In the News

The U.S. has been accused by Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky of setting up a public relations “stunt” today by having the Security Council consider the Russian military presence along its border with Ukraine. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called it “a clear threat to international peace and security” but Polyansky could not recall “another occasion when a SC member proposed to discuss its own baseless allegations and assumptions as a threat.”

A few days before Russia was to begin an eight day naval exercise southwest of Ireland this week, the country’s embassy in Dublin says the exercise, which would include live-firing, would be held outside Ireland’s offshore economic management zone so as “not to hinder fishing activities.”

Finland’s intelligence chief says a “state actor” is likely behind a recent hack of the country’s diplomatic staff working abroad. The foreign ministry says victims were targetted with the Israeli-developed Pegasus software which can afford access to mobile phones’ contents and location history.

Anti-vaccination protesters who climbed on the cenotaph at the National War Memorial and cavorted atop the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on the weekend “sickened” the Chief of the Defence Staff. “Generations of Canadians have fought and died for our rights, including free speech, but not this,” Gen Wayne Ayre said. “Those involved should hang their heads in shame.” Ottawa police are investigating the filmed incidents.

Traffic at a major Canada-U.S. border crossing between Alberta and Montana was snarled on the weekend by truckers protesting mandatory coronavirus vaccinations. The Canada Border Services Agency said Jan. 30 that while the crossing itself was open, travellers “should expect extensive delays” and Premier Jason Kenney said that in addition to being illegal, the snarl could impede emergency vehicles.

Citing “mounting evidence that Chinese state-owned carriers pose a real threat to the security of our telecommunications networks” the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has added a second company to its banned list. Hong Kong-based China Unicom has been directed to stop service in the U.S. within 60 days, joining Beijing-based China Telecom, which had its license revoked last October.

A Kremlin spokesman said today that there is “not much cause for optimism” in the ongoing argument with the West over Ukraine in particular and Eastern Europe in general. However, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there is still hope for “the start of a serious conversation” about the impasse.

The California of San Jose is considering legislation which would require gun owners to have liability insurance against firearms injuries or accidents. If approved, it would be unprecedented in the U.S. and some critics argue that it would violate their constitutional right to bear arms.

A key player behind the convoy travelling to Ottawa to protest a coronavirus vaccine mandate for truckers is trying to damp down increasingly extremist online rhetoric associated with the protest. With convoy is expected to arrive at Parliament Hill over the weekend, Tamara Lich turned to social media Jan. 25, asking that “if you see participants along the way that are misbehaving, acting aggressively in any way or inciting any type of violence or hatred, please take down the truck number and their licence plate number so that we can forward that to the police.”

A Mexican prosecutor said Jan. 25 that the killing of two Canadians at a Caribbean coast resort last week was motivated by debts between gangs apparently involved in drug and weapons trafficking. The victims both had criminal records at home, one of them a known felon with a history of robbery, drug and weapons offences. A Canadian woman hospitalized after the attack has been unable to speak to investigators.

A Boston hospital has removed a 31-year-old patient from its heart transplant list at least in part because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19. His father says his son "doesn't believe in it.” The hospital says that “given the shortage of available organs, we do everything we can to ensure that a patient who receives a transplanted organ has the greatest chance of survival.”

Families of Canadian diplomatic staff stationed in Kyiv have been withrawn by the government “due to the ongoing Russian military buildup and destabilizing activities in and around Ukraine,” Global Affairs confirmed today. “We have decided to temporarily withdraw Canadian embassy staff's children under 18 years of age and family members accompanying them.”

More than 866,000 U.S. residents are known to have tied from coronavirus since the pandemic began two years ago and new statistics show that the daily average now is more than 2,000. A large percentage are either older than 65 or unvaccinated.

The New Brunswick government, the RCMP and Facebook are being sued by a physician who was accused in 2020 of breaking coronavirus rules and being “patient zero” as the pandemic erupted. Lawyers for Dr. Jean-Robert Ngola, who now practises in Quebec, filed a claim for damages with the Court of Queen's Bench in Moncton last week. The suit alleges, among other things, “institutional anti-Black systemic racism,” abuse of power, negligence, defamation, malicious prosecution and a breach of Ngola’s charter rights.

Norway is hosting talks between Taliban representatives and western officials in Oslo this week for the first talks in Europe since the group took control of Afghanistan. Human rights and the escalating humanitarian crisis are key issues.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is calling for “prompt, effective and transparent” investigation of Saudi-led air attacks in Yemen. A migrant detention centre in Saada city was bombed Jan. 20 and Iran-backed Houthi rebels and aid groups say there were at least 82 dead.

The Chinese takeover of a lithium-mining company raised no national security issues for the federal government, says Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s parliamentary secretary, Andy Fillmore. He told a parliamentary committe that an industry department review last fall concluded that Neo Lithium is a British-based company with a mining lease in Argentina and only three “paper” Canadian employees so that it could list on the Toronto Stock Exchange to get financing.

Five years after he was freed due to a lack of evidence, Ottawa academic Hassan Diab faces the prospect of a new trial in connection with a bombing in Paris 40 years ago. Prosecutors said today they are planning a trial next year but have not requested extradition. The French appeals court last year overturned a lower court decision to release Diab but that has been rejected by the senior Court of Cassation, which has ordered the new trial even though French investigators concluded he was in Lebanon writing university exams at the time of the attack.

The Russia navy is planning live-fire exercises in international waters southwest of Ireland but within its offshore economic management zone, posing a potential threat to commercial aviation. in the region. "We don't have the power to prevent this happening,” Simon Coveney, Ireland’s minister of foreign affairs and defence, acknowledged today. “I've made it clear to the Russian ambassador in Ireland that it's not welcome.”

Britain’s High Court ruled today that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can petition the Supreme Court to block his extradition to the U.S., which wants to prosecute him for releasing thousands of classified documents a decade ago. The High Court’s chief justice said Assange's case had raised a legal question over the circumstances in which judges received and considered assurances from the U.S. about how he could be treated in prison.

A prominent Turkish journalist has been detained by authorities for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “There is a very famous proverb that says that a crowned head becomes wiser, but we see it is not true,” Sedef Kabas said on live television. “A bull does not become king just by entering the palace, but the palace becomes a barn.” Facing up to four years in prison, she is the latest among thousands who have been charged with insulting the NATO country’s leader.

Russia’s ambassador to Canada says Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has an “open invitation” to visit Moscow to meet with officials. Oleg Stepanov said Jan. 23 that the invitation was extended in December and that Joly had “expressed her interest. Joly’s office has confirmed receipt of the invitation but had yet to respond.

The exposure deaths of four persons on the edge of Manitoba’s border with the U.S. this week after a van linked to the victims was intercepted in North Dakota has led to human smuggling charges being laid against a Florida man.

RCMP say four people, one an infant, were found dead Jan. 19 in Manitoba within metres of the U.S. border. They are believed to have died from exposure. The RCMP began a search after being notified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who apprehended a group which had items meant for an infant but did not have a child with them.

Canada Post employees risk being sent home during the coronavirus pandemic if they opt to wear masks not issued by their employer even if their own choice can be more effective. “The mask requirements, like our vaccine mandate, are mandatory,” a post office official said, citing direction from Employment and Social Development Canada.

Major international airlines resumed scheduled flights to the U.S. today after a flurry of cancellations Jan. 19 over concerns about possible systems issues caused by the rollout 5G mobile telecom services which operate in a frequency band also used in aviation.

Afghanistan’s acting prime minister, Mullah Hasan Akhund, wants foreign governments, particularly those of other Islamic countries, to officially recognise the Taliban administration. His first major public appearance since assuming office last September, it included appeals by other Taliban for less foreign restrictions on Afghanistan’s finances.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has invited Russia to more talks on the Ukraine crisis as fears mount over a possible breakout of conflict, but Moscow continues to insist on security demands as a precondition. Stoltenberg did not give any dates for a potential resumption, saying only that it been suggested for the “near future.”

Nearly three months after the U.S. took similar action, the federal government has cancelled contracts with the Canadian subsidiary of a Malaysian company for the supply nitrile gloves for health care providers. Public Services and Procurement had been holding deliveries since November pending a review of the supplier’s operations.

A day before their scheduled rollout of 5G cellular service, the two largest U.S. providers, Verizon and AT&T, are delaying it near some airports to address concerns about interference with aircraft electronics. Neither said which airports were affected but their Jan. 18 announcement followed an airlines’ warning to Transportation Secretary about potential chaos.

Health Canada has authorized the use of the first oral and at-home antiviral treatment developed by Pfizer. However, it stresses that it is suitable only for adults with mild to moderate cases or at high risk of becoming seriously ill. Nor is it intended prevent infections or to treat patients hospitalized due to severe cases and it cannot be taken for longer than five consecutive days. “No drug . . . is a substitute for vaccination,” Dr. Supriya Sharma, the department’s chief medical adviser, said Jan. 17.

Premier Jason Kenney of Alberta asked Justice Minister Kaycee Madu to “step back” Jan. 17 pending a review of whether he improperly Edmonton’s police chief about a traffic ticket 10 months ago. Police say he was ticked for using a cellphone in a school zone and although Madu didn’t contest the ticket, he felt he was “unlawfully surveilled” due to the fact he is black.

As concern continued to grow in Ukraine about Russian troop buildups along its borders, Russia began withdrawing dozens of diplomatic families from its embassy in Kyiv and a consulate in Lviv. The withdrawal earlier this month also saw personnel at two other consulates advised to be ready to return to Moscow.

Responding to a request from 12 federal public service unions for clarity about working from home during the pandemic, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier says that while a “one size fits all” policy isn’t practicable for 100 department and agencies, she says some work cannot be done from home. “Each department will have its own operational requirements . . . and as it has been the case throughout the pandemic, there are some public servants whose work cannot be done remotely.”