Cyprus Mail: Canada’s Trudeau on a flying visit to Cyprus. President Nicos Anastasiades on Monday had a bilateral meeting with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who stopped in Cyprus for refueling on his way to Asia from France. The meeting took place at the old Larnaca airport building, according to an official statement. Anastasiades briefed the Canadian PM about the latest developments in the Cyprus problem and thanked him for the principled position of his country. The two men also discussed regional and international matters. Anastasiades and Trudeau pledged to extend co-operation in international forums. The president invited Trudeau to pay the island an official visit.
TIME: Canada is in talks with Pakistan to grant asylum to Christian woman Asia Bibi. As Pakistan roils with fury over the dismissal of a Christian woman’s blasphemy conviction, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was in talks with Islamabad about potentially granting asylum to Asia Bibi, who was recently freed, Agence France-Presse reports. “We are in discussions with the Pakistani government,” Trudeau said in an interview with AFP. “There is a delicate domestic context that we respect which is why I don’t want to say any more about that, but I will remind people Canada is a welcoming country.” Bibi, a mother of five who is believed to now be in her 50’s, has been blocked from leaving the country amid a wave of protests over her acquittal. She spent eight years on death row for allegedly blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad—a charge that carries the death penalty in the Muslim-majority nation.
The Guardian: Justin Trudeau says Canada in talks with Pakistan over Asia Bibi. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has said talks are underway with Pakistan over Asia Bibi, a Christian woman whose acquittal on blasphemy charges against Islam last month sparked mass protests in the South Asian country. “We are in discussions with the Pakistani government,” Trudeau said in an interview with Agence France Presse in Paris, where he attended an anniversary event marking the end of world war one. His comments were confirmed by a spokesman in Ottawa. “There is a delicate domestic context that we respect which is why I don’t want to say any more about that, but I will remind people Canada is a welcoming country,” he said. Bibi, who spent eight years on death row in Pakistan before being released, is in protective custody because her life is in danger from those who disagree with the acquittal. Bibi’s husband, Ashiq Masih, has appealed for help to Britain, Canada, Italy and the United States.
Al Jazeera: Bangladesh silent on Canada offer to take Rohingya refugees. Bangladesh declined an offer by Canada to take in Rohingya refugees – including women who were raped – Canadian officials said, as the South Asian country pushes ahead with controversial plans to repatriate the displaced to neighbouring Myanmar. Canada offered to take in a limited number of vulnerable refugees in May when Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland visited Bangladesh, according to Canadian officials who added the proposal still stands. “Freeland said Canada was willing to discuss cases with Bangladesh,” a Canadian official involved in the response to the Rohingya crisis, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the issue, told Thomson Reuters Foundation.
ABC.net.au: Jamal Khashoggi murder – Justin Trudeau confirms Canada has heard audio of Saudi journalist’s killing. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has became the first Western leader to acknowledge his country had heard the recordings of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “Canada has been fully briefed up on what Turkey had to share,” Mr Trudeau said from the Canadian Embassy in Paris, where he was attending the Peace Forum following the WWI Armistice centenary. Turkey has said it has given copies of the recording to several western countries including the US, France, Germany and Britain. Mr Trudeau said he had not personally listened to the tapes, but said he had been speaking with the Turkish President.
BBC: Canada apologises for turning away Jewish refugee ship in 1939. Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau has apologised for his country’s role in turning away a ship carrying over 900 Jewish refugees fleeing persecution. In 1939, German liner the MS St Louis sailed to Havana, Cuba, but that country’s government refused them entry, although they had visas. The US and Canada also blocked them, denying the passengers safe haven. The ship was forced to return to Europe and 254 of the refugees later died in Nazi concentration camps. Addressing Canada’s parliament, Mr Trudeau spoke of how the Liberal government of the day “was unmoved by the plight of these refugees”.
Russia Today: Indigenous Canadian women still being forcibly sterilized, claims senator. A Canadian senator claims that unwilling indigenous women are still getting coerced into being sterilized across Canada. The senator now wants the “heinous” issue investigated nationwide. Sterilization by tubal ligation – a process by which the fallopian tubes are either tied, burned or severed – is not just a shameful relic of Canadian history, Senator Yvonne Boyer claimed, but a process that is still happening across the country today. According to a report published last year, the procedure is frequently carried out on indigenous women in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The report relies only on verbal evidence from women in the Saskatoon region, and was authored by Boyer herself.
Emarat Al Youm – United Arab Emirates: GTA dnata expands its Air Transat operations in Canada’s Pearson. GTA dnata (Dubai National Air Transport Association), dnata’s joint-venture company in Canada, is expanding its operations at Toronto Pearson International Airport with the start of a new partnership with Air Transat. Starting this month, GTA dnata will provide ground handling and passenger services to the airline, more than doubling the number of flights handled by its operations. To support growth, GTA dnata has hired more than 200 additional staff to its team, which now consists of 450 customer-oriented aviation professionals. Air Transat operates approximately 140 weekly flights from Toronto during peak season.
Al Yaman Al Araby – Yemen: UN Special Envoy for the Somali refugees asks for Canada’s assistance. The Envoy urged the Canadian government to provide more aid to countries in the Horn of Africa that are struggling under the burden of Somali refugees. A recent UN report stated that the situation across Somalia “remained volatile” throughout 2017, with Mogadishu, the country’s capital city, witnessing the most violence.
Youm 7 – Egypt: Government approves “Canadian Universities in Egypt”. The Egyptian Council of Ministers has approved a President’s draft resolution for the establishment of an Egyptian agency named “Canadian Universities in Egypt” to host the University of Prince Edward Island’s campus in Egypt. The campus will offer programs in Sustainable Design Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, and Business Entrepreneurship. The approval comes within the state’s plan for developing higher education and scientific research in Egypt, and for strengthening the cooperation between such institutes and their counterparts in the developed world.
