The Wrap: U of W cyber attack, confession tossed, gas shortages, iftar feasts and the Jets welcome back Bowness and Vilardi

In the lead-up to exams, University of Winnipeg faces a crisis as a “cyber incident” disrupts network access, forcing the cancellation of classes and leaving students and faculty scrambling to retrieve academic files.

Despite resuming lessons after a one-day hiatus, essential services like the Nexus learning-management system remain unavailable, impacting curriculum dissemination.

Over 9,000 students are affected by the cyber incident. The Winnipeg Police Service confirmed it received a report about it but declined to elaborate on the potential cause.

A judge has tossed out a police statement given by an intellectually vulnerable woman charged with manslaughter in the death of her toddler stepson, ruling her confession came after hours of “psychological pummelling” by investigators.

The woman was arrested in April 2020 following the death of her two-year-old stepson.

She pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2021, but was later allowed to withdraw the plea after arguing she had been pressured by police to confess and that her lawyers at the time had not properly informed her about the ramifications of her decision.

Employees of two independent chains told the Free Press fuel deliveries were not arriving as quickly as they did before new temporary supply chains were set up in the wake of Imperial Oil’s unplanned pipeline repairs.

In normal times, fuel is usually delivered to a station within 24 hours of notification, but staff at two independent stations said the shutdown has led to days-long waits, with some stations running out of regular or premium fuel.

Meanwhile, experts are divided over whether the shutdown could lead to a spike in gas prices in the short term.

The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Ramadan is significant for the Muslim community.

For 30 days following the sighting of a crescent moon, practising Muslims abstain from food and drink between dawn and dusk. When the fast is broken, they take part in the iftar, or breaking fast, feast.

AV Kitching looks at some of the special dishes Winnipeg restaurants are preparing for iftar.

Having Rick Bowness back behind the bench for the first time in five games and Gabriel Vilradi on the ice for the first time in a long time is providing a boost for the Jets, writes sports reporter Ken Wiebe.

Vilardi has missed 14 games (and counting) in March with an upper-body issue, along with an enlarged spleen.

“He’s skating around and he looks good,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness, who also rejoined the team after being away for a week and receiving treatment for a minor medical condition.