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Russia batters Ukraine’s grain infrastructure for 4th night

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:13 GMT

KYIV — Russia unleashed a barrage of Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea at the Odesa region for the fourth night in a row, targeting port and grain infrastructure, after Moscow withdrew from a U.N.-brokered deal that allowed Ukraine to continue exporting food to the world.“Two rockets hit the granaries of one of the agricultural enterprises in Odesa,” Oleg Kiper, head of the Odesa regional military administration, said in a statement Friday morning. “While rescuers were struggling to extinguish the fire, another missile hit the same enterprise, damaging agricultural and rescue equipment.” Two employees were injured in the strikes, he added, and 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley were destroyed.Over a million tons of grain are in storage awaiting transport to Africa and Asia at Ukrainian ports, which Russia has targeted nightly since pulling out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 18, leading to concerns about global food prices, particularly in foo...

‘Lioness’ on the loose? More experts sought in second-day search for elusive animal

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:13 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities hoped Friday to have an expert on animal tracks join the hunt for an elusive and potentially dangerous animal — suspected to be a lioness — spotted on the edge of Berlin as the search stretched into a second day.Police used helicopters, drones and infrared cameras to search for the animal, with a vet and hunters also part of the effort. They were first alerted to the animal in Kleinmachnow, just outside Berlin’s city limits, around midnight on Wednesday when people reported what appeared to be a big cat chasing a wild boar.The informants also provided a video. Based on that and a subsequent sighting of their own, the police concluded that the animal was apparently a lioness. But it proved elusive in the flat, wooded area on the boundary between Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg.Kleinmachnow Mayor Michael Grubert told local public broadcaster rbb late Thursday that authorities would try to comb the forest with “professional animal track s...

Thousands march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to protest Israeli government’s judicial overhaul plan

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:13 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israelis joined a march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Friday in the latest protest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to push through a controversial overhaul of the judiciary system. Hundreds of protesters became thousands as Israelis joined the 70-kilometer (roughly 45-mile) march throughout the day in a demonstration against one of Israel’s most far-right governments in history.The demonstrators planned to camp overnight at Shoresh, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) from Jerusalem, before making their way to Israel’s parliament on Saturday, the Jewish holy day of Shabbat.The march comes a day after Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the plan, defying demonstrators, growing defections by military reservists and appeals from U.S. President Joe Biden to put the plan on hold.Ronen Rosenblatt, 58, a high-tech worker who’d joined the march following months of frustration with Netanyahu’s government, described the event as jovi...

In the news today: Women’s World Cup, new BC port strike deal

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:13 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Canada gets 0-0 draw with Nigeria in Women’s World Cup openerCanada was left looking for positives Friday in the wake of a scoreless draw with Nigeria in its opening match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.Coach Bev Priestman and her players found some. But it had a feel of trying to make lemonade out of lemons, especially given captain Christine Sinclair’s saved penalty in the 50th minute.The seventh-ranked Canadians outshot No. 40 Nigeria 15-10 (3-1 in shots on target) and dominated possession in the early going, creating chances that they could not convert.Possible deal in ongoing port labour disputeAnother deal has been struck between the two factions operating on B.C. ports.A statement on the website of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada Local 502 says that a tentative agreement has been reached with the B-C Maritime Emplo...

Wildfire smoke highlights need for better ventilation in public spaces, experts say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:13 GMT

Wildfire smoke hanging over communities across Canada in recent months has highlighted the need for better ventilation in buildings used by the public, experts say, urging the establishment of strong indoor air quality standards. Health concerns over smoke from forest fires were pushed to the forefront this week after a nine-year-old boy in British Columbia died from asthma exacerbated by wildfire smoke.Experts say current air quality recommendations for public spaces are not sufficient to prevent small particulate matter, including pollutants in smoke, from circulating indoors.  As wildfires are expected to grow in the coming years – estimates have said they will increase 25 per cent by 2030 – thinking about how to make indoor air safer to breathe is paramount, experts say.“Particulate matter, fine particles in the air – smoke being one of them – is by far the most harmful pollutant and what causes the most damage to public health,” said Joey Fox, an HVAC engineer and c...

Five years on, Danforth shooting vivid for those affected, gun control key issue

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:13 GMT

TORONTO — The passage of time can feel disjointed for Ali Demircan. It may have been five years since a gunman went on a shooting rampage through Toronto’s Greektown, but the horror of what Demircan saw after being grazed by a bullet that night still hits hard.“The images are still fresh and, time to time when I close my eyes, what I see is just carnage,” he says. “I don’t feel like it’s going to go away one day. I don’t believe that I’m going to forget this.” Demircan coped with the trauma of what happened during the Danforth Avenue shooting, in part, by getting involved in the advocacy community formed in the aftermath of the violence. Being part of a movement pushing for gun control has helped to heal, he says. “When you share your experiences, it’s relieving,” he says. Demircan was with a group of friends at a parkette along Danforth Avenue on the night of July 22, 2018 when a man drew a semi-automatic handg...

Hydroponic greenhouses becoming more popular in the North, but have limitations

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:13 GMT

INUVIK, N.W.T. — Greenhouses are becoming more popular in northern communities as a way to supplement available groceries and improve food security . Some involve hydroponics, a higher-tech way of growing that doesn’t use soil. For example, the Inuvik Community Greenhouse has a hydroponic trailer parked out front, holding around 2,000 spaces for leafy greens and herbs grown year-round. Co-ordinator Adi Scott said the produce supports the greenhouse’s weekly veggie box program with additional goods going to the food bank.About a two-hour Canadian North flight away from the Inuvik greenhouse, just behind the Yellowknife Co-op, greens and herbs are being grown in a converted sea can. The hydroponic greenhouse, which opened in February 2019, is fully automated, producing between 200 and 300 packages a week. “The flavour degrades so quickly in perishable foods like leafy greens that having something that is available for sale within hours of being harvested is a totally different product...

Greenhouses aim to bring fresh produce to North, putting a dent in food insecurity

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:13 GMT

INUVIK, N.W.T. — Rows upon rows of raised beds growing tomatoes, zucchini, beans, wildflowers and herbs line the inside of the Inuvik Community Greenhouse. Sunlight streams through the panes of the curved ceiling above as children sprinkle their crop with green plastic watering cans. The commercial greenhouse in the western Arctic community in the Northwest Territories is in a former hockey arena. There, community members can rent plots to grow vegetables and other plants, and learn about gardening. “Every time I come in here, I only ever see people smiling,” said Adi Scott, who co-ordinates the greenhouse.Remote and Indigenous communities, particularly in the North, are increasingly using greenhouses to grow their own produce, promote self-sufficiency and in some cases create economic opportunity, said Andrew Spring, an assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and a Canada Research Chair in northern sustainable food systems.“Food security has been an issue across the North...

B.C. firefighter numbers increase to more than 2,500, with 100 Brazilians here today

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:13 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia is expecting the arrival of 100 firefighters from Brazil today, adding to the province’s growing international wildfire force.BC Wildfire Service spokesman Cliff Chapman says about 500 international firefighters are already in B.C., boosting the ranks of the more than 2,000 provincial wildfire service personnel on the front lines battling hundreds of blazes.He says the firefighters from Brazil will join firefighters from Mexico, the United States and Australia currently in the province.Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s emergency management and climate readiness minister, recently requested 1,000 international firefighters through the non-profit Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which co-ordinates national and international fire management.Chapman says the Brazilians and the international firefighters already in B.C. will provide much-needed relief and assistance to crews battling almost 400 fires currently burning in the province.He says cooler tempera...

Feeling blue? Bell Canada seeks to trademark ‘Bell Blue’ signature colour

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:13 GMT

TORONTO — Customers may recognize the medium dark shade of cyan-blue from the logo at the top of their monthly phone and internet bill, or from a billboard advertising the latest new television program airing soon.To painters, it may simply be known as Pantone 301.But Bell Canada is hoping to formalize it as “Bell Blue,” after applying earlier this month to trademark the colour used across its branding.If approved by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, the trademark would give the telecom and media giant exclusive rights for a decade to use the colour across a variety of good and services it offers, including on phones and TVs, software programs and advertising campaigns.Trademark lawyer Graham Hood of Smart and Biggar LLP said trademarking a colour is a useful way for companies to set themselves apart.“In a Canadian marketplace saturated with brands, goods, services, I think anything a savvy brand owner can do to stand out is worthwhile,” he said of B...