TORONTO — The Toronto real estate market is booming again after a long time: home sales in the GTA increased 10.9% in July compared to the previous year, with 6,100 properties transferred, the highest number of transactions recorded in the same month since 2021. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) stated that sales also increased 13% compared to June on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, as increased affordability, driven by lower prices and financing costs, is starting to translate into increased home sales. →
TORONTO – The air quality alert for the Greater Toronto Area has been lifted after being in effect over the long weekend. As can be seen from the real-time data on Environment Canada’s website (here), the situation — while we write, at 1.30 pm of August 5, 2025 — has improved somewhat, and the AQHI (Air Quality Health Index) has risen in the last few hours from 6 (moderate risk) to 5, 4, and then 3 (low risk) at 11 a.m. this morning. →
TORONTO – Toronto’s air quality continues to hold a grim record: it is among the worst in the world, according to the Swiss air quality monitoring institute IQAir, which conducts real-time air quality monitoring and can be consulted here. At 8:50 a.m. this morning, Toronto was the second most polluted city in the world; by midday, the city had dropped, but remained in the top 10 most polluted cities, tied with Montreal. At that time, Canada was the only country in the world with two cities in the top ten for worst air quality and it still is while we are writing this article, at 1.30 pm of August 4, 2025. →
ROME – Like a rock star, more than a rock star: Pope Leo XIV gathers an oceanic crowd of young people from every corner of the planet and, without “ifs” or “buts” (unlike other… rock “colleagues”), takes a clear, unequivocal position: “We are closer than ever to young people who suffer the most serious evils which are caused by other human beings. We are with the young people of Gaza. We are with the young people of Ukraine, with those of every land bloodied by war…”. →
TORONTO – Italy might yet have another highly influential horror filmmaker on their hands, and his name is Paolo Strippoli. Much like in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, when Argento’s and Bava’s “Giallo” films introduced stylish visuals, graphic violence and suspenseful narratives to the genre, Strippoli’s most recent (A Classic Horror Story & Piove) and next two films (The Holy Boy & The Spiral) feel positively reminiscent.
