Train Derailment At L'Assomption, Opioid Crisis In Canada, Sri Lanka's Terrorist Attacks

Hosted by Ahmad Moujtahed

Stories by Ahmad Moujtahed

 

 

 

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LOCAL

A Canadian National freight train derailed at L'Assomption in the Lanaudière region.

A total of 13 cars left the tracks — 10 of them sustaining damage — but there were no injuries reported.

Some cars contained dangerous materials but fortunately they all  remained intact after the derailment. However, the railway has been damaged and will take several hours to repair.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is deploying a team of investigators to the derailment site in order to gather information and determine the cause of the incident.

 

NATIONAL

The opioid crisis is a tragic public health issue that is devastating the lives of thousands of Canadians across the country. The latest data show that since 2016 more than 10,000 Canadians have died as a result of apparent opioid-related overdoses.

In an effort to resolve the opioid crisis, researchers from the University of Victoria in BC are leading an innovative project to develop drug-checking technology with the aim of reducing the death toll from the overdose epidemic.

The University of Victoria researchers are gathering data on the drugs brought into supervised consumption sites and overdose prevention. They are also developing an online database with information about the drugs checked, as well as the experiences and perceptions of people who use these drugs. This tool will help to inform trends in the composition of illegal drugs and provide information to better protect people who use drugs.

The  project is made possible through federal funding from Health Canada's Substance Use and Addictions program.

 

INTERNATIONAL

On Easter Sunday, a series of eight coordinated bombings in Sri Lanka has left more than 300 people dead and many others injured. Sri Lanka’s minority Christian community, which accounts for less than 10% of the country’s total population, appeared to be the main target of the coordinated attacks.

The first wave of attacks struck during busy Easter services at churches in the heart of the country's minority Christian community -- in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. More blasts ripped through three luxury hotels in the capital city, Colombo.

Members of Montreal’s Sri Lankan community reacted with horror to the attacks. They also expressed anger and frustration at the Sri Lankan government, since it is now being revealed that foreign intelligence services had previously warned the Sri Lankan government of the possible threats. However, those threats were not acted on by the government.