'We are stronger now than anyone': Putin signals renewal of nuclear arms race

Donald Trump responded on Twitter: 'The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses'

Kelly McParland: Trump's tweet war with China unsettles a world used to Obama's passive White House
Cold War redux: Amid anxiety over Russia, Sweden orders towns to open bunkers and prep for possible attack

‘Hitler actually wasn’t that bad’: How Neo-Nazis are using attractive young women to boost their movement

Toronto's Veronica Bouchard, known as Evalion, is a prime example of how young women can become the hot new thing in racist subcultures

Canada, we had dumb luck in 2016. In 2017, let's stop being smug about terrorism

Chris Selley: 2016 was another year of terror in Germany — and of peace in Canada. That's thanks in large part to dumb luck. We should stop bragging about it

Obama didn't care to project American leadership. So now, no one looks for it

Leonid Bershidsky: The growing tendency to exclude the U.S. is a result of Obama's incoherent values-based foreign policy. He was never willing to defend those values

If Trudeau is wise, he'll course correct in new year before dip in support becomes a slide

Michael Den Tandt: The PM has significant room to manoeuvre, if he’s willing to adjust to circumstance on cash-for-access fundraisers, electoral reform

A supervolcano caused the largest eruption in European history. Now it’s stirring again

Scientists report that the Campi Flegrei is nearing a critical point, potentially leading to an eruption. The last time it erupted, it led to the demise of Neanderthals

The North Pole is warmer than you today — the top of the world is almost above freezing

A weather buoy near the North Pole registered a temperature at the melting point of 0 degrees Celsius early Thursday — hotter than Winnipeg, hotter than parts of California

Proof that new ice age has started, is stronger than ever — and we couldn’t be less prepared

Lawrence Solomon: An underheated planet is a threat humans have repeatedly faced over the last millennium, and now we’re due again

Air force sets aside CF-18 for airshows despite lack of jets for military missions

The decision comes just after Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance warned Canada doesn’t have enough jets

Liberal government oversold child benefit’s impact on poverty rates, documents suggest

The government has repeatedly said the benefit will cut child-poverty rates by 40 per cent from 2013 levels. It's more likely it cut child-poverty rates by 10 per cent

Former Ontario premier Mike Harris among those advising Kevin O'Leary on potential leadership bid

O'Leary has not entered the race, but is asking strategists to help him gauge support in the party, including MP Guy Lauzon and Ken Hughes, a former cabinet minister

MS Society accused of abandoning sufferers in pursuit of a cure for ‘Canada’s disease’

With the closure last week of a Multiple Sclerosis Society centre in Victoria, MS sufferers have lost access to affordable physiotherapy and exercise facilities

Ottawa school board trustee under fire after accusing colleague of white privilege, ‘buying’ adopted kids

Donna Blackburn prides herself on being outspoken and thinks some of the other trustees are ganging up by 'code of conducting' her

Watch for a hike in your gas bill next month as Ontario’s cap and trade kicks in

Consumers will be paying anywhere from $5 to $13 more on their monthly bill, depending on where they live, when gas providers are required to pay for their emissions

A lawn chair falls to earth: ‘Balloonatic’ fined $5,000 for soaring 7,000 feet over Calgary

A Calgary man who flew high into the sky in a green plastic lawn chair tied to more than 100 helium balloons has pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of an aircraft

Behold, snow in the Sahara: Desert town gets dusting for the first time in decades

Karim Bouchetata caught the snow partially covering the rust-coloured sand dunes of Ain Sefra, a norther Algerian town tucked in a valley in the Atlas mountains

See the horrifying creatures of the deep seas, caught fresh on a Russian fisherman’s Instagram feed

Roman Fedortsov seems non-plussed by the bug-eyed oddities and slimy marine life he handles, commenting 'what a pretty colour' or 'I hope it's not poisonous'

A song of fire and ice: Toronto festival celebrates winter solstice with stunning fire breathers and dancers

Revellers paraded through the streets of the market dressed in festive clothing with torches and light to celebrate the return of the sun

All I want for Christmas is a house in Toronto (preferably detached)

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Beware of desperate politicians seeking meaningless 'environmental legacies'

Kevin Libin: As Canadians — and now Americans — are learning, there is little more dangerous than a political leader with nothing to lose

In the disorienting miasma of the Syrian war, it's not just Aleppo we've murdered. It's truth

Terry Glavin: It is the first Twitter war, the first YouTube war. It is the first Skype war, the first 'post-truth' war — and the first all-out war on facts

America won't get its lost jobs back but equalization may help it be great again

Stephen Gordon: American policy-makers don’t have to start from scratch: the basics of the economic argument for regional equalization transfers are in place

Barack Obama has presided over the collapse of American leadership in the world

Michael Den Tandt: Short of Bush the Younger, Barack Obama may well be remembered as the worst American leader since the Second World War

Current MP, ex-Alberta cabinet minister, former Ontario premier among those advising Kevin O’Leary on potential leadership bid

The reality TV personality has not formally entered the race, but is asking strategists and politicians to help him gauge support in the party

Skeptics beware, the market may be undergoing a profound and seismic change

Key turning points in history have proved to be catalysts that changed the investing environment, says a top Canadian fund manager — and Trump’s election looks like one of them

Last call for the payphone: Canada’s public phones ‘an endangered species in a concrete landscape’

Nearly 7,000 payphones died last year. What's in store for the remaining 67,000 across Canada?

Even the U.S. army wants the Made in Canada label on its tech devices

Ottawa's Powerstick.com finds that manufacturing in both Canada and China works best

Lighting Up the Dark: An original holiday story by Canada Reads winner Lisa Moore

'This is the story of a boy. My encounter with a particular boy on Christmas Eve at the very moment when the course of his life is about to turn irrevocably toward disaster and ruin'

Though Fences feels less alive and more like a ‘museum-worthy diorama of race in America,’ the play’s the thing

Chris Knight: Viola Davis is a cinch to win an Oscar, the only flaw being that the studio has put her forward in the Best Supporting category

Beyond the hype, La La Land is a cynical ode to disenchantment and a master at masking its weaknesses

Calum Marsh: The story doesn’t work without drama. But drama isn’t something director Damien Chazelle can really do

Evacuees trudge through snow as rare blizzard thumps Aleppo, closing brutal chapter of Syrian civil war

Hundreds of rebel fighters and civilians, including small children swaddled in thick blankets, were bused out of war-ravaged Aleppo in heavy snow

Car Review: 2017 Genesis G90

Genesis' range-topping G90 sedan proves Hyundai can do luxury very well – just don't call it a Hyundai

Don’t be in the dark when it comes to your vehicle’s ABCs

The best way to avoid feeling like your mechanic might be taking advantage of you is to research and learn about your vehicle's inner workings

Five ridiculous Christmas gifts you secretly want

From a $28,000 Lamborghini speaker to Porsche shoes, these are the Christmas gifts you really want

Toronto Maple Leafs unleash offensive explosion in rolling past Colorado Avalanche 6-0

It was an overdue outburst of offensive confidence for a Leafs team that probably deserved a better fate in a handful of recent losses

Edwin Encarnacion signs three-year deal with World Series runner-up Cleveland Indians

Edwin Encarnacion's eight-year tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays has ended.

Nikolaj Ehlers scores pair of third period goals as Winnipeg Jets go into Christmas break flying high with 4-1 victory over Vancouver Canucks

Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice in the third period and also added an assist as the Winnipeg Jets downed the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Thursday.

Eric Staal’s shorthanded goal lifts Minnesota Wild over Montreal Canadiens 4-2 for franchise-tying ninth straight victory

Eric Staal's short-handed goal in the third period broke a tie and gave Minnesota a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night to tie the Wild's team record of nine consecutive wins.

Podcast: Bonterra Resources CEO Nav Dhaliwal on expansion progress

BonTerra Resources' Dhaliwal outlines the results of recent drilling, with some pretty solid drill results adding excitement to the ongoing program

How tax credits for charitable donations can lift your spirit and your pocketbook

You still have a full week to make a donation to your favourite cause and reap the tax benefits for the 2016 tax year

When political correctness becomes enshrined in work place decisions, employers lose

Employers have not escaped the consequences of a pervasive culture of political correctness, the hallmark of which is the cultivation of a victim mentality and concomitant sense of entitlement

Toronto police looking for three to four men who allegedly abducted woman in targeted attack

The woman was able to escape her captors after being driven 12 to 16 kilometres. Investigators say she flagged down another vehicle and was taken to York Regional Police

John Tory proud of plan ‘to build transit and fix traffic,’ after council approves road tolls

Councillors voted 32-9 Tuesday night to ask the province for the right to impose the levy on the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway

Blue Jays have tread water all off-season, but management has time and options to make a splash

As other teams around the American League have improved by leaps and bounds, Toronto's current roster isn’t exactly screaming 90-win ball club

MS Society accused of abandoning sufferers in pursuit of a cure for ‘Canada’s disease’

With the closure last week of a Multiple Sclerosis Society centre in Victoria, MS sufferers have lost access to affordable physiotherapy and exercise facilities

In Spain, Robin Hood restaurants serve paying clients by day, homeless people by night

By day, the restaurants are quintessential Spanish bars – serving coffee and snacks to paying customers – but at night, homeless people can dine at tables set with tablecloths, cutlery, and crockery, all free of charge

Travel

Bubbly and beauty in Northern Italy: Friuli-Venezia Giulia region known for its Prosecco

"This is Italy. Why would we have a park where we could have a vineyard?"

Homes

Unwrap a new lifestyle for yourself this Christmas

The end of 2016 is a time for reflection and an opportunity for deciding how life can be different – and much improved – in the new year. Considering the amount of time you spend in your home, it’s smart to ask yourself if where you dwell continues ...