The Bank of Canada is holding its key interest rate at 0.25 per cent in response to what it calls the ``extremely uncertain'' economic outlook from the COVID-19 pandemic, and plans to keep it there until the picture improves.In its updated outlook, the bank expects the economy to contract by 7.8 per cent this year.The central bank's report pegs the annual inflation rate at 0.6 per cent this year, rising to 1.2 per cent in 2021 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.Its inflation target is 2 per cent, and the bank says it will maintain the current rate until that target is achieved.The forecasts come with a

A total of 59 office bearers of the Tonk unit of the Congress resigned on Tuesday, after the removal of Sachin Pilot as the Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress chief.Apart from them, Chunnilal Chadwas, the district Congress president of Pali, also resigned from his post. Explaining the reason behind this decision, Chadwas said he was "hurt by the undemocratic removal of Sachin Pilot as state unit chief".Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met Governor Kalraj Mishra, asking him to drop Pilot and his loyalists from the council of ministers in the state.Since the last c

There are 108,486 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 56,730 confirmed (including 5,633 deaths, 26,025 resolved) Ontario: 36,950 confirmed (including 2,723 deaths, 32,785 resolved) Alberta: 8,912 confirmed (including 163 deaths, 8,048 resolved) British Columbia: 3,128 confirmed (including 189 deaths, 2,730 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,066 confirmed (including 63 deaths, 1,000 resolved) Saskatchewan: 876 confirmed (including 15 deaths, 785 resolved) Manitoba: 319 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 318 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 262 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 258 resolved)

British Columbia's top doctor says she's pleased a travel ban between Canada and the United States has been extended but anyone seeing American licence plates north of the crossing should not be quick to judge. Dr. Bonnie Henry says some Canadians living in the US may be returning to care for family members and given the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases south of the border it's not surprising they're in BC. The border closure has been extended by another 30 days for a fourth time, to Aug. 21, but Henry says considerations may need to be made for students who contribute to research programs at uni

A man in suburban Detroit was given the wrong lottery ticket. But there was no mistake about the result: a $2 million winner.The Michigan Lottery said the man stopped at a gas station in Eastpointe, Michigan, to put air in a tire. He needed change for the air machine and also asked for a $10 Lucky 7's scratch-off ticket."The clerk handed me the $20 ticket by mistake. He offered to exchange it for me but something told me to keep it. I am sure glad I did!" the man said in a statement released Tuesday by the Lottery.The name of the 57 year old man wasn't released. He decided to take a lump sum o

Police say a 75 year old Coquitlam man has been charged following six allegations of historical sexual abuse involving three teenage boys and one young man. In a news release on Tuesday, the RCMP say their investigation began last December and resulted in Raymond Howard Gaglardi being charged with four counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual exploitation. The alleged offences took place between 1993 and 2007 at the accused's home, where police say therapy sessions were offered to young people who were met primarily through their parents at church. Police say Gaglardi has been associ

BC Finance Minister Carole James is forecasting the province will run up a 12.5 billion dollar deficit this fiscal year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That's a sharp reversal from the balanced budget James predicted before COVID-19 hit. She says the province has lost more than 230,000 jobs and seen a staggering decline in economic growth since February. That includes a 15.9 per cent drop in retail sales due to lockdowns ordered in March to flatten the curve of the pandemic that are now being gradually lifted.

A 30 year old man has been identified as the victim of Vancouver's latest homicide. Police say the body of Amin Shahin Shakur was found after 11 last night as officers responded to a call behind several small shops in south Vancouver (at Main Street and 48th Avenue.) A statement from police says Shakur does not have an extensive police history and there is no risk to the public. It's Vancouver's eighth slaying this year, with four of the homicides occurring in July, including a stabbing on Canada Day and a double murder in east Vancouver, although arrests have been made in those cases.

The national Conservative party says it has 269,469 members eligible to vote in the current leadership race.About 100,000 of those memberships were purchased since the start of the year, when the contest to replace current leader Andrew Scheer officially began.The party released the figures today and says it is the largest membership in party history.Tories say the largest growth in membership has come in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta.Conservatives use a points system to elect a leader — each riding gets 100 points, and how many points a candidate receives depend