FRONTLINE NEWS PORTAL
28 September 2023
(CNN)
Slovakia, a NATO member since 2004, is about to elect its fifth prime minister in four years and the apparent front-runner is Robert Fico, a Russian sympathizer who says “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” provoked Vladimir Putin into invading Ukraine. Landlocked Slovakia has a 97-kilometre eastern border with Ukraine, which it has supported up to now.
28 September 2023
(Breaking Defense)
The U.S. has approved the sale of 24 Lockheed Martin F-35s to the Czech Republic. The procurement itself is valued at some US$5 billion while an additional $1.5 billion will be spent on airbus upgrades and other related projects.
28 September 2023
(Reuters)
Prime Minister Trudeau apologized September 27 after a Nazi-allied war veteran was formally recognized by then House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota during last week’s visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Embarrassed at home and abroad, the PM also said the government had reached out diplomatically to Ukraine.
28 September 2023
(Breaking Defense)
Taiwan has high hopes for a planned fleet of at least eight submarines, the first of which is being readied for seat trials in October. “If we can build up this combat capacity, I don’t think we will lose a war,” says Admiral Huang Shu-kuang, the program coordinator and national security advisor to President Tsai Ing-wen.
28 September 2023
(CP)
The federal government is trying to address growing concerns about generative artificial intelligence with a voluntary code of conduct for developers. Innovation, Science & Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne expects it to “build safety and trust as the technology spreads.”
27 September 2023
(Globe & Mail)
Commander Martin Pelletier, presiding over the court martial of Lieutenant-General Steven Whelan, was “annoyed” by a delay September 26 while lawyers argued for hours about the relevance of “embarrassing” emails. Whelan is alleged to have made “improper considerations” in evaluating a subordinate in 2011.
27 September 2023
(CTV)
A 98-year-old Ontario resident is at the heart of a domestic and international political outcry about his Second World War involvement in Nazi Germany’s battle with Russia. The core of the debate is whether Yaroslav Hunka was a patriot or a war criminal who could be extradited.
27 September 2023
(BBC)
Months of “intense diplomacy” have resulted in North Korea’s repatriation of a U.S. Army Private who crossed from South Korea in July. Travis King, handed over in China, is being returned home for what a U.S. official says will be “a re-integration process that will address any medical and emotional concerns.”
26 September 2023
(CBC)
Antony Rota, the Ontario Liberal MP who has served as Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019, announced today that he is resigning. All parties had sought his resignation after he had lauded a constituent during Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Parliament last week. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, had served in a Nazi division during the Second World War and while Rota apologized, that wasn’t enough.
26 September 2023
(CBC)
Polish Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek said today that he has “taken steps” to having a 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian extradited for trial. Yaroslav Hunka, a member of a Nazi division during the Second World War, came into the spotlight last week when he was recognized as a “hero” by House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota, his Ontario MP.
