Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
With martial law still in place in Ukraine, civilian men are only allowed to travel for exceptional reasons and one has been offered by the United Kingdom: its armed forces are training Ukrainian men and turning them into combat-ready soldiers.
The program has turned Ukrainian lawyers, builders, even dance choreographers, into soldiers after a five-week course which is based on the U.K.'s infantry training. In this case however, the average man is in his 30s and their instructors say the level of maturity and urgency they project come from knowing what's waiting for them. In just a few days, many will be leaving the picturesque rolling hills of southern England for the frontlines of the war in eastern Ukraine more than 3,000 km away.
"For our Ukrainian allies, there is no more mission rehearsal," Lt. Col. Kempley Buchan-Smith, told CTV News, adding "when they leave here, they need to be ready for the fight."
Some came here having never held a weapon. But as their country celebrates Defender's Day on October 14, they leave as the newest crop of soldiers having learned about trench and urban warfare, patrol tactics, battlefield first aid and having spent days firing live rounds in a setting meant to simulate the chaos of war.
One recruit in his 20s, who now goes by the name of Panda, says watching fellow recruits from so many different backgrounds change their thinking and develop instincts in the field, is inspiring. "There are no air raid sirens here, no missiles going over our heads," he says, "it means we are motivated to keep training until we're ready," he adds.
Over the past few months, the course has had to be tailored to developments in the battlefield, meaning switching from a defensive battle to an offensive one.
"Rather than defending a position, remaining static in entrenched locations or in houses, we're looking at how you assault those houses, how you assault trenches and how you take the fight to the enemy," explained Buchan-Smith.
Translation in the training field is provided by Ukrainian refugees - mostly women - who fled the war and who believe this is the best way they can help their country.
The U.K. has committed to training 19,000 recruits and more than 5,700 have completed the course since June.
As part of Operation Unifier, the Canadian Armed Forces were training Ukrainian military personnel in Ukraine until February, when the war began. They've been deployed to the U.K. since August and will remain here until at least December.
"It's so rewarding, so fulfilling, in light of what's going on in Ukraine," Maj. Mike Pal told CTV News, "it's really good to see a sense of purpose for how important this is," he went on to say.
"It remotivates us when we see indiscriminate killing and war crimes going on," he adds.
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Tornadoes wreaked havoc Friday in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging hundreds of homes, many around Omaha, Neb.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”