Worldcrunch
It’s easy to be lulled into a sense of calm by the Canadian Rockies’ peaceful lakes and beautiful landscapes — and to forget that they’re also home to deadly grizzly and black bears. I was kindly reminded of their presence, in both English and French.
The surface of Emerald Lake, in Canada’s Yoho National Park, was so still that it took me a couple of seconds to figure out whether this slide was upside-down when I came across it last week.
As Canada is getting ready to receive the first charter flight of the 25,000 Syrian refugees it has pledged to resettle by the end of February, Canadian daily the Toronto Star has chosen to greet them with a warm “Welcome to Canada” — subtitled in Arabic — on the front page of its Thursday edition. […]
-Editorial- When the photo appeared Sept. 2 of Alan Kurdi, a lifeless 3-year-old boy facedown on a beach, the plight of refugees from Syria’s civil war shocked the world. In Canada’s election campaign, rivals responded with pledges to accelerate their resettlement. The election winner, Justin Trudeau of the Liberal Party, outlined the most ambitious agenda, to bring 25,000 refugees to Canada by year’s end. Trudeau has extended the deadline eight weeks, out of prudence over the logistical challenges. It is a small adjustment to a generous response that serves as a rebuke to the senseless xenophobia heard lately in the […]
During this cold night of May, the lake had frozen, and in the morning the banks were sparkling like diamonds … Beautiful, but chilly. Thankfully, at the Lake Louise Inn where we stayed, there was a fireplace in our bedroom.
I’ve never skied in my life, but luckily you don’t have to be a winter sports enthusiast to appreciate the glaciers and dense pine forests of the Canadian Rockies. A cozy part of the scenery was Lake Louise Inn, nestled among the snowy peaks of Banff National Park in the western province of Alberta.
“New Trudeau Mania,” writes French-language Canadian daily Le Journal de Montréal on the front page of its Tuesday edition, after Justin Trudeau — son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau — led his Liberal Party to an unexpectedly sweeping victory in general elections. Outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper conceded defeat late Monday, ending nearly […]
VANCOUVER — James Hankle, a software engineer in his 50s sporting bluejeans and a Green Party T-shirt, is explaining his fix for Vancouver’s runaway property prices when he’s interrupted by an eavesdropping passer-by: “Stop allowing people from China to buy our houses and leave them vacant,” she says and walks away. Despite British Columbia’s aversion to pipelines and affection for pot, housing affordability has pushed both aside as the No. 1 issue raised by area residents in the run-up to Canada’s election this month. It’s not completely surprising given that Vancouver has become North America’s most expensive city. Surging purchase […]
Weddings in Canada’s New Brunswick province get really colorful when the groom is a “mountie,” a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Has Canada entered a recession, or is it “already over,” as Quebec City’s French-language daily Le Soleil asks on the front page of its Wednesday edition? The Canadian economy shrank for a second straight quarter, dragged down by falling energy prices and economic troubles in China, as shown by the latest GDP numbers published Tuesday; […]
A 15 minute-drive from downtown Québec City, the Île d’Orléans on the Saint Lawrence River is simply stunning, with its hills, valleys and waterfalls — not to mention a couple of mighty bison.
In the northeast of Canada“s New Brunswick province, the Village Historique Acadien depicts life as it was between the late 18th and early 20th century in Acadia, the area settled by French colonizers in North America. Dressed in period costumes, the village’s actors brought ancestral trades to life, allowing us to travel back through time, […]
Photo: Wang Yuguo/Zuma GREEKS SAY “OXI,” VAROUFAKIS SAYS BYE-BYE Greek voters overwhelmingly rejected a bailout-extension that would prolong or increase austerity measures, with more than 61% voting “Oxi,” the Greek word for no. The result, which was followed by large celebrations across Greece is a major defeat for the European Union and the Eurogroup, where […]
During the summer months, the Ceremonial Guard performs the “Changing of the Guard” ceremony on the lawns of Ottawa’s Parliament Hill. The uniforms are very similar to those of the British Queen’s Guards, and are just one feature of the Canadian capital that surprised me in how much it looked and felt like capitals back […]
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FORT MACKAY — Figuring out which way the winds are blowing is a piece of cake in the hamlet of Fort MacKay, Canada. Just follow the direction of the fumes. On this cold February morning, with temperatures below -20 °C (-4 ºF) in the northern part of Alberta, the columns rising from the chimneys of […]
Are you team Beck or team Kanye? If it ever really mattered at all, it doesn’t now: Arcade Fire’s Win Butler, a.k.a. Dj Windows 98 on Soundcloud, uploaded a mashup of the former’s “Loser” and the latter’s “Jesus Walks”. The result is rather interesting, even though he was far from being the first to come […]
Musical education, not only at a young age but also into adulthood, could have a significant and lasting impact on the development of the brain as well as on speech awareness, a study published in the The Journal of Neuroscience reveals. According to the researchers from Canada’s Rotman Institute, practicing music before the age of […]
This footbridge between two of the Thousand Islands in the Saint Lawrence River is often hailed as being the “shortest international bridge in the world.” The border that separates Canada from the U.S. is said to pass exactly between Zavikon Island and Little Zavikon Island, making for a great anecdote told by many tour guides. […]
Niagara Falls are far from being the most impressive waterfalls we’ve seen, but it comes with a couple of neat features. The Whirlpool Aero Car for example, which traverses the river above the Niagara whirlpool downstream of the falls. It’s also one of the few times we crossed a border without having our passports stamped: […]
By the end of the 1990s, it was decided that flowing rivers were not the best way to transport timber, and log drives were gradually abandoned in Canada — much to the dismay of local kids who had to bid adieu to their log rolling competitions. But in 1994 logging was still going on along […]
IQALUIT — A wealthy Saudi couple will soon begin building a mosque in one of the least hospitable corners of the globe: near the North Pole, in Iqaluit, Canada. The mosque, which will be the northernmost mosque in the world, will face extreme Arctic weather conditions, including lows of -40 degrees Celsius. The town of […]
VANCOUVER — The bearded Garlic Guy at Granville Island Market looks as if he’s been standing here since the 1970s pitching his organic garlic. The name of his one-man enterprise is Oddball Organics. He grows 19 kinds of garlic and mixes the cloves into sauces (“Nuclear Nectar,” for example) that he sells on Granville Island, […]
Residents of Ballarpur city in India woke up to an unpleasant surprise this week, after a full-grown leopard had taken shelter in a cowshed during the night. Early Monday morning, local residents of the busy neighborhood, with the help of a forest department team, eventually managed to capture the leopard. The one injury reported can […]
Turkey’s Prime Minister warns his enemies, Condi Rice warns her friends, Rob Ford rides again, and other notable quotes in the news.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford lets loose again, so does Silvio Berlusconi. There’s also a controversy over FARC rebels on a yacht, up-close memories of Pope John Paul II and more of the week’s news, collected in quotes. (cover photo: Danielle Scott)
I was the manager of Logos Bookstore in Calgary, Canada for more than 30 years, and during the last 15 years we primarily served the education community. That experience allowed me to witness sweeping changes in technology, and the way it is being applied in the classroom. As parents and board members became more familiar […]
Photo: Laura A. Oda – MCT/ZUMA
Striking farmers in Colombia say free trade agreements are responsible for their woes. Better to look closer to home, including industrial cartels and all the contraband entering the country.
Kim Pasche set off from Switzerland to follow in the footsteps of indigenous people. That led him to the wild forests of Canada, where he spends eight months a year living as a hunter-gatherer.
Thursday, July 31, 2014 ISRAEL CALLS UP 16,000 RESERVISTSAs the conflict in Gaza continues, Israel announced it was calling up 16,000 extra reserve soldiers for its offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza — bringing the total of soldiers mobilized to 86,000. The BBC quotes Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying he is “determined” to […]
Moscow allowed for observer status for additional countries that don’t border the Arctic, but will grant them virtually no voice whatsoever on policy.
CANADIAN PRESS, CNET NEWS, THE STAR (Canada) Worldcrunch BAIKONUR – Canadian star astronaut Chris Hadfield landed safely back on earth early on Tuesday morning after a six-month expedition on the International Space Station (ISS) that brought the space age into the Internet era with unmatched aplomb. He arrived at the Kazakh space base in a […]
MILAN – A few weeks ago, half a million people watched him brush his teeth. Two million people discovered that tears don’t run down his face. Four million watched him squeeze a soaking-wet dishtowel. Meet Colonel Chris Hadfield. He’s Canadian, 53, and very proud of his mustache. Yet something differentiates him from all other people […]
JOURNAL DE MONTREAL, METRO MONTREAL (Canada), CTV NEWS, CNN (USA), AP Worldcrunch MONTREAL – Two inmates have been recaptured early Monday morning, only one day after their daring escape from a jail northwest of Montreal, in the Canadian Province of Quebec. Quebec provincial police told the AP they had arrested four people about 30 miles […]
Worldcrunch With the conclave set to begin Tuesday afternoon, the lists of papabili are being narrowed down and scrutinized by the Cardinals gathered at the Vatican. Back in the home countries and dioceses of the top contenders, the secret vote to choose the successor of Benedict XVI can be viewed with a mix of pride […]
Worldcrunch TORONTO – The epitome of femininity and glamour is a pair of high-heeled shoes, but originally, they were actually designed for men. According to a recent BBC report, high heels were worn as a form of riding footwear, with the heel allowing a soldier to stand up in his stirrups securely so he could […]
AL MONITOR, NEW YORK TIMES (U.S.), JERUSALEM POST (Israel), THE GLOBE AND MAIL (Canada) Worldcrunch SOFIA– The case of five Israeli tourists killed in a July bombing in Bulgaria is anything but closed. The Bulgarian government’s findings this week that the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was responsible for the bombing, which also killed the Bulgarian […]