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Wildfires force two northern First Nations, Lynn Lake to evacuate for second consecutive year, province warns of ‘high to extreme’ danger

The Manitoba government warned of “a high to extreme level of fire danger” in northern parts of the province Monday, where out-of-control wildfires have already prompted hundreds of people to flee their homes.

The community of Lynn Lake, about 800 kilometres north of Winnipeg, was evacuated Saturday and nearby Marcel Colomb First Nation followed suit through the weekend. O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, located about 130 kilometres east of the communities, also issued a local state of emergency and began to evacuate vulnerable residents owing to smoke in the region, the province said in a news release Monday.

The province said it is tracking 127 active fires across Manitoba, bringing the year-to-date total up to 196 — well above the annual average of 156 on the same date in previous years.

About 600 people were ordered to leave Lynn Lake Saturday. Some fled in their vehicles while others boarded flights destined for Brandon.

Muslims celebrate Eid in person for first time in three years

In what is likely the largest religious gathering since the pandemic started, thousands of Muslims expect to gather at the convention centre Monday morning for Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic festival that marks the end of 30 days of fasting during Ramadan.

“It makes me feel elated to meet everyone and see everyone for the first time in two years,” said university student Abdul Ahad of the celebration.

“This will be the biggest reunion for the community at large for three years.”

Manitoba’s Muslims last met for Eid prayers and celebrations at the convention centre in 2019. Events in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to lockdowns or public health restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Sugar Cookies

DOLLY Kuzyk has been making these cookies for her children, and now grandchildren, for 26 years.

This time-tested recipe makes a good basic sugar cookie that can be decorated for any occasion.

Dolly's Easiest and Yummiest Sugar Cookies250 ml (1 cup) butter or margarine, softened

As Putin marks Victory Day, his troops make little war gains

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin marked his country’s biggest patriotic holiday Monday without a major new battlefield success in Ukraine to boast of, as the war ground on through its 11th week with the Kremlin's forces making little or no progress in their offensive.

The Russian leader oversaw a Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square, watching as troops marched in formation and military hardware rolled past in a celebration of the Soviet Union's role in the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany.

While Western analysts in recent weeks had widely expected Putin to use the holiday to trumpet some kind of victory in Ukraine or announce an escalation, he did neither. Instead, he sought to justify the war again as a necessary response to what he portrayed as a hostile Ukraine.

“The danger was rising by the day,” Putin said. “Russia has given a preemptive response to aggression. It was forced, timely and the only correct decision.”

Familiar curling broadcast voices help to break the disquieting silence

Of all the little pleasures that ride on the edges of the Canadian men’s curling championship, outside the hits and draws and moments of gut-churning drama, one of the most consistent and underrated is listening to the way TSN analyst and 2006 Olympic champion Russ Howard says the word “guard.”

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the sound. In much of North America, at the heart of the word is what linguists describe as an open back rounded vowel: “back,” meaning the highest point of the tongue is near the back of the mouth; “rounded” to describe how the lips move to shape the emerging sound.

Yet in Howard’s mouth, and those of many of the curlers muttering about strategy in the Brier curling bubble hosted by Calgary this week, the word becomes a little different. Theirs is a regional vowel, distinctive, imbued with thick Canadian charm; one that announces more clearly than any flag or passport where the speaker is originally from.

So: “They just couldn’t get it by that guard,” Howard intones, the vowel narrowing and leaning hard into the “r” that follows, creating a sound that hovers closer to “gurd.” To American fans tuning into the Brier for the first time, these and other dialect quirks must stick out like a phonetic sore thumb; to me, they just sound like home.