|
Written by Jane Gerster Copy Editor, Digital News
|
|
|
|
Good morning. Today we'll share the story of a 26-year-old woman who died trying to swim from Morocco to Ceuta last month — one of 80,000 migrants who made the dangerous journey — and we'll have the latest on the trade war with the U.S. But first, we go to Nepal where rescue workers are scrambling to find more than 1,300 people still missing after catastrophic flash floods swept through a border region with China.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)
|
|
More than 1,300 missing in Nepal and Tibet after catastrophic floods
|
|
|
The floods, which struck early Wednesday, have killed at least 273 people and left more than 1,300 missing, including 25 Canadians, throughout the Himalayan area, which is popular with hikers and also a route often used by those on pilgrimage.
What's happening: Nepalese officials said that dozens of bridges were destroyed and nearly 40 kilometres of roads were damaged, complicating search efforts. The Nepalese military has rescued more than 100 people via helicopter and at least eight foreign nationals were airlifted to the country's capital, Kathmandu, according to an army spokesperson.
Why it happened: Climate experts say the flooding was likely caused by an avalanche from a glacier, which the U.S. Geological Survey initially mistook for an earthquake near the border. The steep slopes and the lush valleys below the Himalayan mountain range, which span several Asian countries, are especially vulnerable to flooding and landslides. Melting glaciers have become more common because of warming because of human-caused climate change. Researchers in Kathmandu found earlier this year that glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are melting faster, with ice loss rates doubling since 2000.
– This section compiled by Sean Davidson |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FEATURED STORIES
|
|
|
|
(Myriam Meloni)
|
|
|
A Moroccan soccer player dreamed of Europe, but died on her way to Ceuta
|
|
|
Fatin Ben Homar Azizi, 26, was one of at least 141 people who a Moroccan human rights organization says died trying to swim to the Spanish enclave — seen by many as a pathway to European residency.
What's happening: Jamila Afelom says her eldest daughter was bold, determined and a little boyish. She'd skip school in favour of her greatest passion: playing soccer. The game is a refuge for many girls living in difficult economic conditions, Azizi's former coach says — youth unemployment in the country is around 36 per cent.
So while Afelom says she tried to talk Azizi out of making the journey to Ceuta, her daughter was resolute — joining an estimated 80,000 Moroccans and migrants from countries father south who travelled to Fnideq, a northern border city near Ceuta, to make the crossing in late July. "She told me, 'You already stopped me once. So don't tell me I have to stay. My friends went last time and now they have papers and a good future.'"
Why it matters: Afelom says it took the family a day and a half to locate her daughter's body, which she identified in a Fnideq hospital by her necklace. According to Spain's government, there are currently 2,500 minors still staying in Ceuta since making the crossing. And while Azizi's old coach says he tries to dissuade his players from irregular migration, he admits it's hard. As Afelom says: "Our state does not look after us. There is no work, no doctor. There is absolutely nothing."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consumers say 'resolve is strengthened' to buy Canadian
|
|
|
Consumers first walked away from American products more than a year ago, but renewed trade threats have brought a resurgence to the flagging Buy Canadian movement.
What's happening: Francine Pich | | | |
