Justin Trudeau will turn his focus to the ongoing crises in Haiti as he speaks with some world leaders Monday ahead of the 78th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

The prime minister will meet with the Caribbean country’s acting Prime Minister Garry Conille before delivering remarks at a high-level meeting for a UN advisory group for Haiti.

Conille stepped into his role earlier this year after former Prime Minister Ariel Henry was forced out amid surging unrest and violence by criminal gangs that had overrun much of Haiti’s capital.

Later Monday, Trudeau is scheduled to have a much different type of conversation while making his guest debut on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Trudeau arrived in New York on Sunday where he delivered remarks to the Summit of the Future, telling leaders they had a choice to stick their heads in the sand or come together to confront global challenges.

The summit has a goal to reform the UN, reinvigorate multilateralism and find solutions to new challenges at a time when the global institution has faced criticism for its handling of issues including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza.

5:04
UN Summit: Trudeau says ‘rich countries such as Canada have a duty to fight climate change’

Trudeau told leaders to embrace the “Pact of the Future,” a 42-page blueprint to address a wide range of 21st-century global challenges.

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It was approved by the UN General Assembly during the opening of the two-day summit. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked leaders and diplomats for taking the first steps and unlocking “the door” to a better future.

The pact had seen significant pushback from Russia, Saudi Arabia and other countries who object to some of the language on issues including climate change and reforming international financial institutions.

Its fate was in question until the last moment and UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres had three speeches prepared to be ready for any outcome.

Guterres warned last week that “international challenges are moving faster than our ability to solve them.” The passing of the pact brought some optimism at a time when increasing geopolitical instability around the world has cast a shadow over the assembly.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to address a special meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday about Russia’s ongoing invasion. Russia has a permanent seat on the Security Council and has been resoundingly criticized over its aggression in Ukraine being a violation of the UN Charter.

The ongoing gang violence and political upheaval in Haiti will be front-and-centre for Trudeau Monday morning. The prime minister is expected to reinforce Canada’s longstanding support for Haitian-led solutions to turn the tide in the Caribbean country.

1:45
Blinken urges Haiti to hold elections next year as gang violence grips country

Canada is closely invested in Haiti’s response to the ongoing humanitarian, security and political crises. A UN report released in June said surging gang activity had displaced nearly 580,000 people in the Caribbean country since March.

The prime minister will also meet with Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and co-founder of Malala Fund, before attending a working luncheon hosted by the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly will join Trudeau in New York and deliver Canada’s national statement to the UN General Assembly. The speech will emphasize “Canada’s commitment to promoting multilateral cooperation, human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” a news release from her office said.

“In the face of multiple global crises, the world needs a strong, effective and modern UN,” Joly said in the statement.

“Through constructive dialogue, shared learning and collective problem solving at this year’s (UN General Assembly), I am confident that we can effectively work together to address some of the most critical issues of our time.”

Joly will also take part in a panel with representatives from Ukraine and Estonia “that will underscore the urgent need to restore the rights of children worldwide and enhance child protection, including addressing the unlawful deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia,” the statement said.

She will co-host a panel discussion on the subject of media freedom and attend other events.

— With files from The Associated Press

&copy 2024 The Canadian Press

TD Bank is moving to seize the Quebec home of a Russian-Canadian convicted in New York for conspiring to secretly ship more than $10 million in restricted electronics to the Kremlin for use in weapons systems in its Ukraine war, Global News has learned.

Toronto-based TD has filed a 60-day notice of its intention to foreclose on the Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue residence of Nikolay Goltsev, 38, who sits behind bars in New York and awaits sentencing.

City of Montreal property assessment records say the home he shared with his wife Kristina Puzyreva until their arrests in 2023 has a market value of $848,800. So far, it does not appear to be for sale.

The foreclosure comes as TD negotiates with the U.S. Department of Justice and other American financial regulators to pay up to U.S. $4 billion in penalties for multiple money-laundering lapses and announced plans last week for its CEO to retire and be replaced in 2025.

U.S. officials have investigated and accused TD’s American affiliate of having lax anti-money-laundering controls and detection systems within at least four branches in New York, New Jersey and Florida that allowed criminals like Goltsev and his wife to use TD to facilitate crimes.

In June, Bloomberg News revealed one case featured a TD USA banker in Florida taking $200 bribes to look the other way on a Columbian drug trafficking ring’s money laundering, including by providing falsified records, opening dozens of accounts to help criminals flow their cash across borders.

In May, The Wall Street Journal reported a Justice Department probe into TD Bank’s internal controls was focusing on how Chinese crime groups and drug traffickers used TD to launder money from its U.S. fentanyl sales. That probe was launched after FBI agents allegedly uncovered a New York and New Jersey operation that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars from illicit narcotics through several TD branches and other banks, with traffickers greasing bankers with at least $57,000 in gift cards, The Journal reported.

TD Bank corporate spokesperson Elizabeth Goldenshtein declined to discuss specifics of Goltsev’s case in New York or the bank’s foreclosure action on his Quebec home.

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“While we would not comment on any customer details due to our confidentiality policy, I can confirm that this case is not related to our ongoing AML matters in the U.S,” Goldenshtein stated.

On July 11, Goltsev entered a guilty plea after reaching a deal with prosecutors with the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Investigators seized TD Bank records south of the border, court records show.

Prosecutors sealed those, so it is difficult to know how much money sloshed through the TD account.

Goltsev’s plea agreement shows he agreed to forfeit and pay U.S. $4 million and surrender assets worth another U.S. $1.68 million seized by FBI and Homeland Security investigators.

He also agreed not to appeal any sentence he may get that is 46 months in jail or less, a copy of the plea deal shows. Goltsev also agreed to be deported from the United States, possibly to be returned to Canada or Russia, a copy of the plea agreement shows.

On July 17, TD Bank filed its notice of intent to foreclose on the businessman’s Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., home. A lawyer representing TD said in the filing the jailed Russian-Canadian businessman owes the bank $232,715 on a home equity line of credit portion of a $450,000 mortgage.

Goltsev signed the mortgage with a TD Montreal branch to buy the home in 2015.

Goltsev has failed to make payments since TD cancelled the HELOC portion of his loan and demanded full repayment on June 28, lawyer Olivier Therrien said in the 60-day notice.

A bailiff served the 60-day foreclosure notice on Goltsev’s mother-in-law, Russian national Snezhana Puzyreva, who also was living in the residence with another man who was her partner when Global News visited the property this summer , documents show.

Goltsev’s wife, Kristina Puzyreva, was also charged in the technology smuggling scheme. She pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge. She was sentenced to two years in jail this summer.

TD has given Goltsev and Puzyreva’s family 60 days to vacate the home or face court-ordered eviction and judicial repossession.

City of Montreal property assessment records say the home has a current market value of $848,800.  So far, it does not appear to be for sale.

Using aliases like “Nick Stevens” or “Gio Ross,” Goltsev and Puzyreva and other members of their conspiracy admitted to buying electronic components from major U.S. manufacturers and distributors using front companies, SH Brothers and SN Electronics.

They were buying restricted technology components that could be used for both civilian and military purposes.

The group coordinated more than 300 shipments of restricted electronics that later went to Russian defence contractors and were used on the Russian battlefield to kill Ukrainians, documents show.

FBI and U.S. Homeland Security investigators gathered text messages and banking records which showed Goltsev and Puzyreva knew the technology was being used exclusively for military hardware and lied about it.

Goltsev and his co-conspirator, Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, used front companies in Turkey, China and Hong Kong, India, and United Arab Emirates. Packages were then rerouted to Russia, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors collected evidence showing some electronic components and integrated circuits shipped by Goltsev were later found in seized Russian army Ka-52 attack helicopters, Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and T-72B3 battle tanks and Izdeliye 305E guided missiles.

More electronic parts were found missile defense and electronic warfare intelligence systems.

The U.S. prosecutors said Puzyreva operated the numerous bank accounts and conducted financial transactions to further the group’s scheme.

She told her husband Goltsev at one point they were raking in so much cash they would be rich.

A U.S. judge will sentence Goltsev on December 10, 2024. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

&copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Chris Knayzeh was in a town overlooking Lebanon’s capital when he heard the rumbling aftershock of the 2020 Beirut port blast. Hundreds of tons of haphazardly stored ammonium nitrates had exploded, killing more than 200 people and injuring thousands.

Already struggling with the country’s economic collapse, the sight of the gigantic mushroom cloud unleashed by the blast was the last straw. Like many other Lebanese, he quit his job and booked a one-way ticket out of Lebanon.

Knayzeh, now a lecturer at a university in France, was visiting Lebanon when news broke Tuesday of a deadly attack in which thousands of handheld pagers were blowing up in homes, shops, markets and streets across the country.

Israel, local news reports said, was targeting the devices of the militant Hezbollah group. Stuck in Beirut traffic, Knayzeh started panicking that drivers around him could potentially be carrying devices that would explode.

Within minutes, hospitals were flooded with bloodied patients, bringing back painful reminders of the port blast four years ago that left enduring mental and psychological scars for those who lived through it.

A day later, a similar attack struck walkie-talkies. In total, the explosions killed at least 37 people and injured more than 3,000, many of them civilians. Israel is widely believed to be behind the blasts, although it has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

“The country’s state is unreal,” Knayzeh told The Associated Press.

2:02
Booby-trapped two-way radios used in 2nd round of deadly coordinated attacks in Lebanon

The port blast was one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, and it came on top of a historic economic meltdown, financial collapse and a feeling of helplessness after nationwide protests against corruption that failed to achieve their goals.

It compounded years of crises that have upended the lives of people in this small country.

Four years after the port catastrophe, an investigation has run aground. The ravaged Mediterranean port remains untouched, its towering silos standing broken and shredded as a symbol of a country in ruins. Political divisions and paralysis have left the country without a president or functioning government for more than two years. Poverty is on the rise.

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On top of that and in parallel with the conflict in Gaza, Lebanon has been on the brink of all-out war with Israel for the past year, with Israel and Hezbollah trading fire across the border and Israeli warplanes breaking the sound barrier over Beirut almost daily, terrifying people in their homes and offices.

“I can’t believe this is happening again. How many more disasters can we endure?” asked Jocelyn Hallak, a mother of three, two of whom now work abroad and the third headed out after graduation next year. “All this pain, when will it end?”

A full-blown war with Israel could be devastating for Lebanon.

The country’s crisis-battered health care system had been preparing for the possibility of conflict with Israel even before hospitals became inundated with the wounded from the latest explosions. Most of the injuries received were in the face, eyes and limbs — many of them in critical condition and requiring extended hospital stays.

2:16
Second wave of attacks targeting Hezbollah

Still, Knayzeh, 27, can’t stay away. He returns regularly to see his girlfriend and family. He flinches whenever he hears construction work and other sudden loud sounds. When in France, surrounded by normalcy, he agonizes over family at home while following the ongoing clashes from afar.

“It’s the attachment to our country I guess, or at the very least attachment to our loved ones who couldn’t leave with us,” he said.

This summer, tens of thousands of Lebanese expatriates came to visit family and friends despite the tensions. Their remittances and money they spend while there help keep the country afloat and in some cases are the main source of income for families.

Many, however, cut their vacations short in chaotic airport scenes, fearing major escalation after the assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas commanders in Beirut and Tehran last month, blamed on Israel.

Even in a country that has vaulted from one crisis to another for decades, the level of confusion, insecurity and anger is reaching new heights. Many thought the port blast was the most surreal and frightening thing they would ever experience — until thousands of pagers exploded in people’s hands and pockets across the country this week.

’’I saw horrific things that day,” said Mohammad al-Mousawi, who was running an errand in Beirut’s southern suburb, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, when the pagers began blowing up.

“Suddenly, we started seeing scooters whizzing by carrying defaced men, some without fingers, some with their guts spilling out. Then the ambulances started coming.”

It reminded him of the 2020 port blast, he said. “The number of injuries and ambulances was unbelievable. “

“One more horror shaping our collective existence,” wrote Maha Yahya, the Beirut-based director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center.

“The shock, the disarray, the trauma is reminiscent of Beirut after the port explosion. Only this time it was not limited to a city but spread across the country,” she said in a social media post.

In the aftermath of the exploding pagers, fear and paranoia has taken hold. Parents kept their children away from schools and universities, fearing more exploding devices. Organizations including the Lebanese civil defense advised personnel to switch off their devices and remove all batteries until further notice. One woman said she disconnected her baby monitor and other household appliances.

2:16
Second wave of attacks targeting Hezbollah

Lebanon’s civil aviation authorities have banned the transporting of pagers and walkie-talkies on all airplanes departing from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport “until further notice.” Some residents were sleeping with their phones in another room.

In the southern city of Tyre, ahead of a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, city resident Hassan Hajo acknowledged feeling “a bit depressed” after the pager blasts, a major security breach for a secretive organization like Hezbollah. He was hoping to get a boost from Nasrallah’s speech.

“We have been through worse before and we got through it,” he said.

In his speech, Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israel for the attacks on devices, while Israel and Hezbollah traded heavy fire across the border. Israel stepped up warnings of a potential larger military operation targeting the group.

Another resident, Marwan Mahfouz, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening Lebanon with war for the past year and he should just do it.

“If we are going to die, we’ll die. We are already dying. We are already dead,” he said.