Ahead of the crucial presidential elections which will take place on July 18, the BJP continues to reach out to various political parties seeking support for the NDA's presidential candidate, Droupadi Murmu. In line with this outreach initiative, BJP national president JP Nadda dialed the party's former ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal seeking support for Murmu's candidature. It may be noted that BJP and SAD were together for over 25 years. However, SAD left the BJP-NDA government over three farm laws, which were withdrawn a year later. Both parties also separately

Eknath Shinde, who led a revolt against Shiv Sena leading to the collapse of the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening. He was administered an oath by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Deputy Chief Minister. Fadnavis, who was Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2014-19, announced at a joint press conference in Mumbai on Thursday that Eknath Shinde will be the new CM. Fadnavis also announced at the press conference that he wil

India team skipper Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the rescheduled fifth Test against England to be played from Friday as he is affected by COVID-19. Rohit underwent a rapid antigen test Test on Thursday morning and tested positive for COVID-19. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Jasprit Bumrah as captain for the upcoming Test and Rishabh Pant as his deputy. The fifth and final Test against India will take place from July 1 onwards in Edgbaston. The rescheduled match is a part of last year's five-match Test series that had to be delayed after the fourth Test due to a COVID-1

Ten suspects have been arrested and face a total of 139 charges following the bust last summer of a drug lab south of Calgary. They are being charged with a variety of offences ranging from fentanyl production to criminal conspiracy. Police say seven of the accused are from Edmonton and three are from Okotoks. The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team says officers seized drugs, weapons, cash and vehicles in one of Canada's largest fentanyl seizures. ALERT says it seized 13.6 kilograms of fentanyl, 11.9 kilograms of fentanyl precursors, 6.6 kilograms of opioids, 9.9 kilograms of methamphetamin

Vancouver Police are investigating the city’s seventh homicide of the year, after a man died in hospital earlier this month. VPD officers responded to reports of an assault near East First Avenue and Main Street at 4:30 p.m. on June 2. Scott Carver, 56, was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and died.A 61-year-old man has been arrested. Investigators believe the suspect and victim knew each other.The file remains under investigation. Charges have not yet been laid.

Vancouver Police are investigating a fatal collision that killed a 28-year-old man this morning, and are asking anyone with information to come forward. A cyclist and a dump truck collided in the intersection of Pacific and Hornby streets at around 7:30 a.m.Efforts to save the cyclist’s life were not successful and he died at the scene.The driver of the dump truck is cooperating with police. Investigators do not believe speed or impairment were factors in this collision.

A timeline has finally been announced for the removal of a huge barge that wedged itself onto a beach in Vancouver's English Bay last November. A statement from the City of Vancouver says a local pile driving firm will set up fences and barricades around the barge this week.Temporary piles will then be drilled into the Sunset Beach shoreline to secure the barge and, once that work is complete, deconstruction will begin.The city estimates removal of sections of the barge's walls and hull should take 12 to 15 weeks.The statement says industry experts, partners and First Nation groups have been c

A group that has disrupted rush hour traffic around Vancouver and Victoria in a bid to halt logging of old-growth timber now plans to branch out to something less confrontational. A statement from Save Old Growth says it will ``de-escalate disruptive actions'' that have blocked key highways and bridges. The group says, starting today, it will switch to other tactics including public outreach and events. However, the group says it will continue to demand the provincial government take ``urgent steps to permanently protect BC's remaining old growth forests.''

BC Attorney General David Eby says federal, provincial and territorial governments have agreed to a proposed 150 million dollar settlement with Purdue Pharma Canada. Eby says it's the largest settlement of a governmental health care cost claim in Canadian history. The province launched a class-action lawsuit in 2018 against more than 40 drug companies, with the aim of recovering health-care costs related to the sale and marketing of opioid-based pain medication. Eby says the money will support provincial programs to fight the opioid epidemic that governments believe Purdue contributed to thro