NEWS INTERNATIONAL
18 September 2023
(AP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said September 16 that he may part ways with the EU after the European Parliament said Turkey’s accession “cannot resume” because of what had been described as “democratic backsliding.” Turkey applied to join in 1999 and talks began in 2005 only to be frozen in 2018.
18 September 2023
(Al Jazeera)
U.S. President Joe Biden has intervened in a labour dispute between the the United Auto Workers and the major vehicle manufacturers, a dispute which would have repercussions for Canada if it’s prolonged. “Over the past decade, auto companies have seen record profits […] because of the extraordinary skill and sacrifices of the UAW workers,” he said. “Those record profits have not been shared fairly, in my view, with those workers.”
18 September 2023
(Al Jazeera)
A Canadian trade mission to India, scheduled for October, has been postponed amidst strained relations arising from the activities of Sikh militants in Canada pushing for the creation of an independent homeland they would call Khalistan.
18 September 2023
(CBC)
Chinese-controlled TikTok has been fined €345 million by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission after a two-year investigation into the social media platforms’ compliance with privacy rules. There are suggestions that Canada could follow suit in a bid to protect younger users’ privacy.
18 September 2023
(AP)
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel played host September 15 to his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, signalling a revitalization of ties between the two countries. Among other things, Lula lamented the U.S.-led embargo of Cuba, calling it “an illegal economic embargo” and rejecting “the inclusion of Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.”
14 September 2023
(National Post)
When his RCAF Polaris CC-150, a 35-year-old Airbus A310-300, was grounded in New Delhi after the recent G20 Summit, Prime Minister Trudeau reportedly was offered an Indian Air Force Boeing 777-300ER executive transport to get him home. The offer evidently was declined because the PM, not permitted to fly commercially, allegedly preferred to wait.
13 September 2023
(AP)
New defence and foreign affairs ministers were appointed today by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a cabinet shuffle. Minoru Kihara, who has been serving on the national security committee, has replaced Yasukazu Hamada in the defence portfolio while Yoko Kamikawa was moved from the justice portfolio to replace Yoshimasa Yahashi at foreign affairs.
13 September 2023
(Washington Post)
Russian President Vladimir said September 12 that former U.S. president Donald Trump’s ongoing legal problems “shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others democracy.” Putin also said Trump’s “persecution” would diminish U.S. global standing.
12 September 2023
(EuroNews)
The European Union was called on today by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to extend an embargo on imports of Ukrainian grain. “Poland will not allow Ukraine grain to flood us,” he said while campaigning for election, adding that if the EU balks, “we will do it ourselves because we cannot allow for a deregulation of the market.”
12 September 2023
(Reuters)
The Red Cross and Libyan authorities said today that 10,000 people are missing after a large part of the eastern city of Derna was wiped by floods when dams burst during a storm which also hit other centres.