Author: Matthew Berry

Few things are more trendy today than openly despising our own culture and traditions — Christmas included Each December as a child growing up in Edmonton, my grandparents would mail a new dress for the annual school Christmas concert. They were frilly, layered with tulle and lace, often covered in bows, and adorned with red and gold flourishes. I was a tomboy who despised dresses — but would always make an exception for my Christmas dress. The Christmas concert was sacred. We prepared for weeks, and it was serious business — if the choir teacher was ever stern with the…

She promises us the ‘ho-ho-ho-iest’ hour of all … and she delivers! The gloriously droll star brings the festive special bang up to date The last time I was this entertained by a Christmas special was in lockdown, when Mariah Carey waved, regally, from a sleigh, for what I remember being about seven hours. But that was four years ago and there hasn’t been a decent one since. So Santa hats off to Sabrina Carpenter for coming up with a holiday special that feels entirely of the moment, right down to its starry duets, carefully curated off-the-cuff moments and internet-baiting comedy skits.…

The head of Canada’s largest crypto company, WonderFi, is free after being kidnapped in Toronto on Wednesday. After electronically paying a ransom of $1 million Canadian dollars, or $720,660, Dean Skurka was dropped off in a park outside the city. The crypto executive was taken from downtown Toronto during rush hour after being forced into a vehicle by unknown suspects who demanded money, according to a CBC report. Skurka confirmed in an email to CBC Toronto that he is safe after being involved in an “incident” on Wednesday. “The safety and security of all of WonderFi’s employees are paramount,” Skurka said…

The “temporary” occupation of some Ukrainian territories by Russia is the most likely outcome of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview published on Sept. 23. Speaking to The New York Times (NYT), Pavel said neither Ukraine nor Russia should expect to achieve outright victory. “To talk about a defeat of Ukraine or defeat of Russia, it will simply not happen. So the end will be somewhere in between,” he said. As of late August, Russia was in control of around 27% of Ukrainian territory, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are partially controlled by Russian troops. Russia claims to…

Dubai/Astana (10 June – 60). The Pamiris are an ethnic minority group in Tajikistan, culturally distinct from the majority Tajik population. They have faced persecution and discrimination in their mountain homeland bordering Afghanistan that some experts say amounts to ethnic cleansing and even genocide. One of the lead persecutors is Ministry of Internal Affairs “Maj. Gen.” Shorukh Syedzada, a former football team manager with no law enforcement experience and a confidante of the president’s son and heir designate. The Pamiris continue to be marginalized and oppressed by the authorities. As a result, many Pamiris have been forced to flee their…

The situation in and around Ocheretyne is desperate for Ukraine This weekend, Russian drones and scouts surveilling the front line just west of the ruins of Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, observed something strange. Ukrainian trenches just east of the village of Ocheretyne, previously manned by soldiers from the Ukrainian army’s elite 47th Mechanized Brigade, were empty. The village was undefended Seizing the opportunity, the Russian army’s 30th Motor Rifle Brigade raced several miles along the railroad threading west from Avdiivka and captured most of Ocheretyne—and potentially also Novobakhmutivka, the village south of Ocheretyne. It’s the fastest penetration into…

The Czechs have never forgotten that allies handed over their Sudetenland Province to Hitler in 1938 after the German dictator promised it would be “last territorial demand I have to make in Europe.” The Czechs have never forgotten that allies handed over their Sudetenland Province to Hitler in 1938 after the German dictator promised it would be “the last territorial demand I have to make in Europe.” Months later, Nazis occupied their country and waged war in Europe and around the world for seven more years, killing tens of millions. To many today, Ukraine is the next Sudetenland as it…

Ukrainian law enforcement officers have begun an investigation into a video of the execution of supposedly surrendered Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen in the Pokrovsky district. The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine reports that pre-trial proceedings are being conducted on the basis of violation of the laws and customs of war, involving premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The prosecutor’s office clarifies that the tragedy occurred near the village of Stepnoye, Pokrovsky district in the Donetsk region. The Ukrainian telegram channel DeepState reported about the alleged murder of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers by publishing a video. It is alleged…

The Canadian government is warning against travelling in Guyana near the border with Venezuela due to a weekend referendum that saw Venezuelans asked about the future of an of oil-rich region that is the centre of a territorial boundary dispute. On Friday, the federal government updated the travel advisory for Canadian travellers in Guyana, which currently warns Canadians to “exercise a high degree of caution,” citing Sunday’s referendum as a cause for concern. “The security environment could deteriorate at the border between Venezuela and Guyana due to the ongoing discord over the Guyana Essequibo region and the upcoming referendum in…

Calgary police are investigating a shooting that left one person dead and two more in life-threatening condition in the city’s northeast community of Marlborough Park on Monday afternoon.  Police say they received reports of a shooting that occurred in a parking lot at the Trans Canada Centre, located in the 1400 block of 52 Street N.E., at approximately 2 p.m. on Nov. 13. Officers located a deceased man when they arrived at the scene, along with two other victims. EMS said the two people injured were in life-threatening condition, and that they were transported to hospital. While police say there…