Section: National Newswatch (Canada)
NATO says Russia is still pouring arms into Ukraine
Russia is still pouring heavy weapons into Ukraine, signalling that President Vladimir Putin has no intention of abiding by last month’s ceasefire agreement, NATO’s top military commander warned on Sunday. …read more Source: National...
Harper to meet, talk ISIL with NATO secretary general
OTTAWA – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is making his first visit to Canada this week, with the subject of how to address rising tensions with Russia likely to feature high on the agenda.Prime Minister Stephen Harper is scheduled to meet with Stoltenberg on Monday, and a Canadian source close to the meetings said the threat posed...
Astronaut Chris Hadfield issues prime directive: improve quality of life for all
VANCOUVER – Astronaut Chris Hadfield has commanded the International Space Station, made three flights into space and orbited the globe more than 2,300 times. Yet he still spends time marvelling on the small things that put him there, such as the elegant mechanics of a set screw.”I constantly remind myself that, in fact, this is just...
Globe and Mail leads National Newspaper Award nominations with 16 finalists
TORONTO – The Globe and Mail has captured the most nominations for the 2014 National Newspaper Awards with 16 entries on the list of finalists.The Toronto Star is second with 11, followed by Montreal’s La Presse with eight. The Canadian Press landed five nominations.The Vancouver Sun, the Ottawa Citizen and the Moncton Times &...
Canada contributes $7.1M to support democracy in Ukraine
OTTAWA – Canada is contributing $7.1 million to support the democratic process in Ukraine.The International Foundation for Electoral Systems gets $3 million to strengthen reform on transparency and anti-corruption in the Ukrainian political process.Another $2.9 million goes to the National Democratic Institute to help Ukrainians practise...
Canada ratifies cluster bomb convention after half decade of controversy
OTTAWA – The Harper government has ratified an international treaty to ban deadly cluster bombs, after more than half a decade of controversy.Canada signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008, but dragged its heels on ratifying it in the face of widespread international complaints, including from the usually neutral International...
Russia’s Vladimir Putin waves the nuclear option
To visit Nikishino is to see the effects of almost total war. This could be the road to Berlin in 1945. It is, in fact, the road to Debaltseve, in eastern Ukraine, in 2015. Debaltseve is a small city and a railway hub, and was the prize in bitter fighting, which ended with Russian-backed separatists seizing it from Ukrainian forces five days...
Canada not backing down on first anniversary of Crimean referendum
Foreign Affairs Rob Nicholson is marking the first anniversary of the tainted referendum in Crimea with a promise never to recognize the outcome. The vote led to Russia annexing the strategic Ukrainian peninsula and heated up a crisis which continues today. Nicholson says Canada does not recognize the annexation and insists on a full Russian...
Russia launches large-scale military manoeuvres in the Arctic
The Russian military on Monday launched sweeping military manoeuvres in the Arctic and other areas, a show of force ordered by President Vladimir Putin amid spiraling tensions with the West over Ukraine. The five-day Arctic drills involving 38,000 servicemen, more than 50 surface ships and submarines and 110 aircraft are intended to check the...
Citizenship Minister Chris Alexander delivers a troubling speech on Ukraine
One of the principal talking points of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his supporters in the federal election campaign that is now for all intents and purposes under way is that the Conservatives are statesmanlike and mature, while Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is a crazy kid who could do or say anything and NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is an...
