NEWS FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 29TH 2018

Hosted by Erdene Batzorig

Stories by Erdene Batzorig

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LOCAL

Out of service STM metro cars find a new purpose, as two Montreal brothers set out to turn the cars into a cultural hub centre.

According to CTV News, Frédéric and Étienne Morin-Bordeleau purchased the MR-63 cars after they were taken out of active service two years ago.

The cars will be the centre pieces in the cultural hub which will feature a cafe and bar, as well as stores, galleries and event spaces.

Other retired trains have been distributed to artists, schools and museums.

NATIONAL

More and more Vancouverites are being forced to live out of their cars due to soaring prices and lack of available housing in the city.

According to city councillor Pete Fry, this kind of living arrangements poses a number of health and safety risks some of which are carbon monoxide poisoning, lack of access to hygiene facilities and violating parking regulations.

CTV News reports that the city is looking to adopt  “safe lots” – parking lots with specially designed living arrangements like toilets, showers, and outreach services.

INTERNATIONAL

Saudi women’s right activist says governments are using social media as a tool of oppression.

Manal al-Sharif, who spearheaded the campaign for women’s right to drive in Saudi Arabia, deleted her Twitter account live at SingularityU Nordic last week.

According to the Guardian, Sharif says “Twitter now is becoming a trap, and it’s being used in a very efficient way by those governments, dictatorships and tyrants to silence us, and not only that, to spread their own propaganda, their own hate speech, misinformation and disinformation.”  

There has been growing concern over social media’s role in enabling governments  to censor and take punitive measure against free speech.