Top news
SUPPLIED PHOTOThree Bangladeshi men killed in a car crash Thursday morning (from left) Risul Badhon, Al Numan Aditta and Aranoor Azad Chowdhury.
Killed in crash: Three University of Manitoba students from Bangladesh — Al Numan Aditta, Risul Badhon and Aranoor Azad Chowdhury — were killed in a head-on crash south of Arborg on Thursday morning. “They were my oldest friends I had when I landed in Winnipeg as an international student,” Tahbit Dewan said. “It’s still unreal that I will never be seeing them around or talking to them about sports or whatever’s going on. It doesn’t feel right.” Malak Abas reports. READ MORE
What’s happening today
CPFrench President Emmanuel Macron (clockwise from top), U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a visual summit last month. (Ludovic Marin / The Associated Press files)
Set for summit: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with his G7 counterparts in a virtual summit. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be calling on the leaders to increase funding for the COVAX Facility, which will distribute COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries. The Canadian Press reports. READ MORE
COVID-19 crisis: Trudeau will speak about the national pandemic situation in Ottawa this morning. Health officials are expected to hold a news conference on Manitoba’s latest COVID-19 numbers this afternoon. Meanwhile, a University of Ottawa professor says Premier Brian Pallister’s vaccine procurement plan is a “fantasy” offering “very speculative, almost certainly false, hope.” Carol Sanders reports. READ MORE
Scotties tourney starts: The Scotties Tournament of Hearts begins in Calgary, with five Manitoba teams competing in the event. Gimli’s Kerri Einarson, representing Canada, will face off against Altona’s Mackenzie Zacharias, one of three Manitoba-based wild-card teams. Beth Peterson’s Winnipeg-based wild-card team faces Laura Eby of Yukon. The draw is at 7:30 p.m. CT. Meanwhile, Jason Bell reports on what life is like for the curlers inside the bubble. READ MORE
Road trip continues: The Winnipeg Jets face the Canucks at 9 p.m. CT in the first of two consecutive games in Vancouver. The teams play again Sunday night. The Jets are 1-1 on their four-game road trip, splitting two games against the Edmonton Oilers. READ MORE
Proposed audit plan: The City of Winnipeg’s governance committee will vote on whether to randomly select five councillors for audits of their previous year’s expenses instead of examining every councillor’s expenses every year. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: Sunny with a high of -12 C, wind chill as low as -32, and wind from the south at 10 km/h increasing to 20 km/h and gusting to 40 this evening.
In case you missed it
Ruth BonnevilleWinnipeg Transit fare revenue was $49.3 million in 2020, down from $90.5 million in 2019. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files)
Revenues plummet amid pandemic: It could take years for city revenues from parking fees, bus fares and hotel taxes to return to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, water and waste department earnings soared by $15 million last year. Joyanne Pursaga reports. READ MORE
Plea bargain after police errors: A Manitoba man who harassed his unwitting ex-girlfriend by directing men to her home for sex was given a conditional discharge. Crown attorney Jay Funke said municipal police officers mishandled the seizure and analysis of the accused’s electronic devices, compromising the Crown’s case. Dean Pritchard reports. READ MORE
China concedes casualties: China has finally admitted some of its troops were killed in a high-mountain border clash with Indian forces more than six months ago. Beijing said it lost four soldiers, while India said immediately after the incident that 20 of its soldiers had been killed. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
On this date
On Feb. 19, 2011: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that a Winnipeg jury found Mark Edward Grant guilty in the 1984 death of Candace Derksen. Jurors in the case did not hear from another person who described being abducted in a similar fashion by a man in 1985, but then recanted the story 26 years later; they also did not hear about Grant’s alleged 1988 confession to killing Derksen, which he allegedly retracted. Ten-year-old Winnipegger Maria Aragon’s YouTube cover of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” garnered praise from the superstar herself, who tweeted her reaction to Aragon’s performance, and invited her to perform together onstage.
Today’s front page
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