El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
A top Russian security official warned Thursday about the rising threat of a nuclear war and blasted a German minister for threatening Russian President Vladimir Putin with arrest, saying that such action would amount to a declaration of war and trigger a Russian strike on Germany.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council chaired by Putin, said in video remarks to reporters that Russia's relations with the West have hit an all-time bottom.
Asked whether the threat of a nuclear conflict has eased, Medvedev responded: "No, it hasn't decreased, it has grown. Every day when they provide Ukraine with foreign weapons brings the nuclear apocalypse closer."
He has issued a barrage of such strongly-worded statements in the past, blasting the U.S. and its NATO allies for what he described as their efforts to break up and destroy Russia. It's been a drastic metamorphosis for the gentle-looking politician, who once was hailed by the West as a liberal hope.
In Thursday's comments, the 57-year-old Medvedev denounced the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of alleged involvement in abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine as legally null and void. He noted that the move added to a "colossal negative potential" in the already bitterly strained ties between Russia and the West.
"Our relations with the West are already worse than they have ever been in history," he said.
Medvedev specifically blasted German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, who said last week that Putin would be arrested on the ICC's warrant if he visits Germany.
"Let's imagine ... the leader of a nuclear power visits the territory of Germany and is arrested," Medvedev said, adding that it would amount to a declaration of war against Russia. "In this case, our assets will fly to hit the Bundestag, the chancellor's office and so on."
He noted that Russia's nuclear forces have provided a strong deterrent amid the fighting in Ukraine, adding that "we would have been torn to pieces without them."
Medvedev also challenged Ukraine's sovereignty in comments that could reflect Moscow's plans to extend its gains.
"Honestly speaking, Ukraine is part of Russia," he said. "But due to geopolitical reasons and the course of history we had tolerated that we were living in separate quarters and had been forced to acknowledge those invented borders for a long time."
The soft-spoken and mild-mannered Medvedev, who served as Russia's president from 2008 to 2012 when term limits forced Putin to shift into the prime minister's post, was widely seen by Western officials as more liberal than his mentor. Many in the West expected Medvedev to win a second term and further soften the Kremlin's policies, but he stepped down to allow Putin to reclaim the presidency in what Kremlin critics denounced as a cynical manipulation.
Since Putin sent troops into Ukraine more than a year ago, Medvedev has emerged as one of the most hawkish Russian officials, regularly issuing blustery remarks that combine Latin mottos and legal expressions with four-letter words, and sound much tougher than those issued by old-time Kremlin hard-liners. Observers have interpreted Medvedev's comments as an apparent attempt to curry favour with Putin.
Medvedev launched more anti-Western diatribes Thursday, declaring that "it's useless to have talks" with the West and speaking with contempt about Western politicians, alleging a "catastrophic drop in competence and elementary literacy of European Union leaders."
"I have no illusions that we could communicate with them again any time soon," he said. "It makes no sense to negotiate with certain countries and blocs -- they only understand the language of force."
Medvedev. who heads a Security Council panel coordinating weapons production, derided Western statements alleging that Russia is running out of weapons and charged Russian weapons industries have increased output.
He said that Russia will produce 1,500 battle tanks this year alone and boost production of other weapons to meet the army's needs. His claims couldn't be independently verified.
"The most important thing now is to make it all in necessary volumes, and we are launching new factories to do that," Medvedev said.
He said that the Russian military already has good intelligence drones and loitering munitions, but acknowledged that it has yet to deploy long-range strike drones.
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
The Maple Leafs battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss.
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
Thieves killed two Australians and an American on a surfing trip to Mexico in order to steal their truck, particularly because they wanted the tires, authorities said Sunday.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.