The Thursday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Thursday, July 14

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CANADIAN TROOPS TO HAVE PEACEKEEPING ROLE IN AFRICA: The head of Canada’s military says Canadian soldiers will soon be in Africa. Gen. Jonathan Vance did not elaborate but his comment in Ottawa on Thursday is fuelling speculation the army will be used on a peacekeeping operation to control the spread of terrorism on the continent. The remark comes one day after Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said containing the spread of terrorism across Africa is a consideration for Canada as one possible contribution to a UN peacekeeping mission.

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POLICE QUESTIONING MAN IN ALBERTA GIRL’S DISAPPEARANCE: Police are holding a man in connection with the disappearance of a five-year-old girl whose mother was found dead in their Calgary home earlier this week. Police are saying little about man, though he is not Taliyah Leigh Marsman’s father and it’s believed he is connected to her mother, Sara Baillie. An Amber Alert was issued for Taliyah early Tuesday after she could not be found following the discovery of Baillie’s body in the basement suite of a northwest Calgary house.

unprovoked attack

Vulnerable man blasted with bear spray in quiet Nanaimo neighbourhood

6h ago

HOUSING TARGETS

Nanaimo named in new group of communities for provincial housing targets

4h ago

more housing

Nanaimo council endorses significant south end redevelopment

8h ago

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BRAZEAU WANTS TO CLEAN THE UPPER HOUSE: Sen. Patrick Brazeau says reforms still need to be made on Senate spending and he wants to be part of the change. Brazeau is a member of the Senate in full standing now that prosecutors have withdrawn criminal charges of fraud and breach of trust against him. The Crown said there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction. Brazeau says he’s still looking at all of his legal options, which include suing the RCMP.

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RCMP TO CRACK DOWN ON SEXUAL MISCONDUCT: The RCMP is vowing to clamp down on sexual misconduct in the workplace after a review criticized the police force’s response to a case involving nudity and harassment. The RCMP acknowledges it has failed to effectively deal with the misconduct, protect the victims and witnesses and heal the workplace. In February, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale expressed outrage to the force’s leadership when allegations surfaced about unwanted sexual touching, bullying and rampant nudity in the explosives training unit of the police college in Ottawa.

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CANADIAN TEACHER JAILED IN INDONESIA MARKS GRIM ANNIVERSARY: It was two years ago that Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman was taken into custody on allegations of child abuse. Bantleman has maintained his innocence ever since he was accused of abusing three children at an international school in Jakarta. Indonesia’s Supreme Court overturned a lower court acquittal of Bantleman and he is back in jail serving an 11-year sentence. His family continues to try to free him.

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GOVERNMENT APPROVES HEP C DRUG: Health Canada has approved a drug being touted as a cure for hepatitis C, a disease believed to have infected hundreds of thousands of Canadians. The drug is a once-a-daily pill taken for 12 weeks that can rid the body of all six strains of hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can lead to severe liver damage and liver cancer if left untreated. The downside is that the drug, called Epclusa, is expensive. The price is $60,000 for a 12-week course.

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CLEMENT CALLS FOR AN END TO NICHE POLITICS: The latest entry in the Conservative leadership race says the party needs to move beyond the niche approach to politics. Tony Clement says he wants to drop the boutique tax credit system and also start taking the party’s message to ridings that may not have had a Conservative presence for years. He says a lesson learned from recent political upheaval in Britain and also the current political climate in the United States is that people feel politicians aren’t listening. Clement says if Canadian politicians fail to listen as well, this country could find itself grappling with similar problems.

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MAVERICK EX-MAYOR UK’S FOREIGN MINISTER: The former mayor of London noted for having insulted everyone from U.S. President Barack Obama to the people of New Guinea is Great Britain’s foreign minister. Boris Johnson’s surprised appointment to the post in Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet was announced Thursday. But the appointment has been widely condemned by in Britain and by Britain’s European partners. Johnson was a major spokesman in the campaign to pull Britain out of the European Union.

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POLICE WARN PEOPLE TO EASE UP ON POKEMON GO: Police across Canada are warning of the risks involved in playing augmented reality games such as Pokemon Go amid increasing reports of people getting injured or landing in trouble as they play the wildly popular game. The cellphone-based game sends players into the real world to search for digital monsters known as Pokemon, who appear on screen when users hold up their iPhones or Android devices in various locations at various times. But police are concerned about the game luring people into potentially dangerous situations — for example in Quebec City, police said two officers suffered minor injuries when a car they observed driving strangely reversed into their cruiser in a parking lot.

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SOME CANADIANS IN EMMY RACE: Several Canadians are among the nominees for Emmy Awards this year. Regina native Tatiana Maslany received her second best actress Emmy nod for “Orphan Black,” Torontonian Samantha Bee is nominated for writing on her variety series “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” and Lorne Michaels is also nominated in the writing category for “Saturday Night Live.” Michael J. Fox and Molly Parker are up for trophies for guest roles — Fox for “The Good Wife” and Parker for “House of Cards.”

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The Canadian Press