February, 2023
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios pleads guilty to assaulting former girlfriend, has no conviction recorded
Magistrate says offence was at low end of seriousness for common assault, was not premeditated Nick Kyrgios had suffered severe depression, suicidal ideation and insomnia in the past, a psychologist told a court on Friday when the Australian tennis star pleaded guilty to pushing a former girlfriend to the ground two years ago. The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up pleaded guilty in the Australian Capital Territory Magistrates Court to assaulting Chiara Passari during an argument in his hometown of Canberra in January 2021. Magistrate Jane Campbell didn’t record a conviction against KyrgiosRead more
Paco Rabanne, celebrated fashion designer and perfumer, dead at 88
Spanish designer spent most of his life in France and rose to prominence in the 1960s Paco Rabanne, the Spanish-born pace-setting designer known for perfumes sold worldwide and his metallic, space-age fashions, has died, the group that owns his fashion house announced on its website Friday. “The House of Paco Rabanne wishes to honour our visionary designer and founder who passed away today at the age of 88. Among the most seminal fashion figures of the 20th century, his legacy will remain,” the statement from Puig said. Le Telegramme newspaperRead more
Video game soundtracks get their own Grammy category this year
Soundtracks for Assassin’s Creed and Call of Duty titles among the nominees Long relegated to the margins, video game score soundtracks are finally getting recognized with their own category at this year’s Grammy Awards. Five nominees will compete at Sunday’s show, out of the 70 original scores submitted for the category’s maiden year. The nominees are composers Austin Wintory for Aliens: Fireteam Elite, Stephanie Economou for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok, Bear McCreary for Call of Duty: Vanguard, Richard Jacques for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Christopher Tin for Old World. The success of video game music coincides with the overall growthRead more
Iranian director freed on bail after going on hunger strike
Jafar Panahi among several artists, sports stars detained for speaking against regime Acclaimed Iranian director Jafar Panahi was released on bail Friday, two days after starting a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment last summer, his supporters said. Panahi was arrested last July and later ordered to serve six years on charges of propagandizing against the government, a sentence dating back to 2011 that had never been enforced. He is among a number of Iranian artists, sports figures and other celebrities who have been detained after speaking out against theRead more
Gay man taking Canadian government to court, says sperm donation restrictions make him feel like a ‘second-class citizen’
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. “[It’s] like you’re undesirable because of your gayness as a donor … It feels like such an arbitrary rule,” said Aziz M, the man who is pushing to change the rules. Out of concern for his privacy, CTV News has agreed not to use his full name. Currently, a Health Canada directive prohibits gay and bisexual men fromRead more
Quebec woman shocked to find stolen Audi driven through Ontario mall in ‘insane’ theft
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall theft. Taylor-Anna Kobinger, a resident of Laval, Que., listed her 2011 Black Audi A4 on Facebook Marketplace in January as a means to raise the funds needed for a down payment on a home. On Jan. 29, Kobinger said a man responded to her ad and came to her home in order to test drive the vehicle. She said he took the car outRead more
Would you pay $300 a year for quick access to a nurse? Dealing with demand, Ontario doctors get creative
There came a point during the pandemic, about nine months ago, when the staff at a pediatric clinic in Toronto was turning away at least 100 callers per day who were looking for a primary care provider. At the same time, Kindercare Pediatric’s rostered patients were waiting longer than they should to see their own doctors. The way Kindercare owner Dr. Dan Flanders describes it, the scene was one of desperation. “It became very, I don’t know, distressing for everyone. Like, here we are, we have doctors and there’s justRead more
‘Brutally cold’: Extreme weather warnings spread across Canada
Across the country, Canadians are turning up the thermostat as frigid temperatures and snow squalls creep in. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, as of Thursday morning there were extreme cold or winter storm warnings active from coast to coast, with the harshest extreme cold warnings stretching from northern Alberta all the way to Nova Scotia. Regions of British Columbia are expecting significant snowfall, with Peace River set to receive 25-50 centimetres by Saturday morning. In Fort McMurray, Alta., the wind chill will make the air feel like -40 degrees CelsiusRead more