Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A top international conservation agency warned that 28 per cent of the 138,374 species identified on its "survival watchlist" as being under threat have now been moved to the more dangerous "red list" -- meaning they are at high risk of extinction.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported during its annual Red List update on Saturday in Marseille, France, that despite global improvement at the species level, the number of species that are at high risk continues to grow.
The organization said that many regional tuna stocks remain severely depleted. For example, yellowfin tuna continues to be overfished in the Indian Ocean.
Their update also included a reassessment of the world's shark and ray species, which shows that 37 per cent of those species are now facing extinction. All of the threatened shark and ray species are overfished, IUCN reported, with 31 per cent of them further affected by loss and degradation of habitat and 10 per cent also affected by climate change.
"We note striking similarities between the shark and ray statistics and recent estimates for plants: about 2 in 5 are threatened with extinction, and habitat loss and degradation present more immediate threats than climate change," said Dr. Eimear Nic Lughadha, a conservation scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Additionally, the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard, is now considered endangered due to a significant habitat loss from ongoing human activities and climate change, IUCN reported.
"The idea that these prehistoric animals have moved one step closer to extinction due in part to climate change is terrifying -- and a further clarion call for nature to be placed at the heart of all decision making on the eve of the COP26 in Glasgow," said Dr. Andrew Terry, conservation director at the Zoological Society of London.
COP26, a United Nations climate change conference, will take place in November. Alok Sharma, the president of COP26, has previously said he wants the climate talks this year to reach agreement on a number of key targets, including putting an end date on the use of coal, a commitment to make all new car sales zero emissions within the next 14 to 19 years, stopping deforestation by the end of the decade and greater reductions of methane emissions.
There is reason for hope for at-risk species: Of the seven most commercially fished tuna species that were reassessed, four of them are showing signs that they're starting to recover after countries enforced more sustainable fishing quotas and are successfully combating illegal fishing, IUCN said.
The four tuna species include the Atlantic bluefin tuna, which moved from "endangered" to "least concern," the Southern bluefin tuna, which moved from "critically endangered" to "endangered," the albacore and yellowfin tuna, both of which moved from "near threatened" to "least concern."
"These Red List assessments are proof that sustainable fisheries approaches work, with enormous long-term benefits for livelihoods and biodiversity. We need to continue enforcing sustainable fishing quotas and cracking down on illegal fishing," said Bruce B. Collette, chair of the IUCN SSC Tuna and Billfish Specialist Group.
"Tuna species migrate across thousands of kilometres, so coordinating their management globally is also key," Collette said.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Golf is a sign of spring and summer and a major driver for seasonal tourism, experts say.
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.