Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 12, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2024 VOL 153 NO 229 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2024 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published six days a week in print and always online at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 CEO / MIKE POWER Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life D1 Business B4 Classifieds B6 Comics D4 Diversions D5-6 Horoscope D5 Miss Lonelyhearts D5 Opinion A6-7 Sports C1 Television D2 Weather C8 COLUMNISTS: Aaron Epp B2 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada A residential building in the Brovary district east of the capital was de- stroyed in the overnight attack, killing a father and his four-year-old son and seriously injuring at least three others, regional authorities said. Russian troops continue to press along the front line in Ukraine’s east- ern Donetsk region and have also been storming positions in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, the General Staff in Kyiv said on Sunday. Ukrainian officials have complained that delays in the arrival of promised Western aid are allowing the Kremlin to make grinding progress against an army already stretched by a lack of weapons and manpower. While Kremlin ground forces has made slow gains in recent months, Ukraine has increasingly targeted mil- itary objects and energy infrastruc- ture — often deep into Russia — with drones and missiles. Russian military bloggers, who ear- lier reported Ukrainian advancing as deep as 37 kilometres into the Kursk region, said Kyiv’s troops had made no additional breakthroughs overnight. Fighting around the town of Sudzha, the site of a key transit point for the last remaining pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe, helped push European natural gas prices to the highest level this year on fears of pos- sible disruptions to supplies. Russia’s Gazprom PJSC reported flows across Ukraine within a normal range on Sunday. Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom said the Kursk atomic power plant near the city of Kurchatov was operating normally, Tass reported Saturday. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi and Rosa- tom Chief Executive Officer Alexey Likhachev discussed the situation in a phone call late Friday, the company said in a website statement. Russia’s Federal Security Service announced a “counter-terrorism” regime in Kursk and the neighboring Belgorod and Bryansk border regions on Saturday, a move that allows for restrictions on movement and commu- nications. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that was a response to Ukraine’s “unprecedented” attempt to destabilize the situation. More than 76,000 residents have been evacuated from Russian border areas in the Kursk region in response to the fighting. The government declared a federal emergency in the region on Friday. In Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, which borders Kursk and other Russian regions, officials have been carrying out a mandatory evacuation of as many as 20,000 residents from a 10-kilometre zone under Russian fire. Ukraine’s leading allies have endorsed the Kursk incursion. The Pentagon said the move is consistent with Washington’s policy on the use of U.S.-supplied weapons, while the Eu- ropean Union has said Ukraine has a legitimate right to defend itself, includ- ing with attacks on Russian territory. — Bloomberg News MediaSmarts warns against youth spending three or more hours in front of a screen for non-educational purpos- es on a daily basis. “It’s getting in the way of sleep. It’s getting in the way of exercise. It’s getting in the way of in-person social- ization, family and school work,” said Matthew Johnson, director of educa- tion at the Ottawa-based charity that creates teacher-friendly digital and media literacy resources. At the same time, Johnson said emerging research shows online activi- ties and attitudes towards technology have more influence over well-being than the amount of time actually spent using devices. His view is that device-use should be thought of as a habit rather than an ad- diction or something to be minimized because students need to know they have agency and learn to recognize, understand and navigate the ways apps manipulate users. Johnson noted screen-time caps make it more difficult for students to learn about media literacy and coding, among other useful skills. He said he would hope DSFM equips its teachers with support to ensure they can still carry out these lessons with less com- puter time. L’Association des éducatrices et des éducateurs franco-manitobains, which represents teachers in francophone schools across the province, deferred comment to the union’s headquarters. The Manitoba Teachers’ Society does not have a firm stance on technology bans or caps. Grades 4 to 8 are particularly important years because that’s when students get their own devices and start to gain independence, said Troy Sigvaldason, an IT director who recently became the president of the Manitoba Association of Education Technology Leaders. Opportunities, rather than re- strictions, are key to ensuring these students have meaningful screen-time experiences and are set up for success in later school years, Sigvaldason said. “There is a part of me that sees the want to reduce access to technology not only in Manitoba but across North America, and I get it — reducing the distractions and getting our kids mov- ing is always in everyone’s mindset,” he said in an email. “Balance is the tricky part and the balance will come from opportunity.” Manitoba’s 38 divisions, which includes the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, are responsi- ble for developing their own device-re- lated rules. A spokesperson for Manitoba Education confirmed government officials are working with stakehold- ers to update these documents “to be responsive to current technology-use patterns.” maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca RUSSIA ● FROM A1 The American women’s basketball team won the final competition of the Games with a 67-66 victory over France in the gold-medal game. The win helped the U.S. tie China for the most gold medals with 40. The Americans easily won the total medal count with 126, while China came in second with 91. Meanwhile, Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Mag- gie Coles-Lyster made it to the wom- en’s omnium final in track cycling, finishing ninth with 101 points. Defending Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell, who did not advance to Sun- day’s final in the women’s individual sprint, finished last in the race deter- mining fifth through eighth positions. Five of Canada’s medals came from track and field athletes. Katzberg and Camryn Rogers of Richmond, B.C., swept the top of the podium in men’s and women’s hammer throw, while Canada’s men’s 4x100-me- tre team also won gold. Edmonton’s Marco Arop added silver in the men’s 400 and Alysha Newman of Delaware, Ont., took bronze in wom- en’s pole vault. “I chalk it up as an awesome display of resilience by our athletes,” said Athletics Canada head coach Glenroy Gilbert, calling the Games a success. “We’ve had athletes fall, we’ve had ath- letes not advance … we’ve had athletes have mishaps on this journey but it did not impact the team. “People kept showing up, they kept getting out there and performing.” The Canadians at the closing cere- mony all came dressed in shorts and T-shirts in a dark, galaxy-like pattern with “CAN” written vertically down the back in white letters. The medal winners proudly wore their hardware around their necks. “We just saw the best of Canada. Over the past two weeks, more than 330 athletes from across the country represented Team Canada at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. “They showed everyone that Canada belongs on the world stage — as lead- ers and champions at the pinnacle of sport. “Our Olympians have made us proud. They competed with athletes from around the world and brought home a total of 27 medals.” — The Canadian Press COMPUTERS ● FROM A1 OLYMPICS ● FROM A1 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A burned car is seen in front of an apartment building damaged after shelling by the Ukrainian military in Kursk, Russia, Sunday. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Residents of an apartment building show damage after shelling by Ukrainian forces in Kursk, Russia, Sunday. English town mourns young victim of stabbing L ONDON — The people of South- port, England, came together Sun- day for the first of the funerals for three girls killed during a dance class, remembering 9-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar’s radiant smile and calling for an end to the unrest that has convulsed Britain since the attack two weeks ago. Hundreds of mourners packed St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and spilled into the street outside, which had been decorated with pink ribbons and bal- loons in Alice’s honour. Chief Constable Serena Kennedy was among them and she delivered the par- ents’ message that no one should com- mit acts of violence in their daughter’s name. “I am ashamed and I’m so sorry that you had to even consider this in the planning of the funeral of your beauti- ful daughter, Alice,” said Kennedy, who heads the Merseyside Police force, which covers the area around Liver- pool. “And I hope that anyone who has taken part in the violent disorder on our streets over the past 13 days is hanging their head in shame at the pain that they have caused you, a grieving family.” Far-right activists have used mis- information about the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class that killed Alice as a pretext for anti-immigrant demonstrations. They descended into riots and loot- ing as mobs attacked mosques, shops owned by immigrants and hotels hous- ing asylum-seekers. The disturbances have been fuelled by social media users who spread misinformation about the suspect in the July 29 stabbing ram- page. Rumours, later debunked, quickly circulated online that the suspect was an asylum-seeker or a Muslim immi- grant. The suspect was born in Wales and moved to the Southport area in 2013. His parents were originally from Rwanda. The violence calmed on Wednesday when far-right demonstrations antici- pated in dozens of locations across Britain failed to materialize. Instead, peaceful anti-racism protesters showed up in force. But on Sunday, the focus was on Alice. Her parents, Sergio and Alexandra, described Alice as a “perfect dream child” who loved animals and moved through the world with confidence and empathy. “We feel shocked, unimaginable pain, we miss you,’’ they said in a trib- ute read on their behalf. “From time to time, the pin drops. When mommy says ‘Good night, Sergio, good night Alice,’ and then it hits us all over again. We don’t hear you back.’’ Jinnie Payne, the headteacher at Churchtown Primary School, remem- bered that Alice once decorated a teacher’s classroom pointer as a magic wand and outlined the seven “Alice qualities” that she wished every stu- dent had. Those included having a big smile, a genuine interest in others and treating everyone equally. “This has to be my favourite, how a child at such a young age could not fa- vour one friend over another,” she told the congregation. “Friends, she played equally with them all. That is so hard to do and she mastered it.” But she also loved to dance. On Sunday, her parents released a photo of Alice standing next to a card- board cutout of Swift as she waited for her last dance class to begin. “The time has come to say ‘there goes Alice,’” Payne said tearfully. “We are letting you go dancing now, Alice. Teach those angels a few dance moves.” — The Associated Press DANICA KIRKA ;