Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday urged Alberta to remain in Canada, warning that a vote next week on whether to hold a referendum on leaving Canada would begin a “long and uncertain process” at a dangerous time for the country. “This year, Thanksgiving is a bit different,” Carney said in a holiday message to Canadians. “A week from today, Albertans will have the opportunity to make an important decision about their future, whether to remain part of Canada or begin a long and...

Catholics serving in the US Army should not take part in the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan that the Pentagon is planning to live stream on December 3, a prominent US archbishop said on Monday. In an unusually strongly worded statement, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees the spiritual care of ‌Catholic members of the US armed forces, raised a series of objections to the unprecedented plan to broadcast the execution of Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood,...

Actress Selma Blair was arrested after a flight from Los Angeles to New York for being physically abusive and injuring two flight attendants, authorities said on Monday. Police took Blair, 54, into custody late on Sunday night when the Delta Air Lines plane was parked at the gate at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement. There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the airline. Blair and one of the flight attendants...

The European Union will on Tuesday open new negotiation chapters with Ukraine, an essential step in Kyiv’s long path to join the bloc. Ukrainian lawmakers on Monday passed legislation protecting the rights of national minorities, which removes a major hurdle in Kyiv’s bid for membership. The status of the Hungarian-speaking minority in western Ukraine had long caused tensions with Budapest and Hungary had blocked Ukraine’s EU membership bid, officially submitted days after Russia’s full-scale...

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that a suspected plot targeting the RAF Fairford airbase in Britain was “highly likely” to have been coordinated in Iran, and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The RAF Fairford base in southwest England, which had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran, became the focal point for a major ‌security response after five British men were arrested nearby in the early hours of September 27 on...

Elon Musk, the world’s only trillionaire, has quietly become the biggest known donor in this year’s midterm elections, doling out more than US$276 million since July to try to save Republican majorities in Congress. The numbers, first reported by the New York Times ahead of this week’s federal filing deadline, were confirmed by Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for Musk’s super PAC (Political Action Committee). The money includes US$158 million given to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC...

Hong Kong’s institutional advantages and close ties with mainland China and the wider world can contribute to the Asia-Pacific region’s prosperity, a key adviser to the city’s leader has told a conference. Stephen Wong Yuen-shan, head of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit, said on Monday that Hong Kong was transforming itself into the region’s institutional “harbour” – where trade from regional markets could converge and take advantage of the city’s “soft connectivity” advantages. He said such...