
Varcoe: Amid geopolitical dangers, G7 leaders wrap up Kananaskis summit touting energy security and critical minerals
A discussion about critical minerals and energy security — taking place in the heartlands of Canada's oilpatch, as global oil prices jumped amid the escalating Iran-Israeli clash — seemed particularly relevant, given the complexities confronting the world today.
Prime Minister Mark Carney called the Tuesday afternoon session about energy security and critical minerals the most important session of the conference, as it included leaders of several non-G7 countries, such as Brazil, South Africa and India.

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Calgary Herald
28 minutes ago
- Calgary Herald
Israel eases Gaza aid curbs, hoping to defuse hunger outcry
Israel rolled back curbs on aid distribution to Gaza over the weekend in an effort to defuse a growing international outcry over hunger convulsing the shattered Palestinian enclave. Article content The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday suspended some military operations against Hamas to facilitate the movement of UN relief convoys, and restored electricity supplies to a desalination plant in Gaza for the first time since March. Article content Article content Article content The UN World Food Program has warned for weeks that the entire population of 2.1 million people in the Gaza Strip faces crisis levels of food insecurity. Scores of aid groups say starvation is fast spreading. Article content Article content That's seen world anger toward Israel's government on the rise amid increasing reports and images of emaciated babies, children crammed into soup queues, and men tussling over bags of flour. Article content German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke by phone on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing 'deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza' and urging 'further substantial steps,' according to a readout from his office. Article content While continuing to deny accusations that it's deliberately starving Gazans, Israel has now begun parachuting in food supplies. That's a delivery mechanism tried by several foreign air forces a year ago but abandoned, at the time, amid concerns about scale and safety. Article content Article content 'There's a campaign full of lies under way' that's created 'a mistaken impression of famine in Gaza,' Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, told Tel Aviv radio station 103 FM. 'Therefore the cabinet decided yesterday to bring in aid, in order to show the world that we are heeding the claims, even if we disagree about the facts.' Article content Article content Sunday's decision was announced by the military without comment from Netanyahu or Defense Minister Israel Katz. It marked a de facto reversal of Israel's cut-off of UN-led humanitarian relief in March after the previous Gaza ceasefire expired, a tactic Netanyahu aides had said would deprive Hamas of a means of controlling the populace while feeding its own fighters. Article content Mahmoud Mardawi, a senior Hamas official, described the about-face on Telegram as 'not a solution, but rather, a belated and twisted confession of a crime having been committed.'


Canada News.Net
an hour ago
- Canada News.Net
Israel allows aid into Gaza as IDF announces 3 more deaths
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National Post
3 hours ago
- National Post
Trump's tariff threats against Canada face legal hurdles ahead of August deadline
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