BCJun 23, 2020
Final arguments in the extradition case for Meng Wanzhou will take place early next year
Final arguments in the extradition case for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou will take place early next year. The BC Supreme Court approved a schedule proposed by the Crown and Meng's defence team. In a letter to Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes, Crown lawyer John Gibb-Carsley says the schedule aims to resolve all necessary evidentiary issues through the summer and early fall. Hearings are to resume on August 17th, when the court will meet for five days to hear arguments over privilege claims in the case.
WorldJun 23, 2020
Mourners bid farewell to Rayshard Brooks at historic church
Rayshard Brooks was remembered at the Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached. The private funeral for the man who was shot by a police officer was held Tuesday at Ebenezer Baptist Church. The Rev. Raphael Warnock delivered the eulogy. Officer Garrett Rolfe shot Brooks in the back after Brooks fired a Taser in his direction while running away after a struggle with officers outside a Wendy's restaurant on June 12. Rolfe is white. Brooks was Black. King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, also delivered remarks at the funeral.
CanadaJun 23, 2020
Champagne pays China mortgages, moves to Canadian banks to avoid 'distraction'
Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says he has repaid two mortgages with a Chinese state bank and refinanced them with a Canadian financial institution.Champagne disclosed the development during testimony today before the House of Commons health committee, saying he decided to refinance the mortgages to avoid a distraction.Earlier this month, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer called on Champagne to explain how the mortgages with a Chinese state bank would not compromise his ability to handle Canada's tense relations with the People's Republic.Champagne says he disclosed the t
CanadaJun 23, 2020
Feds prepared to push back against any new U.S. tariffs on aluminum, Duclos says
The federal government will make the case to the Trump administration that Canadian aluminum is no threat to the American market, as the mercurial president reportedly prepares to slap on tariffs anew.Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos says federal officials will push back against any new protectionist effort by the U.S. administration to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum.A report from Bloomberg says the Trump administration is planning to impose a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imports from Canada.Duclos would not say whether the government is aware of a new round of tariffs, but sa
CanadaJun 23, 2020
Aurora Cannabis to lay off staff, close five sites
Aurora Cannabis Inc. is continuing to restructure with more layoffs and facility closures. The Edmonton-based cannabis company says it will reduce its selling, general and administrative workforce by 25 per cent immediately.Another 30 per cent of production staff will be laid off from the company over the next two quarters.Aurora has also decided to cease operations at five facilities over the next two quarters in order to focus production and manufacturing at the company's larger scale and more efficient sites.The affected facilities are Aurora Prairie, Aurora Mountain, Aurora Ridge, Aurora V
WorldJun 23, 2020
Novak Djokovic tests positive for coronavirus
Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized in Serbia and Croatia.
The top-ranked Serb is the fourth player to test positive for the virus after first playing in Belgrade and then again last weekend in Zadar, Croatia. His wife also tested positive.
“The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena’s, while the results of our children are negative," Djokovic said in a statement.
Djokovic has been criticized for organizing the tournament and bringing in players from oth
CanadaJun 23, 2020
Eight more weeks of CERB to cost $17.9 billion, budget officer says
The parliamentary budget officer estimates in a new report that it will cost $17.9 billion to provide eight extra weeks of payments through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
The report this morning from budget officer Yves Giroux says that would bring the total cost of the benefit program to $71.3 billion.
The CERB, now budgeted at $60 billion, has paid out $43.51 billion to 8.41 million people as of June 4 as demand surges past federal expectations.
With the first cohort of CERB applicants set to hit the 16-week limit on the payments early next month, the Liberals have promised to increa
IndiaJun 23, 2020
India, China Corps Commanders hold talks for nearly 11 hours
The meeting between Indian Army's 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh and his Chinese counterpart got over after around 11 hours, sources said."Today's meeting between the Corps Commander-level officers of India and China is over. The meeting which started at 11:30 am went on for around 11 hours. More details awaited," sources said.The meeting started at around 11:30 am at Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) opposite Chushul to defuse the tensions in Eastern Ladakh sector due to Chinese military build-up, the sources said.This is the second meeting between the two co
CanadaJun 23, 2020
Six COVID-19 related deaths reported in Canada
There are 101,637 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 54,835 confirmed (including 5,417 deaths, 23,506 resolved) Ontario: 33,637 confirmed (including 2,609 deaths, 28,933 resolved) Alberta: 7,736 confirmed (including 153 deaths, 7,041 resolved) British Columbia: 2,822 confirmed (including 169 deaths, 2,471 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,061 confirmed (including 63 deaths, 998 resolved) Saskatchewan: 751 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 643 resolved) Manitoba: 303 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 293 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths,