Winnipeg teens will carry out official match balls at World Cup

For Aiden Karacsony and Cristiano Morais, the pre-match is the main event.

Province tabs $4.3M for programs to boost employment strategies for young Manitobans

It’s an ongoing cycle in Tasnim Aljoumah’s orbit: submit a stack of resumés, get a sprinkle of responses.

The 16-year-old hasn’t started job hunting yet, but she’s watched her friends’ disheartening results.

“It’s not as fun as it seems, and it’s definitely not as easy,” Tasnim, who’s finishing Grade 11, said Tuesday outside University of Winnipeg Collegiate.

She pondered the job market hours after Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced $4.3 million for two initiatives to boost youth employment.

Ottawa’s new Digital Safety Act expected to include under-16 social media ban

OTTAWA - The federal government is expected to bar kids under the age of 16 from social media in new legislation set to be introduced Wednesday.

The government gave notice Tuesday that it will introduce a bill "to enact the Digital Safety Act and the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act." It has scheduled a technical briefing and press conference on the new bill for late Wednesday afternoon.

Culture Minister Marc Miller, who is taking the lead on the legislation, said the government will take all reasonable measures to ensure kids are safe.

“It’s obvious why it’s a priority. Kids are dying,” he told reporters on Parliament Hill.

Bike-to-school day initiative features fun pit stops across city, encourages families to ride

Bike Week Winnipeg is piloting new student-friendly pit stops Tuesday as part of its signature event.

This year, for the first time, bike-to-work day is also being branded as bike-to-school day.

“When students ride, their families ride,” said Andraea Sartison, event producer for the volunteer-run organization promoting cycling with activities scheduled through Sunday.

“(This initiative) is a really good way for us to reach more people, I think. School communities are much larger than the student population, so this is a really nice way to get into neighbourhoods.”

Apple unveils an upgraded Siri voice assistant with new AI features at its annual conference

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple on Monday unveiled new artificial intelligence advances including upgrades to its Siri assistant, emphasizing a focus on privacy and day-to-day use as the iPhone maker tries to catch up to rivals when it comes to AI.

Siri AI, which was introduced at the start of Apple's annual World Wide Developers Conference, has been highly anticipated by users and developers. While Siri was launched in 2011, it fell behind other voice assistants and was derided even by Apple fans.

It is the last WWDC featuring CEO Tim Cook before he turns his post over to John Ternus in September. Cook received an extended standing ovation and told the audience he is “deeply grateful to have been on this journey with you” and said “the energy around Apple platforms has never been stronger.”

The conference, which drew developers from some 65 countries to Apple’s Silicon Valley headquarters, focuses on software, in contrast to the fall unveiling of the latest iPhones.

Quebec health minister tables bill banning energy drink sales to youth under 16

QUÉBEC - Quebec’s health minister tabled a bill on Friday banning the sale of energy drinks to youth under the age of 16, describing the measure as an "extremely important" step to protect young people's health.

Sonia Bélanger's proposed legislation would also force youth to show a piece of ID proving their age in order to buy a drink having caffeine concentration of 150 milligrams per litre or more and containing other ingredients, such as taurine, vitamins or minerals.

"The risks associated with their consumption are too often trivialized," Bélanger told reporters at the legislature. "Yet, we are facing a real and worrying public health issue."

Calls to ban the sale of energy drinks to those under 16 years old grew after the death of 15-year-old Zachary Miron, who died in 2024 after drinking a can of Red Bull while on ADHD medication.

‘Exciting and meaningful’: St. James Collegiate track replacement nears starting line

St. James Collegiate students circled the edge of the school’s 400-metre track on Thursday morning as Couns. Shawn Dobson and Brian Mayes stood nearby, announcing a plan to rebuild the surface beneath their feet.

Louis Riel School Division embraces AI agents of change

End-of-year report cards will be drafted using a new digital assistant made by and for teachers working in St. Vital and surrounding communities in southeast Winnipeg.

The Louis Riel School Division’s data team has spent much of the 2025-26 school year designing and piloting secure artificial intelligence-powered tools to address common problems for staff and students.

Curriculum-Linked Assessment and Reporting Assistant is one of its five new “AI agents.”

“Teachers put in all their assessment data and it helps them create meaningful, curriculum-aligned, jargon-free comments for parents,” said Marnie Wilson, data strategy officer for the division.

Teaching, learning are unrealistic expectations in intolerably hot classrooms

There is something fundamentally wrong with a province that can find room for tax cuts yet still sends thousands of children and teachers into classrooms that feel more like saunas than places of learning.

AP exclusive: Iran players describe how the war affects their World Cup preparations

ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — Iran is heading to the World Cup while the country is at war with the primary host nation, a situation that is unique in the tournament’s history.

In exclusive interviews with The Associated Press during a team camp in Turkey, two members of Iran’s squad described how the conflict is affecting its World Cup preparations.

“Well, to be honest, it’s not easy,” said Saeid Ezatolahi, a 29-year-old midfielder who also played for Iran in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

“That’s going to be my third World Cup. So for me and some of the other players, it might be easier to manage these kind of things,” he said in English on the sidelines of a training session on Wednesday. “But at the end ... it is going to be difficult for us because at the same time, we are following the news in our country and the political things, of course, can affect the mind of the players and the people."

Brazilian players from a Rio de Janeiro favela find hope and opportunities thanks to soccer

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When Brazilian João Victor Gonçalves began playing soccer in one of Rio de Janeiro ’s poorest and most violent favelas, little did he know the game would one day allow him to travel abroad and play in an international competition.

Last month, along with nine other young boys, he flew to Mexico to represent Brazil in the Street Child World Cup, a tournament with teams from 30 countries composed of boys from impoverished backgrounds, organized ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup.

“I never could have imagined that one day this would happen, that I would represent my country, doing what I most love — playing soccer — in another country,” said Gonçalves, who is 18. The Brazil team went undefeated and won the tournament, enhancing the thrill of the experience.

Like many Brazilians, Gonçalves and his teammates grew up kicking a ball around and closely following members of the Seleção, Brazil’s national soccer team. They dream of one day becoming professional soccer players like their heroes.

Early childhood educators discuss First Nations students’ needs

Early childhood educators traded tips to improve attendance and well-being among First Nations students and their families at a first-of-its-kind event in Winnipeg.

The University of Winnipeg hosted an inaugural roundtable for ECEs to share their challenges and successes related to Indigenous education on Tuesday.

“The limited assessment data that we do have shows Indigenous children are not doing as well in life as other children and so we need to pick it up,” said Sheri-Lynn Skwarchuk, a professor who oversees the developmental studies program.

The facilitator described the gathering of nearly 50 women, including front-line workers, centre co-ordinators and post-secondary instructors, as a momentous occasion for their shared profession.

Ottawa tells CRTC to change course on increasing streamers’ financial contributions

OTTAWA - Ottawa is directing the CRTC to back down on its recent decision to triple streamers’ financial contributions to Canadian content, and will instead provide $600 million to the sector, Culture Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday.

The decision comes after the Motion Picture Association, the U.S. group representing streamers, called on cabinet to reconsider the current approach, and after the U.S. ambassador to Canada called for the policy to be rescinded.

The CRTC said in May it would require large streaming services like Netflix to contribute 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content. It made the decision as part of its work to implement the Online Streaming Act.

Asked whether the decision is another concession to the U.S. as Canada seeks renewal of the continental trade pact, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday the government was looking at how much the new policy would cost Canadians.

Heat wave leaves schools sweltering

Classes are being cancelled as thermostats spike — up to 42 C, in one case reported to the teachers union — in schools without building-wide air conditioning.

Life at the speed of sound

I was only five years old when the Beatles broke up and yet their music has been the overarching soundtrack of my life.

Division unveils plans for transport and learning hub south of Perimeter

The Louis Riel School Division has released details outlining its multimillion-dollar plan to transform its new rural property into a transportation and land-based learning hub.

Its blueprint for 3280 St. Mary’s Rd. — a nearly 8.3-acre plot south of the Perimeter Highway in St. Germain — was shared at a public open house last week.

Attendees were “on board” and supportive of outdoor education on the grounds, but some neighbours voiced concerns related to noise, fumes and privacy, said Jamie Rudnicki, secretary-treasurer and chief financial officer of the division.

“We’re listening. We’re going to make some small modifications to our plans to address some of those concerns,” Rudnicki said, noting the redevelopment team is already discussing ways to adjust berms and fencing.

U of W prof sues social media giants Meta, X

A University of Winnipeg professor is suing two social media companies in an attempt to determine who was behind online accounts used to crudely impersonate him and make vulgar comments he calls defamatory.

City taking steps to reduce speeding in 30 km/h school zones

A pair of 30-kilometre-per-hour school zones known as speeding hot spots are getting safety upgrades this summer amid a citywide probe into posted speed limits.

Winnipeg school officials were recently briefed on hot spots for collisions and photo-radar tickets issued near elementary buildings between the months of September and June, when the maximum limit drops.

“There’s no cookie-cutter kind of solution, unfortunately,” said Denae Dorge, the city’s road safety outreach co-ordinator.

“You need to have lots of different tools in your toolbox and also, work with the families that attend your school.”