Sold (Bought): Breathtaking views, spacious layout among attractions of West Van house
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Weekly roundup of three properties that recently sold in Metro Vancouver.
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Size: 5,058 square feet
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B.C. Assessment: $4,005,000
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Listed for: $3,900,000
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Sold for: $3,820,000
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Sold on: Feb. 25
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Days on market in this listing: Eight
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Listing agent: Phil LeGree PREC at Oakwyn Realty
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The big sell: This mid-1980s home features breathtaking ocean and city views from its elevated position in West Vancouver's Westhill district. The two-level home has a reverse floor plan with the principal reception rooms on the upper floor alongside two of the five bedrooms, all of which take advantage of the panoramic vistas. The grand living/dining room has whitewashed wood-panelled ceilings, a fireplace, and feature brick and stone walls, while the well-appointed kitchen displays high-end appliances by Garland and Sub-Zero, and the primary bedroom has been finished with a fireplace, a skylit ensuite bathroom, and a windowed walk-in closet. The lower level includes a capacious recreation/family room with a bar, fireplace, and views. Outside highlights include a four-car garage plus additional parking, and landscaped grounds with an entertainment-sized deck and patio.
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B.C. Assessment: $3,262,400
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Listed for: $3,888,000
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Sold for: $3,565,000
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Sold on: Jan. 27
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The big sell: This large characterful three-level house sits on a 50-by-125-foot lot in the heart of Kitsilano. It boasts substantial accommodation with a total of eight bedrooms, three bathrooms (one on each level), two laundry rooms, two fireplaces, a top-floor suite, and a bonus 860-square-foot unfinished attic accessible from the upper floor that could provide an additional living area. Built in 1920, the 105-year-old house is packed with original features with high ceilings, wood floors with beautiful inlaid accents, wainscot panels, sash windows, a Tiffany-style pendant ceiling lamp, and crown moulding. The rear yard is mainly laid to grass and bordered by a high stone wall, with a double garage and lane access. The property falls into R1-1 zoning which, as listing agent Bob Bracken explains, offers the potential for six or more units to be built, or the buyer has other options such as adding a laneway house or restoring the home to its former glory.
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Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
New dessert bar makes special halo-halo and spicy slushies in the ByWard Market
42 Byward Market Square, Price: $8 to $10 for savoury snacks, frozen drinks and desserts Accessibility: Two stairs up into the main dessert bar with a small table at the end. There is also a sidewalk-level serving window with seating out front. Sweet Puspin calls to mind a candy shop. The new dessert bar, which opened on June 6 in the ByWard Market , serves Filipino and Latin American fusion drinks and snacks in a playful, pastel-coloured setting . Mango slushes are swirled with spicy orange chamoy and topped with tamarind ribbons behind the counter. Ube halo-halo is scooped to order, purple yam ice cream piled on shaved ice over red bean jam, jackfruit and coconut jelly, finished with a crown of cornflakes and striped wafer. Discover the best of B.C.'s recipes, restaurants and wine. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of West Coast Table will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'It's like a milkshake-sundae hybrid. You're supposed to mix it all up,' explained owner Michelle Sartzetakis. The traditional Filipino dessert is refreshing, each bite a surprise, and makes for a particular delight on a hot day. Sweet Puspin offers a classic ube option and a unique pandan version of Sartzetakis' creation. The ube is bright violet and cakelike; the pandan, vibrant green and refreshing. 'I call it the new vanilla,' she said of the latter, a tropical leaf common in Southeast Asian cooking. It tastes like rice pudding when prepared as pandan jelly sago, a mint-coloured treat made from sweetened milk, coconut jelly and tapioca pearls — my personal favourite item on the menu. Many of the ingredients at Sweet Puspin are made from scratch by Sartzetakis. The condensed milk and sticky sauces take a full day to prepare. 'We're closed on Tuesdays because I have to have that day to cook,' she said. Her homemade Tajín-style sauce features in the best-selling chamoyadas. The iced mango slush drink is reminiscent of mango on a stick, dusted with chili powder and lime. 'It's nostalgic for people who grew up with that,' she said. In the first three days of opening, Sweet Puspin had already gone through its first month's stock of the popular chamoy-based drink. 'Don't worry, more is on the way,' said Sartzetakis. In the meantime, 'equally delicious' watermelon and pineapple slush will fill the gap, she said. Siopao, a Filipino stuffed bun, anchors the savoury side of the menu. Traditionally steamed, the buns at Sweet Puspin are baked — a decision that has opened the door to heartier fillings. 'You can only do so much when it's steamed,' said Sartzetakis's husband, Chris, who handles the rotating flavours. 'The second we started baking it, I realized how much fusion I'm able to actually put into it.' The baked dough has a gentle chew and light sweetness. The result is closer to a pizza pocket than a bao, though softer and fresher. It's light enough to eat one-handed but satisfying enough to count as lunch. Hungrier customers might opt for the three-for-$10 special. Chicken and pork adobo make regular appearances, along with pizza-inspired siopao that make a familiar starting point for newer palates. Vegetarian options rotate in and out, and there are plans to bring in jackfruit barbecue and other Filipino staples down the line. 'I still feel like I'm going to wake up and this was just all a dream,' said Sartzetakis, whose visits to family in the Philippines inspired the shop. On a recent trip, she rescued a street cat and plans to donate part of her profits to the rescue that provided care to her pet. A glowing neon cat behind the counter and a feline shape hidden in the logo allude to the shop's name, pronounced 'puss-pin,' short for pusang Pinoy, a Filipino term for street cats. Sartzetakis began selling her desserts out of a home kitchen in March, before moving to a pop-up in Universal Grocery last month until a space unexpectedly opened up in the Market — formerly Maverick's Donuts, next to La Pointe. Her shop is an especially welcome addition downtown after the closure of Tamis Café last year. For Filipino customers, the flavours will likely recall childhood snacks. Others may point at things they've never tried before and walk out with a new favourite. The space evoked a childlike curiosity in me, wanting to try the colourful concoctions behind the glass. 'Every spoonful lets you take that moment to escape adulthood,' said Chris, who offers samples to anyone unsure what to order. Sartzetakis said she's making a point to keep prices accessible, between $6 and $11, so more people can afford a sweet pause in their day. 'You shouldn't have to break the bank to treat yourself,' she said. smisenheimer@ For more smart picks and offbeat stories from around the city, subscribe to Out of Office , our weekly newsletter on local arts, food and things to do.
Winnipeg Free Press
14 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Russia skirts Western sanctions to ramp up its military footprint in Africa
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Even as it pounds Ukraine, Russia is expanding its military footprint in Africa, delivering sophisticated weaponry to sub-Saharan conflict zones where a Kremlin-controlled armed force is on the rise. Skirting sanctions imposed by Western nations, Moscow is using cargo ships to send tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and other high-value equipment to West Africa, The Associated Press has found. Relying on satellite imagery and radio signals, AP tracked a convoy of Russian-flagged cargo ships as they made a nearly one-month journey from the Baltic Sea. The ships carried howitzers, radio jamming equipment and other military hardware, according to military officials in Europe who closely monitored them. The deliveries could strengthen Russia's fledgling Africa Corps as Moscow competes with the United States, Europe and China for greater influence across the continent. The two-year-old Africa Corps, which has links to a covert branch of Russia's army, is ascendant at a time when U.S. and European troops have been withdrawing from the region, forced out by sub-Saharan nations turning to Russia for security. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have been battling fighters linked with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for more than a decade. At first, mercenary groups with an arms-length relationship to the Kremlin entered the fray in Africa. But increasingly, Russia is deploying its military might, and intelligence services, more directly. 'We intend to expand our cooperation with African countries in all spheres, with an emphasis on economic cooperation and investments,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 'This cooperation includes sensitive areas linked to defense and security.' From the ports, Russian weapons are trucked to Mali Russia's 8,800-ton Baltic Leader and 5,800-ton Patria are among hundreds of ships that Western nations have sanctioned to choke off resources for Russia's war in Ukraine. The ships docked and unloaded in Conakry, Guinea, in late May, AP satellite images showed. Other ships made deliveries to the same port in January. They delivered tanks, armored vehicles and other hardware that was then trucked overland to neighboring Mali, according to European military officials and a Malian blogger's video of the long convoy. The military officials spoke to AP about Russian operations on condition of anonymity. The AP verified the blogger's video, geolocating it to the RN5 highway leading into Bamako, the Malian capital. After the latest delivery in Conakry, trucks carrying Russian-made armored vehicles, howitzers and other equipment were again spotted on the overland route to Mali. Malian broadcaster ORTM confirmed that the West African nation's army took delivery of new military equipment. AP analysis of its video and images filmed by the Malian blogger in the same spot as the January delivery identified a broad array of Russian-made hardware, including 152 mm artillery guns and other smaller canons. AP also identified a wheeled, BTR-80 armored troop carrier with radio-jamming equipment, as well as Spartak armored vehicles and other armored carriers, some mounted with guns. The shipment also included at least two semi-inflatable small boats, one with a Russian flag painted on its hull, as well as tanker trucks, some marked 'inflammable' in Russian on their sides. The military officials who spoke to AP said they believe Russia has earmarked the most potent equipment — notably the artillery and jamming equipment — for its Africa Corps, not Malian armed forces. Africa Corps appears to have been given air power, too, with satellites spotting at least one Su-24 fighter-bomber at a Bamako air base in recent months. Moscow's notorious secret unit For years, French forces supported counterinsurgency operations in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. But France pulled out its troops after coups in Mali in 2020 and 2021, in Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger in 2023. Russian mercenaries stepped into the vacuum. Wagner Group, the most notable, deployed to Sudan in 2017 and expanded to other African countries, often in exchange for mining concessions. It earned a reputation for brutality, accused by Western countries and U.N. experts of human rights abuses, including in Central African Republic, Libya and Mali. Of 33 African countries in which Russian military contractors were active, the majority were Wagner-controlled, according to U.S. government-sponsored research by RAND. But after Wagner forces mutinied in Russia in 2023 and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed two months later in a suspicious plane crash, Moscow tightened its grip. Russian military operations in Africa were restructured, with the Kremlin taking greater control through Africa Corps. It is overseen by the commander of Unit 29155, one of the most notorious branches of Russia's shadowy GRU military intelligence service, according to the European Union. Unit 29155 has been accused of covertly attacking Western interests for years, including through sabotage and assassination attempts. The EU in December targeted Unit 29155 Maj. Gen. Andrey Averyanov with sanctions, alleging that he is in charge of Africa Corps operations. 'In many African countries, Russian forces provide security to military juntas that have overthrown legitimate democratic governments, gravely worsening the stability, security and democracy of the countries,' the EU sanctions ruling said. These operations are financed by exploiting the continent's natural resources, the ruling added. The Russian Ministry of Defense didn't immediately respond to questions about Averyanov's role in Africa Corps. Africa Corps recruitment Researchers and military officials say the flow of weapons from Russia appears to be speeding Africa Corps' ascendancy over Wagner, helping it win over mercenaries that have remained loyal to the group. Africa Corps is also is recruiting in Russia, offering payments of up to 2.1 million rubles ($26,500), and even plots of land, for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense, plus more on deployment. Within days of the latest equipment delivery, Wagner announced its withdrawal from Mali, declaring 'mission accomplished' in a Telegram post. Africa Corps said in a separate post that it would remain. The changeover from Wagner to Africa Corps in Mali could be a forerunner for other similar transitions elsewhere on the continent, said Julia Stanyard, a researcher of Russian mercenary activity in Africa. 'Bringing in this sort of brand-new sophisticated weaponry, and new armored vehicles and that sort of thing, is quite a bit of a shift,' said Stanyard, of the Switzerland-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Armed groups in Mali have inflicted heavy losses on Malian troops and Russian mercenaries. The al-Qaida linked group JNIM killed dozens of soldiers in an attack this month on a military base. Insurgents also killed dozens of Wagner mercenaries in northern Mali last July. Some of the latest hardware could have been shipped over specifically in response to such attacks, military officials said. They said the jamming equipment, for example, could help defend against booby traps detonated using phone signals. Russian escort's red flags The latest convoy attracted attention because a Russian Navy warship, the Boykiy, escorted the ships after they set off in April from Russia's Kaliningrad region on the Baltic. Last October, in what's considered a hostile act, the Boykiy's radar systems locked onto a French Navy maritime surveillance plane on patrol against suspected Russian efforts to sabotage underwater cables, according to military officials. The convoy included a third sanctioned Russian cargo ship, the Siyanie Severa. It continued onward as Baltic Leader and Patria unloaded in Conakry, docking in Bata, Equatorial Guinea. Satellite imagery from May 29 shows trucks lined up on the dock as the ship unloaded. The AP could not verify whether the cargo included weapons or the ultimate destination for the shipment, though Wagner has maintained a strong presence in the nearby Central African Republic. ___ Leicester reported from Paris and Biesecker from Washington. Beatrice Dupuy and Rachel Leathe in New York contributed.
Calgary Herald
19 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
John Ivison: Carney's new defence plan takes seriously the darker world we're now living in
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