Canada airdrops aid into Gaza and again accuses Israel of violating international law
"The (Canadian Armed Forces) employed a CC-130J Hercules aircraft to conduct an airdrop of critical humanitarian aid in support of Global Affairs Canada into the Gaza Strip. The air drop consisted of 21,600 pounds (about 9,800 kilograms) of aid," the Canadian government said in a statement.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that it was the Canadian Armed Forces' first humanitarian airdrop over Gaza using their own aircraft.
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Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Lebanon plans to disarm Hezbollah by year-end
Lebanon's Cabinet on Tuesday tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah by year-end, an unprecedented step since civil war factions gave up their weapons decades ago. The thorny decision follows heavy U.S. pressure and comes as part of implementing a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and militant group Hezbollah including two months of all-out war. The Cabinet held a nearly six-hour session on Tuesday headed by President Joseph Aoun on disarming the group, which emerged badly weakened from the latest war, with its arsenal pummeled and its senior leadership decimated. The Iran-backed group is the only faction that kept its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, doing so in the name of "resistance" against Israel, which occupied the country's south until 2000. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the government "tasked the Lebanese army with setting an implementation plan to restrict weapons" to the army and other state forces "before the end of this year." The plan is to be presented to the Cabinet by the end of August for discussion and approval, Salam told a news conference after the marathon session. Under the ceasefire, government authorities including the army and internal security forces should be the exclusive bearers of weapons in Lebanon. The Cabinet is to continue discussions this week on a proposal from U.S. envoy Tom Barrack that includes a timetable for Hezbollah's disarmament. Timetable Information Minister Paul Morcos said Hezbollah-affiliated Health Minister Rakan Nassereldine and Environment Minister Tamara Elzein, who is affiliated with its ally, the Amal movement, "withdrew from the session because they did not agree with the cabinet decision." Long the strongest political force in Lebanon — with detractors accusing it of using the threat of its weaponry to impose its will on domestic decisions — Hezbollah has also seen that influence diminish since the conflict. The group's chief Naim Qassem, in a televised address while the Cabinet meeting was underway, said it would not disarm while Israeli attacks continue. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem gives a televised speech from an unknown location on July 30. | Al Manar TV / via REUTERS "Any timetable presented for implementation under ... Israeli aggression cannot be agreed to," he said. Israel has kept up raids on Lebanon despite the November truce, mostly saying it is striking Hezbollah targets, and has threatened to keep doing so until the group has been disarmed. On Tuesday, Lebanon's health ministry said an Israeli strike in Brital in the country's east killed one person. "Are we being asked to engage in dialogue, or to surrender our weapons without dialogue?" Qassem said. Hezbollah supporters on mopeds and motorbikes roamed Beirut's southern suburbs where the group enjoys strong support, brandishing the party's yellow flag and pictures of its leaders. 'Dictates' Qassem criticized the U.S. envoy's plan on disarming the group. "Whoever looks at the deal Barrack brought doesn't find an agreement but dictates," he said, arguing that "it removes the strength and capabilities of Hezbollah and Lebanon entirely." Last month, Barrack urged Lebanon to "act now" to impose a state weapons monopoly. A Lebanese official with knowledge of the talks said on condition of anonymity that Hezbollah will not surrender its weapons "without something in return — the Americans know this well." Aoun last week said Lebanon was committed to removing "weapons from all armed groups including Hezbollah" and seeing them surrendered to Lebanon's army. Lebanon is at "a crucial stage" and must choose "between collapse and stability," Aoun had said. The international community has linked its support for the crisis-hit country to disarming the group, while Washington has failed to provide guarantees it will prevent Israel from attacking Lebanon. Qassem warned Israel against launching any new "large-scale aggression" because "if it does, Hezbollah will go on the defensive, "and this defence will lead to rockets falling inside the Israeli entity." Before discussing the fate of its weapons, which it considers a matter of domestic defense strategy, Hezbollah has demanded that reconstruction of areas destroyed during the war begin. It has also demanded that Israel stop its attacks, withdraw from five border areas it has occupied since the war and release Lebanese prisoners. Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, David Wood from the International Crisis Group said the militant group could apply pressure by objecting officially or encourage its supporters to demonstrate but a domestic confrontation was "not in Hezbollah's interest."
Japan Today
6 hours ago
- Japan Today
More than 85 percent of U.S.-Canada trade is tariff free: Carney
US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at a G7 meeting in June 2025 More than 85 percent of trade between the United States and Canada remains tariff free, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday, days after President Donald Trump hiked levies on some Canadian goods. Carney has said he was disappointed by Trump's decision last week to raise tariffs on isolated Canadian imports from 25 percent to 35 percent -- which took effect August 1. But the Canadian leader stressed the importance of Trump's decision to preserve exemptions for all goods compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, which Trump signed -- and praised -- in his first term. Speaking in the west coast province of British Columbia, Carney said Canada currently faces one of the lowest average US tariff rates of any country. "Over 85% of Canada-U.S. trade continues to be tariff-free in both directions," he said. Trump justified his latest Canada tariffs on grounds that the U.S. northern neighbor had not done enough to limit the cross-border flow of fentanyl, a drug fueling a major U.S. opioid crisis. Carney noted that fentanyl entering the United States from Canada was "a rounding error" compared to other sources. According to US data, fentanyl seized at the northern border accounted for less than 0.1 percent of all seizures between 2022 and 2024. Carney told reporters he had not spoken to Trump since last week's tariff announcement. "We'll speak when it makes sense," he said, voicing hope negotiators could still move towards a comprehensive bilateral deal. Carney's comments, made as he unveiled new support for a softwood lumber industry at the center of U.S.-Canada trade tensions, came as the national statistics agency released its June trade figures. Compared to June 2024, Canadian exports to the United States were down 12.5 percent, Statistics Canada said. Trump's protectionism is having an impact across the Canadian economy, but the sectors targeted by global US tariffs -- notably auto, steel and aluminum -- have caused the most damage. "Major Canadian industries are being severely impacted by U.S. (policies)," Carney said. "While we'll continue to work with the United States on the many mutually beneficial opportunities that we is clear that we cannot count, or fully rely, on what has been our most valued trading relationship." © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
6 hours ago
- Japan Today
Lebanese government pushes for army plan to disarm Hezbollah by year's end
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, centre, leads a Cabinet meeting which supposed to discuss the disarmament of Hezbollah, at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP) By BASSEM MROUE The Lebanese government asked the national army on Tuesday to prepare a plan in which only state institutions will have weapons in the small nation by the end of the year, a move that aims to disarm the militant Hezbollah group. The announcement by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam after a nearly six-hour Cabinet meeting, came shortly after Hezbollah's leader said his group would not disarm and warned that the Iran-backed faction would resume missile attacks on Israel if military operations against them intensify. Salam said the government asked the army to have the plan ready by the end of the month for discussion and approval. The government's move came as Beirut is under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead. The decision followed a July visit by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, who called for a more decisive policy to disarm the Iran-backed group. On Tuesday afternoon, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem rejected calls for his group to lay down its weapons, speaking as the government was meeting to discuss the group's disarmament. Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members. Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its military capabilities. Israel's military has said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis were displaced during the war. Since the ceasefire, Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for one attack on a disputed area along the border. In a televised speech Tuesday, Kassem said Hezbollah rejects any timetable to hand over its weapons. 'Israel's interest is not to widen the aggression because if they expand, the resistance will defend, the army will defend and the people will defend,' Kassem said. 'This defense will lead to the fall of missiles inside Israel.' Since the war ended, Hezbollah has withdrawn most of its fighters and weapons from the area along the border with Israel south of the Litani river. Last week, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated calls for Hezbollah to give up its weapons, angering the group's leadership. The ceasefire agreement left vague how Hezbollah's weapons and military facilities north of the Litani river should be treated, saying Lebanese authorities should dismantle unauthorized facilities starting with the area south of the river. Hezbollah maintains the deal only covers the area south of the Litani, while Israel and the U.S. say it mandates disarmament of the group throughout Lebanon. Kassem said Hezbollah rejects a government vote over its weapons, saying such a decision should be unanimously backed by all Lebanese. "No one can deprive Lebanon of its force to protect its sovereignty,' Kassem said. Hezbollah's weapons are a divisive issue among Lebanese, with some groups calling for its disarmament. Before the Cabinet meeting ended, two ministers allied with Hezbollah walked out of the session in what appeared to be a show of opposition to the decision. The Israel-Hezbollah war started a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack against Israel from Gaza. It left more than 4,000 people dead and caused damage worth $11 billion. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
