News

The UN announced Sunday it has made its first delivery of aid to Somalia in over two years.  Somalia has been the worst-affected by the most severe drought to hit the Horn of Africa in decades.

The UN made their delivery Wednesday to the town of Baidoa, in central Somalia.  It was the first delivery of relief since 2009, when the Shebab rebels that control the area expelled foreign aid groups. The rebels suspected the groups of being spies or Christian missionaries.

UNICEF has called for increased aid to be brought to the area. The UN estimates 10 million people face starvation in the region.

The Montreal Impact won’t be opening their first Major League Soccer season at home. Instead, they will play at the Olympic Stadium. 

Residents living near the MUHC Super Hospital construction site are getting ready for more dust and dirt. The next phase will have construction continue overnight.

In order to improve access to the hospital, Decarie Boulevard will be widened to five lanes from three lanes. But that also means rebuilding a railway underpath. In order to not disrupt CP rail's services, the work must be done between seven p.m. and five a.m. 

This leaves no relief for nearby residences. The Glen Yards area is already fed up with the disruptions the building has caused.  However, this phase is expected to be completed by November. 

In local news, getting around by car this summer is about to become an even bigger challenge in Montreal. That's because, starting Wednesday, Transport Quebec is closing lanes along one span of the Ville-Marie expressway.

The lane closures will affect both directions and are due to more roadwork scheduled for the next four months. Transport Quebec announced the lane closures on Tuesday.

One lane heading west will be closed  between Panet St. and the University St. exit. One lane, and in some areas two lanes, heading east will be closed between the entrance of the Ville Marie tunnel and Panet St.

The Laval police have launched an inquiry into the behavior of their officers. Photos of two of their officers sleeping in their police cruiser were sent to local media. The patrol car was parked under some trees behind Tourism Laval on Saint Martin Boulevard on Saturday morning. 

The department’s spokesperson said sleeping in a patrol car outside work hours does not violate the code of conduct. But it does go against the department’s work ethic. 

The inquiry was announced in a news release issued Tuesday evening. 

Stephen Harper can now add honourary tribal chief to his resume. The prime minister was given the title of Chief Speaker at a ceremony in Stand Off, Alberta on Monday. There he posed for photos donning a massive feathery Aboriginal hat and yellow face paint.

Canada is expected to boycott the United Nations conference on disarmament in protest of the UN’s choice of North Korea as conference chair. A senior government official says Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will announce the decision on Monday.

So Se Pyong is North Korea's ambassador. Baird was a vocal critic of the ambassador’s appointment as chair last week. He called the appointment ‘‘unacceptable’’ given North Korea’s track record with regards to disarmament. North Korea pulled out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and has threatened South Korea with military action.