Fighting along the restive border between Armenia and Azerbaijan flared up again on Thursday, hours after Canada and several other countries called on the two South Caucasus neighbours to “refrain immediately from using force” and respect the ceasefire. Armenia’s Defence… »
Levon Sevunts
Born and raised in Armenia, Levon started his journalistic career in 1990, covering wars and civil strife in the Caucasus and Central Asia.In 1992, after the government in Armenia shut down the TV program he was working for, Levon immigrated to Canada. He learned English and eventually went back to journalism, working first in print and then in broadcasting.
Levon’s journalistic assignments have taken him from the High Arctic to Sahara and the killing fields of Darfur, from the streets of Montreal to the snow-capped mountaintops of Hindu Kush in Afghanistan.
He says, “But best of all, I’ve been privileged to tell the stories of hundreds of people who’ve generously opened up their homes, refugee tents and their hearts to me.”
Health, International, Internet, Science & Technology, Politics
Russian hackers targeted COVID-19 vaccine research, intelligence agencies say
A hacker group that “almost certainly operates as part of Russian intelligence services” has tried to steal COVID-19-related vaccine research in Canada, the U.K. and the U.S., according to a joint assessment by intelligence agencies in all three countries. The… »
Economy, International, Society
SWISS resumes flights to Canada as pandemic restrictions are relaxed
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) resumed direct flights between Montreal and Zurich on Wednesday, marking the airline’s return to the Canadian market, which was nearly shutdown by pandemic related travel restrictions. SWISS, which is part of the German-owned Lufthansa Group,… »
Health, Internet, Science & Technology
Canadian-made mask deactivates 99% of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, says U of T
A Quebec-based company has developed a special antimicrobial coating that can deactivate nearly all of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus – the virus that causes COVID-19 – on the outer surfaces of medical masks, according to University of Toronto scientists who tested… »
Interest rates are going to be low ‘for a very long time,’ says central bank
Canada’s central bank decided to keep its benchmark interest rate at 0.25 per cent on Wednesday and continue with its monetary policy of buying up billions of dollars in government bonds to increase the money supply and encourage lending and… »
Manhunt for father of 2 girls found dead in Quebec enters 6th day
Quebec provincial police continued combing through a wooded area near Quebec City on Tuesday as the search for the father of two girls whose lifeless bodies were found in a small town southwest of the provincial capital entered the sixth… »
Economy, International, Politics
Canada-U.S. border closure to be extended for another 30 days, CBC reports
Ottawa and Washington have agreed to extend restrictions on travel across the Canada-U.S. border for another 30 days, CBC News reports. Senior government officials have confirmed to CBC News that the agreement, which was set to expire on July 21,… »
Health, Internet, Science & Technology
Canadian company begins human testing of COVID-19 vaccine candidate
A Quebec City-based biopharmaceutical company has begun Canada’s first clinical trials of its plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Officials with Medicago announced Tuesday that the first doses of the vaccine candidate were administered to 180 healthy volunteers – men and women… »
Economy, International, Politics
Trudeau discusses threat of U.S. aluminum tariffs in call with Trump
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he told President Donald Trump during a phone conversation earlier in the day that renewed U.S. tariffs on imports of Canadian aluminum would hurt the economies of both countries. The issue of the possible… »
Trudeau apologizes for handling of WE Charity student grant contract
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he “made a mistake” in not recusing himself from cabinet discussions about awarding a contract to administer a $900-million federal student grant program to WE Charity that had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars… »
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