Slamming the Union Budget as high on 'pomposity' and low on tangibles, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday said the economy was clearly not a priority for the BJP-led Central Government, which was too busy pursuing its negative and divisive agenda.In an official statement, he said that there was nothing in the budget that could pave the way for economic reforms or raise public consumption that was imperative for reviving the economy."The budget was nothing but mere rhetoric," said the Chief Minister, adding that the government failed to address the problems of any section

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday exuded confidence that budget 2020-21 will fulfil the country's current needs and also the expectations from this decade."I am confident that this budget will increase income and investment, demand and consumption and bring new vigour in financial system and credit flow," said Prime Minister Modi in an address after budget presentation. "This budget will fulfill the current needs of the country as well as the future expectations from this decade," he said.Stressing on major highlights of the 90th Union Budget, Modi said several tax concessions have been

As many as 11,791 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been registered in China and the death toll reached 259 on Saturday, Sputnik reported citing Chinese authorities. On the other hand, 243 people have been discharged from hospitals. The virus originated in China's Wuhan city in December and has since then spread to various cities around the world. China has imposed quarantine and travel restrictions, affecting the movement of 56 million people in more than a dozen cities, amid fears that the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel for the Lunar New Year.

Mayors in British Columbia's Lower Mainland have reached an agreement on an interim business licence for ride-hailing companies that want to operate in the region. Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum, who has previously resisted the idea, threw his support behind the interim licence, saying it takes a major step forward in addressing the ``unfair advantage'' ride-hailing companies have over taxi businesses. The mayors' council on regional transportation, made up of 23 mayors, endorsed the proposed bylaw covering Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Squamish-Lillooet on Thursday, with the details rel

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is going through a ``deliberate process'' to airlift nearly 200 Canadians out of the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China. While other countries continue to get their citizens home.Speaking to reporters in Montreal, Trudeau said his government is doing what it has to do to ensure the risk to Canadians at home remains low.

The proposed ride-hailing Inter-Municipal Business Licence (IMBL) that is supported by virtually all of Mayors’ Council takes a major step forward in addressing the unfair advantage that ride-hailing companies currently have over taxi companies. The following was approved almost unanimously by the Mayors’ Council: Endorse the principles and framework for establishing and administering an interim Inter-Municipal Business Licence (IMBL); Urge municipalities within Region 1 to adopt the associated interim IMBL bylaw as quickly as possible; Urge municipalities within Region 1 to harmoniz

The head of Ukraine International Airlines is thanking Canada for its part in investigating the crash of one of its planes outside Tehran in early January. In a long statement on the airline's website today, Yevhenii Dykhne also says the company expects the formalities for compensation to families of the 176 people killed will be "finalized in the immediate future." Iran admits an air-defence battery shot the plane down, hours after Iran launched missiles into Iraq in retaliation for the American killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. The Iranian government says the operators of a missi

BC's provincial health officer says this province and the country are entering a critical phase in the global effort to halt the spread of a new type of coronavirus. At a news conference in Vancouver this morning, Henry says anyone who visited China and departed before that country imposed recent travel restrictions may be incubating the flu-like virus, and could begin showing symptoms now. She says testing is underway in BC to identify anyone who may be at risk of developing the illness, and 114 people have been checked so far, with testing expected to continue for at least another week.

Ontario health officials say the province now has a third confirmed case of the novel coronavirus, bringing Canada's total number of cases to four. Ontario's chief medical officer of health says the latest case is a woman in her 20s in London, Ont., who travelled to the affected area in China. Dr. David Williams says initial testing in Ontario showed the woman was negative for the virus, but tests at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg came back as ``weakly'' positive. Officials say the woman had no symptoms when she returned to Canada, only left her home to go to hospital, and s