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Canada in talks with NATO allies about boosting military forces in Latvia

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Ottawa is talking with allies about reinforcing a Canadian-led combat unit in Latvia as the NATO military alliance moves to reinforce its eastern front with Russia.

Latvia’s ambassador to Canada revealed the discussions in an interview with The Canadian Press as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares to attend a NATO summit later this week where Russia and its invasion of Ukraine will be top of mind.

The aim is to add more troops and capabilities to the 2,000-strong battlegroup that Canada has been leading in Latvia since 2017, which will serve as a deterrent to further Russian aggression in the region, said Ambassador Kaspars Ozolins.

“We are trying to respond to the current security environment,” Ozolins said. “It’s important that we beef up the security and forward defence and deterrence of the eastern flank. And it should be at the (same) level as all NATO countries.”

The Canadian-led battlegroup in Latvia is one of four established by NATO in 2017, with Germany leading another such unit in Lithuania and Britain and the United States responsible for forces in Estonia and Poland, respectively.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, NATO members agreed to create four more battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, effectively extending the alliance’s eastern front from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday confirmed the eight battlegroups will be increased to brigade-level forces, which entails doubling the number of troops to between 3,000 and 5,000.

Increasing the battlegroups to brigades will also entail adding more equipment, including dedicated air defence and electronic warfare units as well as better command and control capabilities, and the stockpiling of more ammunition and other supplies.

“With more forward-deployed equipment, including lots more forward-deployed combat formations, and more exercises, we will significantly increase our ability to defend and protect all allies also in the eastern part of the alliance,” Stoltenberg said.

The alliance is also dramatically increasing the number of forces on high readiness from 40,000 to 300,000, Stoltenberg said, so they can be deployed quickly in the event of war.

Yet while Germany and Britain have both said in recent weeks that they are ready to lead larger combat units in Lithuania and Estonia, Canada has so far remained silent about its plans in Latvia.

Trudeau in March announced Canada will continue leading the Latvian-based battlegroup until March 2025, which Ozolins described as a necessary first step toward strengthening the force.

Canada is now leading discussions with other allies, the ambassador said, including the 10 other countries that are already contributing troops to the force. Those include Spain, Italy, Albania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

“We are moving in the right direction,” Ozolins said. “The Canadians are leading the process. … This will be like a bit of a negotiation and discussion about who brings what.”

Since Russia’s invasion, Canada has deployed more forces to Latvia, adding to the 600 troops already there before the war began. That includes sending an artillery unit as well as a handful of staff officers, including a general.

Denmark has also stepped up in a big way in recent months, promising an 800-strong battalion following a request from NATO.

But Defence Minister Anita Anand’s office did not directly address questions on Monday about Canada leading a brigade-sized unit in Latvia, or the ongoing talks with fellow NATO allies about increasing the size of the force.

“Minister Anand remains in regular contact with Latvian Defence Minister (Artis) Pabriks about Canada’s further strengthening of its presence in the region,” spokeswoman Sabrina Kim said in an email.

“Since the beginning, Canada has made significant contributions to NATO’s deterrence and defence efforts on the eastern flank. In line with our allies in the region, we will continue to augment our contributions going forward.”

The battlegroups were initially billed as “tripwires,” with the aim of making the Kremlin think twice before launching an attack as doing so would bring a unified response from the whole of the 30-member NATO military alliance.

But with the war in Ukraine, alliance leaders now appear to agree with expert warnings that those tripwires would be more like speed bumps and do little to stop Russia from rolling through the Baltics before NATO could respond.

During a visit by Latvia’s prime minister in May, Trudeau acknowledged the need to “recalculate” NATO’s previous assumptions and what it considers acceptable with regards to an attack on the Baltics, noting the reports of mass atrocities by Russian troops in places like Bucha and Mariupol in Ukraine.

But he wouldn’t say whether Canada supports dramatically expanding the battlegroups and making them permanent.

Latvia is not necessarily expecting Canada to put more boots on the ground itself, Ozolins said, adding the multinational nature of the battlegroup in his country was likely one of the main reasons an announcement has yet to materialize.

“Canada leads the battlegroup with the most numerous countries,” he said. “Because of the sheer size and involvement of different countries in the battlegroup, it probably takes a little bit more time to discuss, consult and negotiate.”

The British-led battlegroup in Estonia includes four other nations while seven are working with the Germans in Lithuania.

The bottom line is that it is imperative the alliance bolster its military presence in Latvia and the surrounding region as a show of strength to prevent Russia from thinking it can simply roll through the Baltics, Ozolins said.

“Ukraine is a huge country and it’s not so easily overtaken, whereas the Baltic states are geographically rather smaller countries and you would not have time for regrouping and reinforcing,” he said.

“So that’s why the current effort is geared towards actually having more forces on the ground.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2022.

 

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

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Mexican schools have 6 months to ban sale of junk food or face heavy fines

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Schools in Mexico will have six months to implement a government-sponsored ban on junk food or else face heavy fines, officials said Monday.

The rules, published on Sept. 30, target products that have become staples for two or three generations of Mexican schoolkids: sugary fruit drinks sold in triangular cardboard cartons, chips, artificial pork rinds and soy-encased, salty peanuts with chile. School administrators who violate the order will face fines equivalent to between $545 and $5,450, which could double for a second offense, amounting to nearly a year’s wages for some of them.

Mexico’s children have the highest consumption of junk food in Latin America and many get 40% of their total caloric intake from it, according to the U.N. Children’s Fund which labeled child obesity there an emergency.

The new ban targets products that have become staples for two or three generations of Mexican schoolkids: sugary fruit drinks sold in triangular cardboard cartons, chips, artificial pork rinds and soy-encased, salty peanuts with chile.

Previous attempts to implement laws against so-called ‘junk food’ have met with little success.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday schools would have to offer water fountains and alternative snacks, like bean tacos.

“It is much better to eat a bean taco than a bag of potato chips,” Sheinbaum said. “It is much better to drink hibiscus flower water than soda.”

However, the vast majority of Mexico’s 255,000 schools nationwide do not have free drinking water available to students. According to a report in 2020, the effort to install drinking fountains succeeded in only about 10,900 of the country’s schools, or about 4% of them. Many Schools are located in areas so poor or remote that they struggle to maintain acceptable bathrooms, internet connection or electricity.

Also the most common recipes for beans, refried beans, usually contain a significant dose of lard, which would violate rules against saturated fats.

Mexico instituted front-of-package warning labels for foods between 2010 and 2020, to advise consumers about high levels of salt, added sugar, excess calories and saturated fats. Some snack foods carry all four of the black, octagonal warning labels.

But under the new rules, schools will have to phase out any product containing even a single warning label from school snack stands. It wasn’t immediately clear how the government would enforce the ban on the sidewalks outside schools, where vendors usually set up tables of goods to sell to kids at recess.

Mexican authorities say the country has the worst childhood obesity problem in the world, with about one-third of children overweight or obese.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Panthers’ Reinhart named NHL first star after posting nine points over four games

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NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.

Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.

New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.

Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.

Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s season ended by ruptured Achilles tendon, team said he’ll have surgery

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.

He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.

Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.

The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”

Watson was injured on a noncontact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals and carted off the field in tears.

It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.

The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.

He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.

As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.

Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.

The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.

“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”

Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.

“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.

“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”

The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.

Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.

With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.

The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.

But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.

Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.

Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.

Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.

Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.

___

AP NFL:



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