Jeff Semple
Senior Digital Broadcast Journalist
Jeff Semple is a senior correspondent with Global National News in Toronto. Before moving home to Canada in 2019, Jeff spent six years based in London, U.K. as the Europe Bureau Chief for Global News and previously worked as a correspondent and video journalist for CBC News.
Jeff has reported from more than 30 countries across five continents, covering terrorist attacks in Europe, the refugee crisis in the Middle East and the Olympic Games in Russia, Brazil and South Korea. He has filed from the frontlines of the fight against ISIS in Iraq, the United Nations’ deadliest mission in Mali, West Africa, and was recently deployed to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
From the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeff reported from inside overwhelmed hospitals in both Canada and the United States. For his coverage of the pandemic, he was nominated for Best National Reporter by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television in 2021. His reports have also been recognized by the Radio Television Digital News Association, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Online Publishing Awards and Apple Podcasts. His stories have appeared on the BBC, CNN, Sky News, NPR and ABC.
Jeff is a regular backfill anchor for Global National and is the host of the popular ‘Rising‘ podcast series, which was the #1 podcast in Canada on iTunes in 2019. Jeff has also forged a reputation as one of Canada’s top multimedia video-journalists, shooting and editing his own reports.
Jeff is an avid drummer and is constantly resisting the urge to tap and drum on just about everything.
Video Archives
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‘He didn’t declare victory’: Ex-speechwriter offers insight into Putin’s Victory Day address
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Russian elites not spared by Moscow’s crackdown on Ukraine war opposition
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Lack of support for Afghan refugees frustrating Canadian veterans
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Why Ukraine’s Donbas region matters so much to Putin
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Russia-Ukraine conflict: Belarus’ support for Russia sparks homegrown anti-war movement
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Canadian volunteers travel to help Ukrainians despite danger
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Russia-Ukraine conflict: Touring the battle trenches in Kyiv
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Some residents return to Kyiv as Russian forces scale back
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Ukraine’s Kyiv sees relief as Russian attacks intensifies in the East
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‘Why do we suffer?’: Inside Ukraine’s besieged city of Kharkiv
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‘It’s like Russian roulette’: Some Ukrainians seek refuge at nuclear power plants
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Rocket strikes hit Ukraine’s western city of Lviv
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Canadian veterans helping Ukrainians escape war
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Ukraine’s cities devastated, Russia’s forces seemingly stalled 1 month into war
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Odesa residents hide from war again
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Russia-Ukraine conflict: Odesa turns to network of tunnels to shelter from looming attack
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Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian civilians grow increasingly aimless
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Food supplies shrinking in Ukrainian cities at risk of Russian siege
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Civilians prepare to fight as Russian troops close in on Odesa
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Ukrainians hold the line as Russia intensifies southern assault
Author Archives
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In ‘land of partisans,’ Belarus activists fight their government’s support of Russian warAs well as tracking Russian army movements, the anti-war movement has conducted cyberattacks and joined an all-Belarusian battalion fighting in Ukraine.WorldApr 20
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The fisherman and the entrepreneur: How Canadians are helping in UkraineLex Brukovskiy and Igor Volzhanin are among many Canadians helping respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.CanadaApr 12
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The digital David and Goliath battle over online hateAt first, Imran Ahmed says people scoffed when he tried to explain how dangerous platforms like Facebook could be. They aren’t laughing anymore.FeaturesApr 9
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Ukraine’s citizen soldiers ‘the last line of defence’ against RussiaFive weeks into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, Russia was suffering heavy losses and appeared to be giving up on its plan to seize Kyiv.WorldApr 4
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As Russia pulls back, life slowly returns to KyivIt's too soon for a victory parade but with Russia’s hopes of taking Ukraine's capital fading, residents are coming home and businesses are re-opening.WorldApr 1
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Inside Kharkiv, a city once close to Russia comes under daily bombardmentOnly 25-kilometres from the Russian border, and home to a mostly Russian-speaking population, Kharkiv is being steadily demolished by Russian forces.WorldMar 30
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Ukrainians seek refuge in the shadow of a nuclear power plantThe Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant has become an unlikely source of security to some Ukrainians, who reason that Russian wouldn’t dare attack the city.WorldMar 28
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Married in a Ukrainian bomb shelterForced to take shelter during their wartime wedding, a Ukrainian couple exchanged vows in an underground bunker.WorldMar 28
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Sick babies and bomb shelters: How a children’s hospital in Ukraine is protecting its most vulnerable patientsWhen staff at the children's hospital hear the air raid sirens, they hurry patients downstairs into a bunker. But some patients are too sick to be moved.WorldMar 27
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‘Just hell that burns again and again’: Mariupol residents describe city in ruinsPhotos and videos shared with Global News by residents of Mariupol, Ukraine, show the blackened ruins of an apartment block and the skeletons of wrecked cars.WorldMar 26
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Veterans who rescued Afghan interpreters bring Canadian Forces interpreters out of UkraineAfter helping their former interpreters get out of Afghanistan, Canadian veterans have expanded their work into Ukraine.WorldMar 25
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Food and medicine supplies shrinking in Ukraine, as Russian advance stallsRussia's push into parts of Ukraine appears to have stalled, though its military is accused of choking Ukraine's supply chains.WorldMar 21
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Ukrainian civilians prepare to fight as Russian troops close in on Odesa"Many of these guys understand that if this fight happens, this will be their last fight,” says a retired IT consultant, now weapons trainer with the Ukrainian civilian defence.WorldMar 19
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Why we need to ‘learn to live’ with COVID-19, according to doctors and immunocompromised patients'This year we had Omicron, last year we had Delta; what is it going to be next year and how are we going to respond to it? We need to have a broader strategic plan.'CanadaFeb 26
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Unvaccinated patients and staffing shortages: A look inside the ICU at one Toronto hospitalIn the intensive care unit of Humber River Hospital are numerous examples of why doctors warn the Omicron variant doesn't always produce a "mild" version of the disease.CanadaJan 21
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Taliban killing of girl waiting to come to Canada ‘unconscionable,’ immigration minister saysCritics called on the government to step up efforts to evacuate Afghans living in fear of the Taliban.CanadaDec 17, 2021
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Girl shot dead by Taliban while family was preparing to flee to CanadaThe 10-year-old's family was approved to come to Canada but could not leave Afghanistan due to stalled evacuation efforts.CanadaDec 16, 2021
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‘Starting a new life’: This Afghan saved Canadian lives. Now they’re returning the favour.For six years until 2011, Mohammad Ismail was in charge of security at Camp Nathan Smith, a Canadian military base in Kandahar, where soldiers nicknamed him 'Captain Smiley.'CanadaNov 27, 2021
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Canada’s resettlement program for Afghan interpreters has left families separatedFour months after the federal government vowed to resettle Afghans fleeing Taliban threats, less than a tenth of the promised 40,000 have arrived.CanadaNov 23, 2021
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These Afghans supported Canada’s military mission. Now they have nowhere to goSafe houses scattered across Kabul were organized by Canadian veterans and paid for with private donations. But money and time have just run out.NewsNov 5, 2021
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The Taliban is rebranding Kabul with its white flags, but what comes next has Afghans on edge'We are following shariah law here,' a Taliban deputy police commander said.WorldNov 2, 2021
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Fearing Taliban, employees of Canadian NGOs try to flee AfghanistanTheir ties to a Western government and progressive causes have put them on a collision course with the Taliban.CanadaOct 29, 2021
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Hopes crushed by return of Taliban, Kabul women see no future in AfghanistanA generation of Afghans grew up believing their country was on the path to modernity. Now they're looking to leave.CanadaOct 28, 2021
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Inside the Kabul safe houses where Afghans wait to be evacuated to CanadaHundreds of Afghans left behind by Canada's stalled evacuation effort are scattered throughout secretive Kabul safe houses, waiting and afraid of the Taliban.CanadaOct 27, 2021
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Here’s what the future of work looks like after COVID-19As companies grapple with what a post-pandemic return to work looks like, The New Reality explores the spectrum of possibilities, from augmented reality to co-working spaces.CanadaOct 23, 2021