The Sunday Magazine for May 18, 2025
What Trump's Middle East tour means for U.S. foreign policy
The White House is championing a diplomatic breakthrough with Syria and deepened investment ties in the Gulf region, following U.S. President Donald Trump's state visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this past week. The New York Times White House correspondent Luke Broadwater, who was on the trip, joins Chattopadhyay to break down the visit's implications for U.S. foreign policy. Then, The Economist's Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom explains the broader impact of Trump's visit in the region, especially as Israel's war with Hamas continues to rage in Gaza, and relations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump reportedly grow sour.
Will we still need to learn foreign languages if AI can do the translating?
If you're planning a summer vacation abroad and your packing list includes a phrasebook or bilingual dictionary… this might be the last time you need one. Several big tech companies have live translation devices either in the works or already on the market. But tech watchers say they raise larger questions about how AI tools are changing language learning and translation – and what might get lost in the process. WIRED's senior business reporter Louise Matsakis and Muhammad Abdul-Mageed, the Canada Research Chair in Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning at the University of British Columbia, join Chattopadhyay to spell it all out.
After a week of clashes over talks, is peace any closer in the Russia-Ukraine War?
This past week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join him for face-to-face peace talks in Turkey. The Russian leader didn't show. But delegations from both countries did hold their first direct talks in three years, negotiating a prisoner-of-war exchange. Michael Bociurkiw, a global affairs analyst and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, joins Chattopadhyay to make sense of these latest efforts at bringing a diplomatic end to the years-long conflict.
Uncovering the stories that paved the Trans-Canada Highway
For many Canadians, the May long weekend means the official kick-off of the summer travel season. And if you're out on a road trip, there's a good chance you may end up sailing down the Trans-Canada Highway. Mark Richardson wants us all to know the often overlooked stories that paved this roughly seven-and-a-half thousand kilometre road system. The automotive journalist speaks with Chattopadhyay about the history, people and politics that shaped "Canada's Main Street", as he explores in his book The Drive Across Canada.
If you've ever innocently called someone's summer home a "cabin" or "camp" when they prefer to call it a "cottage," you'll know how evocative those descriptors can be. As cabin/camp/cottage season kicks off, linguist Sali Tagliamonte walks us through the cultural, geographic and economic factors that have shaped the language we use when describing Canada's summertime escape hatches.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
More than a dozen Palestinians killed at aid hub just hours after U.S. officials' visit
Social Sharing At least 13 people were killed while trying to get aid in Gaza, hours after one of the distribution centres was visited by two high-ranking U.S. officials. On Friday, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, and Mike Huckabee, Washington's ambassador to Israel, toured a site run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city. It's the first visit to Gaza by a high-profile U.S. official since the war began in October 2023. The visit comes amid international outrage over starvation, shortages and deadly chaos near aid distribution sites. Witkoff said the purpose of the visit was to put together a new aid plan for the war-torn territory, where food is scarce and parcels are being airdropped. All four of the GHF sites are in zones controlled by the Israeli military and have become flashpoints of desperation during their months of operation, with starving people scrambling for scarce aid. The UN says more than 1,000 people have been killed trying to receive assistance in Gaza since the GHF began operating there in May, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites. WATCH | Witkoff visits as international pressure mounts on Israel: Gaza hunger crisis: Why aid distribution is failing 2 days ago With a new warning that the 'worst-case scenario' of famine is now unfolding in Gaza, The National examines why the food distribution system is failing, and speaks to a Canadian aid group with workers on the ground about what it's seeing and what it needs. The Israeli military claims it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Witkoff's visit also comes a week after U.S. officials walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to seek other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza safe. At least 25 Palestinians killed Friday Officials at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said Friday they have received the bodies of 25 people, including those killed near the site of the U.S. official visit. GHF denied that anyone was killed at their sites on Friday and said most recent incidents had taken place near UN aid convoys. The remaining 12 were killed in airstrikes, the officials said. Israel's military did not immediately comment. Salman Al-Faqawi, 49, says his 12-year-old nephew Rayan had nothing to eat so he went to the GHF aid site in Rafah in hopes of getting his hands on some food when he was shot and killed. "Nothing changed at all. The U.S. is participating with [Israel] in the massacres that are happening," Al-Faqawi told a CBC News freelance videographer at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Friday, hours after the U.S. visit. "Leave us alone with these empty words," he added. He was referring to Witkoff's and Huckabee's visit, which a spokesperson said intends to reflect U.S. President Donald Trump's understanding of the stakes and that "feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority." Abdullah Asfour says he was also on his way to the same aid site when tanks began to shoot at them. "Stop the bloodbaths. Protect the aid entering," Asfour said, saying border crossings need to be opened and an immediate ceasefire implemented. "We want to live." The Israeli military said it was still looking into the incident, in which soldiers had fired warning shots at what it described as a "gathering of suspects" approaching its troops, hundreds of meters from the aid site. Medics to screen children for severe malnutrition Meanwhile, medics in Gaza said they were working to step up screening of young children for severe malnutrition amid fears that hunger is spreading as people flee to new areas. Aid group International Medical Corps (IMC) and its partners are planning to reach more than 200,000 children under age five in the coming months, one of its doctors, Munawwar Said, told Reuters by phone. "With the displacement, communities are settling in new locations that do not have access to clean water, or there is not adequate access to food," he said. "We fear there are more cases being missed." Over the weekend, families were already coming to an IMC clinic in the central city of Deir al-Balah, opened after the agency said it had to shut down two centres in Rafah due to insecurity. WATCH | 'Worst-case scenario' of famine is now unfolding in Gaza: Seven-year-old Jana Ayad had weighed less than 20 pounds when she arrived, suffering from diarrhea and vomiting, said nutrition officer Raghda Ibrahim Qeshta as she carefully held the child. "My daughter was dying in front of me," said Nasma Ayad as she sat next to the bed. "I didn't know what to do." Jana started putting on some weight after treatment, medics said, but she was still painfully thin with her ribs showing as she lay listlessly in her bunny pyjamas. Staff can gauge nutrition levels by measuring the circumference of children's arms. During the short visit by a Reuters cameraman, at least two of the measurements indicated a risk of malnutrition. IMC data so far shows that the most vulnerable are babies and infants up to age two A group of UN-led aid agencies estimates that around seven per cent of Gazan children may be acutely malnourished, compared with 0.8 per cent before the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7. Until now, the worst of severe hunger has been in the north, with a UN-backed report warning of imminent famine in March. But aid workers worry it could spread to central and southern areas due to the upheaval around Rafah that has displaced more than one million people and constrained supply flows through southern corridors. Regular 'bloodbaths': new report International organizations have said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on food crises, said recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for more than two months, mean the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza." Though the flow of aid has resumed, including via airdrops, the amount getting into Gaza remains far lower than what aid organizations say is needed. A security breakdown in the territory has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, and much of the limited aid entering is hoarded and later sold at exorbitant prices. WATCH | 'It's a good day' if family gets a single meal to share: Dinner in Gaza: A meal for one, split among seven 19 hours ago A father of five living in a tent west of Gaza City says 'it's a good day' if his family eats one meal. According to a global hunger monitor, a 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out' in the region. CBC News followed the Abu Amsha family to show you what it's like to search for and buy food in Gaza after months of an Israeli imposed blockade and two years of war. In a report issued Friday, Human Rights Watch called the current setup "a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths." "It would be near impossible for Palestinians to follow the instructions issued by GHF, stay safe, and receive aid, particularly in the context of ongoing military operations, Israeli military sanctioned curfews, and frequent GHF messages saying that people should not travel to the sites before the distribution window opens," said report, which cited doctors, aid seekers and at least one security contractor. Israel has now killed more than 60,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023, after Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
U.S. envoy visits distribution site in Gaza as humanitarian crisis worsens
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff waits for the arrival of President Donald Trump at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J., en route to attend the Club World Cup final soccer match, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff visited southern Gaza on Friday during international outrage over starvation, shortages and deadly chaos near aid distribution sites. Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured one of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's distribution sites in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, according to an official involved with the visit. The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. All four of the group's distribution sites are in zones controlled by the Israeli military and throughout their months in operation have become flashpoints of desperation, where starving people scramble for scarce aid. Hundreds have been killed by either gunfire or trampling. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Witkoff's visit comes a week after U.S. officials walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to seek other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza safe. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that he was sent to craft a plan to boost food and aid deliveries as part of an effort 'to save lives and end this crisis,' while Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages. International organizations have said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on food crises, said recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for 2 1/2 months, mean the 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.' Though the flow of aid has resumed, including via airdrops, the amount getting into Gaza remains far lower than what aid organizations say is needed. A security breakdown in the territory has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, much of the limited aid entering is horded and later sold at exorbitant prices. In a report issued Friday, Human Rights Watch called it 'a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.' Israel's military and prime minister's office did not respond to request for comment on the report. A July 30 video published Thursday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs showed an aid convoy driving past a border crossing as gunfire ricocheted off the ground near where crowds congregated. 'We were met on the road by tens of thousands of hungry and desperate people who directly offloaded everything from the backs of our trucks,' said Olga Cherevko, an OCHA staff member. The war between Israel and Hamas started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. ___ Metz reported from Jerusalem and Frankel from Tel Aviv, Israel. Wafaa Shurafa, Sam Metz And Julia Frankel, The Associated Press
CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
Will Canada recognize Palestinian statehood?
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced plans to officially recognize Palestinian statehood in September — if certain criteria are met — marking a radical departure on Canada's position in the region. Evan Dyer is a reporter with the CBC's parliamentary bureau. He joins the show for a discussion about this landmark moment in Canadian foreign policy, the status of Canadian arms sales to Israel, and the implications that the creation of a Palestinian state could have. ve.
