A town north of Edmonton has voted in favour of a bylaw that bans Pride flags and rainbow crosswalks on municipal property. A slim majority of Westlock residents who took part in a plebiscite Thursday voted in favour of the town only flying government flags and painting crosswalks in a white striped pattern. Those in favour won by 24 votes, as 49 per cent voted against the ban. Westlock Mayor Jon Kramer says councillors didn't support the move, as they felt it was against their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Kramer says the town of 4,800 will continue to find ways to embrace

Three members of the University of Wyoming swimming and diving team were killed in a highway crash in northern Colorado. The crash happened Thursday afternoon on U.S. 287 about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of the Wyoming-Colorado line between Laramie and Fort Collins, Colo. The crash injured two other team members who were expected to survive, according to a University of Wyoming statement. The crash happened when the driver of the Toyota RAV4 sport utility vehicle with four others inside swerved and went off the pavement, and the vehicle rolled over multiple times, the statement said. Two p

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented a plan for administrative control over Gaza after the end of the ongoing war with Hamas. According to this plan, Israel will keep the security of the Gaza Strip in its hands indefinitely. This plan is completely opposite to Israel's partner America, America wants the Palestinian Authority to oversee the administration of the West Bank to be given responsibility for the administration of Gaza, but there is no mention of this in the plan presented by Netanyahu. Under Netanyahu's plan, Israel will maintain security control over all Palesti

McGill University and Concordia University are suing the Quebec government over its decision to hike tuition for out-of-province students by about 30 per cent. In separate lawsuits, the two Montreal universities say the government's decision constitutes discrimination under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that the hikes have damaged the schools' reputations. Tuition is set to rise to roughly $12,000 from about $9,000 for out-of-province students next fall, except for Quebec's only other English university Bishop's which was exempted it is outside Montreal. The Quebec government

Gurnam Singh Chaduni termed the current agitation in Punjab led by farmers' leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Swaran Singh Pandher as a hastily launched agitation. He said that some brothers started it in haste and did not consult everyone. It's probably their fault. He said that negativity is spreading among the people regarding the current movement. He also said that we have decided in our core committee meeting today that we will appeal to the sanyukt kisan morcha and the non-political sanyukt kisan morcha to form a joint committee and run the movement under it.

America has announced more than 500 new sanctions against Russia. Biden said in a statement that this action has been taken in connection with the start of war against Ukraine by Russia and the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison. Export restrictions are also being imposed on 100 firms to target the revenue Russia is getting from the energy sector. Joe Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will have to pay a heavy price for the attack on Ukraine and the death of his opposition leader Navalny in prison. The European Union has also imposed sanctions on 200 companies

Lynx Air, known as Canada's cheapest airline, is closing down. The company has suddenly announced that it will stop operations from midnight on Monday, February 26. The management cited all the reasons behind this major decision including inflation, fuel cost and inability to compete. Lynx Air says it will try to operate as many flights as possible through the week to get as many passengers to their destinations as possible. The airline said that if a flight is cancelled, passengers will be notified via e-mail. Meanwhile, passengers whose flight tickets are on or after February 26 have been

The British government has appointed Dr. Samir Shah of Indian origin as the new head of the BBC. 72-year-old Dr. Sameer Shah has more than 40 years of experience in journalism. He has held many important positions. His name was put forward by the British government in December last year and his selection passed the stage of being approved by King Charles this week. Dr. Sameer Shah will take charge on March 4. Their tenure will be 4 years and they will get a salary of 1,60,000 pounds per year. He is the first person of Indian origin to reach the post of BBC Chairman. He was born in Aurangabad

The relief given by the Government of Canada to international students to work more than 20 hours is ending on April 30. Meanwhile, reports say that the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship is considering a permanent change to increase the working hours for international students from 20 to 30 hours. Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced the reduction in the number of international students in January, saying that students who are already in Canada or who have applied for a study permit by December 7, 2023 will be able to work without the 20-hour limit until April 30. Ear