Online predators are becoming increasingly resourceful in trolling media platforms where children gravitate, prompting an explosion in police case loads, said an officer who works for the RCMP Integrated Child Exploitation Unit in British Columbia. Data show the problem spiked during COVID-19 when children began spending more time online but rates did not wane as police anticipated after lockdowns ended. In B.C., they soared, almost quadrupling from 2021 to 2023. Const. Solana Pare is now warning exploitation of children is likely here to stay, as a technological race between police and preda

Jimmy Carter,the peanut farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, then rebounded from a landslide defeat to become a global advocate of human rights and democracy, has died.He was 100 years old. The Carter Center said the 39th president died Sunday,more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife,Rosalynn,who died in November 2023, lived most of their lives. A moderate Democrat,Carter ran for president in 1976as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad grin, effusive Baptist faith an

The Atlantic Liberal caucus is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign as party leader in a letter. The letter dated Dec. 23 was shared publicly today by New Brunswick MP Wayne Long, who has been saying since the fall that Trudeau should step down. Atlantic caucus chair and Nova Scotia MP Kody Blois penned the letter, saying the events following Chrystia Freeland's cabinet resignation, signals from the opposition parties to declare non-confidence at the first opportunity, and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats make it no longer "tenable" for Trudeau to continue to le

Alberta's opposition NDP leader, Naheed Nenshi, is seeking a riding to contest a seat in the legislature. The former Calgary mayor has been leading the party for six months but is not yet an MLA. The United Conservative Party (UCP) is closely watching his moves. It is believed he may declare his riding for the 2025 provincial election. Rachel Notley, who led the NDP for many years, announced her resignation in January this year. In June, Nenshi was elected as leader in a landslide victory. After Notley stepped down, her seat in Edmonton-Strathcona became vacant. Nenshi has expressed intere

Pakistan’s airstrikes on eastern Afghanistan killed 46 people, mostly women and children, a Taliban government official said Wednesday. Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, said that six people were also wounded in the Paktika province bordering Pakistan. This comes a day after Pakistani security officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with regulations, told The Associated Press that Tuesday’s operation was to dismantle a training facility and kill insurgents in the province of Paktika in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, in a statement, Mohammad Khuras

Calgary police say a nine-year-old girl died after a multi-vehicle collision that happened on the morning of Boxing Day. Police responded to reports of a pharmacy robbery at PharmasaveMillrise at around 9 a.m., where the suspect allegedly assaulted a pharmacist and ran away in a stolen car. The driver was chased by police but because of the driver's unsafe driving behaviour and traffic, officers stopped the pursuit and instead used helicopter air watch. The suspect continued to drive recklessly when he ran through a red light at the intersection and hit multiple vehicles, criticall

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may step down as Liberal leader before the next election, according to a former senior adviser and close friend of his. Gerald Butts stated that he does not believe Trudeau will remain as leader to lead the Liberals into the next election. In a Substack newsletter, Butts wrote that the recent resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has been a major blow to Trudeau, further weakening his already tenuous grip on the party. He added that before Freeland's resignation, Trudeau had a chance to lead the party into the next election, but now that seems unlikel

Mounties in British Columbia have approved six impaired driving charges against a 29-year-old man over a crash that killed an elderly Good Samaritan near Qualicum Beach earlier this year. The 80-year-old man from Red Deer, Alta., had stopped to help a woman whose minivan hit a power pole on Highway 19A around 2:30 a.m. on March 2. The 36-year-old woman driver was seriously injured and the passerby killed when a third vehicle, driven by a man from Coombs, B.C., crashed into them. BC Highway Patrol says its investigation has led to six charges including dangerous driving causing death and operat

Former Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will be cremated tomorrow, Saturday, with full state honours. Dr. Singh, who earned his bachelor's degree in economics in 1952 and his master's in 1954 from Panjab University, also served as a senior economics professor there from 1957 to 1966. His former office and chair at the university have been preserved, and the room where he once worked is being renovated. Dr. Singh last attended a program at Panjab University in Chandigarh in 2018.