A ship with hundreds of tons of food aid for Gaza nears an Israeli port after leaving Cyprus
The Panamanian-flagged vessel is loaded with 52 containers carrying food aid such as pasta, rice, baby food and canned goods. Israeli customs officials had screened the aid at the Cypriot port of Limassol from where the ship departed on Monday.
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Toronto Sun
27 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
This Swedish church is moving 3 miles down the road. It's relocating before a mine swallows the town
Published Aug 19, 2025 • 4 minute read On a specially designed trolley with 224 wheels, Kiruna Church is being moved at a speed of half a kilometre per hour, in Kiruna, Sweden, Tuesday Aug. 19, 2025. Photo by Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency via AP / AP KIRUNA, Sweden — How do you move one of Sweden's most beloved wooden churches down the road? With a little bit of engineering, a lot of prayer — and some Eurovision for good luck. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The Kiruna Church — called Kiruna Kyrka in Swedish — and its belfry are being moved this week along a 5-kilometre route east to a new city centre as part of the town's relocation. It's happening because the world's largest underground iron-ore mine is threatening to swallow the town. This week, thousands of visitors have descended upon Kiruna, Sweden's northernmost town at 200 kilometres above the Arctic Circle. It's home to roughly 23,000 inhabitants, including members of the Sami Indigenous people, spread over nearly 19,500 square kilometres (7,528 square feet). Lena Tjärnberg, the church's vicar, kicked off the move with a blessing Tuesday morning. The journey is scheduled to end Wednesday afternoon. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Construction workers and media stand near the Kiruna Church, a Sami style wooden Swedish Lutheran church, called Kiruna Kyrka in Swedish, in Kiruna, Sweden, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, a day before it will be moved along a 5-kilometre route east to a new city center as part of the town's relocation. Photo by Malin Haarala / AP Photo In 2001, the Swedish people voted the wooden church the 'best building of all time, built before 1950' in a poll connected to the Ministry of Culture. Built on a hill so worshippers could overlook the rest of Kiruna, the Swedish Lutheran church was designed to emulate the Sami style as a gift from LKAB, the state-owned mining company. The Kiruna mine itself dates back to 1910 and the church was completed in 1912. Its neo-Gothic exterior is considered the town's most distinctive building and tourists regularly travelled there before it was closed a year ago to prepare for the relocation. It's set to reopen in the new location at the end of 2026. Tjärnberg said the final service in the old spot was bittersweet. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The last day you go down the stairs and close the church door, you know it's going to be several years before you can open it _ and in a new place,' she said. 'We don't know how it's going to feel to open the door.' The spectacle This week's move has turned into a two-day highly choreographed media spectacle, run by LKAB and featuring an appearance by Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf. Musical performances will include a set from KAJ, Sweden's 2025 Eurovision entry that was the bookies' favorite to win this year's contest but lost out to classically trained countertenor JJ of Austria. SVT, Sweden's national broadcaster, is capitalizing on the showcase and is livestreaming the move both days, billing it as 'The Great Church Walk' to play off its success with the spring showing of 'The Great Moose Migration' that has enthralled millions of viewers annually since 2019. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Known for both the Midnight Sun and the Northern Lights, Kiruna and the surrounding area is a major draw year-round for visitors to Swedish Lapland. The region also features the Aurora Sky Station, the Icehotel and Kebnekaise, the Nordic country's highest mountain. British tourists Anita and Don Haymes had already trekked to Kiruna twice before this year's trip. When they heard about the church's move, they changed their itinerary to ensure they'd be here for it. They took photographs of it propped up on beams and wheels this week before the move. 'It's an amazing feat that they are doing,' Anita Haymes said Sunday. 'It'll be interesting to see it moving, unbelievable.' But not everyone is thrilled about LKAB's extravaganza. Lars-Marcus Kuhmunen, chairman of one of the Sami reindeer herding organizations in Kiruna, said LKAB's plans for a new mine could threaten reindeer migration routes and imperil the livelihood of herders in the area. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The move of Kiruna's town centre, including the church, has been in the works since 2004. As the mine expanded deeper underground, residents began seeing cracks in buildings and roads. In order to reach a new depth of 1,365 metres (4,478 feet) — and to prevent Kiruna from being swallowed up — officials began moving buildings to a new downtown at a safe distance from the mine. As of July, 25 buildings had been lifted up onto beams and wheeled east. Sixteen, including the church, remain. At approximately 40 metres (131 feet) wide with a weight of 672 metric tons (741 tons), the church required extra effort. Engineers widened a major road from 9 metres to 24 metres (30 to 79 feet) and dismantled a viaduct to make way for a new intersection. A driver, using a large control box, is piloting the church through the route as it travels roughly 12 hours over Tuesday and Wednesday — with a pause each day for fika, the traditional Swedish afternoon coffee break. It's expected to move at a varying pace between 0.5 and 1.5 kilometres per hour. Stefan Holmblad Johansson, LKAB's project manager for the move, would not say how much it has cost the mining company. — Associated Press journalist Pietro De Cristofaro in Kiruna, Sweden, contributed to this report. Sunshine Girls Toronto Blue Jays Canada Sunshine Girls Money News
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
A Gaza-bound ship that left Cyprus with 1,200 tons of food aid nears Israeli port
LIMASSOL, Cyprus (AP) — A ship that set off from Cyprus loaded with 1,200 tons of food supplies for the Gaza Strip is approaching the Israeli port of Ashdod on Tuesday in a renewed effort to alleviate the worsening crisis in the Palestinian territory, where food security experts say the 'worst-case scenario of famine' is unfolding. The Panamanian-flagged vessel is loaded with 52 containers carrying food aid such as pasta, rice, baby food and canned goods. Israeli customs officials had screened the aid at the Cypriot port of Limassol, from where the ship departed on Monday.
Toronto Star
6 hours ago
- Toronto Star
This Swedish church is moving 3 miles down the road. It's relocating before a mine swallows the town
KIRUNA, Sweden (AP) — How do you move one of Sweden's most beloved wooden churches down the road? With a little bit of engineering, a lot of prayer — and some Eurovision for good luck. The Kiruna Church — called Kiruna Kyrka in Swedish — and its belfry are being moved this week along a 5-kilometer (3-mile) route east to a new city center as part of the town's relocation. It's happening because the world's largest underground iron-ore mine is threatening to swallow the town.
