People in a tiny Indian village surrounded by rice paddies have flocked to a Hindu temple, burst crackers and uttered prayers in celebration. Locals lit diyas at native village of Kamala Harris' mother in Thulasendrapuram on the day of her swearing-in ceremony for US Vice Presidential post. They watched on television as village descendant Kamala Harris took the oath to become US vice president. Harris' maternal grandfather was born in the village near the southern coastal city of Chennai. Harris, who is also Black, has often talked about her South Asian roots. Harris entered her new office bui

Shareholders of Vancouver-based West Fraser Timber and Toronto-based Norbord have voted to join forces. The move unites two of Canada's largest producers of wood products, creating a single Vancouver-based firm which keeps the West Fraser name. It now boasts 10,000 employees. Officials behind the merger say the new company, which will be owned 56% by West Fraser shareholders and 44% by Norbord investors, aims to be a "one-stop shop" for construction customers. West Fraser has 45 mills and other facilities across BC, Alberta, and the southern US, while Norbord has an oriented strand board mill

Kamala Harris has been sworn in as the nation's first female vice-president. The former U.S. senator from California is also the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency and becomes the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in government. She was sworn in Wednesday by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court. Vice-President Mike Pence, standing in for President Donald Trump, was sitting nearby as Lady Gaga sang the national anthem accompanied by the U.S. Marine Corps band. Multiple glass ceilings shattered in W

A medical health officer with Interior Health says COVID-19 is still spreading among people who live and work at a Kelowna ski resort. Dr. Silvina Mema says the health authority is testing broadly at Big White and 28 more cases have been linked to the cluster identified last month. The latest cases push the total to 203. It includes 43 active infections. Ski resort and local authorities are working to map possible exposures. Big White says in an update posted online Interior Health has advised that most people affected work on the mountain.

Illicit drug overdoses are rising in northern British Columbia and health officials warn a new mix of street drugs can make a key life-saving medication less effective. Northern Health and the First Nations Health Authority have issued an overdose alert, warning that benzodiazepines, or benzos, have been found in illicit drugs circulating in the region. The alert says users of drugs contaminated with benzos might be difficult to rouse and could also be slow to respond to naloxone, the drug that reverses opioid overdoses. Health officials say benzos impede brain activity and raise the potentia

Joe Biden has officially become the 46th president of the United States. Biden took the oath of office just before noon Wednesday during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. The presidential oath was administered by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. President Joe Biden says ``democracy has prevailed'' in a country reeling amid a pandemic and a violent melee two weeks ago at the U.S. Capitol. In his first remarks as president, Biden said Wednesday that his swearing-in marks a day of ``history and hope.'' Biden said in his inaugural address that the country has ``learned again that dem

Farmers leaders on Wednesday said they would consider the Centre's proposal to put on hold farm laws for over one year and to form a committee of government and farmer representatives to discuss the laws clause wise and respond at the next meeting on January 22.The tenth round of talks between farmer unions and the Central government over the three farm laws concluded at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The next round of the meeting will take place on January 22.After the talks, farmer leaders said that they will discuss among themselves and will respond to the government's proposal in the next rou

Before he boarded Air Force One this morning for Florida, Donald Trump claimed his administration laid the foundation for the incoming one.He did not mention Joe Biden by name, but told a small crowd of family members and supporters that he thinks the new administration has the foundation to do something really spectacular.He made brief farewell remarks at Maryland's Joint Base Andrews before he boarded Air Force One for a flight to his Florida home.Trump said he'll be watching from a distance and promised he will be back -- quote -- ``in some form.''He did follow one presidential tradition a

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia."Today, we are reporting 465 new cases, including 13 epi-linked cases, for a total of 61,912 cases in British Columbia."There are 4,331 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 329 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 70 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation. "To date, 92,369 doses of COVID-19 vaccine h