Citizenship ceremony starts belatedly as officials adapt oath in moments following death of Queen Elizabeth II
Roberto Rocha was huddled with three others around a computer screen, as one of the friends prepared to become a Canadian citizen.
The pandemic had derailed the pomp of an in-person swearing-in ceremony, leaving 140 excited, polite faces to meet instead on a Zoom screen.
Continue reading...New September temperature record reaches 107F or 41.7C in Salt Lake City, Utah
Through this week, the heatwave in the US has been continuing, allowing more September records to fall. Salt Lake City in Utah saw its September temperature record broken, with each day hotter than the last, until the current highest ever September temperature was recorded on Wednesday. The new September record is now 107F or 41.7C, which astonishingly is also tied as the all-time temperature record for Salt Lake City. It is extraordinary to record a tied record high temperature in meteorological autumn.
Farther south earlier this week, the tropical storm off the west coast of Mexico, previously Twelve-E, developed into a category 2 hurricane, bringing sustained winds of 100mph, and was named Hurricane Kay. The hurricane brought intense flooding all the way up the west coast of Mexico, from Oaxaca to Nayarit by Thursday 8 September. In the last 48 hours, Kay has weakened into a tropical storm, but continues to bring extreme rain in its path, across the Baja California Peninsula and up towards the US state of California.
Continue reading...PM hails ‘one of my favourite people in the world’ but death set to prompt questions about institution whose popularity is in decline
Justin Trudeau has expressed his condolences over the death of Queen Elizabeth II, telling reporters that that monarch, who was also Canada’s head of state, was “one of my favourite people in the world”.
“In a complicated world, her steady grace and resolve brought comfort and strength to us all. Canada is in mourning,” said Trudeau, who first met the Queen as a child when his father Pierre was prime minister.
Continue reading...Myles Sanderson went into ‘medical distress’ after his arrest, and later died in hospital, say police
The fugitive wanted over a mass stabbing in Canada that killed 10 people and injured 18 has died in hospital after his arrest, police have confirmed, with sources saying his death was the result of self-inflicted wounds.
Myles Sanderson went into “medical distress” after his arrest and was taken to hospital where he died, Royal Canadian Mounted police assistant commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said in a press conference on Wednesday night. Police found a knife in the truck, which officers had rammed off the road into a ditch, but Blackmore would not comment on the cause of his death.
Continue reading...Province of Saskatchewan releases names of victims in Sunday’s rampage as police arrest fugitive brother Myles Sanderson
A beloved veteran described as a “hero”, an elder who served as an addictions counsellor, a mother of five and a widower who spent his days volunteering are among the 10 victims of Sunday’s deadly knife attack in western Canada.
Police in the province of Saskatchewan have named the victims of Sunday’s stabbing rampage, their ages ranging from 23 to 78.
Thomas Burns, 23
Carol Burns, 46
Gregory Burns, 28
Lydia Gloria Burns, 61
Bonnie Burns, 48
Earl Burns, 66
Lana Head, 49
Christian Head, 54
Robert Sanderson, 49
Wesley Petterson, 78
Continue reading...In a shattering blow to the leftist leader Gabriel Boric, 62% voted against the progressive new document on Sunday
Two days after Chileans emphatically rejected a new constitution, president Gabriel Boric has reshuffled his cabinet as he attempts to ride out a fresh period of uncertainty.
On Sunday, 62% of Chileans voted against a progressive new constitution which would have replaced the current document drafted under Gen Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship in a historic plebiscite.
Continue reading...Police alert warned James Smith Cree Nation residents to shelter in place but subsequent alert said Myles Sanderson was not nearby
Fear, confusion and desperation have run high in western Canada as police widened the search for the remaining suspect in a stabbing spree that left 11 people dead.
On Tuesday afternoon, an emergency alert to phones warned people to shelter in place after several people in the James Smith Cree Nation reported seeing Myles Sanderson, 30, who is wanted over the string of attacks which left at least 11 dead and 18 injured.
Continue reading...Body of Damien Sanderson found by police still hunting for his brother Myles after the RCMP formally charged the two suspects with first degree murder
One of the suspects in the stabbing deaths of 10 people in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan has been found dead, police said, but warned that his accomplice remains at large.
The body of Damien Sanderson was found with visible wounds in a grassy area near a house being examined by police. His injuries are not believed to be self-inflicted.
Continue reading...Janildo Oliveira Guajajara had recently taken part in an Amazon assembly organised by murdered Indigenous specialist Bruno Pereira
A rainforest activist from one of Brazil’s leading Indigenous protection groups has been killed just weeks after participating in an Amazon assembly organised by the murdered Indigenous specialist Bruno Pereira.
Janildo Oliveira Guajajara, a member of the Guardiões da Floresta (Forest Guardians) collective, was reportedly shot dead in the early hours of Saturday near the Araribóia Indigenous territory where he lived.
Continue reading...‘Relentless’ hunt fails to track down two men believed to have attacked residents of Indigenous community in Saskatchewan
Police in western Canada have said the two men believed to have killed 10 in a stabbing rampage have evaded search teams and remain at large despite a “relentless” overnight search.
The country is still reeling from one of the deadliest attacks in its history as the police forces from multiple provinces ramp up their search.
Continue reading...Swathes of rainforest have reached tipping point, research by scientists and Indigenous organisations concludes
Environmental destruction in parts of the Amazon is so complete that swathes of the rainforest have reached tipping point and might never be able to recover, a major study carried out by scientists and Indigenous organisations has found.
“The tipping point is not a future scenario but rather a stage already present in some areas of the region,” the report concludes. “Brazil and Bolivia concentrate 90% of all combined deforestation and degradation. As a result, savannization is already taking place in both countries.”
Continue reading...Temperatures nearing record of 52.2C set in Mecca, California, in 1950
Western areas of North America are continuing to suffer a significant heatwave that is threatening to break the highest global September temperature record. The global record in September is 52.2C (126F), in 1950 in Mecca, California. On 1 September this year, temperatures at Furnace Creek in Death Valley reached a scorching 51.3C (124.4F), less than a degree off the all-time record.
In the following days, several Canadian provinces’ September records were broken, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. On 2 September Lytton in British Columbia reached 39.6C (103F), only 0.4C off the September record for all of Canada. Records in many other cities also fell on 2 and 3 September. The remainder of this week will stay anomalously hot, about 10C above average, with a continued threat of records falling but the heat is expected to move away eastwards later this week.
Continue reading...Fifteen people are in hospital after attacks in 13 locations in two communities in the province
In response to the attacks, James Smith Cree Nation declared a state of emergency and various locations increased security.
The Mosaic Stadium, host to the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ game, also boosted its security presence.
A call for additional staff was issued to respond to the influx of casualties,” authority spokeswoman Anne Linemann said in an email to Associated Press.
Continue reading...Ten people were killed and at least 15 wounded in series of stabbings in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on Sunday
Ten people were killed and at least 15 wounded in a spate of stabbings in 13 locations across an Indigenous community and a nearby village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on Sunday.
Police first began receiving reports of stabbings around 5.40am on Sunday in the James Smith Cree Nation community. Reports of additional attacks quickly followed in the nearby village of Weldon, north-east of Saskatoon. Both communities are sparsely populated with 3,400 and 200 people respectively.
At least 15 people were taken to hospital although “there may be additional injured victims who transported themselves to various hospitals”, Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted police, said. Mark Oddan, a spokesperson with Stars air ambulance, said two helicopters were sent from Saskatoon, and another from Regina.
Some of the victims appear to have been targeted but others appear to have been attacked at random, Blackmore said. She did not provide a motive.
Police identified the suspects as Damien Sanderson, 31, and Myles Sanderson, 30 and asked them to turn themselves in. Both are said to have black hair and brown eyes, though the relationship between them is unclear. The pair were last sighted driving a black Nissan Rogue with licence plate 119 MPI in Saskatchewan’s capital of Regina, about 200 miles (320km) south of the attacks in the James Smith Cree Nation and the village of Weldon.
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, described the attacks as “horrific and heartbreaking” in a statement of support to the families of those killed. “The attacks in Saskatchewan today are horrific and heartbreaking. I’m thinking of those who have lost a loved one and of those who were injured,” he said in a tweet.
One witness said she believed one of the suspects approached her and her daughter claiming he was hurt. Doreen Lees, 89, said she and her daughter thought they saw one of the suspects when a car came barreling down her street in Weldon early in the morning. Lees said a man approached them and said he was hurt and needed help but took off when her daughter said she would call for help. “He wouldn’t show his face. He had a big jacket over his face. We asked his name and he kind of mumbled his name twice and we still couldn’t get it,” she told the Associated Press. “He said his face was injured so bad he couldn’t show it.” She said the man was by himself and “kind of a little wobbly.”
Saskatchewan’s premier, Scott Moe, also issued a statement, describing the attacks as “senseless violence”. “There are no words to adequately describe the pain and loss caused by this senseless violence. All of Saskatchewan grieves with the victims and their families,” he said.
Residents of James Smith Cree Nation chronicled the events on social media. One woman posted an image of a broken door handle, adding that she was glad her younger sister wasn’t home when it was broken into. “This is forever gonna traumatize me,” she wrote. Others – including a young woman who had seen her grandfather the night before, only to learn he was a victim in the attacks – posted tributes to killed family members.
Continue reading...With 96% of the ballots counted, the rejection camp has 62% and the approve team accept defeat in bid to replace Pinochet-era settlement
Chileans have voted comprehensively against a new, progressive constitution that had been drafted to replace the 1980 document written under Gen Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.
With 99.9% of the votes counted in Sunday’s plebiscite, the rejection camp had 61.9% support compared with 38.1% for approval amid what appeared to be a heavy turnout with long lines at polling states. Voting was mandatory.
Continue reading...Police extend search for two suspects over three provinces after attacks at 13 different locations
A manhunt was under way in western Canada on Sunday night as police searched frantically for two men suspected in a series of stabbings that have killed 10 people and wounded at least 15 others.
The bulk of the attacks targeted residents of James Smith Cree Nation, an Indigenous community of 3,400, with other injuries reported in the neighbouring village of Weldon, north-east of Saskatoon.
Continue reading...Approval would replace Pinochet-era document, recognizing Chile’s Indigenous peoples and requiring action on the climate crisis
Chileans head to the polls on Sunday to either approve or reject what has been described as the world’s most progressive constitution, which would replace the 1980 document drawn up during Gen Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.
The referendum marks the culmination of three tumultuous years of protest and political upheaval, in which a protest over subway prices grew into a broad uprising against deeply rooted inequalities and a disconnected political class.
Continue reading...Comments at Venice film festival come after recent failed assassination attempt on Argentina’s vice-president
A failed assassination attempt this week on the Argentine vice-president has shown that democracy cannot be taken for granted, the director behind a courtroom drama about the trial of Argentina’s military junta has said.
Opening at the Venice film festival on Saturday, Santiago Mitre’s Argentina 1985 follows the prosecutors who, despite death threats and enormous legal difficulties, brought members of Argentina’s 1976-83 military dictatorship to trial in 1985.
Continue reading...Tens of thousands take to the streets to condemn political violence and show support for vice-president a day after shock attack
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets across Argentina to protest against political violence and show support for vice-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the day after she survived what appeared to be a failed assassination attempt.
Political leaders around the world and Pope Francis condemned the attack, as marchers flooded cities across the country in solidarity with a political leader who, like Juan and Evita Perón, dominates Argentina’s political landscape.
Continue reading...Patricio Maturana fired a teargas canister that permanently blinded Fabiola Campillai as she walked to work during protests
A former Chilean police special forces captain has been found guilty of assault after permanently blinding a woman he shot in the face with a teargas canister during a wave of protests in 2019.
The court in the capital Santiago found that Patricio Maturana had committed “unlawful coercion resulting in serious and very serious injuries” to Fabiola Campillai who was walking to a bus stop when she was struck. The public prosecutor has requested a 12-year prison sentence.
Continue reading...