Govt’s firm stand on buying Russian oil saves $8 billion in India’s import bill

New Delhi: India’s strategy of continuing to buy cheap oil from Russia despite Western pressures against these purchases has resulted in the saving of around $7.9 billion in the country’s oil import bill during the first 11 months of the fiscal year 2022-23 and also helped the country to lower its current account deficit. Prime … Read more

Bombardier gets federal exemption from sanctions on Russian titanium

Bombardier is now the second large Canadian corporation known to have been granted an exemption from federal government sanctions on Russian titanium. The Montreal-based aircraft manufacturer, along with its European partner Airbus, can continue to use parts containing titanium produced by Russia’s VSMPO-AVISMA, based in Verkhnyaya Salda. During a conference call Thursday with reporters following the release of Bombardier’s quarterly results, CEO … Read more

When it comes to prisoner exchanges with Russia, silence is golden, says U.S. special envoy

U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens says he agrees with the Kremlin that silence is essential when it comes to public discussions about prisoner exchanges.  “This might be the one time that I’ll agree with the Russians,” Carstens said during an interview on Rosemary Barton Live broadcast on Sunday. He explained that fact checking every … Read more

Global Affairs says 2 more Canadians have died in Ukraine-Russia war

A military unit of foreign fighters in the Ukraine war had taken up covert missions against Russia when its Canadian commander was killed, says a researcher who studies war in the former Soviet Union. Jean-François Ratelle, who led the Norman Brigade under the nom de guerre Hrulf, was one of two Canadians to die within … Read more

20 Days in Mariupol win cut from Oscars international broadcast

The shortened version of the international broadcast of the 96th Oscars faced harsh criticism in Ukraine for omitting the segment announcing the documentary feature award, which went to Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days in Mariupol. The documentary, a collaboration between The Associated Press and PBS’s Frontline, is a harrowing first-person account set in the Ukrainian port city during … Read more

Sooner or later, every NATO country will have to meet defence spending target, says Polish PM

All members of NATO will eventually have to fulfil the pledge to spend two per cent of their GDP on defence, Poland’s prime minister said on Monday at the conclusion of a meeting in Warsaw with his Canadian counterpart. While praising Canada as one of Poland’s “best allies,” Donald Tusk delicately avoided criticizing Prime Minister … Read more

Feds announce funding to provide legal advice to temporarily displaced Ukrainians in Canada

As the two-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine nears, the federal government says it’s spending almost $500,000 to help expand access to basic legal advice for Ukrainians looking to settle temporarily in Canada. The three-year funding envelope will not pay for lawyers to advocate on behalf of individual clients, but will be used … Read more

With American aid to Ukraine stuck in limbo, defence minister says others must step up

Defence Minister Bill Blair says NATO countries like Canada must ramp up their aid to Ukraine as support from the United States languishes in a legislative quagmire. In an interview that aired Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live, Blair expressed optimism that the U.S. would eventually pass a significant aid bill to provide billions of dollars worth … Read more

White House confirms reports of Russia’s ‘troubling’ anti-satellite weapon capability

The White House publicly confirmed on Thursday that Russia has obtained a “troubling” emerging anti-satellite weapon but said it cannot directly cause “physical destruction” on Earth. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said U.S. intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability, but that such a weapon is not currently operational. … Read more

Foreign minister says Canada-Ukraine security assurance deal could be reached in weeks

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada and Ukraine are in the final push when it comes to reaching an agreement on security “assurances” for the embattled country. Speaking from Ukraine in an interview airing Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live, Joly said the agreement would be a landmark moment for Ukraine; similar pacts are expected to be forged … Read more