NATO has started a mission to strengthen its presence in the Arctic following Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland.

The mission, called Arctic Sentry, will coordinate the increasing military presence of NATO allies in the Arctic, the alliance’s military headquarters said in a statement.

This includes exercises such as Denmark’s Arctic Endurance exercise in its semi-autonomous territory Greenland.

It comes after Mr Trump repeatedly highlighted his ambition to own Greenland, saying it was necessary for US national security.

Denmark and other European NATO members pushed back, after which the US president said he couldn’t rule out military action and later threatened some European nations – including the UK – with new tariffs if he was blocked from purchasing Greenland.

In late January, Mr Trump and NATO secretary general Mark Rutte agreed during talks in Davos that the alliance would play a greater role in protecting the Arctic, and to further discussions about Greenland.

Read more: Why Trump has insisted the US ‘needs’ Greenland

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Why Trump backed down on Greenland

Mission Arctic Sentry “underscores the alliance’s commitment to safeguard its members and maintain stability in one of the world’s most strategically significant and environmentally challenging areas,” US Air Force General Alexus G. Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, said.

“It will leverage NATO’s strength to protect our territory and ensure the Arctic and High North remain secure.”

British forces will play a vital part in the mission, Defence Minister John Healey said.

He said that the number of British troops sent to Norway will double over three years, from 1,000 to 2,000 personnel, to strengthen Arctic and High North security against rising Russian threats.

Arctic Sentry will also include other NATO activities, which will be added to the mission once broader security needs are assessed and as the national military exercises end.

France and Germany have said they will take part, but have not confirmed how many of their troops will be involved.

Read more from Sky News:
The reality behind Trump’s Greenland ‘deal’
This crisis is far from over for NATO

The British government said the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) security alliance plans major military activity in the High North, with hundreds of troops due to be deployed across Iceland, the Danish Straits and Norway in an exercise set to take place in September.

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are also part of the JEF.

Marks and Spencer is one of the latest UK high-street brands to launch a ski-wear collection. Even supermarket Lidl are in on the action, with their ski range starting from £3.99. This follows earlier moves by fast-fashion retailers such as Topshop who launched SNO in the mid 2010’s and Zara’s imaginatively titled Zara Ski collection, which launched in 2023.

Fast fashion brand PrettyLittleThing’s Apres Ski edit (a collection of clothes chosen for a specific theme) tells potential shoppers that going skiing is “not necessarily essential” which is good, because many of the products in the collection are listed as athleisure, not sportswear.

It’s not just the high-street. Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand Skims has recently collaborated with The North Face and has dressed the USA team for the 2026 Winter Olympics – though these are strictly designed to serve the athletes during down-time, not for the piste.

Alongside dedicated ski-wear lines, the apres-ski aesthetic has become a recurring seasonal trend over recent years, expanding well beyond the slopes. You may have noticed the slew of ski-themed sweatshirts across the market. One of these, an Abercrombie & Fitch sweatshirt, went viral in January after a buyer noticed that the depicted resort was actually Val Thorens, France – not Aspen, Colorado, as the text printed on the garment claimed.

It is not only the quality of ski-themed fashion products that are a cause for concern, but also those designed for the slope. Many of these high-street collections have received criticism from consumers, with some claiming that the garments are “not fit for purpose”. Meanwhile, many influencers have taken to social media to warn their followers to avoid skiing in garments from fast fashion brands. Such were the complaints that Zara Ski reportedly renamed its products “water resistant” instead of “waterproof”.

These collections respond, in part, to a genuine need for women’s sportswear that is practical, fashionable and most critically, affordable. Ski and performance wear in general is costly and such collections, being both fashionable and relatively low-cost make for an attractive prospect. And yet, if these garments are so poorly suited to skiing, then what are they for?

The visual allure of skiing

Despite sports playing a key role in challenging gender ideology and perceptions of female physicality, the perceived importance of femininity and how women look while doing sports has lingered. Images of sportswomen frequently fixate on gender difference and femininity is foregrounded over athleticism. Here, the glamorous image of skiing has much to account for.

Glamour relies on distance and difference to conjure a feeling of longing. For many, the novelty of eating fondue at 3,000ft is out of reach, as is the ever-increasing price of a lift pass.

Throughout the 20th century, the glamour of skiing has been defined by women’s fashion. In the 1920s, Vogue magazine featured illustrations of elongated skiing women on their covers. Designer Pucci’s aerodynamic one-piece ski suit premiered in Harper’s Bazaar magazine in 1947 whilst Moncler’s ski anoraks – photographed on Jackie Kennedy in 1966 – gave birth to a vision of American ski “cool”. Changing ski fashions were recorded in photographer Slim Aarons’ resort photography, capturing the leisure class on and off piste between the 1950s and 1980s.

Women’s fashionable ski-wear has taken many forms since the activity first became popular in the 1920s. It was during this decade that skiing became a marker of affluence. Leather, gaberdine, fur and wool were popular materials in early women’s ski-wear and were selected for their natural properties; water-repellence, insulation, breathability.

By the mid-century, women’s ski-wear became more focused on silhouette and excess fabric was considered unfeminine. Equally, ski-wear gradually became more colourful and in the fashion press, women were even encouraged to match their lipstick to their ski ensemble. By the 1980s, ski-wear aligned with the fashionable “wedge” silhouette; causing the shoulders of ski jackets to widen and salopettes (ski trousers with shoulder braces) to draw even tighter.

These historic developments parallel today’s aesthetic ski trend where fashion and image arguably comes before function. For example, PrettyLittleThing’s models are photographed on fake slopes, holding vintage skis. The glamorous image of the skiing woman lies not only in the clothing but in her stasis. The suggestion is that ski culture does not necessarily require skiing at all: it may simply involve occupying the most visible terrace, Aperol in hand.

No wonder then, that so many fast-fashion ski lines for women are deeply unpractical – they appear designed less for physical exertion than for visual consumption. They sell women on the alluring glamour of skiing, while leaving them out in the cold.

There is an additional irony here: climate change means that skiing is becoming increasingly exclusive. Lower-level resorts are closing as the snow line moves up, meaning fewer options and increased demand. In this sense, the image of skiing looks to become even more glamorous via increasing inaccessibility and therefore distance. Fast-fashion has a negative impact on the environment, and the ski aesthetic risks damaging the very thing it claims to celebrate.

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The Hindu community will be forced to find a new place of worship

Peterborough City Council’s ruling cabinet has agreed to sell the New England Complex, home of the city’s Bharat Hindu Samaj Hindu temple.

At its monthly Cabinet meeting last night (February 10), councillors agreed to authorise the disposal of the Council’s freehold interest in the much-used Millfield complex.

The council believes the sale will help its attempts to balance its budget. However, the proposed sale of the property will mean the Hindu community who have used the temple for 40 years will be forced to find a new place of worship.

The meeting was attended by supporters of Bharat Hindu Samaj, which itself tabled a bid of £1.3m as part of the bidding process.

Campaigners were hopeful the initial decision to sell the complex made by Cabinet last December would be reversed following fervent appeals by city councillors and the Hindu community. Indeed, the reason this item had been sent back to Cabinet for re-evaluation was due to campaigners convincing the council’s Sustainable Future Scrutiny Committee to call in that initial decision last month.

Vishal Vichare was one of those supporters who attended. He asked the Cabinet: “Why has the council relied solely on financial value when it will have been entitled to balance social value against financial value?”

Councillor Mohammed Jamil (Lab), the Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Governance, replied directly: “As part of the bidding process, social value was taken into account and officers from our property board came up with the decision that they did in the manner that they did.”

John Howard, the Conservative councillor for Hargate & Hempsted was invited to address the Cabinet on the matter on behalf of his party leader, Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald.

Cllr Howard sought assurance from Cabinet that the needs of the 13,500 Hindus from across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire who currently use the New England Complex would be accommodated before the new owners took over the complex: “It would be really unforgivable to ask one body to remove another body when it’s a long-standing tenant,” he said, adding “We have a moral obligation, I feel, to make sure that move happens first.”

When eventually asked for a show of hands, the Cabinet agreed to the recommendation to authorise the disposal of the Council’s freehold interest in the New England Complex “with the benefit of the additional and original detail to the preferred bidder”, subject to “appropriate transitional provisions for existing tenants.”

At this point, supporters of Bharat Hindu Samaj left the council’s Sand Martin House HQ, en-masse.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service following the meeting’s conclusion, Cllr Jamil said: “I fully understand their disappointment,” he said,”but let’s turn this disappointment into something where we can work together.

“The council has offered its services to working with the [Hindu] community to find another building. We will work with them and I’m sure we will be able to accommodate them.”

Danniella Westbrook has been on a journey to rebuild her face and confidence after her tumultuous history with substance abuse.

The actress, 52, became hooked on drugs at 14 after shooting to fame as Sam Mitchell in the BBC One soap EastEnders.

At the height of her addiction, it was reported she would take up to five grams of cocaine a day, blowing close to £250,000 on the drug.

Years of substance abuse caused severe facial damage, including the collapse of her nose after her septum deteriorated.

On Tuesday, Danniella, who is now sober, revealed she had gone under the knife once again as part of her ongoing bid to rebuild her face.

From reconstructive operations to cosmetic tweaks, the TV star has never shied away from sharing the full extent of her surgeries with fans. 

Danniella Westbrook has been on a journey to rebuild her face and confidence after her tumultuous history with substance abuse (left, in 1985; right, this week) 

On Tuesday, Danniella, who is now sober, revealed she had gone under the knife once again as part of her ongoing bid to rebuild her face

From reconstructive operations to cosmetic tweaks, the TV star has shared the full extent of her surgeries with fans (pictured in an Instagram post last year)

The actress, 52, became hooked on drugs at 14 after shooting to fame as Sam Mitchell in the BBC One soap EastEnders (pictured 2023)

Earlier this week, Daniella underwent the knife for a full face, neck and brow lift in addition to a lip and nose reconstruction.

New pictures showed her wearing a hospital gown in her room before going for the surgeries. 

A full recovery from a face, neck and chin lift can take up to nine months.

The surgery was performed by Danniella’s trusted Surgeon Dr Parviz Sadigh, who has carried out operations on her in the past.

In an Instagram post shared last month, Danniella said: ‘A massive amount of love and respect to my Amazing surgeon @parvizsadigh for all his hard work.

‘Everyday I grow and glow xxxx thank you and roll on Feb for the next operation.’

Her latest operation is just one of many interventions she has had over the years. 

The soap star previously revealed she nearly died following a botched surgical procedure in 2015.

She suffered from severe facial bone degradation, which she attributes to osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to become weak and brittle.

From reconstructive operations to cosmetic tweaks, the TV star has never shied away from sharing the full extent of her surgeries with fans (pictured last  year)

Danniella was left with screws for teeth as her cheekbones ‘wasted away,’ and revealed she now wears a whole denture that sits on the roof of her mouth.

In 2018, she told The Mirror: ‘They need to take a piece of bone out of my skull and put a plate into my face but they’ve got nothing to stick the plate on at the minute because the bone’s not strong enough.’

While she was appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, she was rushed out of the house for emergency surgery on her teeth.

‘The bone hadn’t closed around the screws so they took me out of the house three times to a dentist, which they’re not meant to, because the pain was so bad,’ she said.

She ended up staying in hospital for seven weeks, during which she developed septicaemia.

‘I did nearly die, I had two lots of IV drips in each side and then they took all my teeth out again and gave me this denture which has broken my heart because I didn’t need all of my teeth out in the first place,’ she explained.

In 2022, the star revealed her desire to have her rib placed into her cheek to help reconstruct her face. 

‘I hate the way I look. I’m constantly made fun of, and trolled for it,’ she told The Sun.

‘People message me, saying: “You’re so ugly, you’re a junkie, you should just go and kill yourself.”

Danniella first appeared in EastEnders in 1990 at the age of 16 but her septum collapsed from excessive drug use in 2002 (pictured left 2009, right in 2018)  

Danniella continued: ‘I’ve got to a point where looking like this upsets me, so I’m going to make a change — not because of what others think but so I can be happy with the way I am.’

She also noted at the time that it would help her breathing and sinus issues.

In 2023, Danniella had a thread lift, liposuction into her cheeks and lips, and fat grafting on her chin and jawline in Turkey.

In gruesome surgery photos, the actress is bloodied and bruised in her hospital bed and said when she first woke up, she looked ‘like she had done 10 rounds with Tyson Fury’.

Danniella said she has wanted to have the reconstruction done for the last seven years, but was unable to find a surgeon who would operate because her septum had completely collapsed.

She told The Sun: ‘I was very fearful. My mum and my son Kai were on the phone constantly – I wrote up a will before I left and my son is the executor of that.

‘But luckily I’m still here and I’ve come through the other side. Someone is looking over me. I looked like I’d gone 10 rounds with Tyson Fury.

‘But the swelling has actually gone down really quickly. I’m already happy with the results.’

In 2023, Danniella had a thread lift, liposuction into her cheeks and lips and fat grafting on her chin and jawline in Turkey

Danniella said she paid for the surgery all herself despite being offered freebies from clinics all over the world, after a health scare the year before left her in intensive care because she struggled to breathe through her nose.

She previously revealed she needed five operations to correct her ‘collapsing’ face due to a previous cocaine addiction and osteoporosis, and was planning to have it done on the NHS.

She previously told The Sun in 2023: ‘I’ve spent the last seven years trying to get somebody to do it, but they said no in case it failed and they got struck off.

‘Plastic surgeons wanted £500,000 to change my face, so I thought I was never going to get it done. It was only because I went into intensive care before Christmas.

‘I couldn’t breathe because I had a cold. There was a build up of fluid and after I fell asleep I couldn’t wake up properly and ended up in ICU.

‘I was sent over to Aintree Hospital in Liverpool and it’s only because I was put in front of the right doctors, or else I’d still be waiting now to find someone. They’re doing it for me under the NHS now.’

However, just months after the surgery, the actress shared her regret over her fifth facial reconstruction in Turkey, which left her in agony.

Danniella, who cannot take pain relief medication due to her past cocaine addiction, because it contains codeine, said she woke up in agony and was left fearing for her life. 

She told OK!: ‘I had a surgical thread lift where they put over 1,200 threads into my face. They were also supposed to reconstruct my nose, which is what I went there for, but they haven’t done that.

Danniella is certainly no stranger to a boob job, having admitted to undergoing at least seven in the past (pictured in 2003)

The star said she was going back to her surgeon in Liverpool to get her nose fixed – saying they will rebuild all the bridge in her mouth and build up the front of her nose.

She said: ‘They’ve taken the fat out of my back, my sides and my stomach, and put it into my face to make it more symmetrical. But I feel like they’ve taken too much fat from my stomach. I’ve always had a six-pack, and I’ve woken up, and I’ve lost it.

‘I also have big lumps of fluid all over my belly. They’re like big tennis balls. It’s ruined my body. It’s going to take a lot of work to get it back to how I was. I’m 50 this year, and I wanted to be in the best shape ever.’

In June 2025, the actress revealed she’s finally getting her face rebuilt as she headed into ‘very long’ surgery after it was reported that she hated the result of her previous facial reconstructive surgery.

Taking to Instagram, she shared an image of herself clad in a hospital gown, noting that it was a ‘big day’ for her as she prepared to go under the knife once again.

She penned: ‘Big day for me heading down for a very long surgery right now to rebuild my face. Then I can get back to work and we can get on with our life together @chasarealtal. I love you x.’

Danniella is also no stranger to a boob job, having admitted to undergoing at least seven in the past.

Appearing on Channel 5’s Celebrity Botched Up Bodies, she told how she went from a 34B to a 34D, and up again to a 34DD.

The actress said she ignored her surgeon’s warnings when she asked him to boost her bust, as she wanted ‘huge footballs’.

The actress said she ignored her surgeon’s warnings when she asked him to boost her bust, as she wanted ‘huge footballs’ (pictured 2022)

‘He said this isn’t going to look right, you’re too small, your body frame’s not right… but I didn’t care, I literally begged him to do it,’ she explained. 

‘I went huge like footballs, I thought they were great.’ 

In 2018, Danniella disclosed that she’s had surgery she never needed, including liposuction on her knees.

‘I’ve had cosmetic surgery I haven’t needed, including seven boob jobs, an eye lift, a face lift, Botox and liposuction on my knees,’ she told The Sun.

‘I’d like to say that I wouldn’t have plastic surgery again in the future, but I probably would,’ she added.

Danniella’s latest surgery comes after she was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties in December.

She was due on set for her new movie role Tales From The Trap but was then recast in the film amid health issues – which came after years of complications due to her collapsed septum.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail at the time, insiders revealed the star, who has not starred in a film or TV show since mid-2016, was forced to seek medical attention due to her respiratory struggles.

Danniella’s latest surgery comes after she was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties in December (pictured 2024)

Danniella last appeared on TV on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, where she reached the final, finishing in first place

Tales From The Trap, where she was set to star opposite Love Island star Liv Hawkins, marked Danniella’s return to the screen, having scooped the role of a gun-selling, gangster granny – yet she has been recast by Slow Horses star Kim Tiddy.

A source close to Danniella said in December: ‘Danniella was rushed into hospital on Friday with breathing difficulties which meant she had to pull out of filming Tales From The Trap…

‘She was due to make her movie comeback as a gangster granny selling AK47s to the gangsters. It’s really disappointing as I am sure everyone was looking forward to seeing her play that part.’

Danniella last appeared on TV on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, where she reached the final, finishing in first place.

She also competed on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2003, before going on to star on Dancing On Ice in 2010, and appearing on Channel 4’s Hollyoaks three years later.

At least nine people were killed and more than 25 were injured after one of the worst mass shootings in Canada’s history, which has left a small town in British Columbia reeling.

Authorities in Canada said the death toll in Tumbler Ridge, a town 600 miles north of Vancouver with a population of just 2,400, included the suspect. They were identified as a female with brown hair wearing a dress.

Eight of those found dead were at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, a school of around 175 students, with two other people discovered at a home nearby.

Investigators say they know the identity of the shooter, but RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd said they would not yet release a name. The motive of the attack remains unclear.

The mother of a 12-year-old victim, who was shot in the head and neck and is now in the hospital, has urged people to “please, please pray” for her daughter. “She was a lucky one, I suppose. This doesn’t even feel real.”

On Tuesday evening, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the shooting.

Local pastor extends sympathy to the family of shooter

Pastor George Rowe, who works at the Tumbler Ridge Fellowship Church, told CBC News Wednesday that the family of the suspected shooter will need support as well and extended thoughts and prayers to them.

“The family of the person who committed this atrocity will also be going through a very, very difficult time and we need to remember them in our thoughts and prayers as well,” Rowe said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have not publicly identified a suspect in the shooting yet.

Ariana Baio11 February 2026 14:50

Mayor of Tumbler Ridge to give update on CBC News

Darryl Krakowka, the mayor of Tumbler Ridge, will appear on CBC News Network soon to provide an update after the devastating shooting.

Ariana Baio11 February 2026 14:46

California Governor says they stand in solidarity with British Columbia

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that the people of his state “stand with our neighbors in Canada in grief and solidarity” after nine people were fatally shot in a school shooting.

“Heartbroken by this horrific school shooting in British Columbia,” Newsom wrote on X.

“No community should endure this kind of violence.”

Ariana Baio11 February 2026 14:30

Police still working to determine motive

According to Supt Ken Floyd, North District Commander, police have identified the shooter but are still working to determine the motive.

The weapons used by the shooter have also not been revealed yet.

The police have not made the identities of the 9 victims public.

“For privacy reasons and obviously for the conduct of the investigation, we’re not releasing that information at this time,” Floyd told a press conference on Tuesday evening.

He also did not mention if the shooter was connected to the school or the home where the victims were found.

Alex Croft11 February 2026 14:11

‘I’ve seen them grow up’ councillor says of victims

A town councillor in Tumbler Ridge whose wife was held in lockdown in Tumbler Ridge school has been speaking to the press.

His wife was among those held in lockdown yesterday, he told The National.

“I’ve seen them grow up,” he said.

“We sang stories together, we read books together… I saw them everywhere. And knowing that I can’t see them anymore, that we won’t see them anymore, that their family has to live with this incredible loss… is almost unbearable.”

He added: “We’ve always come together, to stand together, to survive and I hope we can fall back on that experience”.

Alex Croft11 February 2026 13:45

What we know about Canada school shooting suspect after police identify ‘brown-haired female in a dress’

At least nine people have been killed in a school shooting in a picturesque, isolated town in Western Canada.

Reports from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police say that the suspect, initially described as a “female in a dress with brown hair,” has also been found dead after opening fire at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia on Tuesday afternoon.

The school has around 160 to 175 students, according to the district, and is considered the heart of the local community, which itself sits at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Here’s everything we know:

Alex Croft11 February 2026 13:19

Canadian Olympic team is ‘heartbroken’ by deadly school shooting in British Columbia

The Canadian Olympic Committee said it is “heartbroken” by a school shooting in British Columbia that left at least seven people dead and many others wounded.

Team Canada issued a statement at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Wednesday, the morning after the deadly shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

“We are heartbroken by the news of the horrific school shooting that occurred in British Columbia. Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones, those who are injured, and the entire Tumbler Ridge community.

“Team Canada stands with everyone affected as they navigate difficult days ahead,” the statement said.

Alex Croft11 February 2026 12:58

What are the worst mass killings in Canada’s history?

The shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, is one of the deadliest mass casualty events in recent Canadian history.

Mass shootings are not common in Canada, far less so than in the United States.

Below are some of Canada’s biggest mass killing incidents:

April 2025, Vancouver, British Colombia: Eleven people were killed and dozens injured when a man with a history of mental health issues rammed an SUV through a crowd at a Filipino community festival.

September 2022, Weldon, Saskatchewan: A stabbing spree left 10 people dead and injured 18 others, spanning 13 sites across the two tiny communities of James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon in rural Saskatchewan.

April 2020, Portapique, Nova Scotia: A gunman, who at one point masqueraded as a police officer, killed at least 16 people in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia during a 12-hour rampage, in the country’s worst modern-era mass shooting.

July 2018, Toronto, Ontario: A man walked down a busy Toronto street, shooting randomly into restaurants. He killed two people and wounded 13 before turning his gun on himself.

January 2017, Quebec City, Quebec: A man opened fire during evening prayers at a mosque, killing six people and wounding five. Twelve others were treated for minor injuries.

Alex Croft11 February 2026 12:16

Pictured: Tumbler Ridge School in British Colombia, where eight were found dead

Alex Croft11 February 2026 12:09

Student describes ‘surreal’ moment when shooting took place at school

A student at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School told CBC News that the community should “hold each other close”.

At least nine were killed – including six at the secondary school – in a mass shooting at multiple locations in Tumbler Ridge on Tuesday.

“The reality of it all is starting to set in,” Darian Quist, a Grade 12 student, said.

He said the situation is “almost surreal”.

“It felt like I was somewhere that I had only seen across a TV.”

Alex Croft11 February 2026 11:33

Colorado author Peter Heller’s debut novel “The Dog Stars” is getting a major Hollywood adaptation that will bring the 2012 book to movie theaters this summer.

And Heller, the New York Times bestselling author of multiple Colorado-set stories of nature and humanity in crisis, is fully along for the ride.

Budgeted at $110 million, the film version of “The Dog Stars” is driven by Academy Award-winning director Ridley Scott (“Blade Runner,” “Napoleon”), Oscar winner Guy Pearce (“The Brutalist”), Oscar-nominated actor Jacob Elordi (“Frankenstein”), Oscar-nominee Josh Brolin (“Weapons”), Margaret Qualley (“The Substance”), and Benedict Wong (“Avengers: Doomsday”).

All signed on to realize Heller’s wide-ranging novel thanks to Scott’s involvement in the film, which 20th Century Pictures will release on Aug. 28. “The Dog Stars” traces Colorado pilot Hig’s post-apocalyptic journey with his dog, Jasper, after he receives a mysterious transmission at the abandoned Erie airstrip where he lives.

Heller, a New York Times bestselling author who’s written titles such as “Burn,” “The Orchard,” and “The Painter,” has enjoyed national recognition over the last decade-plus, particularly as his work has been vaunted in Oprah’s Book Club and other national media.

Heller embarked on his own epic journey while visiting the movie set outside Rome, spending time with most of the cast and crew. After flying to Italy in July, he was welcomed warmly by the 200-strong production crew and cast, he said, all of whom had either read the book in English or its Italian translation. That was thanks to Scott stocking their hotel lobbies with hundreds of copies of “The Dog Stars.”

“It was all of the crew, even the animal handlers,” Heller said over the phone from Mexico, where he lives and surfs when not residing in Colorado. “I was there a whole three days when Guy Pearce came out of his trailer and grabbed me and said, ‘I loved the book! Great to meet you.’ And he had just gotten an Academy Award! Same (reaction) with Jacob Elordi (who plays protagonist Hig). Same with the costume designer, Janty Yates, who has three Oscars.”

Heller shares these stories not to boast, he said, but to underline what an unusual experience it was for an author. Many writers are kept at arm’s length when their work is being adapted into a narrative feature or series; one of the reasons is the author’s hypersensitivity to plot, character or setting changes (in other words: their preciousness about hewing to the book).

But that can slow or complicate a production, if not anger the director and producers. In this case, Heller is an executive producer on the film, so that helped. He also made peace with the adaptation process before he ever visited the set.

“I don’t expect it to be rendered perfectly as a book on the screen. I’m just really honored and excited that another great artist is inspired to craft a new and discrete work of art,” he said. “A lot of writers don’t go into it with that approach, but I saved myself a lot of heartache that way. It’s angst-free.”

The movie’s casting details have been lighting up trade magazines such as Variety and Deadline since 2024, but only recently has it gained wider attention as the studio preps a marketing blitz. No production or photos or details have leaked yet, making its look a closely guarded secret. The lead role has shifted since it was optioned back in 2018, first with Channing Tatum attached, then Paul Mescal, who recently worked with director Scott in “Gladiator II.”

Nabbing British actor Elordi, who’s nominated this year for Best Supporting Actor in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” wasn’t the only big-name coup (Heller said he and Elordi bonded over film history and got along famously). In fact, the screenplay for “The Dog Stars” was written by Mark L. Smith (“The Revenant,” “Twisters”), who has written blockbusters while winning critical acclaim over the last decade.

Heller recalls being phoned by Smith about three years ago to praise the novel and secure permission to adapt it. Smith grew up on a 200-acre dude ranch in Colorado and fully understood the tone of the novel’s setting.

“I loved ‘The Revenant’ because the landscape is a major character, and it’s that way in a lot of my books, too,” Heller said. “So I said, ‘Of course, I’d be honored if you take a crack at it.’ And he wrote the screenplay in three months.”

Given Smith’s reputation — “The Revenant” was nominated for 12 Oscars and ended up winning three in 2016 — the completed screenplay quickly found its way to Scott, who signed on and secured the $100 million-plus budget, Heller said.

For various reasons, Scott chose to film in Italy as a stand-in for Colorado. When visiting the sets, Heller was impressed by the contrast between the scope of the production and its intimate artistry. Pivotal scenes at the abandoned airstrip, set in Erie, were shot in the Dolemite Mountains. For three days during Heller’s visit, a provincial park an hour and a half north of Rome doubled as the Uncompahgre Plateau in Western Colorado.

A snowy winter means less driving and more riding for local snowmobile enthusiasts. 

This year’s record-breaking amount of snow in Waterloo region is prompting more snowmobilers to stay closer to home, while boosting business for local restaurants near snowmobile trails.

Mike Isenberg, president of Kitchener-based social media account and e-commerce platform Sledaddicz, says the snowfall has allowed him to snowmobile on local trails much earlier than usual.

“My first ride was actually in mid-December, I think it was Dec. 13, which is unheard of. I’ve never ridden around home that close to home in years. And that’s what the early snowfall awards us,” he said.

He said trails in southern Ontario aren’t typically open until January.

“Maybe if we’re lucky, it’ll be, you know, first, second week of January,” he said.

The extra month has expanded what Isenberg describes as a short window of opportunity to go snowmobiling.

It also allowed the Ontario trail network to open earlier than previous years, allowing snowmobilers to travel all over Ontario.

“Ontario has a massive network of 30,000 plus kilometers of trail and, you know, the more snowfall that accumulates around Ontario, the less people have to travel to specific areas of Ontario to actually go snowmobiling,” he said.

He added the sport is a big draw for tourism, a “huge driver for the economy” and benefits many local businesses.

“The harder the winter that we have as far as snowfall, the better off it is for snowmobilers again who are excited and are going to be out there using our trail system, having fun, enjoying themselves, as well as for the businesses and communities and townships that it supports.”

‘Boost’ to business

Along the local network of trails are restaurants that thrive off the localized snowmobiling.

Tobey Deys, the general manager of Joanie’s Neighbourhood Restaurant near Belwood, says the restaurant first opened last year in April. At first, they were unsure about how business would be in the winter. 

“We were a little, you know, reticent to opening in the winter or not because the history of this place. Generally, over the years, they would close in the winter time simply because they just felt there wasn’t enough business,” she said. “It’s hard to kind of keep it going in the winter.”

Before the restaurant was bought by new owners, it was previously known as Belwood Super Snax.

This year, Deys says the wintry weather has brought a “boost to the business.” 

“We’ve discovered that on the weekends, especially with all this snow, the snowmobilers are so excited. A lot of the trails around here are open. And so, on the weekends, particularly the last three weekends, well, since we’ve had this big dump of snow, we have been busy right up until, you know, 4:00 in the afternoon,” she said.

During the week, she says the restaurant sees 20 to 25 guests come through in a day, but the number of guests triples on the weekends.

Another restaurant near Elora has noticed the impact of this year’s snow, too. Michelle Forster, front of house manager at Gorge Country Kitchen, says they’ve seen a lot of snowmobilers this year.

“The snowmobilers, they’re great to have come in. They just add that little bit of extra, you know, especially in the slow months because we’re in a tourist town,” Forster said.

She says January and February tend to be slower months and the large amounts of snow this year have helped. 

Excitement ‘huge right now’

Ontario Snowmobile Safety Week runs this week, Feb. 9 to 16, and police are reminding riders to follow rules like carrying a valid driver’s licence or motorized snow vehicle operator’s licence, proof of insurance, wear proper helmets and the stay on approved trails.

Isenberg says snowmobiling is a huge sport in Ontario and this year there’s been a lot of people hoping for a “good, strong, long winter.”

For people who may be trying it for the first time, Isenberg says they should hit the trails with someone more seasoned to learn trail etiquette and “be very safe, obviously. Safety is number one.”

Isenberg says online content includes information about where snowmobilers can travel across both Ontario and Quebec.

He says he’s noticed a massive increase in his business this season and more people have been joining their social media feeds and sharing their own experiences, which is a sign the sport is growing.

“The excitement across the community is huge right now,” Isenberg said.

Lu Teng approaches the living room window where his baby boy would peer out, looking for any sign of his father waving back.

Now when Lu returns from work, his boy — named Luca, which means brightness — isn’t there anymore.

“I used to trust them with everything,” he said of the health-care system, “but right now in my mind, I think they killed Luca.

“It’s not a certain person — the whole system, the hospital.”

Lu took his six-month-old son to Winnipeg’s Children’s Hospital in mid-January, believing the emergency department was the right place to help his child. Ten hours later, his baby was taken into surgery and died.

Luca waited for hours at the Children’s Hospital after an X-ray appeared to show a hole in his esophagus.

However, health officials told the family the response was timely based on what they knew about the boy’s condition.

Luca was born last July with esophageal atresia, a condition in which the esophagus and stomach aren’t connected.

He had complex but successful surgery two days after his birth, and returned to hospital Jan. 12 for what had become a routine procedure, a dilation, which stretched out the narrow areas of his esophagus to make it easier to swallow food.

Luca endured this procedure seven times before, but this one was different: while being fed afterward, he started choking, his father said.

“I told the nurse, ‘This is uncommon,'” he said.

But his son was still discharged.

Rushed back to hospital

Luca returned home, was fed again and the problems continued. He wouldn’t stop coughing. He had no bowel movements.

Something was amiss, his parents thought, and Luca was rushed back to the Children’s Hospital around 6 p.m.

After 30 minutes, Lu said he asked medical staff if he could feed Luca again and was granted permission.

After one hour, Luca had an X-ray taken that appeared to show a hole in his esophagus, likely caused by a dilation, a doctor later told the family.

A pediatric surgeon not involved in Luca’s care said a rupture is the main risk with dilation.

Often the hole repairs itself, said Dr. Sherif Emil, who practices at Montreal Children’s Hospital, but sometimes it doesn’t.

“Saliva is leaking into the chest. The child can become very unstable and may need emergency surgery.”

Lu said he wasn’t alarmed by the perforation, because his son was already at the hospital, though he expressed concern to staff as the hours slipped away and his son, still in the emergency department, kept crying.

Nurses repeatedly entered the room to silence the heart rate monitor, sometimes hitting 200 beats per minute, as its alarm went off, the father said.

Lu’s mother worked as a health-care aide in China and visited Canada on a visitor’s visa to take care of Luca.

“She kept telling me the vital is not good. Let doctor know that,” he said, but he told his mom not to worry — Luca spent the first four months of his life under the care of this hospital.

“Everyone is going to try everything to help him,” he remembers saying.

However, Lu’s confidence wavered around 4 a.m., when Luca was suddenly whisked into surgery and tubes were inserted into his chest.

Sometime later, a surgeon asked Lu if he could open Luca’s chest in a last-ditch effort to save his life. Luca didn’t survive the surgery.

“His mom almost fall down to the floor, and I have to hold my wife, my mom,” he said of the moment he learned he’d leave the hospital without his only child.

“I cry, but I have no strength to say anything.”

Tormented by guilt

Lu says he feels numb, and he’s racked with guilt for trusting the hospital, for bringing his family to Canada three years ago, for dismissing his father-in-law’s suggestion months earlier that Luca be sent to China to ensure proper medical care, and for telling his wife to go home that last night so she would be rested to take care of Luca the next day while he worked.

He feels the blame from members of his family and himself.

“For my 32 years of life, I always think emergency is a place you send the patient in, they take care of it immediately,” he said.

But at the Children’s Hospital, they “let us wait.”

The tragedy is at least the third death in three months of a patient at a Winnipeg hospital following what family say was too long a wait for care. Each death is being investigated as a critical incident, the province confirmed.

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives are calling for a public inquiry into the deaths. Critical incident reviews are internal and there’s no accountability to the public, health critic Kathleen Cook said.

“This family deserves answers about what specifically happened to their son, and Manitobans deserve answers about what’s happening in our emergency rooms and why people are dying waiting for care,” she said.

Median wait times at Winnipeg hospitals and urgent care centres hit 4.1 hours in December 2025, the longest wait in 10-plus years, according to Winnipeg Regional Health Authority monthly data.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara deflected the Tory call for a public inquiry, saying a critical incident review is thorough enough to uncover what happened and determine if any lessons need to be learned.

The minister said they were informed Luca received care in a “timely and appropriate manner,” but won’t dispute the experience of the family, who feel differently.

“I think it’s really important for us to not doubt families or question families. Our job is to listen, understand and get them the answers that they need,” Asagwara said.

Luca’s father and mother met with health officials on Monday.

The family said officials told them they followed protocol for a baby presenting with a hole in the esophagus, given that the tear often heals on its own. They gave Luca antibiotics and opted for surgery once they realized he was struggling to breathe.

The family was also told hospital staff wanted to admit Luca to another ward earlier in the night, but no beds were available.

Many of the family’s other questions cannot be answered until the critical incident review and autopsy are complete, Lu said.

Luca was also born with patent ductus arteriosus, a hole between the pulmonary artery and aorta in his heart, but Lu was previously told he didn’t have to worry about it.

The meeting with hospital officials didn’t cushion his pain, he said, and he still says medical staff didn’t act quickly enough, pointing to the continuous beeping of the heart rate monitor as one example.

On a recent morning, memories of Luca are everywhere at the family’s Transcona apartment — from unused diapers to the play mat he spent hours on — but pictures of him and most of his clothes are packed away, as his parents cannot bear the reminders.

Luca’s mother, Yaqi Zhang, falls to her knees beside her son’s crib, where his favourite toys and the last outfit he wore are carefully laid out.

“I take many pictures and videos [of Luca] every day, but the last day, I have nothing,” she says, sobbing.

Lu says his wife and mother sometimes look out the window when he returns from work, but not always.

There are memories he doesn’t want to dim.

He remembers Luca tilting his head so he could gently rub it, or Luca rubbing one of his ears, a habit he learned from his dad.

“After he was born,” Lu said, wiping tears from his eyes, “he gave me everything.”

WATCH | Grieving parents say toddler waited too long for care:

Parents question care after 6-month-old dies in hospital

The parents of Luca Teng are searching for answers after a routine dilation for their six-month-old son turned tragic. Family says hospital staff didn’t rush him into surgery fast enough, but health officials say they followed protocols.