Today is a make-or-break moment for the EU’s 21st sanctions package targeting Russia.
After EU countries failed to agree on the ins and outs of the agreement last week, ambassadors are meeting again today in Brussels to finally clinch the deal. But can they hash out the remaining thorny issues?
Next: European Parliament is trying to reengage with China after a seven-year diplomatic freeze. But despite the defrosting of relations, it’s clear lawmakers are unsure of what their stance toward Beijing should be.
And finally, as Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” hits cinemas, a Hollywood culture war hits Greece.
Do you have a Hollywood trope about a specific European country that grinds your gears?
And for those intrigued about the new monkey species with Ian Wishart’s hairstyle found hiding in the DR Congo’s forests, you can read more here.
<img src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/an-spvm-police-officer.jpg?id=65259984&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C170%2C0%2C73"/><br/><br/><p>Nearly 1,000 <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/tag/montreal-crime" target="_blank">break-ins</a> have been reported across Montreal in the first two and a half months of 2026, and the data shows some neighbourhoods are being hit considerably harder than others.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/montreal-canadas-top-fugitive-arrested-spvm" target="_blank">Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM)</a> has recorded 994 break-and-enter incidents between January 1 and March 11, 2026, according to the latest data available through the city's Vue sur la sécurité publique interactive tool.</p><p>That works out to roughly 14 break-ins per day across the island — a slightly faster pace than what was <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/montreal-news-crime-breakins-2026" target="_blank">recorded in late January</a>, when the city was averaging about 13.5 incidents daily.</p><h2>Where break-ins are concentrated</h2><p>The <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNzZkOTc4ZjEtNTg5ZS00MzA2LTgxMzItMzAzZTNiN2I4MmE3IiwidCI6IjlmMTVkMmRjLTg3NTMtNGY4My1hYWMyLWE1ODI4OGQzYTRiYyJ9" target="_blank">SPVM's interactive crime mapping tool</a> shows that certain areas are seeing far more activity than others, and the pattern looks similar to what Montreal experienced throughout 2025.</p><p>The most striking cluster on the map sits in the Ville-Marie and Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve area, which accounts for the highest concentration of incidents on the island by a significant margin. The downtown core and surrounding east-end neighbourhoods continue to be the most targeted parts of the city.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="A map of break-ins in Montreal in 2026." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9a2c462fb5ff96e48f30650d7ca38394" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="5a7d8" loading="lazy" src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/a-map-of-break-ins-in-montreal-in-2026.png?id=65259971&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">A screenshot from the <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNzZkOTc4ZjEtNTg5ZS00MzA2LTgxMzItMzAzZTNiN2I4MmE3IiwidCI6IjlmMTVkMmRjLTg3NTMtNGY4My1hYWMyLWE1ODI4OGQzYTRiYyJ9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SPVM's interactive crime mapping tool</a>.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..."><a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNzZkOTc4ZjEtNTg5ZS00MzA2LTgxMzItMzAzZTNiN2I4MmE3IiwidCI6IjlmMTVkMmRjLTg3NTMtNGY4My1hYWMyLWE1ODI4OGQzYTRiYyJ9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SPVM</a></small></p><p>Montréal-Nord is also showing elevated numbers in the northeast, along with activity in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension corridor further west. Côte-des-Neiges and the area around Notre-Dame-de-Grâce are also appearing prominently in the data.</p><p>On the western end of the island, incident counts are considerably lower, though pockets of activity are still visible around Dollard-des-Ormeaux.</p><h2>What the pace suggests for 2026</h2><p>If the current rate holds through the rest of the year, Montreal could be on track for somewhere around 5,000 to 5,200 break-ins in 2026, which would actually represent a drop from <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/montreal-spvm-break-ins" target="_blank">2025's total</a> of 6,139.</p><p>That would be welcome news after two consecutive years of increases. For context, here's how break-and-enter incidents have trended in Montreal over the past decade:</p><ul> <li>2015: 9,947</li> <li>2016: 9,483</li> <li>2017: 8,816</li> <li>2018: 7,052</li> <li>2019: 6,715</li> <li>2020: 5,733</li> <li>2021: 4,809</li> <li>2022: 5,554</li> <li>2023: 6,048</li> <li>2024: 5,844</li> <li>2025: 6,139</li> </ul><p>It's worth noting that early-year projections can shift significantly as the warmer months arrive. In 2025, October was the single busiest month for break-ins, with 579 incidents recorded, and the summer months weren't far behind.</p><h2>Other crimes tracked so far in 2026</h2><p>Break-ins are one of several crime categories the SPVM tracks publicly. The Vue sur la sécurité publique tool also covers mischief, theft, and other offences, giving residents a broad picture of criminal activity across the city.</p><p>If you want to see how your specific street or neighbourhood is faring, the <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/montreal-potholes-tool-ayoye" target="_blank">interactive map</a> is available through the <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNzZkOTc4ZjEtNTg5ZS00MzA2LTgxMzItMzAzZTNiN2I4MmE3IiwidCI6IjlmMTVkMmRjLTg3NTMtNGY4My1hYWMyLWE1ODI4OGQzYTRiYyJ9" target="_blank">City of Montreal's website</a>, where you can filter by crime type and time period.</p>
In early February, Texas health officials reported that measles was spreading among an insular religious community in Gaines County, Texas, where nearly 14 percent of schoolchildren have an exemption (granted in some states for reasons of conscience, including for religious beliefs) from the required childhood vaccinations. The disease has since been detected in a bordering […]