Section: National Newswatch (Canada)
Ukraine crisis: Shelling follows Minsk peace summit
New shelling has been reported in the rebel-held east Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, a day after a peace deal was reached in Minsk. There are no confirmed reports of casualties. Both cities are near the front line where the pro-Russian rebels face government forces. The ceasefire agreed in the Belarusian capital is to begin in eastern...
Harper skeptical of Ukraine ceasefire deal
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is cautiously optimistic about Thursday’s ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia, saying he’ll remain skeptical until Russia honours its end of the bargain. The peace deal was hammered out following all-night negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany at a summit in Belarus. Part of the...
Marathon Ukraine talks end with peace deal
MINSK, Belarus – Guns will fall silent, heavy weapons will pull back from the front, and Ukraine will trade a broad autonomy for the east for control of the Russian border by the end of the year under a peace deal hammered out Thursday in all-night negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, France and GermanyThe deal was full of potential...
Ottawa plans to provide valuable satellite images to Ukrainian forces
Ottawa plans to help Ukraine’s beleaguered armed forces by providing them with high-resolution images from Canada’s powerful RADARSAT-2 satellite, CTV News has learned. Twice a day, the satellite will cross over Ukraine, providing precise details on what is happening on the ground — day or night. That will allow the Ukrainians to...
Lose one minister, shuffle three. Stephen Harper’s new election face
It’s been a busy “off-week” on Parliament Hill. First Eve Adams bolted from the Conservatives — after the party abandoned her — to became a Liberal. As floor-crossings go, this was a doozy. Twitter erupted. Talking heads talked. Ink was spilled. And people outside of Ottawa wondered why any of it mattered. Then German Chancellor Angela...
Ukraine crisis: Vladimir Putin announces ceasefire to begin Saturday
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the warring parties in the Ukrainian conflict have agreed on a ceasefire beginning midnight on Saturday and a division line for withdrawing heavy weapons. After 15 hours of talks in the Belarusian capital, Putin said agreements had been signed, one declaring the cease-fire, the other to implement it....
Canada might train Ukraine forces: Kenney
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 options...
To Warrior Prince Stephen Harper, the slowing economy is old news
Stephen Harper used to trumpet his government’s handling of the economy. In those days, the prime minister portrayed himself as Professor Harper, the bespectacled, cardigan-wearing economist under whose wise leadership Canada avoided the worst of the global recession. Today, the professor has been replaced by Stephen Harper, Warrior Prince....
Ukraine conflict: Death toll rises ahead of peace talks
More than 20 people have died in violence in eastern Ukraine as the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany prepare for peace talks. Nineteen Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, many of them in a town which pro-Russian rebels say they have surrounded. Five people were reported killed by shelling in dead in rebel-held Donetsk. Negotiators...
Russian bank that hired John Baird’s onetime chief-of-staff removed from list of firms facing sanctions
A Russian bank hired John Baird’s onetime provincial chief of staff to lobby the federal government to get the bank removed from the list of Russian firms facing sanctions over Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine. The then-Foreign Affairs Minister subsequently removed the bank from the list, but he and the lobbyist both say they never...
