Data from Vancouver police shows a "dramatic" drop in small drug seizures after decriminalization came into effect in British Columbia last year. The department says during the first nine months of the program officers did not seize any drugs under 2.5 grams, as is outlined in Health Canada's three-year exemption. It says all drug possession seizures, regardless of weight, dropped 76 per cent in the city compared with the previous four-year average for the same time period. The exemption began Jan. 31, 2023, and decriminalizes possession of small amounts of opioids, including heroin and fentan

The British Columbia government is warning people about a scam involving its PayBC website, where an "identical fake website" is collecting personal and credit card information. The PayBC site gives residents a secure place to pay their bills or for services from the provincial government, but it says it has become aware of phishing attempts against users. A statement from the government says the two sites can't be told apart, although the website addresses are different. It says the site was created by "malicious actors" to steal personal and financial information. The government says in the

Former Punjab Congress Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and senior leader Pratap Singh Bajwa have termed Ravneet Bittu's joining the BJP as a betrayal of 3 crore Punjabis. Bajwa said that till yesterday Bittu was holding rallies for Congress, today he joined BJP without informing. Bajwa also said that Ravneet Bittu was losing by two lakh votes and the party was wondering what to do with it, now it has made the task easier for itself. It is to be noted that Ravneet Bittu says that two more Congress stalwarts may also join the BJP soon. He himself has suddenly left the Congress

President Joe Biden has won Missouri’s primary, the state Democratic Party announced. Biden’s win was not in doubt; he has alreadybeaten his major competitors. But the primary races are still closely watched by insiders for turnout and signs of protest voters. Saturday’s primary was the Missouri Democratic Party’s first party-run presidential contest since a new law took effect in August 2022. The party says about 20,000 voters participated. Missouri Republicans opted to hold a caucus this year, which former President Donald Trump won. Lawmakers havefailed to reinstatethe state-run pri

Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Waring has hit out at Ravneet Bittu joining the BJP. Waring said that the Congress made Beant Singh the chief minister, gave a lot to Bittu's family, but what Bittu has done now, the public will never forgive. Along with this, he termed the decision of Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP to contest the elections alone as mere drama. Waring said that the Akali Dal and the BJP are the same behind the scenes and are working to gain credibility. He said that since the President's vote till the passing of the CAA Bill, the Akali Dal has continuously supporte

A suicide bomber in northwest Pakistan rammed his explosive-laden car into a vehicle on Tuesday, killing five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver, police and government officials said. The attack happened in Shangla, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police chief Bakhat Zahir said. He added that the five killed were construction workers and engineers. Thousands of Chinese nationals are in Shangla, working on projects relating to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which includes a multitude of mega projects such as road construction, power plants and agriculture. T

Ravneet Singh Bittu, grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and Congress MP from Ludhiana, has suddenly joined the BJP today. Ravneet Bittu, who is considered close to Rahul Gandhi, reached the BJP headquarters in Delhi and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Meanwhile, he said that he is related to the martyr family. He has seen very bad conditions of Punjab, out of which he has also seen Punjab come out. They claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah love Punjab a lot, they want to do a lot for Punjab for which a bridge is needed and they will act as a bridge in be

Senior Punjab Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira has held the state government responsible for nearly two dozen deaths due to consumption of poisoned liquor in Sangrur. Khaira said that these deaths in the native district of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann have made it clear that there is a parallel liquor mafia running in Punjab. He said that when there were deaths due to alcohol in Amritsar, at that time Bhagwant Mann, being a Member of Parliament, demanded to file a case of murder against the representatives of the government, now he should apply the same thing to himself.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada is airlifting vulnerable Canadians out of Haiti by helicopter to the Dominican Republic as conditions continue to deteriorate. Haiti has been in a profound security crisis since mid-2021, when gangs took control of key infrastructure and started violent turf wars that have led to a collapse of most medical and food systems in the country. Two weeks ago, unelected Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to resign once a transitional council is formed to oversee an international military intervention led by Kenya. Earlier this month, Canada ai