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More than 10,000 are dead or missing and hundreds of buildings have collapsed after severe storms and flooding destroyed dams in eastern Libya.

Videos showed vast destruction in the city of Derna, with tall buildings gutted or badly damaged, cars flipped over and streets filled with mud. Bodies covered in blankets were lined up along city streets outside hospitals.

The lack of flood warnings is sparking widespread anger across the country that is torn between rival governments. Libya’s internationally recognized government in Tripoli has no power over eastern Libya, where a rival administration is in place. The divided authority delayed the flood warnings and the rescue efforts, many analysts have said.

Read the latest: Rescuers recover more than 2,000 bodies after floods devastate eastern Libya

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A view shows damaged cars in Derna, Libya, after a powerful storm and heavy rainfall, September 12, 2023.ESAM OMRAN AL-FETORI/Reuters

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Kitchen thought to be source of E. coli outbreak in Calgary had cockroaches, ‘sewer gas smell,’ report reveals

A kitchen at the centre of an investigation into an E. coli outbreak at daycares in Calgary had cockroaches, improperly stored food and emitted a “sewer gas smell,” according to a new report.

Six patients at Alberta Children’s Hospital sickened in the outbreak are undergoing dialysis for kidney failure but are in stable condition, health officials said yesterday. Twenty-two of the 25 people who remain hospitalized are confirmed to have hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe illness caused by E. coli that can damage organs.

The outbreak has sparked concerns from parents and guardians that Fueling Brains, one of the daycares involved, is putting profit ahead of child safety because of the operator’s lack of communication and unwillingness to refund child-care fees. A class-action lawsuit was filed on Friday against all of the affected daycares alleging negligence.

MP Michael Chong calls for united action against Chinese interference in testimony before U.S. Congress members

Ottawa and Washington should “name and shame” China’s leaders as part of an effort to counter Beijing’s interference in Western countries and its bullying of diaspora communities, Michael Chong and U.S. Congress members said yesterday.

The Conservative MP, a target of Chinese government interference, received a rare invitation to speak to a congressional commission that monitors China’s global repression campaign.

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Also on our radar

Putin meets Kim: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Russian President Vladimir Putin had his full backing in the “sacred fight” Moscow is waging “against the hegemonic forces,” as the two men met at a Russian spaceport Wednesday.

Accused asked bystander to make a video: The man accused of killing a Muslim family in London, Ont., demanded that a bystander take out his phone to call police and shoot a video of his arrest, the trial heard yesterday. Nathaniel Veltman is facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. The Crown argues each of these alleged crimes was motivated by a white nationalist ideology.

Report takes closer look at subsidies for EV plants: Federal and Ontario government subsidies that total $28.2-billion for two electric vehicle battery plants will take 20 years to break even, not five as Ottawa has suggested, according to a new report by Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux.

Weather Network hit by cyber hack: The Weather Network says its systems have been affected by a “cybersecurity incident” that took down its website and mobile app, the latest breach in a series of hacks that have hit Canadian organizations recently.

Nova Scotia prepares for storm season: Nova Scotia is readying for hurricane season with a little more anxiousness than usual after a summer of wildfires and flooding, and last year’s Hurricane Fiona.

New COVID-19 vaccine approved in Canada: A new version of Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by Health Canada. The vaccine, to be rolled out alongside other COVID and flu shots, is part of a campaign by public-health leaders to reduce the impact of the virus this fall.

Ukrainians leaving Poland for Germany: Growing numbers of Ukrainian refugees who fled to Poland after Russia’s invasion are now leaving for Germany for better employment opportunities, according to a new study. Researchers in Warsaw say Germany has surpassed Poland as the country hosting the most Ukrainian refugees and by next year Ukrainians could comprise the largest ethnic group in Germany.


Morning markets

Markets await U.S. inflation report: World markets fell on Wednesday as investors braced for key U.S. inflation data, with a spike in oil prices fuelling anxiety that price pressures are proving more ingrained than hoped. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.18 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.58 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed down 0.21 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.09 per cent. New York futures were modestly lower. The Canadian dollar was little changed at 73.76 US cents.


What everyone’s talking about

Andrew Coyne: “For that matter, soaring house prices and lagging productivity growth – and health care wait times – have been issues in Canada for many years, long before population growth began to take off. As they are in other advanced countries, with stable or even falling population numbers.”

Editorial: “Ms. Freeland talks about using all tools to help to speed the decline in interest rates, but that is just gauzy rhetoric. There is only one tool at her disposal that would actually work: inflicting some budget pain on her government in order to relieve the financial pain that inflation and rising interest rates have inflicted on Canadian families.”


Today’s editorial cartoon

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Illustration by David Parkins


Living better

When to start CPP or OAS? You can change your mind post-retirement

Deciding when to start CPP and OAS is a huge decision because tens of thousands of dollars could be at stake. Fortunately, there’s a window for changing your mind even after you retire. Rob Carrick outlines what you need to know.


Moment in time: Sept. 13, 1981

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Terry Fox runners at Allan Gardens in Toronto, Sept. 19, 1982.JAMES LEWCUN/The Globe and Mail

First Terry Fox Run held

Most Canadians know the courageous 22-year-old’s story, which began with a cancer diagnosis and ended with a legacy. Terry Fox’s osteosarcoma resulted in the amputation of his right leg at 18. An athlete down to his core, the day after his surgery, Fox told a nurse he was some day going to personify barrier-breaker Dick Traum, an amputee who ran the New York City Marathon in 1976. After getting a customized prosthesis, starting physiotherapy and chemo, Fox told his parents he wanted to run across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research. The Marathon of Hope caught the whole country’s attention, including Isadore Sharp, founder of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, who committed to organizing an annual fundraiser. Fox covered 5,373 kilometres in 143 days before stopping outside of Thunder Bay because his cancer had spread. He died on June 28, 1981. That September saw the first Terry Fox Run in more than 800 Canadian towns and cities. To date, 25 countries have participated and more than $850-million has been raised for cancer research through the annual run, according to the Terry Fox Foundation. Mahdis Habibinia


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