Tag: Region Canada
Confirmed: Russia intercepts two US military aircraft over Baltic Sea
Russia has intercepted two US Air Force strategic bombers flying over the Baltic Sea. The Russian defense ministry said on Tuesday Russia had scrambled a Su-27 fighter jet to “prevent violations of the state border” by the American bombers, AFP reported. “After removing the foreign military aircraft from the Russian state border, the Russian fighter went back to its air base,” the ministry added. The statement said that “the flight of the Russian fighter was carried out in strict accordance with international…
HSBC, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and RBC may have broken competition laws: UK watchdog
LONDON – Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday it had provisionally found five major global banks allegedly broke UK competition law by exchanging sensitive information on government bond trading activities in one-to-one online chats. In a statement, the watchdog alleged Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Canada each unlawfully shared information by participating in one or more one-to-one conversations in Bloomberg chatrooms between a small number of traders at varying times between 2009…
Canadian wildfire smoke is prompting air quality warnings in the western U.S.
Residents across parts of the northwestern United States are under air quality alerts this weekend after smoke from a spate of Canadian wildfires drifted south across the border. Thick plumes of smoke from blazes in the Canadian province of Alberta crossed into multiple states including Montana, Colorado, Idaho and Utah. But a Pacific cold front moving into the area toward the end of the weekend was expected to bring rain and wind that could push the smoke away. Officials in…
China questions ‘credibility’ of G7 members
The international community will not fall in line with the pro-Western rules pushed by the G7 and not allow the US-led group to dominate world affairs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. “China will never accept the so-called rules imposed by the few. The international community does not and will not accept the G7-dominated Western rules that seek to divide the world based on ideologies and values,” the statement read. The Foreign Ministry went on to…
US fails to break Russia-India ties – leaked Pentagon documents
A cache of classified US documents online last month has shed light on American intelligence gathered about other countries. The documents consist of an elaborate timeline, dozens of military acronyms, including some items marked “top secret,” which give a detailed picture of the conflict in Ukraine, raging since February 24, 2022. “Top secret” is the highest level of classification. Some documents also contain the marking NOFORN, or “Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals,” meaning they cannot be shared with foreign intelligence…
Biden Cancels PNG, Australia Trips for Talks Over US Debt Ceiling
President Joe Biden canceled his trips to Papua New Guinea and Australia next week to continue debt ceiling talks with congressional leaders that he held Tuesday at the White House. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the president would to return to Washington on Sunday, following the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, “in order to be back for meetings with congressional leaders to ensure that Congress takes action by the deadline to avert…
Canada’s Trudeau wants to be ‘best of friends’ with South Korea
Canada must become the “best of friends” with South Korea, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told lawmakers in Seoul on Wednesday, as the two countries seek to counter China’s growing regional influence. Trudeau is on his first official visit to South Korea, where he will meet President Yoon Suk Yeol. “I’m here to tell you that it’s no longer enough to be friends. We need to be the best of friends,” Trudeau said during a speech to Seoul’s National Assembly. He…
Investigation into Biden family finances released
The roughly 30-page report detailed what lawmakers say are various companies and financial records tied to family members of Mr Biden, including his son, Hunter Biden, and daughter-in-law, Hallie Biden.
It contains records of bank transactions, obtained through subpoena, that Republican lawmakers say are linked to Romania and China.
The bank records show the receipt of money from a foreign company connected to Gabriel Popoviciu, who was prosecuted for corruption in Romania, reports the New York Times.
“We believe that the president has been involved in this from the very beginning. Obviously, we’re going to continue to look,” Mr Comer told reporters Wednesday.
The Kentucky lawmaker also acknowledged there had been “a pattern for a long time” of questionable financial dealings by relatives of presidents from both parties.
Crypto exchanges exit Canada but Coinbase intends to play the ‘long game’
The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, said last week that it would stop servicing Canadian customers due to “new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges.” But while the exchange said it will return to the country “someday,” its exit leaves behind a huge gap that its competitors are aiming to fill. Coinbase is one of the big players in the space planning to do just that. Coinbase, close behind Binance as the world’s No….
G-7 leaders to target Russian energy, trade in new sanctions steps: Sources
WASHINGTON/BERLIN – Leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) nations plan to tighten sanctions on Russia at their summit in Japan this week, with steps aimed at energy and exports aiding Moscow’s war effort, said officials with direct knowledge of the discussions.
New measures announced by the leaders during the May 19-21 meetings will target sanctions evasion involving third countries, and seek to undermine Russia’s future energy production and curb trade that supports Russia’s military, the people said.
Separately, US officials also expect G-7 members will agree to adjust their approach to sanctions so that, at least for certain categories of goods, all exports are automatically banned unless they are on a list of approved items.
There may be more ‘Chinese police stations’ in Canada, minister says
There may be more “Chinese police stations” operating in Canada, the Public Safety Minister told a Canadian TV station on Sunday, months after police said they were investigating whether two community centers in Montreal were being used to intimidate or harass Canadians of Chinese origin.
“I am confident that the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] have taken concrete action to disrupt any foreign interference in relationship to those so-called police stations, and that if new police stations are popping up and so on, that they will continue to take decisive action going forward,” Marco Mendicino told CTV’s Question Period in an interview.
China, Canada in tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats over interference report
Beijing vows to ‘fight back resolutely and forcefully’ but denies that its diplomat intimidated a politician. By Paul Eckert for RFA 2023.05.09 — China expelled a Canadian diplomat in Shanghai on Tuesday, a day after Ottawa announced it would expel a Chinese diplomat accused of trying to intimidate a Canadian politician. The tit-for-tat expulsions follow years of strained ties between the major Pacific trade partners, and come amid mounting Canadian public concern about Chinese influence operations in the country in…
Canada Weighs Blowback on Possible Expulsion of Chinese Diplomat
(Bloomberg) — Canada is assessing the consequences of potentially expelling a Chinese diplomat accused in media reports of targeting a Canadian lawmaker’s family for sanctions as political punishment. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said her department summoned China’s Canadian ambassador to Canada to discuss the matter Thursday morning. “We’re assessing the consequences that we’ll be facing in case of diplomatic expulsion, because there will be consequences,” Joly told a parliamentary committee. The blowback could take the form of punishing Canada economically…
China’s use of exit bans is on the rise, worrying international businesses: raids on corporate consultancies Mintz Group and Bain & Co.
The Chinese government has significantly increased the use of exit bans to stop people – Chinese and foreign nationals alike – from leaving the country since top leader Xi Jinping took power in 2012, according to a new report describing how a web of vague laws are being expanded for political reasons.
The report comes amid growing concern about the environment for foreign businesses in China, after the wide-ranging overhaul last week of the country’s espionage law and raids on corporate consultancies Mintz Group and Bain & Co.
Bill C-11: Why is YouTube mad at Canada?
A new law that seeks to give Canadian artists a leg up online has left many influencers and tech giants alike seeing red.
They took out subway ads, they posted TikToks, but in the end, the score was Silicon Valley-0, Ottawa-1.
After many twists and turns, and over two-and-a-half years of review, the Canadian government has passed a new law that makes tech giants like YouTube and TikTok support Canadian cultural content.
The law, dubbed Bill C-11, gives the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) broad authority to regulate these platforms, much like they already do with radio and television.
The government says it is necessary to stop streaming giants from getting a free ride, and to promote local artists.
Although it’s still unclear what those final regulations will look like, the law has raised the ire of everyone from TikTokers to esteemed author Margaret Atwood.
DOJ: Two Arrested for Operating Illegal Overseas Police Station of the Chinese Government
Defendants Are New York City Residents Who Allegedly Operated the Police Station in Lower Manhattan and Destroyed Evidence When Confronted by the FBI A complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging two defendants in connection with opening and operating an illegal overseas police station, located in lower Manhattan, New York, for a provincial branch of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). “Harry” Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx,…