Section: National Newswatch (Canada)
Ukraine crisis: Army and rebels stall heavy arms pullout
Ukraine’s government and separatist rebels have failed to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line, despite a Monday deadline. The two sides were given until two days after the latest truce came into effect to start the pullout. The government said it would not pull back until fighting ended in the beleaguered town of Debaltseve....
Canada opposes 15 Palestinian attempts to join United Nations 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...
Ukraine town held by government forces shelled heavily
A government-held town in east Ukraine sandwiched between two rebel-controlled areas came under heavy shelling on Monday, a day after the start of a ceasefire that Russian-backed separatists say does not apply there. A Kyiv military source said four Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 21 wounded since the internationally negotiated ceasefire...
Ukraine crisis: Fighting subsides after ceasefire
Fighting in east Ukraine has subsided but not stopped since a ceasefire came into effect, the warring parties say. Spokesmen for both the government and the pro-Russian rebels said some shelling had continued, mainly around the besieged town of Debaltseve. But both sides say the truce that came into effect at midnight (22:00 GMT Saturday) is...
Ukraine crisis: President Poroshenko orders ceasefire
Ukraine’s president has said a truce agreed with pro-Russian rebels in the east must be honoured, as he ordered the army to stop fighting. Petro Poroshenko also warned the rebels against continuing attacks on the besieged strategic town of Debaltseve. Fighting appeared to have died down immediately after the ceasefire took effect at 22:00...
Ukraine ceasfire: Fighting persists in day before pact
Officials in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol say an array of artillery attacks hit areas near the city during the morning, as the deadline for a cease-fire creeps closer. The city’s press service reported a half-dozen rocket and mortar attacks on outlying areas Saturday morning. There was no immediate information on casualties....
Ukraine crisis: Poroshenko says peace deal in danger
Ukraine’s president has warned that a deal to end the war in the east is in “great danger” after heavy fighting ahead of Saturday night’s ceasefire. Petro Poroshenko also accused Russia of “significantly increasing” its offensive despite the peace agreement reached in Minsk on Thursday. The US ambassador to Ukraine tweeted a satellite...
Canada to send money, radar satellite images to Ukraine
The Canadian government will be sending financial aid plus radar satellite images to Ukraine to support their fight against Russian-backed separatists, according to Defence Minister Jason Kenney. In an interview airing Saturday on CBC Radio’s The House, Kenney told host Evan Solomon that Canada is preparing a new financial package for...
Baloney Meter: Is Canada stature in the world growing, as John Baird says?
OTTAWA – “I have seen the stature of our country grow, in the eyes of the world … Today, Canada stands tall in the world.” — Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird in his resignation speech in the House of Commons, Feb. 3.___John Baird surprised many with his sudden resignation last week from federal politics, which also...
Five stories in the news today, Feb. 13
Five stories in the news today, Feb. 13, from The Canadian Press:MOHAMED FAHMY LEAVES PRISON AFTER GRANTED RELEASE ON BAILAfter 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 legal battles are...
