: World https://globalnews.ca/?p=11192252 <![CDATA[Canada-Israel relations are in a ‘new atmosphere,’ Israeli ambassador says]]> Thu, 22 May 2025 19:43:11 +0000

The “initial moves” by the Mark Carney government suggest a “new atmosphere” for Canada-Israel relations, Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed said in an interview with Global News.

“The initial moves of the current government, be it to threaten Israel or official summation to the ministry, are moves that are different. We have not heard that in the past, so in that sense, that’s what I’m talking about, this new atmosphere,” Moed told Global News when asked if he noticed a difference in tone between the current government and that of former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Canada summoned Israel’s ambassador after the Israel Defense Forces fired shots in the vicinity of a diplomatic delegation in the West Bank that included four Canadians.

The IDF says no one was injured in the incident.

“Relieved to know our team is safe,” Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a post on X.

“I have asked my officials to summon Israel’s Ambassador to convey Canada’s serious concerns. We expect a full investigation and accountability.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the incident was “totally unacceptable.”

While Moed did not divulge the details of his meeting, he said it was unclear what was “unacceptable” to Carney.

“I’m not sure what was unacceptable. The fact that diplomats came close to Israeli soldiers in a combat area, which they know is active? Was that unacceptable? Was the fact that they were walking outside the agreed and co-ordinated route unacceptable? To me, that is unacceptable too.”

Carney told reporters on Wednesday that the incident was one of “many things” in the region that were unacceptable.

Moed told Global News that no one was in danger.

“We don’t know what happened exactly, but the soldiers were not aware of the presence of this group and they saw a group of people approaching them. And so they fired some shots in the air, warning shots. At no point in time, anyone was in danger.”

He added that the IDF had expressed its “regrets” over the incident.

Click to play video: 'U.S. was briefed, not consulted on statement about Israel’s aid blockade in Gaza: Carney'

U.S. was briefed, not consulted on statement about Israel’s aid blockade in Gaza: Carney

Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, said in a social media post that the situation is unacceptable and Israel’s ambassador to France has been summoned to explain it.

Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani said he is also calling on the Israeli ambassador in Italy to explain the incident.

In a joint statement issued earlier this week, Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron threatened to impose “targeted sanctions” on Israel in response to its renewed military offensive in Gaza and the “wholly inadequate” amount of food aid allowed into the enclave.

The letter also stated the leaders’ opposition to “any attempt” to expand Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

Carney on Wednesday would not say what “concrete action” Canada would take if Israel ignores the leaders’ request, but suggested any measures would be part of a joint response with France and Britain.

— with files from Global’s Sean Boynton

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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: World
https://globalnews.ca/?p=11191739 <![CDATA[Kim Jong Un furious over ship launch crash, calls mishap a ‘criminal act’]]> Thu, 22 May 2025 17:45:05 +0000

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has condemned the failed launch of a naval vessel after it crashed upon its public reveal.

The accident occurred on Wednesday during the floating of a new warship while Kim was in attendance.

Following the incident, the state’s supreme leader called it an intolerable “criminal act,” its state media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, according to Reuters.

Kim claimed the failed launch of the 5,000-ton destroyer was caused by “carelessness” that sullied his country’s national dignity.

He ordered that the ship be restored before a ruling party meeting in June, KCNA said on Thursday. The report did not say if there were any casualties.

The accident happened while the ship was being lowered into the water in what is known as a side launch.

Military analysts told Reuters that the manoeuvre was quite risky given the substantial size of the ship and the technical and financial challenges North Korea faces.

The mishap likely occurred in front of a large crowd at the northeastern port of Chongjin, increasing the public humiliation for Kim, the analysts added.

In a report last week detailing the ship’s launch preparations, U.S.-based 38 North said it appeared the ship would be side-launched from the quay – a method that had not been previously observed in North Korea.

A 24-hour Yonhap news TV broadcast at Seoul Railway Station showing a news broadcast with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un observing the launch of a strategic cruise missile during a drill by the Korean People’s Army (KPA), on the coast of the ‘West Sea of Korea,’ or Yellow Sea, in North Korea. Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Image

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Meanwhile, military analysts told the news outlet that the method was most likely chosen because the shipyard where the vessel was housed did not have sufficient space or an incline to safely launch it stern-first into the water.

The KCNA said the incident was caused by a loss of balance during the vessel’s launch.

Parts of the bottom of the warship were crushed, according to the agency, though it did not give more details of the damage sustained. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC seen by The Associated Press appeared to show the vessel rolled onto its side, positioned diagonally from the dock, with most of its hull submerged and draped in blue covers.

“Kim Jong Un made stern assessment saying that it was a serious accident and criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility, and unscientific empiricism … and could not be tolerated,” KCNA also reported.

The accident “brought the dignity and self-respect of our state to a collapse,” Kim said, adding that an immediate restoration of the destroyer was “not merely a practical issue but a political issue directly related to the authority of the state.”

North Korea has experienced accidents of a similar nature in the past, including a satellite launch failure and an apartment building collapse.

The 5,000-ton destroyers launched by North Korea this year are its biggest warships to date, and are part of Kim’s efforts to build the country’s naval capacity with ships capable of carrying and launching dozens of missiles.

— with files from Reuters and The Associated Press

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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https://globalnews.ca/?p=11191483 <![CDATA[Member of Irish rap band Kneecap charged with terror offence]]> Thu, 22 May 2025 13:25:26 +0000

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Irish-language rap band Kneecap said on Thursday that a charge of a terrorism offence against one of its members for displaying a flag of banned militant group Hezbollah represented an attempt to prosecute artists who speak out.

London’s Metropolitan Police charged Liam O’Hanna, 27, one of the three members of the Belfast-based band, on Wednesday, saying he displayed a flag “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation,” in this case identified as Hezbollah.

In a statement on X, the band said the charge represented “political policing” and sought “to prosecute artists who dare speak out.” The trio said O’Hanna displayed a flag that had been thrown on stage. They did not mention Hezbollah.

O’Hanna, 27, is due to appear in court on June 18.

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Kneecap, who rap about Irish identity and support the republican cause of uniting Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, with the Republic of Ireland, faced backlash over pro-Palestinian messages projected during their set last month at the annual music festival Coachella in California.

“Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah,” they said on X last month about two groups banned in Britain. “We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation’s history.”

The trio apologized in April to the families of two murdered British members of the parliament after footage emerged of them appearing to say “kill your local MP” during a 2023 performance.

Kneecap is due to play at the Glastonbury Festival in England in June. Some lawmakers have called on the festival organizers to cancel their appearance.

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: World
https://globalnews.ca/?p=11191419 <![CDATA[Israel PM condemns ‘horrific’ shooting of 2 embassy staff members in U.S.]]> Thu, 22 May 2025 11:39:22 +0000 Two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington were shot and killed Wednesday evening while leaving an event at a Jewish museum, and the suspect yelled, ‘Free, free Palestine’ after he was arrested, police said.

The stunning attack on Wednesday evening prompted Israeli missions to beef up their security and lower their flags to half-staff. It came as Israel has launched another major offensive in the Gaza Strip in a conflict with Hamas that has heightened tensions across the Middle East and internationally and as antisemitic acts are on the rise.

The two people killed, identified as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American, were a young couple about to be engaged, according to Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S.

Lischinsky told others at an event he attended before he was killed that he was looking forward to returning to Israel to celebrate an upcoming Jewish holiday, said Ted Deutch, the chief executive of the American Jewish Committee, which had put on the reception.

The couple were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect, who had been seen pacing outside the museum, approached a group of four people and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.

The gunman, identified by police as Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, then walked into the museum, was detained by event security and began chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” Smith said.

“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” President Donald Trump posted on social media early Thursday. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s office said Thursday he was shocked.

“We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against Israel,” he said in a statement.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, led by former judge Jeanine Pirro, will prosecute the case.

Click to play video: 'Humanitarian aid still hasn’t reached people in Gaza, UN says'

Humanitarian aid still hasn’t reached people in Gaza, UN says

Public records list Rodriguez as living in a modest 850-square-foot apartment on Chicago’s north side. Chicago television station WLS captured video of heavily armed law enforcement officers outside the building Thursday morning.

It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. A telephone number listed in public records rang unanswered.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino wrote in a post on social media that “early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence.”

The influential pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera aired on a loop what appeared to be mobile phone footage of the gunman, wearing a suit jacket and slacks, being pulled away after the shooting, his hands behind his back.

The conflict, ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the abduction of some 250 hostages, has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced most of its population.

In the time since, Israel’s devastating campaign in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 people, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities, whose count doesn’t differentiate between combatants and civilians. The fighting has displaced 90% of the territory’s roughly 2 million population, sparked a hunger crisis and obliterated vast swaths of Gaza’s urban landscape.

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The shooting followed the AJC’s annual Young Diplomats reception at the museum.

“Sarah and Yaron were stolen from us,” said Deutch, the AJC’s chief executive. “Moments before they were murdered, they were smiling, laughing and enjoying an event with colleagues and friends. We are in shock and heartbroken as we attempt to process this immense tragedy.”

He described Milgrim, from Overland Park, Kansas, as “warm and compassionate, committed to peace building and passionate about sustainability and people-to-people relations.” He said Lischinsky was a staff member of the embassy’s political department who at the event told others that he was eager to return to Israel to celebrate the holiday of Shavuot with his family.

Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher were inside the museum when they heard gunshots, and a man came inside looking distressed. Kalin said people came to his aid and brought him water, thinking he needed help, without realizing he was the suspect. When police arrived, he pulled out a red keffiyeh, the Palestinian headscarf, and repeatedly yelled, “Free Palestine,’” Kalin said.

Click to play video: 'U.S. was briefed, not consulted on statement about Israel’s aid blockade in Gaza: Carney'

U.S. was briefed, not consulted on statement about Israel’s aid blockade in Gaza: Carney

“This event was about humanitarian aid,” Kalin said. “How can we actually help both the people in Gaza and the people in Israel? How can we bring together Muslims and Jews and Christians to work together to actually help innocent people? And then here he is just murdering two people in cold blood.”

Last week, the Capital Jewish Museum was one of the local nonprofits in Washington awarded funding from a $500,000 grant program to increase its security. The museum’s leaders were concerned because it is a Jewish organization and due to its new LGBTQ exhibit, according to NBC4 Washington.

“We recognize that there are threats associated with this as well,” Executive Director Beatrice Gurwitz told the TV station. “And again, we want to ensure that our space is as welcoming and secure for everybody who comes here while we are exploring these stories.”

In response to the shooting, the museum said in a statement it is “deeply saddened and horrified by the senseless violence.”

Israeli diplomats have a history of being targeted by violence, both by state-backed assailants and Palestinian militants over the decades of the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict that grew out of the founding of Israel in 1948. The Palestinians seek Gaza and the West Bank for a future state, with east Jerusalem as its capital — lands Israel captured in the 1967 conflict. However, the peace process between the sides has been stalled for years.

–Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer, Michael Biesecker, Eric Tucker, Hallie Golden, Jon Gambrell, Stefanie Dazio and Natalie Melzer contributed to this report.

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: World
https://globalnews.ca/?p=11190534 <![CDATA[Canada summons Israel’s ambassador after diplomats fired at in West Bank]]> Wed, 21 May 2025 21:01:39 +0000

Canada said Wednesday it is summoning Israel’s ambassador after the Israeli Defence Forces fired shots in the vicinity of a diplomatic delegation in the West Bank that included four Canadians.

The IDF says no one was injured in the incident.

“Relieved to know our team is safe,” Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a post on X.

“I have asked my officials to summon Israel’s Ambassador to convey Canada’s serious concerns. We expect a full investigation and accountability.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the incident was “totally unacceptable.”

Click to play video: 'U.S. was briefed, not consulted on statement about Israel’s aid blockade in Gaza: Carney'

U.S. was briefed, not consulted on statement about Israel’s aid blockade in Gaza: Carney

“It’s some of many things that are totally unacceptable that’s going on in the region,” he told reporters in Chelsea, Que. after a cabinet planning forum.

Click to play video: 'Canada, U.K., France threaten ‘concrete actions’ against Israel over Gaza offensive'

Canada, U.K., France threaten ‘concrete actions’ against Israel over Gaza offensive

In a statement, an IDF spokesperson said the diplomatic group touring the city of Jenin “deviated” from its approved route and soldiers fired warning shots to get it to move away from an area they were not permitted to visit.

The IDF said it launched an inquiry into what happened and will speak with the affected diplomats to update them on its findings.

Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, said in a social media post the situation is unacceptable and Israel’s ambassador to France has been summoned to explain it.

Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani said he is also calling on the Israeli ambassador in Italy to explain the incident.

In a joint statement issued earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron threatened to impose “targeted sanctions” on Israel in response to its renewed military offensive in Gaza and the “wholly inadequate” amount of food aid allowed into the enclave.

The letter also stated the leaders’ opposition to “any attempt” to expand Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

Carney on Wednesday would not say what “concrete action” Canada would take if Israel ignores the leaders’ request, but suggested any measures would be part of a joint response with France and Britain.

“The intention of the clear language — not just of ourselves, but France, the United Kingdom and many other countries — is that Israel ensures that adequate humanitarian aid gets to the population there, many of whom are on the brink of starvation,” he said.

Carney added he informed U.S. Vice-President JD Vance during their meeting in Rome last weekend that the joint statement was coming, but said it was a “one-way conversation.”

The Trump administration has directed U.S. policy to staunchly support Israel in its military aims against Hamas, while also pushing for a ceasefire and the return of all hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the current conflict.

Click to play video: 'International pressure mounts on Israel over Gaza war'

International pressure mounts on Israel over Gaza war

In a social media post late Monday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Carney, Starmer and Macron of “offering a huge prize” to Hamas with their joint statement.

Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist entity in Canada, welcomed the letter in an online statement Tuesday, calling it “a significant step in the right direction.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on X this week that Hamas’ statement shows Canada must take the opposite of its current approach to the conflict.

“Threatening Israel with sanctions and ‘further concrete actions’ while a terrorist group on their borders holds their citizens hostage and refuses to stop attacking Israel is wrong,” he said.

On Tuesday, the U.K. issued sanctions against what it called three individuals, two “illegal settler outposts” and two organizations “supporting violence against Palestinian communities” in the West Bank.

Canada has sanctioned people and individuals for extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank in the past. The most recent round of sanctions was announced in September of last year.

—With files from the Canadian Press

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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