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Italy’s deadly floods just latest example of climate change’s all-or-nothing weather extremes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:00 GMT

ROME (AP) — The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italy’s northeast are another drenching dose of climate change’s all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say.The coastal region of Emilia-Romagna was twice struck, first by heavy rain two weeks ago on drought-parched ground that could not absorb it, overflowing riverbanks overnight, followed by this week’s deluge that killed 13 and caused billions in damages. In a changing climate, more rain is coming, but it’s falling on fewer days in less useful and more dangerous downpours.The hard-hit Emilia-Romagna region was particularly vulnerable. Its location between the Apennine mountains and the Adriatic Sea trapped the weather system this week that dumped half the average annual amount of rain in 36 hours. Antonello Pasini, a climate scientist at Italy’s National Research Council, said a trend has been establishing itself: “An increase in rainfall ov...

In The News for May 19 : Travellers breathe easier after WestJet pilot strike averted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:00 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of May 19 …What we are watching in Canada …WestJet and its pilots union say they have reached a last-minute deal, averting a strike ahead of the May long weekend.A statement from the Air Line Pilots Association says union leaders voted to approve an agreement-in-principle, with a membership vote to begin in the coming days.The airline had grounded the bulk of its fleet Thursday, including for its Swoop subsidiary, parking their 130 planes at airports from Vancouver to Halifax and leaving thousands of travellers in limbo across the country.The shutdown affected dozens of routes within Canada and to the U.S. and overseas, while flights at the WestJet Encore regional service and the WestJet-owned Sunwing Airlines were unaffected.Some 1,800 pilots at WestJet and Swoop had been poised to walk off the job as of 3 a.m. moun...

Tim Scott launching ad campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire for expected presidential bid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:00 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina plans to begin airing TV ads in Iowa and New Hampshire early next week as he prepares for an expected 2024 Republican presidential campaign.The ad buy, valued at about $5.5 million, is scheduled to run through the first GOP presidential debate in late August and marks the most significant advertising expenditure by a potential or declared candidate in the early stages of the 2024 nominating campaign. Scott, who last month formed an exploratory committee allowing him to raise and spend money while weighing a White House campaign, is scheduled to make a “major announcement” on Monday in his hometown of North Charleston regarding his decision on a presidential bid.Scott has been traveling to early voting states including Iowa, which holds the leadoff caucuses, and New Hampshire, host of the first-in-the-nation primary, while also campaigning in his home state, which holds the first Southern primary next year.He would start a bid ...

Myanmar says official death toll from Cyclone Mocha at least 145, says aid is being provided

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:00 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The official death toll from the powerful cyclone that struck Myanmar has burgeoned to at least 145, including 117 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority, state television reported Friday. It said the figure applied to the western state of Rakhine, where Cyclone Mocha did the most damage, but did not say how many storm-related deaths there have been in other parts of the country.The accounting of casualties from the cyclone has been slow, in part due to communication difficulties in the affected areas and the military government’s tight control over information. The military government has said that unofficial death tolls surpassing 400 are false, but in the absence of independent confirmation, uncertainly remains about the actual extent of casualties and destruction.Mocha made landfall near Sittwe township in Rakhine state on Sunday afternoon with winds of up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour before weakening inland. The cyclone, the nation’s most destructive i...

Rewriting history: A look at some historical sites where plaques may be changed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:00 GMT

Parks Canada is rewriting hundreds of outdated historical plaques that mark some of the country’s most prominent places and events. Here’s a look at 10 sites where texts are being reviewed:1. Batoche National Historic Site in Saskatchewan, for colonial assumptions.2. Arrival of Jacques Cartier in the Gaspe region of Quebec, for colonial assumptions.3. Fort Walsh in Saskatchewan, for colonial assumptions and antiquated terminology.4. Yukon Gold Discovery in Yukon, for colonial assumptions, antiquated terminology and Indigenous erasure.5. Exploration of the Fraser River in British Columbia, for colonial assumptions.6. Halifax Citadel in Nova Scotia, for colonial assumptions.7. York Factory in Manitoba, for colonial assumptions.8. The Battle of Queenston Heights in Ontario, for colonial assumptions.9. Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, for Indigenous erasure.10. Rocky Mountain House in Alberta, for colonial assumptions, antiquated terminology and Indigenous erasure.This report...

Passport redesign just the latest battle in the culture war over Canadian identity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:00 GMT

OTTAWA — The government hit delete on Terry Fox. That’s how Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre put it when he posted a nearly-five minute video on Twitter condemning the Liberal government for its passport redesign, while standing in front of the National War Memorial, another image removed from future Canadian passports. That video, which calls the passport Justin Trudeau’s “colouring book” because it features images of a squirrel eating a nut and a man raking leaves, reached nearly a million people in a week, far exceeding Poilievre’s other recent videos. “This is troll politics,” said Jason Hannon, an associate professor at the University of Winnipeg in the department of rhetoric, writing and communications. “It’s not like Canadian identity has ever hinged on passport design. It’s not like Canadians ever went to bed at night thinking happy thoughts about passports. It’s an utterly fabricated issue.”The Liberals a...

‘Good corporate neighbours’: Locals fear disruptions from giant VW plant in Ontario

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:00 GMT

ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO — Jenna Tranter thought she had finally found rural tranquillity a decade ago when she bought a lush 25-acre farm where she could teach horseback riding, removed from the traffic and noise of a major city.  But she recently learned she’d be getting a new neighbour: Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, has announced plans to build a massive electric-vehicle battery manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ont., a block away from her home. The German auto giant’s choice of St. Thomas as the site for its “gigafactory” was widely cheered – including by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford – and is expected to create up to 3,000 direct jobs, as well as up to 30,000 spinoff jobs at companies supplying the plant. But not everyone was thrilled. “It is a very sad situation, and we are very angry and upset,” said Tranter, standing outside her red brick farm house in the municipality of Central Elgin, which border...

Princess Anne to visit Canada’s oldest regiment in New Brunswick this weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:00 GMT

FREDERICTON — Princess Louise,the mare that was once the mascot of the 8th Canadian Hussars, never met the calvary regiment’s horse-loving colonel-in-chief. But this weekend the cherished horse will be present in photos and in memories as the colonel-in-chief, Princess Anne, visits to mark the 175th anniversary of the regiment based in southern New Brunswick.Princess Anne, sister to King Charles and a former Olympic equestrian rider, was appointed to her role with the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s) regiment in June 1972, when she was just 21. She has visited the unit several times and maintained a close relationship with it.On this visit she is scheduled to take part in events from Friday through Sunday in Moncton, N.B., and Sussex, N.B., meeting with regiment members past and present and taking in a commemorative concert, a parade and a gala dinner.James Lockyer, the regiment’s honorary colonel, said the unit has a record of service and sacrifice. “Its f...

Parks Canada plans major rewrite of more than 200 historic site plaques

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:00 GMT

EDMONTON — They’re affixed to old buildings where someone important used to live. Or they’re mounted on a rock overlooking somewhere where something once happened. Cast in bronze or lettered on a sign, they’re sometimes the only history lesson many of us ever get. And now Parks Canada wants hundreds of them changed. “The way that many of the national historic designations are framed and positioned does not do justice to the breadth of impacts that they had on Canadian society,” said Pat Kell, the agency’s director of heritage. Parks is in the middle of a three-year program to re-examine and rewrite the plaques that the Historic Sites and Monuments Board use to point out places deemed important to understanding Canada’s past. Sites slated for rewrite include fur trade forts such as Fort Langley in British Columbia and Manitoba’s York Factory. Others relate to the War of 1812, like Queenston Heights in Ontario. Some involve historic figu...

Gas prices could rise for long weekend and into summer amid fires, economic worries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:00 GMT

TORONTO — Experts say shifting factors including wildfires in Alberta, a slowing economy and potential pressures on supply will all have an effect on gas prices as the long weekend heralds the start of the summer. “This weekend is the kickoff for summer driving season in Canada,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.This period is usually characterized by higher demand for gas as people go on more road trips and take their motorcycles and sports carts out of hibernation, he said. “It’s not unusual to see gas prices go up and down around weekends, and especially long weekends.”However, the price of crude has been drifting for a while, said Cieszynski, with concerns over demand while the economy muddles along in the face of higher interest rates.“It boils down to a question of supply and demand,” said Roger McKnight, chief petroleum analyst at En-Pro International.“It’s also a question of inflation and recession and how that&#...