LIVE Evacuation order issued for some Fort McMurray neighbourhoods as wildfire nears
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
The UN chief had a piece of good news Wednesday in the midst of Ethiopia's year-long war against forces from the Tigray region: 157 trucks with food and humanitarian aid arrived in Tigray's capital for the first time in more than six weeks and another aid convoy was moving.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said UN flights between Tigray's capital Mekelle and Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa had also restarted. They were suspended on Oct. 22 after government airstrikes forced a humanitarian flight carrying 11 passengers to abandon its landing in Mekelle.
The Tigray region has not received badly needed aid supplies including food, medicines and fuel since the Ethiopian military began hitting Mekelle with airstrikes on Oct. 18. Even before then, the U.N. said just 15% of the needed supply-laden trucks had entered Tigray since mid-July. Hundreds of thousands of people in the region face famine conditions under what the United Nations has called a "de facto humanitarian blockade."
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said none of the 157 trucks that reached Mekelle carried desperately needed fuel, which is essential to deliver humanitarian aid.
Nonetheless, Guterres called the resumption of aid deliveries to Tigray and the restarting of UN flights "a good signal,."
He said there was also "a small hint of hope" that they might lead to a "more positive attitude for dialogue" between the warring parties.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed since November 2020 when a political falling-out between the Tigray forces who long dominated the national government and the current administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed erupted in fighting.
Tigray forces in recent months have retaken the Tigray region and brought the fighting into the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions. The government declared a state of emergency in November as Tigray fighters moved closer to Addis Ababa. The UN says more than 2 million people are now displaced overall.
Guterres and African Union Commission chair, Moussa Faki Mahamat spoke at a joint press conference after a private meeting and both strongly supported mediation efforts by former Nigerian president Olesegun Obasanjo, the AU envoy.
Mahamat said Obasanjo re-established contact between the two parties, shuttling between Addis Ababa and Mekele three times and listening to conditions from both sides for a solution.
The government wants the Tigray forces to go back to their territory and recognize "the legitimacy of the Abiy Ahmed government," he said, while fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front want corridors opened for humanitarian supplies, public services restored, and Eritrean forces supporting the government withdrawn.
The Tigray forces say they are pressuring Abiy's government to lift the blockade, but also want the prime minister to step aside. Ethiopia's government earlier this year designated the Tigray forces as a terrorist group, further complicating mediation efforts by Obasanjo and U.S. envoy Jeffrey Feltman for a cease-fire.
"We continue to talk to both sides, but unfortunately the fighting on the ground continues," the AU's Mahamat said. "We've noted in recent days, perhaps, stability is beginning to reign on the front but we do have deep concerns ... for a cease-fire."
"That absolutely must happen. Humanitarian aid needs to reach all those that have suffered from this conflict, and we absolutely need to resolve these problems through political discussions and through dialogue," he said.
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
The doctor who led Toronto through the COVID-19 pandemic as the city’s top public health official is stepping down.
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.