Tuesday, May 28, 2024

News roundup, 28 May 2024

- The IDF bombed a refugee camp in Rafah, killing at least 45 people. They then followed it up by hitting the city's hospitals. The camp was not in one of the places where civilians had been ordered to evacuate, and was full of people who had been forced out of other parts of Gaza. One has to say that when you herd people into a small part of their homeland, and then bomb that area, the optics are very bad.

- The US House of Representatives committee on energy and commerce has requested a briefing from their National Intelligence Director Avril Haines regarding the firing of two Chinese-born scientists from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

- Parks Canada is sticking to their guns regarding the recreational watercraft ban at Clear Lake in the hope of nipping an outbreak of zebra mussels in the bud. I have to respectfully disagree with the provincial government here; while a unilateral decision might seem heavy handed, you need to be heavy handed when dealing with something like this if you want any chance of stopping the spread. I do agree that measures should be taken to help businesses harmed by the decision, though.

- A Canadian senator has introduced a bill, known as the Climate-Aligned Finance Act, which would force financial institutions as well as pension funds to move their investments out of emissions-intensive sectors of the economy. In addition it would require lending to fossil fuel companies to be treated as higher risk. The bill is not expected to pass; nonetheless, the mere fact that it's being discussed is sending the likes of the Canadian Bankers' Association into conniptions. Now what did Ken Livingstone say about bankers again?

- The troubles at the Food Fare on Portage Avenue seem to be escalating, as cars belonging to the store's co-owner and a relative were torched in the store parking lot. The people seen lighting the fire in the surveillance video had apparently been kicked out of the store for shoplifting the previous day.

- The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), the provincial police watchdog, recommended that three Lethbridge police officers involved in spying on an NDP MLA should face criminal charges, however provincial prosecutors have declined to take up the case.

- A company run by former Tory cabinet minister Kevin Klein is buying three newspapers, including the Winnipeg Sun, from Postmedia.

- The Beautiful Plains School Division in southwestern Manitoba is suing a Carberry woman for defamation after the woman made multiple allegations on social media about teachers at the schools her children attend.

- Upon seeing a distraught man walking along Highway 407 in Brampton, two drivers for Purolator put on their four-ways and drove slowly behind him to keep him from getting run over. Hopefully he'll eventually be thankful rather than angry that they foiled his apparent suicide attempt. 

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