China's Xi Confronts Canada’s Trudeau at G20 Summit over Leaks to Media 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives ahead of an emergency meeting of leaders at the G20 summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, following a missile explosion in Poland. (AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives ahead of an emergency meeting of leaders at the G20 summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, following a missile explosion in Poland. (AP)
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China's Xi Confronts Canada’s Trudeau at G20 Summit over Leaks to Media 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives ahead of an emergency meeting of leaders at the G20 summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, following a missile explosion in Poland. (AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives ahead of an emergency meeting of leaders at the G20 summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, following a missile explosion in Poland. (AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday criticized Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in person over alleged leaks of their closed-door meeting at the G20 summit, capturing a rare public display of annoyance by the Chinese leader. 

In video footage published by Canadian broadcasters, Xi and Trudeau can be seen standing close to each other and conversing via a translator. 

"That is not appropriate, and we didn't do it that way," Xi said in Mandarin, smiling. 

"If there is sincerity, we can communicate well with mutual respect, otherwise the outcome will not be easy to tell." 

His displeasure was likely a reference to media reports that Trudeau brought up "serious concerns" about alleged espionage and Chinese "interference" in Canadian elections when meeting with Xi on Tuesday, his first talks with the Chinese leader in more than three years. 

Canada never released an official readout from the meeting. 

A translator for Xi can be heard in the video telling Trudeau that "everything we discussed was leaked to the paper(s), that's not appropriate." 

The video captured a rare candid moment for Xi, whose image is carefully curated by Chinese state media. 

Trudeau responds to Xi's initial criticism by saying "in Canada we believe in free and open and frank dialogue and that is what we will continue to have, we will continue to look to work constructively together but there will be things we disagree on". 

Before he finished speaking, however, Xi, looking slightly exasperated, cuts him off and emphatically says "create the conditions, create the conditions, OK?" before smiling, shaking Trudeau's hand and walking off. 

Neither the Chinese foreign ministry nor state media have published anything on talks between Xi and Trudeau. The two held an informal meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Tuesday, according to a government source. Xi has held nine formal bilateral meetings with other heads of state while at the summit, according to the Chinese foreign ministry website. 

The short but revealing Xi-Trudeau exchange highlighted tensions between China and Canada, running high since the detention of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 and Beijing's subsequent arrest of two Canadians on spying charges. All three were later released. 

Despite the release, tensions have recently resurged. 

An employee at Canada's largest electricity producer Hydro-Quebec who was involved in researching battery materials has been charged with espionage for allegedly trying to steal trade secrets to benefit China, Canadian police said on Monday. 

News of the arrest came as Trudeau and Xi were attending the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali. 

Earlier this month, Canada ordered three Chinese companies to divest their investments in Canadian critical minerals, citing national security. 



Death Toll from US Winter Storms Grows to 14

HYDEN, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 17: A flooded road that leads to a neighborhood is seen on February 17, 2025 in Hyden, Kentucky. (Photo by Jon Cherry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
HYDEN, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 17: A flooded road that leads to a neighborhood is seen on February 17, 2025 in Hyden, Kentucky. (Photo by Jon Cherry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
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Death Toll from US Winter Storms Grows to 14

HYDEN, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 17: A flooded road that leads to a neighborhood is seen on February 17, 2025 in Hyden, Kentucky. (Photo by Jon Cherry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
HYDEN, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 17: A flooded road that leads to a neighborhood is seen on February 17, 2025 in Hyden, Kentucky. (Photo by Jon Cherry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

The death toll from powerful winter storms in the central and eastern United States has risen to at least 14, officials said Monday, after floods, gale-force winds and bitterly cold temperatures swept the region.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Monday of a winter storm system carrying arctic air that would cause "record cold," with wind chill expected to hit as low as -60 degrees Fahrenheit (-51 degrees Celsius) in Montana and North Dakota.

"I've got more tough news. The death toll in Kentucky has now risen to 12," said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear in a social media post on Monday, raising the toll from eight a day earlier.

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said on Monday his state had also seen at least one death from the weather, AFP reported.

"We have one confirmed fatality at this time," he told a press briefing, warning that further flooding was expected. "There are still several people who are missing."

In addition, one person died in the southern city of Atlanta, Georgia. The victim was killed when an "extremely large" tree fell on his house early Sunday, fire official Scott Powell told local media.

Most of the dead in Kentucky, Beshear said in an earlier news conference, drowned when trapped in their vehicles by fast-rising floodwaters. The victims included a mother and her child.

The governor urged people to stay off roads across the state, where local and federal authorities have declared a state of emergency.

Beshear said more than 1,000 people had been rescued by first responders within 24 hours.

In its Monday advisory, the NWS warned that the cold weather system would impact a vast area, sending temperatures tumbling in the central plains, the eastern seaboard and as far south as the Gulf coast.

"A bitter cold arctic airmass is expected to continue impacting the north-central US while also spreading further south and east over the next few days," the advisory said.

Power to thousands of homes had been restored by Monday, but more than 50,000 customers remained without electricity in the states of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland, according to monitoring website poweroutage.us.