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PHOTOS: Families celebrate Dia De Los Muertos 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:16 GMT

Families around the world honor their deceased loved ones with colorful Dia de los Muertos, or ‘Day of the Dead,’ celebrations. The traditional Mexican holiday focuses on honoring ancestry and commemorating death as a part of life.People gather in the section of children’s tombs inside the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery during Day of the Dead festivities on the outskirts of Mexico City, early Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. In a tradition that coincides with All Saints Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls Day on Nov. 2, families decorate graves with flowers and candles and spend the night in the cemetery, eating and drinking as they keep company with their dearly departed. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)People hold candles over a tomb decorated with flowers at a cemetery in Atzompa, Mexico, late Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. In a tradition that coincides with All Saints Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls Day on Nov. 2, families decorate graves with flowers and candles and spend the night in the cemet...

From the Archives: Herald reaches back to 1848

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:16 GMT

How far back does the Herald go?I’d say it is one of the top questions readers ask. Today I’ll help answer that one as best I can:BOSTON_HERALD_November_1_1848_p1BOSTON_HERALD_November_1_1848_p2BOSTON_HERALD_November_1_1848_p3BOSTON_HERALD_November_1_1848_p4I dug up the four-page edition of the Nov. 1, 1848, evening edition of the Boston Herald. That year is as far back as our archive goes. We don’t have every month from back then, but we sure do have Nov. 1.It’s a fascinating read from this day back then. Here are some photos from this date in history.Dr. Albert Einstein, left, and Carl Laemmle, film executive, speak as the famed German scientist visits Hollywood motion picture studios, in Los Angeles, Nov. 1, 1931. It was later announced that Einstein had refused a large salary offer from a motion picture company. (AP Photo)Clustered about a bomb dedicated to the Ashland Grade School, Ashland County, Ill., are men of the 14th Air Force in China on Nov. 1, 1...

Canada, U.S. to meet with Indigenous leaders next week on transboundary pollution

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:16 GMT

WASHINGTON — Canadian and U.S. officials are expected to meet next week with Indigenous leaders as they work on cleaning up toxic mining run-off that’s polluting waters on both sides of the border. Ktunaxa Nation officials say the meeting will take place Nov. 9 on Indigenous territory in Cranbrook, B.C. Indigenous groups in both countries have been clamouring for years for a bilateral investigation of selenium contamination from B.C. coal mines owned by Teck Resources. An end-of-summer deadline for an agreement in principle, announced in March by President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has since come and gone. Tribal and Indigenous leaders want Canada to agree to a joint investigation under the terms of the International Joint Commission, which oversees transboundary waters. But consensus has not been forthcoming, even though the B.C. government ended its opposition to such an investigation earlier this year. “While we are glad to share this news, and anxi...

Former B.C. premier John Horgan will be Canada’s next ambassador to Germany

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:16 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that former British Columbia premier John Horgan has been appointed as Canada’s next ambassador to Germany. A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office says Horgan has a proven track record of dedicated public service and will provide strategic advice to Trudeau in his new role. Horgan, 64, was first elected to the legislative assembly in 2005 and was re-elected four consecutive times, twice as premier. The statement says Canada and Germany face complex challenges, including food and energy insecurity, and will work to advance shared priorities.Trudeau says Horgan is a passionate public servant and an experienced leader, and he’s confident that he’ll continue to serve Canada well to advance the two countries’ common interests.The Canadian Embassy in Germany is located in Berlin, and there are also consulates in Munich and Duesseldorf. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2023...

Ministers’ responses on Afghan monument contract ‘pathetic’: design team

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:16 GMT

OTTAWA — An architectural group that lost out on building a monument to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan is accusing the government of giving a “pathetic” explanation for how the contract was awarded.The design by Renée Daoust and her team was selected by a jury, but the government overruled that decision to award the contract to another group.The government says it passed over the jury’s choice to reflect the preference of veterans who filled out an anonymous three-question survey online.Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge and Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor testified about the controversy Monday before the House veterans affairs committee. In her opening statement, St-Onge said only that she would defer to her colleague, while Petitpas Taylor said listening to veterans was the least the government could do to honour their sacrifice.But Daoust says veterans were well-represented on the seven-person jury, which was told to take the survey resul...

Privacy bill fails to address dangers of facial recognition technology: coalition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:16 GMT

OTTAWA — A coalition pushing for better regulation of facial recognition and other biometric surveillance technologies says proposed federal privacy legislation is in “dire need of significant amendments.”In a letter today to Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, the Right2YourFace Coalition warns the use of facial recognition technology threatens human rights, equity principles and fundamental freedoms including the right to privacy.Facial recognition technology can allow an image of a person’s face to be matched against a database of photos with the aim of identifying the individual.The coalition says the technology can prompt biased or flawed results, creating a risk of false identifications.The letter is signed by representatives of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, the Privacy and Access Council of Canada and several others. The coalition says Bill C-27, now before Parliament, fails to addres...

Ontario expanding Holocaust curriculum in Grade 10 History

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:16 GMT

Ontario has mandated new and expanded learning about the Holocaust for high school students after a survey found one in three teenagers in Canada in the U.S. believe the Holocaust was fabricated, exaggerated or are unsure it actually happened.The changes to the curriculum will be made to the Grade 10 History course. The expanded learning will “explicitly link the Holocaust to extreme political ideologies, including fascism, antisemitism in Canada in the 1930s and 1940s, and the contemporary impacts of rising antisemitism.” The changes are expected to be added for September 2025.“By including new mandatory learning in Holocaust education in elementary and secondary schools, we are ensuring students are never bystanders in the face of hate and division,” said Lecce in a release.The current Grade 10 History curriculum involves learning how the Holocaust impacted Canadian society and the attitudes of people in Canada toward human rights.Last year, the government ...

B.C. Coroner’s death panel recommends issuing drugs without prescription to stop ODs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:16 GMT

VICTORIA — A death review panel from the British Columbia Coroners Service recommends community groups be allowed to hand out drugs without a prescription in an attempt to stop toxic drugs from killing more people. The panel’s report coincided with the monthly overdose death toll of 175 people in September, which the coroners service says is a 10 per cent drop from the same month a year ago, but still equal to 5.8 deaths a day across B.C. The report says an estimated 225,000 people in B.C. use unregulated substances but less than 5,000 people a month have prescriptions to receive safer supply drugs.Michael Egilson, the chair of the Coroners Service death panel review, says in a statement that the report’s recommendations reflect the sense of urgency in the province to prevent more overdose deaths.The panel says the fastest way to reduce deaths is to cut dependence on the unregulated toxic drug supply. Its report says the non-medical approach would complement the existing medic...

Storied football rivalry in Maine takes on extra significance in wake of shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:16 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — The city of Lewiston takes another tentative step in its recovery from Maine’s worst mass shooting, as high school football returns Wednesday.Known as the “Battle of the Bridge,” the game features cross-river rivals Lewiston High School and Edward Little High School in Auburn. Friday’s game between the Blue Devils and the Red Eddies was postponed after the communities were locked down while police searched for 40-year-old Robert Card. He was found dead Friday, days after shooting and killing 18 people and injuring 13 others at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston.“It’s seemingly more symbolic than ever,” Lewiston Public Schools Superintendent Jake Langlais said of the game that comes after residents in both Lewiston and Auburn lost family and friends in the Oct. 25 shooting.“It’s the first time since this terrible event that both communities have really felt we could come back together and at least try to make new memories to replace the...

US Virgin Islands declares state of emergency after lead and copper found in tap water in St. Croix

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:16 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands announced Wednesday that he declared a state of emergency after officials revealed last week that tap water in St. Croix contains lead and copper and warned people not to consume it.The declaration, signed Monday by Gov. Albert Bryan, frees up urgently needed resources, streamlines emergency response and allows the U.S. territory to seek federal help.The government also froze prices for bottled water and other products as local and federal authorities continue to test and monitor the water in St. Croix.The investigation began in late September following complaints of reddish-brown water on the island of more than 50,600 people.Officials have said that while the water should not be ingested or used for cooking, it is safe to use for showering and cleaning.The Associated Press