Section: Macleans (Canada)
Battles persists in Ukraine, threatening cease fire agreement
LUHANSKE, Ukraine – Intense artillery exchanges between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists around a strategic town in the east persisted Monday in fighting that threatens to dash a cease-fire deal brokered last week. The warring sides are under an agreement negotiated by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France...
Canada opposes Palestinian attempts to join UN treaties
OTTAWA – Canada has formally opposed Palestinian attempts to join 15 different United Nations treaties and conventions – a position that puts the federal government on the wrong side of history and at odds with its citizenry, the Palestinian envoy in Ottawa says. Canada is objecting in writing to the UN because it maintains Palestine is not a...
Five stories in Canada we’re watching
REUTERS/Al Youm Al Saabi Newspaper Five stories in the news today, Feb. 13, from The Canadian Press: MOHAMED FAHMY LEAVES PRISON ON BAIL After more than 400 days in a Cairo prison, Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy was freed late Thursday, less than 24 hours after an Egyptian court ordered him released on bail. However, the 40-year-old’s...
Planes, trains, and shaking up the family business
After a long and busy week, what a calm Friday it seems to be – although, those sound suspiciously like a case of “famous last words.” Yesterday’s big Canadian headline was a major shake-up of Bombardier – from ending their dividend to new leadership roles and equity-raising – and we’ll start with a quick recap of what’s...
Oil cuts for Alberta, and an emergency bailout for Ukraine
Bailouts, crises, negotiations and cuts – it’s been a busy, heavy week, so good thing we’ve got Valentine’s Day to look forward to. (Never mind, I took the opportunity today to ruin that, as well!) The leading news this morning is a more than $17 billion emergency bailout for a beleaguered Ukraine, which was agreed to this...
Leaders in Minsk spend night in crucial Ukraine peace talks
MINSK, Belarus – Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany were struggling to reach a deal Thursday morning in the 15th hour of talks aimed at ending fighting in eastern Ukraine. Officials have remained tight-lipped, praising progress but would divulge details. In the morning, the leaders briefly left the session hall but later came back to...
Kenney hints Canada might help train Ukrainian forces with U.S.
OTTAWA – The country’s new defence minister left the door open Wednesday for Canadian troops to join the U.S. in training Ukrainian forces and for an extension of the combat mission against the Islamic State. Jason Kenney, speaking on CBC’s Power and Politics, echoed Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s comments in saying that “all...
Crises abound, from oil prices to Greece to Ukraine
It’s another day of high-stakes geopolitics today, so make sure you have a big breakfast. Finance ministers and central bankers are heading home after the G20 meeting wrapped up in Istanbul yesterday, during which officials expressed worry over how massive economic inequality has become, while Stephen Poloz denied he is talking down the...
Fighting in Ukraine continues overnight ahead of diplomatic push
Dmitry Lovetsky/AP DONETSK, Ukraine – Fighting continued to rage in eastern Ukraine Wednesday ahead of crucial peace talks later in the day. Shelling rocked a bus station in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, where an Associated Press reporter saw one body and was told by rebel officials that another body had been recently removed from the scene....
Big debt, high stakes
It’s a day of meetings, meetings, meetings – and contemplating massive amounts of debt. China’s inflation numbers this morning show a slowdown in consumer prices, and yet another drop in factory prices. As China contemplates deflation, the stakes are huge. They’re not the only one facing big risks today: as the political...
