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CTV News
27 minutes ago
- CTV News
U.S. suspends visas for Gazans after far-right influencer posts
President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. President Trump is traveling to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin today in Alaska at a U.S. military base for a crucial summit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) The U.S. government said Saturday it is suspending visitor visas for Gazans after a far-right influencer with the ear of U.S. President Donald Trump complained that wounded Palestinians had been allowed to seek medical treatment in the United States. The announcement came one day after a series of furious social media posts by Laura Loomer, who is known for promoting racist conspiracy theories and claiming that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job. 'All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days,' the State Department, which is led by Marco Rubio, wrote on X. In a series of posts on X Friday, Loomer called on the State Department to stop giving visas to Palestinians from Gaza who she said were 'pro-HAMAS... affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and funded by Qatar,' without providing evidence. Loomer's target was the U.S.-based charity HEAL Palestine, which said last week it had helped 11 critically wounded Gazan children - as well as their caregivers and siblings - arrive safely in the U.S. for medical treatment. It was 'the largest single medical evacuation of injured children from Gaza to the U.S.,' the charity said on its website. 'Dangerous and inhumane' 'Truly unacceptable,' Loomer wrote in another X post. 'Someone needs to be fired at @StateDept when @marcorubio figures out who approved the visas.' 'Qatar transported these GAZANS into the U.S. via @qatarairways,' she said. Qatar is 'literally flooding our country with jihadis,' she added. Loomer said she had spoken to the staff of Republican Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, adding that they were 'also looking into how these GAZANS got visas to come into the U.S.' Republican Congressman Randy Fine explicitly commended Loomer after the visa change was announced, in a sign of her sway over some U.S. policy. 'Massive credit needs to be given to @LauraLoomer for uncovering this and making me and other officials aware. Well done, Laura,' Fine wrote on X. The Palestine Children's Relief Fund, a U.S.-based charity, called on the Trump administration to 'reverse this dangerous and inhumane decision.' Over the last 30 years the charity has evacuated thousands of Palestinian children to the U.S. for medical care, it said a statement. 'Medical evacuations are a lifeline for the children of Gaza who would otherwise face unimaginable suffering or death due to the collapse of medical infrastructure in Gaza.' Though Loomer holds no official position, she wields significant power, and is reported to have successfully pushed for the dismissal of several senior U.S. security officials she deemed disloyal to Trump. In July, Loomer took aim at a job offer made to a highly qualified Biden-era official for a prestigious position at the West Point military academy. The Pentagon rescinded the offer one day later. Trump also fired the head of the highly sensitive National Security Agency, Timothy Haugh, and his deputy Wendy Noble in April at the apparent urging of Loomer, after she met with the president at the White House. 'No other content creator or journalist has gotten as many Biden holdovers fired from the Trump admin!' Loomer posted on X Saturday.
CBC
28 minutes ago
- CBC
Rally outside Winnipeg CBC building protests broadcaster's Gaza coverage
A large rally in front of the CBC building in downtown Winnipeg on Saturday protested the national broadcaster's coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The protest, which began around noon and saw protesters line the sidewalk and boulevard from Young Street to Balmoral Street, in front of the CBC building and the University of Winnipeg campus, called on the public broadcaster to launch an independent, public review of the conflict's coverage since October 2023, commit to consistently using the word "genocide" in its coverage, and centre Palestinian voices and direct eyewitness accounts. A social media post by the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba called for "an end to the shameful complicity of the media," accusing media outlets like CBC of "continuing to censor, obfuscate and neglect the truth being broadcast from on the ground." Winnipeg demonstrator Alex Boulley pointed to human rights organizations that have called the crisis a genocide, saying "it's the right use of the word." "I think that not using the word is unfortunately undercutting the severity of the situation, and it is causing it to appear less dire than it is," they said, stressing language choices could lead to misunderstandings around the situation. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders, have described the situation as a genocide. Israel has repeatedly denied committing a genocide, recently calling growing international condemnation a "global campaign of lies." In a statement to CBC Manitoba, a CBC spokesperson said the term "genocide" carries a "precise definition under international law." "For CBC to make a legal determination, or to take a side in this debate, before a conclusive legal finding would violate the principle of impartiality, one of the core tenets of our Journalistic Standards and Practices," the spokesperson said. "CBC does quote, feature, interview, profile, with clear attribution and context, organizations and governments that do make that declaration. CBC also reports, again with attribution and context, the views of individuals, organizations and governments that deny Israel is committing genocide." The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals, but 50 remain inside Gaza. Israel believes around 20 of them to be alive. Since then, Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more 61,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. The Health Ministry also says there have been more than 200 malnutrition-related deaths. according to the United Nations. More on-the-ground coverage needed: protester The war has also become deadly for those reporting on it, with 192 journalists killed since the war began, according to the non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists. Among them are six journalists, including prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who were killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike on Aug. 10. During Saturday's protest — which was attended by upwards of 200 people, according to a rough CBC head count — some demonstrators wore blue signs with the word "Press" and red paint. Doha Smaha, a Grade 12 student who is originally from Algeria, said CBC News should do more in-depth reporting on the journalists killed while working in the war zone. "A lot of press members are being killed and CBC was just covering [up] the truth. So we're trying to show them the reality and the truth," Smaha said. Marianne Jantz, a nurse from Winnipeg, said she would like to see more CBC journalists on the ground in Gaza, highlighting international correspondent Margaret Evans's reporting from the West Bank. Protester Byron Rempel-Burkholder said coverage on CBC Manitoba's Weekend Morning Show has shed light on the situation. Host Nadia Kidwai has interviewed journalists on the ground in Gaza, including Al Jazeera reporter Tareq Abu Azzoum and citizen journalist Mansour Shouman. The show has also featured interviews with aid workers in Gaza, Israeli youth jailed for refusing military service, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and two Gazan families who came to Manitoba for life-changing medical care. But Rempel-Burkholder said he is "disturbed" by much of the Western press coverage of Gaza. "In terms of CBC's approach, I think there needs to be a shift toward much greater empathy, sympathy for the Palestinian intergenerational trauma that they've experienced at the hands of Israel," he said, encouraging journalists to seek out "deeper causes to this conflict." In its statement, CBC says the broadcaster is "committed to covering the conflict in all its complexity," including the war's humanitarian impact, the Israeli military's actions, the role of Hamas and how to define the situation, including accusations of genocide.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Jobs minister says it's 'critical' for Air Canada, union to keep negotiating
Social Sharing Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu is urging Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants to get back to the negotiating table, suggesting she's not ready to intervene in a dispute that has upended hundreds of flights. In an interview with The Canadian Press, Hajdu said it's "critical" that the two parties "return to the table" to forge a deal on their own. The minister said the union has indicated many of its demands have been met, suggesting there is a path forward to a deal. "The union said themselves that many of their demands have been met. However, right now, they're not at the table," she said. "It's very important that both the union and the corporation return to the table, roll up their sleeves and finish this deal." Hajdu's comments came just hours before a deadline of 1 a.m. ET Saturday, when some 10,000 flight attendants were in a position to walk off the job without an agreement in place. Opposing blame for bargaining impasse The country's largest airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have blamed each other for their bargaining impasse, with the union rejecting a request for binding arbitration and the company imposing a lockout. The Air Canada component of CUPE said it is eager to avoid a work stoppage by sitting down to negotiate, while the airline has requested Hajdu step in and direct the parties to enter binding arbitration. Business groups have meanwhile warned of the damage a protracted dispute will do to the economy and have called on the government to consider all its options for ending the dispute — including imposing binding arbitration. Cross Country Checkup is asking: How will you be affected by an Air Canada strike? What should be done about it? Leave your comment here and we may read it or call you back. Hajdu acknowledged the economy is "stressed" and said this is a time for "Canadians to pull together — and I expect corporations and unions to do that, too." She also said it's not up to her to "resolve the issues in the collective agreement," but the minister did not rule anything out, either. "It's very important that we stay focused on the two parties. They have the primary responsibility to solve this. This is a corporation and a union who have all the tools they need, as well as tools from the federal mediation service, to get this deal done," Hajdu said. "Canadians are watching with a high degree of empathy ... and a high degree of anxiety, and I think the country is depending on these parties to do their work and to be diligent about turning over every stone." In a statement posted on social media, the minister said she met with both parties together on Friday evening and told them to work harder to reach a deal. "It is unacceptable that such little progress has been made," Hajdu said. Air Canada warned Friday it is cancelling around 500 flights previously scheduled in anticipation of the work stoppage, with a full halt expected to start Saturday. The airline has said that customers whose flights are cancelled will be offered a full refund. Air Canada said it is also allowing customers to change their travel plans without a fee if they choose to do so.
