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‘Violin of Hope’ crafted in Dachau hides message from imprisoned luthier

In the shadows of history’s darkest chapter, a message of hope has emerged from the most unexpected of places: the inside of a violin built in the Dachau concentration camp during World War II.

Thick smoke from fires in Northern Manitoba continues to envelope much of the province.

Early on Friday morning, Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement for all of southern Manitoba and parts of the north as smoke from wildfires continues to impact the province. Those statements were removed for the eastern half of the province later in the morning, but remain in effect for the west.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes opened the 2025 American Association season with a 6-5, ten-inning defeat at the hands of the Cleburne Railroaders (1-0) Thursday at La Moderna Field.
 
On an overcast and breezy evening, Cleburne edged the Goldeyes (0-1) in a tight battle that saw both teams going back-and-forth from the second inning on.

Landen Bourassa took the Opening Day nod for the first time since pitching for the University of San Francisco and fired a six-inning quality start, allowing three runs on five hits, walking a batter and striking out four.

A house fire in the city's West End sent one person to hospital Thursday evening. 

The blaze broke out just after 5 p.m. in a home on Strathcona Street near St. Matthews Avenue. 

Smoke was coming from the home when crews arrived. It took fire firefighters about an hour to get it under control. 

One person was taken to hospital in stable condition, 

There is no word on what caused the fire.

Fire officials continue to investigate. 

A former sportscaster, college instructor and executive with True North Sports and Entertainment, Steve Vogelsang helped several Winnipeggers shape their careers.

So when the Saskatoon native was arrested in 2017 for sticking up banks in Saskatchewan and Alberta, his once made-for-TV persona became rife with static.

"It raises a lot of questions," said Charlie Siskel, a director and producer for "The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg," a new documentary detailing Vogelsang's rise and fall that releases Friday on Amazon's Prime Video.

A British Columbia researcher in South Asian affairs said Thursday that concerns about the current India and Pakistan tensions are justified, given that the region has not seen conflicts this intense in more than 25 years. 

M.V. Ramana, professor at University of B.C.'s school of public policy and global affairs, said the last time there was a realistic risk of nuclear weapons being used was the conflict between the two sides in the Kargil region of Kashmir in 1999. 

A senior medical advisor with the Public Health Agency of Canada says the country could lose its measles elimination status if the highly contagious disease continues to spread into the fall.

Dr. Marina Salvadori warned of the possibility Thursday as cases in Ontario grew by nearly 200 infections, adding that would only occur if prolonged spread continued beyond mid-October 2025.

As the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra nears the final concerts of its 2024-2025 season, the preparations are marked with changes and farewells. One of those farewells is being made to not only one of the symphony’s longest-serving players, but also to one of the longest-tenured orchestra musicians in Canadian history.  

A hallucinogenic portrait of Tokyo is set to take over the West End Cultural Centre tonight.  

“Re:Gendo” is a collaboration between famed electronic sound artist Carl Stone and vocalist Akaihirume that uses multi-channel sound, video projection and live performance to transport audiences through a landscape that seems familiar, but also eerily different.  

Veterans, diplomats, members of the Armed Forces and political leaders gathered Thursday at events across Canada commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe.

"Nearly every family knows somebody who suffered from the effect of war," said Fraser McKee, a 100-year-old veteran who helped to lay a wreath at the Toronto ceremony.

"This is to remember people that will have to go to war, as well as remembering those that went and didn’t come back."