LIVE UPDATES Rain reduces wildfire activity, aids firefighters: Jasper park officials
Jasper National Park officials said Thursday night that rain over the day resulted in "minimal fire behaviour and spread."
As the leaders of Guyana and Venezuela prepare to meet this week to address an escalating dispute over a region rich in oil and minerals, Guyana's president said he is coming with "goodwill' but insisted that his country be respected and the case be heard at the International Court of Justice.
Guyana President Irfaan Ali spoke to reporters late Sunday, while his security detail wore shirts reading "ESSEQUIBO BELONGS TO GUYANA."
The dispute over Essequibo, which represents two-thirds of Guyana and borders Venezuela, worsened after Venezuela held a referendum earlier this month on whether to claim sovereignty over the region located near massive oil deposits.
Venezuela maintains that Essequibo was within its boundaries during the Spanish colonial period, and it rejects the border drawn by international arbitrators in 1899 when Guyana was under British rule.
Guyana's president is scheduled to meet Thursday with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro behind closed doors on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent. Invited to the talks are leaders including Brazilian President Inacio Lula da Silva.
"We are very confident that good sense will prevail," Ali said. "We want peace, but we must be respected."
He stressed that Guyana will not negotiate with Venezuela, insisting that the case be heard by the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands as planned.
"The world is behind us," he said.
When asked if the U.S. has committed any military aid, Ali said he signed an advanced defence agreement with the U.S. to ensure that "major training programs and exercises" will continue.
"We also are talking to many other partners," he said, without details. "We don't want any conflict. We don't want any war."
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez announced the creation of a commission to carry out the "broadest consultations" on what Venezuela's proposal should be for the meeting. The commission includes the attorney general, head of the National Assembly and defence minister.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil told reporters that "any decision must be mutual" and asserted that the dispute cannot be settled by the world's court. In a video posted Sunday on social media, he said he met with his counterpart in Guyana and noted, "We are always in favour of dialogue between both countries to solve this controversy."
Gil said he also has met with the presidents of CELAC -- the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States -- and Caricom, a Caribbean trade bloc.
In a statement Saturday, Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said the leaderships of CELAC and Caricom believe there is "the urgent need to de-escalate the conflict and institute an appropriate dialogue."
Gonsalves noted that Ali agreed to discuss the controversy with Maduro despite Guyana's Parliament unanimously instructing him not to do it.
"Let us all resolve to make this historic gathering a successful one," Gonsalves said. "So much is at stake for our Caribbean and Latin American civilization."
------
Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed.
Jasper National Park officials said Thursday night that rain over the day resulted in "minimal fire behaviour and spread."
The Canadian Olympic Committee has removed women's national soccer team head coach Bev Priestman over a drone scandal, according to a press release from the organization.
A woman in Yukon believes her hair clip helped save her during a bear attack.
Newly released financial reports show that William, the Prince of Wales, drew a salary of $42.1 million last fiscal year, his first since inheriting the vast and lucrative Duchy of Cornwall.
On Wednesday night, the owner of Maligne Lodge in Jasper, Alta., was shocked to receive a photo of her business engulfed in flames.
The Law Society of British Columbia says a DNA test shows a former judge and Order of Canada recipient accused of falsely claiming to be Cree "most likely" has Indigenous heritage.
Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of another infamous cartel leader, were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas on Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department said.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to help reach a Gaza ceasefire deal that would ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than President Joe Biden.
As fire threatened people in Jasper National Park, Colleen Knull sprung into action.
A Saskatchewan-born veteran of the Second World War was recently presented with France's highest national order.
A local First Nations elder and veteran is helping to bring the Ojibwe language to a well-known film for the first time.
A cat who fled her Montreal home nearly a decade ago has been reunited with her family after being found in Ottawa.
A woman in Waterloo, Ont. is out thousands of dollars for a car crash she wasn’t involved in.
A swarm of bees living in a lamppost in Winnipeg’s Sage Creek neighbourhood has found a new home for its hive.
Around 100 acres of Manitoba Crown Land near the Saskatchewan border is being returned to the Métis community.
Nova Scotia is suspending the licensed Cape Breton moose hunt for three years due to what the province is calling a “significant drop” in the population.
A well-known childhood prank known as 'nicky nicky nine doors,' or 'ding dong ditch,' has escalated into a more serious game that could lead to charges for some Surrey, B.C. teens.
It's been more than a month since their good friend was seriously hurt in an accident and two teens from Riverview, N.B., are still having a hard time dealing with it.