Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
77 years after battle's end, Okinawa wants U.S. base reduced
Okinawa marked the 77th anniversary Thursday of the end of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, with the governor calling for a further reduction of the U.S. military presence there as local fears grow that the southern Japanese islands will become embroiled in regional military tension.
The Battle of Okinawa killed about 200,000 people, nearly half of them Okinawan residents. Japan's wartime military, in an attempt to delay a U.S. landing on the main islands, essentially sacrificed the local population.
Many in Okinawa are worried about the growing deployment of Japanese missile defence and amphibious capabilities on outer islands that are close to geopolitical hotspots like Taiwan.
At a ceremony marking the June 23, 1945, end of the battle, about 300 attendants in Okinawa, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other officials, offered a moment of silence at noon and placed chrysanthemums for the war dead. The number of attendants was scaled down because of coronavirus worries.
At the ceremony in Itoman city on Okinawa's main island, Gov. Denny Tamaki spoke of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying the destruction of towns, buildings and the local culture, as well as Ukrainians' constant fear, "remind us of our memory of the ground battle on Okinawa that embroiled citizens 77 years ago."
"We are struck by unspeakable shock," he said.
Tamaki also vowed to continue efforts to abolish nuclear weapons and renounce war "in order to never let Okinawa become a battlefield."
In May, Okinawa marked the 50th anniversary of its reversion to Japan in 1972, two decades after the U.S. occupation ended in most of the country.
Today, a majority of the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan under a bilateral security pact and 70% of U.S. military facilities are still in Okinawa, which accounts for only 0.6% of Japanese land.
Because of the U.S. bases, Okinawa faces noise, pollution, accidents and crime related to American troops, Tamaki said.
Kishida acknowledged the need for more government efforts to reduce Okinawa's burden from U.S. military bases as well as more support for the islands' economic development, which fell behind during their 27-year U.S. occupation.
Resentment and frustration run deep in Okinawa over the heavy U.S. presence and Tokyo's lack of efforts to negotiate with Washington to balance the security burden between mainland Japan and the southern island group.
Kishida, citing the worsening security environment in regional seas in the face of threats from China, North Korea and Russia, has pledged to bolster Japan's military capability and budget in coming years, including enemy attack capabilities that critics say interfere with Japan's pacifist Constitution.
CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.
Top Hezbollah commander among 14 killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the Lebanese movement in an airstrike on Beirut on Friday, vowing to press on with a new military campaign until it is able to secure the area around the Lebanese border.
Local Spotlight
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.