5 things you absolutely must know today

Manitoba to loosen grip on small-scale booze producers

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, the monopoly that controls the sale of booze (and other things) in our province, will be reducing markups for small brewers allowing them to keep a higher percentage of sales revenue. “These changes mean small craft brewers can keep more of their sales revenue and we anticipate small craft producers will reinvest in their businesses, create exciting new job and tourism opportunities right here in Manitoba, where Canada’s heart beats,” minister of tourism, culture, heritage, sport, and consumer protection (this is a ridiculous title) Ron Lemieux told CBC News. The changes will come into effect in April of 2016. [Source: CBC]

UN unveils grim stats on those forced from their homes

The United Nations refugee agency is reporting that, “one in every 122 humans is today someone who has been forced to flee their homes.” This grim statistic includes 20.2-million refugees currently displaced, which, according to BBC, is the highest total since 1992. The agency said that the total amount of people displaced this year will exceed the previous record of 60 million. “Forced displacement is now profoundly affecting our times,” read a statement from UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres. “Never has there been a greater need for tolerance, compassion and solidarity with people who have lost everything. In effect, if you become a refugee today your chances of going home are lower than at any time in more than 30 years.” [Source: BBC]

Beijing issues second smog-related “red alert” in one month

Beijing has issued a smog-related “red alert” today, the second such warning this month. City officials warned residents that between Saturday and Tuesday a blanket of heavy pollution will cover Beijing. The “red alert,” the most extreme on the warning scale, will set in motion responses such as limited vehicle use and school closures. The warning earlier this month was the city’s first, prompting authorities, especially after Paris, to turn inward and reflect on the environmental toll decades of unquestioned growth has taken on China’s capital. [Source: Guardian]

Mother Teresa performs posthumous miracle, set to become saint

Mother Teresa has performed a second miracle 11 years after her death, said Pope Francis. This means Teresa has collected enough points to move from beatified to sainthood. Mother Teresa was beatified in 2003 for healing a woman’s tumour through what the pontiff at the time acknowledged as her first miracle. Full sainthood requires the performance of two miracles, apparently. The wife of a Brazilian man sought Teresa’s posthumous help in curing her husband’s brain infection. And it worked, according to Father Brian Kolodiejchiuk, who worked closely with the emergent saint. The official canonization is expected to take place in September of 2016. [Source: NBC]

No. 5 was too close to choose, so we’re adding both:

Netflix socks that pause the service when you fall asleep [Source: NYDailyNews]

And the BBC booze quiz to check your consumption against your country’s, the world’s [The Booze Calculator]

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