Briefly

CANADA

Trudeau survives 2nd confidence motion

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau survived a second parliamentary confidence motion in less than a week on Tuesday after opposition parties vowed to keep his minority Liberal government alive for now. Legislators in the House of Commons voted 207-121 to defeat a bid by the official opposition Conservative Party to topple Trudeau, who faces increasing voter fatigue after almost nine years in power. Last Thursday he brushed off an initial Conservative motion to bring him down. The Conservatives, who have a big lead in the polls ahead of an election that must be held by end-October 2025, say Canadians cannot afford a planned increase in the federal carbon tax and accuse Trudeau of presiding over high prices and rising crime.

DJIBOUTI

45 killed as boats carrying migrants sink

Two vessels carrying migrants from Africa sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Djibouti, killing 45 people, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday. The boats had departed from Yemen, carrying 310 people, the International Organization for Migration said. Thousands of migrants from African, Middle Eastern and South Asian countries seeking a better life in Europe attempt irregular migration every year. Smugglers pack vessels full of desperate people willing to risk their lives to reach continental Europe.

UKRAINE

Kyiv says to ramp up production of arms

Ukraine can produce four million drones annually and is quickly ramping up its production of other weapons, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in comments authorized for publication on Wednesday. Speaking on Tuesday to executives from dozens of foreign arms manufacturers in Kyiv, Zelensky said Ukraine had already contracted to produce 1.5 million drones this year.

Agencies - Xinhua