Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, says wealthier countries should not undermine arrangements for poorer countries to have access to COVID-19 vaccines. He notes that some countries have ordered enough to vaccinate their populations more than once. [node:read-more:link]
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been transferred to a penal colony to serve out a sentence the government is for embezzlement after voluntarily returning from Germany where he had undergone major medical help for an allegedly state-sanctioned poisoning. A court said that by having left the country, he had violated the terms of probation arising from the embezzlement charge. [node:read-more:link]
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and four other high-ranking officials are being sued by Reporters Without Borders in Germany for “crimes against humanity” in connection with the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The March 2 announcement came four days after the U.S. declassified a report which concluded that MBS had approved Khashoggi’s killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. [node:read-more:link]
The B.C. Supreme Court hearing of a U.S. request for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to be extradicted has been asked to consider evidence her lawyer says will show that the U.S. account of her activities is “manifestly unreliable.” Frank Addario says prosecutors have failed to mention that bank officials whom Meng is accused of defrauding were fully aware of information she is accused of trying to hide. [node:read-more:link]
A Chinese government study indicates that Beijing’s policy of transferring Uighurs and other ethnic minorities out of the western Xinjiang region to jobs elsewhere is thinning out their populations. The government rejects claims that it is altering demographics, insisting that the transfers are designed to raise incomes and alleviate chronic rural unemployment and poverty. [node:read-more:link]
The CBC reports that police forces across Canada conduct hundreds of no-knock raids or “dynamic entries” each year despite growing concern about the practice violating constitutional rights. Police say they're used in search warrant cases where there is concern that suspects are armed or will destroy evidence. [node:read-more:link]
Amid reports that the trials of detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor may be imminent, a new Angus Reid poll indicates 77 per cent of Canadians believe relations between the countries cannot improve until the men are released. Meanwhile, some 14 per cent still have a favourable view of China and only 11 per cent would press for closer trade ties. [node:read-more:link]
Delegates to the European Union agreed today to blacklist Chinese officials over human rights abuses. They want travel bans and asset freezes on four individuals and one entity, but details won’t be disclosed until foreign ministers consider the proposal March 22. [node:read-more:link]
Delegates to the European Union agreed today to blacklist Chinese officials over human rights abuses. They want travel bans and asset freezes on four individuals and one entity, but details won’t be disclosed until foreign ministers consider the proposal March 22. [node:read-more:link]
Federal legislation governing eligibility for medically assisted death, eliminating a requirement for final consent before the procedure, has received Royal Assent. Now anyone who is suffering but not facing imminent death, can apply for medical assistance after assessment and counseling. [node:read-more:link]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's last overseas trip before COVID-19 erupted was to Africa, include a stop in Ethiopia which has been second only to Afghanistan in terms of Canadian aid. At the time, the PM praised President Abiy Ahmed’s “leadership” and reforms but his Foreign Affairs Minister, Marc Garneau, now is expressing “deep concern regarding credible reports of human rights violations and abuses.” [node:read-more:link]
Ten years after a Council of Europe accord designed to protect women was agreed to at a meeting in Istanbul, the Turkish government has abandoned the agreement. It is reacting to conservatives’ arguments that the accord’s principles of gender equality and non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation undermine family values and promote homosexuality. [node:read-more:link]
Russian police arrested nearly 1,800 persons involved in widespread protests April 21 over the alleged mistreatment of jailed opposition politician Alexey Navalny. The demonstrations across the country occurred only hour after President Vladimir Putin’s state-of-the-nation speech. [node:read-more:link]
As expected, the trial of detained Canadian Michael Kovrig ended today with no verdict after a two-hour closed hearing in Beijing. Fellow detainee Michael Spavor’s March 19 similar trial ended the same way. They were arrested in December 2018 on alleged espionage charges and Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau today said Canada remains “deeply troubled by the total lack of transparency.” [node:read-more:link]
Canada today joined with Britain, the European Union and the U.S. in imposing sanctions against four-high ranking Chinese officials and one state entity for the country’s treatment of it Uigher population. “These sanctions underscore Canada’s grave concern,” Global Affairs said in a statement. “Mounting evidence points to systemic, state-led human rights violations.” [node:read-more:link]
