While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 20
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Trudeau vows to continue re-election campaign amid blackface scandal
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to continue his re-election campaign and asked for forgiveness on Thursday after pictures of him in blackface emerged with less than five weeks before the national vote.
The Liberal Party leader's campaign has been upended since Time magazine on Wednesday published an image of him with his face blackened at a 2001 "Arabian Nights" party when he was a 29-year-old teacher at a private school in Vancouver.
Other images have since emerged and Trudeau said he was "wary" of ruling out the existence of even more because he could not remember those that already come to light.
Answering questions from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Trudeau said that his privilege as the white son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau had come with a "blindspot."
Bird numbers plunge in US and Canada with people to blame
From grasslands to seashores to forests and backyards, birds are disappearing at an alarming rate in the United States and Canada, with a 29 per cent population drop since 1970 and a net loss of about 2.9 billion birds, scientists said on Thursday.
People are to blame, the researchers said, citing factors including widespread habitat loss and degradation, broad use of agricultural chemicals that eradicate insects vital to the diet of many birds, and even outdoor hunting by pet cats.
"Birds are in crisis," said Peter Marra, director of the Georgetown Environment Initiative at Georgetown University and a co-author of the study published in the journal Science.
Vaping sickness cases rise to 530 as US searches for cause
Federal health officials said 530 people have fallen ill from the mysterious vaping-related lung ailment that has raised alarms across the US, up from 380 confirmed and probable cases that the government reported last week.
Seven people have died from the illness, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said at a briefing on Thursday.
Officials said they still hadn't determined a cause of the ailment, and that there did not appear to be one product or substance involved in all instances. Cases have been identified in 38 states.
Mosquito fumigation may have caused diplomats' illness in Cuba
Fumigation against mosquitoes in Cuba and not "sonic attacks" may have caused some 40 US and Canadian diplomats and family members in Havana to fall ill, according to a new study commissioned by the Canadian government.
The incidents took place from late 2016 into 2018, causing the administration of US President Donald Trump to charge that diplomats were attacked by some sort of secret weapon. Canada has refrained from such charges.
The United States in 2017 reduced its embassy staff to a minimum and Canada followed more recently, citing the incidents and the danger posed to staff from what has become known as the "Havana Syndrome."
F1 drivers say show must go on, despite haze hitting Singapore Grand Prix
Even as the Marina Bay Circuit is enveloped in haze this week, Formula One drivers and teams on Thursday said they were unfazed by the poor air quality in Singapore, adding that they had no issues racing in such conditions at this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.
Red Bull's Dutch star Max Verstappen, who has won two races this season and arrives in Singapore third in the overall standings, told The Straits Times: "It's not a concern at all. Whatever the conditions are, it'll be the same for everyone."
The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading was 97-110 at 6pm last night, in the moderate to unhealthy range.