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In the news today: Israel-Hamas war roils as Canadians fear peace is impossible

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:35 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed tobring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Intense Israeli bombardments continue to strike GazaGaza’s Interior Ministry said Israel renewed airstrikes before dawn on Wednesday and hit locations across the Gaza Strip after the blast at al-Ahli Hospital. At least 37 people were killed following attacks in the al-Qasasib and Halima al-Saadia areas of Jabalia, north of Gaza, it said.Officials with Shifa Hospital, where hundreds of victims of the al-Ahli Hospital blast were taken, say the facility will run out of fuel on Wednesday unless more supplies enter the Gaza Strip.The hospital, Gaza’s largest, is stretched far beyond its capacity following the al-Ahli explosion, General Director Mohammed Abu Selmia said Wednesday, adding that health workers were still treating severely wounded patients.Aid workers, meantime, warned that life in Gaza was near complete collapse because of the Israeli siege that followed...

Biden lands in Israel as Middle East turmoil grows following hospital explosion in Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:35 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — President Joe Biden touched down in Israel on Wednesday for a diplomatic scramble to prevent the war with Hamas from spiraling into an even larger conflict, a challenge that became more difficult as outrage swept through the Middle East over an explosion that killed hundreds in a Gaza Strip hospital. Biden was originally scheduled to visit Jordan as well, but his meetings with Arab leaders were called off as he was leaving Washington, costing him an opportunity for the face-to-face conversations that he views as crucial for navigating this fraught moment. Now Biden’s only stop is Tel Aviv, where he’s expected to push for allowing critical humanitarian aid into Gaza during meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel has been preparing for a potential ground invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7, which killed 1,400 Israelis. John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, told reporters aboard Air Force On...

Stock market today: World markets edge lower as China reports slower growth in the last quarter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:35 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Markets fell in Europe and Asia after China reported Wednesday that its economy grew at a 4.9% annual pace in July-September, down from 6.3% in the previous quarter. Oil prices jumped more than $1.Germany’s DAX was unchanged at 15,253.87 while the CAC 40 in Paris also was virtually flat at 7,028.83. Britain’s FTSE 199 fell 0.2% to 7,656.76 as the government reported that inflation held steady at 6.7% in September as easing food and drink price rises were offset by higher fuel costs.The future for the S&P 500 lost 0.2% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1% lower. China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the world’s second-largest economy slowed in the summer as global demand for exports faltered and the ailing property sector sank deeper into crisis.The Chinese government has acted to help the economy with various policies, raising spending on building ports and other infrastructure, cutting interest rates and easing curbs...

Wab Kinew to be sworn in as Manitoba premier along with new NDP cabinet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:35 GMT

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s new premier, Wab Kinew, is scheduled to be sworn in today and appoint his cabinet.Kinew led the New Democrats to victory on Oct. 3 and defeated the Progressive Conservatives, who had been in power for seven years.He becomes the first First Nations premier of a Canadian province.He has also said his cabinet will include, for the first time in Manitoba, First Nations women.The ceremony is to take place at The Leaf, a botanical attraction in Winnipeg, and is set to include traditional singing and dancing.The NDP captured 34 of the 57 legislature seats on election night, and Kinew has many veteran politicians and rookies from which to pick his cabinet.Among the high-profile New Democrats who were re-elected is Uzoma Asagwara, a former psychiatric nurse who was the NDP health critic in Opposition.Adrien Sala, who served as NDP finance critic, is also serving a second term and has had a high profile in the legislature.Among the First Nations women in the NDP ca...

Caribbean leaders meeting in Ottawa to talk climate, trade and instability in Haiti

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:35 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is welcoming a dozen leaders from across the Caribbean to Ottawa today, as part of a two-day summit aimed at forming closer ties with Canada.The Caribbean Community includes 15 countries and five overseas territories, spanning from Bahamas to Trinidad and Tobago, but not including Cuba.The group, known as CARICOM, works on initiatives ranging from inclusive economic growth to climate change — but lately, it’s been focused on the situation in Haiti.De facto Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry will make his first visit to Canada since August 2021, when he assumed the role without having been elected, following the assassination of the country’s president.Today’s meetings are set to involve three working sessions, and Trudeau is expected to meet individually with many leaders between these forums.On Thursday, the leaders are expected to take part in a trade and investment roundtable, ahead of an afternoon press conference.Among th...

Canada a beacon for others but must keep its promises: UN human-rights chief

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:35 GMT

OTTAWA — The United Nations human-rights chief says Canada can boost its chances of joining the council that monitors freedom around the world by better following up on the pledges it makes at home and abroad.“When you think of Canada, you think of human rights,” said Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a Tuesday interview.Türk visited Ottawa this week to touch base on human-rights issues in general, including how they are handled in Canada and how Ottawa can best address issues abroad.His visit comes as Canada campaigns to join the UN Human Rights Council for a term spanning from 2028 to 2030. That body will undertake an in-depth review of the human-rights situation in Canada next month, as part of an exercise applied to most countries every four years.Türk said the Canadian government should consider not relying on the four-year review, and instead do its own annual or biannual exercises to take stock of how Canada is doing.“It is important...

Ottawa antisemitism conference draws PM, party leaders and protesters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:35 GMT

OTTAWA — As the Israel-Hamas war continues to roil, Canada’s political leaders spoke at a conference in Ottawa aimed at combating antisemitism, organized by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the crowd that Canada will remain a “friend” to Israel, adding that all Canadians stand with Israel in its grief. He also acknowledged a recent uptick in antisemitism aimed at Jewish communities across Canada since the war broke out.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, N-D-P Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet also spoke. Poilievre cautioned against applying a “moral equivalence” between the October 7th Hamas attack and Israel’s efforts to protect its civilians. Meanwhile, Singh addressed the rising tensions experienced by the Jewish community, as well as anti-Palestinian sentiments.Outside the conference, a group of protesters gathered. The “X” social media account for t...

Criminal trial of convoy organizers moves from resident to police testimony

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:35 GMT

OTTAWA — A police liaison officer who communicated directly with “Freedom Convoy” protesters during the winter 2022 demonstrations is expected to testify today in the criminal trial of two of its organizers.Const. Isabelle Cyr had been expected to address the court on Tuesday, but defence lawyers said they needed time to review notes and emails between Cyr and her colleagues during the protests.The court wrapped up the testimony of five Ottawa residents on Tuesday.Civilian witnesses in the trial have described a scene of overwhelming noise from truck horns and engines, and the persistent smell of diesel fumes during the protest in their testimony. The two defendants, Chris Barber and Tamara Lich, are facing charges that include mischief and counselling others to commit mischief. Crown prosecutors are trying to prove that Lich and Barber influenced and encouraged protesters while fundraising for the demonstrations.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct....

Most Canadians think lasting peace between Israel, Palestinians is not possible: poll

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:35 GMT

OTTAWA — A majority of Canadians don’t think lasting peace is possible between Israelis and Palestinians, a new poll suggests.Slightly more than half of the people responding to the Leger poll said lasting peace isn’t possible, while less than one-fifth said a peaceful solution can be reached. The number who said peace is not possible hit 62 per cent among the people who also claimed to have a good understanding of the ongoing conflict.The questions in the poll were designed by Leger in collaboration with the Association for Canadian Studies, and were asked online of 1,548 people in Canada between Oct. 13 and Oct. 15. Pollsters began gathering responses almost a week after hundreds of Hamas militants launched a multi-pronged attack, with rocket fire and a rampage across the border from Gaza that killed more than 1,400 Israelis and saw some 200 others, including children, taken hostage.In the days since, Israel has retaliated with its own airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, and...

Russian President Putin and Chinese leader Xi meet in Beijing and call for close policy coordination

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:35 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The leaders of Russia and China met Wednesday in Beijing and called for close foreign policy coordination, as concerns grow about possible conflicts with the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Beijing’s rising threats against Taiwan. At their morning meeting, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin discussed trade and the 10th anniversary of Xi’s trademark Belt and Road Initiative that has built highways, ports and power plants across Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere. The policy has left many states deep in debt to Chinese banks, and the attempt to pump new life into it comes at a time when China’s own economy has slowed considerably due to huge overinvestment in real estate. “In the current difficult conditions, close foreign policy coordination is especially required,” Putin said in his opening remarks. “So, in terms of bilateral relations, we are moving forward very confidently,” he said, noting that bilateral trade was on track to surpass...