In the News

A Taliban spokesman said today that the Islamists’ resurgence in Afghanistan has overtaken the country’s sixth provincial capital in less than a week. Confirmed by local officials, it marks a dramatic acceleration of the militants’ move from mainly rural combat into urban centres.

The Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative is an initiative unveiled by the U.S. Government this week. The effort will initially focus on combating ransomware and cyberattacks on cloud-computing providers, said Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

The Department of National Defence, the RCMP and the Canadian Coast Guard account for 45 per cent of greenhouse gases emitted by federal government operations, according to a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report released today. However, as its authors point out, “the most obvious and serious challenge” is that all three are exempt from the government’s current “greening” strategy.

Quebec Premier François Legault, warning that his province seems on the verge of another COVID-19 wave, announced Aug. 5 that his government is developing a vaccine passport system. “It’s still less than what we’re seeing in the United States or other European countries, but we . . . must be prudent and take decisions.”

Ebrahim Raisi was sworn in today as Iran’s eighth president. Widely decried at home and abroad as a hardliner, he promised to pursue “diplomacy and constructive and extensive engagement with the world”, beginning with his country’s immediate neighbours.

Italian teachers have been told by their government that they must have proof of at least one COVID-19 vaccination before they can work and that the requirement also will apply to air, rail, ship and intercity bus passengers. Emulating neighbouring France’s approach, Italy already insisted on proof by anyone eating indoors and restaurants or using a number of services and leisure activities.

Saad Aljabri, a Saudi Arabian intelligence officer who came to Canada in 2017 is alleged by several companies in his homeland to have committed fraud. One of the companies is a sovereign wealth fund controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who evidently has made Aljabri a personal target. Now the U.S. Justice Department has intervened in the case on national security grounds.

An international program design to deal with money-laundering, the Financial Action Task Force established by Canada and its G7 partners, is at the heart of a controversy that its original focus has been compromised. Authorities in at least five countries are said to have used FATF standards to investigate critics for political gain.

The first “of a number of flights” carrying Afghans who helped the Canadian military in Afghanistan arrived late Aug. 4 at Toronto International Airport. The government did not say how many evacuees were aboard the RCAF’s Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport but at least three dozen were observed.

Needed improvements in long-term care facilities, exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19, means that government funding would have to be doubled. This is according to Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux, who says in a report released today that federal, provincial and territorial governments would have to increase annual funding by $13.7 billion and expect costs to rise by 4.1 per cent annually thereafter. Spending in the last fiscal year totalled $13.6 billion.

About 100 resettled Afghan interpreters gathered in Ottawa Aug. 3 to ask the federal government to rescue extended families and former colleagues who remain under threat from the Taliban. The U.S. already has begun evacuations while Canada’s program seems stuck in bureaucratic limbo after more than a month of discussions.

A request by Alberta that people be permitted to carry pepper spray for self-defence has been rebuffed by the federal government. The province’s justice minister had argued that victim of hate-motivated violence would have been able to protect themselves. In rebuffing Alberta’s request for changes to the Criminal Code, Ottawa says “the solution cannot simply be to increase accessibility to prohibited weapons” which could provoke further violence.

A crackdown on private enterprise by the Chinese Communist Party has severely eroded the market value of many companies and stoked fears about the future of innovation. The government evidently is okay with tapping capitalist markets but only as long as it complies with CCP policies.

Terrorism peace bonds are used by Canadian authorities to deal with extremists who left Canada to join terror groups, and then came back. Kevin Omar Mohamed travelled to Syria and called for attacks in Canada. Upon his return, he was charged with terrorism, and served a prison term. After breaching parole, he was placed on a peace bond which requires him to wear a GPS monitoring device for four years and undergo de-radicalization. It also bans him from possessing a passport, terrorist literature, explosives, bomb-making materials, firearms and knives.

Emergency military rice reserves have been released by the North Korean government as a heat wave and ongoing drought have eaten into supplies. The development was disclosed at a recent parliamentary committee meeting in South Korea.

The U.S. has expanded its approach to evacuating Afghan citizens as Taliban violence increases ahead of the final withdrawal of U.S. troops. The revised policy would apply to current and former employees of U.S.-based news organizations, aid and development agencies and other relief bodies as well as current and former employees of the U.S. government and NATO.

Fully-vaccinated Canadians contemplating international travel are being urged to ensure their destination country accepts their COVID-19 vaccine. Some countries will not admit visitors with mixed dosages, which is the case for millions of Canadians.

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has directed the Justice Department to give Congress former President Donald Trump's tax returns, which have been the focus of an ongoing political tug-of-war that began before he was elected in 2016. The IRS move reverses a 2019 finding that a request from the House Ways and Means Committee was “disingenuous.”

New modelling data suggest that Canada is headed towards a fourth wave of COVID-19, the severity of which depends on several factors. ““The updated longer-range forecast . . . suggests that we are at the start of the Delta-driven fourth wave,” says the Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam. “The trajectory will depend on ongoing increases in fully vaccinated coverage, and the timing, pace and extent of reopening.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, said July 31 that if South Korea carries out a joint military exercise with the U.S., it will undercut efforts to rebuild relations on the peninsula. “Our government and military will keep a close eye on whether the South Koreans go ahead with the aggressive war exercises,” she said in a televised statement.

China and Australia are clashing over COVID-19 vaccines and their distribution to Papua New Guinea. China has accused Australia of “sabotage.” In the latest of a series of spats on various issues, China says Australia has tried to denigrate and block use of the Sinopharm vaccine.

In a bid to get more U.S. residents vaccinated against COVID-19, President Joe Biden announced a package of measures, including a requirement that all federal employees and contractors attest to being vaccinated against Covid-19 or face strict protocols. In a bluntly-worded statement, he said unvaccinated individuals “present a problem to yourself, to your family and to those with whom you work.”

Alberta’s plan to lift nearly all COVID-19 restrictions is being described by a frontline physician as “a complete slap in the face” which effectively puts the onus on individuals to monitor their own health. Among other things, close contacts do not legally need to isolate and in less than two weeks, isolation requirements will lift even for those who test positive.

The commander of the U.S. Navy 2nd Fleet says enhancing presence and cultivating partnerships in the Arctic are vital to prevent military conflict in the region. “It will only remain a cooperative area if we continue to build those relationships,” VAdm Andrew “Woody” Lewis said Aug. 1, adding that failure to maintain a U.S. presence could “cede the space to the Russians or somebody else.”

The UN High Representative for Bosnia has sparked more ethnic tension by trying to block Serbian denials that the killing of 8,000 Muslims during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina war was a genocide. Valentin Inzko wants to stop glorification of Serb commanders convicted of war crimes but their current political leaders are boycotting efforts to amend the criminal code to accommodate Inzko. “I followed my conscience,” the Austrian diplomat says. “If you're in a country where war criminals are glorified, this cannot be a good future.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58001974

In a multi-city action, locked out Hilton Metrotown workers and their supporters across the country urged South Korea’s Ambassador to Canada to intervene in the growing dispute with a Seoul-based hotel owner.  The workers, who have been locked out for over 100 days, called on South Korea’s Ambassador, Keung Ryong Chang, to engage members of the prominent and politically connected family that owns DSDL Co., the owner of Hilton Metrotown.

A Russian district court has fined Google three million rubles (approx. $51,000 CAD) for violating personal data legislation. The company has confirmed the penalty, which is about half the possible maximum fine, but had no further comment. Meanwhile, a Moscow court has begun proceedings against Facebook and Twitter for the same alleged offence.

A crowdfunded attempt to block the rollout of 5G mobile technology in Britain has been blocked by a judge. The group behind the case, who say the equipment emits harmful radiation, had raised more than £160,000, says it will continue to press for a judicial review despite this latest setback.

Days after confirming that Canada Border Services Agency employees had voted in favour of strike action as early as Aug. 6, their unions resumed contract talks July 29 with Treasury Board. “The government is clearly concerned about . . . the possibility of major disruptions at the border,” said Public Service Alliance of Canada President Chris Aylward. “They need to bring a new mandate to address major workplace issues.”

The first flight evacuating Afghans who worked with the U.S. in Afghanistan arrived early today at Dulles International Airport near Washington. Fleeing Taliban reprisals, the 221 evacuees included 57 children and 15 infants. President Joe Biden called the flight “an important milestone as we continue to fulfill our promise to the thousands of Afghan nationals who served shoulder-to-shoulder with American troops and diplomats over the last 20 years.”

A former Saudi spy chief living in exile in Toronto is asking a Canadian court to throw out an embezzlement lawsuit against him, arguing not only are the allegations unfounded but that the evidence on which they rely was gleaned from human-rights abuses and, likely, torture.

Accused by the Prime Minister of failing to meet legal obligations to provide access to abortion services, New Brunswick has had its federal health care transfer payments reduced. The PM initially said millions of dollars was being withheld but an official in his office then said the amount was $140,216. The province only funds procedures performed at three hospitals.

In what’s seen as an attempt to restore relations generally, North and South Korea are reportedly considering reopening a liaison office that the North demolished last year. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un evidently have been corresponding since April.

A wildfire in central Kenya which razed some 12,000 acres of a private conservancy is causing legal problems for the British Army. The “official” cause of the fire remains under investigation but nearly 1,000 local residents and a lobby group have filed a lawsuit against the Army, which has used the land for training for more than a decade.