All posts tagged: Toronto

Ronaldo fever hits Toronto ahead of Portugal vs Croatia World Cup clash | World Cup 2026

Ronaldo fever hits Toronto ahead of Portugal vs Croatia World Cup clash | World Cup 2026

Published by Sam Flores

Toronto, Canada – The year was 2009, and a sculpted, spiky-haired, 24-year-old Ronaldo was greeted by hundreds of adoring fans in Toronto dying to catch a glimpse of the newly signed Real Madrid superstar as he graced the city with his presence for the first time. Fast forward 17 years, and the visuals are almost identical, give or take a few differences. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Hundreds of Toronto residents took to the streets on Wednesday, lining highways, thronging downtown intersections, climbing onto each other’s shoulders and peeking out of high-rise buildings, all to get a 10-second glimpse of Ronaldo passing by, as Portugal arrived in the city ahead of their World Cup round of 32 clash with Croatia. The last time the football icon was in Toronto was August 2009 when Real Madrid played a friendly against Toronto FC, coincidentally at the same stadium where Portugal will take on Croatia on Thursday evening. Wednesday being a public holiday increased the chances of fans catching a glimpse of the 41-year-old football …

Goldfish Swimbappe’s World Cup predictions make a splash in Toronto

Goldfish Swimbappe’s World Cup predictions make a splash in Toronto

Published by Sam Flores

TORONTO, June 19 : A tiny oranda goldfish named Swimbappe is making a big splash in Toronto with daily World Cup match predictions made from his own underwater pitch, capturing the curiosity and hearts of soccer fans in the city. Swimbappe, named after France captain Kylian Mbappe, lives in a tank designed like a soccer field that is displayed outside an office building in downtown Toronto. Every day, the orange creature lines up in the middle of the pitch to predict the day’s match winners. With teams’ flags displayed above the tank, a small crowd usually counts down before the fish swims left or right to deliver his verdict.  Swimbappe has made 14 correct predictions, with only four wrong, and 10 draws. “The draws are a little bit difficult for him to communicate to us with his fish body,” said Tim Glenn, creative director at OneMethod and one of the minds behind Swimbappe. PAST ANIMAL ORACLES Swimbappe is chanelling the spirit of past animal World Cup oracles, including Paul the Octopus, who rose to fame …

Toronto Police Link Gun-For-Hire Networks to Shootings at US Consulate and Synagogues

Toronto Police Link Gun-For-Hire Networks to Shootings at US Consulate and Synagogues

Published by Sam Flores

TORONTO (AP) — Police in Canada said Tuesday they have linked multiple shootings, including at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto in March, to “multilayered” gun-for-hire networks that have also targeted synagogues in the city. Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw told a news conference that young adults are being recruited through encrypted messages and paid by the networks to carry out the shootings and have to film them to get paid. Some of the firearms used in the attacks have since been seized by investigators. A veteran police officer was killed last week in a raid related to investigation of the shooting. “What we know is bad actors are using criminal elements in our city to carry out these dangerous incidents,” he said. “It is clear that some of the people hiring these criminals want to create a sense of fear in our communities, including the Jewish community.” Demkiw said Toronto police, along with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI are trying to determine who is paying for the attacks. Two firearms recovered during …

Toronto police officer shot while investigating attack on US consulate | Police News

Toronto police officer shot while investigating attack on US consulate | Police News

Published by Sam Flores

Police say one suspect is still at large after a constable was fatally shot while executing a search warrant linked to a March consulate attack. Published On 11 Jun 202611 Jun 2026 A police officer in the Canadian city of Toronto has been shot and killed while investigating a shooting attack that targeted the United States consulate in March, according to local authorities. Toronto police chief Myron Demkiw said on Thursday that 43-year-old constable Marc Pinizzotto was shot while executing a search warrant related to the case and later died of his wounds in the hospital. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Demkiw explained that the warrant “concerned a number of shootings, including the shooting at the United States consulate” and that several warrants had been executed that morning. One suspect involved in Thursday’s shooting was in custody at the hospital, while police continue to search for a second suspect, identified as 19-year-old Zara Jabbi. Police say he is considered armed and dangerous. “I urge you to turn yourself in,” Demkiw said during …

Why the loss of Oscar-nominated Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi is a tragedy for Iran

Why the loss of Oscar-nominated Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi is a tragedy for Iran

Published by Daniella Wilson

On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Marjane Satrapi, the Iranian-French cartoonist best known for her 2007 film Persepolis, died on Thursday aged just 56. Her death comes just a year after the loss of her husband and Swedish film producer and actor Mattias Ripa and marks the loss of a powerful voice in Iranian culture. It also comes at a time of immense upheaval for her homeland, currently torn between the US-Iran conflict, western pressure and its own nationalist dogma in the worst fighting and political crackdown the nation has seen in decades. But unlike other some war-torn regions across the world, relatively little insight into civilian life emerges from Iran as strict censorship is enforced across the country, affecting every single facet of life. Satrapi, born on 22 November 1969 in Rasht, Iran, managed to cut through and became of Iran’s best read authors. As a teenager she was sent to Vienna, Austria, in …

Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady Watch Their Own Highlights All the Time

Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady Watch Their Own Highlights All the Time

Published by Jenni Sidey

Now you look at the game, it’s copycat. Everybody is really playing the same, but you don’t really have the personnel to play the style of basketball you’re playing. That’s what drives me crazy: Why are you putting him in that position where he is not really excelling, but he will be his best at this position? You’re trying to make him into something that it’s going to take him a long time to figure out, when he could be really good for you right now over here. Carter: Keeping up with the Joneses. McGrady: Yeah. Man, that’s the most frustrating part to me. On that note, did either of you ever think about coaching? McGrady: No. He did, though. Carter: I mean, I did. I have. But I just look at the league, and the lack of loyalty to coaches [from players] now is what’s concerning to me. I know the approach now is to have more compassion for the players, but I felt like if a coach wasn’t yelling at me, getting after …

Toronto draw record crowd against Messi’s Inter Miami in World Cup dress rehearsal

Toronto draw record crowd against Messi’s Inter Miami in World Cup dress rehearsal

Published by Sam Flores

TORONTO, May 9 : Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC attracted their largest attendance at BMO Field in the club’s history on Saturday for a clash with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami that served as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup matches being held at the venue. Nearly 45,000 fans, many in Miami’s pink and black colours and Argentina’s blue and white, packed into the World Cup’s smallest venue to see the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, giving the city a taste of what’s to come when it hosts six matches. “This weekend will serve as a real life test run with a number of high attendance sporting events in town,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said on Friday, also referring to a pair of Toronto Blue Jays games and the Sporting Life 10K event. The allure of Messi, who scored in Miami’s 4-2 win, helped draw a crowd of 44,828 that offered Toronto services a chance to see how they will perform with similar large crowds, from getting fans in and out of the stadium to transit …

Toronto Police Officers Charged in Drug and Corruption Investigation

Toronto Police Officers Charged in Drug and Corruption Investigation

Published by Sam Flores

new video loaded: Toronto Police Officers Charged in Drug and Corruption Investigation transcript Back transcript Toronto Police Officers Charged in Drug and Corruption Investigation Eight Toronto police officers were charged in an investigation, which began after a prison manager was targeted by three hit men. The investigation unraveled a crime network and revealed a connection to the police officers who have been accused of participating in organized criminal activity and drug trafficking. “The allegations of criminal corruption include bribery, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking, theft of personal property, breach of trust, and the unauthorized access and distribution of confidential information. Our belief is that member was doing his job effectively, was ethical and had complete integrity in his position, and that those actions, his commitment to integrity in his position, was what spawned the criminal actions against him. We are alleging that some police officers who were collecting personal and private information unlawfully and distributing it to members of organized crime, which ultimately resulted in serious harm in our communities.” “This is a painful and …