DEVELOPING 120 active fires burning across Canada, 30 are 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
The nightlife of Russia's elite has long been famously rakish but a recent party crossed an invisible line and provoked a public scandal. One pop star ended up in jail and several others issued public apologies while an ensuing lawsuit demanded a fortune in reparations.
The scandal erupted after TV presenter and actress Anastasia Ivleeva hosted a bash at a Moscow nightclub with the stated dress code of “almost naked.”
Soon after, photos from the party began circulating on social media - including those of rapper Vacio seen wearing only a sock on his genitalia. Conservative legislators, bloggers and others unleashed a storm of criticism, contending the images were unseemly, even unpatriotic, for a country embroiled in war.
Some of the criticism reflected the fiercely conservative sentiment in Russia amid President Vladimir Putin's repeated denunciation of the West for trying to undermine “traditional values” and the nationalism intensified by Russia's war in Ukraine.
“Such hangouts are a shot in the foot of the entire policy pursued by the state,” Yekaterina Mizulina, leader of a Kremlin-aligned group advocating greater internet restrictions, wrote on the messaging app Telegram.
Maria Butina, a parliament member once imprisoned in the United States for acting as an unregistered Russian agent, urged police to investigate whether the party violated Russia's laws forbidding the spreading of LGBTQ+ “propaganda.”
Russia's supreme court in November ruled that the LGBTQ2S+ “movement” constituted extremism.
Two days after the party, Vacio, whose legal name is Nikolai Vasilyev, was jailed for petty hooliganism and fined about US$2,000 for violating the country's propaganda law.
On Wednesday, Russian media reported that some 20 people had filed a 1-billion ruble (US$11 million) class-action lawsuit against Ivleeva, claiming they suffered moral damage from viewing the party photographs.
The suit calls for the damages to be paid into a fund that supports soldiers fighting in Ukraine. Hearings in the case would start as early as January but the prospects for the case remain unclear even in a court system that routinely follows the state's lead.
“People can gather half-naked, or naked, or in quilted jackets over thongs. ... 'Socially disapproved' does not necessarily equal 'illegal',” lawyer Yulia Fedotova was quoted as saying by the news.ru portal.
In the wake of the outrage, several of Russia's biggest pop-culture figures have issued public statements seeking forgiveness for attending the bash.
“There are moments in every person's life when they walk in (through) the wrong door,” said Philipp Kirkorov, a singer well-known for over-the-top, glittery costumes. In a video statement, he said he and other celebrities should carefully choose their events “in this difficult time, a time of heroism.”
Ksenia Sobchak, a socialite and journalist who was a presidential candidate in 2018, said that “if anyone was offended by my appearance, I apologize for that. I love my country, I am a journalist who works in Russia.”
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
Apple users are experiencing an iMessage outage, reporting issues with sending and receiving messages, Downdetector shows.
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
Kevin Spacey is pushing back on the 'rush to judgment' against him and is being backed by some big names as he seeks to reclaim his acting career.
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
A burgeoning track star says his dream of going to the Olympics is being derailed by a deportation order after Immigration officials rejected his family’s claim for asylum
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.