No offence to Ottawa, but it’s not the most exciting place in the world. Over the past couple of weeks, however, the Canadian capital has been embroiled in drama: hundreds of truckers, ostensibly protesting against vaccine mandates, have brought the city to a standstill. Members of the so-called “Freedom Truck Convoy” have been blaring horns, desecrating war memorials and setting off fireworks. Residents are being driven to distraction.

The 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on a United States (US) warrant, followed by China's detention of two Canadians, sparked an unprecedented dispute between Beijing and Ottawa.Last Friday, a legal agreement in New York paved the way for Meng to board a plane to China after nearly three years of detention in Canada and for the two Canadian men to also set off home.Here are the key dates in the case:Wanted: Meng Wanzhou In August 2018, a Ne

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou returned to China Saturday shortly after two Canadians released from prison in China also arrived in Calgary, ending a bitter diplomatic row that has poisoned ties for three years.Meng and the two Canadians – former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor – were detained in a bitter spat that critics have called "hostage diplomacy". Meng, the 49-year-old daughter of Ren Zhengfei, the billionaire founder of Chinese telecoms giant

International aid to alleviate India's dire oxygen shortage arrived in the South Asian nation on Sunday, as its coronavirus death toll climbed to a grim new record.The country of 1.3 billion reported 3,689 coronavirus deaths on Sunday – another grim daily record, with nearly 400,000 new cases of COVID-19 registered across India.Surges in Brazil and Canada have also highlighted the persistent threat of the pandemic, with the global death toll approaching 3.2 million even as many nations r

Two people were killed in Myanmar's second largest city as security forces fired live rounds on protestors, emergency workers and doctors said Saturday – the latest show of force from a junta regime that has faced two straight weeks of anti-coup demonstrations.Much of the country has been in uproar since the military deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February, with large street demonstrations seen in major cities and isolated villages alike.Authorities have responded with inc

Secretary of State Antony Blinken got to work Wednesday with a warning that the world's eyes were on the United States (US) to see if it can heal deep divisions.Blinken, a veteran diplomat and confidant of President Joe Biden, promised to rebuild morale and respect in a welcome ceremony at the State Department front entrance that was extraordinary for what was lacking – crowds.With COVID-19 raging, Blinken asked that only a bare minimum of employees, all masked, come to see him – and not

The United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and Canada have accused Russia of trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research as the pandemic surges across the world, with Brazil surpassing two million confirmed cases and the US notching a new daily record.The virus has killed more than 588,000 people, infected more than 13.7 million and crippled the global economy since emerging late last year, and world hopes have turned to a vaccine to end the onslaught.In the latest positive sign, British me

The United Kingdom’s (UK) decision to ban Huawei from its 5G networks has dealt a painful blow to China. Until recently, China was still counting on the UK to stick to its earlier decision to allow the Chinese telecom giant to supply non-core equipment for the country’s 5G networks.But two recent developments made such a decision untenable. The first was the United States’ (US) escalation of its war on Huawei.

Is an ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on the cards?The idea which was first proposed in 2016, was one of many on the agenda during the 16th ASEAN-Canada Dialogue in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, last month.