Section: National Newswatch (Canada)
Russian state-owned media slams Chrystia Freeland
Well, that didn’t take long. The Russian state-owned Sputnik News has come out with a piece blasting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new foreign affairs minister, Chrystia Freeland, and framing her appointment as a “catastrophe for Canadian-Russian relations.” Posted early Saturday afternoon, the copy quotes University of Montreal...
The Friday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories
Highlights from the news file for Friday, Jan. 13 ——— MORE CHARGES AGAINST FORMER ONTARIO NURSE: Six more charges have been laid against a former Ontario nurse accused in the deaths of eight seniors. Elizabeth Wettlaufer appeared in court Friday. She now faces a total of 14 charges, including eight counts of first-degree murder, four counts of...
Ukraine, Latvia urge Canada and Freeland to press Trump on Russia
Two of Russia’s nervous neighbours are urging the Trudeau Liberals to use Canada’s close relationship with the U.S. to encourage the incoming Trump administration not to become too cosy with the Kremlin. The ambassadors of Ukraine and Latvia tell The Canadian Press that Canada’s historic friendship and alliance with the...
Canadian navy ship returns to port following six-month NATO deployment
HALIFAX — Family members and friends lined a dock on the Halifax waterfront Friday to welcome the return of a Royal Canadian Navy ship following a six-month deployment overseas. HMCS Charlottetown pulled into port on a clear, mild day after a stint with NATO forces in the Mediterranean and Black seas as part of Op Reassurance — Canada’s...
Trump State pick irks Beijing, muddles policy on S China Sea
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s pick to lead the State Department has stoked confusion over the U.S.’s South China Sea policy by appearing to advocate a blockade of Chinese man-made islands. A person familiar with deliberations inside the Trump transition team was aware of no such planning, raising the likelihood that Rex Tillerson...
Trump’s Pentagon pick: Putin trying to ‘break’ NATO
WASHINGTON — Retired Gen. James Mattis, poised to become the first career military officer in charge of the Pentagon since the 1950s, said Thursday he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to “break” the NATO alliance that has anchored American and European security for more than half a century. Under questioning at his...
Trump’s choice for top US diplomat talks tough on China
WASHINGTON — Pointing toward possible confrontation, Donald Trump’s selection for secretary of state likened Beijing’s island-building in the South China Sea to a takeover of another country’s territory and spoke of forcing Beijing to fully apply sanctions on North Korea. China will likely be alarmed by former Exxon Mobil CEO...
Trump’s pick to be top diplomat breaks with him in key ways
WASHINGTON — Rex Tillerson’s foreign policy doesn’t sound a lot like Donald Trump’s. At his confirmation hearing Wednesday, the former Exxon Mobil CEO selected by Trump for secretary of state called Russia a “danger” and vowed to protect America’s European allies. He rejected the idea of an immigration ban on...
Canada says no ‘quid pro quo’ with Russia on lifting Freeland travel ban
OTTAWA — Canada is rebuffing the Kremlin’s thinly veiled overtures that it might be willing to lift a travel ban on new Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland if it eases sanctions on Russia. Joseph Pickerill, Freeland’s spokesman, says Canada won’t be playing any games of “quid pro quo” on the subject. The...
Russia hints it could lift Freeland ban
Russia has opened the door to lifting a travel ban on Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland if Canada removes economic sanctions and visa bans against Moscow over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. The Russian news agency Sputnik quoted an unidentified Russian Foreign Ministry official as saying the travel ban on Ms....
