Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rebuffed President Joe Biden's suggestion that the premier "walks away" from a contentious plan to overhaul the legal system, saying the country makes its own decisions.
The exchange was a rare bout of public disagreement between the two close allies and signals building friction between Israel and the U.S. over Netanyahu's judicial changes, which he postponed after massive protests.
Asked by reporters late Tuesday what he hopes the premier does with the legislation, Biden replied, "I hope he walks away from it." The president added that Netanyahu's government "cannot continue down this road" and urged compromise on the plan roiling Israel. The president also stepped around U.S. Ambassador Thomas Nides' suggestion that Netanyahu would soon be invited to the White House, saying, "No, not in the near term."
Netanyahu replied that Israel is sovereign and "makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends."
The frosty exchange came a day after Netanyahu called for a halt to his government's contentious legislation "to avoid civil war" in the wake of two consecutive days of mass protests that drew tens of thousands of people to Israel's streets.
"Hopefully the prime minister will act in a way that he can try to work out some genuine compromise. But that remains to be seen," Biden said to reporters as he left North Carolina to return to Washington.
Israeli protest organizers called for a demonstration in support of Biden outside the U.S. embassy building in Tel Aviv on Thursday, while Netanyahu's allies doubled down on their criticism.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a close Netanyahu ally and minister in charge of police, told Israel's Army Radio that Israel "is not another star in the American flag."
"I expect the U.S. president to understand this point," he said.
Speaking to Kan public radio, Education Minister Yoav Kisch said that "a friend may not try to impose on the other regarding internal issues."
Nimrod Goren, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, noted that the U.S.-Israel relationship has had previous points of crisis -- over, for example, the now-defunct agreement to limit Iran's nuclear capabilities. In contrast, he said, now the White House appeared to be "questioning Netanyahu's competence as prime minister, and whether he's reliable or responsible."
Netanyahu and his religious and ultranationalist allies announced the judicial overhaul in January just days after forming their government, the most right-wing in Israel's history.
The proposal has plunged Israel into its worst domestic crisis in decades. Business leaders, top economists and former security chiefs have all come out against the plan, saying it is pushing the country toward dictatorship.
The plan would give Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, and his allies the final say in appointing the nation's judges. It would also give parliament, which is controlled by his allies, authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit the court's ability to review laws.
Critics say the legislation would concentrate power in the hands of the coalition in parliament and upset the balance of checks and balances between branches of government.
Netanyahu said he was "striving to achieve via a broad consensus" in talks with opposition leaders that began Tuesday.
Yair Lapid, the opposition leader in Israel's parliament, wrote on Twitter that Israel was the U.S.'s closest allies for decades but "the most radical government in the country's history ruined that in three months."
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.