Wildfires have burned through more than one million hectares in Alberta this spring and have forced thousands from their homes. Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories are also battling active fires (The Globe and Mail).
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has ended the global COVID-19 emergency, citing increased immunity, fewer deaths and less pressure on hospitals. The pandemic, which was first declared an international crisis on January 30, 2020, resulted in unprecedented lockdowns, economic upheaval and the deaths of at least seven million people worldwide and more than 52,000 people in Canada. (CBC News)
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King Charles III is set to be crowned alongside the Queen Consort at a lavish ceremony in Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6. The investiture will form part of a long weekend filled with celebrations for the new monarch, ranging from street parties to concerts. The King ascended the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September last year, making him the oldest new monarch in British history. (The Telegraph)
The country's largest federal public-sector union reached a tentative contract agreement with the government, covering more than 120,000 public servants across the country and bringing them back to work after a 12-day strike. The tentative deals come after a push from the union for wage increases that compensate for inflation, along with a host of other demands, including language on remote-work arrangements.
Donald Trump, the former U.S. president and front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records after an investigation into hush money paid to a porn star. While falsifying business records in New York on its own is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than one year in prison, it is elevated to a felony punishable by up to four years in prison when done to advance or conceal another crime. (CBC News)
The Trudeau government has reached a long-discussed deal with the United States on irregular migration which will allow Ottawa to close the Roxham Road irregular crossing at the Canada-U.S. border. The deal would close a loophole in the agreement, which came into force in 2004 and currently prevents Canadian law enforcement from turning back asylum seekers who enter Canada from the United States at border locations that are not official ports of entry. (CBC News)
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The court alleges he is responsible for war crimes, including the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. It says the crimes were committed in Ukraine from 24 February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Moscow has denied allegations of war crimes during the invasion.
March 8 is International Women's Day, a global day of recognition celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and girls, and raising awareness of the work left to be done. (Status of Women Canada)
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Ottawa announced it is banning TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices in response to privacy and security concerns. The federal government said it will also block the Chinese-owned social media app from being downloaded on official devices in the future. The new rule follows the app’s intense scrutiny in the United States and also concerns of covert Chinese influence on Canadian affairs. (Globe and Mail)
While officials have repeatedly sought to assure residents that the water and air in East Palestine, Ohio, are safe after the derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials earlier this month, anxiety has permeated the community amid reports of rashes, nausea and headaches. While it was deemed safe for evacuated residents to return home on February 8, community members have questioned how safe their village is and the validity of the air and water tests. (CNN)
During Black History Month, Canadians celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians and their communities who, throughout history, have done so much to make Canada a culturally diverse, compassionate, and prosperous country. (Government of Canada)
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HBO’s hotly anticipated TV adaptation of the acclaimed The Last of Us game series premiered on January 15, showcasing the world after a devastating fungal pandemic wiped out most of humanity, a fictional brain infection that experts say is inspired by a very real set of fungi that can hijack their hosts and turn them into zombies. (Forbes)
There's a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool in town, and it's getting massive mainstream attention. ChatGPT is a program where users can type in a question or a task, and the software will come up with a response designed to mimic a human. It was trained using billions of examples of text across the Internet. (CBC News)
Twenty-five years ago, the rain began in what would become the 1998 ice storm that eventually left millions of Quebecers in the dark, some for over a month. It was one of the worst natural disasters in Canadian history, and many still have vivid memories of those cold and difficult days and nights. (CTV News)
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The contours of a deal that could make Republican leader Kevin McCarthy the House Speaker have begun to emerge after three grueling days and 11 failed votes in a political spectacle unseen in a century. Republicans are trying to elect their new House Speaker — this time, against the backdrop of the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. (CBC News)
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