A moment of silence was held in Kelowna at 10:45 this morning, marking the time that a crane collapsed one year ago, injuring one worker and killing four others, as well as a man working in a nearby building. The construction crane was being dismantled beside a nearly completed condo in Kelowna's downtown core when the swing arm buckled and fell, carrying the four workers to their deaths and crushing part of the building where the fifth victim was working. RCMP say its ``complex'' and ``technical'' investigation into possible criminality is continuing and WorkSafe BC is also probing the regul

Canada's premiers have repeated their demand that the federal government sit down with them and resolve health-care funding issues. BC Premier John Horgan, chair of the Council of the Federation, commented today at the start of the second day of talks between Canada's 13 premiers. He responded to federal concerns that the provinces could reduce their own health spending if Ottawa tops up its payments. The premiers want the federal government to boost its share of health funding to 35 per cent from the current 22 per cent. They want the prime minister to make good on what Horgan says is an eigh

Singapore reported 5,979 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total tally to 1,540,788. Of the new cases, 5,743 were local transmissions and 236 were imported cases. Among the local cases, 508 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 5,235 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health. A total of 679 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with 15 cases in intensive care units. Five deaths were reported due to COVID-19 infection, pushing the death toll to 1,437, the ministry said.

The Edmonton Police Commission has announced an independent review of what led a man accused in two murders to be dropped off in the city three days earlier, despite court-ordered conditions that he not be there. Justin Bone faces second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Ban Phuc Hoang and Hung Trang in May. The investigation is to look at how and when police interacted with Bone, examine police policies and review reports from the R-C-M-P, probation officers and other court processes. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi (am-ahr-JEET' SOH'-hee) welcomed the probe and says the public must know the details

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday warned the world that fresh waves of COVID-19 cases show that the pandemic is "nowhere near over." In a media briefing on COVID-19, the WHO chief said, "I am concerned that cases of COVID-19 continue to rise - putting further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers - and deaths are unacceptably high." He urged governments to regularly review and adjust their COVID19 response plans based on the current epidemiology and also the potential for new variants to appear. The Emergency Committee on COVID-1

A peacock on the loose for days in the western Alberta mountain town of Jasper has been euthanized. Parks Canada says its staff and town residents first saw the domestic peafowl last Saturday. The agency has said it isn't aware of how the peacock came to Jasper National Park or whether it was accidentally or deliberately released. Parks Canada says it consulted with experts outside the agency and, after six days of trying to capture and remove the peacock from the area, a decision was made to euthanize it on Thursday. The agency says the release of foreign species and domestic animals into

Russia has confirmed the first case of monkeypox in a young man who recently returned from Europe, the country's consumer rights watchdog told reporters on Tuesday. "The first case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Russia. The disease was detected in a young man who returned from a trip to Europe and came to a medical facility with a rash that is common [for this disease]," Russia's rights watchdog Rospotrebnazor was quoted as saying by Sputnik. Rospotrebnadzor clarified that the patient has mild symptoms and is isolated. In the last week of June, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the

The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has appointed Rajya Sabha Member Raghav Chadha as Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the state government. Disclosing this here a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that the Chief Minister cleared the file to this regard here on Monday. An alumni of top educational institutes across the globe like Modern School, Barakhamba and London School of Economics, Raghav Chadha is a Chartered Accountant by profession. He has the distinction of having worked with some of the biggest corporate firms in the world. The young politica

Mounties say a hiker has died after he slipped on a patch of snow and ice in Banff National Park. Police, fire rescue and Parks Canada responded to a call shortly before noon Saturday about a man who had fallen from Mount Temple near Lake Louise, Alta. They say the man was with a group of experienced hikers when he lost his footing. With the help of a Parks Canada helicopter, police say the man was located about 1,000 metres from the initial site of his fall. Mount Temple, a well-known peak above Lake Louise village, is described on the Parks Canada website as a technical route up the main fac