A former coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Canadian national youth soccer teams is expected to make a public apology today in court for sex crimes. Bob Birarda pleaded guilty in February to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching for offences involving four soccer players who were under 18 at the time of the incidents between 1988 and 2008. His lawyer Bill Smart told a sentencing hearing in provincial court in North Vancouver that the former coach, who was dismissed by both the Whitecaps and Canada Soccer in 2008, will make a statement today. Smart is arguing Birard

A 59-year-old woman was flown to hospital by STARS Air Ambulance Thursday afternoon after a multi-vehicle crash north of Edmonton. According to RCMP, three vehicles were involved in the crash around 3 p.m. at Highway 18 and Range Road 40, near Barrhead. An RCMP spokesperson could not confirm how many people were assessed by EMS on scene and released, but could confirm two people were taken to hospital by ambulance and a third in more serious condition was airlifted by STARS. It's not known what caused the crash. Highway 18 was closed in both directions for several hours on Thursday.

A new strain of Monkeypox has been identified in the UK, the country's health authorities said. British health authorities confirmed that an individual has been diagnosed with monkeypox linked to recent travel to West Africa. "Preliminary genomic sequencing conducted by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) indicates that this case does not have the current outbreak strain circulating in the UK," the UKHSA said in a statement. The individual has been admitted to the High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in line with standing advice from the Ad

With the aim to strengthen the party, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday announced a set of major changes. The party has decided to give more space to youth, women as well as other sections of society by announcing the party would establish its new organizational structure from the bottom to up through an electoral system to be overseen by a newly constituted Central Election Body. Addressing a press conference, the SAD president said the party would stick to its core principles including the need for a true federal structure, taking all sections of society and

Two men face a total of 26 charges after RCMP used a helicopter to arrest suspects after an Alberta Treasury Branch was smashed and robbed early Wednesday morning in Daysland, Alta. Officers at the nearby Killam-Forestburg detachment were called about the break-in at 4:13 a.m. When a police officer arrived, the robbers had already fled the scene with an ATM in the back of a pickup, leaving the front of the bank destroyed. Officers were able to identify two suspects and arrest them near Bashaw, Alta., with the help of a helicopter.

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought to know details of the number of FIRs filed against gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The court has listed the matter for further hearing on September 13. The court also sought to know in which FIRs he has been in custody since June 13 and the future plan of police relating to Bishnoi. During the hearing, the court remarked that "he (Bishnoi) is supposed to face the consequences if he has done anything wrong but not in such a way." The court was hearing Lawrence Bishnoi's father's plea challenging the transit remand to Punjab police. Earlier the Supreme Court ha

Alberta's advanced education minister has extended a deadline for a distance learning university to move more staff to the small town where it is headquartered. Demetrios Nicolaides says he's granted a brief extension for Athabasca University to comply with his decree to move 500 staff to the town the institution is named for. He has threatened to withhold the school's $3.4-million monthly grant if the school fails to comply. Nicolaides did not specify a new deadline. The university has resisted the demand, saying it will make it harder to recruit top talent and waste money, time and other res

Criminal defence lawyers have escalated job action in an ongoing dispute with the provincial government over the amount of compensation paid by Legal Aid Alberta. Organizations representing lawyers in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and southern Alberta began job action three weeks ago by refusing to accept certain bail and duty counsel files. Today, they are to start refusing new cases for the most serious criminal charges, including sexual offences and homicides. Lawyers in Calgary and Edmonton are also planning a 90-minute walkout for Friday. Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro says the gove

Surrey RCMP is asking for the public’s assistance with locating Tevain Lloyd who is wanted on a Canada wide warrant.On April 19, 2022, Surrey RCMP issued a media release requesting the public’s assistance with locating Tevain Lloyd who was wanted on a Canada Wide warrant in relation to a shooting (media release 2022-04-19) . Later the same day Tevain Lloyd was located in Vancouver, arrested and held in custody.On April 27, 2022, Tevain Lloyd was released on conditions by the courts. He was due to appear in court on August 4, 2022, and failed to appear; therefore, a warrant was issued for h