WorldJan 24, 2020
China building a hospital to treat virus, expands lockdowns
China is swiftly building a hospital dedicated to treating patients infected by a new virus that has killed 26 people, sickened hundreds and prompted lockdowns of at least 13 cities on the eve of the country's most important holiday.Transportation is halted and streets eerily quiet in the locked-down cities as the virus led to the cancellation of festivities for the Lunar New Year.Wuhan, where the outbreak began, and 12 neighbouring cities have a combined population of more than 36 million.A Wuhan hospital with space for 1,000 beds is being built in the style of a facility that Beijing constr
CanadaJan 24, 2020
Poilievre ends bid for Tory leadership citing desire to spend time with daughter
Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre is bowing out of his party's leadership race.Poilievre says he is overwhelmed by the support he received as he built a campaign to replace Andrew Scheer.But the 40 year old Ottawa MP says today his heart was not fully in it as he tries to balance family life with politics. Poilievre says he "mostly missed" the first year of his daughter's life as he campaigned to keep his own Ottawa area seat in October's federal election.Poilievre is the third high-profile contender to publicly bail out of the Conservative leadership contest in as many days, following former
IndiaJan 24, 2020
Punjab: All-party meet convened by Amarinder Singh passes resolution on Punjab's water crisis
An all-party meeting chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday demanded reassessment of the state's water availability and unanimously resolved that the Central government should ensure that Punjab river water will not be transferred from basin to non-basin areas of the state's three rivers. "All parties also unanimously demanded suitable amendments to the proposed Inter-State River Water Disputes Act to set up a new tribunal, to ensure that Punjab gets adequate water in a just and equitable manner in keeping with its total demand and securing livelihood of the future gene
BCJan 24, 2020
2020 BC real estate forecast event in Vancouver
Leading residential, commercial and industrial builders from the province’s largest economic sector got together in a hotel in Vancouver for 2020 BC real estate forecast. A crowd of 1,200 guests, including government and elected officials, builders, urban planners and real-estate professionals attended the event organised by a non-profit association of the development industry. There was an apparent agreement among the panelists that interest rate, construction cost, price for residential units and their rents could potentially go slightly up while the possibility of any reduction in the ma
BCJan 24, 2020
Court to announce the decision later, after first phase of an extradition hearing
A Canadian judge said Thursday she will announce her decision at a later date after she ended the first phase of an extradition hearing that will decide whether a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei is sent to the United States. This week's hearings dealt with the question of whether the U.S. charges against Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, are crimes in Canada as well. Her lawyers argued the case is really about U.S. sanctions against Iran, not a fraud case. They maintain since Canada does not have similar sanctions against Iran, no fraud occurred. Canada arrested Huawe
BCJan 24, 2020
Mayor of Victoria disappointed over court's ruling
The mayor of Victoria says she's disappointed Canada's highest court won't reconsider a lower-court ruling that stopped her city from regulating single-use plastic bags. However, Lisa Helps says there are other ways to eliminate the items. The high court didn't issue reasons for refusing to review a B.C. Court of Appeal decision that overturned Victoria's plastic bag ban on the grounds the city lacks provincial approval. The Canadian Plastic Bag Association, which challenged the original bylaw, says it welcomes the decision which requires B.C. municipalities to "follow the law and respect the
InternationalJan 23, 2020
One of Quebec's most wanted arrested in U.S.
Montreal police say one of Quebec's 10 most wanted criminals was nabbed in the U.S. this week after more than 17 years on the lam. Police say Parthasarthie Kapoor was arrested at the airport in Newark, N.J., as he attempted to fly to India on Monday. Kapoor is accused of sexually assaulting five boys between the ages of 7 and 14 at his Montreal home between 1998 and 2003. A permanent resident in Canada, he fled for the U.S. in 2003 upon hearing he was the subject of a criminal probe, triggering both Canada-wide and international arrest warrants. According to details on a Quebec provincial pol
BCJan 23, 2020
Uber and Lyft get approval to operate in Lower Mainland
B-C Transportation Minister Claire Trevena says the journey to bring ride-hailing services to B-C has taken longer than people wanted but the system and its services will be worth the wait. Trevena made the comments shortly after the Passenger Transportation Board granted licence approvals for ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft to operate in the Lower Mainland and Whistler. Uber and Lyft say their next steps involve getting vehicle insurance and working with municipalities in the approved areas to comply with local bylaws.
CanadaJan 23, 2020
PM Justin Trudeau speaks on coronavirus, immediately after WHO meeting
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is making every effort to ensure Canada has the best possible response to the coronavirus outbreak in China. He spoke to reporters just as the World Health Organization announced it would not yet declare the virus a global emergency. Health Minister Patty Hajdu says several people in Canada are under observation for signs they may have contracted the coronavirus from China, but that the risk to Canadians remains low.
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