Bloomberg Canada was on pace to run a significant surplus for the last fiscal year, monthly data released Friday show, calling into question the federal government’s projection of a full-year deficit. The government raised C$3.2 billion ($2.6 billion) more than it spent in February, giving it a surplus of C$7.5 billion for the first eleven months of the fiscal …

Maracaibo / AFP Carmela de la Hoz sent a customer away with his hair half cut when the power went off in her salon. The customer will be back — but so will the blackouts. The rolling electricity cuts the Venezuelan government ordered across the country starting this week have hit the city of Maracaibo hard. Security forces are patrolling the …

  Aleppo / AFP Regime aircraft pounded rebel areas of Syria’s second city Aleppo, which was left out of a deal to “freeze” fighting from Saturday despite international outrage over renewed violence. Shelling and air raids in Aleppo over the past week have killed more than 230 civilians and pushed a landmark February 27 ceasefire to the verge of collapse. Crude …