Category Archives: Canada

Canada and India to share terrorism intelligence despite 2023 murder plot, says report

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Accord comes as Mark Carney seeks shift in Ottawa’s relationship with New Delhi after long diplomatic spat

Canada and India plan to share intelligence in an effort to combat the rising threat of international crime and extremism, according to a new report from Bloomberg, days before a meeting between the two countries’ leaders.

Canadian officials declined to comment on the report, which, if confirmed, would represent a dramatic shift in relations between the two countries which for nearly two years have been locked in a bitter diplomatic spat after Canada’s federal police agency concluded that India planned and ordered the murder a prominent Sikh activist on Canadian soil.

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Weather tracker: Europe and China in midst of record-breaking heat

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Temperatures over 40C recorded in Portugal and Spain, while China endures heatwave conditions in high 40s

Temperature records for early June are being broken across large parts of Europe, with the mercury reaching 40.5C (104.9F) in Mértola, Portugal, on Sunday. On the same day, several weather stations in Spain recorded temperatures in excess of 42C, with dozens of sites at record levels for early summer. Across the Balkans, temperatures reached 37C. On Monday, 37.6C was recorded in Tirana, Albania, while in Greece night-time minimum temperatures have stayed mostly over 30C for much of this week.

Hot conditions are to intensify across central and western Europe over the next few days, with temperatures across large parts of France, Benelux, Italy and west Germany expected to reach the low to mid 30s celsius. Highs of up to 35C are expected in Paris on Friday, with up to 38C forecast in Rome. Conditions will ease somewhat, but a heatwave will soon develop across Iberia, with Madrid expected to reach the high-30s celsius each day next week.

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‘Win-win’: new maps reveal best opportunities for global reforestation

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New study shows regions with best potential to regrow trees and suck climate-heating CO2 from the air

New maps have revealed the best “win-win” opportunities across the world to regrow forests and tackle the climate crisis, without harming people or wildlife.

The places range from the eastern US and western Canada, to Brazil and Columbia, and across Europe, adding up to 195 million hectares (482 million acres). If reforested, this would remove 2.2bn tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, about the same as all the nations in the European Union.

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‘The odds are astronomical’: Canadian man wins lottery jackpots four times

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Cancer survivor David Serkin won draws in August, November and May, and another more than a decade ago

How do you say “lottery winner” in western Canada? The answer is: David Serkin, the name of the cancer survivor from Alberta who won three separate lottery jackpots between August and May to accumulate about $2.5m in prize money.

According to officials, those lucky tickets marked the second, third and fourth times Serkin had won a lottery in his life, a feat that he had vanishingly small chances of pulling off and gained notice on corners of the internet dedicated to charming news stories.

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Canadian PM vows to boost defence spending and reduce dependency on US

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Carney says Canada will hit Nato target of 2% of GDP five years ahead of schedule amid ‘dangerous and divided world’

Mark Carney has promised to boost defence spending to its highest level in decades, warning that in a “dangerous and divided world”, Canada must reduce its dependence on the US for defence.

Speaking at the University of Toronto on Monday, Carney said Canada would reach Nato’s 2% military expenditure target this fiscal year – five years ahead of his previously announced schedule. For years, Canada has been viewed as a defence loafer and successive prime ministers have failed to bring the country’s commitments in line with allies. A recent Nato report found that Canada spent an estimated 1.45% of its GDP on defence last year.

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Six babies with unvaccinated mothers born with measles in Canada

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Ontario’s chief medical officer of health says infections could have been prevented through routine vaccination

Six babies with unvaccinated mothers have been born with congenital measles in the Canadian province of Ontario since the start of the largest outbreak of the disease in the western hemisphere late last year.

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Kieran Moore, said the infants, who were infected with measles in the womb, had all recovered. He said the infections could have been prevented through routine vaccination.

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Canada’s PM faces backlash for inviting India’s Narendra Modi for G7 summit

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Mark Carney declined to answer if he believed Indian PM had a role in murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has defended his decision to invite India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, to the upcoming G7 summit in Alberta, despite the conclusion of Canada’s federal police’s that the murder of a prominent Sikh activist in British Columbia was orchestrated by the “highest levels” of the Indian government.

Carney declined to answer reporters’ questions over whether he believed Modi had a role in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar – a killing on Canadian soil that shattered relations between the two countries.

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Canada: premature baby with measles dies amid outbreak in Ontario

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Infant had ‘contracted the virus before birth from their mother’, while the country has recorded 2,755 measles cases

A Canadian infant who was born prematurely and had measles has died, officials said on Thursday without confirming a cause of death, raising heightened concern about the virus’s resurgence.

Canada has recorded 2,755 measles cases – including 2,429 confirmed and 326 probable – according to federal health data updated on 2 June.

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Canadian wildfires prompt air-quality alerts across five US states

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Officials in New York, New Jersey, Iowa, New Hampshire and Maine issued alerts due to smoke from fires in Canada

Smoke from wildfires in Canada is spreading across multiple states in the US including the eastern seaboard, prompting multiple states to issue air-quality alerts.

The poor air quality stretching across the US came as a result of dozens of wildfires burning across Canada as the country’s annual wildfire season roars into destructive action.

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Thousands evacuated in three Canadian provinces as wildfires continue

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Most evacuated residents are from Manitoba, which declared a state of emergency last week

More than 25,000 residents in three provinces have been evacuated as dozens of wildfires remain active and diminish air quality in parts of Canada and the US, according to officials.

Most of the evacuated residents were from Manitoba, which declared a state of emergency last week. About 17,000 people there were evacuated by Saturday, along with 1,300 in Alberta. About 8,000 people in Saskatchewan had been relocated as leaders there said the number could climb.

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Google and Home Depot drop Pride Toronto sponsorship amid Trump’s DEI war

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Organizer points to president’s anti-diversity push as companies join Adidas and Clorox in withdrawing support

In another blow to one of the largest celebrations of LGTBQ+ people in North America, Pride Toronto has unexpectedly lost two more major corporate sponsors, just weeks before the festival in a setback the festival’s organizer says is direct result of Donald Trump’s campaign to eradicate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the US.

Google and Home Depot both announced their plans to abandon the festival in the form of one-line emails, said Kojo Modeste, the executive director of the Canadian event.

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Canada wildfires: thousands in Manitoba ordered to evacuate as state of emergency declared

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There are more than 130 active wildfires across the country, half of which are considered out of control

More than 17,000 people in Canada’s western Manitoba province were being evacuated on Wednesday as the region experienced its worst start to the wildfire season in years.

“The Manitoba government has declared a province-wide state of emergency due to the wildfire situation,” Manitoba’s premier, Wab Kinew, told a news conference. “This is the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most people’s living memory.”

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RFK Jr offers to save Canadian ostriches with suspected bird flu and move them to US

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Trump officials offer to move 300 birds to Mehmet Oz’s Florida ranch after Canada’s kill order over avian flu fears

Senior officials in the Trump administration have intervened in attempt to save more than 300 ostriches on a farm in British Columbia which the Canadian government had ordered to be killed over fears the flock is infected with avian flu.

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, and Mehmet Oz, a physician and former TV host appointed by Trump as the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, have offered to move the birds to Oz’s ranch in Florida – despite the kill order imposed by Canadian health authorities.

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King Charles hails ‘strong and free’ Canada in speech to open parliament

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Monarch makes no direct mention of Trump amid US president’s threats to make Canada ‘51st state’

King Charles has said Canadians can “give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away” as he gave a rare speech in the country’s parliament that served as a rebuke of the US president, Donald Trump, and his threats to annex the country.

Charles, who serves as Canada’s head of state, is the first monarch since 1957 to preside over the opening of a new Canadian parliament.

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Crown questions to fore as king visits Canada amid tensions with Trump

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Charles to open parliament in show of support at a crucial time – but that has not quieted a chorus of critical voices

The decision by King Charles to formally open Canada’s parliament on Tuesday reflects his role as a “steadfast defender” of the country amid threats to its sovereignty, says prime minister Mark Carney.

But Indigenous leaders say the rare visit is also a reminder that Canada’s founding relationship between the monarchy and the country’s first peoples cannot ever be “forgotten or displaced or broken”.

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Netanyahu accused of slander after criticising Macron, Carney and Starmer

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Israeli leader’s antisemitism claim labelled defamatory as he is warned against pursuing a war without end

Benjamin Netanyahu was accused of slander and pursuing a war without end after he claimed the leaders of France, Canada and the UK were stoking antisemitism and siding with Hamas by demanding he end the two-month blockade of food and aid into Gaza.

In what has become an extraordinary standoff with some of Israel’s closest allies, Netanyahu appeared to deliberately raise the stakes on Thursday night by accusing his western critics of abandoning Israel in a war for its very existence.

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World’s seven wealthiest countries agree to counter China’s trade practices

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G7 finance ministers and central bank governors pledge to address ‘economic imbalances’, without naming China

Top finance officials from the world’s seven wealthiest democracies have set aside stark differences on US tariffs and agreed to counter global “economic imbalances”, a swipe at China’s trade practices.

Ahead of the meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors there had been doubt about whether there would be a final communique, given divisions over US tariffs and Washington’s reluctance to refer to Russia’s war on Ukraine as illegal.

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King’s visit to Canada will help counter Trump’s threats, says envoy

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King Charles’s sojourn will ‘make it clear that Canada is not for sale now, is not for sale ever’

King Charles’s visit to Canada will “reinforce” the country’s sovereignty against threats from Donald Trump, the Canadian high commissioner in the UK has said.

Ralph Goodale reiterated his country’s independence as Charles and Camilla visited Canada House in central London on Tuesday ahead of their trip to Ottawa later this month.

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Netanyahu vows to ‘take control’ of Gaza as UK, France and Canada threaten action against Israel

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Key allies call escalation ‘egregious’ and promise ‘concrete’ response if Israel does not end renewed offensive and allow aid into strip

Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Israel will “take control” of all of Gaza, as three key allies attacked his “egregious” escalation of the military campaign and blockade on humanitarian aid.

Britain, France and Canada attacked Israel’s expansion of its war as disproportionate, described conditions in Gaza as “intolerable” and threatened a “concrete” response if Israel’s campaign continues.

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Canadian PM criticises UK invitation to Trump for second state visit

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Mark Carney says Canadians ‘not very impressed’ after Keir Starmer delivered invitation to US president in February

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has criticised Britain’s invitation to Donald Trump for a second state visit, saying it undermined his government’s effort to project a united front against the US president’s talk of annexing Canada.

Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly said he wants Canada to become the 51st US state, a suggestion that has angered Canadians and left Britain trying to tread a fine line between the two North American countries.

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