Brewing War of Words Between Canada and Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia and Canada are currently locked in a diplomatic spat over human rights, with both countries refusing to back down despite a breakdown in future trade deals, suspended passenger flights and a flurry of other sanctions.

The war of words between the two countries stems back to a series of tweets from Canada's Foreign Ministry last week, when Ottawa expressed concern over arrested civil society activists in Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh called the move a violation of its sovereignty and sought to impose a string of diplomatic sanctions against the North American country. In a tweet posted Friday, Canadian officials urged Riyadh to "immediately release" women's rights activists Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah. Both campaigners were arrested in Saudi Arabia in late July, according to Human Rights Watch.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry took exception to Canada's online plea, calling it a "grave and unacceptable violation of the kingdom's laws and procedures."

Trade War: US slaps 220 percent duty on Canada's Bombardier jets

The Bombardier CS 300 performs its demonstration flight during the Paris Air Show, at Le Bourget airport, north of Paris, June 15, 2015

The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday slapped preliminary anti-subsidy duties on Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jets after rival Boeing Co accused Canada of unfairly subsidizing the aircraft, a move likely to strain trade relations between the neighbors.

The department said it imposed a steep 219.63 percent countervailing duty on Bombardier’s new commercial jets after it made a preliminary finding of subsidization. Boeing has complained the 110-to-130 seat aircraft were dumped below cost in the U.S. market last year while benefiting from unfair subsidies.

An April 2016 order for 75 CSeries jets from Delta Air Lines stemmed from the same harmful sales practices European rival Airbus SE employed to win business in the 1990s, according to Boeing.

The Commerce Department’s penalty against Bombardier will only take effect if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rules in Boeing’s favor in a final decision expected in 2018.

Rewind Clip: Tug of War Battle Between Canadian And US Soldier

Prior to the departure of 31 Canadian Brigade Group (31 CBG) personnel from Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Canadian soldiers observed US National Guard soldiers playing an interesting version of the game Tug of War. 31 CBG soldiers were fascinated by the spectacle and cheered on the competitors. Finally, one young Canadian soldier dared to challenge the hometown crowd, and put national pride on the line. In this video, Master Corporal John Celestino of the Windsor Regiment (left), participates in a game of Tug of War with a US National Guard soldier (right). This version of the game builds esprit de corps and really works the leg muscles...just ask Master Corporal Celestino! See video below

Canadian troops shot back in firefight with ISIS in Iraq

Commander Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Brigadier-General Michael Rouleau speaks during a technical briefing Monday January 19, 2015 in Ottawa. CP

Murray Brewster The Canadian PressCanadian troops exchanged fire with Islamic State extremists during a recent battlefield planning exercise in Iraq, the military revealed on Monday.

It also acknowledged its soldiers have helped Kurdish forces by directing coalition air strikes.

The officer in charge of the elite special forces, which has been advising local forces in northern Iraq since September, denied that these events represent an escalation of Canada’s involvement.

“The situation is a lot more nuanced than just saying, if you exchange fire with a belligerent force then all of sudden it’s a combat mission,” said Brig.-Gen. Michael Rouleau, commander of special operations command.

War Against Extremism As Canadian CF-18 Strikes ISIS Base

A Canadian Forces CF-18 from 400 squadron touches down in Kuwait.

Murray Brewster The Canadian Press
Canada is at war with the Islamic State and will do what is necessary to eliminate the threat it poses, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.

His comments came as the military revealed that CF-18s have carried out another seven attacks in Iraq over the last couple of weeks.

A decision to extend the air mission, which is due to end in April, has not been made, but prime minister said when the time comes one of the criteria will be “the kind of risk it poses to our country.”

And Harper said the risk is significant.

War Ready! Canadian CF-18s strike fighter positions in Iraq

Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornets depart after refueling with a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, Thursday, Â Oct. 30, 2014, over Iraq. Two Canadian fighter jets spent New Year's Eve bombing militants' positions in Iraq as part of a international airstrike campaign. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. Perry Aston

The Canadian Press
Two Canadian fighter jets spent New Year’s Eve bombing militants’ positions in Iraq as part of a international airstrike campaign.

The Defence Department says that on Dec. 31, the two CF-18s struck ISIL fighting positions using precision-guided munitions.

The planes were acting in support of Iraqi security forces’ group operations west of Fallujah.

According to information posted by the American and Australian governments, the targets hit in that area were tactical units belong to the Islamic State.

Palestine to Seek War Crime Charges Against Israel

B O'Connor | Gawker
A day after the U.N. Security Council rejected a Palestinian resolution to end Israeli occupation by 2017, President Mahmoud Abbas announced that Palestine would pursue war-crimes charges against the Jewish state in the International Criminal Court.

"They attack us and our land every day, to whom are we to complain?" Abbas told a gathering of Palestinian leaders, according to Reuters. "The Security Council let us down—where are we to go?" The remarks were broadcast on official television.

Israel is not a member of the international court at The Hague, and does not recognize its jurisdiction. The court has no police force of its own, according to the Associated Press, "but it could issue arrest warrants that would make it difficult for Israeli officials to travel abroad."

Taliban insurgents declares defeat of US, allies

Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan on Monday declared the “defeat” of the United States and its allies in the 13-year-old war, a day after the coalition officially marked the end of its combat mission, Voice of America reports.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is shifting to a support mission for Afghan army and police more than a decade after an international alliance ousted the Taliban government for sheltering the planners of the September 11, 2001, attacks on American cities.

“ISAF rolled up its flag in an atmosphere of failure and disappointment without having achieved anything substantial or tangible,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement emailed on Monday.

Over One Million People Wounded In Syria Civil War

 Getty Images

Oliver Holmes 
One million people have been wounded during Syria's civil war and diseases are spreading as regular supplies of medicine fail to reach patients, the World Health Organization's Syria representative said.

A plunge in vaccination rates from 90 percent before the war to 52 percent this year and contaminated water have added to the woes, allowing typhoid and hepatitis to advance, Elizabeth Hoff said in an interview late on Thursday.

More than 200,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, which began in March 2011 with popular protests against President Bashar al-Assad and spiraled into civil war after a crackdown by his security forces.

"In Syria, they have a million people injured as a direct result of the war. You can see it in the country when you travel around. You see a lot of amputees," said Hoff. "This is the biggest problem."

Twitter War Between Rapper Nicki Minaj And Boyfriend

For the past few weeks Nicki Minaj has been very vocal about how heartbroken she is over her split from her boyfriend of 14 years, Safaree Samuels. She has however always tried to keep their relationship out of the spotlight but it looks like that has changed. With revealing song lyrics and now a twitter rant, people are getting a closer look at what has been Nicki Minaj’s love life. The rapper posted a series of tweets on her page today that got social media buzzing. In her tweets she insinuates that someone is blackmailing her with videos and it is someone that she has loved.

Crazy Twitter War Between Female Rappers

How long will these female rappers rant on each other? It looks like it’s going to last a day longer today because Iggy Azalea has just taken the feud to another level this morning after she slammed the rapper for being a bully, a bigot, and a “miserable, angry human being.”

The 24-year-old “Fancy” rapper’s comments come after Azealia said this in a radio interview on Thursday (December 18): “The Grammys are supposed to be awards for artistic excellence… Iggy Azalea’s not excellent.”

Iggy Azalea went off in a series of tweets on her Twitter page:

Google and Twitter at war over GreyCup winner

Hamilton Tiger-Cats kick returner and receiver Brandon Banks. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

Luke Simcoe MetroDespite the reams of data they collect from their users, Google and Twitter can’t seem to agree on who will win this year’s Grey Cup.

With two days to go before Sunday’s game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Calgary Stampeders, the tech titans are split on which team will take home the trophy.

Twitter has partnered with the Canadian Football League to give users a custom Grey Cup voting app.

At press time, Twitter users were leaning towards the Stampeders. It’s a tight race, however, with Calgary leading 52 per cent to 48 per cent.