OpenCanada

OpenCanada.org and its Tumblr edition are maintained by the Canadian International Council, Canada’s foreign relations council.

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Snow in Cairo for the first time in years.

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A member of the Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra in Aleppo. The U.S. has suspended the delivery of nonlethal aid to the moderate Syrian opposition due to fears that it will fall into the hands of Islamist groups.

Photo from Reuters

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The man doing sign language interpretation for Mandela's memorial service was only "making childish hand gestures".

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The current balance of naval power in the Pacific (with bonus category - icebreakers).

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U.S President Barack Obama greets Cuban President Raul Castro before delivering his address at the Nelson Mandela Memorial in Johannesburg, South Africa on December 10th, 2013. 91 heads of state, including Canada's Stephen Harper, and thousands of mourners attended the rainy yet celebratory ceremony.

Photo from Reuters

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Crowds gather in Johannesburg's FNB Stadium early on December 10th, 2013 for a Memorial Ceremony under way now in honour of Nelson Mandela.

Photo from Reuters

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North Korea has confirmed the "purge" of Jang Song Thaek, the uncle of Kim Jong Un, saying that he abused drugs, disobeyed orders and worked in secret to build up his power. 

Photo from Reuters 

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A man takes a sledgehammer to the fallen statue of Lenin in Kiev, Ukraine. The statue was toppled and smashed amidst growing tensions between the pro-EU anti-governmental protests and the riot police. Some protesters condemned the act as barbaric as others praised the take down as a symbol of the rejection of Lenin and Russia's influence. 

Photo from Reuters 

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People displaced by fighting take shelter under a broken airplane in Bagui, Central African Republic. France has deployed over 1,600 troops to CAR amidst fighting that has claimed some 400 lives and has made plans to begin disarming militias.

Photo from Reuters 

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Anti-government protesters march in a rally in Bangkok, Thailand. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved the lower house of parliament and called for early elections in an attempt to diffuse political tensions.

Photo from Reuters

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Flags at half mast for Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013.

Photos from Reuters

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The OECD’s PISA ranking has become an important measure of how the eduction systems in different countries stack up against each other. But what educational inputs translate to higher scores? In the graphic below, we follow the money by comparing average spending per student with how well those students performed in mathematics.

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Thousands of Ukrainians have taken to the streets to protest the government's decision to abandon a deal that would bring the country closer to the European Union.

Photo from Reuters

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In September 2013, WHO/Europe published “Review of social determinants and the health divide in the WHO European Region”. The report incorrectly states that, in Greece: “HIV rates and heroin use have risen significantly, with about half of new HIV infections being self-inflicted to enable people to receive benefits of €700 per month and faster admission on to drug substitution programmes”. In fact, what is accurate to say is that slightly more than half of Greece’s new HIV cases are among those who inject drugs. WHO recognizes that there is no evidence suggesting that deliberate self-infection with HIV goes beyond a few anecdotal cases. The statement is the consequence of an error in the editing of the report, for which WHO apologizes.

The World Health organization apologizes for suggesting that Greeks are intentionally infecting themselves with HIV in order to claim benefits.

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Central African security forces watch a demonstration for peace in the capital Bangui. The country has been been in turmoil since March when Muslim rebels seized power. UN officials warn of the possibility of a genocide.

Photo from Reuters

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry embraces European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton after a ceremony at the United Nations in Geneva. A deal between the P5+1 and Iran to curb Tehran's nuclear program was announced on Saturday (although not everyone was happy about that deal).

Photo from Reuters

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A smoggy day in Wujiaqu, China. While green energy has become a focus of the Chinese government, cleaning the country's air remains a huge challenge.

Photo from Reuters