Canada at risk of another catastrophic wildfire season, government warns
CBSN
Canadian officials on Wednesday warned the country could face another catastrophic wildfire season after last year's historic fires.
There were warmer-than-normal temperatures and widespread drought conditions across Canada this winter, officials disclosed. Weather outlooks indicate that Canada can expect higher-than-normal temperatures this spring and summer as well, setting the stage for wildfires.
"With the heat and dryness across the country, we can expect that the wildfire season will start sooner and end later, and potentially be more explosive," Canada Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan said at a press conference.
Paris — Ukrainian double European champion weightlifter Oleksandr Pielieshenko was killed in the war against Russia, the Ukrainian weightlifting federation announced Monday. Pielieshenko, 30, won European gold in 2016 and 2017, and narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics where he came fourth in the 85kg category.
New Delhi —Afghanistan's top diplomat in India resigned days after she was reportedly caught by airport authorities smuggling nearly $2 million worth of gold into the country. Zakia Wardak, the Afghan Consul-General in India's financial capital Mumbai, posted a statement on social media announcing her resignation.
Israel's military ordered Palestinians in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip city of Rafah to evacuate Monday ahead of a ground offensive long promised by the Jewish state's leaders. The message was delivered with fliers, phone calls, messages and media broadcasts in Arabic after a weekend that saw hope for a new cease-fire in the seven-month Israel-Hamas war dashed yet again.