Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Russian military trainers arrived this week in Niger to reinforce the country's air defences as the west African nation pulls away from close cooperation with the United States in counterterrorism efforts, turning instead to Russia for security.
State television in Niger on Thursday broadcast footage of Russian military trainers arriving in the country aboard a plane equipped with military supplies. Two Russian trainers were filmed in front of the plane at night wearing military uniforms, caps and face coverings.
"We are here to train the Nigerien army to use the military equipment that is here," one of the Russian trainers said in the broadcast, speaking in French. "We are here to develop military cooperation between Russia and Niger."
Niger's ruling military council, known as the CNSP, has yet to order American troops out, U.S. officials have said. But the arrival of Russian forces makes it complicated for the U.S. forces, along with diplomatic and civilian personnel, to remain in the country. It also throws into doubt the future of joint Niger-U.S. counterinsurgency operations.
Until recently, Washington considered Niger a key partner and ally in a region swept by coups in recent years, investing millions of dollars in an airbase in a desert area that served as the heart of American counterinsurgency operations in Africa's sub-Saharan region known as the Sahel.
The U.S. also invested heavily in training Niger's forces to beat back insurgencies by militants linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group, which ravaged the country and its neighbours. But last summer, some of those elite U.S.-trained forces took part in a coup that ousted the elected president. Since then, relations between Niger's new leaders and Washington have deteriorated.
Following the visit last month of a U.S. delegation led by the top U.S. envoy to Africa, Molly Phee, the junta announced on state television that flights from the U.S.-built airbase were illegal and that it no longer recognized the American military presence in the country.
The junta criticized the U.S. for warning Niger against cooperating with Russia and Iran, saying it was trying to force the African nation to choose between partners.
A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing talks, said Washington was looking at options for revising military cooperation with Niger. While the path forward would not be easy, there was still hope for finding a formula that addressed concerns and interests on both sides, the official said.
The Russian plane had arrived on Wednesday night, the report by Niger's state television said, and carried Russian military supplies to help Niger improve its air defences. The broadcast said the arrival of Russian trainers followed a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Niger's military leaders in March. Niger's military leaders are seeking to diversify their partnerships and achieve greater sovereignty, the broadcast said.
"The arrival of a Russian air defence system can be viewed as part of the junta's effort to reclaim sovereignty, this time over its airspace, and force the U.S. and Russia to cooperate with each other in Niger," said John Lechner, Africa analyst and author on the Wagner Group. But he added that, "Such cooperation is unlikely."
He said the Niger government may be trying to compel the U.S. forces to withdraw without explicitly pushing them out.
Since 2012, Niger and other neighbours in the region have been gripped by a worsening insurgency fought by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State militants.
As recently as December, some 600 U.S. troops and hundreds more contractors were stationed in Niger, tasked with flying manned and unmanned surveillance operations and supporting local forces against jihadi groups.
------
Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
Three officers on a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded in a shootout Monday at a North Carolina home, police said.
A Calgary elementary school principal has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities announced Monday.
The Vancouver Island Health Authority is downplaying what staff describe as a cockroach infestation in a medical unit of Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
One of the winners of a historic US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears will avoid what could have been a long, ugly and revealing trial with a settlement of the lingering issues in the court conservatorship that controlled her life and financial decisions for nearly 14 years.
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2023 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.
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.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
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 giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.