>Why didn’t PM Justin Trudeau go to the USMCA celebration meeting?
That is a damned good question.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/07/08/Trump-Lopez-Obrador-celebrate-USMCA-with-joint-declaration/8901594213553/
Trump, Lopez Obrador celebrate USMCA with joint declaration
President Donald Trump and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador signed a joint declaration on Wednesday in celebration of the new North American trade deal.
For his first trip outside Mexico since his 2018 election, Lopez Obrador visited Trump to mark the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which formally replaced the Clinton-era North American Free Trade Agreement on July 1.
https://nationalpost.com/news/trudeau-takes-a-pass-on-meeting-this-week-with-trump-lopez-obrador
“We're still in discussions with the Americans about whether a trilateral summit next week makes sense,” Trudeau said in a news conference.
“We're obviously concerned about the proposed issue of tariffs on aluminum and steel that the Americans have floated recently.”
US national security tariffs on imported steel and aluminum - including from Canada and Mexico - were a major irritant during negotiations for the United States-Mexico-Canada trade deal, which was reached last year and entered into force on July 1.
Concern about the “health situation and the coronavirus reality that is still hitting all three of our countries” is another factor in his decision on whether to go to Washington, Trudeau said.
https://www.newsweek.com/china-threatens-canada-justin-trudeau-suspends-hong-kong-agreements-wait-see-1516247
China Threatens Canada After Trudeau Suspends Hong Kong Agreements: 'Just Wait and See'
The Chinese ambassador to Canada has issued an ominous warning to citizens after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suspended his nation's extradition treaty with Hong Kong and froze military exports to China over the controversial national security law imposed on Hong Kong this month.
In an interview published by The Toronto Star Tuesday, ambassador Cong Peiwu said Trudeau's Liberal government should stop "interfering in China's internal affairs" by acting on Hong Kong.
Chinese officials in Beijing and its representatives worldwide have responded aggressively to international condemnation of the national security law, which effectively criminalizes anti-government dissent in the territory and marks the end of the "One country, two systems" agreement that had protected the former British colony's relative political freedoms.
The Canadian government said Friday it would suspend its extradition agreement with Hong Kong and end the export of military or "dual use" products that could be used by police to suppress pro-democracy demonstrations in the city. Such protests are now illegal under the new law.
The Chinese foreign ministry said Monday that Beijing "reserved the right to further react" to the Canadian decision, for which Canada would "bear the consequences."
Asked what this meant, Cong told The Star: "I'd like to suggest you just wait and see."
https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2020/07/07/chinas-ambassador-warns-canadians-to-get-ready-for-retaliation.html
>https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2020/07/07/chinas-ambassador-warns-canadians-to-get-ready-for-retaliation.html
China’s ambassador warns Canadians to get ready for retaliation
China’s ambassador to Canada said Canadians should prepare for retaliation after Ottawa protested the Asian nation’s security crackdown in Hong Kong.
In an exclusive interview with the Star, Ambassador Cong Peiwu accused the Liberal government of “interfering in China’s internal affairs” by suspending the Canada-Hong Kong extradition treaty and stopping military and “dual-use” exports to the city.
Cong was reiterating and reinforcing the official line from Beijing. On Monday, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Canadian response, “reserved the right to further react,” and warned Canada would “bear the consequences.”
“I’d like to suggest you just wait and see,” Cong said when asked what specific “consequences” Beijing was contemplating.
“As I have told you, we are resolute in safeguarding our national security and sovereignty. We will not just sit idly by.”
It was another in a growing list of warnings and retaliatory actions made against Canada by the Chinese government, which is facing international condemnation for a draconian new national security law imposed on Hong Kong. The new law, which came into effect last week, gives Beijing more power to silence political dissent, as well as limit the activities of non-governmental organizations, media and foreign governments in Hong Kong.
The Canadian government condemned the crackdown, and on Friday announced it was suspending its extradition agreement with Hong Kong, as well as military or “dual use” exports — such as equipment used by police to quell pro-democracy demonstrations in the city.
Canada’s foreign affairs minister, François-Philippe Champagne, has accused the Chinese government of “coercive diplomacy” and “arbitrary detention” — a reference to Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians who have languished in Chinese detention for more than 570 days and are now facing espionage charges. In a move widely seen as retaliation, they were detained by Chinese authorities just days after Canadian police arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in December 2018.
https://voat.co/v/QRV/3915083
https://voat.co/v/QRV/3915690
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/kochavis-helicopter-malfunctions-almost-crashes-634380
Kochavi's helicopter malfunctions, almost crashes
IDF Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi's helicopter nearly crashed, Israel's N12 revealed on Wednesday night, when it took off from the Knesset towards the Tel Nof military air force base and both engines were turned off.
According to the report, the malfunction occurred immediately after take-off of the Black Hawk helicopter, a medium utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft with two engines altogether.
The pilots of the helicopter performed a drill of sorts in order to switch between engines but had accidentally turned both engines off, leading to the steady drop of the aircraft. The pilots managed to reactivate the proper engine when the helicopter was a mere 30 meters from the ground.
The pilots further deviated from protocol when, instead of making an emergency landing, they continued their flight with the helicopter operating on one engine alone and landed in Tel Nof as planned.
Air Force Command is consequently investigating the severity of the incident. The helicopter, at the end of the flight, landed safely and posed no threat to its passengers, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
>The media knows to stick to the script or else suffer the wrath of Kayleigh off script.
>She was also instrumental in helping her son’s company ‘Microsoft’ strike a deal with IBM) which was a defining moment in Microsoft’s history.
https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/status/1280326767748603904