Soon after taking the oath of office, the newly-sworn in Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said his government is standing with farmers and will appeal to the Centre to withdraw the three farm laws. In his first interaction with media after taking the oath, Chief Minister said he is representative of poor sections of society including daily wage labourers and farmers. "I am not the representative of rich. I am representative of common man of Punjab," he said. Channi also said his government will immediately waive the water and electricity bills of farmers. "Punjab government stand

A day after Punjab Congress in-charge Harish Rawat hinted that the party would fight the forthcoming Assembly polls under Navjot Singh Sidhu, former state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Monday raised objection to the statement and said the comments from Rawat were baffling. Jakhar, who was removed as Punjab Congress president to make way for Navjot Singh Sidhu in July, tweeted, "On the swearing-in day of Charanjit Channi as CM, Mr Rawats's statement that "elections will be fought under Sidhu", is baffling. It's likely to undermine CM's authority but also negate the very 'raison d'etre' of his

Congress MLA Charanjit Singh Channi took oath as Punjab's 16th Chief Minister on Monday.Channi a three-time MLA from Rupnagar's Chamkaur Sahib - will be Punjab's first Dalit Chief Minister.He has served as Technical Education Minister in the Captain Amarinder Singh government.According to the official website of the Punjab Government, Channi remained Municipal Councilor for three terms and moved on to become the President of Municipal Council Kharar for a two-term.He was elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Chamkaur Sahib Consistency for the first time in 2007.He was elected to the assembly

Surrey RCMP is asking public’s help to locate an 18-year-old woman, missing from Cloverdale. On September 17, 2021 at approximately 7:00 a.m. Sanjana Singh left her residence located in the area of 5500-block of 188A Street and has not been seen or heard from since. These actions are out of character for her. Sanjana Singh’s family and police are very concerned for her wellbeing.Sanjana Singh is described as an 18-year-old South Asian woman, 5’9", 145 lbs., long dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.

Shiromani Akali Dal leaders slammed the Central Government over new farm laws. "The government is not listening to farmers and instead, they are lathi-charged. They have left farmers to die. This government is not for the citizens of the country," said party leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal. "Shiromani Akali Dal promises that we will not allow black farm laws to be implemented in Punjab," said party president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

B.C. is reporting 768 new cases of COVID-19, including 19 epi-linked cases, for a total of 177,954 cases in the province.There are currently 6,031 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 169,653 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 298 individuals are in hospital and 135 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, 11 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,888.From Sept. 9-15, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 75.9% of cases and from Sept. 2-15 they accounted for 86.2% of ho

Residents across British Columbia are being advised to prepare a well-stocked emergency kit for what BC Hydro warns could be a stormy fall and winter made worse by the effects of a severe summer drought. The latest report from the Crown utility says record-breaking heat between June and August in many parts of the province killed trees or weakened their root systems. It says unstable trees, combined with predicted stormier La Nina weather conditions, create the potential for more power outages if they topple across power lines. BC Hydro says conditions heading into the fall mirror those in 20

Health Minister Adrian Dix says BC won't be taking any COVID-19 patients from Alberta as that province grapples with the highest number of cases in the country and braces for the possible collapse of its health-care system in just over a week. Dix says BC has its own pandemic demands but will try to help in other ways and maybe take patients in the future. Alberta has reintroduced restrictions on gatherings and elements of a vaccine passport. There have been massive cancellations of non-urgent surgery across Alberta as staff are reassigned to COVID care.

Environment Canada is forecasting extra wet and windy conditions for British Columbia's south coast today. It says in a weather warning that a robust frontal system will bring heavy rain and gusty winds that should ease tonight. The warning says 50 to 70 millimetres of rainfall is expected from eastern Vancouver Island to the Fraser Valley and up to Whistler, with potentially higher amounts over Howe Sound and the North Shore mountains. It warns heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads and says drivers should turn on their lights if visibility is reduced and maintain