Ottawa Women's Canadian Club

10/11/2026

Today is International Day of the Girl Child.

Canada proposed the resolution that the United Nations General Assembly adopted in 2011 to establish a day promoting girls’ empowerment and human rights and raising awareness of gender inequalities, including unequal access to education, nutrition and medical care.

When governments, organizations and community leaders listen and work together to remove barriers, more girls can participate, lead, and shape their futures.

Let’s keep creating opportunities for girls to thrive.

10/09/2026

BREAKING NEWS
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law.

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 goes to a person who with exceptional courage and integrity has led the way towards a more comprehensive global legal order. This year’s laureate has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted.

Navi Pillay’s commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career. Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer, confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion. A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time.

This year’s laureate has significantly enlarged the scope and impact of international law. She has served as a judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and, until recently, she chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Today Navi Pillay is a judge on the International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide.

In historic international court cases, she has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence. Navi Pillay has also contributed to strengthen the institutions of international law. Her independence, expertise and steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international jurists of our time.

In awarding this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wants to remind the world that the rule of law – national and international – underpins the system we have set up to ensure peace and resolve conflicts non-violently. Peace requires justice.

History has shown that a world operating without the rule of law is unjust, unwise and inhumane. The judges – those who guard the thin red line between order and chaos – are therefore highly deserving of our praise. But today, as these same judges are sanctioned, and their institutions are attacked, we need people of courage, vision and determination – qualities that Navi Pillay demonstrates in her work on the bench.

Navi Pillay has held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict. In all the positions she has held, she has stressed the responsibility of individuals and states to comply with the rule of law. She has also helped define the relevant norms and legal principles. When the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established that r**e and sexual violence could constitute a crime against humanity – as well as genocide – her influence was a significant factor. In the same case, Ms Pillay was instrumental in a separate legal breakthrough: for the first time, a defendant faced charges of incitement to commit genocide purely on the basis of spreading propaganda.

Navi Pillay is one of the great defenders of international legal principles in our time. Her distinguished career reminds us of the need to support, fortify and expand the global rule of law. Navi Pillay’s commitment to justice and human dignity is a source of hope and inspiration to all who seek to bring about a more peaceful world.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4xPtmor

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

Queen Suthida of Thailand, 48, completed her first solo fighter flight today in a single-seat JAS 39C Gripen.

She began Gripen training in August and worked through the Royal Thai Air Force’s standard progression, including simulator sessions and more than 10 hours in the two-seat JAS 39D before being cleared to fly the fighter alone.

She did not arrive there cold. Queen Suthida already had more than 1,188 flight hours and holds civilian pilot qualifications that include a Boeing 737 type rating. She has also flown the royal Boeing 737 as a co-pilot.

Before moving to the Gripen, she trained on the L-39 jet trainer and completed additional simulator work. Thailand has operated the Swedish-built Gripen since 2011 in both single-seat and two-seat versions. The U.S. Air Force does not fly the Gripen, although U.S. military aircraft have trained alongside it during exercises.

Reports published when her training began said that completing the program and flying the Gripen solo would make her the first reigning queen anywhere to pilot a fighter aircraft.

She completed that milestone today.