:NPRA)(OTCQB:NPRFF) ("Nepra" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated gluten-free and better-for-you specialty ingredient and consumer products company, today announced its financial results for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2025. All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.