In the News

Eleven weeks after it eased restrictions on fully-vaccinated persons indoors, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said July 27 that a resurgence in COVID-19 cases should require indoor masking again. The reversal reflects growing concern about the aggressive Delta variant.

A Toronto man has been charged with contempt of court in Alberta for posting photographs of a judge who had convicted four COVID-19 anti-maskers for repeatedly breaching public health restrictions and judicial orders. Donald Smith, a pandemic-denying supporter of a Calgary mayoral candidate admitted July 27 that he had photographed the judges as well as an Alberta Health Services lawyer.

A woman with dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship who is believed to have been involved with the Islamic State is being permitted to return to New Zealand with her two children after Australia refused to take her back. She had left for Syria on an Australian passport in 2014 and was caught entering Turkey from Syria with her children. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the decision was not “taken lightly” and she accused the Australian government of “abdicating its responsibilities.”

Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of attacks that "apparently amount to war crimes" during an 11-day war in May against Hamas militants in Gaza. The accusation July 26 flows from an investigation of three air strikes that it says killed 62 Palestinian civilians. It also accuses the militants of apparent war crimes for launching more that 4,000 unguided munitions against Israeli communities.

The U.S. government is trying to keep secret the employment details of a State Department agent who killed a teenager in a 2019 head-on collision in Britain. Anne Sacoolas, who has not disputed that she was driving on the wrong side of the road, returned to the U.S. under diplomatic immunity and her government has been trying to suppress her professional details on “national security” grounds. The teenager’s parents have filed a civil wrongful death suit in Virginia.

Mary Simon, an Inuk from northern Quebec, was sworn in as Canada’s 30th Governor General, the first indigenous vice-regal appointee. In a ceremony held in the Senate chamber, she pledged to use her role to work against climate change, advocate for mental health and work toward reconciliation. “I have heard from Canadians who describe a renewed sense of possibility for our country and hope that I can bring people together," she said.

Newly-accessed documents show that the growing nationalist movement in Canada a half-century ago was closely monitored by the RCMP Security Service. The Committee for an Independent Canada, founded in 1970 to promote economic and cultural independence, was among the targets seen as ripe for “exploitation or manipulation” by radicals.

About 100 firefighters from Mexico have joined their British Columbia counterparts and elements of the Canadian Armed Forces in a concerted effort to contain 259 forest fires burning mainly in the province’s southern interior. A spokesperson for B.C. Wildfire Services says continued outbreaks suggest that “we are looking to definitely break some records this year.”

Up to $100 million from an emergency fund to meet “unexpected urgent” needs of Afghan refugees, including special immigration visas, was approved July 23 by U.S. President Joe Biden. He also has authorized the release of $200 million in services and articles from government agencies’ inventories as the U.S. prepares to prevent thousands of Afghan allies and their families from being captured and potentially executed by the Taliban.

New Zealand is preventing quarantined visitors from Australia as that country struggles with COVID-18 outbreaks in several states. “Given the high level of transmissibility of the Delta variant, and the fact that there are now multiple community clusters, it is the right thing to do,” says Chris Hipkins, the minister overseeing New Zealand’s COVID-19 response.

A World Health Organization plan for additional research into the origins of COVID-19 has been rebuffed by the Chinese government. Zeng Yixin, vice minister of the National Health Commission, said he was “taken aback” by a proposal for further investigation of the theory that the virus might have leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.

Iran has opened its first oil terminal in the Gulf of Oman, enabling it to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, which has become a chokepoint for shipping. a move that will allow it to avoid using the Strait of Hormuz shipping route that has been a focus of regional tension for decades. “This is a strategic move and an important step for Iran,” outgoing President Hassan Rouhani Rouhani said in a televised speech. “It will secure the continuation of our oil exports.”

David Cohen, a lawyer and lobbyist who once was chief of staff to the mayor of Philadelphia, has been nominated by President Joe Biden as the next Ambassador to Canada. “Senate confirmation can't come soon enough,” says Scotty Greenwood, president and CEO of the Washington-based Canadian American Business Council. “The need to return to a well-coordinated reciprocal border management process is more acute than ever.”

The U.S. says it has an agreement with Germany which would prevent Russia from using its Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline as political leverage. The line under the Baltic, which will double gas exports to Germany, has been criticized by several Eastern European governments concerned about security, but the agreement evidently provides for retaliatory sanctions if the line is used for leverage.

One woman found dead, 3 missing, and at least 5 houses destroyed after rain triggered flooding and mudslides in northern Colorado. Heavy rains created a debris dam that burst, causing flash flooding and mudslides.

This week’s transfer of a Moroccan to his homeland from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo, Cuba, has reopened discussion on the future of the remaining 59 long-term detainees and the facility’s future. It was the first transfer by President Joe Biden’s administration and legal experts say a total shutdown is going to take time because of the slow military commissions processing procedures.

Canada Border Services Agency employees could go on strike next month just as the Canadian border is reopened to fully-vaccinated U.S. visitors. More than 8,500 employees, without a contract since June 2018, are voting this week. A union official said July 20 that the key issues are wage parity, better protection against harassment and discrimination, and a remote work policy for non-uniformed members.

The French government announced plans for a health passport as new COVID-19 cases surged and most institutions required proof of vaccination or recovery from the coronavirus as well as a negative test for entry. Surveys suggest there is widespread vaccine hesitancy and there have been demonstrations this week against restrictions.

A British report states that online activity by right-wing extremists in Canada increased last year despite efforts by governments and social media companies to curb extremism and hate speech. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue also found that Canadian extremists are influenced by their increasingly violent U.S. counterparts.

A Toronto-based think tank, the C.D. Howe Institute, says that at least 70 per cent of automobiles would have to be electrically-powered by 2030 if the federal government is to achieve its zero-emissions goal by 2030. So-called “zero emission” vehicles comprised 3.5 per cent of total vehicle sales in Canada last year.

Allegations that software developed by an Israeli company has been used in a series of international cyber attacks are being investigated by an interdepartmental government team led by the National Security Council. Investigation was prompted by complaints from several countries that the Pegagus software had been used for illegal activities.

The federal government's plan to reopen the border to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens next month could be complicated by the threat of strike action. This week, more than 8,500 Canada Border Services Agency officers (who have been without a contract since June 2018) are voting on whether they're willing to walk out. A strike could cause massive delays for those travelling by air and land.

With more than 300 wildfires and growing concerns about deteriorating weather, the B.C. government announced today that a state of emergency would go into effect at midnight. Initially for 14 days, it empowers the to, among other things, order evacuations and to prohibit travel. The Department of National Defence confirmed preparations to support civilian firefighters.

Canada has joined the U.S. and other countries in blaming China for a massive hack of the Microsoft Exchange email server software and accusing it of working with criminal hackers in ransomware attacks and other cyber operations. “This activity put several thousand Canadian entities at risk, a risk that persists in some cases even when patches from Microsoft have been applied,” the government said in a statement.

Appeals filed by the defence and the prosecution in the case of a Toronto police officer convicted of assaulting a black man in 2016 have both been dismissed by an Ontario court. The defence had sought to overturn the assault conviction while the prosecution had appealed the acquittal of the office and his brother on related changes.

The U.S. has been asked by Turkish Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for financial, logistical and diplomatic support for Turkish troops to operate Kabul airport once other foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan. The Taliban has warned Turkey against the plan.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the Delta variant of COVID-19 is now the dominant global strain. “This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” a CDC official said, explaining that in the U.S., 97 per cent of people being hospitalized in the U.s. are unvaccinated.

A $10-billion plant to liquefy natural gas in northern B.C., including a pipeline to tidewater for export, is being backed by the Nisga'a Nation, whose territory is north of Prince Rupert near the Alaska border. It has joined two corporations, Rockies LNG Partners and Texas-based Western LNG, committing to net-zero carbon emissions within three years of startup.

Several days after his Alberta counterpart dismissed the notion of COVID-19 passports, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has adopted a similar stance. “We're not gonna do it,” Ford said. “We're not gonna have a split society.” He acknowledged that people get proof of vaccination, bug said that can be easily forged.

U.S. responds to Chinese cyberattacks Measures designed to expose and disrupt China’s government-sponsored cybercrimes have been confirmed by the U.S. in collaboration with its allies. U.S. officials say the international effort flows from President Joe Biden’s meeting last month with G7 and NATO leaders. China’s Ministry of State Security is identified as a key player and there are suggestions the latest development could lead to further sanctions.

Freddy Guevara, a close ally of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, has been charged with terrorism and treason by President Nicolás Maduro’s left-wing administration, which also accuses him of having ties to “extremist groups” and foreign governments. Guaidó is seen by most western governments as the legitimate leader but Maduro has Russian and Chinese support.

A national Muslim organization is calling the July 14 vandalization of a mosque in Cambridge, Ont., an “act of hate.” The fact that the Baitul Kareem Mosque was attacked in broad daylight is particularly troubling for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada. “Our mosques have always served as symbols of peace in the community,” says the organization’s president, Lal Khan Malik. “It is hurtful for us to see our mosque attacked and vandalized in this fashion.”

The European Commission’s new climate change initiative has drawn fire from Australia, one of the world’s largest resource exporters, which is particularly upset by a proposed surtax on carbon-intense imports such as steel and cement. “The last thing the world now needs is extra protectionist policies,” says Trade Minister Dan Tehan. Even though only four per cent of Australia’s exports go to Europe, he says the commission’s plan could set the stage for increased costs to export to major Asian markets.

In a July 14 “transparency report,” Twitter says last year saw a significant uptick in governments’ demands to take down critical content posted by journalists and new organizations. It received 361 legal demands to remove 199 posters’ content in the second half of 2020, up 26 percent from the first half. India topped the list, followed by Turkey Pakistan and Russia.