The Thursday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Thursday, Aug. 25

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THREE DEAD IN CROSSBOW INCIDENT: Three people suffering from what appeared to be wounds from a crossbow died in Toronto on Thursday in an incident that rocked an otherwise quiet neighbourhood in the city’s east end. Police said an injured fourth person — a 35-year-old man — was taken into custody, but few other details of what happened were released. The victims were found in the driveway of a bungalow by officers who responded to a stabbing report in the early afternoon. Police are not looking for any suspects.

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CANADIAN KILLED IN ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE: The federal government is not revealing the identity of a Canadian who was killed during this week’s devastating earthquake in central Italy. Federal officials say a second Canadian was injured in Wednesday’s 6.2-magnitude quake that killed 250 people and injured at least 365. A total of 72 Canadians were registered as being in the area when the quake struck.

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WOMEN NUMBER AMONG EXTREMISTS FROM CANADA: A federal report on the terrorist threat to Canada finds about one-fifth of extremists from Canada who head overseas are women. The report issued Thursday also found in some cases women have taken their children to conflict zones. It notes the most common assumption is women travel abroad to marry terrorists, but some may occupy secondary roles within extremist groups, while in other cases appear to be training and taking part in combat.

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BRITISH LAWMAKERS WANT ONLINE COMPANIES TO GET TOUGH ON RADICALIZATION: A British parliamentary committee says companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter are “consciously failing” to stop radicalization online. The committee says social media companies are leaving cyberspace “ungoverned and lawless,” allowing the forums to become the lifeblood of the so-called Islamic State.  They’re calling on the companies to do more to police those who are posting on forums.

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BE PROUD, TRUDEAU TELLS MPS:  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his Liberal caucus members that they should be proud of their accomplishments, but never satisfied. Liberal MPs are meeting in Saguenay, Que. for their summer caucus retreat in preparation for the fall session of Parliament. Trudeau told the caucus one of the most daunting challenges that lie ahead is climate change — calling it another example of why governments must look far into the future.

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CHINA WANTS TO KEEP LID ON CANOLA SPAT: China’s Canadian ambassador hopes the two countries can resolve a dispute over inspection rules for canola shipments. Luo Zhaohui accuses Canada has been inflexible and unfair in its approach to the seven-year long disagreement. At issue is the amount of material like stems and leaves found in Canadian canola exports to China. China’s latest comments come days before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to visit China. 

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SABRE RATTLING STEPS UP IN CANADA POST DISPUTE:  The union representing Canada Post workers has issued 72-hour strike notice as it tries to shake things up at the bargaining table. There has been little apparent movement in the talks that have dragged on for months, stuck over the issues of pension and wage parity for some rural postal workers. 

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SENIOR SPECIAL FORCES OFFICER FACES COURT MARTIAL: Canada’s top special forces soldier has been charged after accidentally firing his weapon. Maj.-Gen. Michael Rouleau is the commander of Canadian Special Forces Operations. He faces a court martial in the incident, which occurred in northern Iraq last December. A military statement says Rouleau was loading his rifle while preparing to visit a frontline position when the weapon fired a single round. The bullet did not hit anyone, but in the statement Rouleau said as a soldier the only acceptable standard of care with a weapon is error-free.

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INSITE WORKERS ENCOUNTER MORE OVERDOSES: Workers at Vancouver’s supervised-injection site Insite say they’ve run into a higher-than-normal number of drug overdoses this week as the facility expands its hours. Insite says there were 26 overdoses in and around its facility between Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Vancouver Coastal Health says no one died and the reason for the spike in overdoses is unclear.

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MYANMAR RESIDENTS CLEAN UP AFTER DESTRUCTIVE QUAKE: Residents of the ancient Myanmar city of Bagan were cleaning up Thursday from a powerful quake that killed at least four people and damaged nearly 200 pagodas.  Bagan is one of Myanmar’s top tourist attractions, drawing visitors from all over the world who can view a panorama of temples stretching to the horizon flanked by the Irrawaddy River.

The Canadian Press