Cuba’s top diplomat said Tuesday his country’s officials have no choice but to engage the United States in negotiations to normalize relations, despite a decade of diplomatic whiplash and mixed messages from Washington.
In a rare admission of sexual harassment in Japan’s military, its army chief apologized Thursday to a former soldier for suffering caused by a group of servicemembers.
Former Everton and Russian national team soccer player Diniyar Bilyaletdinov received a summons from Russia's military registration and enlistment office, his father, Rinat Bilyaletdinov, told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
China’s famous ‘Panda diplomacy’ faces a test – after a bear in Taiwan came down with a life-threatening brain lesion.
Taipei Zoo told CNN on Thursday they had requested help from experts in China to treat their Giant Panda, Tuan Tuan, after an MRI scan revealed the damage.
They are hoping for support in treating Tuan Tuan after he began behaving abnormally, lost his appetite and suffered a three-minute seizure in late August.
But the request raises the possibility of a delicate diplomatic balancing act, given relations between China and Taiwan have taken a nosedive since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-governing island in August.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory, despite never having governed it, and has vowed to “reunify” it with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary. Since Pelosi’s visit, it has ramped up pressure on the island by holding a series of military exercises on its doorstep.
Now animal lovers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will be watching to see how it responds the zoo’s
Over in Greece the Ukrainian president has been speaking about the importance of democracy in tyrannical times, Helena Smith reports from Athens.
Addressing the 10th Athens Democracy Forum, Volodymyr Zelenskiy underlined it was unity that reinforced democracy and unity that would ultimately ensure its success.
Megacap growth names such as Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc and Tesla Inc lost between 0.8% and 1.6% in premarket trading.
U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday, as markets globally took heart from the Bank of England seeking to stabilize UK markets after a turmoil caused by the government's new economic plan.
But calm from the BoE's bond purchases promise proved short-lived with a rout in gilts spilling over into even safe-haven U.S. Treasuries and top-rated German bonds.
Wall Street's main indexes have been battered this year, with surging U.S. bond yields further diminishing the appeal for stocks as investors found more attractive alternatives in U.S. Treasuries.
The yields on many Treasuries - which are considered virtually risk-free if held to maturity - now dwarf the S&P 500's dividend yield, which recently stood at about 1.8%, according to Refinitiv Datastream.
At 5:15 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 225 points, or 0.76%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 31.25 points, or 0.84%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 117.75 points, or 1.02%.
American Airlines fell about 2.4% as carriers canceled almost 2,000 U.S. flights for Thursday after Hurricane Ian hit Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic force in one of most powerful U.S. storms in recent years.
U.S. cruise companies Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd and Carnival Corp fell about 2.5% each after they delayed or canceled trips in anticipation of the hurricane.
Investors will be watching for weekly jobless claims, which is expected to rise by 2,000 to 215,000 last week. Final economic growth figures for the second quarter are also due. A second estimate of the government last month had shown the economy contracted at 0.6%, a more moderate pace than initially thought.
People feel that right now something is happening that could become decisive in the centuries-old confrontation between democracy and tyranny,” he said as the Forum opened in the Greek capital on Wednesday evening.
And it is precisely in this address, precisely to the Athens Democracy Forum, that I want to say that I am sure: we will be able to guarantee the future of democracy, we will be able to protect it.
We will, because we know what gives democracy strength, what serves as its heart, ensuring the supply of freedom, like blood, to every part of a democratic society – to every person. This is unity. Unity is the most important thing.
Zelenskiy, who was awarded the 2022 City of Athens Democracy prize in the name of the people of Ukraine by the mayor, Kostas Bakoyannis, insisted that the unity the west had shown in the face of Russian brute force was reflected in the setbacks the Russian military had suffered on the battlefield. Continuing his address he said:
We see this now in the war that Russia has waged against our people and against our common democratic system. The greater unity we have, the more tangible Russian defeats are.
Democracy does not live in the government offices or even in the parliament hall. Democracy lives between people. And that is why it is so important that there are no isolated groups in societies – be it the ruling group, or any other privileged groups, or any unintegrated minorities.
After the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, we managed to achieve the greatest unity of Europe and the democratic community of the whole world in decades. But the greatest does not mean the maximum.
We have a lot to do to further strengthen our unity. And every such step to strengthen is a step to protect democracy. Not just somewhere, not just in some country, but in general – for all of us and for our children.
For all free nations. Forever free.
Greece has stalwartly stood by its Nato and EU allies in opposing Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine despite what were once strong ties with fellow Orthodox Russia. Athens’s stance has infuriated Russia with the two sides exchanging sharp words and anti-Putin graffiti appearing in the Greek capital.
Zelenskiy ended his speech thanking the country for its “significant support.”
“It is with great honour that I accept the award of the city of Athens for the Ukrainian people, for our people, for their contribution to the protection of democratic values.,” he said.
Thanks for reading the Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey. Today, a peek into what happens when federal and municipal politics collide on the Hill. Also, the more you know about ministerial car allowances. Plus, it's not gerrymandering — but federal riding redistribution is here, and it's messy.
DRIVING THE DAY
LIBERALS TAKE SIDES — The race for Ottawa's next mayor is heating up, and it's stirring up a partisan divide on the Hill. Nothing mean-spirited. So far, it's not awkward. But there's no incumbent in the running, and the Liberal flock is pulled in different directions by two rival candidates with serious backing.
— The state of play: The race's standout progressive candidate is CATHERINE MCKENNEY, a two-term city councilor and longtime city hall denizen. They're the choice of virtually every New Democrat in town, and likely to scoop up most votes in the city's core.
Then there's the stridently centrist MARK SUTCLIFFE, a broadcaster and columnist whose lengthy list of honorary campaign co-chairs includes Conservatives like MARJORY LEBRETON, a Tory operative for 50 years, and MICHELLE COATES-MATHER, the director of communications for the recent JEAN CHAREST leadership campaign.
— And then there's the Red team: Sutcliffe's campaign manager is SABRINA GROVER, a consultant who carried the Liberal banner in Calgary Centre in last year's election. Sutcliffe recruited a pair of suburban Liberal MPs, JENNA SUDDS in Kanata and MARIE-FRANCE LALONDE in Orleans, to his list of honorary co-chairs. LIAM ROCHE, a KPMG consultant who has toiled plenty for federal and provincial Liberals, is campaign spokesperson.
— Lo, a big get: McKenney announced a pair of co-chairs late Tuesday. One of them is VICKY SMALLMAN, director of human rights at the Canadian Labor Congress and veteran local New Democrat.
But the other is TYLER MEREDITH, an architect of JUSTIN TRUDEAU's platforms and budgets since 2016 who happens to be an old friend of McKenney's.
Meredith's name is synonymous with the Trudeau era's signature social and economic policy. And it's not like he's hiding it.
"Better is always possible," he tweeted, cheekily appropriating a Trudeau campaign slogan circa 2015. "And right now we have a chance to mark our ballots for real change, for the Ottawa we want." (The irony? Back in 2015, "real change" was Trudeau's rhetorical attempt to outflank the NDP as a progressive alternative to STEPHEN HARPER.)
Fun fact: Meredith is leaving Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND's office at the end of the month. His going-away party went down last night at the Rabbit Hole on Sparks, where the crowd eye-rolled at a certain local professor's incredulity. (Scroll down for SPOTTEDS.)
Meredith coming aboard isn't a "3D chess play or a signal" to fellow partisans, said one Liberal who's also in McKenney's orbit. "The main objective is probably to produce bullet-proof policy." Another Liberal-watcher said Meredith beefs up McKenney's "economic bonafides" for a voter pool that needed some reassurance before heading to the ballot box.
— It all boils down to this: Younger Liberals are openly flocking to McKenney. Centrists who identify as Blue Liberals are likely to bet on Sutcliffe.
If formal political parties duked it out at city hall, all these Grits would have a much easier time coalescing around a single candidate. But McKenney vs. Sutcliffe blurs those lines, and everybody on the Hill gets a free vote in the battle of center versus left.
— Reminder: Voting day is Oct. 24.
BOUNDARY BICKERING — Tap an MP's shoulder and ask for their opinion about the painstaking process of federal riding redistribution currently underway in every province. Odds are they'll have one.
Yoshihide Yoshida, head of Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force, said an internal investigation found evidence that several servicemen were involved in the case brought by former soldier Rina Gonoi last month.
“Representing the Ground-Self Defense Force, I deeply apologize to Ms. Gonoi for the pain she had to suffer for a long time,” Yoshida told a news conference. “We offer a sincere apology.”
The investigation was ongoing and further details, including the assailants and their punishment, were not yet released Thursday.
Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada earlier this month ordered a ministry-wide investigation into growing reports of sexual assault after Gonoi brought allegations of harassment of her and others.
In a country where gender inequality remains high, sexual harassment is often disregarded and the #MeToo movement has been slow to catch on. But Japanese women have started to speak up, including in the film industry.
Earlier this year, two film directors apologized after media reports emerged about sexual abuse allegations brought by several women, prompting a group of filmmakers and others in the industry to call for improvement.
Gonoi submitted a petition earlier this month to the Defense Ministry signed by more than 100,000 people seeking a reinvestigation of her case by a third party.
She said three senior male colleagues in August 2021 in a dorm at a training ground pressed the lower part of their bodies against her, forcing her to spread her legs, as more than 10 other male colleagues watched and laughed, but none tried to stop them.
Gonoi said in a statement that she filed a case with the ministry, but the investigation was not properly conducted and local prosecutors dropped the case in May.
Prosecutors in The Hague thought it would never happen.
The tribunal’s most wanted man, once among Rwanda’s wealthiest and most influential people, had managed to escape for 23 years, living under ever-changing false names, switching countries and homes in Africa and Europe until he was finally arrested two years ago in a suburban apartment not far from Paris.
Now 86 and frail, Félicien Kabuga went on trial on Thursday on multiple charges of genocide. He refused to appear in court, saying in a note that this was in protest against a refusal to let him change lawyers, but judges ordered that the proceedings should go ahead and asked the prosecution to read its opening statement.
The proposals come after Director General Tim Davie said the World Service’s budget would be reduced by £30M ($32.7M) by 2023/24 as part of a digital-first BBC blueprint and, speaking earlier this week at RTS London, he hinted that foreign-language news services could be cut if the government doesn’t help with increased financing.
Deadline understands the proposals center on a decentralization of the World Service teams, meaning that the majority of the Asian language services including the Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Korean, Chinese and some South Asian services targeted at India will be relocated from London’s New Broadcasting House to the respective countries they report on.
Landor will use the Zoom to “share the results of our strategic review and talk through our proposals for change and the strategic reasons behind these proposals,” according to an email seen by Deadline.
Team members raised concerns with Deadline that the move will mean many will lose their jobs as they are unable to relocate for various reasons. One pointed to press freedom difficulties in certain nations, such as Thailand, where press freedom is constrained, or Vietnam, where journalists have to report from neighboring countries due to the ruling Communist Party.
According to the BBC Annual Report, which described the World Service as “one of the jewels in the UK’s crown,” the part-government-funded division received £251M ($271M) last year, and there were 1,433 staff in the World Service Group.
The proposals will now be submitted to unions and come at a tricky time for the whole of the BBC News division, which has recently seen former NBC News International President Deborah Turness become CEO.
Journalists are reportedly considering strike action over the planned merger of the domestic and international news channels, which will see 70 jobs axed.
News has been one of the hardest hit BBC divisions since the government imposed savings on the corporation several years ago, and hundreds have lost jobs already.
The BBC declined to comment on the proposals but information is expected on record shortly.
He is accused of being a financier and logistical backer of the groups that led the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus.
During that three-month blood bath in the spring of 1994, at least 800,000 people, maybe as many as a million, were killed in the small central African nation of six million. Tutsi women were raped
In an interview with The Hill, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla responded to a question posed by former Obama administration adviser Ben Rhodes on whether Cuban officials would “ever, ever negotiate anything with America ever again after this?”
“We will have to,” said Rodríguez Parrilla, who was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
“We will have to, first, because there is a historical trend that will, at some point, force us to reestablish dialogue and lift the blockade.”
After a historic and controversial push to normalize relations between Washington and Havana under former President Obama, the Trump administration did an about-face, most famously adding Cuba to a list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The Biden administration, though less hawkish than the Trump administration, has not taken major steps to normalize relations, including keeping Cuba on the terrorism watchlist.
“We shouldn’t expect President Biden to return to the policies of President Obama. One would have expected President Biden to implement his own policy, adjusted to his electoral platform, to his commitments with his voters, to the current reality of the international situation,” said Rodríguez Parrilla.
“What has been a regrettable surprise is that President Biden continues to apply, precisely, the adverse, abusive, failed policies that do not bring the United States closer to any result [inherited from] President Trump, who is [Biden’s] political antipode,” he added.
Still, the Biden administration has softened some of its predecessor’s Cuba policies, often despite domestic political pressure.
“President Biden’s policy toward Cuba is rooted in supporting the Cuban people and protecting human rights. Our approach to Cuba, just like any other country, takes into account various current political, economic, and security factors. Over the past few years, conditions in Cuba and in the region have changed, and we have adapted our Cuba policy accordingly,” a National Security Council spokesperson told The Hill.
In May, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) panned a Biden administration announcement that some travel restrictions to the island were being lifted, while celebrating the resumption of the Cuban Family Reunification Parole program, which streamlines legal immigration for Cubans with family in the United States.
“I am dismayed to learn the Biden administration will begin authorizing group travel to Cuba through visits akin to tourism. To be clear, those who still believe that increasing travel will breed democracy in Cuba are simply in a state of denial. For decades, the world has been traveling to Cuba and nothing has changed,” said Menendez, the highest-ranking Cuban American in the history of the United States Congress.
The Biden administration has also announced that the U.S. consulate in Havana will resume processing migrant visas in 2023, and in May, it announced eased restrictions on remittances — money sent by U.S. residents to friends and relatives on the island.
“I think it was positive, that announcement in May by the current U.S. government to reestablish the regular flow of remittances,” said Rodríguez Parrilla.
