VANCOUVER – A noir story, set in Italy, written by a Canadian in love with the “Belpaese”: it’s called “Bernini’s Elephant” and it’s the debut novel by Jane Callen, a writer who lives in Vancouver but travels to Italy “every time the fate allows”. The beautiful country and its people are in fact often present in the writings of Jane, author so far of stories published in Grain Magazine, Montreal Writes, Spadina Literary Review, CV7 Short Fiction Anthology Series and White Wall Review, as well as essays published in Accenti Magazine (excerpts of her writings are at www.janecallen.ca). →
TORONTO – Han Dong has thrown in the towel. The deputy of Chinese origin who fell into the storm of “interference” announced his resignation from the Liberals, today, in tears (in the pic above): he will therefore sit in the House of Commons as an independent deputy. “I will continue to serve the residents of Don Valley North (in Toronto, where he was elected, ed.) as an independent member of this House. I am taking these extraordinary steps because sitting on the government caucus is a privilege and my presence could be seen as a conflict” Dong said, adding that he will work to clear his name in the meantime.
TORONTO – The new ranking of the “best” universities in the world (we’ll explain the quotation marks later) has been released and McGill University’s primacy in Canada stands out over the University of Toronto: in fact, the Montreal-based university is in 31st place in the ranking world, Toronto at 34th.
TORONTO – The United States has conducted a covert investigation into national security threats posed by Chinese “operations” overseas, which has led to alarming conclusions about Canada, according to a new book written by a former RCMP and US government official military intelligence, Scott McGregor, together with investigative journalist Ina Mitchell, entitled “The Mosaic Effect: How the Chinese Communist Party Started a Hybrid War in America’s Backyard” (in the pic above, the cover of the book). →
TORONTO – A double Master’s, one in Italy after a three-year degree in one of the most prestigious Italian universities and a second one in Canada. Then, a permanent job in Toronto. But that’s not enough. Also, she, like many other young Italians and Europeans, will have to return to Italy because it seems impossible to obtain a visa extension (not to mention the “mirage” better known by the name of Permanent Residence: the PR).