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Pediatricians say that the lack of data released by the federal government on how the influenza is affecting children across Canada may compromise their response to emerging problems.
Each week, the Public Health Agency of Canada publishes a FluWatch report that details flu trends across the country. Last season, for instance, the report helped pediatricians understand and respond to soaring rates of hospital admission for the flu at a time when COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were also making many kids sick. But since October, FluWatch reports have not included any information on the number of children who have fallen severely ill as a result of the flu.
The lack of information appears to be the result of a decision by the health agency to award the University of Calgary the contract on Nov. 1 to collect pediatric data on severe outcomes for respiratory viruses.
A paramedic closes the doors of an ambulance at a hospital in Toronto on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
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Israel to dispute genocide charges at International Court of Justice next week
The International Court of Justice has agreed to hold a hearing next week to discuss South Africa’s request for an urgent ruling on genocide charges against Israel for its military offensive on Gaza.
Israel announced that it will appear at the hearing in The Hague on Jan. 11 and 12 to dispute the genocide accusation.
Last week, South Africa submitted an 84-page application to the UN court, seeking an urgent order to declare that Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza and its siege of the Palestinian territory is “genocidal in character” and a violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
- Opinion: The International Court of Justice is the right place for a ceasefire decision
- Israel steps up bombardment of Gaza after killing of Hamas leader
- Ottawa to accept 1,000 applications from Canadians’ relatives seeking way out of Gaza
Hundreds survive blaze on Japan Airlines plane after collision with earthquake relief aircraft
All 379 people aboard a plane escaped as the airliner burned after a collision with a Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport yesterday. Five crew members on the Coast Guard aircraft died.
Video and images shared on social media showed passengers shouting inside the plane’s smoke-filled cabin and running across the tarmac after escaping via an evacuation slide.
The Coast Guard said its plane was headed to Niigata on Japan’s west coast to deliver aid to those caught up in a powerful earthquake that struck on New Year’s Day, killing at least 65 people.
- ‘It was a miracle’: How Japan Airlines passengers escaped a fireball in Tokyo
- Rescuers race to find survivors in Japan after powerful earthquakes leave at least 65 dead
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Also on our radar
Harvard president resigns: Harvard University president Claudine Gay resigned yesterday amid accusations of plagiarism in her 1997 doctoral dissertation and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say unequivocally that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy.
- David Shribman: Claudine Gay’s resignation from Harvard points to challenges university presidents face in 21st century
Trump appeals Maine ruling: Former president Donald Trump appealed a ruling by Maine’s secretary of state yesterday barring him from the state’s 2024 ballot over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, claiming she had no authority, that he did not incite a riot, never swore to “support” the Constitution and was not a government officer as stated in the constitutional amendment she cited.
Canada pledges to work with U.S. on Arctic: Ottawa has pledged to work with the U.S. government after the United States claimed parts of the Arctic sea floor that Canada also wants. Global Affairs Canada said it would follow the process laid out in the Convention on the Law of the Sea even though the U.S. has not signed on to the UN treaty.
Teen Luke Littler dominating darts championship: Like a lot of teenagers, Luke Littler enjoys playing video games, eating fast food and following his favourite soccer team, Manchester United. But unlike any other 16-year-old, Littler has become a sensation in Britain owing to his stunning success in an unlikely sport: darts.
Canada crashes out of world juniors: Czechia dashed Canada’s hopes for another gold medal after it scored with 11.7 seconds left in regulation and beat the defending champions in its quarterfinal game at the world junior hockey championship in Sweden.
Retro doughnuts return to Tim Hortons: The Dutchie, blueberry fritter, cinnamon sugar twist and walnut crunch – the quartet of doughnuts will make their way back onto the Tim Hortons menu for a limited time starting Jan. 10 as the coffee-and-doughnut chain celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.
Morning markets
World stocks slide: Global stock markets extended a New Year slide on Wednesday, while the U.S. dollar stayed strong, as market optimism about early U.S. interest rate cuts ebbed and the latest escalation of hostilities in the Middle East weighed on sentiment. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.51 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.73 per cent and 1.19 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.85 per cent. Markets in Japan were closed. New York futures were weaker. The Canadian dollar was lower at 75.01 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Editorial: “Unfocused spending, a lack of respect for taxpayer dollars, an absence of basic management rigour, and empire-building: those are the problems plaguing the Liberal government. Those soaring payrolls are just the inevitable result.”
Charles Burton: “For Canada, government and business need to collaborate with urgency to achieve greater integration into the Indian economy, in the process reducing our dependence on China. As the world clamours for Canadian critical minerals and energy resources, our response has been dismayingly weak. Ottawa must be much clearer on where Canada’s interests lie – to our long-term peril, if we don’t.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon by David Parkins, Jan. 3, 2023.Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
Five sneaky good deals in investing and personal finance to pursue in 2024
Some of the best deals in investing and personal finance never get any hype or marketing, which means they’re quietly waiting for you to discover them. Here are five examples personal finance columnist Rob Carrick accumulated over the past year. Take a moment to see if any of them can help you in 2024.
Moment in time: Jan. 3, 1892
J.R.R. TOLKIEN, circa 1981, Author of The Hobbit, and The Lord Of The Rings.
J.R.R. Tolkien is born
J.R.R. Tolkien may not have invented the fantasy genre, but his masterwork, The Lord of The Rings, has certainly come to define it. Indeed, his shadow looms so large over the genre that any work since is viewed as a mere imitation. Born in what is now South Africa, he moved to England as an infant, in a youth marked by tragedy. His father died when he was 4, and his mother when he was 12. His childhood studies included Latin and Anglo-Saxon, which inspired him to invent several languages of his own. After studying literature at Oxford, he volunteered for the First World War, enduring horrors on the front lines. Afterward, while a professor at Oxford, he wrote The Hobbit based on bedtime tales for his children. Its success led to The Lord of the Rings, a deeper, darker sequel, for which he drew on his life experiences: religion, mythology, languages, honour, valour, beautiful landscapes, grim landscapes, death, sacrifice and duty. It took three books, almost 600,000 words and more than 10 years for him to write, repeatedly encouraged in his toughest moments to persevere by his friend C.S. Lewis. Mr. Tolkien’s domination of the genre would reach its pinnacle with three hugely successful film adaptations in the early 2000s. Ken Carriere
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