Category Archives: Canada

Weather tracker: how did Hurricane Fiona maintain intensity so far north?

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Tropical systems often strengthen in warmer areas of Atlantic, but can also intensify elsewhere in certain conditions

Late last week, Canada’s Atlantic coast was hit by Hurricane Fiona, with maximum sustained winds in the region of 90mph (145km/h). Hurricanes rarely maintain such an intensity that far north. Why? Hurricanes are fuelled by high sea surface temperatures (SSTs), and ideally high sea temperatures over a large depth. As you move away from the tropics, SSTs typically reduce.

But hurricanes are not confined to the warmer areas of the Atlantic, such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Tropical systems often strengthen in these regions, but can sometimes sustain or even strengthen elsewhere given favourable conditions. Ocean currents can transport warmer water poleward which can produce regions at higher latitudes that have higher SSTs than their surroundings. Tropical systems that track northwards over warmer seas can maintain intensity or even strengthen, such as happened with Hurricane Fiona.

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Sudden die-off of endangered sturgeon alarms Canadian biologists

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The deaths within days of 11 sturgeon, a species unchanged for thousands of years, have puzzled scientists

When the first spindly, armour-clad carcass was spotted in the fast-flowing Nechako River in early September, Nikolaus Gantner and two colleagues scrambled out on a jet boat, braving strong currents to investigate the grim discovery.

Days later, the remains of 10 others were spotted floating along a 100km stretch of the river in western Canada.

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Houses washed away after storm Fiona as Canada sends in military for cleanup

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Troops to remove trees and restore transport links after Fiona caused severe damage including torn-off roofs and flooding

Canadian troops are being sent to assist the recovery from the devastation of storm Fiona, which swept away houses, stripped off roofs and knocked out power across the country’s Atlantic provinces.

After surging north from the Caribbean as a hurricane, Fiona came ashore before dawn on Saturday as a post-tropical cyclone, battering Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec with hurricane-strength winds, heavy rains and huge waves.

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Storm Fiona ravages Canada’s east coast causing ‘terrifying’ destruction

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Post-tropical cyclone reaches Gulf of St Lawrence after racing through Nova Scotia forcing evacuations

Powerful storm Fiona ripped into eastern Canada on Saturday with hurricane-force winds, forcing evacuations, knocking down trees and powerlines, and reducing many homes on the coast to “just a pile of rubble in the ocean”.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the centre of the storm, downgraded to post-tropical cyclone Fiona, had reached the Gulf of St Lawrence after racing through Nova Scotia.

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Riverdale actor Ryan Grantham receives life sentence for killing his mother

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Canadian actor had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder over shooting near Vancouver

The actor Ryan Grantham – featured in the CW show Riverdale and the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid – has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting his mother in their home in Canada.

Grantham, 24, was sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder, which carries an automatic sentence of life in prison, reported the New York Times.

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Post-tropical cyclone Fiona hits eastern Canada with hurricane-force winds

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Storm surges and heavy rainfall expected before weather event gradually weakens this weekend, say meteorologists

A powerful storm has hit eastern Canada with hurricane-force winds nearly a week after devastating parts of the Caribbean.

The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said the centre of Fiona, which transformed from a hurricane into a post-tropical cyclone late on Friday was crossing eastern Nova Scotia, bringing high winds and heavy rains.

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Forbidden fruit trees: Canadian national park urges locals to remove bear-attracting bushes

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Black bears preparing to hibernate have been lured into Jasper townsite by residents’ non-native apple and cherry trees

The waning days of summer and a bounty of ripe fruit have pitted hungry black bears against park rangers in a fight over a Canadian mountain town’s fruit trees.

Residents living in the Jasper national park townsite have been warned that fruit trees on their properties are luring in black bears and need to be removed as soon as possible.

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‘Alien goldfish’ may have been unique mollusc, say scientists

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Researchers think they may have solved enduring mystery of where Typhloesus wellsi sits on tree of life

The mystery of a bizarre creature dubbed the “alien goldfish”, which has baffled fossil experts for decades, may have been solved, according to scientists who say the animal appears to have been some sort of mollusc.

Typhloesus wellsi lived about 330m years ago and was discovered in the Bear Gulch Limestone fossil site in Montana in the late 1960s, with the remains of other species subsequently identified.

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Trudeau’s team defend Bohemian Rhapsody rendition before Queen’s funeral

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Clip of Canadian prime minister singing in London hotel two days before funeral has sparked criticism

A spokesperson for Justin Trudeau has defended the Canadian prime minister over a leaked video that showed him singing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody in a London hotel lobby two days before Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

The 14-second video clip, viewed more than 1.5m times, shows Trudeau in a T-shirt leaning against a piano at the Corinthia hotel and joining others in a rendition of one of the rock band Queen’s most famous songs.

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Spielberg’s The Fabelmans wins Toronto film festival People’s Choice award

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Director’s most autobiographical film to date picks up audience prize generally seen as indicator of awards success to come

Steven Spielberg’s new film The Fabelmans has won the Toronto international film festival’s People’s Choice award, long regarded in the film industry as a key indicator of awards success over the next few months.

The Fabelmans, directed by Spielberg and co-written with Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner, has been hailed as Spielberg’s most autobiographical film and has won generally admiring reviews. The story of a teenage boy coping with his parents’ disintegrating marriage in the 60s midwest, the Guardian described it as a “rare insight into the world’s most famous director who has usually kept us at arm’s length”.

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Michelin hands out stars to 13 Toronto restaurants as city gets first guide

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Twelve restaurants received one star and one restaurant received two as Toronto becomes the first Canadian city to be featured

Toronto has finally sealed its reputation as an international culinary destination after 13 of its restaurants received Michelin stars for quality – the first time a Canadian city has ever featured in the prestigious guide.

Canada’s largest city has long been keen to compete on the world stage, and many residents were thrilled when the French publication announced in May it would include Toronto in its upcoming guide.

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‘Our lives are destroyed’: families take fight for truth of flight 752 to ICC

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Exclusive: grieving relatives allege war crime and crime against humanity over January 2020 downing of aircraft

When Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 was shot down over Tehran by Iranian anti-aircraft missiles in January 2020, killing all 176 people on board, it was just the beginning of the ordeal for the victims’ families.

In the 32 months since, they have faced obstruction and hostility from the Iranian authorities, which initially sought to deny their forces were responsible. When bodies were finally returned, they were often mixed with the remains of other victims, the personal effects of the dead were looted, and in some instances their funerals were commandeered by the Tehran regime for propaganda purposes. Grieving relatives have been assaulted, harassed and threatened.

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Canada’s federal holiday to mourn the Queen leaves a patchwork of confusion

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Some provinces will give only government employees the day off, some give all workers a holiday, others will remain open

On Canada’s east and west coasts, schools and government offices will be closed on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. But in the two most populous provinces, employees will be at work – unless they are federal employees. Banks and other federal industries, however, have been given the option to close – or to remain open.

On Tuesday, the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, declared 19 September a federal holiday. But the ensuing chaos of determining who qualifies for the holiday has left workers confused across the country.

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Trudeau declares federal holiday for Queen’s funeral – but most Canadians will have to work

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Employees under provincial jurisdiction – the vast majority of Canadian workers – are not affected by the declaration

Justin Trudeau has declared a federal holiday for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, granting a handful of employees across Canada a day off.

But because most workers fall under provincial jurisdiction, much of the country was given little indication if they’re expected to show up to work Monday.

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Deadly rampage in Canada follows ‘ambush’ of Toronto police officer

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Suspect killed by police after standoff in Hamilton cemetery after constable among two killed and three seriously wounded

A Toronto police officer was shot dead in an unprovoked “ambush” before a gunman killed another man and left three others with serious injuries in a deadly rampage on Monday afternoon. The suspect was later killed in a cemetery following a standoff with police.

The attacks began around 2pm on Monday, at a Tim Hortons restaurant in the city of Mississauga, west of Toronto. Constable Andrew Hong, a 48-year-old traffic services officer, was on his lunch break from a joint training exercise when he was shot and killed at close range by the gunman. Another person was shot and left with “life-altering” injuries.

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Canadian advocates pledge to continue selling pure drugs amid overdose crisis

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Over the last six years, the vast majority of overdose deaths in British Columbia have been driven by impurities in street drugs

A Canadian advocacy group has pledged to continue selling cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin to users, in defiance of a federal government order to stop, arguing that their plan is the only way to save lives amid a nationwide drugs crisis.

Over the last six years, more than 10,000 people have died from drug overdoses in the province of British Columbia, with the vast majority of deaths driven by impurities in street drugs.

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Condolences and condemnation: Indigenous people and people of colour react to the death of Queen Elizabeth II

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While some have offered unflinching takes on the damage of British colonisation, others say the monarch held ‘a special place’ in their hearts

The reaction to the death of the Queen among Indigenous people and people of colour, including those from Commonwealth nations, has been swift and, at times, unflinching.

For many the Queen was the personification of British colonisation and the damage it has wreaked in their countries – and they were not afraid to say so. Yet others expressed their condolences for the monarch who has long held “a special place” in their hearts.

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King and country: brief delay as new Canadians swear oath to Charles III

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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.

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‘Canada is in mourning,’ says Justin Trudeau after death of Queen

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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.

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Suspect arrested over Canada mass stabbing dies from self-inflicted injuries

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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.

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