Putin remains coy on future and Trump plans to run, and win; In The News for Feb. 5

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Feb. 5 …

What we are watching in Canada …

A chartered plane carrying Canadians from the centre of a virus outbreak in China is scheduled to depart Thursday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the flight will wait in Vietnam for final permission from Chinese authorities to land in Wuhan.

Off the coast of Japan, a cruise ship carrying 251 Canadians among others has been quarantined following a confirmed outbreak of the new coronavirus.

A statement from Princess Cruises says 10 people have tested positive for the virus, but none are Canadian.

Health officials in British Columbia believe a woman in her 50s in the Vancouver area has contracted the new coronavirus, and if confirmed will be Canada’s fifth case.

The viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 24,500 people globally with 490 deaths and 24,324 confirmed cases on the mainland, and one in Hong Kong.

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Also this …

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion overcame another legal hurdle Tuesday when the Federal Court of Appeal struck down a challenge filed by several British Columbia First Nations.

The court decided in a 3-0 ruling that cabinet’s decision last June to approve the project a second time was reasonable under the law.

“For the reasons that follow, we conclude that there is no basis for interfering with the (cabinet’s) second authorization of the project,” the 95-page decision said.

In deciding that, the judges dismissed the four challenges from First Nations in British Columbia, who argued the government had already made up its mind to approve the project again before undertaking another Indigenous consultation process in 2018 and 2019.

The judges said “this was anything but a rubber-stamping exercise.”

The court found the government made a genuine effort, listened to and considered concerns raised by First Nations, and sometimes agreed to accommodate those concerns, “all very much consistent with the concepts of reconciliation and the honour of the Crown.”

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

President Donald Trump declared his scorched-earth political style an unmitigated success in a fiercely partisan, made-for-TV state of the union speech that made it clear he expects to be back in the White House next year on the strength of the U.S. economy and his trade deals with Canada, Mexico and China.

Trump, addressing a joint session of Congress in the very chamber where House Democrats voted to impeach him less than two months ago, became only the second president in American history — Bill Clinton was the first — to deliver a state of the union while standing trial in the Senate.

Unrepentant, he pointedly refused to shake the offered hand of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the dais before singing the praises of what he billed as “the great American comeback,” pointing to strong job growth, a soaring stock market and low unemployment as evidence of his leadership. And when he was done, Pelosi ripped up the speech in full view of the television cameras.

“America’s enemies are on the run, America’s fortunes are on the rise, and America’s future is blazing bright. The years of economic decay are over,” Trump declared, taking full credit for the country’s “roaring economy,” including what he billed as seven million new jobs and the lowest jobless rate in half a century — a “blue-collar boom” that he’s counting on to help his re-election chances in November.

One half of the lawmakers in the chamber rose to applaud his every sentence, many chanting, “Four more years” at the outset. Democrats, on the other hand, sat stone-faced throughout much of it. Several walked out; several others stayed away entirely.

Trump took credit for replacing the “unfair NAFTA trade deal” with USMCA, blaming it for the loss of one in four manufacturing jobs over the course of that agreement’s 26-year life, and denouncing his predecessors for ignoring the damage being done.

“Unfair trade is perhaps the single biggest reason that I decided to run for president,” he said. 

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a nationwide vote on constitutional changes he proposed wouldn’t be used to extend his current term in office, but remained tight-lipped about his future political plans.

Kremlin critics have seen Putin’s amendments as part of his efforts to stay at the helm after his current presidential term expires in 2024. The proposed changes, however, don’t make it clear exactly how he could do that.

Asked during a meeting with students and teachers if the vote could be used to directly extend his term in office, Putin said it’s not what he wants.

“I didn’t propose that to extend my authority,” Putin said. “The election of the head of state must be held on a competitive basis.”

Observers have speculated that once his term expires Putin could use the amendments to continue calling the shots as head of the State Council or prime minister. The former position, however, is yet to be defined and the latter is clearly subordinate to the presidency, making it unlikely that Putin would want it for himself.

It has remained unclear why the Russian leader is rushing through constitutional changes four years before the end of his term.

Putin, a 67-year-old former KGB officer, who has led Russia for more than 20 years — the longest since Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Putin prefers to keep his plans secret until the final moment.

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ICYMI (In case you missed it) …

TORONTO — A WestJet flight from Toronto to Jamaica was forced to turn back after the airline says a passenger made an “unfounded claim regarding coronavirus.”

The airline says in a statement that 243 passengers aboard flight 2702 were on their way to Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay on Monday when the flight was disrupted by an “unruly guest.”

It says the plane returned to Toronto, where law enforcement and paramedics were waiting.

WestJet says that “out of an abundance of caution,” the flight crew followed all protocols for infectious disease on board.

The airline says flights 2702 and 2703 were cancelled as a result of the incident, but two additional flights were scheduled this morning to make up for it — one leaving Toronto and one returning from Montego Bay.

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Weird and wild …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A male baboon carrying and grooming a lion cub is an unusual sight, yet it happened over the weekend in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

The baboon took the cub up into a tree and preened it as if it were its own, says safari operator Kurt Schultz, who in 20 years had never seen such behaviour.

“The baboon was grooming the lion cub as if it was a baby baboon,” Schultz says “Male baboons do a lot of grooming but the care given to this lion cub was the same care given by a female baboon to one of her own young.”

A troop of baboons had gathered in an area with granite hills and boulders where lions and leopards have been known to hide their cubs while they go hunting, he says.

While the rest of the baboon troop settled down, the male “moved from branch to branch, grooming and carrying the cub for a long period of time,” Schultz says.

Schultz and others on safaris in the park watched the rare sight and took photographs.

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Know your news …

Willie O’Ree spoke in Ottawa this week about racism in sports. The 84-year-old O’Ree became the first black player in NHL history when he suited up for what team in 1958?

(Keep scrolling for the answer)

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On this day in 1987 …

Defence Minister Perrin Beatty announced that Canada would begin allowing women into almost every job in the military, including combat roles, on a trial basis.

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Entertainment news …

TORONTO — You can’t stop the incredible force of Jann Arden.

Whether it’s induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the Juno Awards next month, or a cross-country tour that launches in May, the Calgary chanteuse is going to be everywhere in the coming months.

And that’s not even counting the upcoming second season of her hit CTV series “Jann” or a book she’s planning to release in the fall.

The singer says one of the lessons she’s gleaned from Canada’s music industry is that you can’t “rest on old victories,” so she’s packing her schedule with future goals.

Arden will embark on a 19-date Canadian tour that kicks off in St. John’s on May 7, before winding through cities that include Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

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Know your news answer …

The Boston Bruins. O’Ree suited up with the Bruins for a game against Montreal on Jan. 18, 1958. He played two NHL games in the 1957-58 season and 45 more in 1960-61, scoring four goals and adding 10 assists. 

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2020.

The Canadian Press