By Canadian Press

In the news today, July 3

Jul 3, 2019 | 2:16 AM

Five stories in the news for Wednesday, July 3

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CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE HURTS REFORM: U.S. ENVOY

Ukraine’s weak judicial system is hurting the country’s prospects for reform, which is the only way it will ultimately overcome Russia’s ongoing aggression, says the Trump administration’s point man on the embattled country. “You have a judiciary that has been subject to political influences from various directions for a long time,” said Kurt Volker, the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations and former ambassador to NATO. He offered that assessment on the margins of a major international conference on the Eastern European country’s future that began in Toronto on Tuesday. The meeting marked the North American debut of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who projected bonhomie before and after his meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Zelenskiy, a popular actor and comedian with no previous political experience, easily won this spring’s presidential election, unseating Petro Poroshenko.

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JUSTIN TRUDEAU PINATA HUNG UP AT BAR ON CANADA DAY

The co-owner of a bar in central Alberta doesn’t regret hanging up a large pinata of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the Canada Day weekend. Rob Newell admits, however, that in retrospect securing it with a rope around Trudeau’s neck at Burgundy’s Bar and Stage in Red Deer could have been done differently. The pinata idea was sound, he said, and customers in the bar got a kick out of it. Finding a pinata of the prime minister wasn’t easy, so Newell made it himself, he said. Newell said if Trudeau came into his bar, he’d be served just like any other customer.

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CARTOONIST THINKS ONLINE OPINIONS PLAYED ROLE IN CONTRACT ENDING

A recent editorial cartoon taking aim at Donald Trump may have brought an Atlantic Canadian artist to international attention, but the man behind the image does not believe the sketch itself is what resulted in the loss of a working relationship he had for nearly two decades. Michael de Adder said his online presence — replete with anti-Trump messages — is what he believes ultimately resulted in the end of his contract with Brunswick News Inc., a chain that owns many of the major media outlets in New Brunswick. He says it was left to him to figure out what the reason was for him being let go. “If they had (my departure) already in the works, it must have been (because) my online presence that was anti-Trump.”

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BOYLE TRIAL SNAGS ON NEW SUPREME COURT RULINGS

The sexual-assault trial of former Afghanistan hostage Joshua Boyle is dealing with more concerns about admitting evidence of the alleged victim’s past sexual history. Boyle, 35, has pleaded not guilty to offences allegedly committed against his wife, Caitlan Coleman, including assault, sexual assault and unlawful confinement. The offences are alleged to have occurred in late 2017, after the couple returned to Canada following five years as captives of Taliban-linked extremists who seized them during a backpacking trip in Asia. Coleman, who is now estranged from Boyle, was to be cross-examined Tuesday following a weeks-long delay over what evidence of their sexual history could be raised by the defence.

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ANTI-ABORTION FILM ‘UNPLANNED’ TO HIT 24 CANADIAN CINEMAS

A controversial American anti-abortion film is set to hit Canadian theatres soon, with the distributor bracing for possible protests. More than 24 cinemas across the country are due to screen “Unplanned” for a week starting July 12, after stirring up intense debate during its U.S. release from Christian production studio Pure Flix. Ashley Bratcher stars as a Planned Parenthood clinic director in Texas who becomes an anti-abortion speaker after “the day she saw something that changed everything,” says a description on the film’s website.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS:

— Small Business Minister Mary Ng takes part in a panel talk about Canada’s part in the transition away from unsustainable plastics use at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions at the World Economic Forum.

— Gov.-Gen. Julie Payette presides over an Order of Military Merit investiture ceremony to bestow the honour on 35 people.

— Alberta Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen holds barbecue to support beef, pork and canola producers.

— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers remarks to the Economic Club of Canada, Ukraine House Toronto and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

— The Calgary Stampede, in partnership with members from the Calgary Police Services, Calgary Emergency Management Agency, Calgary Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services and Transit, will be sharing details about the safety and security measurements in place for the 2019 Stampede.

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The Canadian Press