News roundup, 25 June 2026

- Oil prices have dropped back to the prewar baseline following the memorandum of understanding signed between the US and Iran that has led to a resumption in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Wholesale prices of fertilizer are coming down as well, though many farmers say they have yet to see any real relief at the retail level.

- At least 164 people were killed and 971 injured after two earthquakes struck within a minute of each other in the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

- The Red River Co-op has plans for a badly needed downtown grocery store at Portage Place. The 22,500 ft² facility is expected to open in 2029.

- Winnipeg city councillor Janice Lukes, who represents the suburban Waverley West ward, has announced that she is not running again in this fall's election. Folks on the r/Winnipeg subreddit are mostly rejoicing, though some warn that you should be careful what you wish for. As one person says, "I wasn't a fan, but progressives/urbanists may need to face up to the fact that she was possibly the best we were going to get out of Waverley West." River Heights-Fort Garry councillor John Orlikow isn't running again either; to date Transcona councillor Russ Wyatt has not ruled out running again despite facing sexual assault charges.

- Calgary's chamber of commerce has released a report concluding that secession could cost Alberta's economy $62 billion a year. They also surveyed their members; as this was a self-selecting survey it isn't definitive, but among those who responded more than 75% thought that the very discussion around separation was negatively affecting the province's economy.

- The heatwave in Europe continues, with temperatures hitting the low forties in parts of France yesterday. Even in the normally moderate UK, the town of Gosport recorded a temperature of 36.1°C, and it could get even hotter today.

- A mosque in Regina that got approval from the city to play their call to prayer from a speaker atop the building over the noon hour is getting threats from members of the public. I'd bet you donuts to dinars that the people doing this do not make similar threats to churches that ring bells.

News roundup, 7 June 2024

- The IDF used an American made bomb on a UN-run school in Nuseirat, Gaza. The school was being used as shelter by families whose homes had already been destroyed, and at least 32 people were killed, 7 of them children. Of course the IDF claims that they were targeting militants. For their part, the Americans say that the bomb was designed to be a precision weapon (thus hopefully minimizing collateral damage) but that the Israelis weren't using it in a precision manner. And the prospects for improvement are not good, since neither Netanyahu nor Hamas' leaders can settle for anything less than total victory, which in practice means no ceasefire for the foreseeable future.

- UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer says that he will call for a Palestinian state if he becomes prime minister.

- A Tesla shareholder is accusing Elon Musk of massive insider trading by selling $7.5 billion worth of stock shortly before some poor numbers were made public.

- The Bank of Canada has lowered its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%, following a decline in inflation to 2.7%. Tom Brodbeck remarks that Poilievre's comments a couple of years ago calling the bank "financially illiterate" look pretty foolish now. Unfortunately, to Poilievre's followers they don't look foolish; they think the bank won't have succeeded unless they bring prices down to where they were before. If they were more financially literate they'd know that drops in prices are called deflation, and that it does far more economic damage than they'd like. Poilievre himself presumably knows better, but he's happy to lead the sheeple along with whatever they'll follow, so long as it wins him votes.

- A cyclist was fatally injured in a hit and run on a busy stretch of Wellington Crescent this morning. Both the cyclist and the driver were eastbound at the time. That section of Wellington is not subject to the summer bike route restrictions like the part west of Academy is, and is used as a major thoroughfare by a lot of drivers.

- Just to make sure we all know which side of the culture wars they stand on, the Colorado wing of the Republican Party has sent out a tweet calling for the burning of all Pride flags.

- The Hospitals of Regina Foundation has raised some eyebrows when they booked American comedian Rob Schneider for a fundraiser. The fact that he's an antivaxxer should have been reason enough to think twice; people who attended the event also report that he included misogynistic and transphobic jokes as part of his routine. They did cut his performance short after they realized their mistake.

- The Yuntai Mountain Waterfall, billed as China's largest, was discovered by a hiker to have been fed by a pipe. The operator of the park where the waterfall was found said that they made a "small enhancement" so that it would give tourists their value for money during the dry season when the natural flow rate would make for a less striking image.