Philippines temporarily blocks gaming app used by suspect in deadly school shooting

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine authorities said Tuesday they will temporarily block an online gaming app that one of two students blamed for a deadly school shooting has avidly used, to assess whether it played a role in fostering such violence.

Three students were killed and 20 others were wounded when the two suspects, aged 14 and 15 and armed with a handgun each, opened fire Monday at the San Jose National High School in central Tacloban city.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center said its decision to block Gorebox was prompted by an ongoing police investigation which showed that one suspect was an avid user of the app, adding that this will allow authorities to determine “whether the platform played any role in the actions of the suspects.”

The decision would be enforced starting Tuesday, undersecretary Aboy Paraiso of the cybercrime center said in a statement.

40 mayors worldwide endorse a pact to shape data center development

Forty mayors from around the world have signed onto a pact announced Tuesday to try to shape how urban data centers are built and operated.

It's their vision for how urban data center development can be done sustainably — and not at the expense of their cities' natural resources, energy prices or climate targets. C40 Cities, an alliance of nearly 100 cities seeking to impact climate change, launched it during London Climate Action Week.

Many new data centers are coming to rural areas for cheap land. Experts at C40 say metropolitan areas are under tremendous pressure too, with about 1,700 data centers located in their network of cities so far. Development of data centers is expected to grow by over 40% in 50 of those cities.

C40 got involved because the mayors of Phoenix and Melbourne, Australia, came together over worries about data centers using a lot of their cities' electricity and water, and competing with housing developers for available land.

AI companies should release environmental impact, commit to clean energy, says UN chief

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called on artificial intelligence companies to release information about the carbon pollution they create, along with the water and land used to power their operations.

While urging action in an address at London Climate Action Week, Guterres proposed the AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, arguing AI companies should measure and disclose the impact of their increasingly in-demand technology — impact which has been cited by opponents as reasons to curb the rapid growth of data centers. These companies have faced mounting pressure, both from governments and locally in areas with data centers that support AI, for increased transparency and more standardized reporting across the industry.

Guterres said AI companies should also commit to powering their facilities with electricity produced with renewable technologies, such as wind and solar, by 2030.

“No more hidden costs,” Guterres said at Europe’s largest independent climate conference. “No more shifting the burden onto those least able to bear it. It is time to come clean.”

AI chatbots hit the dating scene, becoming the lovelorn’s modern-day Cyrano

Marie Lansley recently started a new job in a new city while searching for a new partner. In her dating pursuits, the freshly minted San Franciscan said she’s been “trying everything”— including some help from artificial intelligence.

AI chatbots have become — for her and many others — de facto dating coaches and relationship experts.

Lansley, 36, consults AI chatbots for help in starting conversations, something she said she finds difficult on dating apps despite being comfortable doing so in person. Although she’s optimistic about the possibilities, she acknowledges the incongruency between the art of romance and the precision of technology.

“I am open to AI finding me the love of my life, but I’m also not fully convinced that it can,” Lansley said. “AI is great at making dating more efficient. But the chemistry — that’s always going to be analog.”

Several First Nations sign deal with Ottawa, Ontario to own part of a nuclear reactor

Several Ontario First Nations are set to become owners of a new nuclear reactor after striking a commercial partnership with the federal and provincial governments.

Ottawa tabs $21.6M for Sayisi Dene energy projects

A remote northern Manitoba community has solar panels stocked — and now, it’s creating the province’s first integrated renewable energy microgrid led by a First Nation.

MMF suing governments over hunting, fishing rights

The Manitoba Métis Federation has filed two lawsuits against the provincial and federal governments over where in the province its citizens have the right to hunt and fish.

In separate statements of claim filed in the Court of King’s Bench earlier this month, the federation seeks declarations from a judge that the Métis have harvesting rights in several regions of Manitoba, despite current restrictions there, and that those restrictions on Métis hunting and fishing have unjustifiably infringed on their Aboriginal rights under Section 35 of the Constitution.

“The Métis, the Red River Métis, without a doubt have Section 35 rights … equal, side by side with the First Nations and Inuit,” said MMF president David Chartrand in an interview.

One of the claims is over game hunting areas 5, 7 and 7A around Manigotagan and Grass River, north of The Pas, and areas 17A and 26 on the southeast of Lake Winnipeg.

Art show features paintings created as therapy

Having watched Bob Ross’s painting lessons on TV for years, Maxine Utsunomiya finally decided to take a lesson herself.

Now, after signing up for Art in the Garden — a painting workshop at Victoria Hospital for patients in the mental health services program — she’s one of 15 people whose work is being featured in an exhibit at Studio Central in Portage Place.

The annual art program, now in its fifth year, is held at the hospital’s Will and Mavis Tishinski Tranquility Trail.

“It’s very relaxing, it’s very stimulating and I really enjoyed this,” said Utsunomiya, 69.

May food inflation outpaces overall inflation as fruits and vegetables get pricier

Rising food prices continued to outpace headline inflation for the 16th straight month, Statistics Canada data showed, with no relief in sight for consumers as higher gas prices weigh on grocery bills.

Manitoba government unveils findings of grocery price study

On Monday, Finance Minister Adrien Sala unveiled a report and three new measures government is taking, including restoring a food basket tool to regularly measure the cost of food per region and introducing legislation to mandate unit pricing in grocery stores.

Merlin the duck steals the spotlight at President Sheinbaum’s news briefing

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Wearing the green jersey of Mexico’s national soccer team and a FIFA tie, he waddled into the room ahead of President Claudia Sheinbaum, took a seat facing reporters and quickly became the star of her Monday morning news briefing.

Merlín the duck — Mexico’s unofficial World Cup mascot — didn’t take any questions; his owner, Carla Gómez, did that for him.

Gómez, a street vendor who sells water and soft drinks, introduced her family with pride and determination, presenting them as representative of countless other working-class Mexicans. “We are the working part” of Mexico, she said.

Sitting beside the lectern, with Merlín at the center, were her sons, Carlos, 22, and Cristian, 14, who “doesn’t rest after school” and helps her every day by selling goods and carrying packages.

Competition Bureau broadens probe into Sobeys for property control issue

GATINEAU - The Competition Bureau is widening its probe into Sobeys parent company Empire Co. Ltd. for its use of property controls across Canada.

The bureau previously received an initial court order in 2024 requiring the grocer to provide information focused on property controls in Halifax.

The competition watchdog said on Monday it had received a new Federal Court order to obtain company records, written information and oral testimony related to the probe.

The latest court order grants the bureau access to additional information at a national level, such as how the grocer negotiates property controls and their effects on competition.

Ottawa reverses orders to surrender some ‘lost Canadian’ citizenship certificates

OTTAWA - Just one week after some "lost Canadians" were told to surrender their new citizenship certificates, a few received letters over the weekend confirming their citizenship claims are valid once again.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson said Monday the department is now reviewing the roughly 4,100 citizenship by descent claims made under an amendment to the law that offers a path to citizenship for those with Canadian ancestors.

Citizenship certificates will not be suspended unless the review turns up a problem with a document already issued, the spokesperson said.

A statement the department issued last week said it is temporarily pausing the finalization of citizenship certificates related to the citizenship by descent amendment passed as Bill C-3.

Many hands feed many mouths at Siloam Mission

It takes many willing hands to prepare the quantities of food required to serve community members accessing Siloam Mission’s meal services.

One of these hands belong to Kishwar Mirza, a recently retired nurse who has been volunteering every Tuesday morning for the 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. breakfast shift in Siloam’s kitchen.

Led by Siloam Mission’s kitchen staff, Mirza and the volunteer crew — who number between 12 to 16 — prep 700 pieces of toast, 576 eggs, 150 pounds of fruit, 120 litres of soup and 80 pounds of meat daily for the approximately 600 people who turn up for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Princess Street drop-in.

Breakfast is served from 9 to 10 a.m., plated up assembly-line style as community members queue to receive their food through the service window.

Iran war ripple effects drive inflation to its highest level since 2023

OTTAWA - Inflation accelerated to its highest level in more than two years in May as price pressures from the war in Iran started to crop up outside the gas pumps.

But most economists weighing in Monday saw little cause for panic in Statistics Canada's latest consumer price data with oil prices already receding and the Bank of Canada unlikely to move from the sidelines anytime soon.

Statistics Canada said Monday that the annual rate of inflation jumped to 3.2 per cent in May, up from 2.8 per cent in April and notching the highest headline inflation rate since December 2023.

StatCan said gas prices rose 33.2 per cent year-over-year last month as conflict in the Middle East continued to shutter the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers. The agency said last month marks the most consumers have paid for gasoline since June 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove supply uncertainty.

Not just a blip in the news cycle

It wasn’t, as is said, “a good look.”

When the U.K. tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail published a report on its website last week that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued a travel advisory for visitors to Manitoba, warning of a hepatitis A outbreak, there were likely audible groans in several Winnipeg offices.

The dailymail.com website gets over 35 million unique monthly visitors in the U.S. alone, making it one of the most popular news sites in the world.

So, when America’s leading public health agency issued a notice telling people to be mindful of their interpersonal interactions in Manitoba and to be vaccinated against hepatitis A before visiting, officials with tourism agencies and government ministries knew they had a job to do.

As school year ends, thank an educator

As the long days of summer approach, many Manitobans are preparing to hit the out-of-office button. But before the school year fades into memory, I’d like you to take a moment to thank the more than 17,000 Manitoba public school educators who have gone above and beyond to support kindergarten to Grade 12 students across our province.

Thousands celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day

Drums and song filled Winnipeg’s downtown Sunday as thousands gathered at The Forks to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day and while festivities continued late into the evening, some in attendance said the event’s importance spans generations.

Braiding her daughter Sofia Ducharme’s hair in preparation for the Wáhkóhtowin Powwow — one of the day’s numerous celebrations — Alea Elliott said the powwow was one of the first for the 11-year-old. Watching his daughter get ready was Derek Ducharme, who is originally from the Waywayseecappo First Nation.

“It’s nice she gets to do this, because Derek didn’t get to learn about his culture,” said Alea, saying the family came into the city from Landmark.

Wearing a stunning jingle dress that shines in the summer sun, both Alea and Derek said they were proud to see their daughter participate in Sunday’s celebration, as Derek’s father was a victim of Canada’s colonial systems that separated Indigenous families from their children.