Canadian charter flights leaving Lebanon have hundreds of empty seats, Global Affairs says
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) says two flights chartered by the federal government to bring Canadians out of Lebanon left Beirut for Istanbul Thursday with just 275 passengers and 379 empty seats. In Paris on Thursday for the Francophonie Summit, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters there were 654 seats on those two flights. “Please take the seats,” Joly said. “At this point, not all seats are taken by Canadians.” Shortly after Joly’s media availability, her department issued a press release saying those two flights collectively carried 275 passengers, not all ofRead more
Bloc threatens to push for an early election if government doesn’t top up pensions by Oct. 29
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet laid out a list of demands Wednesday he said the government must fulfil by the end of October if it wants to avoid the risk of an early election. Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, Blanchet said the Bloc wants the government to push through a bill, C-319, that would hike Old Age Security (OAS) payouts by 10 per cent for seniors between the ages of 65 and 74. The government topped up OAS payments for seniors aged 75 and older in 2022. Blanchet also saidRead more
On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Trudeau says he understands Canadian ‘frustration’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used his debut appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday to make his case for another term despite facing existential challenges to his leadership and mounting “frustration” from Canadians struggling with the cost of living. Sitting for the late night talk show interview the day before a non-confidence motion against his government, Trudeau was asked why his political opponents might be trying to get him out of office after nearly a decade in power. In response, Trudeau said he believed the cost ofRead more
Ryan Routh formally indicted on attempted assassination charge, allegedly targeting Donald Trump
The man accused of staking out Donald Trump’s Florida golf course with a rifle was indicted on Tuesday on a charge of attempted assassination of a political candidate, U.S. prosecutors said. Ryan Routh, 58, was already facing two gun-related charges after authorities said he pointed a rifle through a fence at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 15 while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing there. Routh has been ordered to remain in jail to await trial. “The Justice Department will not tolerate violence that strikes atRead more
Why Republicans tried to make a last-minute change in Nebraska ahead of presidential election
A last-minute Republican effort just six weeks before the Nov. 5 election to award all of Nebraska’s electoral college votes on a winner-take-all basis appeared doomed after Monday, when a key Republican lawmaker said he opposed the proposal despite lobbying from Donald Trump’s allies. State Senator Mike McDonnell said in a statement that he would not support altering Nebraska’s current system, which splits its electoral votes by congressional district. “Nebraska voters, not politicians of either party, should have the final say on how we pick a president,” McDonnell said. Here’sRead more
Alaska man charged with threatening Supreme Court justices
A man from Alaska has been arrested for allegedly threatening six US Supreme Court justices and two of their family members. The US Justice Department said Panos Anastasiou, 76, sent hundreds of messages including threats to hang and shoot justices. He was charged with 22 counts of making threats and appeared in court in Anchorage on Wednesday. The public defender representing Mr Anastasiou declined to comment on Thursday. According to a criminal complaint, the messages “contained violent, racist, and homophobic rhetoric coupled with threats of assassination via torture, hanging, andRead more
Trump-backed governor candidate denies ‘black Nazi’ post
A Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina has insisted he will not exit the race amid a report that he made controversial comments on a porn website more than a decade ago. Mark Robinson characterised the CNN report, which alleged that he had referred to himself as a “black Nazi” on an adult forum, as “salacious tabloid lies”. He has been under pressure from state Republicans and members of Donald Trump’s campaign team to quit the race, according to anonymous sources quoted by the Carolina Journal newspaper. Kamala Harris,Read more
Iran hacked Trump campaign, sought to interest Biden team, FBI says
Iranian hackers sought to interest U.S. President Joe Biden’s campaign in information stolen from rival Donald Trump’s campaign, sending unsolicited emails to people associated with the then-Democratic candidate in an effort to interfere in the 2024 election, the FBI and other federal agencies said Wednesday. The emails were received before the hack of the Trump campaign was publicly acknowledged, and there’s no evidence the recipients of the emails knew their origin. There’s no indication that any of the recipients responded, officials said, and several media organizations approached over the summerRead more
Russia can end war now, says PM as Putin warns West
Russia started the conflict in Ukraine and can end it “straight away”, Sir Keir Starmer has said after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Moscow would regard Western missiles being fired into Russia as a serious escalation of the war. The PM is in Washington for talks with US President Joe Biden on Friday, as allies of Kyiv discuss giving Ukraine permission to fire their missiles at targets inside Russia. Putin told Russian state television that this would “mean nothing other than the direct participation of Nato countries – the USRead more
Trump says he won’t debate Harris again before election day
Republican nominee Donald Trump said on Thursday he would not participate in another presidential debate against Kamala Harris ahead of the U.S. Nov. 5 election, after several polls showed his Democratic rival won their debate earlier this week. “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” the former president wrote on his social media site Truth Social. Although Trump touted his performance on Tuesday against Harris, six Republican donors and three Trump advisers who spoke to Reuters earlier this week said they thought Harris had won the debate largely because Trump was unable to stay on message. The debate attracted more than 67 million television viewers, according to early Nielsen data. Harris, speaking atRead more